Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Choroidal thickness and choroidal blood flow after intravitreal bevacizumab injection in eyes with central serous chorioretinopathy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE To quantitatively evaluate choroidal thickness (CT) and choroidal blood flow in the subfoveal region after intravitreal bevacizumab injection (IVB) for the treatment of chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). PATIENTS AND METHODS Prospective, comparative study of 20 eyes with chronic CSC and and 20 fellow eyes treated with 1.25 mg/0.05 mL IVB. Subfoveal CT and serous retinal detachment height were measured using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography. Subfoveal choroidal blood flow was assessed by the mean blur rate of laser speckle flowgraphy. IOP, blood pressure, and pulse rate, and ocular perfusion pressure were also measured. All measurements were made before and after IVB. RESULTS Subfoveal fluid was not present after IVB in the affected eyes. The mean subfoveal CT decreased from 335 µm at baseline to 304 and 291 µm at 1 and 3 months, respectively, after IVB. Average mean blur rate ratio decreased from baseline to 92.9% and 88.0% at 1 and 3 months, respectively. In the fellow eyes, subfoveal CT and choroidal blood flow decreased slightly from baseline. There was a significant correlation between the decrease in subfoveal CT and choroidal blood flow after IVB in affected eyes. IOP, mean arterial pressure, pulse rate, and ocular perfusion pressure did not change significantly after IVB. CONCLUSION IVB significantly reduced subfoveal CT, choroidal blood flow, and subretinal fluid absorption in eyes with chronic CSC. The reduction of subfoveal CT after IVB was likely caused by the reduction of subfoveal choroidal blood flow.
Properties of serendipitous X-ray flares discovered in XMM–Newton observations

We present the results of a search of the XMM-Newton public data archive for stellar X-ray flares. We find eight flaring sources for which we identify seven optical counterparts. Three of these sources have distance estimates which allow us to determine their luminosities. Based on the decay time of the flares and their luminosity, we derive loop half-lengths of ∼2-7 x 10 10 cm and emission measures of ∼10 54 cm -3 ; these are similar to values derived for other stellar flaring sources. One of the stars shows two flares in close succession. We discuss the likelihood of this double event being either sympathetic or homologous in nature. A comparison to a pair of similar flares on the Sun suggests that homology is the more likely process driving the flare event.
INFLUENCE OF SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR IN CHAIN SUPERMARKETS IN KENYA.

Purpose: The objective of the study was to establish the effect of socio-cultural factors on consumer buying behavior in in supermarkets in Kenya. Methodology: The target population consisted of 33 chain supermarkets in Kenya. The target population comprised of 634 employees from these supermarkets. Descriptive research design was used for this study. In addition, regression and correlation analysis was used to link the relationships between the dependent and the independent variables. Results: The study found out that there was a positive and significant relationship between socio-cultural factors and consumer buying behavior (r=0.73, p=0.000). Unique Contribution to Theory and Practice: The study concluded that socio-cultural factors has a positive and significant effect on Consumer Buying Behavior. The study recommends for chain supermarkets to consider social cultural factors in their marketing programs since they are very crucial. This will enable them to produce goods and services that attract their target consumers and enhance business performance. Keywords: Socio-cultural factors, consumer buying behavior and supermarkets.
Role of strategic purchasing and supply management practices in firm performance: A lesson from public bus transport firms in Kenya

In a census survey of 183 senior executives of public bus transport firms in Nairobi, Kenya, effect of strategic purchasing and supply management practices on performance was sought. A cross sectional survey design was adopted. Secondary and primary data were used. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, multiple regressions were used to analyze data. Content analysis was performed on interview schedule results and other qualitative data. The results indicated that Strategic purchasing and supply management practices were high among the firms and positively and significantly predict public bus transport firm performance. The adjusted R 2 value was found to be 0.398 implying that strategic purchasing and supply management practices accounted for 39.8% of the variance in the public bus transport firm performance. The results show that public bus transport firms practicing strategic purchasing and supply management have improved performance. This is important to the practitioners in the industry and other industries and the government as it implies that more emphasis should be made on this area. The regression results indicate a high error term that should be investigated further.
Desirability of Knowledge Management in Civil Engineering Consulting Firms

