Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cerebral atrophy and functional deficits in alcoholics without clinically apparent liver disease

Ninety-seven chronic alcoholics, both impaired and unimpaired, without clinically evident liver disease, showed significantly more cerebral atrophy on computed tomography than age-matched neurologic controls. Age was the variable most highly correlated with cerebral atrophy measurements, and it accounted for most of the correlations between atrophy and functional impairment, except in the Wernicke-amnesic group. Analysis of the slopes of atrophy scores versus age showed a more rapid “rate” of development of cerebral atrophy in alcoholics compared with controls. There were no correlations between liver biopsy scores (51 cases), drinking history (47 cases), or dietary intake (39 cases) and cerebral atrophy measurements.
Effects of Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes (CTL) Directed against a Single Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) Gag CTL Epitope on the Course of SIVmac239 Infection

ABSTRACT Vaccine-induced cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) have been implicated in the control of virus replication in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-challenged and simian-human immunodeficiency virus-challenged macaques. Therefore, we wanted to test the impact that vaccine-induced CTL responses against an immunodominant Gag epitope might have in the absence of other immune responses. By themselves, these strong CTL responses failed to control SIVmac239 replication.
Negotiating and Planning an Evaluation: An Example from a Youth Services Work for the Dole Program Activity

This article describes the negotiating and planning of an evaluation proposal for a client, a job network agency situated in Northern New South Wales. The evaluand is a training-based Work for the Dole program activity targeted at unemployed youth and overseen by a not-for-profit community organisation. The article begins by examining the social, political and historical context in which the Work for the Dole program is embedded, and considers the potential impact of context on the evaluation process and utilisation of the results. The evaluation proposal itself covers negotiation, ethical issues, key evaluation questions and methodology. The last section of the article provides a critical review of the proposed plan and discusses potential process issues. Throughout, it is emphasised that developing an understanding of the competing values of the many stakeholders involved is fundamental to successful negotiation and planning with all those involved in the evaluation process.
Indoor mobility modelling

For the simulative and emulative performance evaluation of tactical indoor communication systems modeling mobility is an important task. Typical assumptions are a uniformly distribution of destinations, shortest paths movement without obstacles, and randomly chosen speeds. These assumptions do not hold for tactical indoor scenarios. In this paper, we introduce a new rule-based indoor mobility model for tactical scenarios. We show that the realistic modeling has a great impact on the evaluation of routing protocols. Furthermore, we demonstrate that even complex movements can be represented by small rulesets.
Selective chemical probe inhibitor of Stat3, identified through structure-based virtual screening, induces antitumor activity

S3I-201 (NSC 74859) is a chemical probe inhibitor of Stat3 activity, which was identified from the National Cancer Institute chemical libraries by using structure-based virtual screening with a computer model of the Stat3 SH2 domain bound to its Stat3 phosphotyrosine peptide derived from the x-ray crystal structure of the Stat3β homodimer. S3I-201 inhibits Stat3·Stat3 complex formation and Stat3 DNA-binding and transcriptional activities. Furthermore, S3I-201 inhibits growth and induces apoptosis preferentially in tumor cells that contain persistently activated Stat3. Constitutively dimerized and active Stat3C and Stat3 SH2 domain rescue tumor cells from S3I-201-induced apoptosis. Finally, S3I-201 inhibits the expression of the Stat3-regulated genes encoding cyclin D1, Bcl-xL, and survivin and inhibits the growth of human breast tumors in vivo. These findings strongly suggest that the antitumor activity of S3I-201 is mediated in part through inhibition of aberrant Stat3 activation and provide the proof-of-concept for the potential clinical use of Stat3 inhibitors such as S3I-201 in tumors harboring aberrant Stat3.
Flexible two‐stage design with sample size reassessment for survival trials

Flexible trials with adaptive design modification at interim analyses have been recently proposed as an answer to cope with some limitations of traditional designs for phase III trials. Actually, the sample size and duration of fixed design trials strongly depend on the determination, prior to the study, of key parameters such as the expected treatment effect and the event rates. A misspecification of these parameters may result in an underpowered or overpowered trial. In the flexible framework, the remainder of a design can be modified at an interim analysis, while preserving the initially specified global error rates. In this work, we present a flexible design with sample size re‐evaluation for survival trials and study its properties in practical settings. The results show that, if parameters are initially misspecified, the proposed method allows an improved power control with a reasonable increase in sample size, if any. Practical guidelines concerning the choice of the trial parameters are also given. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Knowledge-based consistency index for fuzzy pairwise comparison matrices

