Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evolution of β-Cell Replacement Therapy in Diabetes Mellitus: Islet Cell Transplantation

Diabetes mellitus remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 23.6 million people in the United States are affected. Of these individuals, 5 to 10% have been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), an autoimmune disease. Although it often appears in childhood, T1DM may manifest at any age, leading to significant morbidity and decreased quality of life. Since the 1960s, the surgical treatment for diabetes mellitus has evolved to become a viable alternative to insulin administration, beginning with pancreatic transplantation. While islet cell transplantation has emerged as another potential alternative, its role in the treatment of T1DM remains to be solidified as research continues to establish it as a truly viable alternative for achieving insulin independence. In this paper, the historical evolution, procurement, current status, benefits, risks, and ongoing research of islet cell transplantation are explored.
Import : An Analytic and Econometric Study of Regions

This is unique study of import is of the greatest importance, since no studies of importacross regions have earlier been performed. Import is a driving force of innovations andtherefore most important for a stable growth. This master thesis is about interregional import,as well as the strong spatial concentration of imports in the Swedish system of network.Five hypothesises are presented in the last section of chapter two. The variables to be usedin the analysis are then divided into two main groups, before empirically tested in differentcombinations of regression models.The main conclusion of this thesis is a significant correlation between import, and the twoindependent variables export and firm R&D, and its result goes in line with the theoreticalframework of this thesis, regional specialisation in import and export nodes
Countercyclical Capital Buffers: Exploring Options

This paper provides some general lessons for the design of countercyclical capital buffers. Its main empirical contribution is to analyse conditioning variables which could guide the build-up and release of capital. A major distinction for countercyclical capital schemes is whether conditioning variables are bank-specific or system-wide. The evidence presented in the paper indicates that the idiosyncratic component can be sizeable when a bank-specific approach is used. This makes a system-wide approach preferable, for which the best variables as signal for the pace and size of the accumulation of the buffers are not necessarily the best for the timing and intensity of the release. The credit-to-GDP ratio seems best for the build-up phase. Some measure of aggregate losses, possibly combined with indicators of credit conditions, seem to perform well for signalling the beginning of the release phase. Nonetheless, the analysis indicates that designing a fully rule-based mechanism may not be possible at this stage as some degree of judgment seems inevitable. A parallel exercise indicates that reducing the sensitivity of the minimum capital requirement is an important element of a credible countercyclical buffer scheme.
Societal culture as a moderator of the impact of leadership on organisational effectiveness: a conceptual model

This conceptual paper reviews extant literature on leadership and societal culture within the sub-Saharan Africa context. Based on the literature review, the paper argues that societal culture is an important moderator of the impact of leadership on organisational effectiveness. Furthermore, the paper proposes a conceptual framework useful in explaining the interplay between leadership, societal culture and organisational effectiveness. Finally, the paper outlines some steps to advance leadership theory in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In Vivo Occupancy of Dopamine D3 Receptors by Antagonists Produces Neurochemical and Behavioral Effects of Potential Relevance to Attention-Deficit–Hyperactivity Disorder

