Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Colonoscopic sclerotherapy of ileal varices.

The identification of bleeding ectopic varices in patients with portal hypertension is often problematic. Ectopic varices occur in 1% to 3% of patients with cirrhosis and 20% to 30% of patients with extrahepatic portal hypertension.1 Bleeding is often life-threatening, as mortality rates approach 35%. 2 Although there are several reports of the endoscopic identification of ectopic varices, data regarding endoscopic therapies are lacking. We present a unique case of bleeding ileal varices made unusual by the circumstances of the patient’s transfer to our institution. Ileal varices have been reported in patients with liver cirrhosis3 and ileal conduit stomata,4 but treatment has been primarily surgical. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of the treatment of bleeding ileal varices with injection sclerotherapy.
Essays in accounting and finance

In this thesis, I examine why there are distortions in investor portfolio selection, and show the consequence of these distortions on firms? investment decisions. The thesis consists of three essays. In the first essay, I examine the economic consequences of the mandatory adoption of IFRS in EU countries by showing which types of economies have the largest reduction in investment-cash flow sensitivity post-IFRS. I also examine whether the reduction in investment-cash flow sensitivity depends on firm size as well as economy type. I find that the investment-cash flow sensitivity of insider economies is higher than that of outsider economies pre-IFRS and that IFRS reduces the investment-cash flow sensitivity of insider economies more than that of outsider economies. Also, I find that small firms in insider economies have the highest sensitivity of investment to lagged cash flow pre-IFRS, and that they are no longer sensitive to lagged cash flow post-IFRS. Overall, my results suggest that IFRS adoption might have improved the functioning of capital markets in relation to small firms in insider economies. In the second essay, I show that the level of conditional accounting conservatism of foreign markets significantly influences decisions to diversify portfolios internationally. This could be either because conditional conservatism per se is attractive to international investors, or because the unmodelled factors that attract foreign investors to a country also cause these countries to adopt conditionally conservative accounting practices. We also find that the positive association between investor diversification decision and conditional conservatism is sensitive to the level of conditional conservatism of investors? home markets. If conditional conservatism serves to alleviate foreign investors? concerns related to insiders have asymmetric access to information then one would expect the chosen mode of entry into a foreign market (as foreign portfolio or direct investor) to be sensitive to the level of conditional conservatism. I find evidence supportive of this expectation.In the third and final essay, I document pieces of evidence suggesting that the stock ownership of politicians is a mechanism to establish mutual relations with firms. There is a positive association between the ownership of politicians and the contribution they receive from firms during the elections. This association is a function of how valuable it is to establish a mutual relation between politicians and firms. Politicians invest more in firms that favor their party and less in firms that oppose their party. The strength of the ownership-based relation with contributing firms is positively associated with the amount as well as the number of government contracts awarded to firms. When politicians divest the stock, the established relation with contributing firms breaks down. Such break-down, however, only exist when there are no other mechanisms enforcing politician-firm relation.
Histogram-based spectral equalization for HMM-based speech synthesis using mel-LSP

This paper describes a statistical spectral parameter emphasis technique for HMM-based speech synthesis using mel-scaled line spectral pair (mel-LSP). Spectral parameter emphasis is effective for compensating over-smoothed spectra in HMM-based speech synthesis. However, there is no conventional technique that satisfies such requirements as automatic tuning for different speakers and realtime synthesis for mel-LSP. In the proposed method, the cumulative distribution function (CDF) is calculated from the histogram of spectral parameters that are extracted from training speech data. In the same manner, CDF of spectral parameters that are generated from HMMs is constructed. Then an emphasis rule is trained so that the CDF of generated parameters equals to that of training data. After generating a spectral parameter sequence from HMMs, the spectral parameter sequence is emphasized by using the rule. Experimental results show that our proposed method improves speech quality.
Truncation of MIMT1 Gene in the PEG3 Domain Leads to Major Changes in Placental Gene Expression and Stillbirth in Cattle1