Fuzzy AHP is today one of the most used Multiple Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) techniques. The main argument to introduce fuzzy set theory within AHP lies in its ability to handle uncertainty and vagueness arising from decision makers (when performing pairwise comparisons between a set of criteria/alternatives). As humans usually reason with granular information rather than precise one, such pairwise comparisons may contain some degree of inconsistency that needs to be properly tackled to guarantee the relevance of the result/ranking. Over the last decades, several consistency indexes designed for fuzzy pairwise comparison matrices (FPCMs) were proposed, as will be discussed in this article. However, for some decision theory specialists, it appears that most of these indexes fail to be properly “axiomatically” founded, thus leading to misleading results. To overcome this, a new index, referred to as KCI (Knowledge-based Consistency Index) is introduced in this paper, and later compared with an existing index that is axiomatically well founded. The comparison results show that (i) both indexes perform similarly from a consistency measurement perspective, but (ii) KCI contributes to significantly reduce the computation time, which can save expert's time in some MCDM problems.
The art of effective handoffs: what is the evidence?

In 1999, the landmark report To Err is Human was released by the Institute of Medicine, reporting that nearly 100,000 lives a year are lost in the US due to preventable medical errors.1 Errors in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are often serious yet many are preventable. Vulnerable infants are at a particularly high risk for preventable error because of their size and immaturity. If they experience adverse drug events (ADEs) or nosocomial infections, their risk for negative long-term complications increases dramatically.2–4 In the NICU, more than half of ADEs occur in infants born at 24–27 weeks gestation, in contrast to a mere 3% in term infants.5 Further, the lowest gestation infants remain at high risk simply because they stay longer in the hospital and the opportunity for error related to communication breakdowns is greater with increasing length of stay.6
Capital Flows and the Behavior of Emerging Market Equity Returns

Foreign portfolio flows may reflect deep changes in the functioning of an emerging market economy and its capital markets. Using a database of monthly net U.S. equity flows, we investigate the relation of these flows to the behavior of equity returns, the structural characteristics of the capital markets, exchange rates, and the strength of the economy. We find that increases in equity flows are associated with a lower cost of capital, higher correlation with world market returns, lower asset concentration, lower inflation, larger market size relative to GDP, more trade, and slightly higher per capita economic growth.
Splintage in the treatment of sagittal band incompetence and extensor tendon subluxation

This study assessed the success of splintage for traumatic and atraumatic sagittal band incompetence and its relationship to the duration of symptoms before treatment. A retrospective review of all patients with sagittal band incompetence treated with splintage was performed. All patients had extensor tendon subluxation on physical examination. Ninety-two patients were included: 68 traumatic and 24 atraumatic. Subluxation resolved with splintage in 77 patients. Traumatic tendon subluxation resolved in 95% of acute injuries, 100% of subacute injuries, and 67% of chronic injures. Atraumatic tendon subluxation resolved in 100% of patients with acute presentation, 67% of patients with subacute presentation, and 57% of patients with chronic presentation. Surgery was rarely required. Splintage proved very effective for acute sagittal band incompetence, regardless of causation, but decreased in efficiency with chronicity. Level of evidence: Level 4
Active Acoustic Screening: Reduction of Noise in Gradient Coils by Lorentz Force Balancing

We have designed and constructed a quiet gradient set with restricted access for the combined purposes of evaluating the principles of active acoustic screening, recently introduced by Mansfield, Glover, and Bowtell, and for EPI studies of the head at 3.0 T. The design utilizes the return paths of the conductors in a closed arc loop arrangement to eliminate net Lorentz forces thereby attenuating acoustic noise especially at low frequency. This design should significantly reduce the dangers to patients of high noise levels, especially in high field magnetic resonance imaging systems.
Revealed Preference Tests of Utility Maximization and Weak Separability of Consumption, Leisure and Money with Incomplete Adjustment

