Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Forecasting Spare Parts Demand Using Statistical Analysis

Spare parts are very essential in most industrial companies. They are characterized by their large number and their high impact on the companies’ operations whenever needed. Therefore companies tend to analyze their spare parts demand and try to estimate their future consumption. Nevertheless, they face difficulties in figuring out an optimal forecasting method that deals with the lumpy and intermittent demand of spare parts. In this paper, we performed a comparison between five forecasting methods based on three statistical tools; Mean squared error (MSE), mean absolute deviation (MAD) and mean error (ME), where the results showed close performance for all the methods associated with their optimal parameters and the frequency of the spare part demand. Therefore, we proposed to compare all the methods based on the tracking signal with the objective of minimizing the average number of out of controls. This approach was tested in a comparative study at a local paper mill company. Our findings showed that the application of the tracking signal approach helps companies to better select the optimal forecasting method and reduce forecast errors.
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN HIGH-TECH SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES . A MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE

The adoption and usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a strongly discussed issue. In particular the interorganizational adoption is recognized as an important issue. While big companies have most of their processes with partners integrated by now, there is still a lot of work to do within the small and medium-sized companies. One of the hypothesis in this context is that high-tech small and medium-sized enterprises (HT-SME) are leading in comparison to average SME concerning their intraorganizational and interorganizational adoption of ICT. The goals of the study are a description of the state-of-the-art of the (interorganizational) adoption of ICT in high-tech SME. A further goal is the dicsussion of elements of a management framework which allows handling ICT in HT-SME in a more efficient and effective way. The methodology used for analyzing the interorganizational adoption of ICT in the high-tech small and medium-sized enterprises as well as for developing the above stated framework is case study based. Interesting intermediate data became visible. It seems that even the small and medium-sized high-tech companies do not use highly sophisticated information and communication technology for interorganizational cooperations. Further interesting results are that hardly any of the companies interviewed develop their employees for using ICT in intraand interorganizational settings. Another interesting result is that HT-SME hardly evaluate the spending in intraand interorganizational ICT.
Tumescent Dermasanding with Cryospraying: A New Wrinkle on the Treatment of Rhytids

background The art of dermasanding has been recently rediscovered, revived, and refined. This renewed interest follows on the wake of intense interest in the new carbon dioxide resurfacing lasers. Tumescent dermasanding with cryospraying is a simple, inexpensive, highly effective, reliable, and safe method of wrinkle removal. Personal experience with over 130 patients with ongoing refinement of existing dermasanding techniques plus the addition of tumescent analgesia, cryospraying, and specific postoperative instructions has resulted in outcomes at least equivalent to those obtained with laser resurfacing. methods A detailed description and pictorial display of preparation, treatment, and postoperative care is presented. Its special attributes as well as its shortcomings versus laser resurfacing are briefly described. conclusion Strict attention to detail should produce excellent, consistent, and reproducible results with minimal complications.
Does body mass index correlate with the mortality of prostate cancer ? A dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies

The relationship between body mass index (BMI) and mortality of prostate cancer (PCa) is still controversial. We performed a meta-analysis of cohort studies to evaluate potential linear and non-linear dose-response relationships between BMI and mortality of PCa. Studies were identified by comprehensively searching PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases through June 22, 2016 without language restriction. Linear and non-linear dose-response meta-analyses were conducted to identify the effects of BMI on mortality of PCa. Nine cohort studies were finally included in this meta-analysis. Dose-response analysis indicated that the pooled relative risks (RRs) per 5 kg/m2 increment of BMI were 1.16 (1.10-1.23) for fatal PCa. There was no evidence of a nonlinear relationship between BMI and fatal PCa (P = 0.908 for nonlinearity). Moderate heterogeneity was observed among included studies (P = 0.027, I2 = 52.2%). Overall, the findings of this meta-analysis indicate that, based on available information, obesity is associated with a higher risk of fatal PCa.
Forecasting Preanesthesia Clinic Appointment Duration from the Electronic Medical Record Medication List

BACKGROUND: When scheduling clinic appointments, scheduling patients expected to have different visit durations for different minutes of time reduces patient waiting time and staff idle time. Maintaining an active medication list is an important (and, in the United States, required) component to the meaningful use of electronic medical records. We hypothesized that the count of medications from the medication list would be a better predictor of the time taken by a nurse practitioner to evaluate the patient preoperatively than the American Society of Anesthesiologists' (ASA) physical status and other demographic variables. METHODS: Using 69,654 preoperative visits, we obtained the number of different medications taken by the patient and demographic variables, including ASA physical status, ASA base units, and body mass index. For each independent variable, we applied transformations and calculated the Pearson correlation giving the largest correlation with the log10 (duration), which followed a normal distribution. RESULTS: Only 18% of the patients had been evaluated previously at the preoperative facility, making use of the prior ASA physical status ineffective for forecasting. The number of medications was a more accurate predictor of appointment duration than any of the other 8 variables (each Bonferroni corrected P < 0.0001), including ASA physical status. CONCLUSIONS: Schedulers can use the number of medications that each patient is taking when choosing the time for preoperative evaluation. This approach can take schedulers only approximately 10 seconds extra per patient when scheduling the appointment.
Better Mood and Better Performance

