Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Level Set Based on Brain Radiological Densities for Stroke Segmentation in CT Images

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide, and every year more people die of these diseases. Aiming to assist medical diagnoses through Computerized Tomography (CT) scans, this work proposes a new approach to segment CT images of the brain damaged by stroke. The proposed method takes into account two improvements of the level set method based on the likelihood of Normal distribution. The first improvement is to handle the grayscale image input according to a range analysis of the image intensity scale, adopting 80 HU for the window width and 40 HU for the center level. In addition, we propose an optimal level set initialization, where the zero level set is determined by analyzing the brain density. These improvements to the level set method generate efficient stroke segmentation in CT images of the brain. The results of the proposed method are compared against those of the level set algorithm based on the coherent propagation method, and also those from the Watershed and Region Growing algorithms using a ground truth built by a specialist. The experimental results show that the proposed method presents superior performance, and that it is a promising tool to assist medical diagnoses.
The Future Value of Interscholastic Participation: An Analysis of the Impact of Participation on Future Earnings and Educational Attainment.

vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Purpose of the Study 5 Description of the Design and Methodology 5 Organization of the Study 7 Conclusion 8 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 10 Historical Perspectives 10 Present Value 15 Theory of Human Capital 26 Future Value 34 Conclusion 46 CHAPTER 3: DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 48 Research Questions and Hypotheses 49 Research Design 50 Methodology 57 Limitations of the Study 62 Conclusion 66
Multiparametric nonlinear integer programming and explicit quantized optimal control

This paper deals with multiparametric nonlinear integer programming problems where the optimization variables belong to a finite set and where the cost function and the constraints depend in an arbitrary nonlinear fashion on the optimization variables and in a linear fashion on the parameters. We examine the main theoretical properties of the optimizer and of the optimum as a function of the parameters, and propose a solution algorithm. The methodology is employed to investigate properties of quantized optimal control laws and optimal performance, and to obtain their explicit representation as a function of the state vector.
Assessment of Mitochondrial Toxicity in Human Cells Treated with Tenofovir: Comparison with Other Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors

ABSTRACT Drug-associated dysfunction of mitochondria is believed to play a role in the etiology of the various adverse symptoms that occur in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients treated with the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). Tenofovir, a nucleotide analog recently approved for use in the treatment of HIV infection, was evaluated in vitro for its potential to cause mitochondrial toxicity and was compared to currently used NRTIs. Treatment with tenofovir (3 to 300 μM) for up to 3 weeks produced no significant changes in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) levels in human hepatoblastoma (HepG2) cells, skeletal muscle cells (SkMCs), or renal proximal tubule epithelial cells. The potencies of inhibition of mtDNA synthesis by the NRTIs tested were zalcitabine (ddC) > didanosine (ddI) > stavudine > zidovudine (ZDV) > lamivudine = abacavir = tenofovir, with comparable relative effects in the three cell types. Unlike ddC and ddI, tenofovir did not affect cellular expression of COX II and COX IV, two components of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase complex. Lactate production was elevated by less than 20% in HepG2 cells or SkMCs following treatment with 300 μM tenofovir. In contrast, lactate synthesis increased by >200% in the presence of 300 μM ZDV. Thus, treatment of various human cell types with tenofovir at concentrations that greatly exceed those required for it both to have in vitro anti-HIV type 1 activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (50% effective concentration, 0.2 μM) and to achieve therapeutically relevant levels in plasma (maximum concentrations in plasma, 0.8 to 1.3 μM) is not associated with mitochondrial toxicity.
High-Efficiency Push–Pull Power Amplifier With High Operation Voltage

A highly efficient push-pull class D power amplifier (PA) with a high operation voltage is presented. The high voltage is realized by stacking dc biases of two push-pull amplifiers through the virtual ground point, while the radio frequency powers are series combined. The drain supply voltage is increased to 44V, which is double of the rated bias voltage (22V) of the active devices. The LDMOS PA provides an output power of 40.6dBm with a power-added efficiency (PAE) of 58.7% at 836.5MHz. Each push-pull amplifier provides 38-dBm output with a PAE of 64%
The functional anatomy of the cerebrocerebellar circuit: A review and new concepts

