Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Infectious complications of temporary spinal catheter insertion for diagnosis of adult hydrocephalus and idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

OBJECTIVE Spinal catheters are often inserted for treatment of cerebrospinal fluid leaks; however, they have recently been recommended for elective cerebrospinal fluid drainage to identify patients with possible normal pressure hydrocephalus who are most likely to respond to shunt surgery. The rate of spinal catheter-associated meningitis with elective spinal catheter insertion is unknown. The objective was to determine the rate of infection and risk factors associated with elective spinal catheter insertion for evaluation of hydrocephalus and idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). METHODS We retrospectively analyzed clinical and microbiological data and cerebrospinal fluid results of patients admitted during 60 consecutive months who had elective spinal catheter insertion for evaluation of normal pressure hydrocephalus or IIH. RESULTS A total of 461 spinal catheters were inserted in 454 patients, including 419 (90.9%) for treatment of hydrocephalus and 42 (9.1%) for IIH. The infection rate was 3.3% (15 out of 461 patients) for the entire cohort, 3.6% (15 out of 419 patients) for the hydrocephalus cohort, and 0% for the IIH cohort. There was one death (0.2%) in the hydrocephalus cohort. The infection rate was reduced and sustained at 1.8% for 225 catheters after the topical antiseptic was changed to chlorhexidine (two-sided Fisher's exact test; P = 0.114). CONCLUSION Although infection is the most serious complication of spinal catheter insertion for evaluation of hydrocephalus or IIH, the infection rate can be maintained below 2% with use of chlorhexidine topical antiseptic application, single-dose preprocedural antibiotic administration, and clinical surveillance of the patient. The benefit of cerebrospinal fluid drainage via spinal catheter for normal pressure hydrocephalus outweighs the risks associated with the procedure.
Surfactant protein-A reduces translocation of mediators from the lung into the circulation

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to characterize a mouse model of lung inflammation and determine the effect of surfactant protein A (SP-A, or sftpa) on the transfer of inflammatory mediators from these injured lungs into the systemic circulation. Lung inflammation was induced in either sftpa-deficient (−/−) or wild-type (+/+) spontaneously breathing, adult mice via intranasal lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Four hours later, lungs were isolated, perfused, and mechanically ventilated for 2 hours. Perfusate was collected for analysis over the duration of ventilation and lung lavage was obtained in groups of animals immediately before and after mechanical ventilation (MV). Lavage analysis showed an increase in interleukin-6 (IL6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) 4 hours after LPS, with a further increase in IL6 following MV. LPS and MV also caused an increase in total cell and neutrophil numbers as well as total protein in the lavage compared to controls. Perfusate analysis revealed a significant increase in IL6 and TNFα after LPS and MV, with significantly greater levels of these mediators in sftpa (−/−) versus (+/+) mice. The authors conclude that LPS followed by MV resulted in lung inflammation and injury, and that SP-A significantly influenced inflammatory mediator release from these inflamed lungs into the perfusate.
THE INFLUENCE OF KNOWLEDGE ACCOUNTING FUNCTION AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT ON MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEM AND ITS IMPLICATION ON MANAGERIAL PERFORMANCE

It is commonly accepted that management accounting information system is one of the most influential factor that determined managerial performance. However, the driver of management accounting information system itself is still unclearly revealed. Some studies found out that knowledge of accounting function influenced management accounting information system, whereas other studies found out that organizational commitment also influenced management accounting information system. Both, knowledge of accounting function and organizational commitment, are known as individual differences. However, there is almost no study ever done that integrates these two constructs in one integrated framework. This study integrating these two construct in one framework in an attempt to analyze the influence of individual differences on management accounting information system, and its implication on managerial performance. The unit analysis of this study are individuals, which are top manager, production manager, and marketing manager of manufacturing firms listed in Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI). Data were collected through mail survey with the sample of 204 managers. Structural Equation Modeling is used to test the research hypotheses. The result of this study shows that all of the manifest variables are reflecting their latent variables. This study also found that managerial performance would be better if individual differences fit with expectation and management accounting information system relevant with the needs of management. Keyword: individual differences, knowledge of accounting function, organizational commitment, management accounting information system, managerial performance.
Mobility management in heterogeneous IP-networks