Dopamine D3 receptors have eluded definitive linkage to neurologic and psychiatric disorders since their cloning over 20 years ago. We report a new method that does not employ a radiolabel for simultaneously defining in vivo receptor occupancy of D3 and D2 receptors in rat brain after systemic dosing using the tracer epidepride (N-[[(2S)-1-ethylpyrrolidin-2-yl]methyl]-5-iodo-2,3-dimethoxybenzamide). Decreases in epidepride binding in lobule 9 of cerebellum (rich in D3 receptors) were compared with nonspecific binding in the lateral cerebellum. The in vivo occupancy of the dopamine D3 receptors was dose dependently increased by SB-277011A (trans-N-[4-[2-(6-cyano-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolin-2-yl)ethyl]cyclohexyl]-4-quinolinecarboxamide) and U99194 (2,3-dihydro-5,6-dimethoxy- N,N-dipropyl-1H-inden-2-amine). Both antagonists increased extracellular levels of acetylcholine (ACh) in the medial prefrontal cortex of rats and modified brain-tissue levels of ACh and choline. Consistent with these findings, the D3 receptor antagonists enhanced the acquisition of learning of rats either alone or in the presence of the norepinephrine uptake blocker reboxetine as with the attention-deficit–hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug methylphenidate. Like reboxetine, the D3 receptor antagonists also prevented deficits induced by scopolamine in object recognition memory of rats. Mice in which the dopamine transporter (DAT) has been deleted exhibit hyperactivity that is normalized by compounds that are effective in the treatment of ADHD. Both D3 receptor antagonists decreased the hyperactivity of DAT−/− mice without affecting the activity of wild type controls. The present findings indicate that dopamine D3 receptor antagonists engender cognition-enhancing and hyperactivity-dampening effects. Thus, D3 receptor blockade could be considered as a novel treatment approach for cognitive deficits and hyperactivity syndromes, including those observed in ADHD.
Critical Connections: The Role of the Built Environment Sector in Delivering Green Cities and a Green Economy

The green agenda for cities and the economy in general is a major focus of global institutions and is increasingly a major national and urban priority. Core issues and best practice for built environment businesses were collated from published studies and used in a survey of Australian firms to see how committed they were to the green economy. The results show high awareness of the challenges and opportunities with 85% of firms having sustainability as an established agenda with senior management and over 20% of built environment firms deriving more than 50% of their sales from green products and services. This is much higher in design firms and is globally high. Whilst recognizing the scope for more engagement by industry in transitioning to a low carbon green economy, there is doubt within the built environment sector about how to create a business case for innovative green ventures and a lack of certainty or encouragement from government about how to proceed.
TerraSAR-X mission

The TerraSAR-X is a German national SAR- satellite system for scientific and commercial applications. It is the continuation of the scientifically and technologically successful radar missions X-SAR (1994) and SRTM (2000) and will bring the national technology developments DESA and TOPAS into operational use. The space segment of TerraSAR-X is an advanced high-resolution X-Band radar satellite. The system design is based on a sound market analysis performed by Infoterra. The TerraSAR-X features an advanced high-resolution X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar based on the active phased array technology which allows the operation in Spotlight-, Stripmap- and ScanSAR Mode with various polarizations. It combines the ability to acquire high resolution images for detailed analysis as well as wide swath images for overview applications. In addition, experimental modes like the Dual Receive Antenna Mode allow for full-polarimetric imaging as well as along track interferometry, i.e. moving target identification. The Ground Segment is optimized for flexible response to (scientific and commercial) User requests and fast image product turn-around times. The TerraSAR-X mission will serve two main goals. The first goal is to provide the strongly supportive scientific community with multi-mode X-Band SAR data. The broad spectrum of scientific application areas include Hydrology, Geology, Climatology, Oceanography, Environmental Monitoring and Disaster Monitoring as well as Cartography (DEM Generation) and Interferometry. The second goal is the establishment of a commercial EO-market in Europe which is driven by Infoterra. The commercial goal is the development of a sustainable EO-business so that the e.g. follow-on systems can be completely financed by industry from the profit. Due to its commercial potential, the TerraSAR-X project will be implemented based on a public-private partnership with the Astrium GmbH. This paper will describe first the mission objectives as well as the project organisation and major milestones. Then an overview on the satellite as well as the SAR instrument is given followed by a description of the system design. Finally the principle layout of the TerraSAR-X Ground Segment and some remarks on the European context are presented.
Peter Gerstmann May 2000 the Old Cosmo Team at Sgi Parallelgraphics Blaxxun Shout Interactive Pioneer Joel

