Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical and Molecular Aspects of Molluscum Contagiosum Infection in HIV-1 Positive Patients

Molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV) lesions from 31 human immunodeficiency type 1 (HIV-1) positive patients and 54 HIV-1 negative adult control patients were examined for the presence and type of MCV DNA by high stringency Southern hybridization using 32P-labelled or digoxigenin-labelled MCV DNA probes. Of the 83 patients whose lesions contained detectable MCV DNA, 77 were infected with a single type of MCV (16 with MCV 1; 29 with MCV 1v; 30 with MCV 2; and 2 with MCV 2v). Five patients had apparent double infections, with hybridization results indicating the presence of various combinations of MCV 1 or lv and MCV 2 or 2v. When these results were analysed in the light of clinical data no correlations were found between the MCV type(s) detected and the clinical stage of HIV-1 infection; nor between the MCV types and the anatomical site of the lesions or persistence of infection. However, the HIV-1 positive patients were significantly more likely to be infected with MCV types 2 or 2v than were the controls (17/29, 59% versus 15/48, 31%; P<0.05). Since a concurrent study of MCV lesions in children aged 15 years or less has shown that the percentage of infections attributable to MCV 2 or 2v is extremely small (3%), this finding suggests that MCV lesions in HIV-1 positive patients are attributable to adult-acquired MCV infection rather than to reactivation of a childhood infection.
Locally controlled as‐rigid‐as‐possible deformation for 2D characters

Due to its practical use in animation and image editing, two‐dimensional shape deformation has received great attention during the past decades. The traditional paradigms, spreading local modifications over the whole shape, will cause a global deformation. For the simultaneous realization of the local control and preservation of the rigidity of the shape, a novel deformation method is proposed for point, skeleton, and cage handles. Our framework can be accomplished in terms of the minimization of the improved as‐rigid‐as‐possible energy with local and smooth penalties, named locally controlled as‐rigid‐as‐possible energy. The visually pleasing experiment results demonstrate the success of our method in two‐dimensional character deformation.
Denoise-and-Forward Two-Path Successive Relaying With DBPSK Modulation

To recover the spectral efficiency (SE) loss caused by the half-duplex mode, this letter proposes a denoise-and-forward two-path successive relaying (DNF-TPSR) scheme, in which channel state information is not required. With differential binary phase-shift keying (DBPSK) modulation, the mixed signals received at the relay are mapped into a denoised symbol, and the destination uses the denoised symbol received in the previous time slot to cancel the inter-relay interference in the current time slot. We derive the end-to-end bit error rate (BER) and the diversity gain, which are validated by the simulation results. Although DNF-TPSR could not achieve the BER of half-duplex relay selection scheme, the SE is significantly improved by our proposed DNF-TPSR. Moreover, the BER and the SE of DNF-TPSR outperform that of direct transmission and full-duplex relaying with residual self-interference exceeding a certain level.
Inferences from Financial Statements of Legally Registered Mafia Firms in Italy

In this dissertation we examine labor tax avoidance, expenses manipulation and accrual management within a sample of 224 Italian firms defined as legally registered Mafia firms (LMFs), due to having been confiscated by judicial authorities in relation to alleged connections of their owners with Italian organized crime. Based on the insights gained, we further develop a predictive model that can contribute to the detection of LMFs. Overall, our results reveal that, before being confiscated, LMFs engage more in labor tax avoidance and accrual management relative to lawful firms (LWFs). Furthermore, LMFs upward manage material expenses and downward manage personnel and service expenses with a cumulative negative effect on reported cash flow relative to sales. On the other hand, following their confiscation and consequent assignment to legal administrators, practices of LMFs mostly become insignificantly different from those of LWFs, although LMFs continue exhibiting a higher degree of accrual management. Finally, our detection model correctly classifies 76.41% of firms within a matched sample of 852 firm-years including LMFs before confiscation and LWFs. Unlisted LMFs are socially irresponsible by nature because of their illicit purposes. In addition, their incentives, modus operandi and financial statement formats differ from those of listed companies. Hence, our study allows inferring conclusions on the relations of corporate social responsibility with earnings management and labor tax avoidance. Furthermore, it adopts new earnings management and labor tax avoidance measures that, as well as providing additional insights, may enhance further research on their effectiveness in other cultural, legal and institutional contexts and for other types of firm. Finally, but no less important, our findings can aid practitioners and regulators in identifying accounting signals that can be used in risk assessment models or in the detection of criminal infiltrations and related illicit practices, especially in countries with a strong criminal presence.
Update on male hormonal contraceptive agents

