Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synchronization of Uncertain Chaotic Systems Based on the Fuzzy-Model-Based Approach

This paper investigates the synchronization of chaotic systems subject to parameter uncertainties. Based on the fuzzy-model-based approach, a switching controller will be proposed to deal with the synchronization problem. The stability conditions will be derived based on the Lyapunov approach. The tracking performance and parameter design of the proposed switching controller will be formulated as a generalized eigenvalue minimization problem which can be solved numerically using some convex programming techniques. Simulation examples will be given to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Active site conformational changes of prostasin provide a new mechanism of protease regulation by divalent cations

Prostasin or human channel‐activating protease 1 has been reported to play a critical role in the regulation of extracellular sodium ion transport via its activation of the epithelial cell sodium channel. Here, the structure of the extracellular portion of the membrane associated serine protease has been solved to high resolution in complex with a nonselective d‐FFR chloromethyl ketone inhibitor, in an apo form, in a form where the apo crystal has been soaked with the covalent inhibitor camostat and in complex with the protein inhibitor aprotinin. It was also crystallized in the presence of the divalent cation Ca+2. Comparison of the structures with each other and with other members of the trypsin‐like serine protease family reveals unique structural features of prostasin and a large degree of conformational variation within specificity determining loops. Of particular interest is the S1 subsite loop which opens and closes in response to basic residues or divalent ions, directly binding Ca+2 cations. This induced fit active site provides a new possible mode of regulation of trypsin‐like proteases adapted in particular to extracellular regions with variable ionic concentrations such as the outer membrane layer of the epithelial cell.
Australian standards of care for cystic fibrosis‐related diabetes

Multiple guidelines have been published over the last few years for the diagnosis and management of cystic fibrosis (CF) and cystic fibrosis related diabetes (CFRD), although some of the recommendations are based on extrapolation from other forms of diabetes and/or expert opinions. This document seeks to combine the guidelines to provide an Australian approach to the management of CFRD and establish the guidelines within the Australian CF Standards of Care.
Day of the Week Effect and Stock Returns: (Evidence from Karachi Stock Exchange-Pakistan)

Day of the week effect study is focused as a stock market anomaly on the equity market practices in Pakistan. The modus-operandi applicable in this research consists of daily stock prices concerned to KSE-100 Index, for the period January 2006 to December 2010. The working week for trade matters consist of five days. Study concludes that Tuesday returns are quite significant and positive. Hence it is inferred that there exists day effect in Pakistani stock market. The returns of Tuesday on an average are greater in comparison to rest of the days. The regression analysis is performed to meet the thrust of this study.
Hypophosphatemia in acute-phase response syndrome patients. Preliminary data.

BACKGROUND Hypophosphatemia is common in acutely ill patients and possibly may occur in the acute-phase response syndrome (APR), secondary to hyperglycemia and shifts of extracellular phosphorus into cells. AIM To compare the frequency of hypophosphatemia in patients with or without APR. METHODS All plasma phosphorus results (n = 822) corresponding to a 6-month period were searched using an university hospital mainframe. Relevant laboratory and clinical details were also registered. All cases of alcohol withdrawal, diabetic ketoacidosis, parenteral nutrition, and chronic respiratory alkalosis and patients receiving antacids or intravenous dextrose (5%) in water at a rate higher than 50 g glucose/day were excluded. APR was defined on the basis of severe trauma or infection and at least two of the following: fever, leukopenia (WBC <5,000/mm3), or leukocytosis (WBC >9,000/mm3). Hypophosphatemia was defined as a serum phosphorus concentration <2.0 mg/dl. RESULTS A total of 227 patients were studied. Thirty-five (15.4%) patients fulfilled the criteria for APR. Hypophosphatemia was observed in 11.4% of the APR-positive patients, in contrast to 0.5% in the APR-negative group. Hyperglycemia was more common in APR-positive patients (60.0 vs. 36. 8%). CONCLUSION Our results suggest that hypophosphatemia may be attributed to increased serum glucose levels secondary to tissue injury and infection in APR-positive patients.
Private Security and Public Policing

in this first major empirical study of its kind, the authors examine the growth of 'private' policing and its relationship with, and implications for, the public police service. Beginning with a critique of the sociology of policing, the authors then provide a detailed analysis of the concepts of public and private, and examine the boundaries between different forms of policing. Using data from the first ever survey of the private security sector in Britain, the authors provide estimates of the numbers of employees and firms in the industry; the range of services and products offered; and the attitudes of those at senior levels in private security organizations. Competing theoretical explanations for the growth of private policing are then considered. The book then examines policing at the local level. Using a case study of the London Borough of Wandsworth, the authors examine the range of individuals and organizations involved in policing on the ground. They describe and analyse the activities of the full range of 'policing' bodies, including the public police force, investigatory and regulatory agencies attached to national and local government, and private security organizations. Using this analysis, the authors offer a thorough reconceptualization of what is meant by 'policing' in the late modern era, and consider the implications of this for the public police service and for the future of policing generally. Readership: This book will be invalu
A Maximal Predictability Portfolio Using Dynamic Factor Selection Strategy