: KM (knowledge management) has in the recent past been promoted as a means of harnessing and utilising intellectual resources and to improve innovation, business performance and client satisfaction within the construction industry. However, there has been no attempt to ascertain the required level of KM within any given firm. The study reported in this paper aimed at establishing a general equation for assessing a firm’s required level of KM. Through literature review and a questionnaire survey, a total of 22 key indicators of KM were established. The interaction and effects of the key indicators against turnover and employee base were established, yielding an elliptic paraboloid fitted graph over which desirability could be calculated. It was observed that there is a continuous relationship among the firm’s turnover, employee base and the identified key indicators. In practice, firms have different combinations of the employee base and turnover. The derived equation fits well with the different combinations. Firms can, through the use of such equations, determine the level of effort and investment required to implement KM.
An Extension of Two Conjugate Direction Methods to Markov Chain Problems

Motivated by the recent applications of the conjugate residual method to nonsymmetric linear systems by Sogabe, Sugihara and Zhang [An extension of the conjugate residual method to nonsymmetric linear systems. J. Comput. Appl. Math., Vol. 266, 2009, pp. 103--113], this paper describes two conjugate direction methods, BiCR and BiCG, and attempts to extend their applications to compute the stationary probability distribution for an irreducible Markov chain with the aim of finding an alternative basic solver. Numerical experiments show the feasibility of the BiCR and BiCG to some extent, with applications to several practical Markov chain problems.
Diagnostic Prevalence of Ankylosing Spondylitis Using Computerized Health Care Data, 1996 to 2009: Underrecognition in a US Health Care Setting.

INTRODUCTION Few studies have assessed the prevalence and features of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and ankylosing spondylitis in diverse, population-based, community settings. OBJECTIVES We used computerized diagnoses to estimate the prevalence of axSpA and ankylosing spondylitis in Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC). METHODS We identified persons aged 18 years or older with 1 or more International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) diagnosis Code 720.X (ankylosing spondylitis and other inflammatory spondylopathies) in clinical encounter data from 1996 through 2009 to estimate the prevalence of axSpA and ankylosing spondylitis. We reviewed medical records to confirm the diagnosis in a random sample and estimated the positive predictive value of computerized data to identify confirmed cases using various case definitions. RESULTS In the computerized data, 5568 adults had diagnostic codes indicating axSpA. On the basis of our case-finding approach using a single physician diagnosis code for ICD-9 720.X, the point prevalence of these conditions, standardized to the 2000 US Census, was 2.26 per 1000 persons for axSpA and 1.07 per 1000 for ankylosing spondylitis. Less than half of suspected cases saw a rheumatologist. The most specific algorithm for confirmed ankylosing spondylitis required 2 or more computerized diagnoses assigned by a rheumatologist, with 67% sensitivity (95% confidence interval, 64%-69%) and 81% positive predictive value (95% confidence interval, 79%-83%). CONCLUSIONS Observed prevalence in the KPNC population, compared with national estimates for axSpA and ankylosing spondylitis, suggests there is substantial underrecognition of these conditions in routine clinical practice. However, use of computerized data is able to identify true cases of ankylosing spondylitis, facilitating population-based research.
Circulating immune complexes in serum from patients with dengue haemorrhagic fever.

