Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bats and zoonotic viruses: can we confidently link bats with emerging deadly viruses?

An increasingly asked question is 'can we confidently link bats with emerging viruses? '. No, or not yet, is the qualified answer based on the evidence available. Although more than 200 viruses - some of them deadly zoonotic viruses - have been isolated from or otherwise detected in bats, the supposed connections between bats, bat viruses and human diseases have been raised more on speculation than on evidence supporting their direct or indirect roles in the epidemiology of diseases (except for rabies). However, we are convinced that the evidence points in that direction and that at some point it will be proved that bats are competent hosts for at least a few zoonotic viruses. In this review, we cover aspects of bat biology, ecology and evolution that might be relevant in medical investigations and we provide a historical synthesis of some disease outbreaks causally linked to bats. We provide evolutionary-based hypotheses to tentatively explain the viral transmission route through mammalian intermediate hosts and to explain the geographic concentration of most outbreaks, but both are no more than speculations that still require formal assessment.
What dishwashers and humans have in common.

One answer to the title question could be that both ‘species’, dishwashers and humans, can be protected from unwanted calcification by the anticalcifying properties of small double-phosphate molecules, diphosphonates or pyrophosphates, respectively. More than 40 years ago, we started to realize that there are compounds present in many biological fluids capable of inhibiting precipitation of calcium phosphates [1]. These compounds have been identified as inorganic pyrophosphates (P–O–P) and have been demonstrated to slow the transformation of amorphous calcium phosphate into its crystalline form while inhibiting crystal aggregation. This observation led to the development of diphosphonates, in which the P–O–P bond is replaced by a P–C–P bond and, subsequently, to the development of bone scanning agents and bisphosphonates. While excellent evidence has since accrued that diphosphonate detergents protect dishwashers from premature calcification and ‘sudden death’—and, thus, contribute to longevity—this evidence is still weak and just starting to accumulate in mammals and human beings. The paper by O'Neill, Sigrist and McIntyre in this issue of Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation is one step forward in exploring the potential clinical role of endogenous pyrophosphates in human disease scenarios and, consequently, addresses the patient population at highest risk for unwanted calcification, i.e. individuals suffering from advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) [2]. The authors measured plasma pyrophosphate concentrations in 115 individuals in CKD stages 4–5D and correlated these levels with the degree and change in large artery calcification which was quantitatively detected at the superficial femoral artery by computed tomography (CT). CT imaging was obtained at baseline and after 1 year. An inverse association was found between baseline calcification score and pyrophosphate levels; also, an inverse, though non-significant trend regarding calcification progression and pyrophosphate levels was reported. In the past and over many years, this group of investigators has led the path towards this current and sig
Complex Incremental Product Innovation in Established Service Firms: A Micro Institutional Perspective

Many product innovation studies have described key determinants that should lead to successful incremental product innovation. Despite numerous studies suggesting how incremental product innovation should be successfully undertaken, many firms still struggle with this type of innovation. In this paper, we use an institutional perspective to investigate why established firms in the financial services industry struggle with their complex incremental product innovation efforts. We argue that although the impact of micro institutional forces is often overlooked in innovation studies, these forces matter for innovation success. Our study complements the existing innovation literature and provides an additional explanation why incremental product innovation is highly complex and suffers from several liabilities in established firms. Using qualitative data from the Dutch financial services sector collected over the period 1997—2002, the paper illustrates how micro institutional forces at the business unit level affect complex incremental product innovation and how the interaction of these forces delivers their impact.
The evolution of monitoring and controlling in electric power substations

This paper discusses the evolution that has taken place in substation monitoring, control and protection systems over the past ten years. The architecture has changed from many electrical / mechanical devices to the broad scale use of intelligent electronic devices. System architecture has changed from many independent standalone systems to a single system that can serve the needs of many. The changes are very dramatic and cost saving. The subject of protective relaying is left to others who are experts in this field.
Ontology Based Intelligent Diet Food Recommendation Agents

— A healthy diet and lifestyle are the most effective approaches to prevent disease. When a person eats too much or too little on a continual basis, the risk of disease will increase. Therefore, developing healthy and balanced eating habits is essential to disease prevention. This study proposes an intelligent diet food recommendation agent (IDFRA), including a personal profile agent, a nutrition facts analysis agent, a knowledge analysis agent, a discovery agent, a fuzzy inference agent, and a semantic generation agent for healthy diet planning. The IDFRA provides a semantic analysis of healthy diet status for people based on the preconstructed ontology by domains experts and results of fuzzy inference. With the generated semantic analysis, people can get healthy information about what they eat and make it easier to eat a balanced and healthy diet. The experimental platform has been constructed to test the performance of the IDFRA. The results indicate that the IDFRA can effectively work for healthy diet planning.
Debt Targeting in a Small Open Economy