In this paper, we will propose a practical method for improving the performance of a maximal predictability portfolio (MPP) model proposed by Lo and MacKinlay and later extended by the authors. We will employ an alternative version of MPP using absolute deviation instead of variance as a measure of fitting and apply a dynamic strategy for choosing the set of factors which fits best to the market data. It will be shown that this approach leads to a significantly better performance than the standard MPP and the index.
A Survey of Antibiotic Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Strains from Clinical Sources in Owerri

A survey of antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains from clinical specimens was carried out. A total of 100 different clinical specimens were investigated with a yield of 48 Staphylococcus aureus isolates. A high resistance of 95.8% to penicillin, 89.6% to ampicillin, 87.5% to tetracycline, and 75.0% to chloramphenicol by Staphylococcus aureus strains were recorded. A high susceptibility of 91.7% to gentamicin and 85.4% to cloxacillin were also record. The high percentage resistance to the antibiotics studied could be attributed to their prevailing usage and abuse in the area under study. The implication of the high percentage recorded for the antibiotics is that Staphylococcus aureus infections could be effectively treated with gentamicin and cloxacillin and not with penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol in the area under study. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management Vol. 8 (1) 2004: 67 - 69
The role of service guarantees in service development

Service development lacks the level of systematisation and customer involvement that has proved important for product development. This article presents an empirical description of how service guarantees may support service development by systemising customer involvement after service failures. Thirty-one in-depth interviews and a content analysis of 41 guarantee invocations from the temporary work businesses and staffing services industry reveal that nine cases resulted in service development and 32 did not. We present explanations for these results, and identify what role a service guarantee – from a development perspective – plays in the service process, the recovery process and the development process.
Drivers of Export Segmentation Effectiveness and Their Impact on Export Performance

In recent years, export segmentation effectiveness has attracted increasing attention in academic literature. The current study acknowledges this construct's ability to capture the proximal outcomes of export segmentation efforts and contributes to the literature by investigating its key drivers and link to export performance. The results identify export segmentation commitment, export segmentation strategy, and number of segmentation bases used as the key drivers of export segmentation effectiveness. A segments-within-countries strategy proves the most promising choice because it affects all export segmentation dimensions, which, with the exception of cost reduction, are significantly linked to customer satisfaction, strategic export performance, and, ultimately, financial export performance. The findings also provide support for the sequential segmentation → targeting → positioning process and highlight the importance of managerial commitment to export segmentation when facing heterogeneous markets.
Energy management in a public building: A case study co-designing the building energy management system

Buildings are important contributors to energy consumption accounting for around one-third of energy consumed in cities, where large public buildings are the dominant energy consumers. Accordingly, building energy management system (BEMS) can be defined as a system with combination of both intelligent and green building technology [1]. Previous literature has already presented a set of technical features of a BEMS. Therefore, in this paper, we shall focus on stakeholders of a BEMS and we aim at understanding how to engage and empower them in order to design a system that fits the needs of the different sub-groups in public buildings. We have tested the Living Lab method to co-design the BEMS, with a case study in a large public building. The main findings can be summarized as follow: the implication of all the stakeholders since the beginning is crucial to reduce failure risks. The establishment of a steering committee empowers key stakeholders to improve the BEMS. Information given by smart-meters installed to monitor energy consumption has to be transformed into actionable indicators to be helpful for the building service maintenance. Automatic advices based on algorithm should be proposed as, even though they might be more expensive. The proposed method offers a relevant contribution to the existing body of knowledge, as it allows BEMS designers to integrate the relevant stakeholders in the co-design of the system and describes how to proceed. In the future, we intend to apply our approach to other public buildings to further improve and validate the method.
Base Catalysis of Chromophore Formation in Arg96 and Glu222 Variants of Green Fluorescent Protein*

