Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring Tissue Perfusion During Pressure Relief Maneuvers: Insights Into Preventing Pressure Ulcers

Abstract Background/Objective: To study the effect on tissue perfusion of relieving interface pressure using standard wheelchair pushups compared with a mechanical automated dynamic pressure relief system. Design: Repeated measures in 2 protocols on 3 groups of subjects. Participants: Twenty individuals with motor-complete paraplegia below T4, 20 with motor-complete tetraplegia, and 20 able-bodied subjects. Methods: Two 1-hour sitting protocols: dynamic protocol, sitting configuration alternated every 10 minutes between a normal sitting configuration and an off-loading configuration; wheelchair pushup protocol, normal sitting configuration with standard wheelchair pushup once every 20 minutes. Main Outcome Measures: Transcutaneous partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide measured from buttock overlying the ischial tuberosity and interface pressure measured at the seat back and buttocks. Perfusion deterioration and recovery times were calculated during changes in interface pressures. Results: In the off-loading configuration, concentrated interface pressure during the normal sitting configuration was significantly diminished, and tissue perfusion was significantly improved. Wheelchair pushups showed complete relief of interface pressure but incomplete recovery of tissue perfusion. Conclusions: Interface pressure analysis does not provide complete information about the effectiveness of pressure relief maneuvers. Measures of tissue perfusion may help establish more effective strategies. Relief achieved by standard wheelchair pushups may not be sufficient to recover tissue perfusion compromised during sitting; alternate maneuvers may be necessary. The dynamic seating system provided effective pressure relief with sustained reduction in interface pressure adequate for complete recovery of tissue perfusion. Differences in perfusion recovery times between subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI) and controls raise questions about the importance of changes in vascular responses to pressure after SCI.
Magnetic field dependence of the internal quality factor and noise performance of lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors

We present a technique for increasing the internal quality factor of kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) by nulling ambient magnetic fields with a properly applied magnetic field. The KIDs used in this study are made from thin-film aluminum, they are mounted inside a light-tight package made from bulk aluminum, and they are operated near $150 \, \mathrm{mK}$. Since the thin-film aluminum has a slightly elevated critical temperature ($T_\mathrm{c} = 1.4 \, \mathrm{K}$), it therefore transitions before the package ($T_\mathrm{c} = 1.2 \, \mathrm{K}$), which also serves as a magnetic shield. On cooldown, ambient magnetic fields as small as approximately $30 \, \mathrm{\mu T}$ can produce vortices in the thin-film aluminum as it transitions because the bulk aluminum package has not yet transitioned and therefore is not yet shielding. These vortices become trapped inside the aluminum package below $1.2 \, \mathrm{K}$ and ultimately produce low internal quality factors in the thin-film superconducting resonators. We show that by controlling the strength of the magnetic field present when the thin film transitions, we can control the internal quality factor of the resonators. We also compare the noise performance with and without vortices present, and find no evidence for excess noise beyond the increase in amplifier noise, which is expected with increasing loss.
Effects of varying 5‐fluorouracil exposure duration on Tenon’s capsule fibroblasts

Purpose: 5‐Fluorouracil (5‐FU) is used intraoperatively to improve the success of trabeculectomy. Common practice is a 5‐min application of 5‐FU delivered via a Weck Cel sponge. The aim of this study was to determine if shorter exposure times were as effective in inhibiting Tenon’s capsule fibroblast proliferation.
Entry, exit, ownership structure and the efficient market hypothesis: A case study of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange

The objective of this paper is to provide a new theoretical perspective on testing the Efficient Market Hypothesis in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). Previous studies have shown that the KLSE is weak form efficient or at most semi strong form efficient. However, an adequate explanation has not been provided as to why the KLSE is not strong form efficient. The paper suggests that this is because the KLSE does not approximate the neoclassical competitive model in terms of entry, pricing and exit. There are barriers to entry and exit and hence to the free flow of accurate and complete information in the KLSE. The securities offered for sale are also underpriced as there is extensive government intervention to ensure adequate returns to investors. The market is also dominated by large government owned and family owned conglomerates. This together with a segmented market for three classes of investors, that is, the bumiputras, the other Malaysians and foreigners ensures that resources are not allowed to flow to their most value users and hence prices are not competitively set. The paper ends by noting that the KLSE is moving from a government dominated exchange for securities to a market system as a result of recent reforms and policy changes.
Albanian Turnover: Is the Job Embeddedness Construct Predictive in an Albanian Context?