There remains a need for new acceptable and effective male contraceptives to increase the choice for couples throughout the world. There have been no recent advances in available male contraceptive methods although a number of promising approaches have been identified, of which the hormonal approach is currently undergoing clinical investigation. In recent years the pace of research in this area has quickened significantly with increasing interest and now investment by the pharmaceutical industry. This is vital if the work undertaken so far by the public sector is to be transformed into a commercial reality. The hormonal approach is based on suppression of pituitary gonadotropin secretion resulting in a reversible reduction in spermatogenesis with azoospermia in all men being the ultimate aim. Without stimulation by luteinising hormone from the pituitary, testicular testosterone production also ceases. Therefore, androgen administration to restore physiological levels is an essential component of all male hormonal contraceptive regimes. Male hormonal contraceptives can consist of testosterone alone, or either a progestogen or gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist with ‘add-back’ testosterone. This article reviews the current state of progress in this field.
Revealing Key Non-financial Factors for Online Credit-Scoring in e-Financing

E-commerce has rapid growth in the last two decades due to the development of information technologies, mobile network services and application of big data. Nowadays, e-commerce has reached a stage in which e-businesses are far beyond the online trading of buy-pay-deliver, but covers a much broader spectrum of line business activities, such as financing, which indicates that e-commerce has been transited from monetary transfer to credit transfer. The financial services for e-businesses have now incurred fundamental changes in credit risk management, with significant impacts on the traditional credit system, such as timeliness, service quality, cash flow and liquidity, and scalability of services, etc. In this paper, based on an online-credit scoring model, we identified important factors that improve the prediction accuracy of a credit scoring model and reduces the probability of default, which also demonstrated the important role of non-financial data in credit risk control in the e-businesses environment.
An Empirical Investigation of the Critical Determinants for the Adoption of E-Market in Australian Small-and-Medium Sized Enterprises

This paper presents an empirical investigation of the critical determinants for the adoption of e-market in Australian small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) within the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework. A conceptual model is proposed for better understanding the adoption of e-market in Australian SMEs. Structural equation modelling is used for testing and validating the conceptual model based on the survey data collected from Australian SMEs. A consequent logistic regression analysis on the validated adoption model shows that there is a positive relationship between perceived direct benefit, top management support, external pressure, trust and the adoption of e-market, among which top management support emerges as the most critical determinant. The perceived indirect benefit, size and organization readiness, however, do not show a significant influence on the adoption of e-market in Australian SMEs. The implications of this study highlight the criticality of top management support in the adoption of e-market in Australian SMEs.
INDICATIONS AND TECHNIQUE OF CRYOEXTRACTION OF CATARACTS.

For generations, ophthalmic surgeons have worked toward perfecting the intracapsular extraction of cataracts. Yet, on occasion, even the most experienced and dexterous of surgeons unavoidably ruptures the capsule. Cryoextraction, in contrast to extraction by means of erisophake or forceps, by placing the tractive stress not on the fragile capsule but on the whole lens invariably assures a successful intracapsular operation. It is rather surprising that cryoextraction has found little acceptance in this country since Krwawicz first reported his technique in 1961. 1,2 Perhaps this has been due to a lack of completely satisfactory instrumentation. Krwawicz merely immersed a metal probe into a mixture of alcohol and solid carbon dioxide, lowering the temperature effectively but for a relatively short period that made rapid surgery (or repeated immersions and applications) necessary. Other instruments that are now available are the liquid nitrogen unit originally developed for brain surgery (involving a massive monitoring unit)
Rapid explorative direct inverse kinematics learning of relevant locations for active vision

An online method for rapidly learning the inverse kinematics of a redundant robotic arm is presented addressing the special requirements of active vision for visual inspection tasks. The system is initialized with a model covering a small area around the starting position, which is then incrementally extended by exploration. The number of motions during this process is minimized by only exploring configurations required for successful completion of the task at hand. The explored area is automatically extended online and on demand. To achieve this, state of the art methods for learning and numerical optimization are combined in a tight implementation where parts of the learned model, the Jacobians, are used during optimization, resulting in significant synergy effects. In a series of standard experiments, we show that the integrated method performs better than using both methods sequentially.
Protective efficacy of ursodeoxycholic acid nanoparticles in animal model of inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract Context: Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) exerts dose-dependent chemoprevention in colonic inflammation. Polycationic UDCA nanoparticles (UNPs) are envisaged for solubility enhancement and site directed drug delivery. Objective: The objective was to study the ameliorative efficacy of UNPs through localized delivery of the drug. Methods: UNPs were prepared through nanoprecipitation technique. Particle size, morphology, in vitro drug release and in vivo protective efficacy in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) of these nanoparticles were studied. Results and Discussion: The average particle size was around 100 nm, and the average drug encapsulation was about 99%. In vitro drug release study shows optimal drug release in simulated colonic fluid. The lowering of tissue nitric oxide, malondialdehyde, myeloperoxidase and histology of the colon tissue supported the protective efficacy of the nanoparticles. Conclusion: This study presents the improved efficacy of UNPs in animal model of IBD due to complete release of drug at the desired site of action.
The Static Center of Pressure Sensitivity: a further Criterion to assess Contact Stability and Balancing Controllers

