Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stochastic Framework for Cash Flow Forecasting Considering Owner's Delay in Payment by Use of Monte Carlo Simulation

Financial supply is the most critical challenge contractors always confront in all construction stages. This issue is more vital in developing countries where rapid infrastructures development is necessary and public fund is scarce. Numerous models have been developed for forecasting cash flow, but the effect of late payments risk has not been considered in any of them. This paper aims to develop a new stochastic simulation-based framework for forecasting construction projects cash flow at the bidding stage, considering the effect of delay in payments. The time between carrying out an activity and receiving its corresponding payment has been modeled using a beta-distributed random variable based on experts judgment. Then, the Monte Carlo simulation is performed to extract the cumulative probability distributions of maximum required finance and financing cost. The model is applied to a highway project in Iran in which the contractor had foreseen a negative cash flow of up to 16% of the contract price. The results of applying the proposed model in which the payments lag time are simulated show that this figure is 42% and 25% for average and optimistic conditions respectively leading to a financing cost of 3.7% and 2.2% of the project budget.
Duloxetine: A Dual Serotonin‐Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor for Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder

The burden of mental illness has been underestimated worldwide. Depression was the fourth leading cause of disease burden in the world in 1990 and is projected to be the second leading cause of disability by 2020. It is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States, costing billions of dollars annually in direct and indirect medical costs and losses in productivity. Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) may experience both psychological and medical complaints, including somatic sensations or pain. Some antidepressants have been shown to treat chronic pain syndromes, but despite the variety of antidepressants available in the United States, only 65–70% of patients respond to initial antidepressant treatment. Treatments are limited by delayed onset of antidepressant effects, side effects, partial response, and treatment resistance. Duloxetine, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of MDD, is a reuptake inhibitor at serotonergic and noradrenergic neurons and appears to have low affinity for other neurotransmitter systems. In clinical trials, duloxetine was effective for the treatment of MDD and was well tolerated. Further study is needed to compare its efficacy with that of other antidepressants, to clarify effects on somatic symptoms, and to assess potential adverse cardiovascular and sexual side effects. Duloxetine is also approved for the management of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain and is under investigation for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women.
Small cell carcinoma of the endometrium: report of three cases and literature review

Background Small cell carcinoma of the endometrium is extremely rare. Aim We reported three cases of this rare tumor and reviewed the literature. Cases Case 1 was a 54-year-old woman and case 3 was a 58-year-old woman. Both patients presented with vaginal bleeding. Case 2, a 53-year-old woman, had no symptoms and had a vaginal-cervical smear suspicious for malignancy. All patients underwent surgery and their tumors originated in the endometrium. In all three cases, pathological examination revealed small cell carcinoma of endometrium, and immunohistochemical reactivity for one or more neuroendocrine markers was found in all cases. Under electron microscopy in case 2 and case 3, dense core granules in the cytoplasm of tumor cells were found only in case 3. Case 3 was stage IIIA and died of her disease 12 months after surgery. Both cases 1 and 2 were stage IB and alive with no evidence of disease for 28 months and 9 years, respectively. Conclusion Although the prognosis of small cell carcinoma of endometrium is poor, early detection of this disease may contribute to an improved prognosis.
Robust control of grid connected AC-DC converter for distributed generation

The paper presents control algorithm for AC-DC converter operating as an interface between the Grid and Distributed Sources. Control algorithm is intended to be applied for serially manufactured AC-DC converters. Algorithm is based on Direct Power Control Space Vector Modulated extended with harmonic and dips compensation functionalities. Simulation and selected experimental results in various operation stages for the converter are presented.
Nucleotide sequence and expression of a novel human receptor-type tyrosine kinase gene (flt) closely related to the fms family.

A new human gene encoding a receptor-type tyrosine kinase was isolated by a weak cross-hybridization with v-ros oncogene. A cDNA of about 7.7 kb carried a 4.2 kb open reading frame, and the predicted amino acid sequence of 1338 residues contained extracellular, transmembrane and tyrosine kinase domains. Although its extracellular domain is approximately 220 amino acids longer than those of the products of the fms family, i.e. c-fms, c-kit and platelet-derived growth factor receptor genes, the overall structure including cysteine motifs in its extracellular domain and a long peptide insertion in its tyrosine kinase domain indicates that this new gene is closely related to the fms family. Consequently, the gene was designated as flt (fms-like tyrosine kinase) gene. The expression of the flt gene was strongly suppressed in most of the tumor cell lines examined so far, whereas this mRNA was expressed in a variety of normal tissues of adult rat.
Preoperative chemoradiation for locally advanced rectal cancer with capecitabine 2,000 mg/m2/day.

