Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance of an LLMS beamformer in the presence of element gain and spacing variations

This paper studies the influence of tolerances in inter-element spacing and element gain on the operation of the LLMS adaptive beamforming algorithm. Both random and worst case scenarios of inter-element spacing and element gain variations have been considered. Computer simulations show that these practical tolerances have greater influence on the beam pattern than the error vector magnitude (EVM). Simulated results also confirm the superior performance of the LLMS algorithm over the recursive least square (RLS) and the constrained stability LMS (CSLMS) algorithms when operating in the presence of multiple sources of co-channel interference.
Lessons learned from anti-CD40L treatment in systemic lupus erythematosus patients

The CD40-CD40L system has pleiotropic effects in a variety of cells and biological processes including immune response, thrombosis and atherogenesis. Within the immune system, these molecules representa critical link between its humoral and cellular arms. As a result of these attributes and based on preclinical data in animals, anti-CD40L antibodies were tested in a variety of immunologic diseases including idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, systemic lupus erythematosus and transplantation.Phase I/II studies in humans with lupus nephritis demonstrated reduction of anti-double-strandedDNA (anti-dsDNA) antibodies but not of protective antibodies. Reduction of anti-DNA was associated with increased serum complement levels and reduced glomerularinflammation. As a result of thromboticeffects, observed even in patients negative for anti-cardiolipinantibodies, there is a temporary halt on further human studies. The reasons for the prothrombotic effects are not clear at present but may represent effects on platelets and/or the endothelium. In view of the significant immunomodulatory effects of anti-CD40L treatment in patients with lupus nephritis, the increasing realizationof the importance of premature atherosclerosis in lupus and an increasing amount of data supportinga role for the CD40-CD40L interactionsin this process, inhibition of this pathway deserves further exploration in lupus.
Clinical analyses of sighted patients with non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome: a study of 57 consecutively diagnosed cases.

STUDY OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to clarify the clinical features of sighted patients with non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome. DESIGN Clinical analyses of consecutive patients suffering from non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome. SETTING The sleep disorders clinic at Kohnodai Hospital, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Japan. PATIENTS Fifty-seven patients who were diagnosed consecutively as having non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome between 1991 and 2001 were included in the study. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS The clinical features and sleep characteristics of the patients were analyzed. A semistructured psychiatric interview that included the criteria for Axis I or II disorders of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition-Revised was conducted, and relationships between psychiatric problems and non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome were analyzed. The patient cohort included 41 (72%) men and 16 (28%) women. The onset of non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome had occurred during the teenage years in 63% of the cohort, and the mean ( +/-SD) period of the sleep-wake cycle was 24.9 +/- 0.4 hours (range 24.4-26.5 hours). The mean sleep length of the patients was 9.3 +/- 1.3 hours, and 44% of them had a sleep length of between 9 and 10 hours. Psychiatric disorders had preceded the onset of non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome in 16 patients (28%); of the remaining 41 patients, 14 (34%) developed major depression after the onset of non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome. CONCLUSIONS These results represent the first detailed clinical review of a relatively large number of sighted patients with non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome.
Remarks on Automated Ontology Merging Algorithm

The paper introduces general information about the ontology merging. An ontology provides a vocabulary describing particular domain along with the meaning of the used terms. The precision of the ontology specification is usually various for different cases and depends on a practical application. A semantic and structural heterogenity of domain models causes problems with ontologies management. The first part of the paper shortly describes the origin of an idea of web ontologies. The second part provides the methods of merging and aligning OWL-coded ontologies.
Relationship between growth hormone (GH) status, serum leptin and body composition in healthy and GH deficient elderly subjects

Growth hormone (GH) secretion declines with age and is affected by body composition. The signal that mediates the latter relationship remains ill‐defined. Leptin, the protein product of the adipocyte specific ob gene, is thought to accurately reflect fat mass and could therefore be a candidate to influence GH secretion. We have therefore investigated the relationship between GH status, leptin and body composition in normal and GH‐deficient elderly subjects.
Important Factors for Success of Public Construction Projects

