Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Looking for the compass in a case of developmental topographical disorientation: A behavioral and neuroimaging study

Developmental topographical disorientation (DTD) is the presence of navigational deficits in the context of normal intellectual ability and in the absence of any perinatal, neurological, or psychiatric disorder. As only three cases of DTD have been fully described thus far, we are still unable to draw definitive conclusions about its nature and relationship with other visuospatial competencies, such as mental rotation. The case of Mr. L.A. , a 38-year-old man with no history of neurological or psychiatric disorders, sheds some light on these open questions. A neuropsychological assessment including IQ, memory, visuospatial, visuoconstructive, and navigational tests showed that Mr. L.A. has pure navigational deficits affecting both route knowledge and cognitive map processing. Unlike previously described cases of DTD, Mr. L.A. was not affected by any other visuospatial or visuoconstructive deficits. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task involving the recall of route knowledge, Mr. L.A. showed activation in the occipital areas, involved in low-level perceptual analysis of the stimuli, and showed no activation in the areas activated in controls with regard to route knowledge. The present case suggests that different types of DTD exist, which are characterized by different navigational difficulties and anomalous/lacking functional brain activities in specific navigational networks.
60° bus-clamping based DTC strategy dedicated to three-level inverter fed induction motor drives

The paper is devoted to the synthesis and performance analysis of a direct torque control (DTC) strategy, based on the bus-clamping technique, dedicated to three level NPC inverter fed induction motor drives. The principle of the proposed strategy consists in keeping the voltage vector of each motor phase during 60° of the half of a cycle of the reference stator flux vector. The synthesis of the vector selection tables (one for clockwise rotation and the other for anti-clockwise rotation) is achieved on the basis that enables the fulfilment of the control combinations related to the variations of the stator flux and the electromagnetic torque, along with a reduction of their ripples. Simulation results highlight the torque high dynamic as well as reduced ripple, exhibited by the three level NPC inverter fed induction motor drive under the control of the proposed bus-clamping DTC strategy.
US Aid in the Arab World Fact Checking US Democratization Rhetoric Against Reality

Many factors have been used to explain durable authoritarianism in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and one of the most important external influences of MENA governments’ structure is support from the United States. The US balances security concerns and democratization rhetoric in the region, but much literature promotes that security concerns are the most important factor for US support in MENA. Using US aid as a proxy for US support, this study finds that US aid actually increases democratization in MENA, and counterintuitively, aid to MENA military and police forces seems to have a stronger democratization effect than US aid to MENA economic sectors. Comparing US aid with other democratization variables, this study supports that other MENA factors such as oil rents and civil society are more impactful on their levels of democracy than US aid.
Prominent Impact of Community Risk Factors on Kidney Transplant Candidate Processes and Outcomes

Numerous factors impact patients' health beyond traditional clinical characteristics. We evaluated the association of risk factors in kidney transplant patients' communities with outcomes prior to transplantation. The primary exposure variable was a community risk score (range 0–40) derived from multiple databases and defined by factors including prevalence of comorbidities, access and quality of healthcare, self‐reported physical and mental health and socioeconomic status for each U.S. county. We merged data with the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) and utilized risk‐adjusted models to evaluate effects of community risk for adult candidates listed 2004–2010 (n = 209 198). Patients in highest risk communities were associated with increased mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR] = 1.22, 1.16–1.28), decreased likelihood of living donor transplantation (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.90, 0.85–0.94), increased waitlist removal for health deterioration (AHR = 1.36, 1.22–1.51), decreased likelihood of preemptive listing (AOR = 0.85, 0.81–0.88), increased likelihood of inactive listing (AOR = 1.49, 1.43–1.55) and increased likelihood of listing for expanded criteria donor kidneys (AHR = 1.19, 1.15–1.24). Associations persisted with adjustment for rural–urban location; furthermore the independent effects of rural–urban location were largely eliminated with adjustment for community risk. Average community risk varied widely by region and transplant center (median = 21, range 5–37). Community risks are powerful factors associated with processes of care and outcomes for transplant candidates and may be important considerations for developing effective interventions and measuring quality of care of transplant centers.
Utilizing Modern Design Methodologies for Wide-Bandgap Power Electronics: Predictive simulation techniques to save time and money

