Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Examination of the association between syringe exchange program (SEP) dispensation policy and SEP client-level syringe coverage among injection drug users.

AIM To determine whether syringe exchange programs' (SEPs) dispensation policy is associated with syringe coverage among SEP clients. DESIGN Cross-sectional samples of SEPs and their clients. SETTING SEPs in California, USA. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-four SEPs and their injection drug using (IDU) clients (n = 1576). MEASUREMENTS Clients were classified as having adequate syringe coverage if they received at least as many syringes from the SEP as their self-reported injections in the last 30 days. SEPs were classified based on their syringe dispensation policy. Dispensation schemes ranging from least restrictive to most are: unlimited needs-based distribution; unlimited one-for-one exchange plus a few additional syringes; per visit limited one-for-one plus a few additional syringes; unlimited one-for-one exchange; and per visit limited one-for-one exchange. FINDINGS Adequate syringe coverage among SEP clients by dispensation policy is as follows: unlimited needs-based distribution = 61%; unlimited one-for-one plus = 50%; limited one-for-one plus = 41%; unlimited one-for-one = 42%; and limited one-for-one = 26%. In multivariate analysis, adequate syringe coverage was significantly higher for all dispensation policies compared to per visit limited one-for-one exchange. Using propensity scoring methods, we compared syringe coverage by dispensation policies while controlling for client-level differences. Providing additional syringes above one-for-one exchange (50% versus 38%, P = 0.009) and unlimited exchange (42% versus 27%, P = 0.05) generally resulted in more clients having adequate syringe coverage compared to one-for-one exchange and per visit limits. CONCLUSION Providing less restrictive syringe dispensation is associated with increased prevalence of adequate syringe coverage among clients. SEPs should adopt syringe dispensation policies that provide IDUs sufficient syringes to attain adequate syringe coverage.
A fully integrated low-power BPSK demodulator for implantable medical devices

During the past decades, research has progressed on the biomedical implantable electronic devices that require power and data communication through wireless inductive links. In this paper, we present a fully integrated binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) demodulator, which is based on a hard-limited COSTAS loop topology, dedicated to such implantable medical devices. The experimental results of the proposed demodulator show a data transmission rate of 1.12 Mbps, less than 0.7 mW consumption under a supply voltage of 1.8 V, and silicon area of 0.2 mm/sup 2/ in the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) CMOS 0.18-/spl mu/m technology. The transmitter satisfies the requirement of applications relative to high forward-transferring data rate, such as cortical stimulation. Moreover, the employment of BPSK demodulation along with a passive modulation method allows full-duplex data communication between an external controller and the implantable device, which may improve the controllability and observability of the overall implanted system.
DoE applied to two-level memory hierarchies for energy consumption reduction

Tuning cache architectures in platforms for embedded applications can dramatically reduce energy consumption. This paper presents an optimization mechanism based on the Design of Experiments (DoE) for adjusting two-level cache memory hierarchies in order to reduce the energy consumption of embedded applications. DoE is a technique used to plan experiments and in this work it was adapted for the architecture exploration problem. Preliminary results for 6 applications from the Mibench benchmark suite show an average reduction of about 6% in the energy consumption for data caches, and it has shown itself to be simpler and with lower computational cost, when compared to existing heuristics.
RIVER AVULSIONS AND THEIR DEPOSITS

■ Abstract Avulsion is the natural process by which flow diverts out of an established river channel into a new permanent course on the adjacent floodplain. Avulsions are primarily features of aggrading floodplains. Their recurrence interval varies widely among the few modern rivers for which such data exist, ranging from as low as 28 years for the Kosi River (India) to up to 1400 years for the Mississippi. Avulsions cause loss of life, property damage, destabilization of shipping and irrigation channels, and even coastal erosion as sediment is temporarily sequestered on the floodplain. They are also the main process that builds alluvial stratigraphy. Their causes remain relatively unknown, but stability analyses of bifurcating channels suggest that thresholds in the relative energy slope and Shields parameter of the bifurcating channel system are key factors.
Uncertainties on Lung Doses from Inhaled Plutonium

