Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early rehabilitation for severe acquired brain injury in intensive care unit: multicenter observational study.

BACKGROUND The increased survival after a severe acquired brain injury (sABI) raise the problem of making most effective the treatments in Intensive Care Unit (ICU)/Neurointensive Care Unit (NICU), also integrating rehabilitation care. Despite previous studies reported that early mobilization in ICU was effective in preventing complications and reducing hospital stay, few studies addressed the rehabilitative management of sABI patients in ICU/NICU. AIM To collect clinical and functional data about the early rehabilitative management of sABI patients during ICU/NICU stay. DESIGN Prospective, observational, multicenter study. SETTING Fourteen facilities supplied by intensive neurorehabilitation units and ICU/NICUs. POPULATION Consecutive sABI patients admitted to ICU/NICU. METHODS Patients were evaluated at admission and then every 3-5 days. Clinical, functional and rehabilitative data, including Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Disability Rating Scale (DRS), The Rancho Los Amigos Levels of Cognitive Functioning Scale (LCF), Early Rehabilitation Barthel Index (ERBI), Glasgow Outcome scale (GOS) and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) were collected. RESULTS One hundred and two patients (F/M 44/58) were enrolled. The mean duration of ICU stay was 24.7±13.9 days and the first rehabilitative evaluation occurred after 8.7±8.8 days. Regular postural changes and multijoint mobilization were prescribed in 63.7% and 64.7% cases, respectively. The mean session duration was 38±11.5 minutes. Swallowing evaluation was performed in 14.7% patients, psychological support was provided to 12.7% of patients' caregivers, while 17.6% received a psycho-educational intervention, and 28.4% were involved in interdisciplinary team meetings. The main discharge destinations were Severe Acquired Brain Injury rehabilitation units for 43.7%, intensive neurorehabilitation units for 20.7%. CONCLUSIONS Data showed that early rehabilitation was not diffusely performed in sABI subjects in ICU/NICU and rehabilitative interventions were variable; one-third of subjects were not referred to dedicated rehabilitation unit at discharge. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT The study stresses the need to spread and implement a rehabilitative culture also for critical ill patients due to neurological diseases.
Aligning Channel Commitment with Business Performance in Consumer Goods Sector

Augmenting Customer Services is the success mantra for every company involved in manufacturing and distributing / servicing its products. The potential to create/reinvent value cannot be under estimated at operational or strategic level of Channel Management. The level of influence the channel member holds over the process can be evaluated from the demonstrated commitment to business. Their orientation to business in lieu of well defined standard operating procedures is discussed in the area of business and physical infrastructure, exclusivity, perception and communication level and involvement. The research paper concludes with the assessment of channel members with variables that defines the Outcome and behaviour bases assessment for achieving business goals.
Organization of Transport in a Commercial Enterprise Operating in a Branch Purchasing Group

La acción conjunta en las organizaciones de múltiples partes interesadas es una de las formas de mejorar la posición competitiva de las empresas. Un ejemplo estándar de organizaciones multi-entidad son grupos de compras. En los grupos de compras, las empresas a menudo ordenan bienes y materiales con existencias excesivas, lo que afecta negativamente el nivel de inventario y los costos de transporte. Sin embargo, la cooperación entre empresas y las transacciones mutuas brindan oportunidades para optimizar el nivel de suministro y los costos relacionados con el transporte. El artículo presenta las posibilidades de organización del transporte obtenidas por empresas que operan en grupos de compras. El objetivo principal del artículo es presentar un modelo óptimo de organización del transporte en una empresa comercial que opera en el grupo de compras de la industria.
Regional Mapping of the Offshore Wind Resource: Towards a Significant Contribution From Space-Borne Synthetic Aperture Radars

This paper reviews and discusses the benefits of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite imagery for regional mapping of the offshore wind resources, mostly in comparison to the more standard approach of numerical mesoscale and/or microscale models. Remote sensing measurements can be used as a complementary approach to numerical models, as well as a semi-autonomous approach to assess offshore and coastal wind resources using such methods as the newly developed strategic sampling. An important benefit of using SAR satellite data is to validate numerical model results, and possibly to provide surface wind data to pilot numerical models in coastal regions where observations are scarce. A relatively small sample of SAR scenes can already indicates the best wind sites for offshore wind farms that should be investigated for further analysis. Finally, future challenges facing remote sensing to support the wind energy fields, including new satellites and methodology improvements for the SAR technique, are reviewed.
Methylphenidate Does Not Improve Cognitive Function in Healthy Sleep-Deprived Young Adults