The cerebrocerebellar circuit is a feedback circuit that bidirectionally connects the neocortex and the cerebellum. According to the classic view, the cerebrocerebellar circuit is specifically involved in the functional regulation of the motor areas of the neocortex. In recent years, studies carried out in experimental animals by morphological and physiological methods, and in humans by magnetic resonance imaging, have indicated that the cerebrocerebellar circuit is also involved in the functional regulation of the nonmotor areas of the neocortex, including the prefrontal, associative, sensory and limbic areas. Moreover, a second type of cerebrocerebellar circuit, bidirectionally connecting the hypothalamus and the cerebellum, has been detected, being specifically involved in the regulation of the hypothalamic functions. This review analyzes the morphological features of the centers and pathways of the cerebrocerebellar circuits, paying particular attention to their organization in different channels, which separately connect the cerebellum with the motor areas and nonmotor areas of the neocortex, and with the hypothalamus. Actually, a considerable amount of new data have led, and are leading, to profound changes on the views on the anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of the cerebrocerebellar circuits, so much they may be now considered to be essential for the functional regulation of many neocortex areas, perhaps all, as well as of the hypothalamus and of the limbic system. Accordingly, clinical studies have pointed out an involvement of the cerebrocerebellar circuits in the pathophysiology of an increasing number of neuropsychiatric disorders.
All in a day's work? Career self-management and the management of the boundary between work and non-work

This article reports the findings of a study that explored the links between career self-management, management of the boundary between work and non-work, and work–life balance, using a sample of young professionals. The findings show that individuals engage in different kinds of career self-management behaviours, depending on their career goal. Management of the boundary between work and life outside work is identified as one such behaviour, with the consequence that, for some people, managing the career has a harmful effect on their work–life balance. The research adds to knowledge about the career self-management process and shows how career stage influences career goals and career self-management behaviour. It demonstrates how career attitudes and behaviours may be critical to the achievement of work–life balance and confirms that work–life balance matters to younger members of the workforce, regardless of their family responsibilities.
Identification of C15orf5, a Heart-Enriched Transcript on Chromosome 15q23-q24

We have isolated C15orf5, a novel human gene lacking homology to any known protein. The C15orf5 gene encodes a transcript of 1, 519 nt with an ORF of 94 amino acids and a predicted protein size of 11.5 kDa. Northern blot analysis showed enhanced expression of C15orf5 in heart. C15orf5 was mapped to chromosome 15q23-q24 using the Stanford TNG4 Radiation Hybrid panel.
Frontline Experiences of a Practice Redesign to Improve Self-management of Obesity in Safety Net Clinics

Teamlets of physicians and medical assistants may help improve obesity management in primary care settings. We aimed to understand the barriers and facilitators of implementing a teamlet approach to managing obesity in 3 safety net clinics. Key stakeholder interviews (n = 21) were conducted both during early implementation of practice change and 6 months later. Patient surveys (n = 393) examined obese patient activation and health status. Insufficient program resources and limited patient engagement due to external factors were implementation barriers despite fairly high patient activation. Staff members need time and resources to execute new responsibilities to support obesity management in safety net settings. Because of high turnover, multiple supporters may improve sustainability.
STATE-DEPENDENT FEES FOR VARIABLE ANNUITY GUARANTEES

Abstract For variable annuity policies, management fees for the most basic guarantees are charged at a constant rate throughout the term of the policy. This creates a misalignment of risk and income – the fee income is low when the option value is high, and vice versa. In turn, this may create adverse incentives for policyholders, for example, encouraging surrenders when the options are far out-of-the-money. In this paper, we explore a new fee structure for variable annuities, where the fee rate supporting the cost of guarantees depends on the moneyness of those guarantees. We derive formulas for calculating the fee rates assuming fees are paid only when the guarantees are in-the-money, or are close to being in-the-money, and we illustrate with some numerical examples. We investigate the effect of this new fee structure on the surrender decision.
Influence of heavy metals on microbial growth kinetics including lag time: Mathematical modeling and experimental verification

Heavy metals can significantly affect the kinetics of substrate biodegradation and microbial growth, including lag times and specific growth rates. A model to describe microbial metabolic lag as a function of the history of substrate concentration has been previously described by Wood et al. (Water Resour Res 31:553–563) and Ginn (Water Resour Res 35:1395–1408). In the present study, this model is extended by including the effect of heavy metals on metabolic lag by developing an inhibitor‐dependent functional to account for the metabolic state of the microorganisms. The concentration of the inhibiting metal is explicitly incorporated into the functional. The validity of the model is tested against experimental data on the effects of zinc on Pseudomonas species isolated from Lake Coeur d'Alene sediments, Idaho, USA, as well as the effects of nickel or cobalt on a mixed microbial culture collected from the aeration tank of a wastewater treatment plant in Athens, Greece. The simulations demonstrate the ability to incorporate the effect of metals on metabolism through lag, yield coefficient, and specific growth rates. The model includes growth limitation due to insufficient transfer of oxygen into the growth medium.
The Day Trader's Manual: Theory, Art, and Science of Profitable Short-Term Investing