In green fluorescent protein (GFP), chromophore biosynthesis is initiated by a spontaneous main-chain condensation reaction. Nucleophilic addition of the Gly67 amide nitrogen to the Ser65 carbonyl carbon is catalyzed by the protein fold and leads to a heterocyclic intermediate. To investigate this mechanism, we substituted the highly conserved residues Arg96 and Glu222 in enhanced GFP (EGFP). In the R96M variant, the rate of chromophore formation is greatly reduced (time constant = 7.5 × 103 h, pH 7) and exhibits pH dependence. In the E222Q variant, the rate is also attenuated at physiological pH (32 h, pH 7) but is accelerated severalfold beyond that of EGFP at pH 9–10. In contrast, EGFP maturation is pH-independent and proceeds with a time constant of 1 h (pH 7–10). Mass spectrometric results for R96M and E222Q indicate accumulation of the pre-cyclization state, consistent with rate-limiting backbone condensation. The pH-rate profile implies that the Glu222 carboxylate titrates with an apparent pKa of 6.5 in R96M and that the Gly67 amide nitrogen titrates with an apparent pKaa of 9.2 in E222Q. These data suggest a model for GFP chromophore synthesis in which the carboxylate of Glu222 plays the role of a general base, facilitating proton abstraction from the Gly67 amide nitrogen or the Tyr66 α-carbon. Arg96 fulfills the role of an electrophile by lowering the respective pK values and stabilizing the α-enolate. Modulating the base strength of the proton-abstracting group may aid in the design of fast-maturing GFPs with improved characteristics for real-time monitoring of cellular events.
Where next for information audit?

Given the importance and potential value of Information Auditing (IA) to organizations it is essential that information professionals continue to develop and publicise the concept, share practice-based evidence on their experience, and report on the benefits and value of auditing. This article reminds us of important publications on IA and considers the two foremost approaches used — the library and information science approach and the financial audit approach. It suggests that both library and information science (LIS) professionals and financial audit professionals would benefit if work were now undertaken to combine their approaches into a single methodology. This view is influenced by the experience of other areas where information audits are now seen as useful tools — internal audit, records management, information security, competitor intelligence and knowledge management. The author is now undertaking further synthesis and practical work on the proposed convergence of methodologies; these will be reported on by this author and a co-author at a future point.
Schistosome glycans and innate immunity

Schistosome glycans induce characteristic innate immune responses in the infected host. The molecular aspects of these responses, the pathways and receptors as well as the schistosome glycans and glycoconjugates involved, form an area of intense research. The relevant schistosome glycan elements and the possible mechanisms through which they act on the innate immune system are discussed in this review.
Residual tumor volume versus extent of resection: predictors of survival after surgery for glioblastoma.

OBJECT The impact of extent of resection (EOR) on survival for patients with glioblastoma (GBM) continues to be a point of debate despite multiple studies demonstrating that increasing EOR likely extends survival for these patients. In addition, contrast-enhancing residual tumor volume (CE-RTV) alone has rarely been analyzed quantitatively to determine if it is a predictor of outcome. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of CE-RTV and T2/FLAIR residual volume (T2/F-RV) on overall survival. METHODS A retrospective review of 128 patients who underwent primary resection of supratentorial GBM followed by standard radiation/chemotherapy was undertaken utilizing quantitative, volumetric analysis of pre- and postoperative MR images. The results were compared with clinical data obtained from the patients' medical records. RESULTS At analysis, 8% of patients were alive, and no patients were lost to follow-up. The overall median survival was 13.8 months, with a median Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) score of 90 at presentation. The median contrast-enhancing preoperative tumor volume (CE-PTV) was 29.0 cm(3), and CE-RTV was 1.2 cm(3), equating to a 95.8% median EOR. The median T2/F-RV was 36.8 cm(3). CE-PTV, CE-RTV, T2/F-RV, and EOR were all statistically significant predictors of survival when controlling for age and KPS score. A statistically significant benefit in survival was seen with a CE-RTV less than 2 cm(3) or an EOR greater than 98%. Evaluation of the volumetric analysis methodology was performed by observers of varying degrees of experience-an attending neurosurgeon, a fellow, and a medical student. Both the medical student and fellow recorded correlation coefficients of 0.98 when compared with the attending surgeon's measured volumes of CE-PTV, while for CE-RTV, correlation coefficients of 0.67 and 0.71 (medical student and fellow, respectively) were obtained. CONCLUSIONS CE-RTV and EOR were found to be significant predictors of survival after GBM resection. CERTV was the more significant predictor of survival compared with EOR, suggesting that the volume of residual contrast-enhancing tumor may be a more accurate and meaningful reflection of the pathobiology of GBM.
How to Test Mode Switching in Pacemakers Implanted in Patients: The MOST Study