Modern public construction projects involve multiple stakeholders, such as designers, contractors, subcontractors, construction managers, consultants, and specialists from different disciplines. In a multi-agency work environment, it is natural to have clash of objectives and interests among the different stakeholders. The objective of public project management is to ensure the success of a project which not only involves managing the schedule, cost, and quality, generally known as ‘the iron triangle’, but also satisfying a number of other performance criteria, such as avoiding disputes, and complying with safety norms. Identification of the success factors is considered the key to achieving success in these projects. Through an extensive literature review, 36 success factors were identified and a questionnaire-based survey was undertaken to elicit views of construction professionals on the criticality of these factors for the success of public construction projects. The responses from 105 professionals with an average of 22 years of experience in public construction projects in India were collected and analyzed using ANOVA and most important factors for success for various success criteria are presented. The success factors of generic nature are: owners need thoroughly understood and defined, a high degree of trust shared by project participants, timely and valuable decision from top management, availability of resources as planned throughout the project, top management’s support, and regular monitoring and feedback by top management, whereas success factors of specific nature are: thorough understanding of scope on the part of project manager and contractor, comprehensive pretender site investigation, regular monitoring and feedback by owner, no bureaucratic interference, no social and political interference, clearly articulated scope of work, quality control and quality assurance activities, and adequate communication among all project participants. The results would be helpful to public construction project professionals in taking proactive measures for successful completion of public projects.
Corporate Social Capital and Technological Innovation: An Empirical Study of Chinese Firms

In the knowledge economy, technological innovation in firms is meeting the challenge of the accelerated globalization of manufacturing industries. When their boundaries are getting more and more blurry, firms cannot make technological innovation isolatedly. Firms should effectively acquire and exploit knowledge by both cooperating with other entities externally and increasing communication between various departments internally. External and internal linkages compose corporate social capital. In this work we explore the impact of corporate social capital on technological innovation. Our findings, based on a survey of 142 Chinese firms, provide strong support that the levels of three characteristic dimension of corporate social capital (structural, relational and cognitive one) are important antecedents for technological innovation. However, the levels of structural and relational dimensions indirectly promote technological innovation through the level of cognitive dimension of corporate social capital. Firms should manage to get trade-off on increasing the levels of three dimensions of corporate social capital to promote technological innovation
The role of emotional responses and physiological reactivity in the marital conflict-child functioning link.

BACKGROUND Children's emotional responses and physiological reactivity to conflict were examined as mediators and moderators in the associations between exposure to parental marital conflict and child adjustment and cognitive problems. METHOD One hundred and eighty elementary school children participated. In response to a simulated argument, children's skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR) was examined, and their emotional responses (reported and observed anger, sadness, and fear) were assessed. RESULTS A higher level of SCLR was a robust risk factor for various child outcomes, mediated boys' internalizing difficulties in the marital conflict-child functioning link, and functioned as a vulnerability factor for girls' externalizing, internalizing, and cognitive problems. Increased anger (for boys) and sadness (for girls) exacerbated adjustment difficulties related to marital conflict. CONCLUSIONS Findings illustrate the aggregation of risk in relation to child and family characteristics.
Interaction of chlorpromazine with bile.

Chlorpromazine causes precipitation both of the glycoprotein and protein components of bile in vitro. The reaction depends on an electrostatic interaction between the negatively charged carboxyl groups on the bile components and the positively charged amine groups on the drug molecules in solution. The optimum conditions for the interaction between chlorpromazine and bile components have been established, and the suggestion is made that this precipitation may be responsible in part, for cholestatic jaundice associated with the administration of chlorpromazine.
The hidden cost of nonselective nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs in older patients.

OBJECTIVE Nonselective nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) are well known to cause an increased risk of gastrointestinal (GI) hemorrhage, congestive heart failure, and hypertension, but the cost of such adverse effects has not been rigorously defined. We calculated the excess risk and costs associated with the major adverse effects of prescription nonselective NSAID. METHODS This study involved a retrospectively collected random cohort of 41,826 continuously enrolled patients over 65 years old in the New Jersey Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled or Medicaid programs. We calculated the adjusted rates and costs of major adverse effects associated with nonselective NSAID, including hospitalization for GI hemorrhage, gastroprotective drug use, ambulatory upper GI procedures, antihypertensive drug use, and hospitalization and medication use to treat congestive heart failure. RESULTS Eighteen percent of patients filled > or = 1 new prescription for a nonselective NSAID during the study year. All adverse effects studied were more common in patients filling prescriptions for nonselective NSAID than in those not. Average annual costs for the adverse effects studied were 1,234 (1998 US dollars) in nonselective NSAID users compared with 1,036 (1998 US dollars) for controls. After adjusting for sociodemographic factors, other health care utilization, and relevant comorbid diseases, the average annual cost for the major nonselective NSAID related adverse effects studied was 117 (1998 US dollars) higher for patients filling a nonselective NSAID prescription than for those who did not. Nonselective NSAID users with > or = 4 risk factors for nonselective NSAID related adverse effects had average excess costs of 316 (1998 US dollars) over controls, whereas those with no risk factors had an average excess cost of only 75 (1998 US dollars) . CONCLUSION The excess cost of nonselective NSAID related adverse effects is modest in low risk patients, but much higher in patients with specific risk factors. This approach of stratifying patients based on the risk of nonselective NSAID associated adverse effects can help clinicians and policymakers determine which patients might be the most appropriate candidates for treatment options costlier than nonselective NSAID.
Equivalence of IFRS across languages: translation issues from English to German

Convergence has been supported by the notion that a single set of high-quality global accounting standards is an important means of enhancing comparability of financial statements. The purpose of this study is to emphasize translation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as an impediment for a consistent application and interpretation across countries. Specifically, we critically analyse literature that combines the fields of linguistics and accounting and examine the quality of IFRS translation. Using Germany as a case study, we provide evidence that the translation of selected IFRS from English to German is not equivalent to the original version.
Age and breed differences in thyroid hormones, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I and IGF binding proteins in female horses.

