Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cognitive impairment after stroke: frequency, patterns, and relationship to functional abilities.

Cognitive function was examined in 227 patients three months after admission to hospital for ischaemic stroke, and in 240 stroke-free controls, using 17 scored items that assessed memory, orientation, verbal skills, visuospatial ability, abstract reasoning, and attentional skills. After adjusting for demographic factors with standardised residual scores in all subjects, the fifth percentile was used for controls as the criterion for failure on each item. The mean (SD) number of failed items was 3.4 (3.6) for patients with stroke and 0.8 (1.3) for controls (p < 0.001). Cognitive impairment, defined as failure on any four or more items, occurred in 35.2% of patients with stroke and 3.8% of controls (p < 0.001). Cognitive domains most likely to be defective in stroke compared with control subjects were memory, orientation, language, and attention. Among patients with stroke, cognitive impairment was most frequently associated with major cortical syndromes and with infarctions in the left anterior and posterior cerebral artery territories. Functional impairment was greater with cognitive impairment, and dependent living after discharge either at home or nursing home was more likely (55.0% with, v 32.7% without cognitive impairment, p = 0.001). In a logistic model examining the risks related to dependent living after stroke, cognitive impairment was a significant independent correlate (odds ratio, OR = 2.4), after adjusting for age (OR = 5.2, 80 + v 60-70 years) and physical impairment (OR = 3.7, Barthel index < or = 40 v > 40). It is concluded that cognitive impairment occurs frequently after stroke, commonly involving memory, orientation, language, and attention. The presence of cognitive impairment in patients with strike has important functional consequences, independent of the effects of physical impairment. Studies of stroke outcome and intervention should take into account both cognitive and physical impairments.
Detection of Breathing

Acoustic signals originate by the flow of air through the trachea during breathing. These signals are possible to pick-up by microphone. This paper describes a method of the breathing detection based on the sensing of acoustic signals in trachea. Parameters of the breathing, detection inspiration and expiration and apnoea pause are possible to determine from these signals. This method is simple and easy to use, portable and provides an accurate measurement and seems to be well suited for use as a modern breathing monitor.
Trust and Innovation: From Spin-Off Idea to Stock Exchange

Trust among entrepreneurs, their co-workers and between the entrepreneurs and their business partners plays a key role in the early stages of formation of a new company. In this piece of research, trust is defined as a belief consisting of eight trusting beliefs, emphasising the rational consideration between these beliefs and other situational factors. The concept of trust is developed through objects, mechanisms and antecedents. The present paper is an empirical exploration of these phenomena in the context of innovativeness in a high-tech company. The goal is to describe the role, content and impact of trust at the different stages of a business evolution process.
A Review on Tuning of Extended Kalman Filter using Optimization Techniques for State Estimation

estimation is the common problem in every area of engineering. There are different filters used to overcome the problem of state estimation like Kalman filter, Particle filters etc. Kalman Filter is popular when the system is linear but when the system is highly non-linear then the different derivatives of Kalman Filter are used like Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), Unscented Kalman filter. But these estimation techniques require tuning of process and noise covariance matrices. The different optimization techniques are used to tune the filter parameters of EKF. In this paper, various optimization techniques have been studied for non-linear state estimation based on EKF.
The Value of Dual-Class Shares in Switzerland

We analyze the effect of dual-class structures on shareholder value of Swiss companies. Switzerland presents an ideal setting for studying the deviations from the one share-one vote rule due to the traditional popularity of multiple share classes. After accounting for self-selection into dual or single share category, we find strong positive effect of dual-class shares on firm value. Analysis of acquisition activities reveals that dual-class firms do not perform worse in acquisitions; contrary to that, in the recent years or among firms with low and moderate market-to-book values the returns to acquisitions are improved due to the dual-class structure.
Susceptibility of Clinical Isolates of Burkholderia pseudomallei to a Lipid A Biosynthesis Inhibitor