ABSTRACT We previously identified a microdeletion (Del) in the maternally imprinted PEG3 domain in cattle that results in loss of paternal MIMT1 expression and causes late-term abortion and stillbirth. The mutation, when inherited from the sire, is semilethal for his progeny, with 85% mortality. Here we precisely delineate the deletion and describe comparative analyses of fetuses carrying the deletion with wild-type (WT) siblings. Global DNA methylation analysis of cotyledon tissue revealed greater global CpG methylation in fetuses with the deletion (P = 0.003). Gene expression microarray analyses identified increased NPSR1A, IL1RN, NOS3, IL4R, ZDHHC22, and SMOC2 expression in fetuses carrying the deletion and decreased GRID1, PLG, and IGF1 expression. Involvement of the NPSR1A, IL1RN, NOS3, and IL4R genes suggests that some form of restriction related to blood supply, perhaps hypoxemia, may play a role in the pathological mechanism. Also, imprinted genes known to play a role in mammalian prenatal development, specifically IGF2, DLK1, MEST, AST1, PEG3, APEG3, and H19, showed differential expression. The most striking difference was abundant abnormal expression of the neuropeptide S receptor 1 (NPSR1) gene in placental cotyledon tissue of 7 of 11 MIMT1Del/WT fetuses. The similarity of this proportion to that of the semilethal mortality rate suggests that abnormal NPSR1 expression may be linked to death or survival of MIMT1Del/WT fetuses. NPSR1 is expressed as two isoforms (A and B), and isoform A was detected in MIMT1Del/WT cotyledons. NPSR1A is normally not expressed in placenta. Its role in the stillbirth phenomenon has yet to be elucidated, but it may provide a useful prognostic indicator.
A 1.4psrms-period-jitter TDC-less fractional-N digital PLL with digitally controlled ring oscillator in 65nm CMOS

State of the art digital PLLs can be divided in two categories, depending on the implementation of the digital phase detector. Digital clocking and wireline applications mostly use a Bang-Bang detector (BBPLLs) [1–3], offering very low jitter values in integer-N mode but not supporting fractional-N synthesis, which is desirable to implement, i.e., spread spectrum clocking (SSC) for EMI reductions. Wireless applications implement time to digital converters (TDC) [4–6] which allow fractional-N synthesis, but require high architecture complexity, need calibration routines for period normalization, and introduce analog limitations that a digital PLL should be intended to eliminate.
Contingent Valuation and Incentives

We empirically investigate the effect of the payment mechanism on contingent values by asking a willingness-to-pay question with one of three different payment mechanisms: individual contribution, contribution with provision point, and referendum. We find statistical evidence of more affirmative responses in the referendum treatment relative to the individual contribution treatment, some weak statistical evidence of more affirmative responses in the referendum treatment relative to the provision point treatment, and no statistical evidence of more affirmative responses in the provision point treatment relative to the individual contribution treatment. The relative credibility of the three payment mechanisms is also examined. (JEL H41, Q26)
Disruption Management for Commercial Aviation

Airlines are constantly facing operational disruptions such as reduced airport capacity because of bad weather or strikes, unexpected aircraft unavailability due to mechanical failures, and delayed or cancelled flights. In view of this, ROADEF organized a worldwide challenge to explore the problems encountered in real world airlines when disruptions happen and find approaches to tackle them. In this paper, a new continuous time aircraft routing model is developed which can minimize aircraft delay cost accurately and efficiently handle all types of disruptions encountered in ROADEF. Applying a new decomposition algorithm, near optimal solutions for aircraft routing can be obtained. A passenger re-accommodation model is solved subsequently using the results from the aircraft routing model as input. Competitive results are obtained applying the proposed approach to instances provided by ROADEF.
Brainstem projections to the major respiratory neuron populations in the medulla of the cat

Efferent and afferent connections of the dorsal and ventral respiratory groups in the medulla of the cat were mapped by axonal transport of wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase. Injections of wheat germ agglutinin‐horseradish peroxidase into the dorsal respiratory group and the three principal subdivisions of the ventral respiratory group (caudal, rostral, and Bötzinger Complex) revealed extensive interconnections between these regions and with a limited number of other brainstem neuron populations. Major neuron populations with efferent projections to the regions of the dorsal and ventral respiratory groups include the parabrachial nuclear complex (medial parabrachial, lateral parabrachial, and Kölliker‐Fuse nuclei), subregions of the lateral paragigantocellular reticular nucleus, subregions of the lateral and magnocellular tegmental fields, inferior central and postpyramidal nuclei of the raphe, and sensory trigeminal nuclei. A previously unidentified neuron population with extensive efferent projections to the dorsal and ventral respiratory groups was found near the ventral surface of the rostral medulla; we refer to this group as the retrotrapezoid nucleus. The results suggest that the dorsal and ventral respiratory groups form an extensively interconnected neuronal system receiving convergent inputs from the same brainstem nuclear groups, consistent with the hypothesis that the dorsal and ventral groups are primarily sites for integration of sensory and premotor respiratory drive inputs. Neuron populations in the rostral ventrolateral medulla with projections to both the dorsal and ventral respiratory groups, particularly the retrotrapezoid nucleus and neighboring subregions of the lateral paragigantocellular reticular nucleus, are candidate sites for participation in respiratory rhythmogenesis or other critical functions of the brainstem respiratory control system such as intracranial chemoreception.
[The therapy of transverse tibial bone transport and vessel regeneration operation on thromboangitis obliterans].