This paper seeks to expand the knowledge of the influence of job embeddedness using a sample of Albanian employees working in the banking industry. Findings from the Albanian sample differed from previous findings in embeddedness research conducted in the US. The influence that the affective components of turnover, that of commitment and satisfaction, have on intent to leave as well as the highly predictive (in U.S. samples) job embeddedness construct influenced turnover in this sample of Albanian bank employees. Demographic and cultural explanations for these findings suggest that job embeddedness may have differential effects cross-culturally.
Treatment discontinuation with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors compared with tricyclic antidepressants: a meta-analysis

Abstract Objective: To assess treatment discontinuation rates with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors compared with tricyclic antidepressants. Design: Meta-analysis of 62 randomised controlled trials. Subjects: 6029 patients with major unipolar depression. Main outcome measures: Pooled risk ratios for drop out rates with respect to all cases of discontinuation and those due to side effects and treatment failure. Results: The total discontinuation rate was 10% lower with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors than with tricyclic antidepressants (risk ratio 0.90; 95% confidence interval 0.84 to 0.97) and the drop out rate due to side effects was 25% lower (risk ratio 0.75; 0.66 to 0.84). There was no significant difference between drug classes in the drop out rates for treatment failure. The risk ratios for drop out did not differ significantly between individual selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Conclusions: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are better tolerated than tricyclic antidepressants as measured by total numbers of drop outs. The definite advantage to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors is explained by fewer drop outs due to side effects. The overall difference, however, is comparatively small and may not be clinically relevant. Analyses of cost effectiveness should not overestimate the advantage to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Key messages Key messages In a meta-analysis of randomised, short term clinical trials selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were associated with 10% fewer overall drop outs than tricyclic antidepressants (nine drop outs for every 10 with tricyclic agents) This difference was accounted for by a lower rate of drop out related to side effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (25% reduction; three drop outs for every four with tricyclic agents) This comparatively small difference in drop out rate is of uncertain importance clinically and when cost effectiveness is considered Further studies of the tolerability of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors compared with that of tricyclic antidepressants are required over a longer period in the setting of clinical practice rather than clinical trials
A Nationwide Comparison of Driving Distance Versus Straight-Line Distance to Hospitals

Many geographic studies use distance as a simple measure of accessibility, risk, or disparity. Straight-line (Euclidean) distance is most often used because of the ease of its calculation. Actual travel distance over a road network is a superior alternative, although historically an expensive and labor-intensive undertaking. This is no longer true, as travel distance and travel time can be calculated directly from commercial Web sites, without the need to own or purchase specialized geographic information system software or street files. Taking advantage of this feature, we compare straight-line and travel distance and travel time to community hospitals from a representative sample of more than 66,000 locations in the fifty states of the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The measures are very highly correlated (r 2 > 0.9), but important local exceptions can be found near shorelines and other physical barriers. We conclude that for nonemergency travel to hospitals, the added precision offered by the substitution of travel distance, travel time, or both for straight-line distance is largely inconsequential.
Trends in the utilisation of psychotropic medications in Australia from 2000 to 2011

Objective: This study examined longitudinal trends in the dispensing of psychotropic medications in Australia from January 2000 to December 2011. Method: Dispensing data for the major classes of psychotropic medications (antidepressants, anxiolytics, sedatives, antipsychotics, mood stabilisers and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications) were obtained from the Drug Utilisation Sub-Committee of the Australian Department of Health and Ageing. Results were expressed in terms of defined daily doses/1000 population/day (DDDs/1000/day). Results: There was a 58.2% increase in the dispensing of psychotropic drugs in Australia from 2000 to 2011, driven by major increases in antidepressants (95.3% increase in DDDs/1000/day), atypical antipsychotics (217.7% increase) and ADHD medications (72.9% increase). Dispensing of anxiolytics remained largely unchanged, while sedatives and typical antipsychotics decreased by 26.4% and 61.2%, respectively. Lithium dispensing remained static while valproate and lamotrigine increased markedly. In 2011, antidepressants accounted for 66.9% of total psychotropic DDDs/1000/day totals, far greater than anxiolytics (11.4%), antipsychotics (7.3%), mood stabilisers (5.8%), sedatives (5.5%), or ADHD medications (3.0%). Sertraline, olanzapine, valproate and methylphenidate were the most frequently dispensed antidepressant, antipsychotic, mood stabiliser and ADHD medication, respectively, while diazepam and temazepam were the most commonly dispensed anxiolytic and sedative. Conclusions: Psychotropic utilisation markedly increased in Australia between 2000 and 2011. Some potential concerns include: (1) the continuing high use of benzodiazepines, particularly alprazolam, despite their problematic effects; (2) the rapid increase in serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) use, given their more complex side-effect profile relative to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs); and (3) the dramatic increase in antidepressant prescriptions despite questions about the efficacy of these drugs in mild to moderate depression. Finally, some limitations are identified regarding use of the DDDs/1000/day metric, which can distort estimates of utilisation of specific drugs when the defined daily dose is higher or lower than the formulation most commonly dispensed by pharmacies.
Firing frequency of leaky intergrate-and-fire neurons with synaptic current dynamics.