Abstract. Burkholderia pseudomallei is the causative agent of melioidosis, a serious infection associated with high mortality and relapse. Current antimicrobial therapy using ceftazidime (CAZ) is often ineffective. Inhibitors of LpxC, the enzyme responsible for lipid A biosynthesis, have potential antimicrobial activity against several Gram-negative bacteria in vivo, but their activity against B. pseudomallei is unclear. Herein, we investigated the susceptibility of B. pseudomallei clinical isolates to LpxC-4, an LpxC inhibitor, and LpxC-4 in combination with CAZ. Time-kill assays for bactericidal activity were conducted for B. pseudomallei K96243, revealing growth inhibition and bactericidal effect at LpxC-4 concentrations of 2 μg/mL and 4 μg/mL, respectively. No significant synergistic effect was observed with the combination of LpxC-4 and CAZ. LpxC-4 susceptibility was tested on three groups of clinical isolates:1) CAZ- and trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole (SXT)–susceptible (N = 71), 2) CAZ-resistant (N = 14), and 3) SXT-resistant (N = 23) isolates, by broth microdilution. The minimum concentration of LpxC-4 required to inhibit the growth of 90% of organisms was 2 μg/mL for all isolates. The median minimum inhibitory concentration of both the CAZ/SXT-susceptible and CAZ-resistant groups was 1 μg/mL (interquartile range [IQR] = 1–2 μg/mL), compared with 2 μg/mL (IQR = 2–4 μg/mL) for the SXT-resistant group. Cell morphology was observed after drug exposure by immunofluorescent staining, and a change from rod-shaped to cell wall–defective spherical cells was observed in surviving bacteria. LpxC-4 is a potent bactericidal agent against B. pseudomallei and warrants further testing as a new antibiotic to treat melioidosis.
YOUNG CONSUMERS’ DEMAND FOR NATURAL SWEETENERS

Health conscious consumers are increasingly concerned about the caloric content and glycemic index of sweeteners added to food. Currently, the average American consumes 22 teaspoons of added sugar in processed foods per day. Young people typically consume higher amounts of sweeteners via candy, sports drinks, and soda (Smed, Jensen et al. 2007). Recently, the American Heart Association issued a statement recommending no more than six teaspoons for women and nine teaspoons for men of added sugar in processed foods per day (Winslow and Wang 2009). Of particular concern is the glycemic index of sweeteners—or how quickly sweeteners raise one’s blood sugar level after consumption. While much of recent concern about added sugar focuses on high fructose corn syrup, other industries, including the honey and beet sugar industries, are likely to be affected by these new recommendations and consumer sentiment. The objective of this research is to measure young consumers’ values of natural sweeteners’ glycemic index and to relate this information to their personal risk-preferences and relationships. This research generates needed information for policy regarding refined sugars and natural sweeteners in processed foods. Our primary hypothesis is that the value of natural sweetener alternatives with different glycemic indexes varies with consumers’ health consciousness. Further, consumers’ valuations are influenced by their own underlying health-risk assessments and social and familial relationships. We hypothesize consumers’ economic risk preferences are correlated with their demand for natural sweetener alternatives. We also hypothesize social and family relationships effect the stability of individual preferences for natural sweeteners.
Development and Characterization of Non-Ionic Surfactant Vesicles(Niosomes) for Oral delivery of Lornoxicam

Niosomes are non-ionic surfactant vesicles obtained on hydration of synthetic nonionic surfactants, with or without incorporation of cholesterol or other lipids. They are vesicular systems similar to liposomes that can be used as carriers of amphiphilic and lipophilic drugs. Niosomes are promising vehicle for drug delivery and being non-ionic, it is less toxic and improves the therapeutic index of drug by restricting its action to target cells. They are lamellar structures that are microscopic in size. They are now widely used as alternative to liposomes. Niosomal dispersion in an aqueous phase can be emulsified in a non-aqueous phase to regulate the delivery rate of drug and administer normal vesicle in external non-aqueous phase. Stable niosome dispersion must exhibit a constant particle size and a constant level of entrapped drug. Span 60 is the better surfactant of all because it is having high phase transition temperature and low HLB (Hydrophilic Lipophilic Balance) so it will form vesicles of good size.one more reason for the selection of span 60 and that was the critical packing factor which is between 0.5 and 1 for this surfactant so it forms spherical vesicles. If CPP factor is below 0.5 it cause micelles to form and if it was above 1 it will form inverted vesicles. Lornoxicam loaded niosomes were prepared by Lipid film hydration method with different surfactant to cholesterol ratio. The niosome formulations were evaluated for FT-IR study,microscopy. The niosomal suspensions were further evaluated for entrapment efficiency, In vitro release study, Kinetic data analysis, Stability study. The formulation F4 which showed higher entrapment efficiency of 80.54 ±0.99. Release was best explained by the zero order kinetics. Kinetic analysis shows that the drug release follows super case II transport diffusion. Niosome formulation has showed appropriate stability for 90 days.
Determinants of physical functioning in coronary patients: response to cardiac rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND Coronary heart disease is a major cause of disability. There has been little study of the effect of cardiac rehabilitation on measures of self-reported physical functioning. METHODS Physical functioning was measured using the Medical Outcomes Study-Short-Form Questionnaire. Determinants of physical function were analyzed in 303 patients with coronary heart disease. Response of physical function to a 3-month exercise rehabilitation program was then determined. RESULTS At baseline, women had lower physical function scores than men, despite similar age and diagnostic distribution. Older patients had lower physical function than younger patients. Aerobic exercise capacity, leg and arm strength, and comorbidity and depression scores were all significant predictors of baseline physical function (r range, 0.46 to -0.22). Physical function score increased significantly after exercise conditioning, with a mean (+/- SD) overall score increase from 66 +/- 23 to 80 +/- 20 on a scale of 0 to 100. The best baseline determinant of a favorable physical function improvement after rehabilitation was a low baseline physical function score. The best training-related correlate of improved physical function score was a decrease in mental depression score. CONCLUSIONS Self-reported physical function in coronary patients is related to age, sex, fitness, and mood state. Physical functioning improves after cardiac rehabilitation in all age, sex, and diagnostic groups, but particularly in patients with low baseline values. These data support the concept that cardiac rehabilitation effectively prevents and treats cardiac disability.
The inhibitory factors of implementing internet banks

