Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mesenchymoproliferative Enteropathy Associated With Dual Simian Polyomavirus and Rhesus Cytomegalovirus Infection in a Simian Immunodeficiency Virus–Infected Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta)

Opportunistic viral infections are common in simian immunodeficiency virus–infected rhesus macaques and include simian polyomavirus 40 (SV40), which causes interstitial nephritis, pneumonia, meningoencephalitis, and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy and rhesus cytomegalovirus (Macacine herpesvirus-3), which is associated with many pathologic manifestations, including the formation of neutrophil-rich gastrointestinal masses. Herein we report the findings of a simian immunodeficiency virus–infected rhesus macaque that presented to necropsy with multiple nodular masses restricted to the proximal jejunum. Histologically, the masses within the lamina propria were composed of abundant, loosely organized, mesenchymal tissue forming broad interlacing whorls and sheets admixed with variable numbers of neutrophils. Cells within the mesenchymoproliferative nodules contained numerous basophilic, intranuclear inclusion bodies with only scattered cytomegalic cells. Immunohistochemistry for rhesus cytomegalovirus and SV40 demonstrated variable numbers of immunopositive cells within the affected nodules. This report is the first description of SV40-associated pathology in the small intestine of a rhesus macaque and highlights the role that opportunistic viral infections can have on gastrointestinal pathology in immunosuppressed rhesus macaques.
Inversion for interface structure using teleseismic traveltime residuals

SUMMARY An inversion method is presented for the reconstruction of interface geometry between two or more crustal layers from teleseismic traveltime residuals. The method is applied to 2-D models consisting of continuous interfaces separating constant-velocity layers. The forward problem of determining ray paths and traveltimes between incident wave fronts below the structure and receivers located on the Earth’s surface is solved by an eYcient and robust shooting method. A conjugate gradient method is employed to solve the inverse problem of minimizing a least-squares type objective function based on the diVerence between observed and calculated traveltimes. Teleseismic data do not accurately constrain average vertical structure, so a priori information in the form of layer velocities and average layer thicknesses is required. Synthetic tests show that the method can be used to reconstruct interface geometry accurately, even in the presence of data noise. Tests also show that, if layer velocities and initial interface positions are poorly chosen, lateral structure is still recoverable. The inversion method was applied to previously published teleseismic data recorded by an in-line array of portable seismographs that traversed the northern margin of the Musgrave Block, central Australia. The solution based on interface parametrization is consistent with models given by other studies that used the same data but diVerent methods, most notably the standard tomographic approach that inverts for velocity rather than interface structure.
Knowledge sharing and safeguarding in R&D collaborations: The role of steering committees in biotechnology alliances

This research contributes to alliance governance research by demonstrating how partners' administrative controls in nonequity collaborations regulate knowledge transfers across partners. These administrative controls can take the form of board‐like joint committees having explicitly delineated authority over certain alliance activities. We illuminate governing committees as an important, albeit neglected, instrument for administrative control in the governance of non‐equity alliances, and we demonstrate that these organizational mechanisms facilitate knowledge flows within the scope of an alliance. We also show that governing committees safeguard against misappropriation hazards, particularly when a partner possesses the incentive and ability to engage in such behavior. This study extends alliance governance research beyond the implications of the equity‐nonequity dichotomy to consider a wider and richer gamut of governance instruments available to address the challenges associated with knowledge transfers in alliances.
Monitoring Institutions in Health Care Markets: Experimental Evidence

This paper investigates the impact of monitoring institutions on market outcomes in health care. Healthcare markets are characterized by asymmetric information. Physicians have an information advantage over patients with respect to appropriate treatments, which they may exploit through over- or under-provision or by overcharging. We introduce two types of costly monitoring: endogenous and exogenous monitoring. When monitoring detects misbehavior, physicians have to pay a fine. Endogenous monitoring can be requested by patients, while exogenous monitoring is performed randomly by a third party. We present a toy model that enables us to derive hypotheses and test them in a laboratory experiment. Our results show that introducing endogenous monitoring reduces the level of undertreatment and overcharging. Even under high monitoring costs, the threat of patient monitoring is sufficient to discipline physicians. Exogenous monitoring also reduces undertreatment and overcharging when performed sufficiently frequently. Market efficiency increases when endogenous monitoring is introduced and when exogenous monitoring is implemented with sufficient frequency. Our results suggest that monitoring may be a feasible instrument to improve outcomes in healthcare markets.
The County-Level Impact of Telemedicine: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis of the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Telemedicine Initiatives