We consider a model of an integrate-and-fire neuron with synaptic current dynamics, in which the synaptic time constant tau' is much smaller than the membrane time constant tau. We calculate analytically the firing frequency of such a neuron for inputs described by a random Gaussian process. We find that the first order correction to the frequency due to tau' is proportional to the square root of the ratio between these time constants radicaltau'/tau. This implies that the correction is important even when the synaptic time constant is small compared with that of the potential. The frequency of a neuron with tau'>0 can be reduced to that of the basic IF neuron (corresponding to tau'=1) using an "effective" threshold which has a linear dependence on radical tau'/tau. Numerical simulations show a very good agreement with the analytical result, and permit an extrapolation of the "effective" threshold to higher orders in radical tau'/tau. The obtained frequency agrees with simulation data for a wide range of parameters.
Chronic inflammation and pain : Assessment of c-Fos and ATF-3 as markers of spinal neuronal activity in a pain model of rheumatoid arthritis

3 Abbreviations 4 Introduction 5-9 Rheumatoid arthritis 5 Pain sensitization 6 Animal model CAIA 7 c-Fos and pERK 7 ATF-3 9 Aim 9 Materials and Methods 10-14 Animal study 10 Immunohistochemistry 11 Antibody probing 11 Tyramid signal amplification (TSA) 13 Image analysis 13 Statistical analysis 14 Results 15-18 Localization of c-Fos and pERK in the spinal cord 15 Localization of ATF-3 in the spinal cord 18 Discussion 19-21 c-Fos and pERK 19 ATF-3 20 Conclusion 21 Acknowledgements 22 References 23
Review of small-angle coronagraphic techniques in the wake of ground-based second-generation adaptive optics systems

Small-angle coronagraphy is technically and scientifically appealing because it enables the use of smaller telescopes, allows covering wider wavelength ranges, and potentially increases the yield and completeness of circumstellar environment – exoplanets and disks – detection and characterization campaigns. However, opening up this new parameter space is challenging. Here we will review the four posts of high contrast imaging and their intricate interactions at very small angles (within the first 4 resolution elements from the star). The four posts are: choice of coronagraph, optimized wavefront control, observing strategy, and post-processing methods. After detailing each of the four foundations, we will present the lessons learned from the 10+ years of operations of zeroth and first-generation adaptive optics systems. We will then tentatively show how informative the current integration of second-generation adaptive optics system is, and which lessons can already be drawn from this fresh experience. Then, we will review the current state of the art, by presenting world record contrasts obtained in the framework of technological demonstrations for space-based exoplanet imaging and characterization mission concepts. Finally, we will conclude by emphasizing the importance of the cross-breeding between techniques developed for both ground-based and space-based projects, which is relevant for future high contrast imaging instruments and facilities in space or on the ground.
Texture analysis of gradient images for benign-malignant mass classification

In this correspondence, texture analysis of gradient images has been analyzed for the categorization of mammo-graphic masses as benign or malignant. In addition to the local texture feature, Local Binary Pattern, approximation coefficients have been extracted from the gradient images using wavelet transform to evaluate their efficiency in a Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CADx) system. The experiments have been conducted with the DDSM database containing 200 mammograms where 10 fold cross validation technique has been incorporated with Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis (FLDA) over the optimal set of features acquired via stepwise logistic regression method. Az value of 0.91 has been achieved as the best case which indicates an improvement over the results obtained with the normal mass region.
Detection of primary epstein‐barr virus infection in a patient with x‐linked lymphoproliferative disease receiving immunoglobulin prophylaxis

Serologic diagnosis for Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) infection is problematic when patients receive exogenous immunoglobulin. We recently diagnosed primary EBV infection by detecting EBV‐determined nuclear antigen (EBNA) and EBV‐DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) using immunofluorescence, in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques in a patient with X‐linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP) who received prophylactic immunoglobulins for EBV infection. These combined techniques may be helpful for early and accurate diagnosis of EBV infection in highly vulnerable patients.
Discretionary financial reporting: Items manipulated by IPO firms, and investors' increased awareness

