Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The growing role of pharmacoeconomic evaluations and their impact on the European pharmaceutical industry

An increasing number of European countries use pharmacoeconomic evaluations of innovative medicines in their pricing and reimbursement decisions, e.g. France, the Netherlands, Belgium, U.K., Sweden and Germany. These studies may be conducted by using different techniques from varying viewpoints. However, they do not take into account the wider effects of cost cutting measures upon the availability of medical alternatives and further pharmaceutical research. Firstly, it is not known in advance whether an innovative substance will be a blockbuster or a me-too drug. Moreover, due to different side effects, it is necessary to have more than one drug for specific indications. Secondly, health care policy is inseparable from economic policy in shaping the industry structure of the pharmaceutical industry. Lower spending for drugs may lead to less research in certain indications. Furthermore, lower spending for drugs which have been invented and developed within Europe may result in deprivation of pharmaceutical and medical know-how, for example, for conducting clinical studies. It is, thus, necessary to also include these effects in pharmacoeconomic evaluations.
Role of Waqf in Enhancing Muslim Small and Medium Enterprises ( SMEs ) in Singapore

The research aims to develop a waqf-based model for application to Muslim small medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore, which benefits the general society and the Muslim community in particular. At the outset, the research will show how the present Islamic Financial Institutions in Singapore are deficient in their social attributes. The research will then elaborate on how the proposed waqf-based model is able to plug this social gap. The research will also consider the project management of conventional SMEs in Singapore and point out the obstacles and factors that cause the Muslims to shy away from these projects. This research will also highlight the previous two Muslim co-operatives in Singapore namely Amanah Saham Mendaki (Mendaki Growth Fund) and Ufuk Mendaki which had failed and the lessons to be learnt in applying the waqf-based model. In particular, considerations like transparency, reputation, accountability, credibility, good collaboration, productivity, risk management and Shari’ahcompliant will be crucial for the sustained success of the proposed waqf-based model. It is therefore important in view of the research that the waqf-based model is established under the auspices of MUIS (Islamic Religious Council of Singapore), which is one of the most reputable and respected Muslim organizations in Singapore.
An evaluation of the Early Pleistocene chronology of The Netherlands

The Early Pleistocene subdivision of The Netherlands is evaluated, based on published research since 1950. The subdivision is a biostratigraphy, almost exclusively based on palynological research. Palaeomagnetic research provided a correlation with the palaeomagnetic timescale. The classical subdivision of the Early Pleistocene is based on a mosaic of short pollen sequences, mostly of unknown duration, position and age. The Pretiglian is reconsidered as a cool oscillation within the Pliocene. Re– evaluation leads to the conclusion that the age of the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary, set at approximately 2.5 Ma is highly questionable. The position, duration and subdivision of the Tiglian stage is subject to serious doubts. The evidence related to the Eburonian, Waalian, Menapian and Bavelian is considered to be too limited to allow confirmation of the existence of any of these stages. Faunal data are too limited to add to our understanding of the Early Pleistocene. The Early Pleistocene of The Netherlands, its subdivision, climatic development and duration is considered poorly known.
A Low Cost Technology-based Device for Breath Analysis and Self-monitoring

Here, we describe the development of a portable device, based on low cost technology, able to collect and analyze in real time the composition of the breath. Despite its great potential, breath analysis is not widely used in clinical practice: high costs for standard analytical instrumentation (i.e., gas chromatographmass spectrometer), the need for specialized personnel able to read the results and the lack of standardized protocols to collect breath samples, set limits to its exploitation. The presented device, named Wize Sniffer, is based on commercial gas sensors and a widely employed open-source controller; in addition, it is very easy to use also for non-specialized personnel. The Wize Sniffer is composed of three modules: signal measurement, signal conditioning and signal processing. The idea was born in the framework of the European SEMEiotic Oriented Technology for Individual’s CardiOmetabolic risk self-assessmeNt and Selfmonitoring (SEMEOTICONS) Project, in order to monitor individual’s lifestyle by detecting in the breath those molecules related to the noxious habits for cardio-metabolic risk. Nonetheless, the modular configuration of the Wize Sniffer makes it usable also for other applications by changing the type of the gas sensors according to the molecules to be detected. Keywords–Bio-signals; Breath analysis; Signal processing; Enoses; Semiconductor gas sensors.
Analysis and Simulation of UPFC for Power Flow Control using PI-Controller