THE THEORY OF DAY TRADING. Time, Price, and the Day Trader. Strategies for Profitable Day Trading. Day Trading Approaches Defined by Market Action. Chaos Theory and the Day Trader. THE SCIENCE OF DAY TRADING. Tape-Reading Techniques. Spread Trading. Trading Market Profile. Using Chart Patterns. Mathematical Approaches to Day Trading. Sequential Patterns in Day Trading. Elliott Wave Theory and Day Trading. THE ART OF DAY TRADING. Cases. Appendix. Bibliography. Index.
Natural Texture Classification: A Neural Network Models Benchmark

In this paper a natural texture classification study was developed employing neural network models. The objective of this study was to assess the accuracy of each model for the classifying natural texture problem. Multi-layer Perceptron (MLP) network, Hopfield network, Self-organizing feature map (SOFM) network and a Radial Basis Function (RBF) network were the models studied, analyzed using the Neurosolutions version 5.0 (trial version) software and Weka version 3.4 software, in this work. A file, with more than 700 records of natural texture characteristics, which were obtained by the analysis of digital photographs of real landscapes, was used for the experiments. These natural textures were divided in 9 classes: water, ground-sand, grass, stones, sky, tree, mountain, snow and flowers. The experimental results showed that Multilayer Perceptron network was the best neural network model in the natural texture classification.
Rapid identification of dengue virus serotypes by using polymerase chain reaction

Four primer pairs were selected on the basis of the published sequence data of four dengue virus serotypes so that each unique target sequence size could be amplified for each serotype by polymerase chain reaction. The procedure consists of (i) RNA preparation, (ii) reverse transcription, and (iii) polymerase chain reaction, all of which could be completed within 2 h in a single tube for each specimen. The amplified sequence size revealed by ethidium bromide-stained agarose gel electrophoresis was unique for each serotype, using infected culture fluid of isolates from dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever patients in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines as well as from prototype viruses, thus facilitating simultaneous identification and typing.
Divergent Inequalities - Theory and Empirical Results (Revised Edition)

Widely used summary measures of inequality or the "disappearing middle class" are potentially misleading. Divergences between evidence cited and conclusions drawn include failing to distinguish the concepts of inequality and polarization, and using scalar oinequalityo measures which are not consistent with rankings based on Lorenz curves. In addition, inappropriate claims about trends in inequality can arise from focusing on only a sub-population such as full-time male workers, and failing to account for sampling variability. These divergences are illustrated using Canadian data on labour incomes over the 1967 to 1994 period.
Melatonin and circadian biology in human cardiovascular disease

Abstract: Diurnal rhythms influence cardiovascular physiology, i.e. heart rate and blood pressure, and they appear to also modulate the incidence of serious adverse cardiac events. Diurnal variations occur also at the molecular level including changes in gene expression in the heart and blood vessels. Moreover, the risk/benefit ratio of some therapeutic strategies and the concentration of circulating cardiovascular system biomarkers may also vary across the 24‐hr light/dark cycle. Synchrony between external and internal diurnal rhythms and harmony among molecular rhythms within the cell are essential for normal organ biology. Diurnal variations in the responsiveness of the cardiovascular system to environmental stimuli are mediated by a complex interplay between extracellular (i.e. neurohumoral factors) and intracellular (i.e. specific genes that are differentially light/dark regulated) mechanisms. Neurohormones, which are particularly relevant to the cardiovascular system, such as melatonin, exhibit a diurnal variation and may play a role in the synchronization of molecular circadian clocks in the peripheral tissue and the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Moreover, mounting evidence reveals that the blood melatonin rhythm has a crucial role in several cardiovascular functions, including daily variations in blood pressure. Melatonin has antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, chronobiotic and, possibly, epigenetic regulatory functions. This article reviews current knowledge related to the biological role of melatonin and its circadian rhythm in cardiovascular disease.
The Migration of a Government Trading Enterprise's Accounting System during Privatisation with reference to Japanese Management Accounting

This study examines the impact of privatisation upon the accounting system of a large government trading enterprise, with particular emphasis on the capital budgeting system. A case study of a major Malaysian enterprise before and after its privatisation revealed substantial improvement of the accounting system, particularly the component of budgeting. However, several difficulties continued to be faced by the accounting department of this enterprise. For example, although accounting emerged as “visible” in the organisation, its function was confined to narrow procedural aspects of budgeting, accountability and performance appraisal. The accounting department was also seen unable to penetrate into the “values” of non‐accountant managers and professionals, such as the engineers. The discussion of the findings in this paper are extended to a consideration of the potential for Malaysian companies undergoing organisational change to emulate Japanese management accounting systems approaches.
A Multi-Cycle Two-Factor Model of Asset Replacement