OBJECTIVE Evaluate the efficacy and the tolerability of preoperative chemoradiation with high dose Capecitabine. MATERIAL AND METHOD Fifteen patients with locally advanced resectable rectal cancer were treated with Capecitabine 2,000 mg/m2/day, orally 7 days/week concurrent with whole pelvic irradiation 45 Gy in 25 fractions/5 weeks. Patients underwent surgery in the following 4-6 weeks. RESULTS After complete treatment, 11 patients (73%) underwent surgery. Ten patients (66%) had sphincter preservative surgery; three of them had primary tumors located in the lower rectum. Five patients had grade 2 and one patient had grade 3 diarrhea. No grade 4 toxicity was reported. CONCLUSION Preoperative Capecitabine 2,000 mg/m2/day concurrent with whole pelvic irradiation were effective and well tolerated The potential dose limiting toxicity effect was the diarrhea.
Elevated serum levels of pigment epithelium-derived factor in the metabolic syndrome.

CONTEXT Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis with neuronal differentiating activity, inhibits endothelial cell injury in vitro, thus suggesting the involvement of PEDF in atherosclerosis. Therefore, elucidating the relationship between serum levels of PEDF and coronary risk factors could provide a clue to understanding the pathophysiological role of PEDF in vivo. OBJECTIVE We examined whether serum levels of PEDF were associated with risk factors for coronary artery disease. DESIGN The study was designed as a cross-sectional study. SETTING The study was set within the general community. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS A total of 196 general Japanese residents (age 65.7 +/- 9.3 yr; 71 males and 125 females) without clinical evidence of coronary or peripheral arterial occlusive diseases were enrolled in this study. RESULTS PEDF showed a normal distribution, ranging from 8-24 microg/ml, with a mean of 14.6 +/- 3.2 microg/ml. Multivariate analyses revealed that uric acid (P < 0.001), waist circumference (P = 0.009), insulin (P = 0.019), and triglycerides (P = 0.028) were significant independent determinants of serum PEDF levels. Age- and uric acid-adjusted PEDF levels were significantly higher (P = 0.048 for men and P = 0.007 for women) in proportion to the accumulation of the number of the components of the metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSIONS The present study reveals that serum levels of PEDF are strongly associated with the metabolic syndrome. Our results suggest that serum PEDF levels may be elevated as a counter-system in the metabolic syndrome.
Residential segregation and lung cancer mortality in the United States.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between race and lung cancer mortality and the effect of residential segregation in the United States. DESIGN A retrospective, population-based study using data obtained from the 2009 Area Resource File and Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program. SETTING Each county in the United States. PATIENTS Black and white populations per US county. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES A generalized linear model with a Poisson distribution and log link was used to examine the association between residential segregation and lung cancer mortality from 2003 to 2007 for black and white populations. Our primary independent variable was the racial index of dissimilarity. The index is a demographic measure that assesses the evenness with which whites and blacks are distributed across census tracts within each county. The score ranges from 0 to 100 in increasing degrees of residential segregation. RESULTS The overall lung cancer mortality rate was higher for blacks than whites (58.9% vs 52.4% per 100 000 population). Each additional level of segregation was associated with a 0.5% increase in lung cancer mortality for blacks (P < .001) and an associated decrease in mortality for whites (P = .002). Adjusted lung cancer mortality rates among blacks were 52.4% and 62.9% per 100 000 population in counties with the least (<40% segregation) and the highest levels of segregation (≥60% segregation), respectively. In contrast, the adjusted lung cancer mortality rates for whites decreased with increasing levels of segregation. CONCLUSION Lung cancer mortality is higher in blacks and highest in blacks living in the most segregated counties, regardless of socioeconomic status.
Semi-automated pseudo colour features extraction technique for cervical cancer's pap smear images

Image analysis is one of the common applications in the medical field especially in cytology, where the microscopic examination of cells and tissues is involved. Visual interpretation of microscopic images is tedious and in many cases is error-prone. Therefore a number of attempts have been carried out using the computer vision system to supplement the human visual inspection and to automate some of these tedious visual screening tasks. This study, in effect, proposes a semi-automated method of identifying features for Pap smear cytology images; i.e. semi-automated Pseudo-Colour Feature Extraction (PCFE) technique by integrating a clustering algorithm with the manual PCFE algorithm. The technique is used to segment the cervical cell images to provide the clearly seen nucleus and cytoplasm regions and then to extract the four features of cervical cells namely the size of nucleus and cytoplasm of cervical cells, as well as their gray level. A correlation test is applied between the data extracted using the proposed algorithm and data extracted manually by cytotechnologists. The technique operates well on cervical cells images with correlation values approaching 1.0, which indicates a strong positive correlation. The analysis also favours the AFKM clustering algorithm as the best clustering algorithm to be used with the PCFE by possessing the strongest relationship in terms of the correlation value. Furthermore, this study proves that the proposed algorithm is suitable and capable to be used to detect and extract features of cervical cells even for the overlapping cervical cells' images.
Outdoor vehicle navigation using passive 3D vision