PADELETTI, L. , et al.: How to Test Mode Switching in Pacemakers Implanted in Patients: The MOST Study. Optimal management of atrial arrhythmias with dual chamber pacemakers requires proper performance of automatic mode switching (AMS). The aim of this study was to develop a reliable technique to test the AMS function by using an external electronic device capable of mimicking the occurrence of supraventricular arrhythmias (Supraventricular Arrhythmia Simulator [SAS]). The SAS delivers low voltage pulse trains (200 mV, 20 ms) through two skin electrodes. Each pulse train lasts 15 seconds and starts synchronously with a pacing pulse of the implanted pacemaker to avoid interference from the operator. The pulse train rate is set at 350, 250, and 160 beats/min to simulate AF, atrial flutter, and atrial tachycardia (AT), respectively. Thirty‐five patients implanted with Vitatron pacemakers, whose AMS system has been previously validated, were enrolled. Atrial and ventricular sensing were programmed in unipolar mode at 0.5 mV and in bipolar mode at > 2 mV, respectively. All pulses from the SAS were detected by the atrial channel at an amplitude ranging from 1 to 3 mV. The test proved to be safe and reliable at rest and during exercise. AMS occurred immediately at onset or at offset of atrial arrhythmias, and no adverse interference on pacemaker function was seen from the SAS. In conclusion, the described technique and the SAS are safe and reliable for patient and pacemaker function and can be proposed as a useful method to verify proper performance of AMS function irrespective of the type of implanted devices.
The Implications of Switching from Unfunded to Funded Pension Systems

This article analyses the implications of switching from unfunded to funded pension systems. It is plausible that in the long run and on average people would be better off if pensions were funded. But in the transition from an unfunded to a funded scheme funds need to be accumulated and that requires national saving to be higher. While deficit financing can, under certain circumstances, help spread the burden of the transition across generations the scale of extra debt that might be needed in many European countries is problematic in the context of Monetary Union. Ultimately, it is likely to prove hard to make significant headway towards greater funding of pensions in Europe without some people being worse off. The task is harder the more generous are existing state pensions, the more rapid is the ageing of the population and the more constrained is the government in using deficit financing. Given all this the UK is in a relatively good position (vis a vis rest of Europe) to complete a transition which, arguably, began almost twenty years ago. Things are much tougher on the Continent. But there are more than transitional issues. Unfunded pension schemes can help people insure against shocks that affect particular generations and because such schemes often involve intra-generational redistribution (because linkage between contributions made and pensions subsequently received is often quite low), as well as inter-generational transfers, they can help compensate for missing insurance markets. A key question for those who advocate a complete move to funded schemes is how the redistributive and insurance roles that are played, to varying extents, by state-run, unfunded pension schemes could be achieved by other means.
Discrimination Using Class-Specific Features

In this paper the application of the class-specific features approach to classification is demonstrated for the problem of discriminating between speech and music. Feature extraction is class-specific and can therefore be tailored to each class meaning that segment size, model orders and the type of features used can be different for the classes. The performance of the discriminator is evaluated and an example of how classification is possible without training is given.
Multi‐variate analysis predicts clinical outcome 30 days after middle cerebral artery infarction

Background and purpose– To evaluate the functional prognostic value of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy performed within the 5 days of an infarction of the middle cerebral artery territory, compared with previously demonstrated prognostic factors. Methods– Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed on 77 consecutive non‐comatosed patients during the acute stage of middle cerebral artery infarction. The functional status was determined for each patient via the Orgogozo score. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic data were acquired in the infarction and in contra‐lateral normal tissue and the results were expressed as metabolite ratios. Correlations were evaluated between the Orgogozo score at day 1 and day 30, the age, the sex, the volume of the infarction, and the metabolic ratios. Results– In a monovariate analysis, the decrease of the NAA/choline ratio was correlated with a low Orgogozo score at days 1 and 30 (P<0.05) and with a large infarction (P<0.05). A stepwise analysis showed a significant relationship between the Orgogozo score at day 30 and the Orgogozo score at day 1, the sex, the volume of infarction, and the NAA/Cho ratio within the infarction. Conclusions– Our work demonstrates that a good clinical outcome at day 30 depends on a good initial clinical score at day 1, a small volume of infarction, a small decrease of NAA/Cho, and being of the female gender.