Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The phototherapy light visor: more to it than meets the eye.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of the study was to ascertain whether phototherapy light visors provide an effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder. Previous studies have demonstrated a moderate response rate but have failed to find any difference in efficacy between light intensities. METHOD Subjects were randomly assigned to receive, over a 2-week treatment period, 30 minutes of morning phototherapy with a light visor that emitted either a dim (30-lux) red light or a bright (600-lux) white light. Raters were blind to treatment, and patients were unaware of the alternatives. Response was assessed by using the structured 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, with an eight-item addendum for atypical depressive symptoms. Fifty-seven patients were enrolled across two sites. RESULTS Patients assigned to the different visors had similar baseline depression scores and similar expectations of outcome. Hamilton depression scale scores declined by 34.6% for subjects given bright white light and by 40.9% for subjects given dim red light. Scores for atypical depressive symptoms fell by 44.1% for patients assigned the bright white light visors and by 49.0% for patients assigned the dim red light visors. Altogether, 39.3% of the patients who received red light and 41.4% of the patients who received bright white light showed a full clinical response. CONCLUSIONS There were no significant differences in therapeutic response between patients who were treated with red or white light. The results of this study suggest that the phototherapy light visor may function as an elaborate placebo. Alternative explanations, however, are considered.
Integrated Design of Fault-Tolerant Control for Nonlinear Systems Based on Fault Estimation and T–S Fuzzy Modeling

This paper proposes an integrated design of fault-tolerant control (FTC) for nonlinear systems using Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) fuzzy models in the presence of modeling uncertainty along with actuator/sensor faults and external disturbance. An augmented state unknown input observer is proposed to estimate the faults and system states simultaneously, and using the estimates, an FTC controller is developed to ensure robust stability of the closed-loop system. The main challenge arises from the bidirectional robustness interactions, since the fault estimation (FE) and FTC functions have an uncertain effect on each other. The proposed strategy uses a single-step linear matrix inequality formulation to integrate together the designs of FE and FTC functions to satisfy the required robustness. The integrated strategy is demonstrated to be effective through a tutorial example of an inverted pendulum system (based on robust T–S fuzzy designs).
Acceptance of sports websites: a conceptual model

The purpose of this study is to develop a Sport Website Acceptance Model (SWAM) based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM; Davis, 1989). To better explain sports fans' decision-making processes in using sports websites, we incorporated salient consumer variables as sports involvement and psychological commitment and added trustworthiness and enjoyment to the TAM. The paper concludes with implications for future research and for application to online sports business.
COMMUNICATION GAP AND TRAINING NEEDS OF PAKISTAN'S AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AGENTS IN HORTICULTURE

Agricultural Extension is very important and modern technology can not be sent to the end users until and unless well qualified and trained Agriculture Exten sion Officers (AEOs) take this responsibility and p in point those areas which needs special attention. AEOs are key sand play crucial role in the extension services, particularly in rural development and agriculture. They play an important developmental role by impart ing and disseminating knowledge and education particularly to farmers regarding modern production technology. This study based on self assessment of the competency of AEOs in horticulture, was conducted in Khyber Pakh tunkhwa Pakistan, which is famous for fruits and vegetables . Data was collected from all the AEOs through a ma iled questionnaire. It is found that there are differenc es between the existing and expected technical comp etencies in horticulture. The study reveals that there are sign ificant differences in the technical competencies o f the agricultural officials based on by their attendance in training programs provided as well as specialization. Since productivity in many horticulture products has been declining durin g the past two decades, the need for training and i specialized scientific and technical education to e xtension officers is a dire need. Web diagram shows that AEOs urgently need in-service training to enhance their knowledge regarding horticulture. The horticulture is chosen keeping in view its economic and nutritional value and acute shortage of fruits. Moreover, the seconda ry data also support this fact (as indicated by statistics that per hectare availability is less than 144kgs (GOP 2 008-09). The problem is further complicated due to ever increasi ng population growth in the country. As a result on ly 10% of the total population can afford to buy fruits in Pakist an It is further recommended that effective measure s should be initiated in order to lessen the communication gap between the possessed and the required level of tec hnical competencies.
Treatment of severe IgA nephropathy: mycophenolate mofetil/prednisone compared to cyclophosphamide/prednisone.

