Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Symptomatic hyperlactataemia: an emerging complication of antiretroviral therapy

BackgroundFatal lactic acidosis is a serious complication of therapy with nucleoside analogues. ObjectiveTo examine symptomatic hyperlactataemia in HIV-infected adults treated with antiretroviral drugs. MethodsIn this prospective study, arterial blood lactate levels were measured in patients presenting with unexplained clinical symptoms. When these levels were high, functional respiratory tests (FRT) were carried out. Liver or muscle biopsies were further proposed. Incidences were calculated by comparison with the entire cohort of patients treated in the department. ResultsFourteen HIV-infected adults treated with antiretroviral drugs were identified with symptomatic hyperlactataemia during a 2-year period follow-up study. The incidence of hyperlactataemia was 0.8% per year but reached 1.2% if only patients treated with a regimen including stavudine were considered. Clinical symptoms included abnormal fatigue, tachycardia, abdominal pain, weight loss, peripheral neuropathy, and more specifically exercise-induced dyspnoea occurring despite effective antiretroviral treatment. FRT showed a metabolic deviation towards anaerobiosis with a high lactate/pyruvate ratio. Ultrastructural mitochondrial abnormalities were seen in all four patients for whom this was examined. There was a marked decrease in complex IV activity in muscle biopsies from four of five patients, consistent with a mitochondrial dysfunction. Evolution was favourable in 13 patients, probably because of an early diagnosis. ConclusionsPotentially fatal adverse events occurring during antiretroviral treatment may be avoided by close monitoring of clinical signs and blood lactate levels. If other studies confirm that the cumulative long-term toxicity of antiretroviral drugs results from mitochondrial dysfunction, the incidence of hyperlactataemia and its clinical consequences may become more important.
Improved proton spectroscopy at 7T using localized B1 calibration

Introduction At high magnetic fields of 7 T and above there is a large variation of B1 over the subject due either to the sample-induced inhomogeneities and the frequent use of local Tx/Rx coils in the absence of a transmit body coil. Therefore, accurate tip angle calibration techniques are very important, and simple slice-selective methods which are normally used at lower field strengths can lead to suboptimal results at high field. Many different approaches already exist for tip angle mapping, based on repeated measurements with different tip angles [1], repetition times [2], or ratios between spin echoes and stimulated echoes [3, 4]. However, these are either lengthy procedures, or measure the average tip angle in a slice which is suboptimal when there is a large variation within the slice. The technique introduced in this abstract is very fast (less than 5 s), is volume selective and is integrated into the scanner software to automatically calibrate the scanner for subsequent scans. In this study, we compared the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of spectra acquired with this new technique with the standard technique available on the scanner [3] Methods The tip angle is determined in a volume of interest using the ratio of two stimulated echoes for a four-pulse sequence (figure 1). A 3D volume is selected using four slice selective RF pulses played out on the frequency, phase and slice axes. Two stimulated echoes (STE) are acquired while carefully spoiling all other FID and echo pathways. The ratio of these two stimulated echoes is given by:
Balancing Security and Efficiency for Smart Metering Against Misbehaving Collectors

Smart grid enables two-way communications between smart meters and operation centers to collect real-time power consumption of customers to improve flexibility, reliability, and efficiency of the power system. It brings serious privacy issues to customers, since the meter readings possibly expose customers’ activities in the house. Data encryption can protect the readings, but lengthens the data size. Secure data aggregation improves communication efficiency and preserves customers’ privacy, while fails to support dynamic billing, or offer integrity protection against public collectors, which may be hacked in reality. In this paper, we define a new security model to formalize the misbehavior of collectors, in which the misbehaving collectors may launch pollution attacks to corrupt power consumption data. Under this model, we propose a novel privacy-preserving smart metering scheme to prevent pollution attacks for the balance of security and efficiency in smart grid. It achieves end-to-end security, data aggregation, and integrity protection against the misbehaving collectors, which act as local gateways to collect and aggregate usage data and forward to operation centers. As a result, the misbehaving collectors cannot access or corrupt power usage data of customers. In addition, we design a dynamic billing mechanism based on individual power consumption maintained on collectors with the verification of customers. Our analysis shows that the proposed scheme achieves secure smart metering and verifiable dynamic billing against misbehaving collectors with low computational and communication overhead.
CEO Cultural Background and its Relation to Companies’ Performance in Europe