Theories of mood and its effect on cognitive processing suggest that positive mood may allow for increased cognitive flexibility. This increased flexibility is associated with the prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex, both of which play crucial roles in hypothesis testing and rule selection. Thus, cognitive tasks that rely on behaviors such as hypothesis testing and rule selection may benefit from positive mood, whereas tasks that do not rely on such behaviors should not be affected by positive mood. We explored this idea within a category-learning framework. Positive, neutral, and negative moods were induced in our subjects, and they learned either a rule-described or a non-rule-described category set. Subjects in the positive-mood condition performed better than subjects in the neutral- or negative-mood conditions in classifying stimuli from rule-described categories. Positive mood also affected the strategy of subjects who classified stimuli from non-rule-described categories.
Privacy-Preserved Distributed Coordination of Production Scheduling in B2B Networks: A Multiagent Approach

Abstract The paper presents an efficient privacy preserving distributed algorithm intended to coordinate local production schedules of B2B plant network involved in joint fulfillment of multiple dynamically incoming orders. This task is challenging and has no satisfactory solution of industrial scale so far. The proposed solution exploiting multi-agent software architecture is validated based on a case study dealing with industrial scale distributed coordination of production schedules of autonomous shops of a big production plant.
Toxicity studies and distribution dynamics of retroviral vectors following intrathecal administration of retroviral vector-producer cells.

The use of intrathecal, retroviral-mediated transfer of the herpes simplex thymidine kinase (HStk) gene and subsequent ganciclovir (GCV) administration has recently been shown to improve survival in a rat model of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis. Clinical application of this approach is attractive because access to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) space is relatively noninvasive and distribution of producer cells and vectors may be facilitated by circulation of CSF, overcoming distribution problems inherent in solid tumors. However, meningeal inflammation, transduction and injury to normal CNS tissue, proliferation of the xenogeneic producer cells in the subarachnoid space, immune-mediated injury, and development of hydrocephalus are possible complications of intraventricular or intrathecal administration of vector-producer cells. In addition, the dynamics of producer cell and vector distribution in the CSF are unknown. To address these issues, we evaluated the safety of this approach for gene delivery and assessed the dynamics of distribution of producer cells and retroviral vectors in rats and non-human primates. In rats, transduction of normal central nervous system (CNS) structures surrounding the subarachnoid space was evaluated after intrathecal and intraventricular injections of beta-galactosidase and HStk vector-producer cells, with and without GCV. In primates, beta-galactosidase and HStk vector-producer cells were injected intraventricularly and GCV was administered either intrathecally or intravenously. Toxicity was evaluated by neurologic examination, serial gadolinium-enhanced MRI scans of the brain, and blood and CSF profiles. A subgroup of monkeys received repeated intraventricular injection of vector-producer cells and intravenous GCV. The titer of retroviral-vector was measured in cisternal and lumbar CSF samples after repeated producer cell injection. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Understanding and conceptualising the document triage process through information seekers' visual and navigational attention

Information, is a valuable commodity and its effective use is a vital part of everyday life. With the advancements of the internet and the increasing accessibility to it, the location of information is no longer the primary concern of information seekers. Digitisation techniques have made a wide variety of documents available on-line, and more and more publications are being published in electronic form simultaneously to their physical counterpart. The largest challenge currently facing information seekers is that of locating the correct information from the abundance available to them. Whenever a search query is made, the user is inundated with multiple options of documents to choose from. These documents are all deemed to have some relevance to the query produced by using an information retrieval algorithm. Thus far, automatic support has only been provided until the document retrieval level. The user is then left to search through the result set, mostly unaided, by the system he is using. In order to facilitate support for the users, a solid understanding of the information seeker's behaviours during this triage process is vital. Thus far, research into the behaviour of information seekers during the specific triage behaviour is limited. Even more limited however, is the evidence reporting the visual attention of the users. Since the triage process is highly visual, this important element need to be thoroughly evidence before accurately conceptualising the entire process. For this reason, this thesis aims to investigate the visual attention of information seekers during the document triage process. This will inform the modelling and conceptualisation of information seekers' behaviour during triage. In turn, this can be used to inform the design of supportive software. The thesis contains a review of related research and identifies the gaps that needs further investigation. From these, a series of user studies are then conducted on document triage. These in turn, facilitate the formulation and discussion of 2 document triage models and measurements to record the effectiveness of document triage. We study the visual attention of information seekers in four lab based studies, eliciting their exact gaze and focus details. We expand current research in the information seeking domain by reporting on findings from users' triage activities on small screen devices and when under time constraints. Furthermore, a high level diary study, gives us richer data on participants' triage activities over a larger period of time in their natural surroundings. All the studies are brought together to elicit requirements and measurements to understand system and user efficiency during each stage of the triage process.
Validação portuguesa do índice de Funcionamento Sexual Feminino (FSFI)