OBJECTIVE To treat thromboangiitis obliterans by the way of transverse tibial bone transport and vessel regeneration operation. METHODS a longitudinal osteotomy in the middle tibial bone (120 mm long, 20 mm wide) was prepared and then a bone external fixator which was able to move bone block was fixed. 5 days after the operation, the bone block was moved 1 mm transversely each day until the bone block was moved to 22 mm. Two months after the operation, the bone external fixator was removed. RESULTS From the beginning of the bone transprort, the symptoms of cool sensation of leg, the tingling of foot, and the intermittent claudication became better and disappeared gradually. 25 days after the operation, it was proved that the rich vessels surrounding the bone block which was moved had been formed by the angiography. Before the operation the middle and the small vessels beneath the arteriae poplitea disappeared. CONCLUSION the result acquired from the animal experiment was as same as the result acquired from the clinica practice. Today, this method is the most effective one to treat the peripheral chronic artery obliterations.
X-ray microcomputer tomography for the study of biomineralized endo- and exoskeletons of animals.

Biomineralization denotes the utilization of inorganic materials by living organisms, e.g. as exoskeleton for protection (shell), as endoskeleton for mechanical integrity (bone), as cutting tool (teeth or claw), or as mechanosensor (statolith or otolith). This area of research has gained increasing attention in the past decade for different reasons. First, many medical problems are associated with malfunctions of hard tissue, e.g. bone and teeth. Pathological calcifications (such as atherosclerosis and stone formation) are associated with the unwanted deposition of inorganic mineral within organs. The utilization of synthetic structures which can be used to substitute hard tissue such as bone is a part of the emerging area of biomaterials research. Second, biomineralized structures are often characterized by a delicate arrangement of inorganic crystals within an organic matrix which leads to exceptional mechanical properties. Examples are bone (both hard and elastic) and mollusk shells (enhanced mechanical properties, compared to the rather brittle mineral calcium carbonate). It is therefore of interest in modern materials science to synthetically mimic these structures to create new coatings, materials, or instruments for practical application. As such, biominerals are biodegradable, biocompatible, and ecofriendly, and they may therefore have strong advantages as long-term sustainable materials. They are also created under gentle conditions, i.e. near ambient temperature and pressure. Third, there is the curiosity-driven desire to understand how organisms are forming their delicate mineralized structures and why they are using particular minerals for different purposes.
Corporate clustering in Australian cities: an analysis of the geographic distribution of ASX-listed headquarters

The geographic distribution of company headquarters has been studied in a variety of contexts as a means by which to understand the hierarchies and vectors of corporate power. Much of this is framed in the context of ‘agglomeration economies’—the concept that spatial clustering creates synergistic relationships – both tangible and intangible – between firms, their employees, and related institutions. This paper provides a comprehensive cross-sectional analysis of the geographic dimensions of corporate headquartering both within and between Australia’s major city -regions. Drawing on a list of 1,913 endogenous corporate headquarters, the country’s agglomerations are detailed and interrogated so as to provide an understanding of how their locational structure crystallized over time and the implications thereof. This research supports the notion that Sydney and Melbourne are Australia’s most prominent nodes of economic power, but also recognises a significant cluster of relatively small mining-related companies in Perth, as well as an orientation toward larger median firm size in Brisbane. Specific metropolitan-scale industrial clusters are also considered, and defined pathways for further research in this vein are suggested vis -a-vis a range of contemporary network analysis methods. Abbreviated Title: “Corporate Clustering in Australian Cities”
Supply Chain Collaboration under Uncertainty in the Albanian Beer Market

Today supply chain uncertainty is higher due to the global crisis, the fast changing technology and the increasing vulnerability of supply chains. Companies use different strategies to reduce uncertainty, like building agile supply chains, increasing resilience, postponement, etc. All these strategies require strong supply chain collaboration. Although research interest in supply chain collaboration is growing, no research has been done in Albania. This paper is one of the first to investigate supply chain management practices and the extent of supply chain collaboration in the Albanian beer industry. The aim of this research is twofold: first, to investigate how supply chain uncertainty influences the extent of collaboration with the supply chain members, and second, to analyze how organizational culture facilitates the collaboration process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the managers of the main beer companies. A guide questionnaire was prepared. It consisted of open and rate-scale questions about supply chain collaboration, supply chain uncertainty, supply chain management practices and organizational culture. The research will show that a high level of supply chain uncertainty does not always lead to a high degree of collaboration with the supply chain members. Organizational culture is the key driver of a successful collaboration. Not all types of culture can facilitate collaboration but only the ones with an external orientation.
An application to support the supply chain collaborative planning process under temporal and spatial integration

