Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Amphipathic metabolites and membrane dysfunction in ischemic myocardium.

MANY laboratory and clinical observations have implicated altered lipid metabolism as a contributor to membrane dysfunction, electrophysiological derangements, malignant arrhythmia, and cellular injury in ischemic myocardium. Amphipathic metabolites, moieties with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties, are capable of exerting deleterious effects on biological membrane systems through multiple mechanisms. Because of their structure, amphiphiles can alter membrane function by inserting into the phospholipid bilayer, and, under some conditions, can act as detergents with resultant dissolution of membrane constituents including cholesterol and phospholipids. This selective review will consider the metabolism of fatty acids, fatty acid esters, and phospholipid catabolites which increase in ischemic myocardium and have been implicated as biochemical mediators of membrane dysfunction. Two reviews dealing with the biophysics of lipid alterations in membranes and alterations of carbohydrate and fatty acid metabolism during ischemia have been published recently (Liedtke, 1981; Katz and Messineo, 1981).
Non‐Local Image Inpainting Using Low‐Rank Matrix Completion

In this paper, we propose a highly accurate inpainting algorithm which reconstructs an image from a fraction of its pixels. Our algorithm is inspired by the recent progress of non‐local image processing techniques following the idea of ‘grouping and collaborative filtering’. In our framework, we first match and group similar patches in the input image, and then convert the problem of estimating missing values for the stack of matched patches to the problem of low‐rank matrix completion, and finally obtain the result by synthesizing all the restored patches. In our algorithm, how to accurately perform patch matching process and solve the low‐rank matrix completion problem are key points. For the first problem, we propose a robust patch matching approach, and for the second task, the alternating direction method of multipliers is employed. Experiments show that our algorithm has superior advantages over existing inpainting techniques. Besides, our algorithm can be easily extended to handle practical applications including rendering acceleration, photo restoration and object removal.
Industrial Districts and Regional Economic Development: A Regulation Approach∗

DIGIOVANNA S. (1996) Industrial districts and regional economic developoment: a regulation approach, Reg. Studies 30, 373–386. This paper examines the regulatory underpinnings of industrial districts. As many regional governments have been forced to accept greater responsibility for their own economic futures, the industrial district model has been presented as an attractive path to economic development. The underlying assumption among many policy makers is that all industrial districts are based on similar models of production organization and labour relations. Nevertheless, the comparative approach illustrates that districts which appear similar on the surface are often quite distinct, particularly when the experience of workers is considered. By applying the concepts of regulation theory to the experiences of Emilia-Romagna, Baden-Wurttemberg and Silicon Valley, this paper illustrates that flexibly-specialized districts can result in a variety of social outcomes. This paper concludes that the success o.
Single-Shot Cardiorenal Scintigraphy with 99mTc-Tetrofosmin: A Dynamic Characterization at Rest and During Adenosine Infusion