O objectivo do presente estudo foi proceder a validacao de uma versao portuguesa do Indice de Funcionamento Sexual Feminino (FSFI), instrumento multidimensional que avalia as diversas fases associadas ao ciclo de resposta sexual em mulheres. Recorrendo a duas amostras de conveniencia, uma das quais comunitaria ( n =152 mulheres) e a outra clinica ( n =51 mulheres), foram demonstradas caracteristicas psicometricas semelhantes as da escala original que tornam adequada a sua utilizacao com mulheres portuguesas.
In Vivo and In Vitro Analyses of Regulation of the Pheromone-Responsive prgQ Promoter by the PrgX Pheromone Receptor Protein

ABSTRACT Expression of conjugative transfer and virulence functions of the Enterococcus faecalis antibiotic resistance plasmid pCF10 is regulated by the interaction of the pheromone receptor protein PrgX with two DNA binding operator sites (XBS1 and XBS2) upstream from the transcription start site of the prgQ operon (encoding the pCF10 transfer machinery) and by posttranscriptional mechanisms. Occupancy of both binding sites by PrgX dimers results in repression of the prgQ promoter. Structural and genetic studies suggest that the peptide pheromone cCF10 functions by binding to PrgX and altering its oligomerization state, resulting in reduced occupancy of XBSs and increased prgQ transcription. The DNA binding activity of PrgX has additional indirect regulatory effects on prgQ transcript levels related to the position of the convergently transcribed prgX operon. This has complicated interpretation of previous analyses of the control of prgQ expression by PrgX. We report here the results of in vivo and in vitro experiments examining the direct effects of PrgX on transcription from the prgQ promoter, as well as quantitative correlation between the concentrations of XBSs, PrgX protein, and prgQ promoter activity in vivo. The results of electrophoretic mobility shift assays and quantitative analysis of prgQ transcription in vitro and in vivo support the predicted roles of the PrgX DNA binding sites in prgQ transcription regulation. The results also suggest the existence of other factors that impede PrgX repression or enhance its antagonism by cCF10 in vivo.
Engineered arterial models to correlate blood flow to tissue biological response

This paper reviews how biomedical engineers, in collaboration with physicians, biologists, chemists, physicists, and mathematicians, have developed models to explain how the impact of vascular interventions on blood flow predicts subsequent vascular repair. These models have become increasingly sophisticated and precise, propelling us toward optimization of cardiovascular therapeutics in general and personalizing treatments for patients with cardiovascular disease.
Price capping in partially monopolistic electricity markets

In this paper we consider an oligopolistic market in which one firm can be monopolist on her residual demand function and derive implications on the shape of her profit function, which we show may not be concave in price. We propose a simple price-capping rule that induce the pivotal operator to compete for quantity instead of taking advantage of her monopoly. Then, we analyze the bidding behaviour of the dominant electricity producer operating in the Italian wholesale power market (IPEX). This firm is vertically integrated and in many instances she acts as a monopolist on the residual demand. We find that, contrary to expectations, this pivotal firm refrains to exploit totally her unilateral market power and, therefore, bids at levels well below the cap. We discuss such a behaviour and derive implications for the setting of the price cap.
Brief Evaluation of Medication Influences and Beliefs: Development and Testing of a Brief Scale for Medication Adherence

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and test a brief scale (Brief Evaluation of Medication Influences and Beliefs [BEMIB]) designed to identify patients who are more likely to be nonadherent to their antipsychotic medication. Methods: Sixty-three outpatients with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders were enrolled and given an assessment battery including the BEMIB, a previously published adherence scale, extrapyramidal symptom rating scales, and an adherence assessment with patient self-report and prescription refill records. The BEMIB consisted of 8 statements derived from the health belief model with a 5-point Likert-type scale for each statement. Subjects chose a single answer for each item depending on their level of agreement or disagreement. Results: According to refill records, subjects meeting BEMIB-based criteria for nonadherence had significantly larger gaps in antipsychotic therapy (greater nonadherence) compared with those of participants not meeting criteria for nonadherence. For the 1-week test-retest reliability, the BEMIB total score and 5 of 8 single items correlated significantly. BEMIB total scores correlated significantly with an established assessment of adherence (Drug Attitude Inventory), demonstrating adequate construct validity. Conclusion: The BEMIB represents a promising scale for identifying patients more likely to be nonadherent to their medications.
ReportThe Familial Parkinsonism Gene LRRK 2 Regulates Neurite Process Morphology