Legged locomotion has received increasing attention from the robotics community. In this respect, contact stability plays a critical role in ensuring that robots maintain balance, and it is a key element for balancing and walking controllers. The Center of Pressure is a contact stability criterion that defines a point that must be kept strictly inside the support polygon in order to ensure postural stability. In this paper, we introduce the concept of the sensitivity of the static center of pressure: roughly speaking, the rate of change of the center of pressure with respect to the system equilibrium configurations. This new concept can be used as an additional criterion to assess the robustness of the contact stability. We show how the sensitivity of the center of pressure can also be used as a metric to assess balancing controllers by considering two state-of-the-art control strategies. The analytical analysis is performed on a simplified model, and validated during balancing tasks on the iCub humanoid robot.
Leadership and Organisational Performance in the Nigeria Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Leadership is widely recognised as an important function needed to move organisations forward. The study examined empirically the relationship between leadership style and organisational effectiveness in the Nigerian small and medium enterprises. A survey of two hundred and sixty eight small and medium enterprises was undertaken. Data generated were analysed by means of descriptive and inferential statistics. The results found that the Nigerian SMEs are more autocratic and less participative as the power distance between business owner and employees is very wide. The study further revealed an insignificant relationship between leadership style and organisational effectiveness. Hence, it is concluded that leadership style among Nigerian SMEs is not a major factor in determining organizational performance.
Instructional Needs of Part-Time Community College Instructors

The recent economic down-turn and the loss of employment across the country has resulted in increased enrollment at the post-secondary level as displaced workers earnestly attempt to acquire new skills in order to obtain employment. Community Colleges are one such place displaced workers are seeking to improve their skills as evidenced by increased enrollments across the country. Legislation has also been proposed to increase their funding as a result of this enrollment. Part-time instructors account for nearly 67% of the faculty at the community college level (Christensen, 2008) but the literature indicates this faculty often lacks the necessary curriculum development, instructional, and assessment skills to adequately address the needs of the students in general and the newly displaced adult learner in particular. The author explores the pertinent needs of the part-time faculty and offers recommendations. Online Journal of Workforce Education and Development Volume IV, Issue 2 – Spring 2010
Skin lesions in broiler chickens measured at the slaughterhouse: relationships between lesions and between their prevalence and rearing factors

1. This slaughterhouse-based study was to evaluate correlations between cutaneous lesions which are linked to animal welfare. The relationships between these lesions and various rearing factors were investigated. 2. The percentage of lesions in each flock was determined by observation at the slaughterhouse. Fifty-five flocks slaughtered between May 2005 and May 2006 in 8 slaughterhouses were investigated. 3. Data relating to farm management and housing factors during the rearing period were collected retrospectively from 36 of the 55 flocks scored for lesions. 4. A negative correlation was observed between (i) presence of breast blisters and deep hock burns, (ii) presence of breast blisters and deep footpad dermatitis, and (iii) presence of breast burns and scratches. 5. We proposed an assessment of broiler chicken welfare at the slaughterhouse on the basis of several criteria: (i) footpad dermatitis, hock burns and breast burns, (ii) scratches, and (iii) breast blisters. 6. The presence of contact dermatitis was related to litter quality and several management factors. Only scratches and breast blisters were related to high stocking density. The type of lesion was related to genotype. Genotype A (fast-growing) had fewer breast blisters but deeper footpad lesions than B (slower-growing).
Molecular Analysis of Varicella Vaccines and Varicella-Zoster Virus from Vaccine-Related Skin Lesions

ABSTRACT To prevent complications that might follow an infection with varicella-zoster virus (VZV), the live attenuated Oka strain (V-Oka) is administered to children in many developed countries. Three vaccine brands (Varivax from Sanofi Pasteur MSD; Varilrix and Priorix-Tetra, both from Glaxo-Smith-Kline) are licensed in Germany and have been associated with both different degrees of vaccine effectiveness and adverse effects. To identify genetic variants in the vaccines that might contribute to rash-associated syndromes, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profiles of variants from the three vaccines and rash-associated vaccine-type VZV from German vaccinees were quantitatively compared by PCR-based pyrosequencing (PSQ). The Varivax vaccine contained an estimated 3-fold higher diversity of VZV variants, with 20% more wild-type (wt) SNPs than Varilrix and Priorix-Tetra. These minor VZV variants in the vaccines were identified by analyzing cloned full-length open reading frame (ORF) orf62 sequences by chain termination sequencing and PSQ. Some of these sequences amplified from vaccine VZV were very similar or identical to those of the rash-associated vaccine-type VZV from vaccinees and were almost exclusively detected in Varivax. Therefore, minorities of rash-associated VZV variants are present in varicella vaccine formulations, and it can be concluded that the analysis of a core set of four SNPs is required as a minimum for a firm diagnostic differentiation of vaccine-type VZV from wt VZV.
Multilocus Sequence Typing Implicates Rodents as the Main Reservoir Host of Human-Pathogenic Borrelia garinii in Japan