The present paper shows the developed application with the aim of supporting the collaborative planning decision-making process of a generic supply chain (SC CP). The application allows defining various temporal decision levels (temporal integration). Furthermore, for each temporal decision level it is possible to define both a centralized decision-making (just one decisional centre (DC)) and a distributed decision-making (several DC’s), being necessary for this last case to deal with the spatial integration. The application collects the relevant information about the different views (physical, organization, decision, function and information views) describing the SC CP process, with the aim of supporting the model-maker to develop the corresponding mathematical programming models of each DC identified in the supply chain. Then, the resolution of each DC mathematical programming model can be solved in the sequence defined trough the function view simulating the real decision making process.
A Cluster-based Routing Scheme to Improvethe Network Lifetime in Wireless SensorNetworks with a Mobile Sink

In a wireless sensor network which consists of a base station as a data sink and a number of sensor nodes, the clustering has been adopted as a way of reducing the energy consumption of communication. The clustering, however, has suffered from the rapid burnout of cluster heads. We propose a 2-tier data collection architecture which requires single-hop intra-cluster transmission and direct communication between mobile sink and cluster heads. To maximize the network lifetime, cluster heads are reselected based on the remaining energy level. The clustering and the routing algorithm are processed by the base station and a mobile node navigates among sensor nodes periodically, collects power usage data from each sensor node, and deliver the next clustering and routing information. A clustering and mobile sink navigation path search algorithm based on Voronoi graphs is proposed.
DOA Estimation Based On Improved Weighted Algorithm

In the case of low SNR and low snapshot, combined with the improved Capon algorithm, this paper proposes a new algorithm based on weighted norm for DOA estimation. For narrow-band signal, we can construct the signal model of target signal by using compressed sensing. Because the subspace matrix and the noise space matrix are orthogonal to each other, a weighted matrix is constructed to decompose the signal into singular values, according to the improved Capon algorithm to determine the weight, and then according to the optimization principle of norm minimization to solve the incident direction of the signal, to achieve the goal of DOA estimation.
Diverse Activity Spectra of Bacteriocin–Like Inhibitory Substances Having Activity against Mutans Streptococci

Mutans streptococci (MS) are known to be causative agents of dental caries. It has been suggested that these cariogenic bacteria could be eliminated from dental plaque by application of bacteriocins or bacteriocin–like inhibitory substances (BLIS). In the present study 272 bacterial strains of the genera Streptococcus, Enterococcus and Staphylococcus were tested for their production of BLIS activity against MS by use of a deferred antagonism test on agar media supplemented with either whole blood or yeast extract. Although only 14.3% of the test strains displayed anti–MS activity, the inhibitory agents produced by these strains were characterised by considerable diversity in the range of their inhibitory action against both MS and other common oral streptococcal species. It is suggested that combinations of relatively specifically targeted anti–MS BLIS may have potential application to the prevention of dental caries.
Battery-aware power management based on Markovian decision processes

This paper is concerned with the problem of maximizing capacity utilization of the battery power source in a portable electronic system under latency and loss rate constraints. First, a detailed stochastic model of a power-managed, battery powered electronic system is presented. The model, which is based on the theories of continuous-time Markovian decision processes and stochastic networks, captures two important characteristics of today's rechargeable battery cells, i.e., the current rate-capacity characteristic and the relaxation-induced recovery. Next, the battery-aware dynamic power management problem is formulated as a policy optimization problem and solved exactly by using a linear programming approach. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms existing heuristic methods for battery management by as much as 17% in terms of the average energy delivered per unit weight of battery cells.
Profit and organisational legitimacy in an emerging market

While there is common acknowledgement that the main aim of organisations is to maximise shareholder wealth, firms also have the obligation to manage the needs of a broader group of stakeholders as these firms are a product of social creation. In this study, we test the notion that the concept, profit, is fundamental to society’s perception of the firm in an emerging market, and the need for a firm to legitimise a level of profit. We evaluate the relationship between the readability of various components of corporate annual reports and the level of profit, and we also take into account the nature of disclosure (mandatory and non-mandatory), the size of the firm and the nature of setup (public enterprises and publicly listed companies). Our findings suggest that, as with developed markets, in emerging markets profit is indeed an important determinant of the nature of operations of a firm, and that firms consider readability of their disclosures in attempting to legitimise a level of profit.
Developing Molecular Dynamics Simulation Codes Using Mixed Language Programming

We describe our experiences parallelizing a large-scale scientific application to model systems of discrete particles. We describe the approach and tasks undertaken to parallelize this application using two different programming paradigms: imperative and functional. The objectives of both exercises were to maximize performance, parallelism and portability, and to minimize program development costs. We believe this study reveals an important relationship between conventional and novel parallel programming paradigms, and identifies important attributes that novel paradigms must have to gain wide acceptance.