This paper examines discretionary financial reporting of three major accounting items, earnings, sales, and research and development expense, for a sample of 2,975 initial public offering (IPO) firms in the period 1988-2000. Four distinct groups of firms are analyzed: science-based, technology-based, assets-in-place, and Internet. I document significant variation in discretionary reporting across the groups in accordance with the importance that investors in each group attach to the items. I find that discretionary sales for the technology-based group and discretionary earnings for the assets-in-place group predict long-term stock returns; suggesting an opportunistic reporting behavior by firms and investors' unawareness that some reporting is discretionary. I demonstrate that my unique research design that examines manipulation of different accounting items by distinct groups of firms is essential for research on discretionary reporting by IPO firms; a more general model that only examines discretionary accruals by the entire sample generates much weaker results. Over time, investors in the technology-based firms seem to learn of the use of discretion in reporting; in contrast, investors in the assets-in-place firms seem to remain fixated on the reported data. Despite the reduced benefit of data manipulation, companies do not change their practices either because of unawareness of investor learning or because the cost of discretionary reporting is too small to cause behavioral change.
Long-Term Relationships between the Stock Exchanges in Frankfurt, Vienna and Warsaw

In this paper we have studied the existence and the nature of long-range relations between the main indices of three European stock markets: in Frankfurt, Vienna and Warsaw. The first two of them are developed markets, while the last one is seen as an emerging market. On the basis of daily data from the period 2003–2014 we analysed the I(1)/I(0) co-integration of market indices. The results of this commonly applied technique are compared with the results of the more flexible fractional co-integration analysis. keywords: cointegration; fractional cointegration; stock markets; emerging markets
Pleistocene origin and population history of a neoendemic alpine butterfly

Alpine environments underwent dramatic transformation during glacial–interglacial cycles, with the consequence that geographical, ecological and demographic changes of alpine populations provided the opportunity for formation of neoendemic species. Several biogeographical models have been proposed to account for the unique history of alpine populations, with different expectations of genetic divergence and speciation. The expanding alpine archipelago model proposes that alpine populations expand spatially and demographically during glacial events, dispersing between mountain ranges. Under this model, alpine populations are unlikely to diverge in isolation due to substantial interpopulation gene flow. In contrast, the alpine archipelago refuge model proposes that gene flow during glacial phases is limited and populations expand demographically during interglacial phases, increasing genetic isolation and the likelihood of speciation. We assess these models by reconstructing the evolutionary history of Colias behrii, a morphologically and ecologically distinct alpine butterfly restricted to the California Sierra Nevada. C. behrii exhibits very low genetic diversity at mitochondrial and nuclear loci, limited population structure and evidence of population expansion. C. behrii and Rocky Mountain C. meadii share identical mitochondrial haplotypes, while in contrast, nuclear data indicate common ancestry between C. behrii and Cascades Range Colias pelidne. The conflict in gene genealogies may be a result of recent expansion in North American Colias, but an isolation with migration analysis indicates that genetic patterns in C. behrii might result from differential introgression following hybridization. Based on the timing of population expansion and gene flow between mountain ranges, the expanding alpine archipelago model is supported in C. behrii.
Probabilistic principal surfaces

A modification to the current probabilistic formulations of the principal curve and principal surface is proposed. The modification involves orienting and clipping the covariances at each of the manifold nodes such that variance in directions tangential to the manifold are minimized. The motivation behind this modification lies in the desire to recover and approximate the projection step of the original principal curve algorithm in current probabilistic principal surface formulations. Experiments on artificial and real datasets suggest that this modification does indeed lead to a vast improvement in convergence speed and better generalization properties for principal surfaces.
Modeling and design of system-in-package integrated voltage regulator with thermal effects

This paper demonstrates a new approach to model the impact of thermal effects on the efficiency of integrated voltage regulators (IVRs) by combining analytical efficiency evaluations with coupled electrical and thermal simulations. An application of the approach shows that a system-in-package solution avoids thermal problems typically observed in other IVR designs. While the evaluation in this paper focuses on the thermal impact on loss in the inductor wiring and the PDN, the developed approach is general enough to also model thermal impacts on the power dissipation in the inductor cores and the buck converter chip.
Corporate Governance and the Rise of Integrating Corporate Social Responsibility Criteria in Executive Compensation: Effectiveness and Implications for Firm Outcomes

This study examines the antecedents and consequences of integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) criteria in executive compensation, a relatively recent practice in corporate governance. Using a novel database of CSR contracting, we find that CSR contracting is more prevalent in emission-intensive industries and has become more prevalent over time. When we examine the impact of CSR contracting on firm-level outcomes, we find that the adoption of CSR contracting leads to i) a reduction in managerial short-termism; ii) an increase in firm value; iii) an increase in social and environmental performance (especially with respect to the environment and communities); iv) a reduction in emissions; and v) an increase in green innovations. These findings are consistent with our theoretical arguments highlighting a new form of agency conflict — the misalignment between shareholders' and managers' preferences for stakeholder engagement — and suggesting that CSR contracting enhances corporate governance.