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF)/prednisone to cyclophosphamide (CYC)/prednisone in the treatment of severe IgA nephropathy. METHODS Patients (n = 84) with severe IgA nephropathy received either MMF/prednisone (MMF group) or CYC/prednisone (CYC group). The MMF induction dose was 1.5 g/d for 6 months and the maintenance dose was 0.75 - 1.0 g/day for 12 months. The CYC induction dose was 0.8 - 1.0 g/month for 6 months and the maintenance dose was 0.8 - 1.0 g/3 months for 12 months. Laboratory tests, clinical remission rate and side effects were investigated. RESULTS After 18 months of treatment, the total effective rate in the MMF group was significantly higher than that of the CYC group. Patients' 24-hour urinary protein excretion in the MMF group was lower than the CYC group. Patients' plasma albumin and total protein in the MMF group was higher than the CYC group. MMF and prednisone reduced serum lipids, while in the CYC group serum lipids remained unchanged. There was also a lower incidence of adverse effects in the MMF group (4.76%) than in the CYC group (26.2%). CONCLUSION Combination therapy with MMF and prednisone for severe IgA nephropathy achieved a higher remission rate compared to treatment with CYC and prednisone. This therapy also reduced the 24-hour urinary protein and serum lipids while increasing plasma albumin and improving renal function. The incidence of adverse effects was significantly lower in the MMF group compared to the CYC group. *These authors have contributed equally to this work.
The role of external board members in high tech start-ups: a resource dependency and board capital perspective

Corporate governance research has mainly focused on outside board characteristics in explaining outside board involvement. However, also the interplay of the outside board members with the top management team (TMT) may influence board functioning, given that both are considered important organizational decision-making bodies. Building on conflict theory, we show how conflict between TMT and outside board unfolds as an important antecedent for outside board service involvement. Specifically, we study how TMT – outside board task conflict directly impacts the outside board service involvement. Moreover, we consider this relation to be mediated by TMT – outside board relationship conflict. Building on a hand-collected dataset of 70 early stage high-tech firms in Belgium, we find that TMT – outside board task conflict both has direct and indirect, i.e. through TMT – outside board relationship conflict, effect on outside board service involvement. We discuss implications for academia and practice.
The Sustainable Development of ICTs in China: An Empirical Study of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Abstract The wide application of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) has been argued to be critical to business success of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially to those in the developing countries. Drawing upon existing literature, this article will examine the determinants of ICTs application in SMEs in China based on data collected from interviews with top managers and/or owners of 70 SMEs. We identify 20 factors affecting ICTs application in SMEs in China and divide them into four broad categories, namely pressures, firm specific factors, technical factors and local milieu. We also pay special attention to the Chinese business environment affecting ICTs application. Our analysis shows that local ICT infrastructure, external pressures from competitors and ICT knowledge of employees are the determinants of Internet application by SMEs, while product characteristics and market target are important factors of e-commerce adoption.
Dual Roles for an Arginine-Rich Motif in Specific Genome Recognition and Localization of Viral Coat Protein to RNA Replication Sites in Flock House Virus-Infected Cells

