Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Buy Back Contract Considering Fairness Preference under the Framework of Nash-Bargain in a Two Stage Supply Chain

This paper using the method of establish models and analysis data mainly research the influence on a two stage supply chain that contains one supplier and one retailer caused by buy back contract considering fairness preference. The research shows that buy back contract can coordinate the supply chain and fairness preference will not affect the coordination of buy back contract. Moreover, the retailer's optimal order quantity will not change as buy back contract concerning fairness preference, but the retailer's optimal order quantity will be increase as the cost increase. The most important finding in this paper is that even when the supplier don't know the retailer’s degree of fairness preference, he can also design a wholesale price and a buyback price to achieve the best profits or utility.
Spread Spectrum MAC Protocol With Dynamic Rate and Collision Avoidance for Mobile Ad Hoc Network

Spread spectrum (SS) is being considered as an access technology for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). However, code assignment, collision avoidance, and efficient bandwidth usage become difficult to resolve due to the distributed nature of MANETs. We propose an SS medium-access-control protocol with dynamic rate and collision avoidance. Unlike previously proposed protocols, it allocates the rate dynamically according to the neighboring terminals' activity status. If the total number of usable spreading codes with this spreading factor is less than the total number of mobile terminals in the network, to avoid a collision, the ID of a spreading code assigned to a packet is broadcast such that other terminals can avoid using it when the packet is being transmitted. We analyze its throughput in a slotted single-hop multiuser environment theoretically and multihop environment by simulation results indicate that it outperforms static code allocation protocols significantly.
Correlating cerebral hypometabolism with future memory decline in subsequent converters to amnestic pre-mild cognitive impairment.

BACKGROUND Before symptomatic memory loss, healthy apolipoprotein E epsilon4 (APOE epsilon4) (OMIM 104310) carriers demonstrate accelerated longitudinal decline on memory tests, suggesting the existence of a transitional state between normal aging and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which we have called amnestic pre-MCI. OBJECTIVE To support our neuropsychological construct of pre-MCI by characterizing and comparing the relationship between measurements of baseline regional hypometabolism and subsequent rates of memory decline in a group of individuals with neuropsychologically defined asymptomatic memory decline (pre-MCI group) and in nondecliners after controlling for APOE epsilon4 gene dose. DESIGN Longitudinal study. SETTING Academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS Of 139 healthy individuals in the Arizona APOE Cohort aged 50 to 69 years who underwent longitudinal neuropsychological testing and fludeoxyglucose F 18-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) since 1994, 10 met our criteria for amnestic pre-MCI, and 15 showed no decline. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Correlations between lower regional cerebral metabolic rates for glucose (CMRgl) and rates of verbal memory test decline that occurred at a mean of 41 months after baseline FDG-PET using an automated brain mapping algorithm (SPM5). RESULTS The pre-MCI and nondecliner groups did not differ in mean (SD) age (56.8 [4.8] years), education (16.5 [2.3] years), sex (19 women [76%]), or APOE epsilon4 carrier status (12 epsilon4 carriers [48%)]. After controlling for APOE epsilon4 gene dose, the pre-MCI group had significant correlations between lower baseline CMRgl in the posterior cingulate, bilateral parietal, and left prefrontal regions (known to be preferentially affected by Alzheimer disease) and subsequent verbal memory decline. Nondecliners had significant correlations bilaterally in the posterior and midcingulate cortices. Correlations in the left parietal, left temporal, and bilateral frontal regions were significantly greater in the pre-MCI group than those in the nondecliner group. CONCLUSION Individuals with amnestic pre-MCI showed significantly greater correlations between cerebral hypometabolism and subsequent long-term memory decline than nondecliners in Alzheimer disease-affected brain regions.
Distinguishing Colonization From Infection With Staphylococcus aureus in Diabetic Foot Ulcers With Miniaturized Oligonucleotide Arrays

OBJECTIVE To extend our previous work on evaluating the use of oligonucleotide arrays to discriminate colonization from infection owing to Staphylococcus aureus in diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Patients admitted to 14 French diabetic foot departments for a DFU were screened for entry into the study. At admission, ulcers were classified based on clinical examination according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America system. Only patients with monomicrobial culture for S. aureus were included. In persons with an uninfected ulcer, a second wound bacterial specimen was obtained 1 month later. Using oligonucleotide arrays, S. aureus resistance and virulence genes were determined, and each isolate was affiliated to a clonal complex (CC). RESULTS S. aureus was initially isolated from 75 uninfected and 120 infected ulcers; 35 were methicillin resistant. A total of 44 (59%) strains from uninfected DFUs belonged to CC5/CC8 clones vs. 6 (5%) from infected DFUs (P < 0.001). During follow-up, 57 (76%) of uninfected DFUs healed or had a favorable outcome; the strain in 49 (86%) of them belonged to CC5/CC8. Conversely, 18 (24%) had a poor outcome but not a single strain belonged to CC5/CC8 clone. Moreover, lukDE was significantly associated with a favorable outcome of the wound. CONCLUSIONS As suggested by our previous study, the use of DNA arrays appears to be a promising technique that might help distinguishing uninfected from infected wounds, predicting ulcer outcome and then contributing to a more adequate use of antibiotics.
A Study on the Motivation of African Students in China