In a recent epidemiological study, Bayesian uncertainties on lung doses have been calculated to determine lung cancer risk from occupational exposures to plutonium. These calculations used a revised version of the Human Respiratory Tract Model (HRTM) published by the ICRP. In addition to the Bayesian analyses, which give probability distributions of doses, point estimates of doses (single estimates without uncertainty) were also provided for that study using the existing HRTM as it is described in ICRP Publication 66; these are to be used in a preliminary analysis of risk. To infer the differences between the point estimates and Bayesian uncertainty analyses, this paper applies the methodology to former workers of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), who constituted a subset of the study cohort. The resulting probability distributions of lung doses are compared with the point estimates obtained for each worker. It is shown that mean posterior lung doses are around two- to fourfold higher than point estimates and that uncertainties on doses vary over a wide range, greater than two orders of magnitude for some lung tissues. In addition, we demonstrate that uncertainties on the parameter values, rather than the model structure, are largely responsible for these effects. Of these it appears to be the parameters describing absorption from the lungs to blood that have the greatest impact on estimates of lung doses from urine bioassay. Therefore, accurate determination of the chemical form of inhaled plutonium and the absorption parameter values for these materials is important for obtaining reliable estimates of lung doses and hence risk from occupational exposures to plutonium.
Localization for Mobile Sensor Networks in Mines

Emergency situations in a mining environment have the potential for the loss of human life. Tracking mobile assets and personnel can significantly improve the safety of all miners. Existing distributive localization algorithms are not well suited for a mobile asynchronous mine environment. We propose the Mobile Cooperative Localization Algorithm (MCLA) to increase the accuracy and number of nodes which are localized. The proposed algorithm has been validated through simulation using ns-3 and demonstrates an increase in accuracy for a mobile distributed environment.
ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS, ACCOUNTING INFORMATION QUALITY AND SERVICE QUALITY

The research method used is descriptive and explanatory survey verificative. The sampling technique used was simple random sampling at four public banks which exist in the city, these banks include: 1) Bank Rakyat Indonesia, 2) Bank Mandiri, 3) Bank Negara Indonesia, and 4) Bank Tabungan Negara. The number of respondents who collected a total of 42 respondents. Data was collected by distributing questionnaires conducted from December 2012 to late January 2013. Analysis of the data used was Partial Least Square with SPSS version 20.
Induction of Functional Hepatocyte-Like Cells by Overexpression of FOXA3 and HNF4α in Rat Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Liver regeneration has always been of great therapeutic interest, particularly to generate hepatocytes from other types of cells including adult stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. In this study, it was found that overexpression of both FOXA3 and HNF4α can convert rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) to functional hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs). The results show that these HLCs had the typical hepatocyte morphology with unique hepatocyte markers such as ALB, G6P, KRT18, TAT, TTR, KRT19 and AFP. Simultaneously, they also exhibited hepatic functions such as glycogen storage, indocyanine green absorption, and cytoplasmic accumulation of neutral triglycerides and lipids. In addition to that, these functions could be maintained in the process of cell culture, thus suggesting that FOXA3 and HNF4α are powerful transcription factors for inducing rat BMSCs to differentiate into functional HLCs, and this study will provide a novel method to generate HLCs.
Computed Tomography-Based Navigation for Hip, Knee, and Spine Surgery

A review of CT-based orthopaedic navigation is presented with a specific emphasis on arthroplasty for the hip and the knee. Fundamental issues about the laboratory and clinical validation of the applications are addressed. The ability to compute the position and orientation of an acetabular implant using a postoperative CT scan was investigated. Angle deviations relative to known positions were computed with an error of less than 1 degree. Then, the system accuracy for three-dimensional reconstruction and registration of two cadaveric pelvis specimens was measured with more than 350 registrations. We observed a maximal inclination error of 5° in 99% of cases and a maximal anteversion error of 5° in 97% of cases. The accuracy of the three-dimensional reconstruction and registration for knee arthroplasty also was measured and computed with an angular accuracy of 0.5° in the AP plane and accuracy of 3° in the lateral plane. A clinical study then was done in 109 cases where 96% of implants were installed with a hip-knee-ankle angle of 180 ± 3°. Computed tomography-based navigation for orthopaedic surgery provides greater accuracy and reproducibility than conventional surgery. As noted by learning curves, software improvements are needed to bring it into daily clinical routine.
Two — Photon Rydberg excitation of trapped strontium ions

A trapped ion quantum computer usually uses the motional modes of the ion crystal to exchange quantum information and to generate entanglement. As the number of ions in a trap is increased, the motional modes become progressively more complicated and their energy spacing is reduced. This makes the entangling operation increasingly difficult. An alternative method for a trapped-ion quantum computer may be realised by exciting some of the ions to Rydberg states. The large polarizability of Rydberg ions modifies the trapping potential thus allows tailoring the motional modes for entanglement operations [1]. Additionally entangling gates may be realised using the dipole interaction between Rydberg ions, without using motional modes at all [2,3].
Selected topics in capacity and sustainability investments from the perspectives of pricing and carbon emission

