Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An organisational approach to European integration: Outline of a complementary perspective

An organisational approach to European integration focuses on individual actors' organisational context in order to account for their behaviour, interests and identities. Inter- governmentalists usually preclude any profound impact of European Union (EU) institu- tions and organisations. Institutionalists (other than rational-choice institutionalists), on the other hand, claim that EU institutions are able to shape and reshape individual actors' pref- erences and sense of belonging. Seen from an organisational perspective, however, institu- tionalists often fail to specify (and theorise) the organisational components that institutions may contain. This 'unpacking' of institutions is necessary in order to clarify the conditions under which transformation of actors and policy processes might occur. This article tries to illustrate what an organisational approach has to offer in fields like committee governance and Commission decision making. In addition, organisational theory provides a yardstick for assessing the degree of overall system integration.
Dialectical behaviour therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder related to childhood sexual abuse: a pilot study in an outpatient treatment setting

ABSTRACT Background: Dialectical behaviour therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (DBT-PTSD), which is tailored to treat adults with PTSD and co-occurring emotion regulation difficulties, has already demonstrated its efficacy, acceptance and safety in an inpatient treatment setting. It combines elements of DBT with trauma-focused cognitive behavioural interventions. Objective: To investigate the feasibility, acceptance and safety of DBT-PTSD in an outpatient treatment setting by therapists who were novice to the treatment, we treated 21 female patients suffering from PTSD following childhood sexual abuse (CSA) plus difficulties in emotion regulation in an uncontrolled clinical trial. Method: The Clinician Administered PTSD Symptom Scale (CAPS), the Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS), the Borderline Section of the International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE) and the Borderline Symptom List (BSL-23) were used as primary outcomes. For secondary outcomes, depression and dissociation were assessed. Assessments were administered at pretreatment, post-treatment and six-week follow-up. Results: Improvement was significant for PTSD as well as for borderline personality symptomatology, with large pretreatment to follow-up effect sizes for completers based on the CAPS (Cohens d = 1.30), DTS (d = 1.50), IPDE (d = 1.60) and BSL-23 (d = 1.20). Conclusion: The outcome suggests that outpatient DBT-PTSD can safely be used to reduce PTSD symptoms and comorbid psychopathology in adults who have experienced CSA.
Peer Victimization and Rejection: Investigation of an Integrative Model of Effects on Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Adjustment in Early Adolescence

This study investigated an integrative model of the effects of peer victimization (PV) and peer rejection (PR) on youth adjustment using data from 508 middle-school students. In the proposed model, PV and PR each contribute independently to problems in emotional, behavioral, and academic adjustment. The adverse consequences of PV and PR are each mediated by their more proximal contributions to lower self-esteem in the form of negative self-evaluations for peer relations and global self-derogation, respectively. Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses provided support for the overall model, including significant indirect linkages of PV and perceived PR with adjustment problems via their intermediary negative associations with lower levels of self-esteem. Additional analyses revealed that indirect linkages of victimization and perceived rejection with emotional problems via self-esteem were evident only for girls. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Feedforward and Feedback Control Behavior in Helicopter Pilots during a Lateral Reposition Task

Pure feedback and pure open-loop feedforward helicopter pilot models are currently applied for predicting the performance of pilot-helicopter systems. We argue that feedback models are likely to underestimate performance in many realistic helicopter maneuvers, whereas inverse simulati on models, which have an open-loop feedforward structure, are likely to overestimate performance as they neglect typical human-in-the-loop characteristics. True verification of feedback and feedforward elements in helicopter pilot control behavior was never performed, however. This paper proposes a pilot model containing a feedback and feedforward controller acting simultaneously and presents a method to identify the hypothesized feedforward action from human-in-the-loop data collected in a simulator experiment. The results of the human-in-the-loop experiment show that actual human performance is better than predicted by a pure feedback model and worse than predicted by an (inverse dynamics) feedforward model. The identification results suggest that the human pilot indeed utilizes feedforward strategies, but it was not possible to either confirm or refute the model by means of the collected data and the developed analysis method.
An algorithm for highly efficient waterfilling with guaranteed convergence