The purpose of the study on African students’ motivation is to understand the students’ situations, which include their difficulties and barriers in their life and study, and then make an analysis on the relation among the cultural situation and motivation, and learning outcomes as well, which thus surly provide a help for both students and universities to further the exchanges and cooperation, and finally promote the development of Sino-African relations. The study made a survey which includes 180 questionnaires and 50 interview in 9 universities in Beijing. The survey shows that most of the students are motivated by both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. However, intrinsic motivation is much more powerful and effective than extrinsic motivation in students’ learning and evolving in the local life in China. There is big difference among the students of different ages. The elder ones have higher autonomous learning ability, therefore most of them can get the better achievements, and easier to get involve in the local life. Keywords-motivation; intrinsic motivation; extrinsic motivation; cultural communication; learning results
Cultural Assimilation & Attitude of Non-Native Middle School Students and Adults in Dhaka: A Comparative Study

This research aims to identify and examine the key factors that play a vital role in the cultural assimilation and attitudes of non-native speakers of Bangla at an International school in Dhaka where English is the medium of instruction, and seek out differences in attitude between the non-native adults residing in Dhaka. The identification of the key factors which facilitate cultural assimilation has been uncovered through triangulating personal interviews, semi-structured questionnaires, and focus group discussions. The results indicate that gradual cultural assimilation is taking place in the non-native speakers of Bangla in both the adult and student population, but with striking differences in their attitudes towards certain well established elements that foster cultural assimilation. Keyword: Cultural assimilation, Attitude, Cultural relativism, Diffusion, Integration
Mental disorder and crime. Evidence from a Danish birth cohort.

BACKGROUND Evidence has accumulated since the mid 1960s from a number of different countries indicating an association between mental disorder and crime and particularly between the major mental disorders and violence. Registries in Denmark were used to identify a birth cohort and to document all psychiatric admissions and all criminal proceedings of the 324401 members of this cohort up to the age of 43 years. METHODS Persons who had been admitted to a psychiatric ward were assigned to a diagnostic category according to a hierarchy of principal discharge diagnoses. They were compared with persons never admitted to a psychiatric ward as to the prevalence, type, and frequency of criminal convictions. RESULTS Women and men who had been hospitalized in psychiatric wards were more likely to have been convicted of a criminal offense than persons with no history of psychiatric hospitalization. The offenders who were hospitalized committed all types and, on average, as many offenses as did the never-hospitalized group of the same sex. CONCLUSIONS These findings confirm those from 2 other post-World War II Scandinavian birth cohorts that have found an association between psychiatric hospitalization and criminal convictions. They also concur with findings that patients discharged from psychiatric wards are more likely than other persons living in the same community to commit crimes and with results from North America showing elevated rates of major mental disorders among incarcerated offenders. Generalization of these findings is limited to nations with similar criminal justice, mental health, and social welfare systems.
Altered Functional Connectivity Density in Subtypes of Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) can be classified into tremor-dominant and akinetic-rigid subtypes, each of which exhibits a unique clinical course and prognosis. The neural basis for these disparate manifestations is not well-understood, however. This study comprehensively investigated the altered functional connectivity patterns of these two subtypes. Twenty-five tremor-dominant patients, 25 akinetic-rigid patients and 26 normal control subjects participated in this study. Resting-state functional MRI data were analyzed using functional connectivity density (FCD) and seed-based functional connectivity approaches. Correlations between neuroimaging measures and clinical variables were also calculated. Compared with normal control, increased global FCD occurred most extensively in frontal lobe and cerebellum in both subtypes. Compared with akinetic-rigid patients, the tremor-dominant patients showed significantly increased global FCD in the cerebellum and decreased global FCD in portions of the bilateral frontal lobe. Furthermore, different subtypes demonstrated different cerebello-cortical functional connectivity patterns. Moreover, the identified FCD and functional connectivity correlated significantly with clinical variables in the PD patients, and particularly the FCD indices distinguished the different subtypes with high sensitivity (95%) and specificity (80%). These findings indicate that the functional connectivity patterns in the cerebellum and frontal lobe are altered in both subtypes of PD, especially cerebellum are highly related to tremor.
Testing the Speed of Adjustment of the Reference Point in Models of Expectation-Based Reference-Dependent Preferences