Background Abuse of methylphenidate, a treatment of attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder, is reported to be increasing among students for the purpose of improving cognition. Methods A single capsule, containing methylphenidate (20 mg) or placebo, was administered to healthy young adults orally following 24 hours of sleep deprivation. Measurements included percent change in score from sleep-deprived baseline on four standardized tests of cognitive function: Hopkins Verbal Learning, Digit Span, Modified Stroop, and Trail Making tests. Measurements also included percent changes in blood pressure and heart rate from sleepdeprived baseline and plasma methylphenidate concentration. Results Differences in cognitive test performance were not observed between intervention groups. In subjects receiving methylphenidate, mean percent changes from baseline for systolic blood pressure and heart rate were increased relative to placebo between 90 and 210 minutes following capsule administration (maximum increases of 9.45% and 11.03%, respectively). The timing of peak differences in physiologic measures did not correlate with peak serum methylphenidate concentrations. Exit questionnaire ratings of “capsule effect” and perceived performance on the postcapsule administration of the most challenging cognitive test were both higher (p = .044 and p = .009, respectively) for the methylphenidate group than for the placebo group. Conclusions Cognitive improvement among sleep-deprived young adults was not observed following methylphenidate administration. Benefits perceived by abusers may relate to increased confidence and sense of well-being, as well as to sympathetic nervous system stimulation. Moreover, methylphenidate administration results in physiologic effects that could be harmful to certain individuals.
Purchasing power parity for the MAVINS

This paper utilizes several tests to examine the PPP theory for MAVINS (Mexico, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nigeria and South Africa) using recent monthly datasets from January 2003 to May 2016. We test for the stationarity of the variables and found that two of the variables are I(1) while one of the variables is an I(0). Since the variables are a mixture of I(1) and I(0), the paper applied the Mean Group (MG) and the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) ARDL approaches to examine the PPP theory. In choosing between the two estimators, results of the Hausman test indicates that the Mean Group estimator is preferred. Therefore, the results of the Mean Group estimator show that the error correction term which is used to measure the speed of adjustment (from short-run deviation) of the independent variables in converging to long-run equilibrium is negative and significant indicating the presence of cointegration among the variables. This implies that PPP is valid in the long-run in the MAVINS countries. Furthermore, the domestic prices make the nominal exchange rates to appreciate in the long-run and the foreign prices make the nominal exchange rates to appreciate in the short-run. Consequently, appreciation of the nominal exchange rate will cause export to be more expensive, imports cheaper and thereby reducing inflation in the MAVINS based on the data.
Rapid Characterization of Recombination Clone by PCR Screening of Individual Bacterial Colonies

The recombination clones contained CFP, LTB-ST foreign gene were screening by PCR using individual bacterial colonies as template, the aimed band was amplified from positive clones, the result was as well as plasmid PCR. The selecting of agrobacterium transformed with recombination plasmid could also use this method of PCR screening of individual bacterial colonies. The result of individual bacterial colonies PCR was as well as that of PCR using bacterial solution as template. It showed that the method individual bacterial colonies PCR was an efficient, easy one that characterized recombination clones.
The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Services: A Case of South Asia and Southeast Asia

The statistics of foreign direct investment have been growing swiftly in the services sector since the start of the 21 st century. The shift of FDI in services sector is owed to liberalization policies and technology spill overs in the host country. The core concern in this matter is whether the developing countries would be proficient and capable to attract FDI in services sector. This study investigates the determinants of FDI of services sector in South Asian and Southeast Asian countries by using static panel data analysis. The empirical results of this study postulate that market size, exchange rate, human capital, infrastructure and trade openness are positively and significantly related to services FDI. Meanwhile, inflation has an insignificant and negative relationship with services FDI. The present study discloses that South Asian and Southeast Asian countries should pay attention to the growth of the market, better quality and stock of human capital, improvement of infrastructure, policy liberalization and maintain a weak exchange rate in order to stimulate FDI in the services sector.
SUMO Modification of Huntingtin and Huntington's Disease Pathology

Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by the accumulation of a pathogenic protein, Huntingtin (Htt), that contains an abnormal polyglutamine expansion. Here, we report that a pathogenic fragment of Htt (Httex1p) can be modified either by small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO)–1 or by ubiquitin on identical lysine residues. In cultured cells, SUMOylation stabilizes Httex1p, reduces its ability to form aggregates, and promotes its capacity to repress transcription. In a Drosophila model of HD, SUMOylation of Httex1p exacerbates neurodegeneration, whereas ubiquitination of Httex1p abrogates neurodegeneration. Lysine mutations that prevent both SUMOylation and ubiquitination of Httex1p reduce HD pathology, indicating that the contribution of SUMOylation to HD pathology extends beyond preventing Htt ubiquitination and degradation.
Comments on an Optimal Set of Indices For a Relational Database

