Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of ultrasound in the diagnosis and treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and its complications

We review the role of liver ultrasonography (US) and related techniques as non-invasive tools in predicting metabolic derangements, liver histology, portal hypertension and cardiovascular risk as well as allowing early diagnosis and management of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. In this setting, US detects fatty changes as low as ≥20% and hepatic steatosis identified ultrasonographically, in its turn, closely mirrors coronary and carotid atherosclerosis burden. Semi-quantitative US indices (to exclude nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) and sonoelastography (to quantify fibrosis) help in predicting liver histology and selecting patients to submit to liver biopsy. Surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma conducted through biannual US is mandatory and US has a role in guiding locoregional treatment and in evaluating the efficacy of treatment. High-intensity focused ultrasound can be delivered with precision resulting in coagulative necrosis of hepatocellular carcinoma without puncturing the liver. Costs and inconveniences have so far hampered its diffusion.
Decreased adiponectin levels in polycystic ovary syndrome, independent of body mass index.

BACKGROUND Insulin resistance has been shown to have an association with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This study was designed to evaluate the potential role of adiponectin, which is linked with insulin resistance, in the etiology of PCOS and its relationship to obesity. METHODS This case-control study consisted of 103 newly diagnosed PCOS cases and 73 female controls seen at a referral university hospital in Zanjan, Iran. Serum adiponectin, insulin, plasma fasting glucose, and lipid levels were measured. The homeostasis model assessment index was used to determine the level of insulin resistance. Women were classified as follows: Group I (normal nonlean women); group II (normal lean women); group III (nonlean women with PCOS); and group IV (lean women with PCOS) RESULTS: Adiponectin levels were decreased in women with PCOS (8.4 +/- 2.7 ng/mL vs. 13.6 +/- 5 ng/mL in the control group, P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the adiponectin concentrations of women in group III and that in group IV (8.1 +/- 2.8 ng/mL vs. 9.2 +/- 2.6 ng/mL, respectively, P = 0.1). Adiponectin levels were significantly lower in group I compared with group II. A weak but significant negative correlation was found between adiponectin and insulin levels in all the subjects. Multiple regression analyses showed that the presence of PCOS was the only significant determinant of serum adiponectin levels. CONCLUSIONS Adiponectin levels were reduced in all the women with PCOS. There seemed to be an interaction between adiponectin and PCOS pathogenesis that was independent of body mass index.
Pattern grading for testing critical paths considering power supply noise and crosstalk using a layout-aware quality metric

Power supply noise and crosstalk are considered as the two major noise sources that negatively impact signal integrity in digital integrated circuits. In this paper, we propose a novel quality metric to evaluate path-delay fault test patterns in terms of their ability to cause excess delay on targeted critical paths. The proposed procedure quickly selects the best set of patterns for testing the critical paths under power supply noise and crosstalk effects. It also offers the design engineers a quick approach to evaluate the critical paths in static timing analysis (STA) and silicon to improve timing margin strategies. Simulation results demonstrate that the patterns selected by the proposed methodology generate the worst-case supply noise and crosstalk effects on target paths.
How Fluffy is the Cloud ?: Cloud Intelligence for a Not-For-Profit

Business Intelligence (BI) is becoming more accessible and less expensive with fewer risks through various deployment options available in the Cloud. Cloud computing facilitates the acquisition of custom solutions for not-for-profit (NFP) organisations at affordable and scalable costs on a flexible pay-as-you-go basis. In this paper, we explore the key technical and organisational aspects of BI in the Cloud (Cloud Intelligence) deployment in an Australian NFP whose BI maturity is rising although still low. This organisation aspires to Cloud Intelligence for improved managerial decision making yet the issues surrounding the adoption of Cloud Intelligence are complex, especially where corporate and Cloud governance is concerned. From the findings of the case study, a conceptual framework has been developed and presented which offers a view of how governance could be deployed so that NFPs gain maximum leverage through their adoption of the Cloud.
Influence of visual clutter on the effect of navigated safety inspection: a case study on elevator installation