We build on Koszegi and Rabin (2009) and propose a model in which the reference point consists of two periods lagged beliefs about consumption outcomes. As opposed to the original model in which the reference point instantaneously adjusts to new information, our formulation renders the reference point somewhat sticky and allows sensations of gain and losses to persist for more than one period. Using a controlled experiment, we assess the relative importance of t-1 lagged beliefs with respect to t-2 lagged beliefs. Our results suggest that the speed of adjustment of the reference point might depend on the size of the stakes at play. Under low stakes, subjects remain unaffected by our manipulation. We interpret this result as evidence of a very fast adjustment of the reference point. A follow-up study in which the stakes are multiplied threefold documents a context-dependent house money effect, a phenomenon which can be rationalized by multiple-lagged beliefs reference-dependent preferences. Overall, our results help understanding the conditions under which past beliefs and emotions should be expected to linger and to affect subsequent behavior.
Ageing, fragility and the reversibility window in bulk alloy glasses

Non-reversing relaxation enthalpies (ΔHnr) at glass transitions Tg(x) in the PxGexSe1−2x ternary display wide, sharp and deep global minima () in the 0.09<x<0.145 range, within which Tg s become thermally reversing. In this reversibility window, glasses are found not to age, in contrast to ageing observed for fragile glass compositions outside the window. Thermal reversibility and lack of ageing seem to be paradigms of self-organization which molecular glasses share with protein structures which repetitively and reversibly change conformation near Tg and the folding temperature respectively.
Serum leptin level in hypothyroid males.

OBJECTIVE To determine the correlation of serum leptin with thyroid hormones in primary hypothyroid male patients and euthyroid lean and obese control subjects. DESIGN Comparative study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Atomic Energy Medical Center, JPMC, Karachi, from 2001 to 2003. SUBJECTS AND METHODS In this study, three male groups were included. Those were 21 newly-diagnosed, untreated hypothyroid male patients (BMI, 25.12+/-2.31), 24 age and BMI matched euthyroid lean male subjects (BMI, 24.01+/-1.97) and 27 euthyroid obese male subjects (BMI, 33.02+/-2.67). Patients were selected from the thyroid OPD of Atomic Energy Medical Centre, JPMC, Karachi, while healthy, age and BMI matched euthyroid (lean and obese) were selected from general population after checking their thyroid profile. Patients and control subjects suffering from diabetes or other endocrinal diseases and taking thyroxin or steroid were excluded from the study. Serum leptin was measured by ELISA and FT4, FT3 and TSH were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA), triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) by kit method, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was calculated by the Friedwald s formula, and fasting blood sugar (FBS) by glucose oxidase method. RESULTS The mean +/- SEM values of leptin in male hypothyroid patients were 10.71+/-2.5 ng/ml, 8.27+/-1.91 in control group and 21.34+/-3.4 ng/ml in obese group, respectively. No significant difference was found in serum leptin levels between hypothyroid patients and their age, BMI matched control group, while obese control group had significantly higher values of leptin (<0.05). There was no significant correlation of leptin found with T4, T3, and TSH in hypothyroid patients and lean and obese control subjects. Triacylglycerol (TG, p < 0.005), total cholesterol (TC, p < 0.005) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C, p < 0.05) were significantly higher in hypothyroid patients as compared to control groups. This study observed that serum leptin level was significantly correlated with the BMI (r = 0.732, p < 0.005, r = 0.783, p < 0.005, r = 0.653, p < 0.005), in normal lean, obese and hypothyroid male patients respectively. CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that there is no correlation between serum leptin and thyroid hormones in hypothyroid patients as well as in euthyroid subjects. Serum leptin is directly related with BMI.
Assessment of Coronary Stents Using 40-Detector Row CT: Comparison With 16-Detector Row CT In Vitro

Objective: To evaluate the performance of 40-detector row computed tomography (CT) in the assessment of coronary stents in comparison with 16-detector row CT. Methods: A total of 6 vascular models (3 models without stenosis and 3 with stenosis) using 3 types of stent (Bx-Velocity, Express2, and Driver) with an approximately 3.5-mm inner diameter filled with contrast material (450 Hounsfield units) were scanned with 2 computed tomographic scanners (collimation, 16 × 0.75 and 40 × 0.625 mm). We evaluated the in-stent stenosis visually for the 6 vascular models in 4 orientations (0, 30, 60, and 90 degrees) to the z-axis of the scanner. We evaluated attenuation values of the stent lumen of the 3 patent models in the 4 orientations. The average and standard deviation of the luminal attenuation values were assessed to evaluate the degree of blooming and streak artifacts. Results: The visualization of the stent lumen of the vascular models at 90 degrees was improved using 40-detector row CT. For all the 3 stents, the average luminal attenuations values using 40-detector row CT were significantly lower than those using 16-detector row CT in all orientations. For all the 3 stents, the standard deviations of the luminal computed tomographic attenuation using 40-detector row CT were significantly smaller than those using 16-detector row CT in the 4 orientations to the z-axis except for Express2 at 0 degrees. Conclusions: The visualization of coronary stents is improved by the use of 40-detector row CT with reduced blooming and streak artifacts.
Insight level in the assimilation process: A comparison of good- and poor-outcome cases in short-term dynamic psychotherapy of depressive inpatients