M. Y. L. Ip et al., (see ibid., vol.SE-9, p.135-43, 1983) solved the index selection problem for a relational database by reducing it to a classical knapsack problem and then applying an approximation algorithm. It is shown that this reduction process does not work in general by providing a counterexample, and its practical significance is discussed. It turns out that the main idea of Ip et al. need not be discarded. In particular, the approximation algorithm used can be adapted fairly easily to take care of the problems which were raised by the counterexample. In spite of its simplicity, this modification can lead to a reduced number of indices, which is rather attractive from a practical point of view. >
Approaches to the improvement of tax auditing for operations with intellectual property in the Russian Federation

This research paper investigates schemes that facilitate the illegal decrease of taxes through international deals with intangible assets, and its dissemination in Russia on the basis of statistical data. Findings confirm the need to launch special tools to avoid indecent tax competition. The implementation of the suggested risk-oriented approach with respect to the revealing facts of tax evasion by using intellectual property can be an effective tool at the end. For achieving this target, statistical and mathematical methods of data analysis are used and a linear regression model with two variables is constructed. This advanced method of tax auditing provides the opportunity to identify the companies facing the risk of being subjected to more detailed analysis with respect to fraudulent deals with non-tangible assets. It is based on the comparison of growth rate for non-tangible assets in a company and the value of its taxable profit. In the end, the need for such a method’s introduction to facilitate the efficiency increase of the beneficial owner concept implementation has been proved. RESUMEN: Este trabajo de investigación investiga esquemas que facilitan la disminución ilegal de impuestos a través de acuerdos internacionales con activos intangibles y su difusión en Rusia sobre la base de datos estadísticos. Los hallazgos confirman la necesidad de lanzar herramientas especiales para evitar una competencia tributaria indecente. La implementación del enfoque sugerido orientado al riesgo con respecto a los hechos reveladores de la evasión fiscal mediante el uso de la propiedad intelectual puede ser una herramienta eficaz al final. Para lograr este objetivo, se utilizan métodos estadísticos y matemáticos de análisis de datos y se construye un modelo de regresión lineal con dos variables. Este método avanzado de auditoría fiscal brinda la oportunidad de identificar a las compañías que enfrentan el riesgo de ser sometidas a un análisis más detallado con respecto a acuerdos fraudulentos con activos no tangibles. Se basa en la comparación de la tasa de crecimiento de los activos no tangibles en una empresa y el valor de su beneficio imponible. Al final, se ha demostrado la necesidad de la introducción de dicho método para
Reflection and transmission properties of a metafilm: with an application to a controllable surface composed of resonant particles

In recent work, we derived generalized sheet transition conditions (GSTCs) for the average (or "macroscopic") electromagnetic fields across a metafilm, which, when properly designed, can have certain desired reflection and transmission properties. A metafilm is the two-dimensional equivalent of a metamaterial, and is essentially a surface distribution of electrically small scatterers characterized by electric- and magnetic-polarizability densities. In this paper, the GSTC is used to calculate the reflection and transmission coefficients of the metafilm. These coefficients are derived for both TM and TE polarized plane waves with arbitrary incidence angles. We show that the reflection and transmission properties of the metafilm are expressed in terms of the electric and magnetic polarizabilities of the scatterers themselves, and we derive conditions on the polarizabilities of the scatterers required to obtain total transmission and/or total reflection. We show various examples to illustrate the validity of the GSTC for the analysis of a metafilm. By controlling the polarization densities of the scatterers in the metafilm, a "smart" and/or "controllable" surface can be realized. We propose a metafilm composed of spherical magneto-dielectric particles for achieving such a controllable surface. To validate the results for the spherical particle metafilm, we show comparisons with a full-wave computation obtained from a mode-matching technique applied to the doubly infinite array of spherical scatterers. The results in this paper are in principle scalable; that is, the dimensions of the scatterers can range from relatively large to relatively small depending on the frequencies of interest.
Differentiated U937 cells exhibit increased bactericidal activity upon LPS activation and discriminate between virulent and avirulent Listeria and Brucella species

In the study of interactions between facultative intracellular pathogens and macrophages, monocytic cell lines have the advantages of showing defined states of activation and lacking genetic variation among donors, thus yielding reproducible results. Nonpathogenic Escherichia coli K12 were killed at similar rates in the U937 cell line differentiated into macrophage‐like cells by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or by the combination of retinoic acid (RA) and vitamin D3 (VD). Complete elimination was reached only when cells were activated by lipopolysaccharide for 30 min prior to infection, and it was further enhanced when bacteria were opsonized by specific immunoglobulin G. Both types of differentiation led to intracellular multiplication of virulent Listeria monocytogenes and to elimination of the animal pathogen Listeria ivanovii. For both strains, conditions for intracellular survival were more favorable in PMA‐differentiated U937. During infection, RA/VD‐differentiated U937 could discriminate between the human pathogen Brucella suis S1, which strongly multiplied, and the animal pathogen Brucella canis, which survived without multiplication. U937 cells differentiated by RA and VD therefore represent a basic model in bacteria‐human macrophage interactions. J. Leukoc. Biol. 56: 174–181; 1994.
ASD and PFO closure with the Solysafe septal occluder—Results of a prospective multicenter pilot study