To keep up a stable and efficient power system with ever-increasing demand there is a rapid development in power electronics that introduces the FACTS devices which can solve the instability problems easily and efficiently. The predominant FACTS device Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC) is a solid-state controller that can be used to control active and reactive power flow in transmission lines. In this paper, we use a PI controller strategy for UPFC to regulate power flow as well as voltage at corresponding buses. The control strategy is evaluated using Matlab/Simulink for IEEE-9 bus power system network.
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF URINARY TRACT INFECTION AND ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE PATTERN OF E. COLI IN PATIENTS REFERRED TO IMAM ALI HOSPITAL IN FAROKHSHAHR, CHAHARMAHAL VA BAKHTIARI, IRAN

زمینه و هدف: عفونت دستگاه ادراری یکی از شایع ترین عفونت های بیمارستانی است که الگوی مقاومت آنتی بیوتیکی آن در مناطق گوناگون متفاوت است. هدف این مطالعه تعیین فراوانی عوامل باکتریال ایجاد کننده عفونت ادراری و الگوی حساسیت و مقاومت آنتی بیوتیکی اشرشیاکلی (E. coli) در مراجعین سرپایی به مجتمع بیمارستانی امام علی(ع) فرخشهر بود. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه توصیفی تحلیلی، در یک مدت 5 ماهه (بهمن1390 تا خرداد 1391) از تعداد 848 نفر بیمار مشکوک به عفونت ادراری مراجعه کننده به بیمارستان امام علی(ع)، نمونه ادرار جمع آوری شد. پس از جدا سازی عامل عفونت، با روش Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute آزمون حساسیت به آنتی بیوتیک انجام شد. داده ها با استفاده از آزمون آماری مجذور کای تجزیه و تحلیل شدند. یافته ها: از میان 848 نمونه واجد شرایط، نتیجه آزمایش کشت ادرار 74 نفر (72/8) مثبت بود. باکتری E.coli با 52 مورد (27/70) و باکتری استافیلوکوکوس با 15 مورد (27/20) شایع ترین باکتری‌های جداسازی شده بودند. از 52 نفر آلوده به باکتری E.coli 34 نفر (38/65) زن و 18 نفر (62/34) مرد بودند. بر اساس نتایج آنتی بیوگرام بیشترین موارد مقاومت، به ترتیب مربوط به آنتی بیوتیک آمپی سیلین (71/85)، نالیدیسیک اسید (78/78) و سیپروفلاکسین (51/46) بود. از سوی دیگر، بیشترین حساسیت مربوط به آنتی بیوتیک های نیتروفورانتوئین (30/92)، آمیکاسین (67/66) و جنتامایسین (50/62) بود. بیشترین موارد عفونت در رده ی سنی بالاتر از 47 سال مشاهده گردید. نتیجه گیری: آمپی سیلین و نیتروفورانتوئین به ترتیب دارای بیشترین میزان مقاومت و حساسیت آنتی بیوتیکی بوده اند و براساس نتایج بدست آمده، درمان تجربی با آمپی سیلین در اکثر بیماران مبتلا به عفونت ادراری مناسب نیست.
ShapeChecker : Inferring and Reasoning about Shapes in TensorFlow

TensorFlow [1] is a popular open-source machine learning framework with a declarative data flow graph paradigm. A TensorFlow program involves manipulating data in the form of a tensor (multi-dimensional data structure, i.e. ndimension array), with a corresponding ‘shape’ property. The shape dictates whether certain operations (e.g. convolution, dot product, etc.) are legal (similar to a type system) and is inferred or checked at runtime. Finding ‘shape’ operation bugs before runtime would significantly improve programmer’s efficiency but is not currently supported by TensorFlow or any third-party tools. An initial survey of Deep Learning Framework users found that only checking shapes at runtime slows development, and the majority of respondents indicated interest in a tool that would solve this problem. We introduce ShapeChecker, a Vim extension which uses type-checking and type-inference techniques to provide faster feedback to developers about the evaluated shapes of variables.
DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF TAZAROTENE LOADED LIPOSOME GEL FOR EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OF PSORIASIS AND ACNE

