Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oxidative stress and inflammation biomarkers in the blood of patients with Huntington’s disease

Abstract Objectives: Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder for which there is no effective treatment. Oxidative stress and inflammation are known to be involved in HD, but the precise relationship between the two remains unclear. The aim of this study was to analyze oxidative stress and inflammation biomarkers in blood of patients with HD with a view to identifying potential links between them. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 13 patients with HD and from 10 age- and sex-matched controls, and the following were measured: C-reactive proteins, myeloperoxidase (MPO)/white blood cell (WBC) ratio, interleukin-6 (IL-6), thioredoxin reductase-1 (TrRd-1), thioredoxin-1 (Trx-1), total nitrites (NOx), nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and nitrotyrosine. Results: Results showed that HD is associated to a reduction of TrRd-1 and Trx-1 levels in plasma and erythrocytes, and with an increase in the MPO/WBC ratio. A positive correlation was observed between global oxidative stress (GOS) and MPO/WBC. No changes were found in NOS and Nox levels with respect to controls. Conclusion: Oxidative damage may be linked to the inflammatory response in HD, via a peripheral immune response.
Long-term Multi-granularity Deep Framework for Driver Drowsiness Detection

For real-world driver drowsiness detection from videos, the variation of head pose is so large that the existing methods on global face is not capable of extracting effective features, such as looking aside and lowering head. Temporal dependencies with variable length are also rarely considered by the previous approaches, e.g., yawning and speaking. In this paper, we propose a Long-term Multi-granularity Deep Framework to detect driver drowsiness in driving videos containing the frontal faces. The framework includes two key components: (1) Multi-granularity Convolutional Neural Network (MCNN), a novel network utilizes a group of parallel CNN extractors on well-aligned facial patches of different granularities, and extracts facial representations effectively for large variation of head pose, furthermore, it can flexibly fuse both detailed appearance clues of the main parts and local to global spatial constraints; (2) a deep Long Short Term Memory network is applied on facial representations to explore long-term relationships with variable length over sequential frames, which is capable to distinguish the states with temporal dependencies, such as blinking and closing eyes. Our approach achieves 90.05% accuracy and about 37 fps speed on the evaluation set of the public NTHU-DDD dataset, which is the state-of-the-art method on driver drowsiness detection. Moreover, we build a new dataset named FI-DDD, which is of higher precision of drowsy locations in temporal dimension.
Disability, HRQoL and resource use among chronic and episodic migraineurs: Results from the International Burden of Migraine Study (IBMS)

Background: Migraine imposes significant burden on patients, their families and health care systems. In this study, we compared episodic to chronic migraine sufferers to determine if migraine status predicted headache-related disability, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and health care resource utilization. Methods: A Web-based survey was administered to panelists from nine countries. Participants were classified as having chronic migraine (CM), episodic migraine (EM) or neither using a validated questionnaire. Data collected and then analyzed included sociodemographics, clinical characteristics, Migraine Disability Assessment, Migraine-Specific Quality of Life v2.1, Patient Health Questionnaire and health care resource utilization. Findings: Of the respondents, 5.7% had CM and 94.3% had EM, with CM patients reporting significantly more severe disability, lower HRQoL, higher levels of anxiety and depression and greater health care resource utilization compared to those with EM. Interpretation: These results provide evidence that will enhance our understanding of the factors driving health care costs and will contribute to development of cost-effective health care strategies.
ICT INVESTMENT EFFECTIVENESS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN POST OFFICE: RECONSIDERING THE APPROACHES OF THE PAST 20 YEARS

Organizations have invested and continue to invest considerable resources in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Much of this investment is made on the basis of guarantee than an expected return will occur. This study presents the results of an empirical study of the impact of ICT investment on performance at the South African Post office (SAPO). Six years of historical data, from 2005 to 2010, were obtained from the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the SAPO and analyzed. This included appropriate IT data and financial data from the organization’s financial statements and balance sheet. ICT investments were tested against financial performance indicators such as return on ICT investment, operating leverage, turnover growth, net profit, organizational risk, IT cost efficiency ratio and IT efficiency ratio. Within the period studied, it was observed that ICT investments at SAPO were negatively correlated with most of the financial indicators such as return on ICT investment, operating leverage, turn-over growth, net profit, organizational risk and IT efficiency ratio. This study therefore suggests that ICT investments at SAPO for the mentioned period did not have desirable impact on financial performance of the organization. In order to realize tangible financial benefits of the ICT investments at SAPO, the research results suggest that a longer period needs to be considered, and should also include like non-technological determinants such as competence and experience levels of IT personnel, alignment of IT strategy with business strategy and business process re-engineering to suit new systems needs to be considered too prior to making any investments in ICT. Meyer et al. ICT Investment Effectiveness in South African Post Office The African Journal of Information Systems, Volume 7, Issue 3, Article 2 28
Images of Similarity: A Visual Exploration of Optimal Similarity Metrics and Scaling Properties of TREC Topic-Document Sets