Introduction. Navigated safety inspection based on task-specific checklists can increase the hazard detection rate, theoretically with interference from scene complexity. Visual clutter, a proxy of scene complexity, can theoretically impair visual search performance, but its impact on the effect of safety inspection performance remains to be explored for the optimization of navigated inspection. This research aims to explore whether the relationship between working memory and hazard detection rate is moderated by visual clutter. Methods. Based on a perceptive model of hazard detection, we: (a) developed a mathematical influence model for construction hazard detection; (b) designed an experiment to observe the performance of hazard detection rate with adjusted working memory under different levels of visual clutter, while using an eye-tracking device to observe participants’ visual search processes; (c) utilized logistic regression to analyze the developed model under various visual clutter. Conclusion. The effect of a strengthened working memory on the detection rate through increased search efficiency is more apparent in high visual clutter. This study confirms the role of visual clutter in construction-navigated inspections, thus serving as a foundation for the optimization of inspection planning.
The Role of Purine Metabolites as DAMPs in Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) causes high mortality in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. An early event in the classical pathogenesis of acute GvHD is tissue damage caused by the conditioning treatment or infection that consecutively leads to translocation of bacterial products [pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs)] into blood or lymphoid tissue, as well as danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), mostly intracellular components that act as pro-inflammatory agents, once they are released into the extracellular space. A subtype of DAMPs is nucleotides, such as adenosine triphosphate released from dying cells that can activate the innate and adaptive immune system by binding to purinergic receptors. Binding to certain purinergic receptors leads to a pro-inflammatory microenvironment and promotes allogeneic T cell priming. After priming, T cells migrate to the acute GvHD target organs, mainly skin, liver, and the gastrointestinal tract and induce cell damage that further amplifies the release of intracellular components. This review summarizes the role of different purinergic receptors in particular P2X7 and P2Y2 as well as nucleotides in the pathogenesis of GvHD.
Design of an LTCC tri-band transceiver module for GPRS mobile applications

This paper presents the design and results of a low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) module for tri-band general packet radio service (GPRS) mobile applications. The proposed transceiver module integrates the tri-band (EGSM900/DCS1800/PCS1900) antenna switch, the surface-acoustic-wave filters for band selection, and a fully integrated tri-band transceiver integrated circuit into one LTCC package. By taking advantages of the three-dimensional layout capability of the LTCC substrate, the embedded circuit elements can be arranged vertically for size reduction. In addition, the utilization of mutual coupling leads to a novel design of miniature lumped-element realization of the transmission line. By combining these miniature passive component designs, the proposed module features a compact size of 13.8 mm /spl times/ 8.1 mm, with a packaged height of 1.8 mm. The module is compliant with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute regulations for GPRS mobile applications and is currently in use in commercially available mobile phones.
Detection and recognition of repeated tones and tonal patterns.

This study examined the effect of multiple presentations on signal detection and on signal recognition (identifying one signal from a set of four possible signals) for three different sets of signals. One set was four sinusoids (100-ms duration, frequencies of 707, 1000, 1414, and 2000 Hz). Two sets contained tonal patterns each made of a sequence of seven, 100-ms, sinusoidal components. In the first set, the four patterns consisted of the same seven sinusoids in different orders. In the second set, the four patterns had the same order of relative frequencies, but had frequencies from different 1/4 oct bands centered at 707, 1000, 1414, and 2000 Hz. All stimuli were adjusted to be equally detectable in the presence of a continuous white noise (eta 0 = 20 dB SPL). Each trial contained 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 presentations of a given signal plus noise (probability of a signal was 0.5) or noise alone. Detectability of the sinusoids generally increased as the square root of the number of presentations; detectability for the tonal patterns increased at a slower rate. Recognition was generally poorer than predicted by the recognition theorem [S.J. Starr, C. E. Metz, L.B. Lusted, and D.J. Goodenough, Radiology 116, 533-538 (1975)] and increased with multiple presentations only as much as expected from the increase in signal detectability.
The Social Costs of Environmental Goods Provision: A Cautionary Guide to the Revealed-Preference Approach

Empirically estimated behavioral models have emerged as the preferred approach to revealing the social opportunity costs of pollution abatement in many areas of environmental economics. This paper identifies conceptual issues in the implementation of the revealed-preference approach to nonpoint-source pollution and provides methods to overcome them. We focus on the common second-best setting where emissions are not measurable at the source and pollution reduction is incentivized indirectly through payments tied to practice adoption. First, we show through simulation that in discrete choice models estimated on microdata, the use of predicted opportunity costs provides an erroneous estimate of underlying abatement costs. We then focus on two metrics commonly used to represent the marginal social costs of abatement actions, namely, average and marginal program expenditures incurred by the regulating agency. We show theoretically and empirically that these metrics generally fail to reveal underlying social costs.
Analysis of Statistical Methods and Errors in the Articles Published in the Korean Journal of Pain