Mutations in LRRK2 underlie an autosomal-dominant, inherited form of Parkinson’s disease (PD) that mimics the clinical features of the common ‘‘sporadic’’ form of PD. The LRRK2 protein includes putative GTPase, protein kinase, WD40 repeat, and leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domains of unknown function. Here we show that PD-associated LRRK2 mutations display disinhibited kinase activity and induce a progressive reduction in neurite length and branching both in primary neuronal cultures and in the intact rodent CNS. In contrast, LRRK2 deficiency leads to increased neurite length and branching. Neurons that express PD-associated LRRK2 mutations additionally harbor prominent phospho-tau-positive inclusions with lysosomal characteristics and ultimately undergo apoptosis.
Optimum control strategies in energy conversion of PMSG wind turbine system without mechanical sensors

The amount of energy obtained from a wind energy conversion system (WECS) depends not only on the characteristics of the wind regime at the site, but it also depends on the control strategy used for the WECS. In order to determine the gain in energy derived from one concept as compared against another, models of several autonomous WECS have been developed using Matlab Simulink software. These allow easy performance evaluations and comparisons on different control strategies used, and determine the amount of energy injected to the grid in the case of the grid-connected systems. This paper also proposes a prototype version of the control strategy of a 20-kW permanent-magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) for maximum power tracking and compares with the results produced by previous strategies. Advantages of this mechanical sensorless control strategy for maximum power estimation are demonstrated by digital simulation of the system.
Frequency resolving power of the dolphin's hearing measured by rippled noise

Summary Frequency resolving power (FRP) of hearing was studied in bottlenose dolphins in behavioral experiments (go/no-go paradigm) using rippled noise with a phase-reversal test. The rippled noise has a frequency spectrum with periodically alternating peaks and troughs (ripples) which is a convenient spectrum pattern to test frequency resolution. The principle of the phase-reversal test was to find the highest ripple density at which an interchange of peak and trough positions (the phase reversal) in the ripple spectrum is detectable. Measurements were made using narrow-band rippled noise stimuli with center frequencies varying from 2 to 128 kHz. The found FRP was frequency-dependent: it increased from 6.7–7.4 (mean 7.0) at 2 kHz to 33.2– 62.8 (mean 48.3) at 128 kHz. At lower frequencies (2–16 kHz) the found FRP values are close to those of humans. At high frequencies (90–128 kHz) these values are several times higher which indicates very sharp frequency tuning.
Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and sustainable agriculture: A review

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria have gained extensive importance worldwide. These are naturally occurring bacteria that actively colonize the plant roots and improve plant growth. Plants inoculated with some potential PGPR strains exhibit improved biomass production. It has been observed that PGPR exert their growth promoting effects on plants by utilizing a number of mechanisms. Taken as an example, PGPR improve legumes growth due to their potential involvement in nitrogen fixation. Supply of nutrients like phosphorous, copper, iron, sulphur etc. is enhanced in the plants having rhizosphere enriched with plant growth promoting rhizobacteria. PGPR also act as bio-control agents by imposing their negative effects on the growth of disease causing bacteria, fungi and help in controlling insect pests. The research on PGPR has been on rise for the past few decades and several products containing PGPR have been commercialized for their use in agriculture. The more emphasis of scientists on these PGPR is due to the fact that these could only be the best alternative for the chemical products being utilized on a wide scale for getting improved yield. These chemical products are known to add to the pollutants prevailing in our environment. Therefore, the focus of this review is on the potential characteristics of PGPR that make them suitable alternative for chemical products being extensively exploited in agricultural practices. Key words: PGPR, Nitrogen fixation, Bio-control agents
Further studies of static and dynamic fusimotor fibres

The preceding paper (Crowe & Matthews, 1964) has confirmed and extended the finding that there exist two functionally distinct types of fusimotor fibre (Matthews, 1962). They may be distinguished, and have so far been studied, by observing the effect of their stimulation on the response of single primary endings to stretching the muscle at a constant velocity over a distance of several millimetres. The present paper, which is based on the same experiments as the preceding paper, describes the action of the two kinds of fibre on the response of primary endings to some different forms of mechanical stimuli. In addition, certain results are reviewed in relation to the question whether all fusimotor fibres can be reliably classified into static and dynamic fusimotor fibres. Some of the main findings have already been briefly reported (Crowe & Matthews, 1963).