This paper is an exploratory study into the equivocal relationship between the CEO and his or her cultural background and how it relates to the company performance. Drawing from Upper Echelons Theory, the theoretical approach is to pit the organizational adaptation and organizational disruption views against each other to determine which determinants can be traced to which outcomes. Diversity is approached from a new direction, through a variety of cultural indices ranging from the Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions (Hofstede et al. 2010) to Kaufmann’s (2004) Corporate Ethics and Governance Indices that are applied as measures in random effects (WLS) regressions. A manually collected data set for 600 large European companies between 2006-2015 is used, and altogether 1017 unique succession events are studied. Distinct differences are found between firms that pursue foreign CEO hires compared to firms that stick with traditional domestic CEOs, and certain deviations are also found in the characteristics of the CEOs. The outside-recruiting firms (a) perform better pre-succession contrary to common assumptions, (b) are more geographically diversified, and (c) tend to keep the CEOs for a shorter period than other firms keep domestic CEOs. Post-succession performance is not found to be correlated with whether the CEO is foreign or not, but some variation seems to be attributable to specific cultural differences. Multiple citizenships, on the other hand, have a very positive relation to the two-year post-succession ROA, and the effect also holds for Tobin’s Q.
Cyclic AMP and immune responses. I. Influence of poly A:U and cAMP on antibody formation in vitro.

In tests with sheep red blood cells as antigen, both poly A and poly A·poly U (= polyA:U) stimulated the appearance of antibody-forming mouse spleen cells under in vitro conditions, poly A:U being more potent than poly A. High concentrations of the single- or double-stranded polynucleotides were less effective than low concentrations, and very high concentrations of poly A:U inhibited the responses. Pretreatment of cells with poly A:U prior to cultivation produced as good or better responses than did the incorporation of polynucleotides into the medium, but such pretreatment was ineffective when poly A:U-treated cells were subsequently exposed to trypsin. Lymphocytes, rather than macrophages, seem to be the principal targets of stimulation. The modification of antibody formation in vitro can be attributed to an alteration of cyclic AMP-mediated events, particularly since cAMP itself as well as the supplementation of poly A:U with theophylline (a known stabilizer of cAMP levels) can increase the number of antibody-forming cells that can be activated in vitro in the presence of a given amount of antigen.
Metodología para el análisis de costos y beneficios de proyectos Smart Grid y su aplicación en un piloto de medición inteligente de energía (AMI)

The aim of this paper is to present a methodological approach to obtain the cost-benefit impact at environmental and socioeconomic level, related to the integration of Advanced Measurement Infrastructure into utilities and their residential customers. The methodology used to quantify the costs and benefits of implementing such technology was established by the European Union and adjusted to the local context. It is worth highlighting that this methodology can be used to evaluate any kind of Smart Grid project. The socioeconomic benefits estimated in this research were related to job creation, energy consumption decrease, reduction of non-technical losses, and the reduction of CO2 emissions. An economic analysis using the net present value is presented here for assessing the impact caused by smart metering implementation.
An Aerosolized Brucella spp. Challenge Model for Laboratory Animals

To characterize the optimal aerosol dosage of Brucella abortus strain 2308 (S2308) and B. melitensis (S16M) in a laboratory animal model of brucellosis, dosages of 103–1010 colony forming units (CFU) were nebulized to mice. Although tissue weights were minimally influenced, total CFU per tissues increased beginning at 106–107 CFU dosages, with 109 CFU appearing to be an optimal dosage for S16M or S2308 aerosol delivery. At 12 weeks after vaccination with 107 CFU of B. abortus strain RB51 (SRB51) or saline (control), mice were challenged intraperitoneally (i.p.) (6.4 × 104 CFU) or via aerosol (1.76 × 109 CFU) with S2308. Mice vaccinated with SRB51 had reduced (P < 0.05) splenic, liver and lung colonization (total CFU and CFU/g) after i.p. challenge with S2308 as compared with control mice after i.p. S2308 challenge. Control and SRB51‐vaccinated mice did not differ (P > 0.05) in splenic, liver or lung colonization after aerosol S2308 challenge. Failure to demonstrate vaccine protection was not because of a high aerosol challenge dosage as colonization of spleen and liver tissues was lower (P < 0.05) after aerosol challenge when compared with control mice after i.p. S2308 hallenge.
Better together? A case study of collaborative internationalization

Objectives of the Study Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly striving for international markets to survive the global competition. To overcome their deficiencies in contra to large multinational corporations the SMEs utilize alliances, despite the fact that many of the collaborations fail. The objective of this thesis was to study the rationale for utilizing an alliance when entering international markets. Further, Russian market was used as a specific example to review whether it alters the propensity to collaborate. Academic background and methodology The study combined the research streams of SME internationalization, alliance theory, and theories on Russian market to build a comprehensive picture on the existing knowledge. Literature review findings were abductively tested using an empirical case study of Airport Concepts –alliance. The empirical results were compared with the literature by means of the resource-based view. Findings and conclusions The primary finding of the study suggests that SMEs utilize alliances for entering foreign markets because of alliance’s capability to offer resources required by internationalization. The specific resource types that matched the demand and supply were identified as knowledge, marketing, networks, technology, and economies of scale. The rationale behind cooperation was also found to be closely tied with the contextual environment of the company. Research’s secondary finding is that Russian market evidently increases the predisposition to collaborate and use alliances.
Measurement of udder volume in live goats as an index of mammary growth and function.