Circulating immune complexes were detectable in 80% of serum from patients with dengue haemorrhagic fever. The immune complexes were detected for the first time on day two after the onset of the fever. The amount of complexes reached the maximum value on day 4 or 5 after onset, or when the patients developed shock or subsidence of fever, after which the complexes decreased in number. The number of complexes also correlated well with the clinical grading (severity) of the disease, i.e. the maximum amount was shown in grade III. These complexes may play a part in the pathogenesis of this disease.
Design and Analysis of a Cascade Circular Polarization Selective Surface at K Band

This paper proposes a circular polarization selective surface (CPSS) design consisting of two meander-line circular polarizers and a linear polarizer. No vias are required. These polarizers are individually designed with ANSYS-HFSS (High Frequency Structure Simulator) software whereas the response of the overall cascade CPSS is computed with the GSM approach. A cascade CPSS which includes three-layer meander-line polarizers is designed and fabricated. Good agreement is shown between experimental and simulated results, with only the TE00 and TM00 modes in the GSM analysis. Finally, analysis of the circular polarizers based on simple filter theory is done to better understand how the performance of the whole structure can be improved.
Perception of facial and vocal affect by people with schizophrenia in early and late stages of illness

Background Emotion recognition impairments have been demonstrated in schizophrenia, but few studies have examined whether these reflect generalised or specific perceptual deficits or are associated with illness course. Aims To examine the nature of emotion recognition abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia at different stages of illness. Method We examined the performance of 50 in-patients with early-stage schizophrenia, 50 with chronic schizophrenia and 50 healthy controls on the Benton Facial Recognition Test, Facial Emotion Recognition Test and Voice Emotion Recognition Test. Results Patients with chronic schizophrenia were significantly more impaired than other groups on the emotional tasks, even after controlling for impairments in non-emotional stimuli. Individual emotion recognition accuracy for the two sensory modalities was not significantly positively correlated for either group with schizophrenia. Conclusions Emotion recognition deficits in schizophrenia are trait features of the disorder and increase with illness duration.
DNA Technology and Vaccines

Abstract It has been 20 years since the concepts that are now embraced in the term recombinant DNA technology were first described. The technology has been used to design new vaccines, and one product — that for hepatitis B — has been in widespread use for almost a decade. Several other engineered vaccines have shown considerable promise in laboratory trials. Nevertheless, the potential of the approach is still to be realized. This article describes the principles that are involved in the design of these new vaccines, focusing on those for hepatitis B and rabies.
Characteristics of the basic AFL type and transitions between AFL episodes after overdrive pacing in the overall population of patients

Masè M, Glass L, Disertori M, Ravelli F. Nodal recovery, dual pathway physiology, and concealed conduction determine complex AV dynamics in human atrial tachyarrhythmias. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 303: H1219–H1228, 2012. First published September 14, 2012; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00228. 2012. — The genesis of complex ventricular rhythms during atrial tachyarrhythmias in humans is not fully understood. To clarify the dynamics of atrioventricular (AV) conduction in response to a regular high-rate atrial activation, 29 episodes of spontaneous or pacing-induced atrial flutter (AFL), covering a wide range of atrial rates (cycle lengths from 145 to 270 ms), were analyzed in 10 patients. AV patterns were identified by applying firing sequence and surrogate data analysis to atrial and ventricular activation series, whereas modular simulation with a differenceequation AV node model was used to correlate the patterns with specific nodal properties. AV node response at high atrial rate was characterized by 1) AV patterns of decreasing conduction ratios at the shortening of atrial cycle length (from 236.3 32.4 to 172.6 17.8 ms) according to a Farey sequence ordering (conduction ratio from 0.34 0.12 to 0.23 0.06; P 0.01); 2) the appearance of high-order alternating Wenckebach rhythms, such as 6:2, 10:2, and 12:2, associated with ventricular interval oscillations of large amplitude (407.7 150.4 ms); and 3) the deterioration of pattern stability at advanced levels of block, with the percentage of stable patterns decreasing from 64.3 35.2% to 28.3 34.5% (P 0.01). Simulations suggested these patterns to originate from the combined effect of nodal recovery, dual pathway physiology, and concealed conduction. These results indicate that intrinsic nodal properties may account for the wide spectrum of AV block patterns occurring during regular atrial tachyarrhythmias. The characterization of AV nodal function during different AFL forms constitutes an intermediate step toward the understanding of complex ventricular rhythms during atrial fibrillation.
Distribution of Neurons Supplying the Porcine Mammary Gland