Swofford and Whitney (1987) investigated the validity of two types of assumptions that underlie the representative agent models of modern macroeconomics and monetary economics. These assumptions are utility maximization and weak or functional separability that is required for an economic aggregate to exist. To reinvestigate the structure of the representative consumer’s preferences we develop a mixed integer programming revealed preference test with incomplete adjustment. We find that both a narrow official US monetary aggregate, M1, and a broad collection of assets are weakly separable. We further find that a modern analog of money as suggested by Friedman and Schwartz (1963) is also weakly separable. We also find that consumption goods and leisure are separable from all monetary goods. We find no evidence that official US M2 or MZERO are consistent with utility maximization and weak separability. That is, the assets in these measures do not meet the requirement for forming an aggregate over goods that is consistent with economic theory. Finally, we find that three broad categories of consumption goods, durables, nondurables and services, do not meet the weak separability conditions required for forming a consumption aggregate. However, a consumption aggregate of nondurables and services is weakly separable.
PENGARUH PROFITABILITAS, UKURAN PERUSAHAAN, LEVERAGE, UMUR PERUSAHAAN, DAN DEWAN KOMISARIS INDEPENDEN DALAM PENGUNGKAPAN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is influence of profitability, firm size, leverage, firm age, and the proportion of independent board to disclosure of corporate social. responsibility. Samples used in this study were 45 manufacturing companies listed on the Stock Exchange in 2008 until 2010 with the disclosure of social responsibility and financial summary· data can b.e obtained through the annual report, Sampling techniques performed by the method of purposive sampling and data processing peiformed by multiple linear analysis. The study was partially obtained sh.ow that profitability, jinn size and proportion of independent board effect on CSR disclosure. On the other hand, the partial results showed that the absence of leverage effect and the age of the company towards· CSR disclosure.
Firm size, ownership, training duration and training evaluation practices

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to test the mediating role of training duration in relationship between firm characteristics and training evaluation practices. In this paper, the authors also investigated if this mediating effect differs with respect to the size of the firm. Design/methodology/approach – The authors collected data from 260 professionals of 90 call centers. Findings – The authors found that training duration mediates the relationship between firm size and training evaluation. The authors also found that indirect effect of firm size on training evaluation through training duration differs across different levels of firm size but not across different levels of ownership. Research limitations/implications – This is a cross-sectional study that emphasized on training evaluation practices only. Practical implications – The study has implication for both evaluation researchers and practitioners in terms of designing training evaluation policies and practices. Originality/value – This is .
A comparison of two latency insertion methods in dependent sources applications

This paper compares two different formulations of the latency insertion method (LIM) for the analysis of circuits with dependent sources. One is the scalar LIM and the other is the amplification matrix LIM. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the scalar LIM necessitates much smaller time step than the amplification matrix LIM when handling certain types of dependent sources indicating better performance of the latter technique without a sacrifice in accuracy.
An institutional perspective on information and communication technologies in governance

2 LIST OF FIGURES . 7 LIST OF TABLES . 8 DEDICATION . 9 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . 10 PREFACE AND PUBLICATIONS . 11 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION . 13 1.
Estimating Adjustment Costs with Data on Heterogeneous Capital Goods

This paper estimates the micro-level costs of adjusting capital using detailed data on" investment decisions in the US airline industry. The data include the capital stock retirement, market values, operating costs, and utilization rates of 16 different types of capital" goods for each airline. This data on heterogeneous capital goods allows us to estimate the" desired stock of capital for each type of plane while controlling for unobserved changes in airline" profitability. The results show clear evidence of non-convex adjustment costs inaction for capital investment and quadratic adjustment costs conditional on positive or negative" investment. The adjustment costs for utilization show similar non-convexities but with smaller" adjustment costs. Aggregating to the firm level or using accounting data obscures the non-convexities and biases the estimated adjustment costs upward. "
The Decision to Internally Generate or Outsource Risk Management Activities

This study uses transaction cost economics (TCE) to identify factors influencing Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) companies’ decision to internally generate or outsource activities required to manage risk. Limited research has been conducted in TCE and risk management with most in the accounting discipline concentrating on internal audit. Increasing our understanding of risk management practices benefits organisations, accounting professionals and regulators concerned with governance practice and enables policy development to be based on informed research. Applying TCE expands the scope of the theory’s application and contributes to the body of knowledge. Using a unique data set obtained from a survey sample of 281 listed ASX companies in 2009 combined with archival data hypotheses are operationalised and analysed using multivariate and logistic regression. Broadly in line with the TCE propositions, results indicate outsourcing risk management activities are positively associated with uncertainty measured by volatile sales, environmental diversity measured by industry competition, number of subsidiaries, recent organisational changes, new management and leverage. A negative association exists between outsourcing and expenditure on research and development, environmental uncertainty measured in terms of technological change and transaction frequency. JEL: L22, L24, M41, M48
Ultrashort pulse laser ablation of dielectric materials: Experiments and modeling