Background Statistical analysis is essential in regard to obtaining objective reliability for medical research. However, medical researchers do not have enough statistical knowledge to properly analyze their study data. To help understand and potentially alleviate this problem, we have analyzed the statistical methods and errors of articles published in the Korean Journal of Pain (KJP), with the intention to improve the statistical quality of the journal. Methods All the articles, except case reports and editorials, published from 2004 to 2008 in the KJP were reviewed. The types of applied statistical methods and errors in the articles were evaluated. Results One hundred and thirty-nine original articles were reviewed. Inferential statistics and descriptive statistics were used in 119 papers and 20 papers, respectively. Only 20.9% of the papers were free from statistical errors. The most commonly adopted statistical method was the t-test (21.0%) followed by the chi-square test (15.9%). Errors of omission were encountered 101 times in 70 papers. Among the errors of omission, "no statistics used even though statistical methods were required" was the most common (40.6%). The errors of commission were encountered 165 times in 86 papers, among which "parametric inference for nonparametric data" was the most common (33.9%). Conclusions We found various types of statistical errors in the articles published in the KJP. This suggests that meticulous attention should be given not only in the applying statistical procedures but also in the reviewing process to improve the value of the article.
Expectations-Based Reference-Dependent Life-Cycle Consumption

I incorporate expectations-based reference-dependent preferences into a dynamic stochastic model to explain three major life-cycle consumption facts; the intuitions behind these three implications constitute novel connections between recent advances in behavioral economics and prominent ideas in the macro consumption literature. First, expectations-based loss aversion rationalizes excess smoothness and sensitivity in consumption, the puzzling empirical observation of lagged consumption responses to income shocks. Intuitively, in the event of an adverse shock, the agent delays painful cuts in consumption to allow his reference point to decrease. Second, the preferences generate a hump-shaped consumption profile. Early in life, consumption is low due to a first-order precautionary-savings motive, but as uncertainty resolves, this motive is dominated by time-inconsistent overconsumption, forcing consumption to decline toward the end of life. Third, consumption drops at retirement. When uncertainty is absent, the agent does not overconsume because he dislikes the associated certain loss in future consumption. Additionally, I obtain several new predictions about consumption; compare the preferences with habit formation, hyperbolic discounting, and temptation disutility; and structurally estimate the preference parameters.
META-ANALYSIS OF EFFECTING FACTORS ON THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE IN IRAN

In recent decades, information technology has been stirred especially with all aspects of our life and professional career. Because of IT applications in different fields and the rapid growth of computers in organizations, to review the level of acceptance and rejection of information technology in organizations has special significance. With the growth of research in various fields related to the IT acceptance and dealing with a scattering of information and information explosion, control over all aspects of this area is largely impossible. Therefore, the combination of research studies conducted in this area to extract the systematic and scientific results for researchers is very important. In this study, using meta-analysis methods with comprehensive meta-analysis (CMA) software, a large number of theses, articles and researches were examined in connection with the adoption of information technology in Iran, and 19 studies with 21 hypotheses and variables were selected. The results of meta-analysis showed that employees’ empowerment, extent of use of technology, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of IT had the most influence on the acceptance of information technology in the Iranians organizations.
A new species of Demidospermus (Platyhelminthes, Monogenea, Ancyrocephalidae) from the catfish Parapimelodus valenciennis in Samborombón Bay, Argentina

Demidospermus annulus sp. nov. (Platyhelminthes, Monogenea, Ancyrocephalidae) is described from the gills of the catfish Parapimelodus valenciennis Lütken collected in Samborombón Bay, Argentina. The new species differs from all congeneric species mainly by the structure of the accessory piece of the male copulatory organ, the sclerotized ring-shaped vaginal aperture and the dorsal bar articulation.
Food and Class Distinction at Israeli Weddings

Abstract Despite a legion of studies on the omnivorous consumption patterns of the new middle class, the actual tastes of omnivores in particular social settings remain understudied. In this article, I differentiate three types of food omnivorousness (diversity, experientialism and knowledge), before identifying the classificatory schemes of omnivores in Israel through food at weddings, perceived not as individual lifestyle practices but as a locus of class distinctions, where class tastes are formed, manifested and reproduced. The culinary choices made by both the new middle class consumers and producers I interviewed were governed by what I term the “simple taste. ” My respondents invoked simplicity mainly, though not exclusively, through a close-to-nature rhetoric. I show that the “simple taste” enables the new middle class to mitigate the conflicting cultural strategies of elitism and pluralism, and in so doing, bridge between obligations to one's self and others. I conclude that the “simple taste” is part of a new, classed taste regime premised on personal authenticity.
Large-amplitude base-motion compensation of a serial robot using an inertial measurement unit

This paper describes the kinematical analysis and control of a large spatial robot for base motion compensation using an inertial measurement unit. The proposed method is intended for a 6 degrees of freedom serial manipulator, which compensates a large-amplitude spatial motion at its base such that the end effector maintains to a high degree a prescribed target location. Hereby, the robot circumvents hand wrist singularities by a new virtual redundant joint approach. The overall system is tested for a KUKA KR500 system and computergenerated as well as real wave signals with large amplitudes.
Large conductance Ca2-activated K (BK) channels promote secretagogue-induced transition from spiking to bursting in murine anterior pituitary corticotrophs