I would expressly like to thank the following people for their contributed time, patience, expertise, and support. It is only with their help that this paper could have been completed. I am also endebted to the pioneers of VRML community, for providing an open format for Web3D, inspiration, software, and example code. Many thanks to: acknowledgements 00 the 3D graphics boom In recent years, the combined availability of faster, cheaper computer processors, less expensive memory, and more powerful mass market graphics accelerator cards has resulted in real-time 3D graphics usage becoming widespread among the casual computer user. 3D computer games have flooded the market, becoming the norm rather than the exception. With more and more complex 3D animation techniques appearing in movies and on TV, general public exposure to 3D graphics has risen sharply. Real-time 3D on the web became a reality in 1995 with the VRML 1.0 specification and several VRML-capable browsers. Since then, VRML 2.0 has become an international standard (VRML97). VRML2000 is being standardized as X3D. Java3D and a host of other Web3D technologies are now available. VRML97 is currently the most widely supported standard open format for complex real-time interactive 3D scenes on the web. VRML is a scene description language, similar to HTML being a document description language. A scene is composed of a list of objects, called nodes. Nodes describe things such as shapes, colors, lights, viewpoints, and transformations. Nodes are grouped and nested to form a hierarchical structure that defines the scene of interest. The following is a simple VRML file that describes a cube. (See figure 1) #VRML V2.0 utf8 Background { skyColor [ 1 1 . 9 ] } Shape { appearance Appearance { material Material {} } geometry Box { size 1 1 1 } } VRML is an excellent tool for 3D visualization, enabling not only static model representation with full texturing / coloring capabilities, but also animation and interaction. Furthermore, VRML scenes can be built from other VRML scenes to achieve arbitrary levels of complexity. motivation Robust technology for the delivery of interactive 3D coupled with inexpensive computing power positions the common computer user to take advantage of 3D over the web. Given the popularity of off-line 3D games then, one might expect to see an abundance of on-line 3D games. This is not the case however. There are presently only a handful of poorly publicized 3D games on …
Productivity Convergence and Foreign Ownership at the Establishment Level

This Paper investigates whether there is convergence in Total Factor Productivity towards the technological frontier at the establishment level. We find convergence to the frontier is statistically and quantitatively important, suggesting the existence of technology spillovers. Foreign multinationals make up a significant proportion of establishments at the technological frontier, and therefore make a contribution to productivity growth through technology transfer. We also find evidence that increased foreign presence within an industry raises the speed of convergence to the technological frontier.
Design of Compact UWB Bandpass Filter with Improved Out-of-band Performance Using Distributed CRLH Transmission Lines

This study presents an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) filter with improved out-of-band performance. The proposed filter adopts novel Composite Right/Left-Handed (CRLH) Transmission Lines (TLs), which are modeled with distributed elements instead of lumped elements. A unit cell of the CRLH TLs is theoretically analyzed to derive the design formulas. The analyzing results confirm that the proposed structures are CRLH TLs. A novel UWB bandpass filter with improved out-of-band performance is designed and fabricated using the induced formulas. The measurement results show that the fabricated UWB bandpass filter has an insertion loss of less than 2.8 dB, a bandwidth of 2.8-10.4 GHz and a rejection of more than 18 dB from 11.6 to 23.4 GHz.
ICT Use by Prominent Activists in Republika Srpska

Bosnia-Herzegovina and its administrative unit or "entity", Republika Srpska are divided, transitional post-war societies. The aim of this paper is to present a preliminary analysis of regional activists' use of information and communication technology (ICT) and to identify improvement potential. Empirical investigations of social media use and qualitative interviews with the country's activists indicate strong interest in ICT. Benefits for the use of ICT by activists include more efficient access to their target group, easier information sharing with the general population, and quicker reaction to spontaneous "offline" activities. Simultaneously, data points to problems such as limited budgets and know-how, intensive outsourcing practices, and a significant lack of awareness regarding data security. Activists see improvement potential in areas of training on content optimization, campaign management, ICT use and maintenance, security, and privacy. Additionally, there is potential to improve upon the sustainability of activist's work and patterns related to their ICT outsourcing.
Compressed Submanifold Multifactor Analysis