ABSTRACT Assembly of many RNA viruses entails the encapsidation of multiple genome segments into a single virion, and underlying mechanisms for this process are still poorly understood. In the case of the nodavirus Flock House virus (FHV), a bipartite positive-strand RNA genome consisting of RNA1 and RNA2 is copackaged into progeny virions. In this study, we investigated whether the specific packaging of FHV RNA is dependent on an arginine-rich motif (ARM) located in the N terminus of the coat protein. Our results demonstrate that the replacement of all arginine residues within this motif with alanines rendered the resultant coat protein unable to package RNA1, suggesting that the ARM represents an important determinant for the encapsidation of this genome segment. In contrast, replacement of all arginines with lysines had no effect on RNA1 packaging. Interestingly, confocal microscopic analysis demonstrated that the RNA1 packaging-deficient mutant did not localize to mitochondrial sites of FHV RNA replication as efficiently as wild-type coat protein. In addition, gain-of-function analyses showed that the ARM by itself was sufficient to target green fluorescent protein to RNA replication sites. These data suggest that the packaging of RNA1 is dependent on trafficking of coat protein to mitochondria, the presumed site of FHV assembly, and that this trafficking requires a high density of positive charge in the N terminus. Our results are compatible with a model in which recognition of RNA1 and RNA2 for encapsidation occurs sequentially and in distinct cellular microenvironments.
Modelling of oscillations in two-dimensional echo-spectra of the Fenna–Matthews–Olson complex

Recent experimental observations of time-dependent beatings in the two-dimensional echo-spectra of light-harvesting complexes at ambient temperatures have opened up the question of whether coherence and wave-like behaviour play a significant role in photosynthesis. We carry out a numerical study of the absorption and echo-spectra of the Fenna–Matthews–Olson (FMO) complex in Chlorobium tepidum and analyse the requirements in the theoretical model needed to reproduce beatings in the calculated spectra. The energy transfer in the FMO pigment–protein complex is theoretically described by an exciton Hamiltonian coupled to a phonon bath which accounts for the pigments' electronic and vibrational excitations, respectively. We use the hierarchical equations of motions method to treat the strong couplings in a non-perturbative way. We show that the oscillations in the two-dimensional echo-spectra persist in the presence of thermal noise and static disorder.
Tools for assessing Chronical pain in rural elderly women

Assessing chronic pain in rural elderly women is critical in providing pain relief in home care patients. Findings from this study identified the Pain Thermometer as the best indicator of pain in rural elderly women. In addition, the Pain Thermometer is easy for the home health nurse to use with elderly women experiencing pain.
Genetic analysis for rice seedling vigor and fine mapping of a major QTL qSSL1b for seedling shoot length

Seedling vigor is an important agricultural trait as direct-seeded rice technology becomes widely applied. In order to investigate the genetic mechanisms underlying seedling vigor in rice, seeds of 132 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from 93-11 and PA64s, harvested from Lingshui and Hangzhou were cultivated in the nutrient solution, and four indices for seedling vigor were measured including seedling shoot length (SSL), seedling root length (SRL), seedling wet weight (SWW) and seedling dry weight (SDW). Significant correlations were observed among the indices, and also between 1000-seed weight (TSW) and SWW or SDW. Combined with a high-resolution genetic map generated from sequencing of the RILs, 65 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected on all chromosomes with interval of 1.93 Mb on average. Among 57 QTLs for seedling vigor, 28 were detected from seeds harvested in both sites and 33 were first identified. With BC3F2 derived from 93-11 and a CSSL harboring segments from PA64s in 93-11 background, a major QTL for SSL, qSSL1b was fine mapped within 80.5 kb between two InDel markers. Our study provides a platform for further cloning of the QTL and dissecting the molecular basis for seedling vigor at early seedling stage in rice.
Loss and atrophy of layer II entorhinal cortex neurons in elderly people with mild cognitive impairment