Renal function is known to be a strong predictor of cardiovascular prognosis, and cardiorenal disease is increasingly investigated in medical research. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that a single combined cardiorenal scintigraphy examination with the perfusion tracer 99mTc-tetrofosmin is feasible and may allow the simultaneous investigation of cardiac and renal pathology in cardiovascular patients. Methods: Thirty patients scheduled for dual-day gated SPECT also gave their informed consent for a renal acquisition after a single injection of 370 MBq of 99mTc-tetrofosmin, at rest (30 patients) or with adenosine (21 patients), and to undergo an additional standard renal study with the glomerular tracer 99mTc-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) (74 MBq) after 1 wk (24 patients). Kidney images and renograms were obtained. Renal uptake index, expressed as the percentage ratio of kidney counts cumulated over the second minute after injection to the administered dose, was calculated as a functional renal parameter. Time to peak activity and separate kidney percentage uptake (as the percentage contribution of each kidney to total renal uptake) were also calculated. Results: Compared with 99mTc-DTPA, 99mTc-tetrofosmin provided better-quality kidney images, with a higher uptake index (13.17% ± 4.76% vs. 8.33% ± 2.45%, P < 0.001) and with comparable separate kidney percentage uptake and times to peak activity. 99mTc-tetrofosmin uptake index was significantly lower in the patients who were more compromised according to renal and cardiovascular functional parameters, and correlated with 99mTc-DTPA uptake index (r = 0.77, P < 0.001), serum creatinine (r = 0.59, P < 0.005), log brain natriuretic peptide N-terminal levels (r = −0.65, P < 0.005), myocardial and carotid intima-media wall thickness (for both, r = −0.61, P < 0.005), and the Doppler index of renal vascular resistance (r = −0.60, P < 0.005). In the 21 patients who underwent the provocative test, adenosine induced a significant decrease in renal 99mTc-tetrofosmin uptake index (from 14.12% ± 4.50% to 11.81% ± 3.33%, P < 0.005) suggesting a decrement in renal perfusion or function. Conclusion: 99mTc-tetrofosmin cardiorenal scintigraphy is feasible at low cost as a single-shot study and may allow both the evaluation of renal morphology and renograms during a cardiac study and the calculation of renal functional parameters.
Sexual dimorphism of urine angiotensinogen excretion in the rat.

To determine the source of angiotensinogen excreted in urine, urine angiotensinogen was measured in male and female rats during growth. Angiotensinogen in 24-hr urine, measured by direct radioimmunoassay with antibody against rat angiotensinogen, increased fourfold in males between the ages of 5 and 7 weeks, whereas no significant changes were observed in females or castrated males. Plasma levels of angiotensinogen, in contrast, showed no significant differences between these groups at any age. Castration of adult males caused a significant reduction of urinary angiotensinogen after 4 weeks. Consecutive s.c. administration of 17 alpha-methyltestosterone for 3 weeks in castrated males resulted in a threefold increase in the urinary excretion of angiotensinogen, as well as a twofold increase in the renal expression of angiotensinogen messenger RNA (mRNA). Renal levels of angiotensinogen mRNA in intact adult males were about threefold higher than those in females and castrated males, whereas there were no significant differences in hepatic angiotensinogen mRNA between these animals. These results suggest that the sexual differences in the urinary excretion of angiotensinogen are primarily due to the androgen-dependent dimorphic expression of angiotensinogen mRNA in the kidney; thus, levels of angiotensinogen in urine might reflect intrarenal production.
Who's kicking whom? Employees' orientations to work.

Despite the renowned poor employment practices across the hospitality industry recent analysis of the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey reported higher levels of job satisfaction among hospitality employees than those in other industries. This paper presents a collective case study of hospitality employees across four small independent restaurants to shed light onto why this situation might exist. The paper discusses the influence an employee's orientation to work has and demonstrates how orientations underpin individual attitudes and behaviour. In presenting four different orientations to work, how individuals manage work and life for personal satisfaction and gain, is illustrated. Indeed, this individualistic ideology contributes to the levels of job satisfaction reported.
Histopathology of gills, kidney and liver of a Neotropical fish caged in an urban stream

Histological changes in gills, kidney and liver were used to evaluate the health of the Neotropical fish species Prochilodus lineatus, subjected to in situ tests for 7 days in a disturbed urban stream and in a reference site, during winter and summer. In fish caged in the urban stream the most common lesions were epithelial lifting, hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the respiratory epithelium, lamellar fusion, and aneurysms in the gills; enlargement of the glomerulus, reduction of Bowman's space, occlusion of the tubular lumen, cloudy swelling and hyaline droplet degeneration in the kidneys; hepatocytes with hypertrophy, cytoplasmic and nuclear degeneration, melanomacrophage aggregates, bile stagnation and one case of focal necrosis in the liver. The lesions were comparatively most severe in the liver. Histopathology showed to be a very suitable biomarker for use in conjugation with the in situ test, because the seasonal variation did not interfere in the results and it was possible to differentiate the sites in the urban stream from the reference site.
The Impact of Applying Financial Performance Indicators on Earnings Management in Manufacturing Companies

