Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of endometrial thickness on IVF/ICSI outcome.

BACKGROUND During the menstrual cycle the endometrium undergoes cyclic proliferative and secretory changes in preparation for implantation. If this preparation is not sufficient, then implantation will fail. The impact of endometrial thickness on the day of embryo transfer on IVF outcome was investigated in the present study. METHODS A retrospective analysis was conducted of 1228 IVF/ICSI cycles. Stimulation was with clomiphene citrate (CC) + hMG in one-third of the cycles, and ultrashort GnRH agonist stimulation in two-thirds. Cycle parameters were compared between pregnant and non-pregnant patients. A similar comparison was made between ongoing pregnancies and those that resulted in a loss. RESULTS There were more follicles, oocytes and embryos, the endometrium was thicker and the embryo quality was higher among women who became pregnant when compared with non-pregnant women after assisted reproduction. The pregnancy rate improved as endometrial thickness increased. No difference in cycle parameters and endometrial thickness was found between ongoing pregnancies and pregnancies that resulted in a first-trimester loss. CC had no measurable adverse endometrial effect, but the pregnancy rate was lower in CC+hMG cycles. CONCLUSIONS Increased endometrial thickness is associated with higher pregnancy rates. However, neither attainment of pregnancy nor pregnancy outcome was predicted by endometrial thickness alone.
Gastrointestinal tract symptoms among persons with diabetes mellitus in the community.

BACKGROUND Gastrointestinal (GI) tract symptoms are common among patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) seen in tertiary care centers. The degree to which this reflects referral bias is unclear. OBJECTIVES To determine whether GI tract symptoms are more prevalent in unselected patients with DM from the general community compared with their age- and sex-matched counterparts without DM and to assess the association of GI tract symptoms in persons with DM with psychosomatic symptoms, medication use, and symptoms of autonomic neuropathy. METHODS In this population-based, cross-sectional study, Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents with type 1 DM, a random sample of residents with type 2 DM, and 2 age- and sex-stratified random samples of nondiabetic residents (total of 1262 person for the 4 groups) were mailed a previously validated symptom questionnaire. RESULTS Heartburn was less common in residents with type 1 DM vs controls (12% vs 23%; P<.05). No significant difference in prevalence was detected (residents with type 1 DM vs controls; residents with type 2 DM vs controls) for nausea or vomiting (12% vs 11%; 6% vs 6%), dyspepsia (19% vs 21%; 13% vs 17%), or constipation (17% vs 14%; 10% vs 12%). However, constipation and/or laxative use was slightly more common in residents with type 1 DM (27% vs 19%; P<.15), particularly in men, and was associated with the intake of calcium channel blockers. CONCLUSIONS In the community, the prevalence of most GI tract symptoms is similar in persons with or without DM, except for a lower prevalence of heartburn and an increased prevalence of constipation or laxative use in residents with type 1 DM, especially in men. This difference is associated with calcium channel blocker use rather than symptoms of autonomic neuropathy. In community-based practices, physicians should not immediately assume that GI tract symptoms in patients with DM represent a complication of DM.
CDP Binding to Multiple Sites in the Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus Long Terminal Repeat Suppresses Basal and Glucocorticoid-Induced Transcription

ABSTRACT Mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) is transcribed at high levels in the lactating mammary gland to ensure transmission of virus from the milk of infected female mice to susceptible offspring. We previously have shown that the transcription factor CCAAT displacement protein (CDP) is expressed in high amounts in virgin mammary gland, yet DNA-binding activity for the MMTV long terminal repeat (LTR) disappears as mammary tissue differentiates during lactation. CDP is a repressor of MMTV expression and, therefore, MMTV expression is suppressed during early mammary gland development. In this study, we have shown using DNase I footprinting and electrophoretic mobility shift assays that there are at least five CDP-binding sites in the MMTV LTR upstream of those previously described in the promoter-proximal negative regulatory element (NRE). Single mutations in two of these upstream sites (+691 or +692 and +735 relative to the first base of the LTR) reduced CDP binding to the cognate sites and elevated reporter gene expression from the full-length MMTV LTR. Combination of a mutation in the promoter-distal NRE with a mutation in the proximal NRE gave approximately additive increases in LTR-reporter gene activity, suggesting that these binding sites act independently. Mutations in several different CDP-binding sites allowed elevation of reporter gene activity from the MMTV promoter in the absence and presence of glucocorticoids, hormones that contribute to high levels of MMTV transcription during lactation by activation of hormone receptor binding to the LTR. In addition, overexpression of CDP in transient-transfection assays suppressed both basal and glucocorticoid-induced LTR-mediated transcription in a dose-dependent manner. These data suggest that multiple CDP-binding sites contribute independently to regulate binding of positive factors, including glucocorticoid receptor, to the MMTV LTR during mammary gland development.
An expert integrative approach for sediment load simulation in a tropical watershed