Layer II of the entorhinal cortex contains the cells of origin for the perforant path, plays a critical role in memory processing, and consistently degenerates in end‐stage Alzheimer's disease. The extent to which neuron loss in layer II of entorhinal cortex is related to mild cognitive impairment without dementia has not been extensively investigated. We analyzed 29 participants who came to autopsy from our ongoing longitudinal study of aging and dementia composed of religious clergy (Religious Orders Study). All individuals underwent detailed clinical evaluation within 12 months of death and were categorized as having no cognitive impairment (n = 8), mild cognitive impairment (n = 10), or mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease (n = 11). Sections through the entorhinal cortex were immunoreacted with an antibody directed against a neuron‐specific nuclear protein (NeuN). Stereological counts of NeuN‐immunoreactive stellate cells, their volume, and the volume of layer II entorhinal cortex were estimated. Cases exhibiting no cognitive impairment averaged 639,625 ± 184,600 layer II stellate neurons in the right entorhinal cortex. Individuals with mild cognitive impairment (63.5%; p < 0.0003) and mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease (46.06%; p < 0.0017) displayed significant losses of layer II entorhinal cortex neurons relative to those with no cognitive impairment but not relative to each other (p > 0.33). There was also significant atrophy of layer II entorhinal cortex neurons in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (24.1%) and Alzheimer's disease (25.1%). The volume of layer II was also reduced in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (26.5%), with a further reduction in those with Alzheimer's disease (46.4%). The loss and atrophy of layer II entorhinal cortex neurons significantly correlated with performance on clinical tests of declarative memory. Atrophy of layer II entorhinal cortex and the neurons within this layer significantly correlated with performance on the Mini Mental Status Examination. These data indicate that atrophy and loss of layer II entorhinal cortex neurons occur in elderly subjects with mild cognitive impairment prior to the onset of dementia and suggests that these changes are not exacerbated in early Alzheimer's disease. Ann Neurol 2001;49:202–213
Application of nanomedicine for crossing the blood–brain barrier: Theranostic opportunities in multiple sclerosis

Abstract Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune neurodegenerative disease characterized with immunopathobiological events, including lymphocytic infiltration into the central nervous system (CNS), microglia activation, demyelination and axonal degeneration. Although several neuroprotective drugs have been designed for the treatment of MS, complete remission is yet matter of debate. Therefore, development of novel therapeutic approaches for MS is of a high priority in immunological research. Nanomedicine is a recently developed novel medical field, which is applicable in both diagnosis and treatment of several cancers and autoimmune diseases. Although there is a marked progress in neuroimaging through using nanoparticles, little is known regarding the therapeutic potential of nanomedicine in neurological disorders, particularly MS. Moreover, the majority of data is limited to the MS related animal models. In this review, we will discuss about the brain targeting potential of different nanoparticles as well as the role of nanomedicine in the diagnosis and treatment of MS and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.
Optimal on-off signaling over linear time-varying stochastic channels

The problems of optimum performance and signal design for on-off signaling over linear, time-varying stochastic channels are considered. The channel is modeled as a nonstationary linear time-varying Gaussian filter with additive white Gaussian noise at its output. A new expression for the probability of error is presented and is minimized under the constraint of fixed received energy. An approximately optimum signal design method that yields the minimum probability of error is proposed.
Is creativity domain-specific? Latent class models of creative accomplishments and creative self-descriptions.

Is creativity domain-specific? We describe the value of latent class analysis for appraising domain generality, and we report two studies that explore the latent class structure of creative accomplishments (using Carson, Peterson, and Higgins’s Creative Achievement Questionnaire; n = 749) and creative self-descriptions (using Kaufman and Baer’s Creativity Domain Questionnaire; n = 3,534). For creative achievements, clear latent classes were found: the majority of people belonged to an ? uncreative? class, and smaller classes were found for visual arts and performing arts. For creative self-descriptions, however, latent classes were not found: people’s views of themselves as ? creative people? varied quantitatively but not qualitatively. Implications for the assessment and analysis of creativity are considered.
NITROGEN DYNAMICS IN THE RUMEN AND ABOMASUM OF SHEEP DETERMINED WITH 15 N-LABELLED AMMONIA OR 15 N-LABELLED DUCKWEED