We report the results of a prospective multicenter pilot study performed in Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland with a new self‐centering device for transcatheter closure of an atrial septal defect (ASD) or a patent foramen ovale (PFO) called the Solysafe Septal Occluder.
Reactive power pricing: a proposal for the Italian market

Voltage control and reactive power support have been deeply investigated by the technical point of view. System operators and planners have developed complex control schemes, in order to achieve a secure and efficient operation. After the enforcement of market structures, new issues have appeared. Nowadays, the main subjects related with the reactive power management are: maintaining an adequate security level, defining correct economic signals, providing a simple and transparent structure, ensuring market equity, and avoiding additional charges on the final energy price. The economic issues related to the transmission network (and to the system control) have to be managed separately from the real power generation and this results in the need for defining fair payments for participating to the voltage regulation. The evaluation of the costs of the reactive power demand and the benefits of the reactive power production can be performed by means of different methods: a brief summary of the approaches proposed in literature is reported, together with some results obtained by the use of a suitable optimal reactive power flow (ORPF), which embeds the hierarchical voltage control (HVC) scheme designed for the Italian EHV transmission system. The results can be used for setting the presented proposal for the reactive power pricing.
Arterial input function placement effect on computed tomography lung perfusion maps.

BACKGROUND A critical source of variability in dynamic perfusion computed tomography (DPCT) is the arterial input function (AIF). However, the impact of the AIF location in lung DPCT has not been investigated yet. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the location of the AIF within the central pulmonary arteries influences the accuracy of lung DPCT maps. METHODS A total of 54 lung DPCT scans were performed in three pigs using different rates and volumes of iodinated contrast media. Pulmonary blood flow (PBF) perfusion maps were generated using first-pass kinetics in three different AIF locations: the main pulmonary trunk (PT), the right main (RM) and the left main (LM) pulmonary arteries. A total of 162 time density curves (TDCs) and corresponding PBF perfusion maps were generated. Linear regression and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were used to compare the TDCs. PBF perfusion maps were compared quantitatively by taking twenty six regions of interest throughout the lung parenchyma. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the mean PBF values among the three AIF locations. Two chest radiologists performed qualitative assessment of the perfusion maps using a 3-point scale to determine regions of perfusion mismatch. RESULTS The linear regression of the TDCs from the RM and LM compared to the PT had a median (range) of 1.01 (0.98-1.03). The Spearman rank correlation between the TDCs was 0.88 (P<0.05). ANOVA analysis of the perfusion maps demonstrated no statistical difference (P>0.05). Qualitative comparison of the perfusion maps resulted in scores of 1 and 2, demonstrating either identical or comparable maps with no significant difference in perfusion defects between the different AIF locations. CONCLUSIONS Accurate PBF perfusion maps can be generated with the AIF located either at the PT, RM or LM pulmonary arteries.
DC/AC characteristic fluctuations induced by interface traps and random dopants of high-κ / metal-gate devices

We study effects of interface traps (ITs) and random dopants (RDs) on 16-nm high-κ/metal gate MOSFETs. Totally random generated devices with 2D ITs at the HfO2/silicon oxide interface as well as 3D RDs inside the channel are simulated. Fluctuations of threshold voltage, on/off state current and gate capacitance of the tested devices are estimated and discussed. The results indicate the aforementioned fluctuations resulting from ITs and RDs are significant; and RD fluctuation is larger than that of ITs.
MEDIATING ROLE OF STRATEGIC INNOVATIVENESS ON ENTERPRISES IN AN EMERGING MARKET

Enterprises that exhibit strategic innovativeness have a potential competitive advantage over their competitors. Therefore, it is important to understand the role of strategic innovativeness on enterprises. This study investigated the interplay of human capital, strategic innovativeness and performance. Based on responses of 115 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Malaysia, this study examined the mediating role of strategic innovativeness on the relationship between human capital and performance of Malaysian MSMEs. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using partial least squares (PLS) approach. Subsequently, the mediating analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro. Empirical evidence analyzed in this study suggests that strategic innovativeness mediates the relationship between human capital and performance of MSMEs in Malaysia. This study provides new evidence in the important area of innovativeness of Malaysian micro, small and medium enterprises.
Amino Acid Difference Formula to Help Explain Protein Evolution

A formula for diference between amino acids combines properties that correlate best with protein residue substitution frequencies: composition, polarity, and molecular volume. Substitution frequencies agree much better with overall chemical difference between exchanging residues than with minimum base changes between their codons. Correlation coefficients show that fixation of mutations between dissimilar amino acids is generally rare.