With the introduction of new gallium nitride (GaN) power switches into the market, designers have more device options open to them for creating efficient and dense power management systems using these highspeed power switches. The market pull for more efficient compact systems, which translates to better and cheaper systems, is driving many companies and designers to prototype systems with these switches. These newer designs are not without their challenges, and designers are beginning to realize that traditional design methodologies need to be augmented. This article illustrates these challenges and presents a design methodology that can help ensure success with less design spins. The test board is a half-bridge board using GaN power switches from Transphorm.
Bupropion in the treatment of problematic online game play in patients with major depressive disorder

As one of the problematic behaviors in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), excessive online game play (EOP) has been reported in a number of recent studies. Bupropion has been evaluated as a potential treatment for MDD and substance dependence. We hypothesized that bupropion treatment would reduce the severity of EOP as well as depressive symptoms. Fifty male subjects with comorbid EOP and MDD were randomly assigned to bupropion + education for internet use (EDU) or placebo + EDU groups. The current study consisted in a 12-week, prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical trial, including an eight-week active treatment phase and a four-week post treatment follow-up period. During the active treatment period, Young Internet Addiction Scale (YIAS) scores and the mean time of online game playing in the bupropion group were greatly reduced compared with those of the placebo group. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores in the bupropion group were also greatly reduced compared with those of the placebo group. During the four-week post-treatment follow-up period, bupropion-associated reductions in online game play persisted, while depressive symptoms recurred. Conclusively, bupropion may improve depressive mood as well as reduce the severity of EOP in patients with comorbid MDD and online game addiction.
Review of Epstein–Barr virus and post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disorder post‐solid organ transplantation (Review Article)

SUMMARY: Post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) following solid organ transplantation is an important form of post‐transplant malignancy. PTLD is typically associated with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) and occurs in the setting of profound immunosuppression resulting in a deficiency of EBV‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). Predisposing factors include EBV mismatch between donor and recipient, use of immunosuppression especially T‐cell depletive therapies and genetic predisposition of recipients. The standard approach has been to reduce immunosuppression but is often insufficient to induce tumour regression. Further understanding of the immunobiology of PTLD has resulted in improved monitoring techniques (including EBV viral load determined by polymerase chain reaction) and newer treatment options. Recent work has highlighted a potential role for dendritic cells in both the pathogenesis and treatment of PTLD. Current treatment modalities include adoptive immunotherapy using ex vivo generated autologous EBV‐specific CTL or allogeneic CTL, cytokine therapies, antiviral agents, and more recently, rituximab and dendritic‐cell based therapies. This review focuses on the developments and progress in the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of PTLD.
Early investigational tubulin inhibitors as novel cancer therapeutics

ABSTRACT Introduction: Microtubules represent one of the most logical and strategic molecular targets amongst the current targets for chemotherapy, alongside DNA. In the past decade, tubulin inhibitors as cancer therapeutics have been an area of focus due to the improved understanding and biological relevance of microtubules in cellular functions. Fueled by the objective of developing novel chemotherapeutics and with the aim of establishing the benefits of tubulin inhibition, several clinical trials have been conducted with others ongoing. Area covered: At present, the antitubulin development pipeline contains an armful of agents under clinical investigation. This review focuses on novel tubulin inhibitors as cancer therapeutics. The article covers the agents which have completed the phase II studies along with the agents demonstrating promising results in phase I studies. Expert opinion: Countless clinical trials evaluating the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of novel tubulin inhibitors highlights the scientific efforts being paid to establish their candidature as cancer therapeutics. Colchicine binding site inhibitors as vascular disrupting agents (VDAs) and new taxanes appear to be the most likely agents for future clinical interest. Numerous agents have demonstrated clinical benefits in terms of efficacy and survival in phase I and II studies. However conclusive benefits can only be ascertained on the basis of phase III studies.
Membership perception of the relevance of business Association in changing external environment :A case of Kenya motor industry association

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION. 1 1.1 Background of the Study. -. 1 1.2 Problem Statement. 6 1.3 Objectives of the Study. -. 7 1.4 Value of the study. -. -. 8 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW---------------------------------------------------------9 2.
In-vitro interaction of terbinafine with amphotericin B, fluconazole and itraconazole against clinical isolates of Candida albicans.