An experiment was carried out to investigate the dynamics of nitrogen (N) in the rumen and abomasum of rumen and abomasum-cannulated sheep using 15 N dilution techniques. The 15 N tracer was administered into the rumen as 15 N-ammonia or 15 N-labelled duckweed and the transfer of the 15 N label to various N pools was followed. Flow of digesta from the rumen into the abomasum was ascertained by double marker technique with cobalt and acid insoluble ash as liquid digesta and particle digesta marker, respectively. Results showed that the average of rumen water volume was 4.5 l ± SEM 0.57 and the mean water flow through the abomasum (8.6 ± 0.45 l/d) was higher than outflow from the rumen (7.4 ± 0.55 l/d). Nitrogen intake tended to be higher, but total-N passing the abomasum tended to be lower when the sheep were infused by 15 N-ammonia than when they were ingesting 15 N-duckweed. The ammonia concentration in abomasal digesta was about 93 mg N/kg and non ammonia N (NAN) was about 1.58 g N/kg. The rates of flow of total-N as ammonia-N and as NAN did not differ (P>0.05) between animals or diets, with means (± SEM) of 57.7 ± 0.96 and 964 ± 2.13 mmol/d (or 0.81 and 13.5 g N/d), respectively. About 34-59% of the dietary N was removed from the rumen as ammonia (absorbed and in digesta). The enrichments of rumen ammonia N appeared to have reached plateau values after about 10 h of 15 N-ammonia infusion. The percentage of bacterial-N derived from ammonia-N (from the period of 15 N-ammonia infusion) was 53.63 % (ratio of plateau enrichments) and thus 37.47% of bacterial-N was derived from NAN sources in the rumen. The total 15 N flow through the abomasum was higher (P<0.001) when 5 N duckweed was given rather than 15 Nammonia (2.40  0.02 versus 1.29  0.02 mmol/d). The 15 N in NAN flowing to the abomasum (mmol/d) was also significantly higher (P<0.001) when 15 N-duckweed was given rather than 15 N ammonia, with means of 2.31  0.02 and 1.16  0.00, respectively. The flow of 15 N in ammonia, on the other hand, was lower (P<0.01) when sheep ingested 15 N-duckweed than when they were infused with 15 N-ammonia (0.09  0.00 v. 0.13  0.09 mmol/d).
Study on the frequency tunable ability of the varactor-loaded resonator

This work presents a study on frequency tunable ability based on varactor-loaded quarter wavelength uniform-impedance resonator (UIR). The quantitative analysis of the tunable range of the fundamental resonant frequency (→1) versus capacitance under different varactor-located position along the proposed quarter wavelength UIR is given. The methods of realizing the bidirectional tuning of →1 and independent tuning of →1 without affecting the third harmonic are presented. Accordingly, the analysis and calculated results are provided in detail.
Post-Stroke Depressive Symptoms Are Associated with Post-Stroke Characteristics

Background: Several studies have described the frequency and risk factors of post-stroke depressive symptoms (PSDS). However, most studies did not exclude patients with depressive symptoms shortly before stroke and paid little attention to prestroke risk factors of depression, including previous depressive episodes, white matter lesions, and brain atrophy. These are potential limitations to assess the true effect of stroke on the occurrence of depressive symptoms. Our aim was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of PSDS with adjustments for the previously mentioned prestroke factors. Methods: 420 consecutive patients with an acute clinical symptomatic transient ischemic attack or cerebral infarction were eligible for enrolment in this study. The presence of PSDS was rated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale 6–8 weeks after stroke. The relation between (pre-) stroke factors and PSDS was assessed with multivariate regression analysis. Results: The prevalence of PSDS was 13% and did not differ between stroke subtype or first-ever/ever occurrence of stroke. Higher degree of post-stroke handicap was related to PSDS (OR = 5.39; 95% CI = 2.40–12.08) and more functional independence had a protective effect on PSDS (OR = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.77–1.00). Conclusions: This is the largest study that investigated the prevalence and risk factors of PSDS by carefully excluding patients with depressive symptoms shortly before stroke. PSDS were not related to lesion side or location, but to the degree of post-stroke handicap and functional independence. Early detection of PSDS and their risk factors might help to predict long-term outcome and could promote early interventions of (behavioral) rehabilitation treatment strategies.