Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors Influencing Electronic Commerce Adoption : A Case Study of Iranian Family SMEs

The rate of EC adoption as a main driver of business internationalization in Iranian family SMEsin the decision time of joining the Iran’s economy to the WTO is questionably low.Relatively, this research investigated on factors influencing electronic commerce (EC) adoption in Iranian family SMEs. In this way, despite of the existence of heavy-loaded literature in relation to EC adoption in LSEs and SMEs either in developed or even developing countries, there was almost no study in family SMEs’ context in Iran. Moreover, the distinctiveness of family SMEs, particularly in case of developing countries, limited the generalization of the prior research findings for illustrating such dearth in such unique SMEs in Iran.Given the situation, thisstudywas conducted by an experience research through of semi-structure (in-depth) interviews with an explanatory nature to identify the EC adoption determinants in Iranian family SMEs. To this end, the primary qualitative data, collected by the semi-structural interviews, was analyzed by ‘Deductive Content Analysis’.
Fundamental understanding of cellular water distribution and transport in plant-based food material during drying

This study was conducted to uncover the spatial distribution of cellular water in plant-based food materials and its transport process during drying. A new experimental and analytical method was developed to investigate the cellular water distribution using NMR-T2 relaxometry and X-ray micro CT. It was revealed that at low temperatures cellular water migrates through diffusion whereas at higher temperature cell water mostly migrates through progressive rupturing of the cell walls. This thesis also investigated the impact of process parameters and characteristics of food material on cellular water distribution, transport and associated morphological changes during drying.
Clinical and microbiological characteristics of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium bloodstream infection in Central Taiwan

Abstract Bloodstream infections (BSIs) due to vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfae) remain a therapeutic challenge. This study aimed to evaluate mortality from BSIs due to VREfae in Central Taiwan. We retrospectively analyzed patients with significant VREfae BSIs in the Changhua Christian Hospital System between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2014. Of the 152 patients with Enterococcal BSI, 56 patients (36.8%) were admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) at the onset of BSI and 20 (13.2%) patients were associated with polymicrobial bacteremia. VREfae BSI was observed in 36 (23.7%) patients. Van A (100%) is the prevalence genotype, and ST 17 (41.7%) is the predominant ST type among 36 VREfae isolates during the study period. The 30-day mortality rate was 13.2% (20/152). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the onset of VREfae BSI in the ICU (odds ratio [OR] = 4.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.7–10.0, P = .002) was a significant risk factor for 30-day mortality, whereas an appropriate antimicrobial therapy was a protective factor for 30-day mortality (OR = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.14–0.79, P = .013). Our results underscore the need to assist patients who are admitted to ICUs with VREfae BSIs. We emphasize the use of an appropriate antimicrobial therapy for VREfae BSI with the aim to treat more patients with these infections.
Risk factors for severity of diabetic polyneuropathy: intensive longitudinal assessment of the Rochester Diabetic Neuropathy Study cohort.

OBJECTIVE Chronic hyperglycemia relates to the occurrence of diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN), but has not yet been shown to relate to its overall severity In addition, the degree and duration of hyperglycemia, which measure of chronic hyperglycemia is most predictive of defined levels of severity of DPN, and which other putative risk factors are involved remain unknown. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In a longitudinal study of 264 diabetic individuals in Rochester, MN, risk factors and other diabetic complications assessed at regular intervals during an average of approximately 7 years were tested for their association with a composite score of severity of DPN at the last examination. RESULTS In multivariate analysis, diabetic retinopathy severity level (at last examination), mean ln(24-h proteinuria x duration of diabetes), and mean GHb were the main covariates for severity of DPN (R2 = 0.33). Excluding markers of microvessel and macrovessel disease, the independent risk factors were mean In(GHb x duration of diabetes), GHb, and type of diabetes (R2 = 0.23). CONCLUSIONS We found that diabetic microvessel disease, chronic hyperglycemia exposure, and type of diabetes are associated with severity of DPN, and we believe these factors are implicated in its cause. Each of the five markers of microvessel disease was a strong covariate for severity of DPN. Mean GHb predicts severity of DPN better than duration of diabetes, and the latter predicts severity of DPN better than mean fasting plasma glucose. Knowing the severity of microvessel disease, the degree of chronic hyperglycemia exposure, and the type of diabetes provides useful information to evaluate whether a coexisting polyneuropathy and its severity is probably due to diabetes.
QUERY BY SINGING / HUMMING ( MIREX 2013 ) THE TUNE FOLLOWER

