Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correcting scaling errors in tomographic images using a nine degree of freedom registration algorithm.

PURPOSE Clinical imaging systems, especially MR scanners, frequently have errors of a few percent in their voxel dimensions. We evaluate a nine degree of freedom registration algorithm that maximizes mutual information for determining scaling errors. We evaluate it by registering MR and CT images for each of five patients (patient scaling) and by registering MR images of a phantom to a computer model of the phantom (phantom scaling). METHOD Each scaling method was validated using bone-implanted markers localized in the patient images and also intraoperatively. The root mean square residual in the alignment of the fiducial markers [fiducial registration error (FRE)] was determined without scale correction, with patient scaling, and with phantom scaling. RESULTS Each scaling method significantly reduced the average FRE (p < 0.05) for MR to CT registration and for MR to physical space registration, indicating that voxel scaling errors were reduced. The greater reduction in scaling errors was achieved using the phantom scaling method. CONCLUSION We have demonstrated that a nine degree of freedom registration algorithm that maximizes mutual information can significantly reduce scaling errors in MR.
Reconstitution of dynein transport to the microtubule plus end by kinesin

Cytoplasmic dynein powers intracellular movement of cargo toward the microtubule minus end. The first step in a variety of dynein transport events is the targeting of dynein to the dynamic microtubule plus end, but the molecular mechanism underlying this spatial regulation is not understood. Here, we reconstitute dynein plus-end transport using purified proteins from S. cerevisiae and dissect the mechanism using single-molecule microscopy. We find that two proteins–homologs of Lis1 and Clip170–are sufficient to couple dynein to Kip2, a plus-end-directed kinesin. Dynein is transported to the plus end by Kip2, but is not a passive passenger, resisting its own plus-end-directed motion. Two microtubule-associated proteins, homologs of Clip170 and EB1, act as processivity factors for Kip2, helping it overcome dynein's intrinsic minus-end-directed motility. This reveals how a minimal system of proteins transports a molecular motor to the start of its track. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.02641. 001
Studies on latent derivatives of aminoethanethiols as potentially selective cytoprotectants. 3. Reactions of cysteamine-S-sulfate in biologic media.

Summary The reactions of tissue homogenates with cysteamine- S -sulfate (H 2 NCH 2 CH 2 SSO 3 H), a radiation protector, have been studied in an effort to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the protection of cells by this compound from damage by irradiation. The nature of reaction products was established with the aid of a method specific for the determination of aminoethanethiols in biologic media. When incubated with homogenates of rat tissue, cysteamine- S -sulfate reacts rapidly and nonenzymatically with protein sulfhydryl groups to form cysteamine, cystamine, protein-bound cysteamine disulfides, and sulfite ions. The relationship of these findings to current theories accounting for radiation protection is discussed.
Relationship between several surrogate estimates of insulin resistance and quantification of insulin-mediated glucose disposal in 490 healthy nondiabetic volunteers.

OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to define the relationship between a quantitative measure of the ability of physiological hyperinsulinemia to stimulate glucose disposal and several surrogate measures of insulin resistance. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Insulin-mediated glucose disposal was quantified in 490 healthy nondiabetic volunteers by determining the steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG) concentration in response to a continuous infusion of somatostatin, insulin, and glucose. Because the steady-state plasma insulin concentration was similar in all subjects during the infusion (approximately 60 microU/ml), the SSPG concentration provided a direct estimate of insulin-mediated glucose disposal. Relationships between this specific measure of insulin resistance and several surrogate estimates of insulin resistance based on plasma glucose and insulin concentrations were then defined. RESULTS The surrogate measure of insulin resistance most closely related to the direct determination of insulin action was the total integrated insulin response to a 75-g oral glucose challenge with correlation coefficients (r) varying from 0.67 to 0.79. Fasting plasma insulin concentration was significantly correlated (r = 0.61, P<0.001) to the specific estimate of insulin action. Two other surrogate estimates of insulin action, the ratio of fasting glucose-to-fasting insulin concentration and the homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance, were no more closely related to SSPG than the fasting plasma insulin concentration. CONCLUSIONS The total integrated insulin response to oral glucose is the best surrogate measure of insulin resistance, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the variability in insulin-mediated glucose disposal. Fasting insulin concentration accounted for approximately one-third of the variability in insulin-mediated glucose disposal, and the use of fasting plasma glucose and insulin concentrations to calculate more sophisticated estimates of insulin resistance appears to offer little advantage over the fasting plasma insulin concentration. Given the large number of nondiabetic individuals in this study, the results should have general application in population-based studies, providing evidence for both the utility and limitation of the use of these surrogate measures.
Is "Better Regulation" Possible? Formal and Substantive Quality in the Impact Assessments in Education and Culture of the European Commission.