The modeling of laser-excited dielectric materials requires a detailed description of the electronic excitation. Dielectric materials do not absorb visible light by traditional linear absorption, so the dynamical generation of conduction-band electrons strongly couples to the absorption. The generation of free electrons is initiated by strong-field excitation and followed by multiplication through impact ionization from energetic electrons heated by inverse bremsstrahlung. With free electrons present, absorption of the remaining part of the light pulse becomes much more efficient.
Characterization and Safety Evaluation of Exopolysaccharide Produced by Rhodotorula minuta BIOTECH 2178

Yeast exopolysaccharide (EPS) are composed of unique sugar units, which offers an interesting perspective with respect to various food applications. This study aimed to characterize the EPS from Rhodotorula minuta BIOTECH 2178. Toxicological assessment of the EPS was investigated to ensure that it is safe for human consumption. The yeast EPS revealed high total sugar composition (59.2162-47%) and low protein content (17.19%). FTIR spectrum showed prominent functional group such as hydroxyl, carboxyl, beta-linkages, glucose, mannan, and aromatic ring. SEM micrograph of EPS revealed a highly compact with elongated granular structures. Toxicological examination of EPS (50-400mg EPS/kg bodyweight) did not show any symptoms of toxicity and mortality after 14 days administration of aqueous crude EPS. Hematological and histopathological examination in the liver showed no significant alteration between the experimental and control groups. Hence, the highly compact and unique functional properties of Rhodotorula minuta EPS showed its potential application in the industry as thickening and stabilizing agent. 
Static conductivity and superconductivity of carbon nanotubes: Relations between tubes and sheets.

We relate the static conductivity of carbon nanotubes to the static in-plane conductivity of a graphite sheet and conclude that isolated single-wall nanotubes are excellent conductors. In contrast, multiwall tubes at low doping may possess conductivities substantially below that of the sum of the constituent tubes. The curvature of small tubes opens new electron-phonon scattering channels that are not available to sheets. This increases the electron-phonon coupling and yields superconducting transition temperatures for small doped tubes intermediate between those of intercalated graphite and alkali-metal-doped ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$.
Type VI Collagen Regulates Pericellular Matrix Properties, Chondrocyte Swelling, and Mechanotransduction in Mouse Articular Cartilage

Mechanical factors play a critical role in the physiology and pathology of articular cartilage, although the mechanisms of mechanical signal transduction are not fully understood. We undertook this study to test the hypothesis that type VI collagen is necessary for mechanotransduction in articular cartilage by determining the effects of type VI collagen knockout on the activation of the mechano‐osmosensitive, calcium‐permeable channel TRPV4 (transient receptor potential vanilloid channel 4) as well as on osmotically induced chondrocyte swelling and pericellular matrix (PCM) mechanical properties.
The Balanced Score Card (BSC) in Israeli Hi-Tech and Low-Tech firms

The goal of this research was to explore whether High-Tech and Low-Tech firms apply the BSC approach (13) and whether there are differences in the way and degree of BSC use among these firms. Furthermore, the research explored what are the core measures of each perspective of the BSC and whether Low-Tech and High-Tech companies differ in their use of these core measurements 215 managers from High-Tech and Low-Tech firms, answered performance questionnaire and several background questions. The results show that High-Tech firms implement the BSC model more than Low-Tech firms do. The current research also shows that the leading performance measures can be found in each perspective, and that the High-Tech firms in Israel use the leading measures that belong to the inner processes factor and part of the measures that belong to the customers and sales factor more than the Low-Tech firms. In contrast, there were no distinctive differences between these firms in the case of utilization of the leading measures of the financial factor. The meaning and implications of these findings are discussed and a shorter set of measures: The Kremer Scale of BSC Performance comprised of the core measures that belong to each of the four perspectives of the BSC model, is been proposed.
In vivo rearrangement of foreign DNA by Fusarium oxysporum produces linear self-replicating plasmids

Particular combinations of fungal strains and transformation vectors allow for fungal rearrangement of normally integrative plasmids, resulting in the creation of linear self-replicating plasmids in Fusarium oxysporum. The rearrangement results in the addition of fungal DNA, including telomere consensus sequences, to plasmid termini. The mechanism by which this rearrangement occurs is unclear, but it has similarities to extrachromosomal gene amplification. A DNA fragment which allows for linear autonomous replication upon reintroduction to the fungus was subcloned and sequenced. This DNA sequence contains the repeated telomeric sequence TTAGGG flanked by a region of twofold symmetry consisting primarily of pUC12 DNA. Isolation and identification of this sequence is the first step toward development of vectors that function as artificial chromosomes in filamentous fungi. This sequence was shown to promote autonomous replication and enhance transformation in several strains of F. oxysporum, Nectria haematococca, and Cryphonectria parasitica.