Abstract The measurement of mammary gland volume in living goats can be used as a measure of the tissue weight in most adult animals. In 28 animals, where the method was checked at death, volume measurement in life by displacement of water showed an error of±11% and by making a Ca alginate mould of±2%. The weight of the two glands can be estimated separately from the ratio of their milk yields. Data are presented of changes of empty udder volume during pregnancy and lactation and of the rate of accumulation of milk in the udder between milkings. The rate of mammary growth was greatest in late pregnancy and there is probably an increase in extracellular fluid in the udder at term. During lactation the rate of decline in milk yield was greater than the rate of fall in tissue volume. There is a significant correlation between mammary gland weight and milk yield at peak lactation in goats.
Linear scaling method for phonon calculations from electronic structure.

We present a method for phonon spectrum calculations from electronic structure calculations that scales linearly with system size. It allows computation of the dynamical matrix and phonon structure of systems of unprecedented size. The method is based on (i) use of localized wave functions to describe the electronic states, (ii) truncation of the dynamical matrix beyond a cutoff, and (iii) reconstruction of the spectrum of the sparse dynamical matrix by the maximum entropy approach of Drabold and Sankey. We test the method with a tight-binding Hamiltonian for carbon, on a 216 atom supercell in the diamond structure, and in fullerene balls of up to 3840 atoms.
A survey of human-centered intelligent robots: issues and challenges

Intelligent techniques foster the dissemination of new discoveries and novel technologies that advance the ability of robots to assist and support humans. The human-centered intelligent robot has become an important research field that spans all of the robot capabilities including navigation, intelligent control, pattern recognition and human-robot interaction. This paper focuses on the recent achievements and presents a survey of existing works on human-centered robots. Furthermore, we provide a comprehensive survey of the recent development of the human-centered intelligent robot and discuss the issues and challenges in the field.
Ultrasonic Surgery of the Central Nervous System

The President of the Symposium in his opening address referred to the first paper on ultrasonic diagnosis read at the 1955 Symposium in London and to the way in which the new departure had become accepted as part ofneuroradiology. As the author of the 1955 paper, I now venture to suggest a su~ject that will become accepted by the Symposium of 1973. Ever since the original paper, one has been tempted to look forward to the day when ultrasonic tomograms through the skull would replace the encephalogram. Nearly eleven years of experience has convinced me that the physical limitations imposed by the cranial vault make such an end-result very unlikely. The future of ultrasonic tomography is in the soft tissues that are not protected by dense bone, e.g. the liver, the eye, the uterus, etc. For the past five years I have been engaged in work on the ultrasonic destruction of the vestibular apparatus of the inner ear by the technique first invented by ARSLAN (1964). His position as the 'Father of Ultrasonic Surgery' is as unique as that of DUSSIK in ultrasonic diagnosis. The use of highly focused ultrasound has been developed in the U.S.A. by FRY and his colleagues, by MEYERS, and by LELE & BASAURI. These investigators established the remarkable sensitivity of nerve tissue to ultrasound and,
Security Breaches in the U.S. Federal Government

Many organizations rely on decade-old legacy IT systems, which were not designed to address contemporary cybersecurity risks, to run their core business operations. Some professionals argue that the legacy systems significantly increase security incidents in the organizations. Other professionals disagree with this claim and argue that the legacy systems are “secure by antiquity”; due to lack of adequate documentation on the legacy systems, they argue that it is very difficult and costly for potential attackers to discover and exploit security vulnerabilities in the systems. To the best of our knowledge, there is a shortage of theory and empirical evidence in the literature to explain if and how legacy systems affect security risks. We build on routine activity theory to address these questions. We choose the U.S. federal government as our empirical context of inquiry. We find that federal agencies that have more legacy IT systems experience more frequent security incidents than ones with more modern IT systems. A 1%-point increase in investments in new IT system development is associated with a 5.6% decrease in the number of security incidents. Furthermore, migration of the legacy systems to the cloud is negatively associated with security incidents. These findings contribute to the literature on strategic information systems management by providing new theory and empirical evidence that counter the “security by antiquity” argument.
The Effect of Flux Diverters on Energy Storage Capacity and Heat Losses in a HTS SMES

Energy storage capacity and the heat losses are key factors in superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES). In this paper, the use of flux diverters to increase the energy storage capacity and reduce the heat losses is analyzed in a HTS SMES magnet. The analysis is carried out using a 100 kJ SMES model based on FEM. The location, the geometry shape and the material configuration of flux diverters are investigated. To get an accurate loss reduction, magnetic losses of flux diverters are considered in heat loss calculation. The results show flux diverters are effective in the rated condition. Because the flux distribution is affected by the saturation level of flux diverters, the effect is related to the operating current.
Superiority of Fluorescein Isothiocyanate (Riggs) for Fluorescent-Antibody Technic with a Modification of its Application