The aim of this article is to analyse the asset replacement problem in the perspective of optimal replacement time given a certain tax environment and depreciation policy. Using a real options approach, our model minimises current operation and maintenance costs and permits a new valuation of the replacement flexibility under a multi-cycle environment. The innovation on the valuation process comes from adding an autonomous salvage value factor. Results from partial differential equations reveal relevant differences from those observed in one-factor models, specifically in optimal replacement levels and in the non-monotonous effects of salvage value variation.This paper provides enhancements to existing literature on equivalent annual cost by formulating a cost-minimisation problem conditioned by autonomous salvage value dynamics, and it contributes to Real Options literature by introducing a salvage value factor in the valuation model.
Deal or No Deal?: Advertizing and Sampling Effects on Two-Sided Daily Deal Platforms

With the advent of Groupon.com in 2008, daily deal platforms have seen phenomenal growth. Surprisingly there is very sparse analytical research that has studied the economics of the daily deal platforms which are two-sided in the sense that they connect merchants on the one side to consumers on the other side. We develop a stylized two-period game-theoretic model to analyze the strategic interaction between heterogeneous merchants and consumers. In our conceptualization, a monopolist daily deal platform is revenue maximizer who not only takes into consideration the cross-side network effect leading to the chicken-and-egg problem, but also sampling and advertizing effect due to the presence of the platform. Keeping in view the real-world market conditions, we do not impose the restriction that the two-sides can interact only through the platform and allow the two-sides to transact outside the platform too. We model the strategic interaction between the daily deal website (platform) and merchants as a Stackelberg leader-follower game where merchants choose discount rate, keeping that in view the platform’s choice of the fixed fee rate or revenue sharing rate. Our result shows the merchants offer higher discount rate on the daily deal website than outside the website, and surprisingly, merchants’ optimal choice of discount rate is independent of the platform’s fixed fee rate. We also show that merchants that are new in the market place and, therefore, less well-known gain more from offering a deal on the daily deal website. Some of the merchants never offer a deal on the platform even if offering a deal on the platform is free.
The growth of service employment: a reappraisal

So far, the explanations and interpretations of the growth of the service sector and deindustrialization seem to be controversial and partially unsatisfactory. Unlike previous studies, the present work deals with the two issues together. According to the author’s hypothesis, the growth in service sector employment is due to and increasing degree of integration of services in the productive system and in industry. A particular methodology is proposed to test this hypothesis. It is then applied to the case of service sector expansion in Italy.
The Histone Acetyltransferase, hGCN5, Interacts with and Acetylates the HIV Transactivator, Tat*

Factor acetyltransferase activity associated with several histone acetyltransferases plays a key role in the control of transcription. Here we report that hGCN5, a well known histone acetyltransferase, specifically interacts with and acetylates the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transactivator protein, Tat. The interaction between Tat and hGCN5 is direct and involves the acetyltransferase and the bromodomain regions of hGCN5, as well as a limited region of Tat encompassing the cysteine-rich domain of the protein. Tat lysines 50 and 51, target of acetylation by p300/CBP, were also found to be acetylated by hGCN5. The acetylation of these two lysines by p300/CBP has been recently shown to stimulate Tat transcriptional activity and accordingly, we have found that hGCN5 can considerably enhance Tat-dependent transcription of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat. These data highlight the importance of the acetylation of lysines 50 and 51 in the function of Tat, since different histone acetyltransferases involved in distinct signaling pathways, GCN5 and p300/CBP, converge to acetylate Tat on the same site.
The Policy Implication for Emission Reduction of Dynamics between Energy Consumption and Economic Growth in China

What is the relationship between China's energy consumption and economic growth? Will energy saving and emission cutting measures adversely affect economic growth? Based on the neoclassical production model, this study performs empirical analysis with the longest time series available in China. We combine the Directed A cyclic Graphs (DAG) with Cholesky decomposition to find the contemporaneous causal flows between energy and GDP, then employ the error correction model and impulse response to study the dynamics among these variables both in the long run and in the short run, finally we elaborate the important implication of dynamics between energy consumption and GDP growth for future emission reduction policy.
Robust optimisation for risk-averse multi-period inventory decision with partial demand distribution information

We study robust multi-period inventory decisions for risk-averse managers with incomplete demand information for products with a short life cycle. The three inventory models we developed aim respectively to maximise expected profit, maximise conditional value-at-risk-based profit, and balance between the two objectives. We formulate each objective into an associated robust counterpart model under the assumption of ellipsoid distribution and again under the box distribution. The ellipsoid distribution-based robust model can be mathematically transformed into a non-linear programming which can be solved by finding solutions to some second-order cone programs, while the box distribution-based model can be converted into a general piecewise linear optimisation problem. We prove that the transformed versions are equivalent to the original ones and that both transformed models can be solved efficiently. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the practicability of the proposed approach for dealing with uncertain demands. We find that the proposed optimisation approaches are robust under both the ellipsoid and box distributions. Finally, sensitivity analysis on the risk-averse degree and optimism index is conducted to validate the proposed models and solution approaches.