Mississippi has the fewest active physicians per capita of any state, consistently struggles with high rates of acute and chronic illness, and over half of its residents live in rural areas lacking specialty medical care. In an effort to bridge the state’s geographical gap in access to healthcare, the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) has introduced telemedicine. This study conducts an analysis of some of the societal benefits of UMMC’s telemedicine initiatives using a difference-in-differences identification strategy. This model attempts to obtain the county-level causal effects of implementing telemedicine by evaluating the resulting changes in length of life, quality of life, and other relevant health outcomes. Though this study does not find any statistically significant results, many of the estimates of these changes do indicate movement in the direction of improved county health. This is encouraging given that telemedicine’s widespread use is relatively recent and the analysis may be suffering from a low incidence rate. Some of the estimates are also large with large standard errors, indicating that some telemedicine programs may have a great impact though this model is not able to accurately estimate that impact. These results provide hope that as the use of telemedicine continues to expand in the state of Mississippi collection of related data will enable further and more accurate analysis.
Comparison of the cardiovascular effects of amitriptyline and zimelidine using thoracic impedance cardiography

Twelve depressed patients were allocated to amitriptyline (7 days 75 mg nocte, increasing to 150 mg nocte) or zimelidine (100 mg nocte increasing to 200 mg nocte) in a randomised double‐blind design. Cardiovascular assessment was made at pre‐drug, 7 and 14 days using thoracic impedance cardiography, a non‐invasive technique for measurement of both cardiac output (CO) and systolic time intervals.
Brain tumor detection and segmentation using hybrid intelligent algorithms

In brain tumor diagnosis, clinicians integrate their medical knowledge and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to obtain the nature and pathological characteristics of brain tumors and to decide on treatment options. However, manually detecting and segmenting brain tumors in today's brain MRI, where a large number of MRI scans taken for each patient, is tedious and subjected to inter and intra observer detection and segmentation variability. As result a number of methods have been proposed in recent years to fill this gap, but still there is no commonly accepted automated technique by clinicians to be used in clinical floor due to accuracy and robustness issues. In our approach, an automatic brain tumor detection and segmentation framework that consists of techniques from skull stripping to detection and segmentation of brain tumors is proposed with fuzzy Hopfield neural network as its final tumor segmentation technique. Through preprocessing, image fusion and initial tumorous slice classification, the final hybrid intelligent fuzzy Hopfield neural network algorithm based tumor segmentation, and tumor region detection and extraction is achieved. The performance of the proposed framework is evaluated on various MR images including simulated and real, normal and tumorous. Quantitatively the method is validated against available ground truth using commonly used validation metrics. The final segmentation mean and standard deviation result in Jaccard similarity index, Dice similarity score, sensitivity and specificity are 0.8569+/-0.0896, 0.9186+/-0.0638, 0.9480+/-0.0402 and 0.9917+/-0.0387 respectively. Quantitative and qualitative segmentation result indicates the potential of the proposed framework.
Organizational cost of quality improvement for depression care.

OBJECTIVE We documented organizational costs for depression care quality improvement (QI) to develop an evidence-based, Veterans Health Administration (VA) adapted depression care model for primary care practices that performed well for patients, was sustained over time, and could be spread nationally in VA. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING Project records and surveys from three multistate VA administrative regions and seven of their primary care practices. STUDY DESIGN Descriptive analysis. DATA COLLECTION We documented project time commitments and expenses for 86 clinical QI and 42 technical expert support team participants for 4 years from initial contact through care model design, Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, and achievement of stable workloads in which models functioned as routine care. We assessed time, salary costs, and costs for conference calls, meetings, e-mails, and other activities. PRINCIPLE FINDINGS Over an average of 27 months, all clinics began referring patients to care managers. Clinical participants spent 1,086 hours at a cost of $84,438. Technical experts spent 2,147 hours costing $197,787. Eighty-five percent of costs derived from initial regional engagement activities and care model design. CONCLUSIONS Organizational costs of the QI process for depression care in a large health care system were significant, and should be accounted for when planning for implementation of evidence-based depression care.
Starch Structure Influences Its Digestibility: A Review.

Twenty-five years ago, it was found that a significant fraction of the starch present in foods is not digested in the small intestine and continues to the large intestine, where it is fermented by the microbiota; this fraction was named resistant starch (RS). It was also reported that there is a fraction of starch that is slowly digested, sustaining a release of glucose in the small intestine. Later, health benefits were found to be associated with the consumption of this fraction, called slowly digestible starch (SDS). The authors declare both fractions to be "nutraceutical starch. " An overview of the structure of both fractions (RS and SDS), as well as their nutraceutical characteristics, is presented with the objective of suggesting methods and processes that will increase both fractions in starchy foods and prevent diseases that are associated with the consumption of glycemic carbohydrates.
State observer design and stabilization control for a class of nonlinear systems