Topical Tazarotene is a widely used drug in the topical treatment of Acne, Psoriasis and other skin disorders. Tazarotene synthetically produced retinoid commonly used in the treatment of acne. Tazarotene is a pro-drug of tazarotenic acid, a receptor-selective retinoid, which has shown efficacy in the treatment of these disorders. In the treatment of acne vulgaris, it has greater comedolytic activity than the currently available topical retinoids. In psoriasis, tazarotene normalizes keratinocyte differentiation, reverses keratinocyte hyperproliferation and has better anti-inflammatory effects than any of the currently available topical retinoids. But topical treatment with Tazarotene reported certain side effects. Approximately, 10 to 30% of patients experience peeling, dryness, irritation and burning with its use, mostly during the early weeks of therapy. Liposomal drug delivery strategies can play a pivotal role in improving the topical delivery by enhancing their dermal localization with a concomitant reduction in their side effects. Liposomes composed of Soya lecithin and cholesterol, with Tazarotene entrapped in the inner water compartment, were prepared by the simple mechanical method vortexing the phospholipid dispersion in water. Topical liposome gels will be prepared by incorporation of liposomes into a structured vehicle (1.5, 1.75 and 2 % Carbopol gel base). Also, corresponding hydrogels were prepared and drug release properties were investigated. Keywords: Tazarotene, acne vulgaris, psoriasis, Liposomes
The Interrelationship between Money Supply and Nominal GDP in Bangladesh

The interrelationship between money supply (M2) and nominal GDP has been an area of investigation by monetary economists. Examining this relationship has been of crucial importance for an economy like Bangladesh where growth and inflation confront each other. This paper attempts to unveil this relationship through empirical exercises. Taking data from 1975 to 2013, this work finds M2 positively impacts nominal GDP. The Granger causality test suggests an unidirectional causality from M2 to GDP in a positive fashion. The error correction model is used to understand the short run dynamics of the long run relationship of M2 and nominal GDP. Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) models suggest money supply and nominal GDP are cointegrated. Short run and long run relationships have been analyzed in this paper to understand the relationship of GDP and M2. The analysis and inference of ARDL model will help formulate better monetary policy in Bangladesh for maintaining flexible inflation in order to achieve desired economic growth.
Outlier-Robust State Estimation for Humanoid Robots*

Contemporary humanoids are equipped with visual and LiDAR sensors that are effectively utilized for Visual Odometry (VO) and LiDAR Odometry (LO). Unfortunately, such measurements commonly suffer from outliers in a dynamic environment, since frequently it is assumed that only the robot is in motion and the world is static. To this end, robust state estimation schemes are mandatory in order for humanoids to symbiotically co-exist with humans in their daily dynamic environments. In this article, the robust Gaussian Error-State Kalman Filter for humanoid robot locomotion is presented. The introduced method automatically detects and rejects outliers without relying on any prior knowledge on measurement distributions or finely tuned thresholds. Subsequently, the proposed method is quantitatively and qualitatively assessed in realistic conditions with the full-size humanoid robot WALK-MAN v2.0 and the mini-size humanoid robot NAO to demonstrate its accuracy and robustness when outlier VOLO measurements are present. Finally, in order to reinforce further research endeavours, our implementation is released as an open-source ROS/C++package.
Possible cardioprotective effect of ginger and lipoic acid on normal senile female rats Rehab

Cardiovascular disease and oxidative stress are involved in aging. Aging causes many alterations in myochardial functions and metabolism. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aging on heart functions, total antioxidant capacity and membrane lipid composition and the effects of oral administration of ginger and lipoic acid for 30 days. The levels of serum lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase and heart antioxidant capacity exhibited marked alterations in normal senile female rats. The treatment of ginger and lipoic acid for 30 days improved these alterations. Furthermore, the relationship between membrane lipid composition and aging was detected. There were significant increases in lauric and myristic acids and significant decrease in arachidic acid in senile rats. On the other hand, the unsaturated fatty acids (olic, linoleic, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were significantly decreased. Ginger treatment showed significant decreases in saturated fatty acids. In lipoic acid treated group, there was a significant improvement in the level of unsaturated fatty acids (EPA and DHA) as compared with normal senile female rats. In conclusion, ginger and lipoic acid may have ameliorative effect of heart functions, total antioxidant capacity and membrane free fatty acids in old female rats.
VLSI Architecture for Exploiting Carry-Save Arithmetic Using Verilog HDL