ABSTRACT Multilocus sequence typing of Borrelia garinii isolates from humans and comparison with rodent and tick isolates were performed. Fifty-nine isolates were divided into two phylogenetic groups, and an association was detected between clinical and rodent isolates, suggesting that, in Japan, human-pathogenic B. garinii comes from rodents via ticks.
NEURAL-NETWORK METAMODELLING FOR THE PREDICTION OF THE PRESSURE DROP OF A FLUID PASSING THROUGH METALLIC POROUS MEDIUM

The pressure drop across metallic porous medium is a critical element in cooling aerospace engineering application. This paper presents a metamodel based on artificial neural networks (ANN) for estimating the pressure drop through metallic porous media. The ANN is developed using experimental data obtained from an experimental bench, developed at PRISME laboratory, which ensure the monitoring of temperature, pressure and mass flow rate in stationary and transient conditions. For each case the gas pressure which crosses the metallic porous material is measured as a function of inlet gas pressure, gas mass flow rate and temperature. The optimal feedforward ANN architecture with error backpropagation (BPNN) was determined by the cross validation method. The ANN architecture having 35 hidden neurons gives the best choice. Comparing the modelled values by ANN with the experimental data indicates that neural network model provide accurate results. The performance of the ANN model is compared with a metamodelling method using multilinear regression approximation. 2/20 NOMENCLATURE m number of hidden nodes T dimensional temperature (K) n number of input nodes t target value O i simulation output measures, corresponding to X i W ij connection weights between the input layer and the hidden layer P gas pressure (Pa) W jk connection weights between the hidden layer and the output layer p number of output nodes X i particular input parameter setting, i q gas mass flow rate (kg s-1) Subscripts S transfer function in inlet s number of patterns out outlet
Partnership between national statistics offices and academics to increase official statistical literacy

Statistics New Zealand is actively involved in raising the statistical capability of key groups of users. Current priority groups are government, the media and Maori (indigenous New Zealand) and, in the recent past, schools and small businesses. Initiatives designed to support statistical literacy development include synthetic unit record files (SURFs), confidentialized unit record files (CURFs), postgraduate student work placements, funding for the CensusAtSchool project, a National Certificate of Official Statistics for public sector staff, and an honours/masters paper in official statistics. Almost all the educational initiatives implemented so far have been developed collaboratively with educational institutions through a network of academics in official statistics (NAOS) established in 2006. Members have been involved in the design, implementation, delivery and assessment of courses for qualification as well as presenting short (one- or two-day) courses for government employees on topics such as ethics and legislation, interpreting opinion polls and demography. A particular focus of this paper is the postgraduate course in Official Statistics introduced in 2011. This used advanced video-conferencing with teach- ing staff and students at five New Zealand universities. The course has been beneficial for Statistics New Zealand, universities and students. Feedback from students is also reported.
Bidding for the Antamina Mine: Valuation and Incentives in a Real Options Context

This chapter studies the bidding for a copper mine that was offered for sale by the Peruvian government as part of the country's privatization program. The mine itself had a valuable real option component, in the form of the right to develop the mine after completing exploration, which we analyze using Monte Carlo methods. A novel aspect of the transaction was the type of bid requested by the Peruvian government, essentially asking bidders to state both the premium that they would pay and exercise price (pledged development expenditure) they would set for this real option. This structure gave rise to incentives which affected the amount that firms would offer, their preferences between bidding premium and exercise price, the identity of bidders, the likelihood of ultimate development, and the likelihood of ex post renegotiation of the contract. This chapter is based on the Harvard Business School teaching case, " Bidding for Antamina " (297-054) and the associated classroom note, " Copper and Zinc Markets 1996 " (297-055). We would like to thank the executives of RTZ-CRA Limited, Lenos Trigeorgis, Eduardo Schwartz, Antonio Tarnawiecki, Martha Amram, and attendees of real options conferences hosted by Analysis Group Economics and by Columbia University/Ernst & Young/UCLA for their useful comments on this clinical study. Finally, we thank the MBA and Executive Education students at HBS for their classroom comments on the case. Funding for this project was provided by the Harvard Business School Division of Research as part of the Global Financial Systems project.