Multiple similarity measures for five TREC topic-document sets from the LDC TREC Collection Disk 1 are derived from the full text of documents. Each measure on each set is scaled using SAS MDS under ordinal, interval, and MLE assumptions. The resulting 75 permutations are ploted. It is suggested that cosine-vector and overlap measures for similarity appear to recover optimal data relationships among the documents of the five sets. MLE assumptions appear to be required to model the data adequately.
Estrogen inhibits estrogen receptor α‐mediated rho‐kinase expression in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis rats

The anti‐inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of estrogen on multiple sclerosis (MS) have been reported in previous studies. Evidence has been found that estrogen can inhibit axonal loss in the MOG‐induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model of MS. Rho‐kinase (ROCK) mediates axonal growth‐inhibitory signals via the Rho/Rho‐kinase pathway. The inhibition of ROCK decreases axonal loss in EAE. However, there is no study reporting the association between estrogen and ROCK in MS and EAE. We examined the anti‐inflammatory and axonal protective effects of estrogen and explored the probable mechanism whereby estrogen inhibits ROCK through ERα in EAE rats. Results show that 17β‐estradiol (E2) can significantly avoid the loss of neurological function in EAE rats. E2 also decreased the infiltration of inflammatory cells and cytokines including IL‐1β, TNF‐α, and IL‐17, but increased the expression of IL‐4. E2 inhibited the expression of ROCK and NF‐200 in EAE rats. The inhibitory effect on ROCK was abolished when nonselective estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist ICI 182780 was added to E2. Furthermore, the expression of ROCK was inhibited by ERα‐selective ligand agonist propyl pyrazole triol. ERβ‐selective ligand WAY‐202041 has no effect on the expression of ROCK. These observations suggest that estrogen inhibits the expression of ROCK in EAE rats and that the inhibitory effects are mediated by ERα rather than ERβ. Synapse 67:399–406, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION ACTIONS INFLUENCING INDUSTRIAL COMPETITIVENESS AND INNOVATION

The aim of this study was to understand if environmental conservation actions influence industrial competitiveness and innovation. A systematic review was performed in the Scopus® database searching for studies published between 2009 and 2016, in order to obtain the knowledge base related to the topic. Additionally, a questionnaire grounded on literature was applied to multi-sector group of 15 medium and large Brazilian companies with ISO-14000 certification. The results showed that in practice companies recognize that industrial environmental conservation actions have influence on competitiveness and innovation when companies adopt a conscious selection of materials for development of new products without environmental risks or impacts, as well as through continued improvements, innovation of company management system, processing innovations to meet environmental requirements allowing increasing their operational efficiency, processing innovations meeting environmental requirements allowing increasing its productivity, revenue generation with recyclables or wastes, and non-generation of exporting barriers, resulting in costs and losses reduction, thereby increasing the company image in market, thus practical results supported the theoretical basis grounded by Porter.
Sparsity order estimation for single snapshot compressed sensing

In this paper we discuss the estimation of the spar-sity order for a Compressed Sensing scenario where only a single snapshot is available. We demonstrate that a specific design of the sensing matrix based on Khatri-Rao products enables us to transform this problem into the estimation of a matrix rank in the presence of additive noise. Thereby, we can apply existing model order selection algorithms to determine the sparsity order. The matrix is a rearranged version of the observation vector which can be constructed by concatenating a series of non-overlapping or overlapping blocks of the original observation vector. In both cases, a Khatri-Rao structured measurement matrix is required with the main difference that in the latter case, one of the factors must be a Vandermonde matrix. We discuss the choice of the parameters and show that an increasing amount of block overlap improves the sparsity order estimation but it increases the coherence of the sensing matrix. We also explain briefly that the proposed measurement matrix design introduces certain multilinear structures into the observations which enables us to apply tensor-based signal processing, e.g., for enhanced denoising or improved sparsity order estimation.
On femtocell networks in correlated channels

The MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) system tiered with femtocellular network, namely MIMO-femtocell system accompanied with correlation channel is explored. It is known that channel correlation phenomenon definitely degrades the overall system performance of a wireless communication. Moreover, we claim that the coverage area of a MIMO-femtocell deployment will be down in size by the reason of channel correlation occurs in propagation channel. Some derived analytical closed forms are utilized to discuss the phenomenon of channel correlation exist in MIMO-FT system. An algorithm with precoding is also explored for the purpose of mitigating the effect of channel correlation.
A comprehensive review of barriers to a functional Zakat system in Nigeria