This article explores the initial results produced by the European Commission's 'better regulation agenda', which aims to stimulate productivity and employment, on the use of evidence and its potential to enhance democratic governance. The article finds that implausible rational models of policy making dictate the ways in which the Commission is expected to conceive its programmes, and these models are adopted to legitimise rather than inform decisions. This negatively affects the processes by which interventions are designed and their social credibility. These processes are illustrated through an analysis of EU regulatory impact assessments in lifelong learning, culture, youth and citizenship during 2002-07.
Rank-Dependent Probabilities

Within the framework of expected utility theory with rank-dependent probabilities, the authors present a hypothesis concerning the shape of the probability transformation function. This hypothesis is consistent with the "preference reversals" phenomenon. In particular, it is consistent with the finding (1) that the frequency of reversals is higher when the P-bet is preferred to the corresponding $-bet than when the $-bet is preferred over the corresponding P-bet and (2) that the $-bet is chosen more frequently than the corresponding P-bet. It is also consistent with aversion to fair, symmetric risk and with the simultaneous participation in actuarially unfair lotteries and insurance. Copyright 1990 by Royal Economic Society.
The Adoption of ISO 9000 Standards within the Egyptian Context: A Diffusion of Innovation Approach

Abstract This study investigates the key determinants of the adoption of innovation (ISO 9000 standards). These determinants are classified into three groups of factors: first, the perceived characteristics of innovation, comprising perceived relative advantage, perceived complexity, perceived compatibility and observability. The second group, characteristics of the external environment, includes competitive pressure, environmental uncertainty, external pressure and external support, while the third group, organisational characteristics, involves management support, centralisation, formalisation and organisational size. For this purpose, an analysis was carried using data from 239 manufacturing companies operating in Egypt. The results show that characteristics of innovation, characteristics of the external environment and organisational characteristics are significantly associated with the adoption of ISO 9000 standards by manufacturing companies.
Novel Assessment of Cortical Response to Somatosensory Stimuli in Children With Hemiparetic Cerebral Palsy

The brain’s response to somatosensory stimuli is essential to experience-driven learning in children. It was hypothesized that advances in event-related potential technology could quantify the response to touch in somatosensory cortices and characterize the responses of hemiparetic children. In this prospective study of 8 children (5-8 years old) with hemiparetic cerebral palsy, both event-related potential responses to sham or air puff trials and standard functional assessments were used. Event-related potential technology consistently measured signals reflecting activity in the primary and secondary somatosensory cortices as well as complex cognitive processing of touch. Participants showed typical early responses but less efficient perceptual processes. Significant differences between affected and unaffected extremities correlated with sensorimotor testing, stereognosis, and 2-point discrimination (r > 0.800 and P = .001 for all). For the first time, a novel event-related potential paradigm shows that hemiparetic children have slower and less efficient tactile cortical perception in their affected extremities.
Managerial Efficiency in German Top League Soccer: An Econometric Analysis of Club Performances On and Off the Pitch

Abstract This study applies stochastic frontier analytic techniques in the estimation of sporting production functions. As ex-ante input factors, we use preseasonal estimates of wage bills of players and coaches that are transformed during the production process of a season into ex-post pecuniary revenues and sporting success. In the case of athletic output we find a robust pattern of technical efficiency over subsequent seasons. Estimates based on economic output, however, do not support an efficiency model. A significant inter-seasonal change in overall technical productivity rather highlights the economic instability of the German soccer industry.
Edge-preserving filtering by projection onto L0 gradient constraint

We propose an edge-preserving filtering method with a novel use of the L0 gradient. Our method, termed as the L0 gradient projection, is formulated as the minimization of a quadratic data-fidelity to an input image subject to the constraint that the L0 gradient, the number of non-zero gradients, of the output image is less than a user-given parameter α. This strategy is much more intuitive than the conventional approach, the L0 gradient minimization, that minimizes the sum of the L0 gradient plus the quadratic data-fidelity, because one can directly impose a desired degree of flatness by α, which is impossible in the L0 gradient minimization. We also provide an efficient algorithm based on the so-called alternating direction method of multipliers for solving the nonconvex optimization problem associated with the L0 gradient projection. The utility of the L0 gradient projection is illustrated by experiments.
The Lewis Model: A 60-Year Retrospective