As a result of global climate change and oil price volatility, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability have become top policy priorities around the world. Meanwhile, the global energy demand may grow by more than one-third after about twenty years, with the expectation that the global electricity demand will continue to grow more strongly than any other final form of energy. So it is crucial to find ways to achieve efficient capacity investments for electricity and efficient environmental sustainability investments for products. On the other hand, an efficient pricing mechanism of electricity can facilitate efficient capacity investment for electricity, and reducing carbon emission is essential to achieve environmental sustainability. Therefore, in this thesis we study capacity and sustainability investments from the perspectives of pricing and carbon emission. Three fundamental topics, which can be considered as foundations for future research, are studied in this thesis. In the first topic, we consider the determination of the optimal capacity and pricing policies for an electricity company. The time of electricity usage consists of two periods, namely the non-peak period and the peak period. Two technologies are considered to generate electricity, where the first technology is used to generate electricity for the demands in both periods and the second technology is used to generate electricity only for the demand in the peak period. The company offers customers two tariffs, namely the flat rate (FR) tariff and time-of-use (TOU) tariff. Under the FR tariff, customers pay a flat price for electricity consumption in both periods. Under the TOU tariff, customers pay a high price and a low price for electricity consumption in the peak period and non-peak period, respectively. We first study a model with price inelasticity of total demand. Customers
Being A Hospice Volunteer Influenced Medical Students’ Comfort with Dying and Death: A Pilot Study

Being comfortable with death and communicating with patients near the end of life are important attributes in palliative care. We developed a hospice volunteer program to teach these attitudes and skills to preclinical medical students. Using a mixed-methods approach, validated surveys measured participants’ and non-participants fear of death and communication apprehension regarding dying. Journals and focus groups examined participants’ subjective experiences as their patient relationships evolved. Survey scores were significantly lower for participant hospice volunteers, indicating lower levels of death anxiety and communication apprehension regarding dying. An explanatory framework, using journals and focus groups, captured participants’ sense of development over time into three categories: challenges, learning, and growth. This pilot project provides insight into the medical students’ experiential learning as they participate in our hospice volunteer program.
Dialogue Management for an Automated Multilingual Call Center

The AMITIES project (Automated Multilingual Interaction with Information and Services) has been established under joint funding from the European Commission's 5th Framework Program and the U.S. DARPA to develop the next generation of empirically-induced human-computer interaction capabilities in spoken language. One of the central goals of this project is to create a dialogue management system capable of engaging the user in human-like conversation within a specific domain. The domain we selected is telephone-based customer service where the system has access to an appropriate information database to support callers' information needs. Our objective is to automate at least some of the more mundane human functions in customer service call centers, but do so in a manner that is maximally responsive to the customer. This practically eliminates all prompt or menu based voice response systems used at commercial call centers today.
Portfolio Based Risk Pricing: Pricing Long Term Put Options with Gjr-Garch (1,1)/Jump Diffusion Process

This article proposes a portfolio-based pricing method to evaluate risk and systematically consider risk premium. The risk premium is charged to satisfy risk management and return on risk capital requirements. The P&L distributions are priced based on Value-at-Risk and return on capital approach. The pricing generating process is explicitly presented using an example of Standard and Poor 500 index (SPX) put options. While the complete list of risk factors is extensive, here we focus on three major concerns an option underwriter has to consider: (1) non-log-normal distribution of the underlying asset, such as stochastic volatility and/or jumps, (2) transaction costs in dynamic hedging, (3) risk premium for unhedgeable remaining basis risk. With these complications, the final profit and loss to the option underwriter is no longer certain. The underwriter has to develop a formal procedure which would allow him/her to relate the P&L distribution at maturity to a (dollar) value of the derivative security. We can exactly fit the implied volatility "smile" or "smirk" curve of the one-year SPX options (liquid Exchange market) in term of slope and volatility values. It is then used to price five-year out-of-the-money put (non-liquid over-the-counter market). In total, the implied volatility is about 10% to 40% higher than the historical one. This numbers are consistent with the behavior of S&P500 market.
Technology Adoption in Complex Systems

Adoption of information technology remains an important consideration in IS research. With the growing number of complex systems being implemented within the organizations, there also exists a need to understand these systems, their adoption and post adoption behavior. This study focuses on these issues. We develop a description of complex technologies. Subsequently we extended the technology acceptance model to include perceived risk of use, as a new construct in the nomological network leading to, post-adoptive exploration of complex technologies.
Ownership structure, voluntary R&D disclosure and market value of firms: the French case