Muslims in Nigeria, like in many Muslim-majority countries, are striving to have a functional Zakat system in search of solutions to the perennial problem of poverty and its damning consequences. Nevertheless, there are still unsettled concerns arising from the current and widespread implementation of dissimilar (diverse) approaches to the Zakat system in various parts of the country. The purpose of this paper is to review comprehensively what are the hindrances of a vibrant Zakat system and how far the identified impediments may affect the system in the Nigerian context. ,The methodology adopted is the review of extant relevant literature in the field of scholarly publications. ,The findings of this study revealed that the fragmented implementation of the Zakat system within the context of the Nigerian democratic system of government lead to the weak governance with respect to law, administration and management; lack of a generally accepted fatwa from the Muslims scholars (Ulamas); absence of Zakat accounting standard; and low compliance behavior are the major barriers that require the attention of government and other stakeholders such as the traditional leaders, the accounting regulatory bodies, the Ulamas, as well as the economic and accounting researchers. ,It was recommended that the stakeholders should make concerted efforts toward ensuring success of the Zakat system for attaining salvation in the hereafter and for social security, as well as economic prosperity. ,The paper is the first paper that comprehensively reviews previous literature in the Zakat environment on factors that become barriers to implement a comprehensive Zakat system in Nigeria.
A Technique for the Numerical Solution of Certain Integral Equations of the First Kind

where the known functions h(x) , K(x, y) and g(x) are assumed to be bounded and usually to be continuous. If h(x) ~0 the equation is of first kind; if h(x) ~ 0 for a -<_ x ~ b, the equation is of second kind; if h(x) vanishes somewhere but not identically, the equation is of third kind. If the range of integration is infinite or if the kernel K(x, y) is not bounded, the equation is singular. Here we will consider only nonsingular linear integral equations of the first kind:
Predicting Business Failure for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs): The Role of Financial Ratios.

Business failure identification is an effort of early warning system of business activities in every single scale, including small medium enterprises. Mostly, business failure identification conducts in banking sector or big enterprises to detect potential bankruptcy. Since 1968, Altman already set business clasification model with Z-Score. The different result in classification is because of: First, modelling technique used in classification such as Discriminant Analysis Model, logit model, probit model or survival analysis; Secondly, data released from enterprises; Thirdly, the definition failure or not failure depends on local enterprises; Lastly, there is no standard result of testing. This research briefly reconstrucs business classification model that could contribute to develop classification model of SMEs in Indonesia as early warning system, respectively.
Input for the 2015 FM research and action agenda

One of the aims of EFMC 2009 is to develop a research agenda and action plan for Facility Management (FM) with a time horizon of at least five to seven years. In order to collect input for this agenda, the Delft Center for People and Buildings organised a number of round-table discussions with representatives of professional FM journals, FM professionals and academics. A wide variety of subjects were covered. Some of these subjects came up in almost all sessions, such as sustainability, the changing role of facility managers and facility management (from operational to strategic, from cost efficiency to added value), corporate social responsibility and FM education. Furthermore all papers that have been submitted to the EFMC 2009 research symposium have been analysed with regard to the research questions and proposed next steps. The papers show that we share one world with different problems that need joint efforts to deliver sustainable (durable) solutions. The present paper discusses a number of shared problems and challenges against the background of the key themes of EFFM 2008 - 2009. The findings from the round table discussions and the cross paper analysis have been translated in building blocks for the 2015 FM Research and Action Agenda. This agenda challenges the FM community to integrate knowledge from different research programs and projects and to get more synergy out of it, with as a final aim to contribute to sustainable solutions of societal problems, to build up a sound “evidence based” FM body of knowledge and to work on new research methods.
Transient statistics in a CO2 laser with a slowly swept pump.