This extended abstract presents a solution to the QbSH (Query by Singing/Humming) problem, submitted to MIREX 2013 QbSH evaluation contest. The solution is based on the well-known DTW (Dynamic Time Warping) approach, modified by the use of tune-following procedure. In this way it is possible to alleviate the problem – resulting i.a. from imprecision in sung queries – of fitting absolute pitch values between a query and a template.
Interdigitated electrodes as impedance and capacitance biosensors: A review

Interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) are made of two individually addressable interdigitated comb-like electrode structures. IDEs are one of the most favored transducers, widely utilized in technological applications especially in the field of biological and chemical sensors due to their inexpensive, ease of fabrication process and high sensitivity. In order to detect and analyze a biochemical molecule or analyte, the impedance and capacitance signal need to be obtained. This paper investigates the working principle and influencer of the impedance and capacitance biosensors. The impedance biosensor depends on the resistance and capacitance while the capacitance biosensor influenced by the dielectric permittivity. However, the geometry and structures of the interdigitated electrodes affect both impedance and capacitance biosensor. The details have been discussed in this paper.Interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) are made of two individually addressable interdigitated comb-like electrode structures. IDEs are one of the most favored transducers, widely utilized in technological applications especially in the field of biological and chemical sensors due to their inexpensive, ease of fabrication process and high sensitivity. In order to detect and analyze a biochemical molecule or analyte, the impedance and capacitance signal need to be obtained. This paper investigates the working principle and influencer of the impedance and capacitance biosensors. The impedance biosensor depends on the resistance and capacitance while the capacitance biosensor influenced by the dielectric permittivity. However, the geometry and structures of the interdigitated electrodes affect both impedance and capacitance biosensor. The details have been discussed in this paper.
An intelligent agent-based biomedical literature mining system for cancer-related genes

Cancer has now become the major disease threatening people's health. That is why research on the factor causing cancer has become significant. Although biomedical researchers can obtain a lot of related biomedical literature through a search engine, they also have to face the problem of information overload as well. We propose an intelligent agent system regarding the data mining of biomedical literature, hoping to provide assistance. According to the type of cancer user enter, the system will automatically combine it with LOH (loss of heterozygosity) or CGH (comparative genomic hybridization), and then search for related biomedical literatures from the PubMed. And then the retrieved literatures will be categorized using the decision tree, with which the cancer-related genes can be mined at the same time. The method can help mine important information from biomedical literatures and thus helps users to gain quick and easy access to important information. Also, this method can be applied to other diseases.
The Use of Decision-dependent Uncertainty Sets in Robust Optimization

This paper contemplates the amenability of Robust Optimization to address problems that involve endogenous uncertainty, i.e., uncertainty that is affected by the decision maker’s strategy. To that end, we extend generic polyhedral uncertainty sets that are typically considered in RO into sets that depend on the actual decisions. Such dependency allows us not only to capture functional changes in correlations that may be induced by given decisions, but also to alleviate conservatism effects from non-materialized model parameters. Case studies from process network capacity expansion, offshore oilfield development, and clinical trial planning showcase the effect of various levels of uncertainty in the optimal solutions as well as the modeling potential and favorable computational tractability characteristics of the proposed framework, which can be utilized in both short-term and long-term decision making.
Information Content-Based Gene Ontology Functional Similarity Measures: Which One to Use for a Given Biological Data Type?