Although widely used, Multilinear PCA (MPCA), one of the leading multilinear analysis methods, still suffers from four major drawbacks. First, it is very sensitive to outliers and noise. Second, it is unable to cope with missing values. Third, it is computationally expensive since MPCA deals with large multi-dimensional datasets. Finally, it is unable to maintain the local geometrical structures due to the averaging process. This paper proposes a novel approach named Compressed Submanifold Multifactor Analysis (CSMA) to solve the four problems mentioned above. Our approach can deal with the problem of missing values and outliers via SVD-L1. The Random Projection method is used to obtain the fast low-rank approximation of a given multifactor dataset. In addition, it is able to preserve the geometry of the original data. Our CSMA method can be used efficiently for multiple purposes, e.g., noise and outlier removal, estimation of missing values, biometric applications. We show that CSMA method can achieve good results and is very efficient in the inpainting problem as compared to [1] , [2] . Our method also achieves higher face recognition rates compared to LRTC, SPMA, MPCA and some other methods, i.e., PCA, LDA and LPP, on three challenging face databases, i.e., CMU-MPIE, CMU-PIE and Extended YALE-B.
DNA Distortion Mechanism for Transcriptional Activation by ZntR, a Zn(II)-responsive MerR Homologue in Escherichia coli *

MerR-like DNA distortion mechanisms have been proposed for a variety of stress-responsive transcription factors. TheEscherichia coli ZntR protein, a homologue of MerR, has recently been shown to mediate Zn(II)-responsive regulation ofzntA, a gene involved in Zn(II) detoxification. To determine whether the MerR DNA distortion mechanism is conserved among MerR family members, we have purified ZntR to homogeneity and shown that it is a zinc receptor that is necessary and sufficient to stimulate Zn-responsive transcription at the zntA promoter. Biochemical, DNA footprinting, and in vitro transcription assays indicate that apo-ZntR binds in the atypical 20-base pair spacer region of the promoter and distorts the DNA in a manner that is similar to apo-MerR. The addition of Zn(II) to ZntR converts it to a transcriptional activator protein that introduces changes in the DNA conformation. These changes apparently make the promoter a better substrate for RNA polymerase. We propose that this zinc-sensing homologue of MerR restructures the target promoter in a manner similar to that of other stress-responsive transcription factors. The ZntR metalloregulatory protein is a direct Zn(II) sensor that catalyzes transcriptional activation of a zinc efflux gene, thus preventing intracellular Zn(II) from exceeding an optimal but as yet unknown concentration.
Swift Observations of the 2006 Outburst of the Recurrent Nova RS Ophiuchi. I. Early X-Ray Emission from the Shocked Ejecta and Red Giant Wind

RS Ophiuchi began its latest outburst on 2006 February 12. Previous outbursts have indicated that high-velocity ejecta interact with a preexisting red giant wind, setting up shock systems analogous to those seen in supernova remnants. However, in the previous outburst in 1985, X-ray observations did not commence until 55 days after the initial explosion. Here we report on Swift observations covering the first month of the 2006 outburst with the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) and X-Ray Telescope (XRT) instruments. RS Oph was clearly detected in the BAT 14-25 keV band from t = 0 to t ~ 6 days. XRT observations from 0.3 to 10 keV started 3.17 days after outburst. The rapidly evolving XRT spectra clearly show the presence of both line and continuum emission, which can be fitted by thermal emission from hot gas whose characteristic temperature, overlying absorbing column (NH)W, and resulting unabsorbed total flux decline monotonically after the first few days. Derived shock velocities are in good agreement with those found from observations at other wavelengths. Similarly, (NH)W is in accord with that expected from the red giant wind ahead of the forward shock. We confirm the basic models of the 1985 outburst and conclude that standard phase I remnant evolution terminated by t ~ 6 days and the remnant then rapidly evolved to display behavior characteristic of phase III. Around t = 26 days, however, a new, luminous, and highly variable soft X-ray source began to appear, whose origin will be explored in a subsequent paper.
Performance Evaluation of IEEE 802 . 11 Rate Adaptation Algorithms in Vehicular Networks