Prediction of highly non-linear behaviour of suspended sediment flow in rivers is of prime importance in environmental studies and watershed management. In this study, the predictive performance of artificial neural network (ANN) integrated with genetic algorithm (GA) was assessed. GA was used to optimize the parameters and architecture of the ANN. Five simulation scenarios (S1–S5) were developed using daily time series of suspended sediment discharge, water discharge, precipitation and reservoir level. The scenario S1 was composed of only water discharge input. The scenarios S2–S4 were composed of water discharge input and precipitation records at different stations. The inputs water discharge, precipitation and reservoir level formed the last scenario S5. Assessment metrics such as normalized mean square error, correlation coefficient, Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency and trend accuracy were used to evaluate the performance of ANN–GA on the simulation scenarios. Based on error analysis, differences between various scenarios in terms of error metrics were trivial, especially during the testing process. Meanwhile, S1 and S3 showed better accuracy in predicting the trend of sediment load time series, as compared to other scenarios. Based on error and sensitivity analyses, S1 with the Nash–Sutcliff efficiency and correlation coefficient of 0.56 and 0.81, respectively, was chosen as the most appropriate scenario. All networks showed a weak robustness in estimating large magnitudes of sediment load, mostly attributable to scarcity of large observed values in the training data-set. This weakness was also originated from different non-linear relationships governing the process of sediment detachment and final sediment load by a high storm event, as compared to those by low or medium storm events. Furthermore, there was an obvious sediment load overestimation in the 2008 exemplars due to a high level of daily water discharge and the outlined generalization rules. Nevertheless, ANN–GA showed reliable performance for sediment load simulation in the studied watershed.
Prospects for transition to a knowledge-based economy in the Arab region

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges and opportunities for the transition to a knowledge-based economy in the Arab region. Design/methodology/approach – Both descriptive and comparative approaches are used, together with the framework and definition of “knowledge-based economy” often used in the international literature to examine the challenges and opportunities for a transition to a knowledge-based economy in the Arab region. Findings – The findings support the hypothesis concerning the challenges and opportunities for transition to a knowledge-based economy in the Arab region. This transition is seriously impeded by several political, social, economic, institutional and organisational obstacles and impediments. Overcoming the major challenges hindering the transition to knowledge-based economies will involve changing the economic structure by shifting from (rent-seeking) natural resources-based (oil) economies to knowledge-based economies in the Arab region. Originality/value – This paper is valuable because it fills the gap in the Arab literature by presenting a more comprehensive analysis and investigating the challenges and opportunities for the transition, which previous literature has failed to adequately discuss. Moreover, the paper supports the efforts aimed at enhancing knowledge-based economies in the Arab region. The findings imply that it is essential for the Arab region to overcome challenges by implementing sound strategies for their transition to knowledge economies and improving and enhancing appropriate investments in human capital, effective institutions, relevant technologies and innovative and competitive enterprises to facilitate such a transition.
Ultrasonography of the nail unit reveals quantitative and qualitative alterations in patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

AIMS The nail unit is a matter of interest both for dermatologist and rheumatologist. The nail is considered one of the possible targets of assessment, especially when ultrasonography is performed. The aim of the study is to highlight peculiar features and alterations of the nail unit in patients affected by psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis versus healthy controls using ultrasonography. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study sample included 82 patients affected by psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis and 50 healthy controls. The patients were consecutively enrolled during their routine visit in the outpatient clinic and they performed clinical and ultrasonographic evaluation of the nail. The evaluationof disease activity was done using Disease Activity in Psoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA), Psoriasis Activity Severity Index (PASI), and Nail Psoriasi Severity Index (NAPSI). RESULTS Multivariate analysis of variance was performed between groups. Post hoc analysis underlined the differences between healthy and affected regarding nail plate thickness (0.063±0.011 cm for patients with psoriasis, 0.065±0.014 cm for patients with psoriatic arthritis and 0.051±0.006 cm for healthy controls, p<0.05). Elementary lesions of nail plate and nail bed were compared using Pearson's chi square test between patients in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis groups, with no differences except for a trend for onycholisis and crumbling (p=0.07 and 0.06, respectively) in the psoriatic arthritis group. ROC curves were calculated (AUC = 0.68) obtaining also quantitative cut offs for nail plate andnail bed thickness in the affected vs healthy patients. CONCLUSIONS Our study shows that ultrasonography may be a potential advantage in clinical practice. Our results strengthen the information already available in the literature and add quantitative parameters for ultrasonography of the nail.
Semi-Orthogonal Non-Negative Matrix Factorization

Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) is a popular clustering and dimension reduction method by decomposing a non-negative matrix into the product of two lower dimension matrices composed of basis vectors. In this paper, we propose a semi-orthogonal NMF method that enforces one of the matrices to be orthogonal with mixed signs, thereby guarantees the rank of the factorization. Our method preserves strict orthogonality by implementing the Cayley transformation to force the solution path to be exactly on the Stiefel manifold, as opposed to the approximated orthogonality solutions in existing literature. We apply a line search update scheme along with an SVD-based initialization which produces a rapid convergence of the algorithm compared to other existing approaches. In addition, we present formulations of our method to incorporate both continuous and binary design matrices. Through various simulation studies, we show that our model has an advantage over other NMF variations regarding the accuracy of the factorization, rate of convergence, and the degree of orthogonality while being computationally competitive. We also apply our method to a text-mining data on classifying triage notes, and show the effectiveness of our model in reducing classification error compared to the conventional bag-of-words model and other alternative matrix factorization approaches.
Position Tolerance Design Method for Array Antenna in Internet of Things

The position error of array antenna significantly deteriorates the gain and sidelobe of the array, which seriously hinders the realization of high performance of communication antenna for Internet of Things (IoT). Based on the sensitivity analysis theory, the sensitivity of the array radiation field with respect to the position of the antenna element is derived. Besides, a novel design method of position tolerance for array antenna is proposed and applied to a planar array. Compared with the array designed by traditional method, the gain loss is basically the same (being 0.5 dB), while the peak sidelobe level is lowered by 1.937 dB ( )/1.586 dB ( ). Besides, the uncertainty analysis results show that the newly designed array has a much higher chance to achieve the desired performance, which fully demonstrates the innovation and effectiveness of the new method.
The Entrepreneurial Role of Organisational Members in the Internationalisation of a Franchise System

Purpose -To discuss the entrepreneurial role andimportance of organisational members in implementing franchising decisionsinternationally. Design/methodology/approach- A single embedded case study of aninternational hotel firm was the focus of the enquiry. Interviews, observationsand document analysis were used as the data collection techniques. Findings- Findings suggest that Development Directors, as theorganisational members in host country markets, display many characteristics ofentrepreneurial salespeople in the process of selling the franchise system.However, they face organisational obstacles which mean that they cannot fullyexploit their entrepreneurial effort. The paper concludes by suggesting that itis Development Directors, as opposed to senior decision makers, who possess aninternational orientation and are therefore crucial to the internationalisationprocess of the firm. In addition, there is an indication that there is arelationship between entrepreneurial efforts within sales and the performanceof a firm. Research limitations/implications- The hotel industry has been chosenas the focus of the study, and the comparability with other industries istherefore questionable. Although the research findings have not indicated anysubstantial differences in terms of the international management of the hotelfirms and other types of organisations, the findings of this research cannot begeneralised. Practical implications -This paper both illuminates the challengesfranchise organisations face internationally and highlights the options thatcompanies may consider as part of their growth strategies. Originality/value -This paper illustrates the role and importance oforganisational entrepreneurs in the international expansion process and shedsnew light on the implementation of franchising decisions internationally. Itidentifies an important factor in the operationalisation of internationalfranchisingthe need for entrepreneurial sales people in thefranchise-selling procedure. (Publication abstract)
Direct adaptive control design for reachable linear discrete-time uncertain systems

In this paper, we develop a direct adaptive control framework for MIMO linear uncertain systems. The proposed adaptive controller addresses adaptive stabilization while under the reachability assumption. The method can be easily extended to the system with bounded exogenous disturbances and /spl lscr//sub 2/ disturbances, where the disturbance rejection can be addressed. The framework is Lyapunov-based and the adaptive laws are characterized by Kronecker calculus. Finally, several numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed framework.
The new bank capital adequacy standards

K HE thi-ee federal agencies that regulate US, commercial banks — the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Reserve FED) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (0CC) — recently adopted new capital adequacy standards for hank supervision and regulation purposes. ’ The new minimum standards are 5,5 percent for the ratio of primary capital to total assets and 6 percent fot- the ratio of total capital to total assets. ’ In general, the new standards increase the minimum capital requirements for larger banks, while reducing them for’ smaller banks, There are two reasons for the change in bank capital standards. First, the relatively large number of hank failures in recent years has become a matter of considerable public concern? While bank failures averaged only 10 per year as recently as 1979 through 1981, the number of bank failures reached 79 in 1984. Twentynine banks failed in the first four months of 1985, and there are expectations that the number’ of failures during 1985 will equal or surpass that in 1984. ’ Many
Aspiculuris tetraptera in wild Mus musculus. Age resistance and acquired immunity.