Mäkelä, Jukka Mobility Management in Heterogeneous IP-networks Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2011, 86 p.(+included articles) (Jyväskylä Studies in Computing ISSN 1456-5390; 135) ISBN 978-951-39-4453-7 (nid.) ISBN 978-951-39-4454-4 (PDF) Finnish summary Diss. The availability of different wireless access networks offers new possibilities to create and use new services. Mobile users are able to use these services whenever and wherever they choose. Also the current trend of using online social services increases the number of users and mobile devices. The heterogeneity of the access networks in current architectures sets also several technical challenges. One of the key challenges is the support for mobility between different access networks: the mobility should be seamless to the users so that there is no interruption in the services used. This dissertation discusses research challenges and problems caused by the heterogeneity of access networks. The work includes a study and development of mechanisms which will enable and help to achieve seamless mobility in heterogeneous environment. Included is also an analysis of the current mobility management functions and protocols. The functionalities of several standard state-of-the art IP mobility protocols are introduced and the challenges of the heterogeneous environment are addressed. A special focus is on solving problems caused by mobility protocol handovers, handover decisions and on collecting and distributing mobility related information. This dissertation also shows how mobility management can work as a distributed solution in the current and future network architectures. The work resulted in several new functionalities for mobility management: a new mobility protocol, a new system for controlling vertical handovers and a framework, supporting collection, processing and distribution of mobility related events. The discussion of the problems in the heterogeneous networks and the new functionalities developed are summarized, with the detailed results and evaluation studies.
Main Principles of the General Theory of Neural Network with Internal Feedback

In this paper, a new model of formal neuron, analog mechanisms of neuron training, and a new model of biological feedback are proposed. The statement is supported by the neurobiological data published by other authors and through our experiments in silico. Key qualitative and quantitative differences of the proposed neural network model from the concept accepted today are discussed. A new concept reflects the mechanisms of memory formation. The model bridges the gap between the micro-level of the molecular processes in a neuron and the macro-level of information processing and storage in brain. Thus, an opportunity appears of modeling the processes occurring in brain, as well as developing the artificial neural networks, which are trained in a real-time mode, and are not limited in their structure and complexity of connections. The proposed model is easily implemented, both as virtual emulation and by means of digital and analog artificial neural networks.
Early response markers from video games for rehabilitation strategies

Stroke commonly leads to partial or complete paralysis of one side of the body and there is limited availability of therapists to provide rehabilitation. It is a priority therefore to identify the most effective rehabilitation strategies and/or pharmacotherapies. Motor learning, the essential process underpinning rehabilitation, can be assessed more quickly and robustly than outcomes from rehabilitation. In this paper we describe a proof of concept system utilising a commodity input device to play a bespoke video game to measure the critical components of motor learning. We demonstrate that we can detect how simple changes in therapist instruction significantly change motor performance and learning. Although video games have been shown to aid in rehabilitation, this is the first time video games have been used to derive early response markers, based on the measurement of performance and motor learning, for use in the evaluation of the efficacy of a rehabilitation strategy.
A visitor-focused study of tourism attraction in Taiwan: Empirical evidence from outbound Chinese tourists

The outbound Chinese tourists (OCTs) are now becoming a mainstream of tourist resource and serving as a catalyst for economic growth in many countries. However, the literatures so far neglected their travel behavior, travel preference and destination choice. This study has focused solely on OCTs to address behavioral differences among visitors segments and separate the tourist visitations data to look at the preferences of visitors. There are two purposes in this study: First is to explore the key factors of tourism attraction in Taiwan to OCTs, and second to identify the factors of demographic and travel behavior characteristics on tourism attraction and explain how they affect the tourism attraction. The findings indicated that OCTs were most interested in sightseeing with “Natural Scenery”, followed by “Geographical Landscape”. It also found the items that OCTs liked to tour were “Natural Landscape”, followed by “Art and Shows” and “Local Snacks and Specialties”.
The Importance of Utility Balance in Efficient Choice Designs