A survey with horses was conducted to determine whether plasma concentrations of triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I and IGF binding proteins (IGFBP) change as horses grow, mature sexually, and age. Jugular blood was sampled from Standardbred fillies and mares at ages 0, 1, 7, and 14 d, at 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 9 mo, and at 5 to 8 and 16 to 22 yr (n = 5 to 18). In a second survey, we measured the same variables in eight breeds of horses with markedly different adult body sizes, from Miniatures to Friesians. Plasma T3, T4, and IGF-I were determined by radioimmunoassays validated for horses, and IGFBP were estimated from radioligand assay following separation of the IGFBP by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. Plasma T3 decreased (P < .01) nearly continuously from 7.9 ng/mL on the day of birth to . 9 ng/mL at 6 mo, and then changed little from . 7 ng/mL at 9 mo to . 5 ng/mL in mares 16 to 22 yr old. Similarly, T4 declined (P < .01) from 233 ng/mL on the day of birth to 49 ng/mL at 14 d and varied from 35 to 9 ng/mL among all of the older age groups. Plasma concentrations of IGF-I increased (P < .01) from 285 ng/mL on the day of birth to 572 ng/mL at 14 d, remained relatively constant until 9 mo of age (530 ng/mL), and then declined (P < .01) to low levels (295 ng/mL) in the oldest mares. We detected six IGFBP. The two smallest IGFBP (26 and 39 kDa) were highest during the first 14 d after birth and lowest (P < .01) in aged mares. The four larger IGFBP were lowest at birth and increased to the highest values during the most rapid growth period, but these changes were not significant (P > .20). In agreement with data for other species, our data suggest that IGF-I and IGFBP modulate growth in horses. Although there were impressive interbreed differences in circulating concentrations of T3, T4, IGF-I, and IGFBP, these were not related to differences in adult body size.
Expression of pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase (PyNPase) in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND We investigated the expression of PyNPase both in cancer cells and in stroma cells to clarify the correlation between PyNPase expression and the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer. METHODS Using immunohistochemical staining with an anti-PyNPase antibody, the PyNPase expression in tissues from 114 patients with stage II or III colorectal cancer was examined. From the correlation between PyNPase expression and the clinicopathological findings, the prognosis for survival was analyzed. RESULTS The expression of PyNPase was classified as negative or positive on the basis of staining. No relationship between PyNPase expression and any of the clinicopathological findings was identified. However, a relationship was observed regarding positive staining between cancer cells and stroma cells. The prognosis of patients with positive staining in both cancer cells and stroma was worse than that of other patients. In multivariate analyses, expression in cancer cells was the strongest predictor of prognosis. CONCLUSIONS PyNPase expression appears to be a relevant factor for predicting the prognosis of colorectal cancer.
Viral Oncoproteins Discriminate between p53 and the p53 Homolog p73

ABSTRACT p73 is a recently identified member of the p53 family. Previously it was shown that p73 can, when overproduced in p53-defective tumor cells, activate p53-responsive promoters and induce apoptosis. In this report we describe the generation of anti-p73 monoclonal antibodies and confirm that two previously described p73 isoforms are produced in mammalian cells. Furthermore, we show that these two isoforms can bind to canonical p53 DNA-binding sites in electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Despite the high degree of similarity between p53 and p73, we found that adenovirus E1B 55K, simian virus 40 T, and human papillomavirus E6 do not physically interact with p73. The observation that viral oncoproteins discriminate between p53 and p73 suggests that the functions of these two proteins may differ under physiological conditions. Furthermore, they suggest that inactivation of p73 may not be required for transformation.
Effect of Intraoperative Fluid Management on Outcome after Intraabdominal Surgery