Abstract Wild house mice, naturally infected with Aspiculuris tetraptera were segregated according to their weight into six age groups. The prevalence of infection and the mean worm burden of these mice were studied in the different age groups. The overall prevalence of infection was high (57% or more) in all the groups except the youngest. Mice acquired larvae soon after weaning; the highest larval burdens were reached in juvenile mice and the highest mature worm burdens, a group later, in mature mice. Older mice had fewer larvae and fewer mature worms. The mature worm burdens decreased but relatively slower than the larval burdens. It is suggested that either innate or acquired resistance could account for these observations.
Butyrate and aspirin in combination have an enhanced effect on apoptosis in human colorectal cancer cells

Laboratory and epidemiological studies suggest that butyrate, a metabolic product of microbial fermentation of dietary fibre, and aspirin, a non-steroidal antiphlogistic drug, both reduce the risk of developing colon cancer. Notably, few data exist on potential interactions of these two substances. In this study, the effects of a butyrate–aspirin combination on human colon cancer cells were compared with treatment with aspirin or butyrate alone. Both substances decreased proliferation and induced differentiation and apoptosis. Butyrate reduced mutant p53 expression, whereas aspirin did not affect p53 expression. Butyrate-induced apoptosis correlated with an increase in Bak expression and a decrease in the expression of Bcl-XL. Aspirin had no effect on the investigated apoptosis-controlling factors. The antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of the butyrate–aspirin combination were markedly enhanced. The combination resulted in a stronger decrease in the expression of PCNA and cdk2. Our data suggest that the anticarcinogenic effect of aspirin might effectively be augmented by combination with the short-chain fatty acid butyrate.
Gatekeepers of a profession? Employability as capital in the recruitment of medical interns

The present article concerns employability in physicians’ professional practice. Drawing on interview data from recruiters at 21 Swedish hospitals with the most applicants for a medical internship, the article seeks to develop a theory of what constitutes an ‘employable medical intern’. Using Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of capital, two forms of capital were constructed using interview data, orientation toward performance and orientation toward human relations. Orientation toward performance concerns the applicants’ drive and ambition, while orientation toward human relations concerns the applicants’ social competence, primarily as co-workers. The study suggests that the most highly employable applicants successfully prove that they possess both forms of capital. These forms of capital are thought to involve sorting mechanisms in the process of recruitment as recruiters infer the desired attributes of applicants from a written application and a job interview. The concept of employability, as well as implications for professional socialisation, is examined and discussed in light of the findings.
A 0.18 μm CMOS LDO Regulator for an On-Chip Sensor Array Impedance Measurement System

This paper presents a fully integrated 0.18 μm CMOS Low-Dropout (LDO) Voltage Regulator specifically designed to meet the stringent requirements of a battery-operated impedance spectrometry multichannel CMOS micro-instrument. The proposed LDO provides a regulated 1.8 V voltage from a 3.6 V to 1.94 V battery voltage over a −40 °C to 100 °C temperature range, with a compact topology (<0.10 mm2 area) and a constant quiescent current of only 7.45 μA with 99.985% current efficiency, achieving remarkable state-of-art Figures of Merit (FoMs) for the regulating–transient performance. Experimental measurements validate its suitability for the target application, paving the way towards the future achievement of a truly portable System on Chip (SoC) platform for impedance sensors.
Ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide: a highly effective cytoreduction and peripheral-blood progenitor-cell mobilization regimen for transplant-eligible patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

PURPOSE To evaluate a chemotherapy regimen that consisted of ifosfamide administered as an infusion with bolus carboplatin, and etoposide (ICE) supported by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) for cytoreduction and stem-cell mobilization in transplant-eligible patients with primary refractory or relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred sixty-three transplant-eligible patients with relapsed or primary refractory NHL were treated from October 1993 to December 1997 with ICE chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Administration of three cycles of ICE chemotherapy was planned at 2-week intervals. Peripheral-blood progenitor cells were collected after cycle 3, and all patients who achieved a partial response (PR) or complete response (CR) to ICE chemotherapy were eligible to proceed to transplantation. Event-free and overall survival, ICE-related toxicity, and the number of CD34(+) cells collected after treatment with ICE and G-CSF were evaluated. RESULTS All 163 patients were assessable for response, and there was no treatment-related mortality. A major response (CR/PR) was evident in 108 patients (66.3%); 89% of the responding patients underwent successful transplantation. Patient who underwent transplantation and achieved a CR to ICE had a superior overall survival to that of patients who achieved a PR (65% v 30%; P =.003). The median number of CD34(+) cells/kg collected was 8.4 x 10(6). The dose-limiting toxicity of ICE was hematologic, with 29.4% of patients developing grade 3/4 thrombocytopenia. There were minimal nonhematologic side effects. CONCLUSION ICE chemotherapy, with ifosfamide administered as a 24-hour infusion to decrease CNS side effects, and the substitution of carboplatin for cisplatin to minimize nephrotoxicity, is a very effective cytoreduction and mobilization regimen in patients with NHL. Furthermore, the quality of the clinical response to ICE predicts for posttransplant outcome.