In this article, the design problems of full-order state observer, reduced-order state observer and dynamic output feedback stabilization control are investigated for a class of systems with nonlinear uncertainty. Inspired by Ha and Trinh (Automatica, 40, pp. 1779–1785, 2004), the nonlinear uncertainty is assumed to be a combination of a known Lipschitz nonlinear part and an unknown state-dependent part, on which there is no restriction, such as Lipschitz condition or monotonicity etc., imposed. The existence conditions and design methods of full-order and reduced-order state observers are obtained by means of linear matrix inequalities. Moreover, a dynamic output feedback control is constructively given to exponentially stabilize the closed-loop system. †This work was completed during the author's postdoctrol period in Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, Chinese Academy of Science.
A Method of Analysis of SPECT Blood Flow Image Data for Comparison with Computed Tomography

A consistent method for the qualitative analysis of regional cerebral blood flow on single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) Imaging has not yet been realized. Regional analysis usually refers an area of abnormal tracer uptake to another region of brain (e.g., the contralateral hemisphere), but region of interest size and analysis differ between Investigators. In patients who have had a stroke, the flow deficit size on the SPECT Image often appears much larger than the abnormality visualized on computed tomography (CT), and confounds attempts to differentiate between “purely” Infarcted brain tissue, ischemic brain tissue, edema, or brain tissue having diminution of flow resulting from deafferentation. The author presents a method to determine a flow deficit volume that can be easlly calculated from the SPECT Image, which yields a volume size that is equivalent to a hypothetical volume having zero blood flow. The method of calculation is objective, independent of region of interest size, and provides a SPECT volume deficit that may be correlated with the CT volume deficit, thus helping to differentiate “purely” infarcted tissue from tissue having Infarction, edema, Ischemia, and deafferentation.
Effect of pulsed output ultrasound on the transdermal absorption of indomethacin from an ointment in rats.

The effect of pulsed output ultrasound (1 MHz) with on/off ratios of 1:2, 1:4 and 1:9 on transdermal absorption of indomethacin from an ointment was studied in rats. Ultrasound energy was supplied for between 10 and 19 min at a range of intensities (1.0-2.5 W.cm-2), energy levels commonly used for therapeutic purposes. The on/off pulsed ratio, intensity and the time of application were found to play an important role in the transdermal phonophoretic delivery system of indomethacin; 1:2 pulsed output ultrasound appeared to be the most effective in improving the transdermal absorption. The highest penetration was observed at an intensity of 1.0 W.cm-2 and application time of 15 min. With pulsed output it was possible to use higher intensities of ultrasound without increasing skin temperature or damaging skin.
Philosophy of science underpinnings of prototype validation: Popper vs. Quine

Abstract. In this paper, we aim to provide prototype validation in both custom and packaged software development with a theoretical framework located within the philosophy of science. Towards that end, we consider Popperian and Quinean accounts of scientific knowledge and argue that the theoretical underpinning of prototype validation is Quine’s holistic philosophy of science, whose cornerstone principle is that all beliefs are revisable. Specifically, our thesis is that the systems developer and software consumer (user or customer) join forces – not as Popperian falsifiers, who make a decision rule to reject the prototype on account of any divergence, major or minor, from the software consumer’s mental model, but – as Quinean revisers, with the objective of fine‐tuning the prototype (or the software consumer’s mental model) so that the prototype and the software consumer’s mental model are congruent with each other. This paper suggests that prototype revisions are belief revisions, and, as such, should be guided – and are guided – by pragmatic norms, such as conservatism, simplicity and generality, and are influenced by social, or sociological, factors as well. Finally, we discuss the relevance, value and pragmatic implications of a Quinean philosophy of science framework for research and practice.
Joint power allocation and beamforming for multiuser MIMO two-way relay networks

In this paper, a multiuser cellular two-way relaying scenario is considered where multiple single-antenna mobile stations (MSs) and one multiple-antenna base station (BS) communicate, bidirectionally, via one half-duplex multiple-antenna relay station (RS). Furthermore, the case when the number of antennas at the RS is not sufficient to decode the individual messages is addressed. For this case, a two-phase two-way relaying scenario is considered. In the first phase, the multiple access, a minimum Mean Square Error (MSE) optimization problem is formulated which is found to be non-convex. Thus, an iterative scheme is proposed to compute the MS transmit powers, the BS beamforming vectors, and the corresponding RS linear receivers to minimize the maximum MSE for multiple pairs subject to power constraints on the transmitting terminals. In the second phase, the broadcast phase, the beamforming vectors at the RS are designed to minimize the maximum MSE at the MSs subject to relay power constraints, and the receivers at the BS are designed accordingly. In a two-pair scenario, simulation results are provided showing the superior performance of the proposed methods compared to earlier approaches in terms of the bit-error rate. Also, it is shown that as the system scales up in terms of signal space dimensions and number of accommodated pairs, the performance gap between the proposed scheme and the earlier approaches increases.
Dielectrophoretic investigation of plant virus particles: Cow Pea Mosaic Virus and Tobacco Mosaic Virus