The selective use of carry-save arithmetic, where appropriate, can accelerate a variety of arithmetic-dominated circuits. Carrysave arithmetic occurs naturally in a variety of DSP applications, and further opportunities to exploit it can be exposed through systematic data flow transformations that can be applied by a hardware compiler. Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), however, are not particularly well suited to carry-save arithmetic. To address this concern, we introduce the “field programmable counter array” (FPCA), an accelerator for carry-save arithmetic intended for integration into an FPGA as an alternative to DSP blocks. In addition to multiplication and multiply accumulation, the FPCA can accelerate more general carry-save operations, such as multi-input addition (e.g., add integers) and multipliers that have been fused with other adders. Our experiments show that the FPCA accelerates a wide variety of applications than DSP blocks and improves performance, area utilization, and energy consumption compared with soft FPGA logic. The extension for the above project is Dadda Multiplier. Experimental results are seen by using Xilinx ISE 13.2.
Non-Equilibrium Quantum Brain Dynamics: Super-radiance and Equilibration in 2+1 Dimensions

We derive time evolution equations, namely the Schrodinger-like equations and the Klein-Gordon equations for coherent fields and the Kadanoff-Baym (KB) equations for quantum fluctuations, in Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) with electric dipoles in 2 + 1 dimensions. Next we introduce a kinetic entropy current based on the KB equations in the 1st order of the gradient expansion. We show the H-theorem for the Leading-Order self-energy in the coupling expansion (the Hartree-Fock approximation). We show a conserved energy in the spatially homogeneous systems in the time evolution. We derive aspects of the super-radiance and the equilibration in our single Lagrangian. Our analysis can be applied to Quantum Brain Dynamics, that is QED with water electric dipoles. The total energy consumption to maintain super-radiant states in microtubules seems to be within the energy consumption to maintain the ordered systems in a brain.
Removal of Arsenic from Groundwater Using
Lamdong Laterite as a Natural Adsorbent

The current study investigated the efficiency of Lamdong laterite soil using a leaching fixed-bed column, as an effective natural adsorbent for the removal of arsenic from Vietnamese groundwater. The performance of laterite was compared to that of granular ferric hydroxide (GFH), a commercial adsorbent used in arsenic removal. The effect of the parameters on this process under various operating conditions was investigated, and the experimental data were modeled using the bed depth service time (BDST) approach. According to the speciation studies, the groundwater contained 49.94% of particulate arsenic and 50.06% of soluble arsenic. The As(III) and As(V) presented at 8.4% and 91.6%, respectively, in the dissolved arsenic. The analysis of the pH value and initial arsenic concentration showed that laterite removed more than 95% of the total arsenic from the groundwater and that the GFH material removed 99% of the arsenic at pH 3 and 0.47 mg As/L. Using a molar sodium hydroxide solution, laterite was more regenable than GFH under the same experimental conditions. This suggests that natural laterite can be used as an efficient and low-cost material to reduce arsenic contamination in groundwater used
Dielectric and Thermal Properties of Carrot Fibers –Epoxy Composites

Epoxy composites were prepared with two sizes of carrot fibers in different weight percent (10%, 20%, 30% and 40%) by hand lay-up technique. The dielectric constant and dissipation factor (tan δ ) of pure epoxy resin and composites were measured in a frequency range of 50 Hz to 5 MHz with increase fibers c ontent, dielectric strength (breakdown voltage) and thermal conductivity were evaluated as a function of fiber content. The dielectric constant and dissipation factor values were found to be higher for fiber reinforced system than the pure epoxy. The dielectric strength values decreases and the values of thermal conductivity increases with fibers content.
Employee stock ownership and the cost of capital 1