A prototype 3D vision system which uses the structure-from-motion principle is described. The system is based on the extraction and matching of image tokens such as edges and corners. The 3D locations of the causative features in the viewed scene are deduced by triangulation and are updated with each observation by application of Kalman filters. The operation of the vision system is illustrated with results obtained from sequences of natural outdoor imagery. The output of the vision-system kernel is a rich 3D representation of feature points and edges in the scene. A method is described by which surfaces can be simply constructed from this information. Results indicate that the inferred surfaces can be readily segmented into navigable and nonnavigable regions. This segmentation can be used by a path planner to select a safe and economical route for subsequent vehicle travel. A hardware realization of the vision system is discussed. <<ETX>>
Different Expression of Helicobacter pylori Gastritis in Children: Evidence for a Specific Pediatric Disease?

BackgroundInfection with Helicobacter pylori causes active chronic gastritis. Once the infection is acquired, gastritis will persist for almost the rest of one's life. To date, very few data are available on H. pylori gastritis in relation to age. Therefore, we attempted to inestigate whether H. pylori gastritis in children exhibits features different from H. pylori gastritis in adults of two different age groups.
Effects of low doses of chlormadinone acetate in the rat.

The effects of chlormadinone acetate (CA) administered im in doses of . 2-1 mb/day for 40 days on the reproductive organs and pituitary gland of the rat were studied. The . 2 mg/day regimen did not produce changes markedly different from control values. However as the dosage increased there was a parallel decrease in the weights of the testis accessory sex organs and the pituitary. Pituitary gonadotropin function and the fructose content of the coagulating gland also decreased while testicular levels of cholesterol increased. Spermatogenesis was arrested in animals receiving . 5 or 1 mg/day CA and no spermatozoa were observed in the epididymis of these animals. Immotile spermatozoa were found in the epididymides of rats receiving . 2 mg/day. The results indicate that CA is capable of selectively hindering epididymal function and maturation of spermatozoa at low doses without markedly altering pituitary gonadotropin secretion or testicular function.
Microbial Diversity and Dynamics during Methane Production from Municipal Solid Waste 2010

The objectives of this study were to characterize development of bacterial and archaeal populations during biodegradation of municipal solid waste (MSW) and to link specific methanogens to methane generation. Experiments were conducted in three 0.61-m-diameter by 0.90-m-tall laboratory reactors to simulate MSW bioreactor landfills. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes was used to characterize microbial communities in both leachate and solid waste. Microbial assemblages in effluent leachate were similar between reactors during peak methane generation. Specific groups within the Bacteroidetes and Thermatogae phyla were present in all samples and were particularly abundant during peak methane generation. Microbial communities were not similar in leachate and solid fractions assayed at the end of reactor operation; solid waste contained a more abundant bacterial community of cellulose-degrading organisms (e.g., Firmicutes). Specific methanogen populations were assessed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Methanomicrobiales, Methanosarcinaceae, and Methanobacteriales were the predominant methanogens in all reactors, with Methanomicrobiales consistently the most abundant. Methanogen growth phases coincided with accelerated methane production, and cumulative methane yield increased with increasing total methanogen abundance. The difference in methanogen populations and corresponding methane yield is attributed to different initial cellulose and hemicellulose contents of the MSW. Higher initial cellulose and hemicellulose contents supported growth of larger methanogen populations that resulted in higher methane yield. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Improved metal cluster deposition on a genetically engineered tobacco mosaic virus template

Improved depositions of various metal clusters onto a biomolecular template were achieved using a genetically engineered tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). Wild-type TMV was genetically altered to display multiple solid metal binding sites through the insertion of two cysteine residues within the amino-terminus of the virus coat protein. Gold, silver, and palladium clusters synthesized through in situ chemical reductions could be readily deposited onto the genetically modified template via the exposed cysteine-derived thiol groups. Metal cluster coatings on the cysteine-modified template were more densely deposited and stable than similar coatings on the unmodified wild-type template. Combined, these results confirm that the introduction of cysteine residues onto the outer surface of the TMV coat protein enhances the usefulness of this virus as a biotemplate for the deposition of metal clusters.
A majority of mice show long-term expression of a human beta-globin gene after retrovirus transfer into hematopoietic stem cells