The purpose of this study is to explore the inhibitory factors that affect the implementation of Internet Banks (IBs) in Taiwan and provide suggestions for the banks that fail to implement internet banks. This study compiles the factors according to Rogers' Innovation Diffusion theory and the result of the literature review. Then, we collect data from the questionnaire survey and analyse the data by using Principle Component Analysis and the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results indicate that the inhibitory factors that affect IBs' implementation can be divided into three aspects: internal organisation, external environment and innovative technology. The aspects above include 17 measurement variables.
On the Automated Segmentation of Epicardial and Mediastinal Cardiac Adipose Tissues Using Classification Algorithms

The quantification of fat depots on the surroundings of the heart is an accurate procedure for evaluating health risk factors correlated with several diseases. However, this type of evaluation is not widely employed in clinical practice due to the required human workload. This work proposes a novel technique for the automatic segmentation of cardiac fat pads. The technique is based on applying classification algorithms to the segmentation of cardiac CT images. Furthermore, we extensively evaluate the performance of several algorithms on this task and discuss which provided better predictive models. Experimental results have shown that the mean accuracy for the classification of epicardial and mediastinal fats has been 98.4% with a mean true positive rate of 96.2%. On average, the Dice similarity index, regarding the segmented patients and the ground truth, was equal to 96.8%. Therfore, our technique has achieved the most accurate results for the automatic segmentation of cardiac fats, to date.
A combined method for multi-class image semantic segmentation

Multi-class image semantic segmentation (MCISS) is one of the most crucial steps toward many applications related with consumer electronics fields such as image editing and content-based image retrieval. Existing MCISS approaches often consider only the top-down process and suffer from poor label consistency among neighboring pixels. To overcome this limitation, this paper proposes a combined MCISS method to integrate a state-of-the-art topdown (TD) approach Semantic Texton Forests (STF) and a classical bottom-up (BU) approach JSEG to exploit their relative merits. Experimental results on two challenging datasets show that the proposed method can achieve higher accuracy in comparison with the original STF method, while it does not notably prolong the computational time. In addition, several insights into the evaluation metrics of MCISS are reported.
MPPT techniques for PV systems

This paper propose a detailed comparative survey of four maximum power tracking techniques: Perturb and Observe (P&O), Incremental Conductance (InC), fuzzy logic based tracking technique and a, less known, method using only the photovoltaic current measurement. The drawback of the three studied methods; P&O, InC and one sensor algorithm, is that at steady state the operating point oscillate around the maximum power point, giving rise to the waste of the output panel's available energy. Simulation results show that the proposed fuzzy logic controller (FLC) can provides faster and stable tracking maximum power as compared to the other studied methods.
Occurrence of Atopic Diseases in Three Generations

The incidence of asthma, hay fever and atopic dermatitis was assessed in three generations in 2820 families by a questionnaire. 35% of the families were atopic when the histories of parents and grandparents were included. 64% of atopic children had atopy in probands and the corresponding figure for non-atopic individuals was 31%. The highest prevalence of atopy was found in the parents' generation (13.5%) but it did not differ significantly from that of the children (10.8%) when compared with grandparents (7.6%). The results suggested an increasing prevalence of children's atopic dermatitis in Finland since the 1950s. The influence of heredity was apparent. Few geographical differences were observed.
Complete Genome Sequence of the Salmonella enterica Serovar Paratyphi A Bacteriophage LSPA1 Isolated in China