The study aimed at finding out the impact of applying financial performance indicators on earnings management in manufacturing companies listed at Amman Stock Exchange. Five independent and dependent variables were stated: independent variables represented the earning per share (EPS), returns on equity (ROE), and the current Ratio (CR), whereas dependent variables standed for operating cash flows (OCF), and net profits (NP). The study adopted a descriptive and analytical approach by analyzing financial statements and reports of a sample of Jordanian manufacturing companies using statistical tools to test the research hypotheses. Data of this research were gathered from a sample of 52 manufacturing companies based on a series period from 2007 – 2011, and processed using the statistical package of social sciences (SPSS). The main results of the study are: 1- There is no impact of financial performance indicators (EPS and CR) on the process of earnings management in the sample studied, despite of the ability of manufacturing companies to distort financial data as directed by, and for the interest of, middle and top managements to accommodate certain conditions related to internal and external factors, such as written changing financial instructions and levels of competition facing these companies. 2- There is an impact of financial performance indicators (ROE) on the process of earnings management in manufacturing companies listed at Amman stock exchange. This is because of many accounting items that may by distorted by accountants to exploit the flexibility of international financial reporting standards (IFRS). The study recommended the following: 1- there is a need to more studies on this topic using mathematical models, such as the modified Jones model of 1991 to measure the process of earnings management in manufacturing and nonmanufacturing companies. 2- it is benificial for the government to adopt a continuous revision of tax legislations and laws in order to prevent practices of earnings management. 3- the use of qualitative performance indicators, such as the level penetration of company's products and disconnection of board of directors' rewards with realized net profits. Keywords: Financial Performance indicators, Earning Management, Jordanian Listed Manufacturing Companies.
Three essays in asset management

The objective of this paper is to examine whether short-term variation in the ranking of size and style index returns in the UK equity market is better predictable and exploitable by means of quantitative or momentum style rotation strategies. Using UK index data, we assess the profitability of a number of long-only and long/short multi-style rotation strategies based on these two alternative methods. The findings suggest that trading rules based on simple short-term momentum strategies are able to generate higher Sharpe ratios and greater end-of-period wealth at a reasonable level of transaction costs than our quantitatively based trading rules. This result is particularly pronounced among the long-only strategies.
Selecting Suburbia: Residential Relocation to Outer Sydney

In the larger Australian cities, most residential shifts to the outer suburbs, where most population growth takes place, have been regarded as entailing trade-offs between housing accessibility and the availability of local jobs and services. Declining housing affordability, high levels of unemployment and continued centralisation of jobs and services have repoliticised the situation. This paper reports on a sample of some 400 individuals who relocated from inner and middle-ring areas of metropolitan Sydney in the early 1990s. Whilst environmental amenity and housing quality do influence relocation decisions, and movers are socio-demographically diverse, the dominant concern remains housing affordability with movers typically young and shifting from rental to purchasing tenures. Most experienced marked increases in journey-to-work times and saw friends and relatives less after moving. The study reaffirms that whilst the Australian outer city may not be a place of last resort, large numbers still sacrifice a lot to achieve home-ownership there.
Selection of vancomycin- and teicoplanin-resistant Staphylococcus haemolyticus during teicoplanin treatment of S. epidermidis infection.