This paper considers a small open economy where government pursues debt target- ing policy. In this setting, I find the optimal debt targeting rule crucially hinges on the assumption of bond market structure, i.e. whether household can purchase state-contingent bond. In addition, the country's foreign asset holding and government's debt level may have substantial impact on the optimal debt targeting rule. Furthermore, I derive analytical expressions for the fiscal sustainability condition and find it depends on the fiscal adjustment speed and the tax revenue elasticity.
Market Oriented Organizations and Talent Workers: Composition of the Workforce and its Influence on Market Orientation

Many organizations employ marketing initiatives to “assist” in launching new efforts to both internal and external audiences and weave marketing throughout as part of being “market oriented. ” The primary motivation behind a market orientation is improvement of market performance, according to the literature (Narver and Slater, 1990; Kohli and Jaworski 1990). There is literature on workforce composition and different types of workers and this includes concepts of talent workers and knowledge workers (Chowdhury 2003) and HEROes (Bernoff and Schadler 2010) but there is little to nothing on the type of workers employed by highly market-oriented organizations. The focus of this study is on the composition of the workforce in highly market-oriented organizations. In particular, this study examines whether highly market-oriented organizations have a higher number of talent workers than knowledge workers and if lesser or nonmarket oriented organizations have more knowledge workers than talent workers. Using a market-oriented organization and non-market oriented organization for evaluative purposes, the hypothesis, highly market-oriented organizations have a higher number of talent workers than lesser market oriented organizations was supported. Also, the hypothesis of lesser and non-market-oriented organizations having fewer talent workers than more highly market oriented organizations was supported. The results are of significant interest to marketers interested in bridging the gap between worker type and degree of market orientation. Literature Review –Brief Overview Market Oriented Organizations and Talent Workers The positive effects of market orientation on business performance are well documented in the strategic marketing literature (Kohli and Jaworski 1990; Narver and Slater 1990; Kirca, Jayachandra and Bearden 2005). While it is documented in the literature that knowledge workers will not necessarily gravitate to marketoriented companies, the characteristics of the organizations in which they will be found parallel that of market-oriented companies. Top-performing environments
Appetite Awareness as a Mediator in an Eating Disorders Prevention Program

Difficulties identifying appetite signals and emotions have been implicated in the development and maintenance of disordered eating. The current study evaluated the mediating roles of appetite awareness and emotional awareness in a brief eating disorders prevention program designed to help participants identify and respond to internal appetite signals. A series of regression analyses was carried out to test the mediator effects of appetite and emotional awareness. Appetite awareness, but not emotional awareness, mediated improvements in binge eating symptoms as well as eating- and weight-control self-efficacy. Appetite awareness appears to be an effective target for eating disorders prevention programs.
Inside Interviewing: New Lenses, New Concerns

INTRODUCTION Inside Interviewing: New Lenses, New Concerns - James A. Holstein and Jaber F. Gubrium PART I: SUBJECTS AND RESPONDENTS Ch. 2. Interviewing Children and Adolescents - Donna Eder and Laura Fingerson Ch. 3. Interviewing Men - Michael L. Schwalbe and Michelle Wolkomir Ch. 4. Interviewing Women - Shulamit Reinharz and Susan E. Chase Ch. 5. Queering the Interview - Travis Kong, Dan Mahoney, and Ken Plummer Ch. 6 Interviewing Older People - G. Clare Wenger Ch. 7. Race, Subjectivity, and the Interview Process - Christopher Dunbar, Jr., Dalia Rodriguez, and Laurence Parker PART II: TECHNICAL CONCERNS Ch. 8. The Reluctant Respondent - Patricia A. Adler and Peter Adler Ch. 9. In-person versus Telephone Interviewing - Roger W. Shuy Ch. 10. Computer Assisted Interviewing - Mick P. Couper and Sue Ellen Hansen Ch. 11. Standardization and Interaction in the Survey Interview - Nora Cate Schaeffer and Douglas W. Maynard Ch. 12. Internet Interviewing - Chris Mann and Fiona Stewart Ch. 13. Transcription Quality - Blake D. Poland Ch. 14. Computer-Assisted Analysis of Qualitative Interview Data - Clive F. Seale PART III: ANALYTIC OPTIONS Ch. 15. Qualitative Interviewing and Grounded Theory Analysis - Kathy Charmaz Ch. 16. Analysis of Personal Narratives - Catherine Kohler Riessman Ch. 17. Analytic Strategies for Oral History Interviews - Richard Candida Smith Ch. 18. Institutional Ethnography: Using Interviews to Investigate Ruling Relations - Marjorie L. DeVault and Liza McCoy Marjorie L. DeVault and Liza McCoy Marjorie L. DeVault and Liza McCoy Ch. 19. Ethnomethodological Analyses of Interviews - Carolyn D. Baker PART IV: REPRESENTATIONAL ISSUES Ch. 20. Revisiting the Relationship Between Participant Observation and Interviewing - Paul Atkinson and Amanda Coffey Ch. 21. Cross-Cultural Interviewing - Anne Ryen Ch. 22. Personal and Folk Narrative as Cultural Representation - Kirin Narayan and Kenneth M. George Ch. 23. Their Story/My Story/Our Story: Including the Researcher's Experience in Interview Research - Carolyn Ellis and Leigh Berger Ch. 24. Interviewing, Power/Knowledge, and Social Inequality - Charles L. Briggs Charles L. Briggs Charles L. Briggs Charles L. Briggs AUTHOR INDEX SUBJECT INDEX ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
Mobile Devices and Cyber Security - An Exploratory Study on User's Response to Cyber Security Challenges