The current increase in Gene Ontology (GO) annotations of proteins in the existing genome databases and their use in different analyses have fostered the improvement of several biomedical and biological applications. To integrate this functional data into different analyses, several protein functional similarity measures based on GO term information content (IC) have been proposed and evaluated, especially in the context of annotation-based measures. In the case of topology-based measures, each approach was set with a specific functional similarity measure depending on its conception and applications for which it was designed. However, it is not clear whether a specific functional similarity measure associated with a given approach is the most appropriate, given a biological data set or an application, i.e., achieving the best performance compared to other functional similarity measures for the biological application under consideration. We show that, in general, a specific functional similarity measure often used with a given term IC or term semantic similarity approach is not always the best for different biological data and applications. We have conducted a performance evaluation of a number of different functional similarity measures using different types of biological data in order to infer the best functional similarity measure for each different term IC and semantic similarity approach. The comparisons of different protein functional similarity measures should help researchers choose the most appropriate measure for the biological application under consideration.
Mechanism of Plastid Division: From a Bacterium to an Organelle1

Chloroplasts arose more than 1 billion years ago, when a free-living cyanobacterium became an endosymbiont in a eukaryotic host cell. Several lines of evidence indicate that all chloroplasts and their nonphotosynthetic relatives (plastids) are directly or indirectly derived from a single
Hamiltonian formulation of quantum mechanics with semiclassical implications. II. Variational treatment.

It is shown that application of the time-dependent variational principle to trial wave functions of a particular form results in a description of the quantum system as a classical system consisting of two mutually interacting parts: the ordinary classical analog of the quantum system and a (generally finite) number of additional degrees of freedom. This holds out the prospect of simulating quantum dynamics by coupling the corresponding classical system to additional degrees of freedom, and it is pointed out that such calculations have, in effect, already been performed
Reversal of Age-Related Alterations in Synaptic Plasticity by Blockade of L-Type Ca2+ Channels

The role of L-type Ca2+ channels in the induction of synaptic plasticity in hippocampal slices of aged (22–24 months) and young adult (4–6 months) male Fischer 344 rats was investigated. Prolonged 1 Hz stimulation (900 pulses) of Schaffer collaterals, which normally depresses CA3/CA1 synaptic strength in aged rat slices, failed to induce long-term depression (LTD) during bath application of the L-channel antagonist nifedipine (10 μm). When 5 Hz stimulation (900 pulses) was used to modify synaptic strength, nifedipine facilitated synaptic enhancement in slices from aged, but not young, adult rats. This enhancement was pathway-specific, reversible, and impaired by the NMDA receptor (NMDAR) antagonist dl-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (AP5). Induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in aged rats, using 100 Hz stimulation, occluded subsequent synaptic enhancement by 5 Hz stimulation, suggesting that nifedipine-facilitated enhancement shares mechanisms in common with conventional LTP. Facilitation of synaptic enhancement by nifedipine likely was attributable to a reduction (∼30%) in the Ca2+-dependent K+-mediated afterhyperpolarization (AHP), because the K+ channel blocker apamin (1 μm) similarly reduced the AHP and promoted synaptic enhancement by 5 Hz stimulation. In contrast, apamin did not block LTD induction using 1 Hz stimulation, suggesting that, in aged rats, the AHP does not influence LTD and LTP induction in a similar way. The results indicate that, during aging, L-channels can (1) facilitate LTD induction during low rates of synaptic activity and (2) impair LTP induction during higher levels of synaptic activation via an increase in the Ca2+-dependent AHP.
Comparable effectiveness of endovenous laser ablation and high ligation with stripping of the great saphenous vein: two-year results of a randomized clinical trial (RELACS study).