Mise en evidence d'une souche de Staphylococcus haemolyticus resistante a la vancomycine et a la teicoplanine, deux plycopeptides. L'identification de differentes souches de Staphylocoques coagulase-negatifs est realisee chez un patient traite pour une infection chronique du genou. La sensibilite aux deux antibiotiques a ete testee
Shared information in the stock market

In this paper we exploit the principle of maximum entropy to gain insight into the process underlying the internal dynamics of a stock market. We first introduce a simplified physical model, the ideally liquid stock, to describe market price evolution and derive an operational definition of price volatility in non-stationary conditions. Using this model we perform an analysis of the information entropy which we compare with market data of stocks traded on the Italian stock exchange in Milan. This leads us to identify constraints to a procedure of entropy maximization and to describe the bulk of the volatility distribution on very general grounds. The nature of the two constraints we find is discussed and related to information available to all market participants. Finally, a stochastic process able to reproduce these findings is presented and the origin of the two constraints is clarified.
Divergent segmentation mechanism in the short germ insect Tribolium revealed by giant expression and function

Segmentation is well understood in Drosophila, where all segments are determined at the blastoderm stage. In the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, as in most insects, the posterior segments are added at later stages from a posteriorly located growth zone, suggesting that formation of these segments may rely on a different mechanism. Nevertheless, the expression and function of many segmentation genes seem conserved between Tribolium and Drosophila. We have cloned the Tribolium ortholog of the abdominal gap gene giant. As in Drosophila, Tribolium giant is expressed in two primary domains, one each in the head and trunk. Although the position of the anterior domain is conserved, the posterior domain is located at least four segments anterior to that of Drosophila. Knockdown phenotypes generated with morpholino oligonucleotides, as well as embryonic and parental RNA interference, indicate that giant is required for segment formation and identity also in Tribolium. In giant-depleted embryos, the maxillary and labial segment primordia are normally formed but assume thoracic identity. The segmentation process is disrupted only in postgnathal metamers. Unlike Drosophila, segmentation defects are not restricted to a limited domain but extend to all thoracic and abdominal segments, many of which are specified long after giant expression has ceased. These data show that giant in Tribolium does not function as in Drosophila, and suggest that posterior gap genes underwent major regulatory and functional changes during the evolution from short to long germ embryogenesis.
Cost-benefit analysis of an accelerated vehicle-retirement programme

High taxes on new cars in Israel provide an incentive for car owners to defer the purchase of new vehicles. The result is a vehicle fleet of older, more polluting vehicles, with air pollution costs estimated at up to $530 million annually. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a cost benefit analysis (CBA) of an accelerated vehicle-retirement (AVR) programme. The analysis considers the private car fleet as well as trucks and buses. The study develops an economic model to identify the optimal payment level that will maximise the net benefit of the programme, and then apply the model to three different vehicle categories. It finds that an AVR programme for private cars may indeed yield significant net benefits, while a similar programme for trucks and buses fails to meet the cost-benefit test. For private cars, the study finds that even according to a conservative estimate, the programme will result in the voluntary retirement of approximately 98,000 private cars, with a present value net benefit of more than $50 million. This is equal to a 17% reduction in total annual private car air pollution costs for the five-year time span of the proposed programme.
Um estudo de aplicação do Radar da inovação: o grau de inovação organizacional em uma empresa de pequeno porte do setor Metal-mecânico

Estudos apontam que o esforco realizado para mensurar o grau de inovacao em uma organizacao nao e uma tarefa facil, uma vez que nao existe um consenso acerca do modelo mais apropriado para aplicacao. Em caso especifico sobre mensuracao do grau de inovacao em empresas participantes do Programa Agentes Locais de Inovacao (ALI) do SEBRAE, vem sendo aplicado um modelo de diagnostico chamado Radar da Inovacao. Nesse sentido, este artigo analisou o grau de inovacao de uma Empresa de Pequeno Porte (EPP) do setor metal-mecânico, localizada na Regiao Metropolitana de Recife-PE, a partir da aplicacao do Radar da Inovacao. Para tanto, o referido Radar foi realizado em tres momentos distintos, com o intuito de verificar a evolucao do grau de inovacao organizacional. Para a fundamentacao teorica, foi feita uma pesquisa bibliografica a respeito de inovacao em empresas e modelos de mensuracao de grau de inovacao. Os principais resultados apontaram que, a partir dos diagnosticos aplicados, foi possivel sugerir acoes inovadoras a EPP, como o desenvolvimento de logotipo e constituicao de uma identidade visual, identificacao dos principais gargalos na gestao da empresa, criacao de novos canais de comunicacao com o cliente e elaboracao de estrategias para otimizar e padronizar os processos administrativos.
Citizen Satisfaction and Administrative Performance Measures