This paper derives a novel and highly efficient algorithm for calculating the waterfilling parameter λ (i.e., the water level) for maximization of transmitted information, given a set of channel-power coefficients, and a sum-energy constraint. The resultant fixed-point algorithm calculates λ in at most 9 iterations for 1000 given Rayleigh-distributed channel-power coefficients, each with scale-parameter σ = 0.2. The proposed fixed-point algorithm guarantees convergence of λ to a unique optimum value, without restricting validity to practically relevant channel-power coefficient distributions.
Automated Color Logo Recognition Technique using Color and Hog Features

This research work purposes an automated system for the identification of the color logo images. Color logo images are recognized using a color feature namely Color Moments and an Histogram Oriented Gradients feature. Color is modeled using Mean and Standard Deviation. Firstly we extract color moments feature from an image, and then we consider histogram analysis and make a summation of each color color bin. Classification is done using Support Vector Machine Classifier (SVM). Experimental verification is done using a dataset of 500 images divided into 10 classes.
Metric wise Survey on IoT Schemes to Enhance Throughput

This paper addresses the online of Things. Main facultative issue of this promising paradigm is that the combination of the many technologies and communications solutions. Identification and pursuit technologies, wired and wireless device and mechanism networks, increased communication protocols (shared with sequent Generation Internet), and distributed intelligence for smart objects ar merely the foremost relevant. jointly will merely imagine, any serious contribution to the advance of the online of Things should basically be the results of synergistic activities conducted in various fields of knowledge, like telecommunications, IP, natural philosophy and subject. In such a elaborate situation, this survey is directed to those who need to approach this difficult discipline and contribute to its development. entirely completely different visions of this internet of Things paradigm are report-able and facultative technologies reviewed. What emerges is that additionally major issues shall be visages by the analysis community the foremost relevant among them are addressed in details.
Efficacy and safety of reduced-intensity induction therapy with a bortezomib-based regimen in elderly patients with multiple myeloma

The therapeutic effects of bortezomib in untreated and refractory/relapsed multiple myeloma have been demonstrated in several clinical trials, displaying superiority to the conventional treatments. However, many treatment-related toxicities, such as bone marrow suppression, infections and peripheral neuropathy, are well known and lead to treatment discontinuation and dose modification, especially in elderly patients. The purpose of this review is to summarize the published literature concerning the efficacy and safety of reduced-intensity induction therapy with bortezomib-based regimens in elderly patients with multiple myeloma. We used the VISTA trial as a reference and compared it with the seven trials identified in a systematic search. The data suggest that low-dose bortezomib significantly reduces therapy-related toxicities, especially neuropathy, and decreases the rate of discontinuation compared with the twice-weekly regimen, without losing efficacy. In light of this review, we suggest that once-weekly infusion of bortezomib in addition to melphalan–prednisone may be considered as a new standard of care in frontline treatment of elderly patients with symptomatic multiple myeloma.
Interlaced sampling for noise reduction

New algorithms called interlaced-correlated-double and triple-sampling are presented that perform noise reduction in analog discrete-time circuits. Both are based on multiple correlated-double-sampling principle. Theoretical improvement of noise reduction has been verified using computer simulations. The contribution also discusses CMOS realization of the proposed method. <<ETX>>
Comparison of Serologic Assays and PCR for Diagnosis of Human Herpesvirus 8 Infection