The near-threshold behavior of a single-mode CO{sub 2} laser has been investigated by applying a linear modulation to the excitation current. The associated delayed bifurcation has been characterized in terms of first-passage-time distributions for different sweep rates. A theoretical model provides good agreement with the experimental data. In particular, we are able to assign the initial photon number below threshold.
Tolerance considerations for wireless backhaul diplexer circuits

A novel topology is presented which can relax fabrication tolerances associated with an E-band waveguide diplexer circuit. This is achieved by using a narrow wall short slot coupler/highpass filter configuration, in addition to a low order bandpass filter which reduces the required number of resonating structures by halve when compared to other E-band diplexers in the literature. This is advantageous when tolerance is considered as it is found that resonating structures associated with bandpass filters contribute to fabrication sensitivity. In addition to this, it is found that capacitive iris coupling has benefits over inductive iris coupling due to the positive length of the impedance inverter.
Comparative analysis of encephalization in mammals reveals relaxed constraints on anthropoid primate and cetacean brain scaling

There is a well‐established allometric relationship between brain and body mass in mammals. Deviation of relatively increased brain size from this pattern appears to coincide with enhanced cognitive abilities. To examine whether there is a phylogenetic structure to such episodes of changes in encephalization across mammals, we used phylogenetic techniques to analyse brain mass, body mass and encephalization quotient (EQ) among 630 extant mammalian species. Among all mammals, anthropoid primates and odontocete cetaceans have significantly greater variance in EQ, suggesting that evolutionary constraints that result in a strict correlation between brain and body mass have independently become relaxed. Moreover, ancestral state reconstructions of absolute brain mass, body mass and EQ revealed patterns of increase and decrease in EQ within anthropoid primates and cetaceans. We propose both neutral drift and selective factors may have played a role in the evolution of brain–body allometry.
Wiring photosynthetic enzymes to electrodes

The efficient electron transfer between redox enzymes and electrode surfaces can be obtained by wiring redox enzymes using, for instance, polymer-bound redox relays as has been demonstrated as a basis for the design of amperometric biosensors, logic gates or sensor arrays and more general as a central aspect of “bioelectrochemistry”. Related devices allow exploiting the unique catalytic properties of enzymes, among which photosynthetic enzymes are especially attractive due to the possibility to trigger the redox reactions upon irradiation with light. Photocatalytic properties such as the light-driven water splitting by photosystem 2 make them unique candidates for the development of semiartificial devices which convert light energy into stable chemical products, like hydrogen. This review summarizes recent concepts for the integration of photosystem 1 and photosystem 2 into bioelectrochemical devices with special focus on strategies for the design of electron transfer pathways between redox enzymes and conductive supports.
Budgeting and Financial Planning in UK Universities: Accuracy, Caution and Control in an Era of Financialisation

The UK higher education (HE) sector is experiencing a high level of turbulence arising from the introduction of the variable fee regime and the removal of student number controls for full-time HEU (Home/EU) undergraduates, increased competition for overseas students in an unsupportive domestic policy context, and greater government intervention in the name of marketisation and competition –which can be viewed as part of the worldwide ‘financialisation’ of universities (Parker, 2013). In such an environment, the accuracy of budgeting and financial forecasting might be expected to take on increased significance. The purpose of this study was to identify and understand the contingent factors that influence the accuracy of budgeting and forecasting in UK universities and the characteristics of financial scenario modelling in the sector. A mixed methods approach was adopted, with data collected through a comprehensive questionnaire survey of UK HE institutions and supplemented by interviews. The results reveal a degree of inertia in spite of the more dynamic and competitive external environment; traditional methods of budgeting and forecasting have been maintained and more sophisticated approaches are little in evidence. Overall, there appears to be general satisfaction with the level of budgeting accuracy, with the most significant factors affecting this found to be: the perceived accuracy of student number estimating and forecasting (where a problematic relationship with the student number planning function is evident); the difficulties caused by allowing unspent budgets to be carried forward; and the time taken to prepare budgets. Where there is a demand for greater budgeting accuracy, this seems more likely to emanate from lending banks than from senior management or governing bodies. Scenario models incorporate common drivers, but preference is shown for a simple approach – sometimes less than appears to be required by the current funding body, HEFCE. A possible explanation for the overall findings lies in the manner in which the new fees regime has played out and the growth in overseas student numbers, which have led to a period of relative financial strength for many universities, in spite of the limited availability of capital grants during a period of austerity. Thus the focus of any ‘financialisation’ has tended to be on income rather than cost control – though how long this will continue is debateable, particularly in the case of universities with a relatively weak market position. This research contributes to the limited literature on management accounting in universities, particularly in the changing UK environment, and provides additional insights to Parker’s description of financialisation. In focusing on budgeting accuracy, it also highlights an issue that, though implicit, is rarely discussed in the management accounting literature.
Prostaglandins are necessary for osteoclast-activating factor production by activated peripheral blood leukocytes

The production of osteoclast-activating factor (OAF) by normal human peripheral blood leukocytes stimulated by phytohemagglutinin was inhibited by a series of structurally unrelated inhibitors of prostaglandin synthetase. Inhibition of OAF production by these agents was reversed by adding prostaglandins of the E series back to the leukocyte suspension. These results indicate that prostaglandin synthesis is necessary for OAF production.