Anterior pituitary corticotroph cells are a central component of the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis essential for the neuroendocrine response to stress. Corticotrophs are excitable cells that receive input from two hypothalamic secretagogues, corticotrophinreleasing hormone (CRH) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) to control the release of adrenocorticotrophin hormone (ACTH). Although corticotrophs are spontaneously active and increase in excitability in response to CRH and AVP the patterns of electrical excitability and
Making Practical Use of Quality Attribute Information

Quality attribute requirements are important both for customer and end-user satisfaction and for driving software system design. Yet asserting their importance raises many other questions. In particular, using quality attribute information in practice isn't obvious. Here, we consider two aspects of using such information: communicating with stakeholders about quality attributes and incorporating quality attribute requirements into existing analysis and design methods.
Low&#8211;drift bandgap voltage references

This paper shows a systematic approach to calculate and to minimize mechanical-stress-related problems in bandgap voltage references. Mechanical stress is the main cause of long-term drift and packaging-induced inaccuracy in bandgap voltage references. Especially, low-cost epoxy packaging can cause a large mechanical stress, being in the range between -200 MPa and +200 MPa. This stress shows local variations over the chip area and changes over time or during thermal cycling. Due to the piezojunction effect, this stress causes changes and drift in the base-emitter voltages of bipolar transistors and consequently in the output voltage of bandgap references. In this paper it is shown that, even when using low-cost IC and packaging technology, a bandgap reference with a high immunity for the effects of mechanical stress can be realised.
Gender-role conflict and men's body satisfaction: The moderating role of age

Recent studies have demonstrated that men’s body dissatisfaction is rising and that traditional masculine ideology may have a significant impact on the development of male body image concerns. However, the role of age in this relationship is not well understood. Thus, the present research sought to determine how body dissatisfaction might differ across age groups, and to examine the moderating role of age on gender role conflict and body dissatisfaction. Participants were 156 University of Canberra and Southern Cross Health Club men. Age categories included young adult (17 to 29 years), middle adulthood (30 to 49 years), and older adult (50 to 71 years). Participants completed the gender role conflict scale and the male body attitudes scale either online or in a hard-copy survey. Results revealed that younger men had higher levels of muscle and height dissatisfaction but that body-fat dissatisfaction was experienced similarly across the age categories. Additionally, age moderated the relationship between gender role conflict and muscle and body-fat dissatisfaction but did not moderate the relationship between gender role conflict and height dissatisfaction. These findings add to the limited literature on male body image and suggest that age and gender role conflict play an important role in the experience of male body dissatisfaction.
NetCompare: A visualization tool for network alignment on Galaxy

Network alignment has made great progress and provides new insights into protein function. To visualize the results effectively is difficult because of the large scale network. In this paper, a simple tool named Network Compare (NetCompare) is proposed to visualize and analyze the network alignment results. Firstly, multi-hierarchical clustering method is used to cluster the large aligned networks. Secondly, at each clustering level, users can select the layout method which they prefer to display the results. NetCompare offers both the global and the local views. The global views briefly regard one subnet as one “node”, and the local views display the details including node information. When users submit the matched nodes of aligned networks, the matched subnets can be described as well. Both the clustering and the drawing processes are parallelized on GPU which offers short response time in the analysis of very huge protein interaction networks. NetCompare is implemented on the local version of Galaxy platform.
Management of acute lower intestinal bleeding: what bowel preparation should be required for urgent colonoscopy?

BACKGROUND/AIMS The management of acute intestinal bleeding is not standardized. The aim of this study was to determine the most suitable method of bowel preparation for urgent colonoscopy. METHODOLOGY One hundred and forty patients admitted with acute lower intestinal bleeding (ALIB) to our Hospital (April 1998 to March 2004) were studied. The preparation for colonoscopy consisted, usually, of oral administration of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-salt solution. For elderly patients or for those suspected of bleeding from a sigmoid colon lesion, colonoscopy was performed following glycerin enemas or water enemas. For patients with a suspected rectal lesion or soon after undergoing a polypectomy, colonoscopy was performed without any of the above procedures. RESULTS Ischemic colitis was the most common cause of bleeding. The overall cecal completion ratio was 41%, compared with 74% in the PEG group. The percentage of those in whom colonoscopy was impossible (poor preparation) was 16% overall, compared with 5% in the PEG group. Endoscopic hematemesis were performed successfully for 26 patients who were mainly postpolypectomy cases or had rectal ulcers. CONCLUSIONS In urgent colonoscopy, the preparation with PEG-salt solution may improve the patient's outcome. In postpolypectomy patients and those with rectal ulcers preparation was not always needed.