The distribution of neurons projecting to the mammary gland was investigated by using the retrograde tracing method in juvenile pigs (n = 12). Fluorescent retrograde tracer Fast Blue (FB) was injected into the nipple (n = 3) or parenchyma (n = 3) of the second, right thoracic mamma or into the nipple (n = 3) and parenchyma (n = 3) of the last, right abdominal mamma. FB‐positive (FB+) mammary gland‐projecting neurons were found in some right dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and sympathetic chain ganglia (SChG) only. After injection of the tracer into the second, right thoracic mamma, FB+ neurons were observed in Th9‐Th12 DRG but most of them were located in Th11 and Th12 ganglia. As concerns SChG, FB+ neurons were found in Th1‐Th4, Th7‐Th14 and L1‐L4 ganglia. The vast majority of them were located in Th10 and Th11 SChG, which appeared to be the main sources of efferent innervation of this mamma. Neurons projecting to the last right abdominal mamma were found in L1‐L3 DRG and L1‐L4 SChG but most of them were located in L1‐L2 ganglia and L1‐L2 ganglia, respectively. This study for the first time has disclosed the localization of neurons supplying the mammary gland in larger domestic animal species, the pig, by using the retrograde tracing method.
Combination versus successive single agent chemotherapy in lymphocytic lymphoma

Fifty‐three patients with advanced lymphocytic lymphoma were randomly assigned to treatment with the combination cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone (CVP) or the same agents used successively in maximal doses (C‐V‐P). Complete remissions occurred in 68% with CVP and 48% with C‐V‐P. For patients with nodular lymphoma, the complete remission rate was 81% with CVP and 46% with C‐V‐P. In patients with diffuse lymphoma a complete remission rate of 50% was obtained with both regimens. The median duration of response was longer for patients who obtained complete remission with CVP (37+ months) than for those entering remission with C‐V‐P (25+ months). More patients treated with CVP still survive. Current results suggest that CVP is a better induction regime than C‐V‐P in patients with nodular lymphoma. However, in patients with diffuse lymphocytic lymphoma, neither regimen results in more than 50% complete remissions or significant numbers of prolonged responses. More effective therapy is needed.
Gastrointestinal tract and nutrition in cystic fibrosis: pathophysiology.

Many of the early reports of cystic fibrosis (CF) were based on post-mortem findings in infants and young children. At that time meconium ileus was generally fatal and it was therefore possible to obtain tissue for examination when the pancreatic lesions were often in a relatively early stage of development. The functional studies were less easy to perform, but it soon became apparent that pancreatic involvement, like lung damage, was likely to be progressive. The most important end result of the many documented abnormalities in the gastrointestinal tract is malabsorption of nutrients, which may result in malnutrition. It is possible that secondary nutritional changes may in part be responsible for some of the diverse clinical features found in CF, the most obvious example being the occasional specific vitamin deficiencies.
Particle Swarm Optimization With Rotation Axis Fitting for Magnetometer Calibration

This paper presents an improved multiobjective particle swarm optimization algorithm for magnetometer calibration in spacecraft. The proposed algorithm combines scalar checking with novel rotation axis fitting objective and avoids the requirement for perfectly aligned measurement axis. The improved approach is designed to solve 12 calibration parameters based on the knowledge of the magnetometer rotation axis direction. The performance of the novel algorithm is demonstrated with simulations and experimental data on Aalto-1 nanosatellite.
Twelve-hour glycemic profiles with meals of high, medium, or low glycemic load.