Background:The debate over the correct perioperative fluid management is unresolved. Methods:The impact of two intraoperative fluid regimes on postoperative outcome was prospectively evaluated in 152 patients with an American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status of I–III who were undergoing elective intraabdominal surgery. Patients were randomly assigned to receive intraoperatively either liberal (liberal protocol group [LPG], n = 75; bolus of 10 ml/kg followed by 12 ml · kg−1 · h−1) or restrictive (restrictive protocol group [RPG], n = 77; 4 ml · kg−1 · h−1) amounts of lactated Ringer's solution. The primary endpoint was the number of patients who died or experienced complications. The secondary endpoints included time to initial passage of flatus and feces, duration of hospital stay, and changes in body weight, hematocrit, and albumin serum concentration in the first 3 postoperative days. Results:The number of patients with complications was lower in the RPG (P = 0.046). Patients in the LPG passed flatus and feces significantly later (flatus, median [range]: 4 [3–7] days in the LPG vs. 3 [2–7] days in the RPG; P < 0.001; feces: 6 [4–9] days in the LPG vs. 4 [3–9] days in the RPG; P < 0.001), and their postoperative hospital stay was significantly longer (9 [7–24] days in the LPG vs. 8 [6–21] days in the RPG; P = 0.01). Significantly larger increases in body weight were observed in the LPG compared with the RPG (P < 0.01). In the first 3 postoperative days, hematocrit and albumin concentrations were significantly higher in the RPG compared with the LPG. Conclusions:In patients undergoing elective intraabdominal surgery, intraoperative use of restrictive fluid management may be advantageous because it reduces postoperative morbidity and shortens hospital stay.
Using 360-degree multi-source feedback to evaluate professionalism in surgery departments: An Iranian perspective

Background: Medical professionalism helps physicians adopt a proper and good healing action for the patients based on their particular circumstance. This study was conducted to assess professionalism in surgical residents, using a 360-degree evaluation technique in several teaching hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Methods: This study was conducted on all the second and third year surgery residents from three university teaching hospitals in Tehran. Multi-source feedback questionnaire contained 10 questions on the residents’ professional behavior and was completed by the faculty and staff members (nurses, operation room staff, and medical assistants) as well as other surgery residents, interns and patients to evaluate each resident. Response rates were used to determine feasibility for each of the respondent groups and the mean and standard deviation score for each question was computed to determine the viability of the items. Reliability was assessed using alpha Cronbach coefficient for each respondent group. The correlation between these scores and the residents’ final and OSCE grade was also assessed. Results: The internal consistency reliability for 360-degree rating was 0.889. There was no significant difference in the residents’ score in different hospitals. While male residents obtained higher total score, there was no significant difference between them. The residents, however, obtained lower scores compared to the staff. The highest score was recorded for question 6, suggesting that the residents treated the patients regardless of their socioeconomic status. Conclusion: This study revealed a strong agreement between the results gathered from different respondents, confirming the reliability of the questionnaire and the respondents’ unbiased response. It also revealed that the residents did well in the whole test, showing they were conscientious and learning to become medical professionals.
Autophagy Genes Protect Against Disease Caused by Polyglutamine Expansion Proteins in Caenorhabditis elegans

Expanded polyglutamine (polyQ) proteins aggregate intracellularly in Huntington’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. The lysosomal degradation pathway, autophagy, is known to promote clearance of polyQ protein aggregates in cultured cells. Moreover, basal autophagy in neuronal cells in mice prevents neurodegeneration by suppressing the accumulation of abnormal intracellular proteins. However, it is not yet known whether autophagy genes play a role in vivo in protecting against disease caused by mutant aggregate-prone, expanded polyQ proteins. To examine this question, we used two models of polyQ-induced toxicity in C. elegans, including the expression of polyQ40 aggregates in muscle and the expression of a human huntingtin disease fragment containing a polyQ tract of 150 residues (Htn-Q150) in ASH sensory neurons. Here, we show that genetic inactivation of autophagy genes accelerates the accumulation of polyQ40 aggregates in C. elegans muscle cells and exacerbates polyQ40-induced muscle dysfunction. Autophagy gene inactivation also increases the accumulation of Htn-Q150 aggregates in C. elegans ASH sensory neurons and results in enhanced neurodegeneration. These data provide in vivo genetic evidence that autophagy genes suppress the accumulation of polyQ aggregates and protect cells from disease caused by polyQ toxicity.
Aetiology of malocclusion of the teeth.

Malocclusion of the teeth is not itself a disease, although it can be caused by pathological processes or injury, and can predispose to pathological changes such as caries and periodontal disease. It is not peculiar to the human race, having been observed in a wide variety ofmammalian species. Some malocclusions involve no more than misplacement of individual teeth, but others, particularly among the primates, affect groups of teeth or even the whole dental arch.' Minor degrees of malocclusion have been found in primitive man, and there is evidence that modern man, living under primitive conditions, is not entirely free of malocclusion or irregularity of the teeth, albeit less frequently and less severely than those living in civilised communities. " Hybridisation has been shown by Stockard to produce quite severe malocclusion in dogs.5 It has been suggested by Hunt that one of the effects of civilisation as we know it has been to provide greatly increased opportunities for hybridisation, or intermarriage, and he speculates how much this contributes to malocclusion in modern man.6