ABSTRACT A variety of assays for the diagnosis human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infection have been reported. We compared several such assays with a panel of 88 specimens from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) (current-KS patients; n = 30), HIV-infected patients who later developed KS (later-KS patients; n = 13), HIV-infected patients without KS (no-KS patients; n = 25), and healthy blood donors (n = 20). PCR assays were also performed with purified peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to confirm positive serologic test results. The order of sensitivity of the serologic assays (most to least) in detecting HHV-8 infection in current-KS patients was the mouse monoclonal antibody-enhanced immunofluorescence assay (MIFA) for lytic antigen (97%), the orfK8.1 peptide enzyme immunoassay (EIA) (87%), the orf65 peptide EIA (87%), MIFA for latent antigen (83%), the Advanced Biotechnologies, Inc., EIA (80%), and the orf65 immunoblot assay (80%). Combination of the results of the two peptide EIAs (combined peptide EIAs) increased the sensitivity to 93%. For detection of infection in later-KS patients, the MIFA for lytic antigen (100%), the orfK8.1 peptide EIA (85%), and combined peptide EIAs (92%) were the most sensitive. Smaller percentages of no-KS patients were found to be positive (16 to 56%). Most positive specimens from the current-KS and later-KS groups were positive by multiple assays, while positive specimens from the no-KS group tended to be positive only by a single assay. PCR with PBMCs for portions of the HHV-8 orf65 and gB genes were positive for less than half of current-KS and later-KS patients and even fewer of the no-KS patients. The concordance between serologic assays was high. We propose screening by the combined peptide EIAs. For specimens that test weakly positive, we recommend that MIFA for lytic antigen be done. A positive result with a titer of ≥1:40 would be called HHV-8 positive. A negative or low titer would be called HHV-8 negative. If a population has a high percentage of persons who test positive by the combined peptide EIAs, then a MIFA could be performed with the negative specimens to determine if any positive specimens are being missed. Alternatively, if a population has a low percentage that test positive, then a MIFA could be performed with a subset of the negative specimens for the same reason. As described above, only a titer of ≥1:40 would be considered HHV-8 positive.
Ruptures économiques sans ruptures sociales: le maraîchage et la santé des paysanneries sénoufo entre résilience et vulnérabilité

Dans les annees 1990, la generalisation du maraichage a des fins commerciales dans les savanes senoufo du nord de la Cote-d’Ivoire et de l’ouest du Burkina Faso verifie les capacites des societes rurales a surmonter de nouvelles incertitudes. Pratique pendant la saison seche par des exploitants individuels, le maraichage participe a la multiplication et a la diversification des activites personnelles remuneratrices. Il est majoritairement investi par les cadets de famille: les femmes et les jeunes hommes. Leurs revenus personnels et la baisse des budgets familiaux entrainent une nouvelle donne des roles individuels dans la prise en charge de depenses collectives, en particulier de sante qui ne sont plus assurees exclusivement par les responsables familiaux. Ces transformations a la fois agricoles, economiques et sociales engagent une reflexion sur la notion de resilience, d’usage croissant dans les sciences sociales. L’analyse fine des pratiques des acteurs souligne l’interet de renouveler les notions frequemment opposees de resilience et de vulnerabilite. Il en est propose une acception elargie, relative et combinee, pour saisir les nouveaux enjeux des mutations des societes et des espaces ruraux en Afrique de l’ouest.
AML1 enhances the expression of leukotriene B4 type‐1 receptor in leukocytes

Leukotriene B4 type‐1 receptor (BLT1), which plays a role in various inflammatory diseases, is exclusively expressed in peripheral leukocytes, which suggests that its expression is stringently regulated. However, the precise mechanism of BLT1 expression is not fully understood. Here we report that acute myeloid leukemia 1 (AML1/Runx1) is involved in the enhancement of BLT1 expression in leukocytes. In retinoic acid (RA)‐stimulated human promyelocytic leukemia (HL‐60) cells, the transcription of the BLT1 gene was found to be significantly activated. RA did not directly modulate the BLT1 promoter, suggesting enhancers in other loci. DNase I‐hypersensitivity analyses revealed an activated region, termed AE‐BLex, at the intron‐I:exon‐II boundary. AE‐BLex acts as an enhancer for the BLT1 promoter and possesses 2 AML1 recognition sites. The importance of AML1 was determined using electrophoretic mobility shift assays, reporter assays, and knockdown experiments. We demonstrated that the enhancement of BLT1 expression during the RA‐induced differentiation of HL‐60 cells is due to a loosening of the chromatin structure around AE‐BLex, which leads to the incremental binding of AML1. The AML1/AE‐BLex complex was confirmed in other BLT1‐expressing leukemia cell lines and human peripheral leukocytes. Thus, AML1 enhances BLT1 expression by binding to AE‐BLex, which is accessible in leukocytes. —Hashidate, T. , Murakami, N. , Nakagawa, M. , Ichikawa, M. , Kurokawa, M. , Shimizu, T. , Nakamura, M. AML1 enhances the expression of leukotriene B4 type‐1 receptor in leukocytes. FASEB J. 24, 3500–3510 (2010). www.fasebj. org
Wristbands as aids to reduce misidentification: an ethnographically guided task analysis.