OBJECTIVE To compare the clinical efficacy and safety of endovenous laser treatment (EVLT) with high ligation and stripping (HLS) as standard treatment for great saphenous vein (GSV) insufficiency. DESIGN Two-center randomized controlled trial with 2-year follow-up. SETTING Interventions were performed on ambulatory and hospitalized patients at 2 vein centers, a university dermatology department (EVLT-treated group), and a specialized vein clinic (HLS-treated group). PATIENTS Random sample of 400 patients with GSV insufficiency. INTERVENTIONS Patients were assigned (1:1) to EVLT or HLS of the GSV from September 2004 through March 2007; 185 and 161 patients (limbs), respectively, were treated per protocol. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Clinically recurrent varicose veins after surgery (REVAS classification, primary study objective), duplex-detected saphenofemoral recurrence, clinical venous severity scoring (Homburg Varicose Vein Severity Score), hemodynamics (venous refilling time), quality of life (Chronic Venous Insufficiency Questionnaire 2), adverse effects, and visual analog scale-based evaluations of patients' satisfaction. RESULTS Clinically recurrent varicose veins after surgery were similarly observed in both groups: 16.2% (EVLT-treated group) vs 23.1% (HLS-treated group); P = . 15. Duplex-detected saphenofemoral refluxes occurred significantly more frequently after EVLT (17.8% vs 1.3%; P < .001). Both treatments equally improved medical condition (Homburg Varicose Vein Severity Score) and disease-related quality of life. Endovenous laser treatment caused more adverse effects (phlebitic reaction, tightness, dyspigmentation) but revealed advantages concerning hemodynamics, recovery, and cosmetic outcome. CONCLUSIONS Both EVLT and HLS are comparably safe and effective procedures to treat GSV incompetence. The significantly higher rate and the course of duplex-detected saphenofemoral recurrences after EVLT remain a matter of further investigations. TRIAL REGISTRATION isrctn.org Identifier: ISRCTN18322872.
Catheter-based time-gated near-infrared fluorescence/OCT imaging system

We developed a new dual-modality intravascular imaging system based on fast time-gated fluorescence intensity imaging and spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) for the purpose of interventional detection of atherosclerosis. A pulsed supercontinuum laser was used for fluorescence and OCT imaging. A double-clad fiber (DCF)- based side-firing catheter was designed and fabricated to have a 23 μm spot size at a 2.2 mm working distance for OCT imaging. Its single-mode core is used for OCT, while its inner cladding transports fluorescence excitation light and collects fluorescent photons. The combination of OCT and fluorescence imaging was achieved by using a DCF coupler. For fluorescence detection, we used a time-gated technique with a novel single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) working in an ultra-fast gating mode. A custom-made delay chip was integrated in the system to adjust the delay between the excitation laser pulse and the SPAD gate-ON window. This technique allowed to detect fluorescent photons of interest while rejecting most of the background photons, thus leading to a significantly improved signal to noise ratio (SNR). Experiments were carried out in turbid media mimicking tissue with an indocyanine green (ICG) inclusion (1 mM and 100 μM) to compare the time-gated technique and the conventional continuous detection technique. The gating technique increased twofold depth sensitivity, and tenfold SNR at large distances. The dual-modality imaging capacity of our system was also validated with a silicone-based tissue-mimicking phantom.
Cervical Cancer and the Role of Lymph Node Staging Cons Sentinel Concept

Objective: To determine whether the current standard of cervical cancer staging is sentinel lymph node biopsy. Method: Review of the literature focusing on the significance of the sentinel node concept in patients with cervical cancer. Because of the data on the significance of the intraoperative histopathological assessment of sentinel lymph nodes, the role of micrometastasis in lymph nodes, and the standards of procedure, the sentinel procedure were analyzed. Result: Sentinel lymph node biopsy alone is currently not a routine procedure for cervical cancer staging. This procedure should be performed only by specialized centers in a study setting. More data on its oncological safety are needed.
Occipitocervicothoracic fixation using a hook and rod system for patients with rheumatoid cervical spine