Diets of low glycemic load may dampen the postprandial glycemic response, thereby avoiding high blood glucose concentrations that could be detrimental to health (1). We compared blood glucose profiles of two nondiabetic subjects (A and B) consuming meals of high (baguette, strawberry jam, and maltose), medium (baked potato, cheese, and Coca Cola), or low (chickpeas, tuna, vinegar, and oil) glycemic load at regular intervals throughout the day. Three test meals contained the same calorie content but different glycemic load for each subject (A: glycemic load = 92, 49, and 19; B: glycemic load = 115, 66, and 24). For each glycemic load category, three …
Modeling of Fermi-Level Pinning Alleviation With MIS Contacts: n and pMOSFETs Cointegration Considerations—Part II

In this paper, the insertions of dielectric in metal/insulator/semiconductor contacts are considered via their associated impact on the dc and ac performances. Based on dc output characteristics projections, we found that single insertion and/or single-metal integration schemes are unlikely to result in simultaneously successful Fermi-level pinning alleviation on both n and pFETs. We show that the added CMIS contributes to a significant extra improvement in terms of intrinsic inverter delay. In particular, an optimal configuration consisting of Pt-liner/ p-Si and Zr/TiO2(15Å)/n-Si contacts can lead to a ring oscillator frequency higher than that of p and nFETs each flanked by ideal ohmic contacts with 10-9 Ω · cm2 resistivity.
An Exploratory Field Experiment on Actual Usage of Discount Coupons

In this study, we seek to answer the question of whether sending the product discount coupons through the mobile technology as opposed to another more traditional communication technology i.e., e-mail, will yield different effect on consumer behavior? Through a realworld field experiment spanning four weeks, we observed that there is no significant difference in terms of coupons’ usage rate between the two technological means through which the coupons were disseminated, i.e., mobile phone in the form of short-message-service (SMS); and e-mail technology as e-mail message. However, we discovered that the discount coupons’ forwarding rate is significantly higher via e-mail as compared to SMS. Furthermore, the results provide indication that the propensity of using coupons received from a peer is higher as compared to coupons received from a merchant.
Design and comparison of outer rotor bonded magnets Halbach motor with different topologies

The outer rotor Halbach cylinder motor is designed for hybrid electric vehicle application. The Halbach cylinder is made of bonded magnet and hence the design presented is high torque density motor with low remanence magnet. Different slots poles combinations for double layer tooth coil winding is also evaluated to find the best combination. The Halbach cylinder motor is also compared with different other motor topologies. The outer rotor Halbach motor has the highest torque compared to other topologies over the whole speed range. Variations of inductance and flux linkage of different topologies are also studied and are presented in the article.
A structural relationship between frequentin and palitantin.

The possibility that hydroxylamine might be an intermediate in the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite by Nitro8omona8 has often been discussed. There has been, however, no direct evidence to confirm this view and, indeed, hydroxylamine is well known to be toxic in low concentrations to these and many other organisms. Recently, Lees Quastel working on the hypothesis that the hydroxylamine formed might be bound as an oxime, reported that the perfusion of an equimolar mixture of sodium pyruvate and hydroxylamine over a soil enriched with nitrifying organisms through previous per-fusions of ammonium chloride, resulted in the for- mation of nitrate. They suggested that the equi-librium ofthe reaction between sodium pyruvate and hydroxylamine might be such that only a very low concentration of free hydroxylamine was present at any instant. This hydroxylamine
A Tale of Two Systems

With China becoming an economic powerhouse, there has been increasing need for more studies on issues related to information systems localization in China and ways to solve them. Most information systems adoption literatures have been conducted in the context of Western society, especially in America, and due to differences in the cultural, social, and legal environment, these theories and findings out of these studies need to be tested in the context of Chinese culture. This chapter adopts the technology, organization, and environment framework to explain why a Chinese apparel manufacturing company failed in its first enterprise resource planning (ERP) project, and how it achieved success in the second project with government's assistance and what they have learned from their first experience with ERP. This study provides insight on the characteristics of Chinese companies and the unique challenges they have encountered in the informatization process.