This paper investigates the relationship between employee stock ownership and the cost of capital, the main determinant of shareholder value creation computed through economic value added (EVA). By reducing agency conflicts within the firm, we hypothesize that employee share ownership reduces the firm’s cost of capital by affecting its two components, i.e. the cost of equity and the cost of debt. We test this hypothesis in France, a leading country in terms of employee ownership, based on a panel of the 120 largest listed companies for the 2000-2011 period. We find: (i) no significant relationship between employee stock ownership and the cost of equity; (ii) a negative curvilinear relationship between employee stock ownership and the cost of debt; (ii) a negative curvilinear relationship relationship between employee stock ownership and the weighted average cost of capital. These results suggest debtholders regard ESO as positive as long it is moderate because it shifts risk from them to employees and that this effect is still perceptible in the weighted average cost of capital.
Learning to Generalize Kinematic Models to Novel Objects

Robots operating in human environments must be capable of interacting with a wide variety of articulated objects such as cabinets, refrigerators, and drawers. Existing approaches require human demonstration or minutes of interaction to fit kinematic models to each novel object from scratch. We present a framework for estimating the kinematic model and configuration of previously unseen articulated objects, conditioned upon object type, from as little as a single observation. We train our system in simulation with a novel dataset of synthetic articulated objects; at runtime, our model can predict the shape and kinematic model of an object from depth sensor data. We demonstrate that our approach enables a MOVO robot to view an object with its RGB-D sensor, estimate its motion model, and use that estimate to interact with the object.
Diet and subsistence in Remote Oceania: an analysis using oral indicators of diet

This chapter analyzes oral conditions (caries, periapical cavities, ante-mortem tooth loss, periodontal disease, chipping, and dental wear) in order to understand dietary patterns in prehistoric Remote Oceania. Three prehistoric cemetery samples from Tonga, Fiji, and the Cook Islands are analyzed to examine dietary differences at intra-population and inter-population levels that may be related to variations in subsistence practices or other cultural influences. Discrepancies between the results from oral conditions analysis and previous isotopic analyses are discussed.
Interleukin (IL)-1 regulates ozone-induced nerve growth factor (NGF) and substance P (SP) release in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in mice

Interleukin (IL)-1 Regulates Ozone-induced Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) and Substance P (SP) Release in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid (BALF) in Mice Joshua S. Barker Previous studies show that both IL-1 and NGF increase synthesis of SP in airway neurons after either direct application or ozone exposure. We hypothesize that NGF mediates ozoneinduced IL-1 effects on SP, similar to the pathway described for sympathetic neurons in culture. The current study specifically focuses on the effect of ozone on IL-1, NGF, and SP levels in mice BALF and if these mediators can be linked in an inflammatory-neuronal cascade in vivo. The experiments demonstrate in vivo ozone exposure induces an increase of all three proteins in mouse BALF and that both ozone-induced increases in NGF and SP are mediated by the inflammatory cytokine IL-1. Even though these findings did not definitely link NGF as the mediator of IL-1 effects on SP, it did not conclusively eliminate this possibility. These data did indicate that IL-1 is an early mediator of ozone-induced increase in NGF and SP release in mice
Compounds and methods for the treatment of pain

(57) Abstract: The compounds useful in the treatment of pain of structural formula (I), or a such tautomers or pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds, wherein A, D and R Also, a pharmaceutical composition containing a compound represented by the treatment methods and structure of pain using a compound represented by the structural formula (I) (I) is disclosed. [Formula 1]
High-voltage and high-frequency design of planar transformer with minimum coupling capacitance

This paper investigates the design of a planar transformer operating at 6.78 MHz and with a target maximum isolation voltage of 40 kV using 2D FEM simulations as a tool. In addition, minimal coupling capacitance must be ensured for the target application of auxiliary power supply for medium voltage converters with high EMI immunity. The design space for a transformer with target inductance and coupling capacitance of 1 µH and 10 pF is explored with varying number of winding layers and turns. From the simulation design space, five designs are prototyped for experimental validation. Overall, the prototypes show good coherence with the simulated values with inductance and coupling factors within an error margin of maximum 7%. Results show that different designs can achieve the same transformer efficiency although with different isolation voltages.