R&D disclosure is strategic decision directed at investors. However, voluntary R&D disclosure can lead to a higher proprietary cost and could benefit competitors. The main purpose of the present paper is to determine whether voluntary R&D disclosure impacts the firm's market value. On the basis of 84 French firms studied over the 2000-2004 period, we developed and hand-collected 32 items from annual reports to establish a voluntary R&D disclosure index. Using a three-stage multivariate analysis approach, our results provide some important insights. First, we document that the more the French firms invest in R&D, the larger the amount of R&D-related information they disclose. Second, we show that it is the increase in R&D spending rather than the voluntary R&D disclosure per se that improves the market value of equity. Finally, we find that minority ownership do not affect voluntary R&D disclosure and that family firms are more prone to retain R&D information.
Green supply chain management practices in Malaysia

The purpose of the study is to determine the green practices that integrate environmental concerns into supply chain management among the industries in Malaysia.The review is focused on practices of green supply chain management (GSCM) implemented in Malaysian industries. Secondary data was used in this study, where a detailed review of previous researches in sorting out the literature and develop the research direction of the study.By comparing studies from past researches, it results that eco-design, green purchasing and reverse logistics are the most adopted green supply chain practices in Malaysia industries.These green practices may help in lowering the environmental impacts.
Investigation of the competitiveness of a textile and apparel manufacturer : a case study in Taiwan

Given the severe global competition and the manufacturing challenges, retaining competitiveness in the textile and apparel (T&A) industries has become crucial for manufacturers. To achieve this, although historically manufacturers have been regarded as mainly production orientated, a number of them have occupied a primary intermediary position by applying the mechanisms of industrial upgrading and instituting new product development (NPD) in their businesses together with the synergy of alliances and networks. This has enabled the manufacturers to provide various products and services to international buyers. The Taiwanese T&A manufacturers can serve as a good example. They have managed to retain their competitiveness in the global industry for the last half century by continuously evolving their businesses and acquiring extensive capabilities. To achieve competitiveness in the T&A sectors, strategic planning that can lead to competitive advantages is required. NPD has emerged as a source of business competitiveness and its success determinants can lead to competitive advantages. Supply management, particularly partnering relationships, is crucial to manufacturers? competitive advantage, since no single firm can possess all the necessary resources and capabilities. Against this background, this study has constructed a research framework, in line with the resource-based view (RBV) and transaction cost theory (TCT), in order to explore how competitive advantages can be achieved, which can lead to manufacturers? competitiveness. An in-depth case study of a representative Taiwanese manufacturer has been employed and examined. The selected Taiwanese T&A manufacturer has acquired resources, various (dynamic) capabilities and knowledge through its NPD process, resulting in core competences and sources for competitive advantages. It has become a lead firm in its supply chain/network, deploying a variety of partnering relationships in order to conduct NPD activities strategically, and has vertically integrated T&A NPD. This has allowed it to provide an increasing variety of new products and services, in order to serve a wider range of customers, thus continuously acquiring business opportunities in dynamic markets. This study has found that the manufacturers in the T&A industries can adopt more proactive strategic modes in NPD activities, to enhance NPD outcomes and their relationships with buyers. It is important for manufacturers to acquire crucial and complementary resources/capabilities through strategic networks, developing alliances to strategically plan and implement NPD. Operational relationships need not only to be viewed in relation to their immediate cost reduction benefits, but also to be extended to longer-term collaborations, in order to achieve competitive advantage deriving from evolving products and cost benefits based on a holistic and strategic view of the business.
Connecting forensic odontology among medical practitioners in central Kerala – An original study

Introduction and Background: The word forensic, defined by Clark, is derived from the Latin word “forensis,” which means “before the forum. ” Odontology refers to the study of teeth. Even though the scope of forensic odontology is well established among dental professionals, its practical application lies largely in the hands of medicolegal professionals. The interaction between the above mentioned two communities is highly crucial for the proper application of forensic odontology in medicolegal issues. Aim: The main aim of this study is to analyze the knowledge, attitude, and practice of forensic odontology among medical practitioners in central Kerala since they are the connecting link between victims and the forensic odontologists. Results: A total of 200 medical practitioners had participated in the study, and the response rate was 100%. The study indicated that medical practitioners who are having an experience of above 15 years had more knowledge regarding forensic odontology when compared with those below 15 years of experience. However, the awareness of modern technologies in forensic odontology and latest techniques to register dental markings were found to be more prevalent among doctors with less than 15 years of experience.