OBJECTIVE Wristbands are recommended in the UK as a means of verifying patient identity but have been little studied. We aimed to document how wristbands are used in practice. DESIGN and participants Task analysis of wristband application and use, drawing on qualitative analysis of workplace observation of, and interviews with, clinical and non-clinical staff. SETTING Two acute district general hospitals in northern England. RESULTS Our findings indicate high levels of awareness amongst clinical staff of local and national policies on wristband use, but some ambiguity about the details therein. In contrast, non-clinical staff such as ward clerks and porters were less aware of policy, although their actions also expose patients to risks resulting from misidentification. Of seven subtasks identified by the task analysis of wristband application and use, three appeared to offer particular opportunity for error. Making the decision to apply, especially in emergency patients, is important because delay in application can delay correct identification. Advance preparation of wristbands for elective admission without the patient being present can risk erroneous data or misapplication. Lastly, utilization of wristbands to verify patient identity was greater in some clinical circumstances (blood transfusion and medication administration) than in others (before transferring patients around the hospital and during handovers of care). CONCLUSIONS Wristbands for patient identification are not being used to their full potential. Attention to detail in application and use, especially during handover and transfer, and an appreciation of the role played by 'non-clinical' staff, may offer further gains in patient safety.
The safety and efficacy of ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy in subjects with chronic, treatment-resistant posttraumatic stress disorder: the first randomized controlled pilot study

Case reports indicate that psychiatrists administered ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) as a catalyst to psychotherapy before recreational use of MDMA as ‘Ecstasy’ resulted in its criminalization in 1985. Over two decades later, this study is the first completed clinical trial evaluating MDMA as a therapeutic adjunct. Twenty patients with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder, refractory to both psychotherapy and psychopharmacology, were randomly assigned to psychotherapy with concomitant active drug (n = 12) or inactive placebo (n = 8) administered during two 8-h experimental psychotherapy sessions. Both groups received preparatory and follow-up non-drug psychotherapy. The primary outcome measure was the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale, administered at baseline, 4 days after each experimental session, and 2 months after the second session. Neurocognitive testing, blood pressure, and temperature monitoring were performed. After 2-month follow-up, placebo subjects were offered the option to re-enroll in the experimental procedure with open-label MDMA. Decrease in Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale scores from baseline was significantly greater for the group that received MDMA than for the placebo group at all three time points after baseline. The rate of clinical response was 10/12 (83%) in the active treatment group versus 2/8 (25%) in the placebo group. There were no drug-related serious adverse events, adverse neurocognitive effects or clinically significant blood pressure increases. MDMA-assisted psychotherapy can be administered to posttraumatic stress disorder patients without evidence of harm, and it may be useful in patients refractory to other treatments.
Disialoganglioside G(D2) loss following monoclonal antibody therapy is rare in neuroblastoma.