The Lewis model has remained, for more than half a century, one of the dominant theories of development economics. This paper argues that the power of the model lies in the simplicity of its central insight: that poor countries contain enclaves of economic activity just as rich countries contain enclaves of poverty; and that a proximate explanation for the difference in income per capita across countries is that there are large differences in the relative sizes of their "modern" and "traditional" sectors. But while the Lewis model contains a powerful and compelling macro narrative, its details have proved somewhat elusive to scholars and students who have followed, and its policy implications are unclear. This paper identifies several key insights of the Lewis model, discusses several different interpretations of the model, and then reviews modern evidence for the central propositions of the model. In closing, we consider the relevance of Lewis for current thinking about development strategies and policies.
Energy-loss rates of two-dimensional electrons at a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs interface.

On utilise les oscillations a champs faibles de l'effet de Haas-Shubnikov dans la resistivite afin de determiner les temperatures des electrons d'un gaz d'electrons bidimensionnel soumis a divers courants de chauffage. Le debut de l'occupation de la seconde sous-bande est clairement reflechi dans une grande augmentation des rapports de perte d'energie. Les variations en fonction de la temperature et de la densite des electrons sont bien reproduites par des calculs numeriques utilisant les valeurs du potentiel de deformation et les parametres de couplage piezoelectrique
The Margerison‐McCann Team Management Resource — Theory and Applications

Why is Team Management Important? Success or failure in business is a result of whether people work together effectively in teams. Some organisations have a very good record in teamwork. These include companies like Shell, Citibank, Hewlett‐Packard, IBM as well as smaller organisations. When we look at the performance of the major Japanese companies over the last 30 years we again can see the amazing results of effective teamwork. Names like Sony, Hitachi, Toyota, Nissan, NEC, Honda and others have swept to world leadership in their industries. We can only conclude they are doing something very effectively.
The impact of financial deregulation on monetary aggregates and interest rates in Australia

This study employs all quarterly time series currently available to endogenously determine the timing of structural breaks for various monetary aggregates and interest rates in Australia over the last 30 years. The Innovational Outlier model (IO) and the Additive Outlier model (AO) are then used to test for nonstationarity. After accounting for the single most significant structural break, the results from both models clearly indicate that the null of at least one unit root cannot be rejected for almost all series examined. The structural breaks found coincide with important policy changes during the period of financial deregulation starting in the 1980s.
Exchange rate depreciation and export price competitiveness: the case of Pakistani manufacturing industries

Export price competitiveness assessment is a vital component in evaluating a country's macroeconomic performance and sustainability of its policies. It is generally argued that exchange rate depreciation stimulates exports and curtails imports, while exchange rate appreciation harms exports and stimulates imports. At times favourable factors (such as currency depreciation), however, may not result into increased exports because exchange rate movements affect exports not only by means of its depreciation but also through its variability (risk). In this paper, the above prediction has been assessed by considering the co-existence of import content in production of exportables and dynamic productivity gains. Results show that in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan, the exchange rate volatility partially offset the positive effect of depreciation on exports, that is, volatility in exchange rate has resulted into a decrease in export price competitiveness despite currency depreciation and, hence, the country experienced a slow growth in manufactured exports.
Fabrication of single- and multilayer MoS2 film-based field-effect transistors for sensing NO at room temperature.

Single- and multilayer MoS(2) films are deposited onto Si/SiO(2) using the mechanical exfoliation technique. The films were then used for the fabrication of field-effect transistors (FETs). These FET devices can be used as gas sensors to detect nitrous oxide (NO). Although the single-layer MoS(2) device shows a rapid response after exposure to NO, the current was found to be unstable. The two-, three-, and four-layer MoS(2) devices show both stable and sensitive responses to NO down to a concentration of 0.8 ppm.
The process‐based management loop