ABSTRACT The bacteriophage LSPA1 was isolated from hospital sewage (Kunming, China), and lytic activity was demonstrated against the Salmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi A CMCC50973 strain. This bacteriophage has a 41,880-bp double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genome encoding 58 coding sequences (CDSs) and belongs to the family Siphoviridae.
Serum Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin as a Predictor of Organ Recovery from Delayed Graft Function after Kidney Transplantation from Donors after Cardiac Death

Because of a worldwide shortage of renal grafts, kidneys procured from donors after cardiac death (DCD) have recently become an important source of renal transplants. However, DCD kidneys often have complications with delayed graft function (DGF) and recipients require hemodialysis (HD) in the early period after kidney transplantation (KTx). This study evaluated serum NGAL as a potential specific parameter to predict early functional recovery of transplanted DCD kidneys. The average serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) level in normal samples was 53 ± 30 ng/ml, while that in patients with chronic renal failure requiring HD was markedly raised at 963 ± 33 ng/ml. In patients undergoing a living-related KTx from a living donor (n = 11), serum NGAL level decreased rapidly after KTx, and only in two cases, with serum NGAL levels over 400 ng/ml on postoperative day 1 (POD1), was HD required due to DGF. In contrast, all patients undergoing a KTx from a DCD (n = 5) required HD due to DGF. Even in these cases, serum NGAL levels decreased rapidly several days after a KTx prior to the recovery of urine output and preceding the decrease in serum creatinine level. The pattern of decline in serum NGAL was biphasic, the decrease after the second peak indicating a functional recovery within the next several days. These data suggest that monitoring of serum NGAL levels may allow us to predict graft recovery and the need for HD after a KTx from a DCD.
The Trueblood Study Group on the Objectives of Financial Statements (1971-73): A Historical Study

This paper examines the background and work of the AICPA’s Accounting Objectives Study Group, chaired by Robert M. Trueblood, which issued its important report in October 1973. In particular, the research is informed by interviews with three members of the Study Group and with four of the principal members of its research staff. Evidence is presented on the members of the Study Group who supported, or did not support, various positions in the report, including their apparent reasons, as well on the influential role of the staff in shaping the report. The conclusion is that the full-time staff, abetted by the financial analyst member of the Study Group, played the key role in driving the thrust of the final report, which recommended that financial statements should provide users with information about the cash-generating ability of the enterprise, and eventually the cash flow to the users themselves. This recommendation resonated with the FASB and with standard setters around the world.
Neoliberalism and Social Security

The stagnant wages, worsening distribution of income, and slower economic growth that have resulted from neoliberalism have weakened Social Security’s future viability. Moreover, the prediction of a future “crisis” for Social Security is based on the assumption of continued antiworker neoliberal policies, and neoliberal policy proposals to “save” Social Security have provided a rationale for redistributing tax burdens away from the rich and further promoting the neoliberal agenda.
Response of chemosensitive and chemoresistant leukemic cell lines to drug therapy: simultaneous assessment of proliferation, apoptosis, and necrosis.

BACKGROUND The balance between cell proliferation and drug-induced cell death by apoptosis or necrosis plays a major role in determining response to chemotherapy. Commonly-used DNA analysis methods cannot study both parameters simultaneously. A new approach described here combines a green fluorescent membrane-intercalating dye (PKH67) with Hoechst 33342 or annexin V and propidium iodide, to allow simultaneous assessment of cell division, cell cycle status, apoptosis, and necrosis, respectively. METHODS To test this approach, we used cultured K562 leukemic cell lines which are drug-sensitive (K562S) or drug-resistant (K562R) by virtue of whether they lack or exhibit expression, respectively, of the gp-170 (PGP) glycoprotein pump involved in multidrug resistance. RESULTS We found that: 1) PKH67 fluorescence intensity decreases proportionately to number of cell divisions, 2) labeling with PKH67 does not alter either cell cycle distribution, as assessed by vital DNA staining with Hoechst 33342, or cell growth, and 3) using a simple threshold analysis method suitable for real-time sorting decisions, subpopulations of proliferating cells present at initial levels of >/= 10% can readily be detected after two cell division times, based on decreased PKH67 intensity. Finally, we demonstrated that after treatment of an admixture of K562S and K562R with vincristine, triple-labeling with PKH67, annexin V, and propidium iodide can be used to identify and sort those cells which remain not only viable (nonnecrotic, nonapoptotic) but actively dividing (decreased PKH67 intensity) in the presence of drug. CONCLUSIONS Although the studies described here were carried out in a model system using cells having known drug resistance phenotypes, we expect that the methods described will be useful in ex vivo studies of clinical leukemic specimens designed to identify the role played by specific chemoresistance proteins and mechanisms in therapeutic outcomes for individual patients.