Summary 1) The globulin fractions of antisera representing bacterial, viral, mycotic agents and antiglobulin fractions were labeled with 2 derivatives of fluorescein amine by 3 methods. 2) Fluorescein isothiocyanate was shown to be superior in stability, ease of conjugation, and degree of fluorescence. This direct method of adding the dye to a dilute buffered antiserum eliminates the need for organic reagents which may denature the protein.
Insulin analogues display atypical differentiative activities in skin keratinocytes

Abstract Background: We have previously shown that both insulin and IGF1 lead to increased proliferation of keratinocytes. However, whereas insulin supports keratinocytes differentiation, IGF1 inhibits this process. The aim of the present study was to examine the proliferative and differentiative effects of insulin analogues (glargine, detemir, lispro and aspart) in primary keratinocytes in comparison with insulin and IGF1. Methods: Primary keratinocytes cultures were produced from newborn BALB/c mice skin. Proliferation rates were assessed by [3H]-thymidine incorporation and XTT assays and differentiation was evaluated by Western blots analysis. Insulin receptor and IGF1 receptor phosphorylation was assessed by immunoprecipitation assays. Results: Treatment with glargine or detemir resulted in an insulin-like effect on the differentiation process whereas lispro and aspart treatment led to an IGF1-like effect. In addition, treatment of keratinocytes with aspart led to a rapid phosphorylation of the IGF1 receptor. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence that insulin analogues elicit atypical actions in the skin.
Anterior cruciate ligament fibroblast response to changes in polymer nanofiber scaffold composition

Ruptures and tears of soft tissues are among the most commonly reported injuries in the United States. Upwards of 100,000 anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions are performed each year[1], with repair procedures involving grafting, implantation, or suturing of partially torn tissue[2]. Our long term goal is to develop a functional scaffold system that will guide ligament tissue formation while also possessing both biomimetic structural and mechanical properties. Specifically, scaffold mechanical properties must adequately match those of the bulk tissue, while also providing an environment that promotes matrix deposition and withstands physiological loading of the tissue construct. Polymeric nanofibrous scaffolds have been suggested as a means of enabling functional ACL repair{ref}. In particular, scaffolds fabricated from polylactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) and poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) have been evaluated for a variety of orthopaedic applications [3]. Although the biocompatibility of these polymers has been previously evaluated, it is currently unknown how the composition-dependent mechanical properties of these scaffolds (Table 1) affect cellular response. Therefore, in order to optimize this system (which system? optimal scaffold for ACL? ), the objective of this study was to evaluate the biosynthesis, proliferation, and gene expression of ACL fibroblasts when cultured on both PLGA and PCL nanofibers. It was hypothesized that the nanofiber matrix will support ligament fibroblast growth and differentiation, while substrate composition and mechanical properties will affect cellular response.
A Programmable Enforcement Framework for Security Policies

This thesis proposes the MAP-REDUCE framework, a programmable framework, that can be used to construct enforcement mechanisms of different security policies. The framework is based on the idea of secure multi-execution in which multiple copies of the controlled program are executed. In order to construct an enforcement mechanism of a policy, users have to write a MAP program and a REDUCE program to control inputs and outputs of executions of these copies. This thesis illustrates the framework by presenting enforcement mechanisms of non-interference (from Devriese and Piessens), non-deducibility (from Sutherland) and deletion of inputs (a policy proposed by Mantel). It demonstrates formally soundness and precision of these enforcement mechanisms. This thesis also presents the investigation on sufficient condition of policies that can be enforced by the framework. The investigation is on reactive programs that are input total and have to finish processing an input item before handling another one. For reactive programs that always terminate on any input, non-empty testable hypersafety policies can be enforced. For reactive programs that might diverge, non-empty downward closed w.r. t. termination policies can be enforced.
Personalized Tag Recommendation Based on Transfer Matrix and Collaborative Filtering

In social tagging systems, users are allowed to label resources with tags, and thus the system builds a personalized tag vocabulary for every user based on their distinct preferences. In order to make the best of the personalized characteristic of users’ tagging behavior, firstly the transfer matrix is used in this paper, and the tag distributions of query resources are mapped to users’ query before the recommendation. Meanwhile, we find that only considering the user’s preference model, the method cannot recommend new tags for users. So we utilize the thought of collaborative filtering, and produce the recommend tags based on the query user and his/her nearest neighbors' preference models. The experiments conducted on the Delicious corpus show that our method combining transfer matrix with collaborative filtering produces better recommendation results.