Choice designs traditionally have been built under the assumption that all coefficients are zero. The authors show that if there are reasonable nonzero priors for expected coefficients, then these can be used to generate more statistically efficient choice designs, because the alternatives in their choice sets are balanced in utility—they have more similar choice probabilities. The authors demonstrate that the appropriate measure of choice design efficiency requires probability centering and weighting of the rows of the design matrix, and they illustrate how this criterion enables the analyst to appropriately trade off utility balance against three other principles: orthogonality, level balance, and minimal overlap. Two methods, swapping and relabeling attribute levels, provide complementary ways to increase the utility balance of choice designs. The authors apply a process for generating utility-balanced designs to five different choice designs and show that it reduces by 10–50% the number of respondents needed to achieve a specific error level around the parameters. A sensitivity analysis reveals that these gains are diminished, but still substantial, despite strong misspecifications of prior parameter estimates.
Creating Greater Shareholder Value from Supply Chain Initiatives

It is critical for managers to identify the supply chain initiatives that create the most shareholder value. This paper presents a practical, five-step, framework to help managers address this need, as well as link supply chain strategies and investments to shareholder value by utilizing the Economic Value Added (EVA) concept. EVA can be affected by four major value drivers: revenue growth, cost efficiency, fixed asset utilization, and cash-to- cash cycle time. We conducted a large-scale empirical study in Europe that used the cash-to-cash cycle time as the key metric. The results indicate that although certain companies and industries were able to reduce their cash- to-cash cycle times, the overall improvements were only marginal. Our results show this may be because the most influential party in the supply chain optimizes its cash-to-cash cycle time performance at the expense of other supply chain partners, not fulfilling the full financial potential of supply chain management.
Model predictive control of a 3-phase grid-connected B6-inverter with LCL-filter in abc-coordinates

A MIMO1 current-control approach for 3-phase grid connected inverter systems in the abc-frame is proposed. Redundant states are eliminated and the system is controlled via an explicit MPC2-approach. To achieve steady-state accuracy, the system-model is augmented by a simplified grid-model to obtain a high dynamic control structure, which supersedes the use of resonant controllers and coordinate transformations. The developed control structure can handle balanced as well as unbalanced grid conditions without loss in accuracy and only consists of a single controller whithout any decoupling techniques. Furthermore, the property of MPC-schemes to explicitly respect state and input constraints facilitates the use of implicit flat-top alike modulation schemes to improve the efficiency for certain inverter topologies.
■ Evaluation of purification procedures for DNA extracted from organic rich samples: Interference with humic substances

A limitation of the use of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for soil DNA analysis is the contamination by humic substances. Numerous studies have been devoted to the elaboration of an effective purification method but none appears universal. During our investigations of soil bacterial changes induced by soil-feeding termites, we found that humic acid content usually impede DNA purification. Indeed, humic acids and nucleic acids share similar physicochemical properties. Here, we tested eight purification procedures including electrophoretical and chromatographical methods. The results show for DNA extracted from humic rich samples, e.g. termite mounds, that only the combination of two methods gave a DNA sufficiently pure to perform successful amplifications.
Context adaptive block scan for video coding

A new coefficient scanning method using context adaptive block scan (CABS) is presented. A number of additional scan patterns for entropy coding are employed in addition to the conventional zigzag scan. The scan pattern is adaptively selected per 4×4 block basis. In order to avoid any increment of overhead bits, the scan pattern for each block is determined in the context adaptive manner.
Restaurants and hotels expenditure in Polish households of the elderly

Abstract The age of household members is an important factor for expenditures. The aim of the study is to investigate the level of expenditure on restaurants and hotels incurred in Polish households of the elderly in 2004-2013 and to identify the factors affecting such expenditures. The source of information used in the study was the household budget survey of the Central Statistical Office of Poland. The main methods used in this study were variance analysis and regression analysis. Restaurants and hotels expenditure increases every year together with their share in total household expenditure. The most important factors affecting the restaurants and hotels spending in Polish households of the elderly are: income per capita and the level of education of the head of the family. The study on consumption determinants at different groups leads to better understanding of consumer behavior circumstances and thereby ensuring a good quality of life for the people of the elderly.
Anaerobic methane oxidation and the formation of dolomite