Ganglioside GD2 is abundant on human neuroblastoma (NB). Monoclonal antibody 3F8 targeted to GD2 may have imaging and therapeutic potential. Antigen-negative clones can escape immune-mediated attack, leading to clinical resistance or recurrence. Among 95 evaluable patients treated i.v. with 3F8 (94 stage 4 and 1 stage 3), 66 received nonradiolabeled 3F8, 11 received 131I-labeled 3F8 (8-28 mCi/kg) with autologous bone marrow rescue, and 18 received both forms of treatment. Prior to treatment, 91 patients tested positive for GD2 reactivity by bone marrow immunofluorescence (n = 68), tumor immunohistochemistry (n = 20), or diagnostic radioimmunoscintigraphy only (n = 3). Of 62 patients who had refractory or recurrent NB following 3F8 treatment, 61 (98%) tested positive for GD2 reactivity by bone marrow immunofluorescence (n = 51) or tumor immunohistochemistry (n = 10). The sole tumor that lost GD2 expression underwent phenotypic transformation into a pheochromocytoma-like tumor. The persistence of GD2 expression in refractory or recurrent NB suggests that complete antigen loss is an uncommon event and cannot account for treatment failure.
Grounding continuous professional development (CPD) in teaching practice

Managerialism doesn't work in Higher Education, but collegiality does. (Ramsden, 2004) This article argues that developing a team‐based approach to teaching and learning provides the basis for building commitment and continuous professional development in teaching practice among staff in higher education. A team approach that is grounded in practice leads to open communication and opportunities for formal and informal professional development. The article presents a case study based on an undergraduate level‐one marketing module and reports on the experiences of the teaching team over three years. Key issues faced by the module leader and teaching colleagues are discussed. The approaches adopted have been successful in focusing attention on student learning, leading to more continuous professional development.
Comparison of Donor-Site Morbidity of SIEA, DIEP, and Muscle-Sparing TRAM Flaps for Breast Reconstruction

Background: Breast reconstruction is best accomplished with lower abdominal tissue, but this results in abdominal donor-site morbidity. The superficial inferior epigastric artery (SIEA) flap is the least invasive method of lower abdominal flap breast reconstruction; however, there are no published data comparing the donor-site morbidity of SIEA flaps to that of transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) or deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flaps. Methods: The authors used a 12-question patient survey and retrospective chart review to compare donor-site function, pain, and aesthetics in 179 patients who had unilateral or bilateral breast reconstruction with 47 SIEA flaps, 49 DIEP flaps, and 136 muscle-sparing free TRAM flaps during a 5-year period. Results: Unilateral SIEA flap patients scored higher on 10 of the 12 survey questions compared with unilateral muscle-sparing TRAM flap patients, including reporting significantly better postoperative lifting function (p = 0.02) and nearly significantly shorter duration of abdominal pain (p = 0.06). Bilateral reconstruction patients with at least one SIEA flap scored higher on all 12 survey questions, including reporting significantly better ability to get out of bed (sit-up motion) compared with patients with bilateral muscle-sparing TRAM or DIEP flaps (p = 0.02). Conclusions: Breast reconstruction using SIEA flaps results in significantly less abdominal donor-site morbidity than DIEP flaps in bilateral cases and free muscle-sparing TRAM flaps in unilateral and bilateral cases. These are clinically relevant differences that are perceived by patients and lead to the authors’ recommendation to use SIEA flaps for breast reconstruction when possible to minimize abdominal donor-site morbidity.
Timber quality and volume growth in naturally regenerated and planted Scots pine stands in S. W. Sweden

Timber quality in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands in Sweden has deteriorated during the 20th century. A possible cause of this is the increasing proportion of timber that originates in planted stands. Two naturally regenerated and two planted pine stands, of the same genetic origin, were compared. The planted stands were established as spacing experiments (1.25 x 1.25-2.5 x 2.5 m) at Tonnersjoheden Experimental Forest (lat. 56"42'N, long.l3"06'E, alt. 60 m). Volume growth and timber quality, i.e. taper, crookedness, number of branches, branch thickness, branch angle, crown size, occurrence of spike knots and damage were compared. The quality of dominant and co-dominant trees was higher in the naturally regenerated stands than in the planted stands. Of the planted trees, only 25% were straight, compared with 86% of naturally regenerated trees. In the planted stands, the mean diameter of the thickest branch below 2 m was 23 mm, compared to 15 mm in the naturally regenerated stands. Timber quality and planting density were also positively correlated, quality being very poor at the widest spacings. Volume growth at initial spacings of 1.75 x 1.75 m and denser was estimated to be 5-10% higher than that in the naturally regenerated stands.