Most organizations have realized the importance of managing processes and have deployed various initiatives to improve their processes. Most initiatives have traditionally been viewed as separate and distinct, so they have been deployed independent of one another. That is beginning to change as organizations move toward processbased management. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Vitamin A supplements and diarrheal and respiratory tract infections among children in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of vitamin A supplementation on the risk of diarrhea and of acute respiratory infection. DESIGN Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. SETTING Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. SUBJECTS Six hundred eighty-seven children, 6 to 60 months old, hospitalized with pneumonia, who received vitamin A or placebo at baseline and at 4 and 8 months after discharge from hospital. MAIN OUTCOME VARIABLES Incidence and duration of episodes of diarrhea and respiratory tract infections during the year after discharge from the hospital. RESULTS Relative to those receiving placebo, children receiving vitamin A had a significantly smaller risk of severe watery diarrhea (multivariate odds ratio = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.32-0.99, P =.04) but a higher risk of cough and rapid respiratory rate (multivariate odds ratio = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.17-2.36, P =.004). Vitamin A supplementation was also associated with increased risk of acute diarrhea among normally nourished children or children with stunted growth but was relatively protective among children with wasting disease (P value for interaction =.01). The apparently increased risk of respiratory tract infection was limited to children who were seronegative for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (P value for interaction =.07). CONCLUSIONS Vitamin A supplements provide a low-cost intervention against morbidity in HIV-infected and undernourished children. Supplements may also have serious non-lethal adverse outcomes in well-nourished individuals. Whether these apparent detrimental effects of vitamin A are transient or long-term needs to be examined.
Uncertain Retirement and the Effects of Social Insurance on Savings, Wealth, and Welfare

Abstract The authors construct a Blanchard-style overlapping generations model consisting of long-lived individuals who have uninsurable idiosyncratic risk resulting from uncertain retirement periods and medical costs in retirement. Without social insurance, such individuals must save for these eventualities. The authors examine the impact of pay-as-you-go social insurance policies (public pensions and medicare coverage) on individual and aggregate consumption, saving, and wealth levels as well as wealth distribution. They also derive expressions for optimal (Pareto improving) social insurance policies.
The Influence of Facing Direction on the Haptic Identification of Two-Dimensional Raised Pictures

It has been hypothesized (Lederman et al, 1990 Perception & Psychophysics 47 54–64) that sighted people adopt a visual translation process when attempting to identify 2-D raised images by touch—they employ a visual image as a mediator between haptic sensory information and the object representation. If this hypothesis is correct, the performance in identifying pictures by touch (with eyes closed) ought to be better when the head is facing the picture than when facing in a very different direction. In this study, thirty-six blindfolded participants were required to identify raised pictures of common objects with their head facing either in the same direction as the raised picture or in an orthogonal direction. Identification performance was measured in terms of accuracy and response latencies. Overall, participants were more accurate and faster when their heads faced in the same direction as the picture. This finding is discussed in terms of spatial congruency between haptic representations of pictures and visual (or spatial) imagery created during exploration of haptic pictures.
Comparison of two cell surface molecules involved in neural cell adhesion.

Two cell surface molecules found in mouse brain, N‐CAM and the L1 antigen, were compared in terms of their cell adhesion function, polypeptide structures, antigenic determinants and distribution in cerebellar tissue. Fab fragments of polyclonal antibodies to either N‐CAM or L1 antigen only partially inhibited the rate of calcium‐independent aggregation of neuroblastoma N2A cells, whereas complete and more efficient inhibition was obtained when they were used in combination. Despite the functional similarity, comparison of the electrophoretic behaviour of the purified molecules and of their proteolytic fragments shows that the L1 antigen polypeptide is distinct from that of N‐CAM. In addition, no antigenic cross‐reactivity was detected between the two molecules. In cryostat sections of cerebellum from young post‐natal mice, N‐CAM was found to be present in all cell and neurite layers, whereas L1 antigen was expressed only in regions containing post‐mitotic cells. These results indicate that two chemically and histochemically distinct cell surface polypeptides can contribute to the calcium‐independent adhesiveness of neural cells, and suggest that their differential expression might cause adhesive specificity among cells of developing neural tissues.
A Companion to Heidegger's "Introduction to Metaphysics"

Martin Heidegger's Introduction to Metaphysics, first published in 1953, is a highly significant work by a towering figure in twentieth-century philosophy. The volume is known for its incisive analysis of the Western understanding of Being, its original interpretations of Greek philosophy and poetry, and its vehement political statements. This new companion to the Introduction to Metaphysics presents an overview of Heidegger's text and a variety of perspectives on its interpretation from more than a dozen highly respected contributors. In the editors' introduction to the book, Richard Polt and Gregory Fried alert readers to the important themes and problems of Introduction to Metaphysics. The contributors then offer original essays on three broad topics: the question of Being, Heidegger and the Greeks, and politics and ethics. Both for readers who are approaching Heidegger for the first time and for those who are studying Heidegger on an advanced level, this Companion offers a clear guide to one of the philosopher's most difficult yet most influential writings.