We retrospectively examined the outcomes of occipitocervicothoracic fixation using a hook and rod system for rheumatoid patients with cervical myelopathy in which decompression of the spinal cord and spinal fusion were performed simultaneously at multiple levels. There were 10 female patients with rheumatoid arthritis (ages 51–77 years, average 62.8 years; follow-up period 6 months to 3 years and 9 months, average 2 years and 8 months). Atlantoaxial subluxation was found in 5 patients, vertical subluxation in 4 patients, and subaxial subluxation in 8 patients. The progression of the disorder was assessed as class 4 stage 4 in 3 patients and class 3 stage 4 in 7 patients. The average time taken for surgery was 4h 41min, and the average volume of blood loss was 729ml. There were no complications during surgery. One patient died of malignant lymphoma 1 month after surgery, and one patient died of heart failure 2 years and 3 months after surgery. The average Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score improved from 7.0 preoperatively to 9.5 postoperatively. Preoperative nuchal pain in 3 patients and difficulty in breathing on flexion of the cervical spine in 2 patients were improved after surgery. Good bony union was obtained in 9 patients. The exception being one patient who died of a disease unrelated to the surgery 1 month postoperatively. Occipitocervicothoracic fixation using a hook and rod system is an easy and safe procedure, and can facilitate not only good bony union, but also adequate decompression of the spinal cord with simultaneous laminoplasty because of the secure long fixation extending to the upper thoracic level and bilateral grafting of a considerable volume of bone.
Chediak-Higashi Syndrome: Abnormal Lysosomal Enzyme Levels in Granulocytes of Patients and Family Members

Summary: Nine lysosomal enzyme activities were examined in granulocytes and lymphocytes from two unrelated patients with Chediak-Higashi syndrome (CHS) in “accelerated phase” and from their family members. In CHS granulocytes, there was a marked reduction of α-mannosidase (E.C. 3.2.1.24), α-galactosidase (E.C. 3.2.1.22), and α-fucosidase (E.C. 3.2.1.51) activities, which were below 21, 24, and 43% of mean control values, respectively. In CHS lymphocytes, β-glucuronidase (E.C. 3.2.1.31) and α-mannosidase activities were also decreased.In granulocytes of family members, the activities of acid phosphatase (E.C. 3.1.3.2), N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (E.C. 3.2.1.30), aryl sulphatase (E.C. 3.1.6.1), and β-glucuronidase were significantly higher than the control values (P < 0.001), which were 262, 218, 414, and 180% of mean control values.Neither the inhibitor in CHS granulocytes nor the activator in the heterozygous granulocytes to those enzymes could be found by mixing experiments with normal ones.Speculation: These findings suggest that some acid hydrolase-deficient state in CHS granulocytes might account for their functional abnormality and that CHS heterozygotes could be detected by the altered enzyme levels in their granulocytes.
Propuesta de estructura para educación incluyente en ingeniería - Caso: corrosión.

En aquest teball s'utilitzen els motors de recerca d'informacio (Google) i de videos (Youtube), per seleccionar els primers llocs web que expliquen el concepte de corrosio. Es preten analitzar la informacio trobada per determinar consensos i identificar paruales amb la finalitat d'elaborar un proposta constructiva d'estructura per a l'educacio en enginyeria. El treball es una proposta de millora i d'ajustament a les formes noves de divulgacio i de comunicacio de la informacio que apareix despres de detectar, en els estudiants de l'actualitat, un increment de fallides conceptuals i dificultats en la comprensio de diferents tematiques que es desenvolupen en els cursos relacionats amb la quimica, la fisicoquimica i els processos quimics. Es va trobar que en els llocs de comunicacio i en els llibres de text existeixen diferents termes per definir el concepte de corrosio, i alguns son considerats, per principiants, com a basics, desconeixent que es requereix un bagatge conceptual molt ampli en fisica, quimica, fisicoquimica i electroquimica. Es proposa una estructura d'ensenyament simple amb la finalitat de reorganitzat la informacio que sera difosa en els mitjans, recurs que, a mes a mes dels estudiants en eduacio formal, estan utilitzant els individus que per algun motiu van abandonar el seu proces formatiu o aquells que en edat adulta ingressen per primera vegada a un proces formatiu i que estan interessats en aprendre aquestes tematiquesc que s'anomenen "dures".