A chequerboard titration broth microdilution method, performed according to the recommendations of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards, was applied to study the in-vitro interaction of terbinafine with amphotericin B, fluconazole and itraconazole against 30 strains of Candida albicans isolated from the oral cavities of AIDS patients. MICs were determined spectrophotometrically at 490 nm and read at either 24 h or 48 h. The end-point was defined as the drug concentration resulting in > or = 90% inhibition of growth relative to control growth. Synergy, defined as a fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index of < or = 0.50, was observed in 93% (28 of 30) of terbinafine-amphotericin B interactions, in 47% (14 of 30) of terbinafine-fluconazole interactions and in 43% (13 of 30) of terbinafine-itraconazole interactions; antagonism (FIC > 2.0) was not observed. Where synergy was not achieved, there was still a decrease, although not as dramatic, in the MIC of one or both drugs when used in combination. Reading the MICs on day 2 did not significantly affect the mode of interaction of terbinafine-triazoles, while for terbinafine-amphotericin B the proportion of synergic interactions dropped from 93% (28 of 30) to 30% (nine of 30; P = 0.0001). Antagonism was not observed for any drug combination even at 48 h. Minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) of all drugs alone and in combination were determined against five isolates. Neither terbinafine nor the two triazoles showed fungicidal activity when tested alone or in combination. The fungicidal activity of amphotericin B was slightly enhanced when combined with terbinafine, there being a decrease of two-fold dilutions in the amphotericin B MFCs against all five isolates tested. Thus terbinafine enhances the activities of amphotericin B and triazoles against C. albicans in vitro. Clearly, clinical studies are warranted to elucidate further the potential utility of these combination therapies.
Identification of tissues responsible for the conjugative metabolism of liquiritigenin in rats: an analysis based on metabolite kinetics.

We kinetically examined tissues responsible for the conjugative metabolism (glucuronidation and sulfation) of a component in a crude drug, liquiritigenin (LG; 2,3-dihydro-7-hydroxy-2-(4- hydroxyphenyl)-(S)-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one) in rats in vivo. LG has been found to form five kinds of conjugates (4'-O-glucuronide (M1), 7-O-glucuronide (M2), 4',7-O-disulfate (M3), 4'-O-glucuronide-7-O-sulfate (M4) and 7-O-glucuronide-4'-O-sulfate (M5)). Analysis based on metabolite kinetics [K. S. Pang, J. Pharmacokin. Biopharm. , 13, 633 (1985)] of the area under the plasma concentration curves (AUCplasma) and cumulative biliary excretions (Aibile) of the ligands after intravenous or hepatic portal venous administration of LG revealed that the liver has the ability to generate all the metabolites. For M1 and M2, the apparent biliary excretion clearance (CLbile,app) obtained by dividing the biliary excretion rate for the metabolite by the plasma concentration of the metabolite decreased with time, confirming that M1 and M2 were formed in the liver. To further analyze the formation rate constants for metabolites in each tissue, we measured the ligand content in several tissues after intravenous administration of LG. By correcting the content of metabolites that were taken up from the plasma, we found that the formation rates per gram of tissue were largest in the liver, except for M3. The metabolic capability of the kidney for M1 and M2 was 15% and 60%, respectively, to that of the liver whereas for M3, the metabolic ability of the kidney was 2.5-fold greater than that of the liver. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Testing the Relationship between Domestic Factors and Real Exchange Rate in China

In this study, we mainly investigate how the domestic factors of China (trade openness, Kaopen, real interest rate, real government consumption and real GDP) affect the real exchange rate using Ridge regression and the VAR model from 1970-2015. The empirical results show, in the short run, that positive real government consumption, real interest rate and trade openness lead to a real exchange rate depreciation in both models, while the real GDP and Kaopen lead to a real exchange rate appreciation in Ridge regression. After ten-year lags are used in the VAR, we find that the negative effects of real government consumption and real interest rate shocks are small on impact in the long run, but the Trade Openness shocks and Kaopen shocks have strong negative effects on the real exchange rate in the long run. The real GDP shocks keep a strong positive effect on the real exchange rate in the long run.
2.6 A 5.67mW 9Gb/s DLL-based reference-less CDR with pattern-dependent clock-embedded signaling for intra-panel interface

Point-to-point data transmission with clock-embedded signaling (CES) has been generally adopted in intra-panel interfaces, which need to support fine resolution, high frame rate, and large display size. Since CES embeds the clock-transition information in the data stream, it enables wide-range clock acquisition with PLL-based [1,2] or DLL-based [3-5] clock-and-data recovery (CDR) schemes. It also offers additional benefits of reduced EMI and low cost by eliminating the need for an additional clock channel or reference signal. For clock recovery, however, CES transmits a significant number of extra bits attached to each data packet to carry clock transition information. The number of extra bits is at least three [4] or four [3], sufficient to reduce the effect of inter-symbol interference (ISI) on clock transitions from adjacent random data patterns, providing cleaner reference to the clock recovery circuit. The repeated transitions in every data packet also intensify the spectral energy at the clock frequency as the data-rate increases, seriously aggravating EMI problem. This paper presents a DLL-based CDR with a new CES scheme that carries clock transitions with only one bit overhead but effectively sees the same ISI as a three- or four-bit overhead. By introducing a pattern-dependent clock embedding, our CES assimilates with random data transitions and almost eliminates the EMI issue. The CDR, implemented in 65nm CMOS, shows a lock range of 6.5 to 9Gb/s and a power efficiency of 0.63mW/Gb/s at 9Gb/s.
The Role of Basic Skills of Middle Level Managers on Implementing Successful and Strategic Planning