We examine the link between organic matter degradation, anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO), and sulfate depletion and explore how these processes potentially influence dolomitization. We determined rates and depths of AMO and dolomite formation for a variety of organic-rich sites along the west African Margin using data from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 175. Rates of AMO are calculated from the diffusive fluxes of CH4 and SO4, and rates of dolomite formation are calculated from the diffusive flux of Mg. We find that the rates of dolomite formation are relatively constant regardless of the depth at which it is forming, indicating that the diffusive fluxes of Mg and Ca are not limiting. Based upon the calculated log IAP values, log Ksp values for dolomite were found to narrowly range between 16.1 and 16.4. Dolomite formation is controlled in part by competition between AMO and methanogenesis, which controls the speciation of dissolved CO2. AMO increases the concentration of CO3 2 through sulfate reduction, favoring dolomite formation, while methanogenesis increases the pCO2 of the pore waters, inhibiting dolomite formation. By regulating the pCO2 and alkalinity, methanogenesis and AMO can regulate the formation of dolomite in organic-rich marine sediments. In addition to providing a mechanistic link between AMO and dolomite formation, our findings provide a method by which the stability constant of dolomite can be calculated in modern sediments and allow prediction of regions and depth domains in which dolomite may be forming. D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Comparison of sulpiride and chlorpromazine in psychoses

In a material of 71 patients admitted because of acute or chronic psychoses, 32 were treated with sulpiride (up to 1,800 mg per day) and 39 with chlorpromazine (up to 675 mg). Duration of treatment was from 4 to 8 weeks. The effect of the two preparations was very similar as were the type and frequency of side effects, except that sulpiride did not cause sunrash.
Delivery Competence and Penetration of Extension Services among Fish Farmers of Assam

Extension primarily deals with human resource development (HRD) and the transfer of technology and knowledge from research centres to farmers. Improving human resource development (HRD) within rural community is essential for agriculture and community development. Extension workers are professionals in the extension system responsible for developing individuals in the community. This study was carried out to investigate the competency of fisheries extension officers and the extent of penetration of Department of Fisheries initiatives in improving the awareness and knowledge of the fish farmers in the selected districts of Assam. The data were collected from 180 farmers with the help of structured and pretested interview schedule involving 15 statements developed for this purpose. From the results, based on the responses, it can be seen that the officials scored highly on technical knowledge skills (84 per cent) and managerial skills (81 per cent). They also scored well on training skills (68 per cent), communication skills (66 per cent) and social mobilisation skills (69 per cent). It was also found that majority of the fish farmers (59.44 per cent) had medium level of knowledge in respect of scientific fish culture practices.
Marketing in Turbulent Environments: Decision Processes and the Time-Sensitivity of Information

The authors study the relationship among information processing, marketing decisions, and performance in turbulent markets—i.e., markets in which the time-sensitivity of information is a major factor in decision making. Drawing on both organizational contingency theory and individual behavioral decision research, the authors suggest that successful performance depends on the congruence between the level of marketplace turbulence and the information-processing style and associated decisions adopted. They focus by way of example on the decision processes embodied in formal planning procedures. Using the results from an experiment conducted with a strategic marketing simulation game, they show that “planning” leads both to an underweighting of the time-sensitivity of marketplace information and toward a bias in favor of certain marketing decisions over others—decisions that, in this case, result in inferior performance in turbulent markets when compared with that of decision makers not engaged in formal planning. They discuss the implications of the findings for managerial behavior in turbulent markets.
Wave Propagation Mechanisms for Intra-Chip Communications

Fundamental wave propagation mechanisms for intra-chip communications in a multilayered IC chip structure are studied theoretically and numerically. The well-known Green's function representation in terms of branch cuts (continuous spectrum), residues (discrete spectrum), and direct source-receiver radiation is used to clarify important wave processes for typical intra-chip antenna structures. It is found that surface waves may or may not provide the dominant propagation channel contribution, depending on frequency and chip structure. We generalize the concept of multipath to include multiple spectral (e.g., discrete and continuous) wave components, appropriate for the near- and intermediate-field problems of interest for chip-scale propagation. The effect of a guiding layer placed either below or above the silicon substrate is considered. It is found that a guiding layer can provide enhanced single-channel signal transmission via the surface wave channel, and thereby reduce dispersion associated with multi wave component effects.