Rate adaptation algorithms such as Auto Rate Fallback (ARF) and Adaptive ARF (AARF) were designed to select the optimal bit rate based on the link condition to maximize the performance of the wireless network. In vehicular networks, the wireless link quality can vary in a short period of time due to packet collision and movement of vehicles at high speeds. We used OMNeT++/INET to build a simple infrastructure network model to investigate whether ARF and AARF are able to provide higher throughput than no rate adaptation algorithm (1) in a highly congested network, (2) when nodes are in motion. We found both ARF and AARF reduced the number of packet collisions but failed to improve the throughput, which suggests ARF and AARF are not suitable for use in vehicular networks. Keywords— Rate adaptation; ARF; AARF; vehicular networks
Structural, Electronic, and Mechanical Properties of Inner Surface Modified Imogolite Nanotubes

The electronic, structural and mechanical properties of the modified imogolites have been investigated using self consistent charge-density functional-tight binding method with “a posteriori” treatment of the dispersion interaction (SCC-DFTB-D). The zigzag (12,0) imogolite has been used as the initial structure for the calculations. The functionalization of the interior (12,0) imogolite nanotubes by organosilanes and by heat treatment leading to the dehydroxylation of the silanols were investigated. The reaction of the silanols with the trimethylmethoxysilanes is favored and the arrangement of the different substitutions that leads to the most symmetrical structures are preferred. The Young moduli and band gaps are slightly decreased. However, the dehydroxylation of the silanol groups in the inner surface of the imogolite leads to the increase of the Young moduli and a drastic decrease of the band gap of about 4.4 eV. It has been shown that the degree of the dehydroxylation can be controlled by heat treatment and tune the band gap, eventually, leading to a semiconductor material with well defined nanotube structure.
1 Similarity Judgments , Violations of Stationarity , and Reflection Effects in Intertemporal Choice

LIMITED DISTRIBUTION NOTICE: This report has been submitted for publication outside of IBM and will probably be copyrighted if accepted for publication. It has been issued as a Research Report for early dissemination of its contents. In view of the transfer of copyright to the outside publisher, its distribution outside of IBM prior to publication should be limited to peer communications and specific requests. After outside publication, requests should be filled only by reprints or legally obtained copies of the article (e.g. payment of royalties). Copies may be requested from IBM T. J. Abstract This paper demonstrates that choices based on similarity judgments, along lines suggested by Rubinstein (1988) and Leland (1994, 1998), will not only exhibit common ratio and reflection effects under uncertainty but also common difference and reflection effects in intertemporal contexts.
Editing C 1-Continuous 2 D Spline Deformations by Constrained Least Squares

We describe a method for interactive editing of C-continuous deformations of the plane defined by splines of degree 5 on an arbitrary triangular mesh. The continuity constraints and the user editing actions are combined using weighted and constrained least squares instead of the usual finite element approach. We worked with exact integer arithmetic in order to detect and eliminate redundancies in the set of constraints. To validate our method, we used it as part of an friendly interactive editor for “2.5D” space deformations. This editor has been used to deform 3D models of non-rigid living microscopic organisms as seen in actual optical microscope images.
Relational embeddedness impacts on service innovation performance: The mediating role of network competence

Based on a survey of 243 service providing enterprises in South China, this study investigates the effects of relational embeddedness and network competence on service innovation performance respectively, the mechanisms by which network competence mediates the relationship between relational embeddedness and service innovation were also discussed. Results show that both relational embeddedness and network competence are positively related to service innovation performance; network competence has a fully mediating effect on the relationship of relational embeddedness and service innovation performance.