The aim for doing this study is analyzing the relationship between the basic skills of middle level managers and running the strategic plans in Center of Social affairs organization in North Khorasan Province in 2013. The basic skills in this study are: Interaction skill, Allocating skill, Monitoringskill and Organizing skill. The population sample was X person who were chosen from middle level managers of Center of Social affairs organization in North Khorasan Province. The method was used was for sampling the population and were asked to fill out a questionnaire to analyze them. The SPSS software was used to analyze the data. Using the statistic of coordinate samples and tests and variance, the alternative hypothesis was confirmed 99 percent. And it was proved that between basic skills of middle level managers and running strategic plans successfully is a significance relationship, and it is a significance relationship among gender, age, academic degree, marital status and years of experiences with doing strategic plans successfully. The results of data analysis shows that in main hypothesis between basic skills of middle level managers and doing strategic plans there is a positive and significance relationship and the results from peripheral hypothesis shows that among under study variables in all peripheral hypothesis i.e. interaction variables, allocation, organization, supervising and running strategic programs of middle level manager has a positive and significant relationship. Based on incapability of some of these middle aged managers in running strategic programs was one of important reasons of not doing efficiently the strategic programs in the central organization of social affairs. Helping these managers to increase their skills and following the scientific obligations which are necessary for having these responsibilities we can enhance our success in running strategic programs.
An optimal cooperative tracking algorithm for discrete-time multi-agent systems

This paper designs the distributed cooperative control algorithm that assure synchronous tracking and are globally optimal with respect to given cost functions. We consider multi-agent systems with identical discrete multi-integrator dynamics and undirected topology graph. The distributed cooperative control protocol and the interaction-free cost function are proposed firstly. With the given cost function, we derive the global optimal cooperative tracking control protocol with the optimal communication graph Laplacian matrix and the optimal pinning gain matrix though discrete LQR method. To achieve this result, we also propose the decomposability of nonsingular M-matrix and the connections between M-matrix and Laplacian matrix. The optimal control protocol requirements the communication graph is a complete graph. Otherwise, considering any symmetric graph Laplacian matrix and any pinning gain matrix, we can derive the corresponding cost function though inverse optimality. Finally, the validity of the result is illustrated through numerical examples.
Determination of circulating tumor cells for prediction of recurrent colorectal cancer progression.

BACKGROUND/AIMS The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and response to chemotherapy in patients with unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer. METHODOLOGY CTCs of twelve consecutive patients with K-ras wild type colorectal cancer with synchronous and/or metachronous unresectable metastatic lesions were measured by the cell search system between January 2009 and December 2010. CTCs were measured before and after chemotherapy. The regimen consisted of four courses (three months) of SOX (TS-1+L-OHP) + panitumumab. RESULTS Four patients (33%) had no detectable CTCs before chemotherapy. For these patients, no CTCs were detected after chemotherapy and their serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels decreased after chemotherapy. Four of the other eight patients with positive CTCs had no detectable CTCs after chemotherapy and their serum CEA levels decreased after chemotherapy. The other four of eight patients with positive CTCs continued to have CTCs after chemotherapy and all four patients died of cancer within eight months after starting chemotherapy. On the other hand, all eight patients without CTCs after chemotherapy were alive over a year after starting chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS CTCs may be able to predict the response to chemotherapy in patients with unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer.
Increasing Workplace Inclusion: The Promise of Leader-Member Exchange

ABSTRACT With increased workforce diversity, human service organizations are recognizing the need to create inclusive workplaces; yet little is known about how leaders can enhance workplace inclusion. We collected data at three time points in 6-month intervals from a public child welfare organization (n = 363). Using latent change score models, we analyzed whether leader-member exchange influenced how inclusion changed over time. Results indicate that favorable perceptions of leader-member exchange are associated with increased feelings of inclusion 6 and 12 months later. Findings highlight the importance of improving leadership interactions with their employees to increase workplace inclusion.