The present study aimed to investigate the association between treatment outcome and the assimilation of problematic experiences during psychotherapy. The assimilation process is described in an eight-level sequence, the Assimilation of Problematic Experiences Scale (APES); insight is conceived as one level in this developmental sequence. This level is considered central as related to decreases in distress and symptomatic improvements. Based on treatment outcome measures, two contrasting groups were selected from a randomized controlled trial. The cases, three successful and three unsuccessful, included clients hospitalized for moderate or severe depression who received a short-term dynamic psychotherapy. Thirty-six session transcripts (six per client) were rated for assimilation level using the APES. In an exploratory purpose, linear mixed effects models were performed to compare successful and unsuccessful cases on their assimilation evolution. Results were partially consistent with the observations of previous studies linking a successful treatment outcome with insight events. Two successful cases reached the insight level, while none of the unsuccessful cases did. The quantitative analyses revealed that both groups presented a significant and similar increase in assimilation during psychotherapy. This study raised different issues concerning the association between assimilation, insight events, and treatment outcome.
La diffusion de la méthode ABC en Tunisie

Nous avons essaye dans le cadre de cette recherche de cerner les facteurs pouvant expliquer la diffusion et l'adoption de l'ABC en Tunisie. Nous avons mene une etude qualitative par l'intermediaire de 14 interviews et une etude quantitative menee a l'aide d'un questionnaire aupres de 80 entreprises. Nous avons determine un taux de connaissance de 71% et un taux d'adoption de pres de 24%. Bases sur la theorie de la contingence, nous avons teste la relation entre l'adoption de l'ABC et certains facteurs de contingences. Nous avons note l'absence de relation pour la plupart des facteurs etudies, montrant ainsi l'insuffisance de cette theorie dans l'explication du phenomene etudie. Devant l'insuffisance de cette rationalite instrumentale, nous nous sommes bases dans l'explication de ces phenomenes de diffusion et d'adoption sur d'autres theories qui placent l'acteur au centre de l'analyse. Ces theories sont la theorie generale de la diffusion de Rogers, l'approche neo-institutionnelle et les perspectives d'Abrahamson.
Internalized stigma of psychiatric patients

Objective To study the level and associated factors of internalized stigma and self-esteemin psychiatric patients. Materials and methods The sample was the outpatients at Somdet Chaopraya Institute of Psychiatry between October to November, 2014. The instrument consisted of a Thai version of Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI) and the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale. The data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics, t-test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and Multiple linear regression. Results Among 390 patients, schizophrenia was mainly found together with a minimal level of internalized stigma. Factors correlated with high level of internalized stigma were a lower level of education, unemployment, and discrimination experiences in mental illness. People who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, affective disorders and substance use disorders had significantly higher level of stigma than people with anxiety disorder. Internalized stigma was negatively associated with self- esteem. Conclusion The internalized stigma level in psychiatric patients was minimal. There were six associated factors affected internalized stigma as follows: education level, being employed, receiving no income, psychiatric diagnosed, and discrimination experiences in three aspects. High internalized stigma score led to low self-esteem.
New R-D Optimization Criterion for Fast Mode Decision Algorithms in Video Coding and Transrating

Mode decision has a significant effect on the quality and complexity of video coding. It is even more challenging when generating multiple bitstreams with different bitrates (BRs) in, for example, dynamic adaptive streaming for HTTP or transrating systems. Full search and simplified fast search mode decision (MD) methods either suffer from a high computational complexity or have a negative impact on quality. Furthermore, mode selection in conventional approaches strongly depends on the quantization parameter (QP). Hence, modes that have been selected for high BR compression may not be suitable for low BR when transrating a bitstream. In this paper, we propose a rate-distortion (R-D)-optimized criterion for fast MD algorithms. The proposed cost function, when adopted in different fast MD algorithms, not only improves the R-D performance by up to 6.6% in terms of Bjøntegaard delta rate, but also reduces the execution time of the encoder by up to 6.8%. We also show that modes selected by the proposed criterion are less sensitive to changes in BR or QP. As a result, the same modes in an encoded bitstream may be used even after transrating using requantization, resulting in a significant R-D performance improvement of up to 33.3%.