Murine bone marrow was infected with a high-titer retrovirus vector containing the human beta-globin and neomycin phosphotransferase genes. Anemic W/Wv mice were transplanted with infected marrow which in some cases had been exposed to the selective agent G418. Human beta-globin expression was monitored in transplanted animals by using a monoclonal antibody specific for human beta-globin polypeptide, and hematopoietic reconstitution was monitored by using donor and recipient mice which differed in hemoglobin type. In some experiments all transplanted mice expressed the human beta-globin polypeptide for over 4 months, and up to 50% of peripheral erythrocytes contained detectable levels of polypeptide. DNA analysis of transplanted animals revealed that virtually every myeloid cell contained a provirus. Integration site analysis and reconstitution of secondary marrow recipients suggested that every mouse was reconstituted with at least one infected stem cell which had extensive repopulation capability. The ability to consistently transfer an active beta-globin gene into mouse hematopoietic cells improves the feasibility of using these techniques for somatic cell gene therapy in humans.
Replication of low-level carcinogenic activity bioassays.

Bioassay for carcinogenic activity of a number of epoxides, lactones, hydroperoxides, and peroxides was reported from the laboratory at New York University (2,3). The compounds were tested by skin application on mice, s.c. injection in mice and rats, and feeding and intratracheal instillation in rats. Another series of related compounds was more recently tested at Fels Research Institute by s.c. injection in mice (1). Included in this series were compounds such as stearic acid and 7-stearolactone which, on the basis of known structurebiological activity relationships and the known occurrence Five compounds were selected: stearic acid, methyl stÃ©arate, 7-stearolactone, p-nitroperbenzoic acid, and glycidyl stÃ©arate. The same chemical samples and the same batch of tricaprylin as vehicle were used in both laboratories. The chemicals were given s.c. to mice once weekly for 26 weeks. The conditions of the experiments, as described in the full reports (1,3) were as identical as possible. The only known difference was that the New York University experiments were with ICR/Ha Swiss Millerton female mice, whereas the Fels experiments used CFW (Swiss Webster) female mice.
A Survey on Recommendation Algorithm for Movie Recommendation on Cloud

In current era, Web is the best source for getting any information or making decision on something. People get online suggestions before making any decision such as buying any product, booking movie tickets etc. In such cases recommendation systems play important role. Recommendation System works on the data about users and items which has to be recommended. Due to huge size of data, distributed systems come into existence.
Effectiveness of acupuncture to treat irritable bowel syndrome: a meta-analysis.

AIM To evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) through meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. METHODS We searched MEDLIINE, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from 1966 to February 2013 for double-blind, placebo-controlled trials investigating the efficacy of acupuncture in the management of IBS. Studies were screened for inclusion based on randomization, controls, and measurable outcomes reported. We used the modified Jadad score for assessing the quality of the articles. STATA 11.0 and Revman 5.0 were used for meta-analysis. Publication bias was assessed by Begg's and Egger's tests. RESULTS Six randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials met the criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The modified Jadad score of the articles was > 3, and five articles were of high quality. We analyzed the heterogeneity and found that these studies did not cause heterogeneity in our meta-analysis. Begg's test showed P = 0.707 and Egger's test showed P = 0.334. There was no publication bias in our meta-analysis (Begg's test, P = 0.707; Egger's test, P = 0.334). From the forest plot, the diamond was on the right side of the vertical line and did not intersect with the line. The pooled relative risk for clinical improvement with acupuncture was 1.75 (95%CI: 1.24-2.46, P = 0.001). Using the two different systems of STATA 11.0 and Revman 5.0, we confirmed the significant efficacy of acupuncture for treating IBS. CONCLUSION Acupuncture exhibits clinically and statistically significant control of IBS symptoms.
Strategy as guided evolution

In this paper, we build on a detailed case study and the theories of evolution in social and cultural systems and intraorganizational ecology to develop a model of strategy as guided evolution. Its primary distinctions from earlier models of organizational and intraorganizational ecology lie in (i) the incorporation of an important—yet realistic—role of top management in shaping the direction and outcomes of the evolutionary processes within firms, and (ii) the incorporation of human and social capital as a critical unit of selection within such processes. We describe the model and discuss the evolutionary and ecological processes associated with it. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Firm Effects and Industry Effects in the Analysis of Market Structure and Profitability

The Federal Trade Commission's recent public policy emphasis has been on antitrust action to break up firms in certain industries. The basis for such action is often the market structure-profitability paradigm. The authors review the framework and empirical results of studies based on the paradigm, identify and demonstrate shortcomings of research in this area, propose and test a more appealing model, and conclude that the FTC cannot properly rely on findings produced by this research stream for the direction of public policy efforts.