This paper reports experimental results on the dielectrophoretic (DEP) behaviour on two nonenveloped plant viruses of different geometrical shapes, namely Cow Pea Mosaic Virus (CPMV) and Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV). The DEP properties of carboxy‐modified latex beads of the same size are also reported. The DEP properties of single particles were obtained from measurement of the frequency at which the DEP force on a particle goes to zero (the crossover frequency). The DEP behaviour of particle ensembles was also measured using image processing. The dielectric properties of the particles were evaluated from the DEP data. The surface conductance was found to be 0.3 nS for CPMV, 0.38 nS for TMV, and 0.52 nS for 27 nm diameter carboxy–latex beads. Data analysis has shown that the optimal condition for separation of TMV and CPMV is a low‐conductivity suspending medium – below 1 mS/m.
Face recognition via non-negative sparse low-rank representation classification

This paper presents a novel method for robust face recognition, termed non-negative sparse low-rank representation classification (NSLRRC). NSLRRC seeks a sparse, low-rank and non-negative matrix over all training samples. Sparse constraint makes representation vector discriminative, while low-rank matrix will expose the global structures of data. Meanwhile, non-negative representation vectors guarantee that the coefficients are significant and better reflect the dependence among the data. NSLRRC can approximate the test sample and classify it to the correct class on account of the minimal reconstruction residual. Extensive experiments on several public face datasets prove robustness and effectiveness of our method.
FBK’s machine translation systems for the IWSLT 2013 evaluation campaign

This paper describes the systems submitted by FBK for the MT track of IWSLT 2013. We participated in the EnglishFrench as well as the bidirectional Persian-English translation tasks. We report substantial improvements in our English-French systems over last year’s baselines, largely due to improved techniques of combining translation and language models. For our Persian-English and English-Persian systems, we observe substantive improvements over baselines submitted by the workshop organizers, due to enhanced language-specific text normalization and the creation of a large monolingual news corpus in Persian.
Revisiting the what, how and why of managerial learning: some new evidence

The relationship between individual and organisational learning remains one of the contested issues in Organisational Learning debates. It is assumed that we know enough about learning at the individual level to draw inferences about learning at the organisational level. This paper provides some new evidence about the nature of individual learning practices in organisations using the individual manager as a unit of analysis. The paper presents empirical evidence from a recent study in the Financial Services Sector in the UK in relation to the how, what and why of managerial learning within organisations. The analysis draws examples from the learning practices of managers in three retail banks and challenges the simplistic view of the relationship between individual and organisational learning currently propounded in the literature. The paper concludes with a review of the implications of the findings for the way we think about learning in organisations.
Prediction of RDS from amniotic fluid analysis: a comparison of the prognostic value of TLC and infra‐red spectroscopy

Infra‐red (IR) spectroscopy was recently shown to be a sensitive method for the determination of fetal lung maturity (Liu et al., 1998). The present study was undertaken to validate the newly developed method for prediction of RDS (Respiratory Distress Syndrome). Samples of amniotic fluid were obtained by amniocentesis from 86 patients between the 28th and 41st week of pregnancy. A small volume, 35μl, of amniotic fluid was used to acquire infra‐red spectra with a commercial spectrometer. The lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratio was determined separately by TLC (thin layer chromatography). A calibration model was established using a partial least squares regression analysis which quantitatively correlated 145 IR spectra with the TLC‐based L/S ratios; the correlation coefficient was 0·95. The model was then validated using a total of 111 spectra which also showed a high correlation coefficient (r=0·91). Based upon the clinical data associated with these samples, the prediction accuracy for the presence of RDS was 67 per cent for TLC and 83·3 per cent for IR. The accuracy for predicting the absence of RDS was 93·4 per cent for TLC and 96·8 per cent for IR. We conclude that IR spectroscopy has the potential to become the clinical method of choice for predicting RDS from amniotic fluid analysis. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Role of Perceived Supervisory Support and Communication Competency in Making Virtual Teams More Effective

Teams within an organization have to be effective if the organization is to succeed. However, advances in telecommunication, which have led to the so-called ‘global village’, have enabled organizations to deploy virtual teams, which saves space, money, and time. The factors that make such teams of geographically dispersed members effective were identified by analysing the responses of 126 employees who were members of such teams to standardized instruments and a review of relevant literature. The key components of team effectiveness turned out to be directly influenced by two main factors, namely communication competency and perceived supervisory support.