The most recent reform in public service delivery is predicated on an assumption that the kinds of activities that managers can measure are the dimensions of service that citizens value. The link between administrative performance measures and citizen satisfaction with services has been tested within cities but not among cities, owing to data comparability difficulties. This test for a relationship between police and fire service performance and citizen satisfaction with police and fire services across 50 localities does not reveal the result predicted in the public management literature. Some implications and recommendations for future specifications of the relationship are offered in conclusion.
Critical rendering path optimizations to reduce the web page loading time

In recent times, the websites have become complex. They are made up of a lot of content like videos, images, Javascript, Cascading Style Sheets(CSS). Because of too much content, the website gets heavy and takes more time to load. On the other hand, users prefer faster loading websites. Slower websites means unhappy users, who in turn abandon the sites in preference to faster sites. To overcome this, the websites should be optimized. Research shows that the complexity of websites is characterized at two levels — content and service. The focus of this work is to optimize the content level complexity. It is observed that reduction in critical rendering path length of a page results in less page load times. Critical rendering path is the set of processing steps a browser goes through for completely rendering a page. So, the idea of the project is to optimize the parameters impacting the critical rendering path length. The parameters under consideration are images, CSS and Javascript. These optimizations are tested on a website having images and text both in proportion.
The Black-Market Exchange Rate Versus the Official Rate: Which Rate Fosters the Adjustment Speed in the Monetarist Model?

Many less developed countries have currency controls, which can lead to black-market trade and cause distortions in the exchange market. We test the flexible-price monetary model for 25 less developed countries, using both official and black-market exchange rates. We find that the model is supported in the long run, particularly when black-market rates are used. Measuring the speed of convergence to equilibrium, we find that it is often higher in the black-market specification, implying greater efficiency. This could offer justification for exchange-rate unification, particularly in Latin America.
Comparison of the effect of web-based, simulation-based, and conventional training on the accuracy of visual estimation of postpartum hemorrhage volume on midwifery students: A randomized clinical trial

Introduction: Delay in diagnosis of bleeding can be due to underestimation of the actual amount of blood loss during delivery. Therefore, this research aimed to compare the efficacy of web-based, simulation-based, and conventional training on the accuracy of visual estimation of postpartum hemorrhage volume. Materials and Methods: This three-group randomized clinical trial study was performed on 105 midwifery students in Mashhad School of Nursing and Midwifery in 2013. The samples were selected by the convenience method and were randomly divided into three groups of web-based, simulation-based, and conventional training. The three groups participated before and 1 week after the training course in eight station practical tests, then, the students of the web-based group were trained on-line for 1 week, the students of the simulation-based group were trained in the Clinical Skills Centre for 4 h, and the students of the conventional group were trained for 4 h presentation by researchers. The data gathering tool was a demographic questionnaire designed by the researchers and objective structured clinical examination. Data were analyzed by software version 11.5. Results: The accuracy of visual estimation of postpartum hemorrhage volume after training increased significantly in the three groups at all stations (1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (P = 0.001), 8 (P = 0.027)) except station 3 (blood loss of 20 cc, P = 0.095), but the mean score of blood loss estimation after training did not significantly different between the three groups (P = 0.95). Conclusion: Training increased the accuracy of estimation of postpartum hemorrhage, but no significant difference was found among the three training groups. We can use web-based training as a substitute or supplement of training along with two other more common simulation and conventional methods.