In today’s increasingly connected, global, and fast-paced computing environment, sophisticated security threats are common occurrences and detrimental to users at home as well as in business. The first and most important step against computer security attacks is the awareness and understanding of the nature of the threats and their consequences. Although the users of mobile devices and laptops are often the target of security threats, many of them, specifically millennials, seem oblivious of such threats. A survey of college students reveals that despite all the hype about cybersecurity and its potential damages, the respondents are using their mobile devices without much apprehension or thoughts about threats, potential damages, and safeguarding against them. This study is on the premise that as the use of mobile devices is exponentially increasing among millennials, their laid back attitude and behaviour in response to cybersecurity is alarming and not to be overlooked. Simple solutions such as availability of useful information should be considered.
Hilar Cholangiocarcinoma: Current Management

Objective:To review the literature with regard to outcome of surgical management for hilar cholangiocarcinoma (Klatskin tumor). Background:Hilar cholangiocarcinoma is a rare tumor with a poor prognosis. Surgical resection provides the only possibility for cure. Advances in hepatobiliary imaging and surgical strategies to treat this disease have resulted in improved postoperative outcomes. Methods:We performed a review of the English literature on hilar cholangiocarcinoma from 1990 to 2007. This review included preoperative evaluation, surgical techniques, issues and controversies in management, prognostic variables, and considerations for future directions. Results:Complete resection remains the most effective and only potentially curative therapy for hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Negative resection margins are associated with improved outcomes, and major hepatic resections have enhanced the likelihood of R0 resection. Portal vein embolization may be indicated in selected patients before extensive hepatic resection. Staging laparoscopy should be considered to detect occult metastatic disease. Orthotopic liver transplantation might be applicable for a highly selected subgroup. Conclusions:Surgical resection including major hepatic resection remains the mainstay of treatment of hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Additional evidence is needed to fully define the role of orthotopic liver transplantation. Improvements in adjuvant therapy are essential for improving long-term outcome.
RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS IN BREAST CANCER TREATMENT: A HEALTH PRODUCTION APPROACH

Background: Pharmaceuticals’ relative effectiveness has come to the fore in the policy arena, reflecting the need to understand how relative efficacy (what can work) translates into added benefit in routine clinical use (what does work). European payers and licensing authorities assess value for money and post-launch benefit–risk profiles, and efforts to standardize assessments of relative effectiveness across the European Union (EU) are under way. However, the ways that relative effectiveness differs across EU healthcare settings are poorly understood. Methods: To understand which factors influence differences in relative effectiveness, we developed an analytical framework that treats the healthcare system as a health production function. Using evidence on breast cancer from England, Spain, and Sweden as a case study, we investigated the reasons why the relative effectiveness of a new drug might vary across healthcare systems. Evidence was identified from a literature review and national clinical guidance. Results: The review included thirteen international studies and thirty country-specific studies. Cross-country differences in population age structure, deprivation, and educational attainment were consistently associated with variation in outcomes. Screening intensity appeared to drive differences in survival, although the impact on mortality was unclear. Conclusions: The way efficacy translates into relative effectiveness across health systems is likely to be influenced by a range of complex and interrelated factors. These factors could inform government and payer policy decisions on ways to optimize relative effectiveness, and help increase understanding of the potential transferability of data on relative effectiveness from one health system to another.
A modified synapse model for neuromorphic circuits

Nowadays, biological neural system modeling is extending to higher levels which have made it feasible to accomplish a better understanding of the brain behavior. In this regard, neurons, have been center of attention in terms of analysis and modeling. Synapses, on the other hand, are one of the most critical components in the central nervous system, which provide basis for the communication between neurons and are known as a main contributor to the system neuroplasticity. In this paper, we present a modified model for synaptic transmission (NMDA receptor) which is suitable for efficient simulations and also circuit implementations. To test integrity and validation of the simplified model, simulations results are presented. This model can be used for digital and/or analog implementations in large-scale biological neural system simulations. This approach provides advantage of higher speed and lower implementation costs yet demonstrating similar dynamic behaviors.
Co-occurrence-based adaptive background model for robust object detection

An illumination-invariant background model for detecting objects in dynamic scenes is proposed. It is robust in the cases of sudden illumination fluctuation as well as burst moving background. Unlike previous works, it distinguishes objects from a dynamic background using co-occurrence character between a target pixel and its supporting pixels in the form of multiple pixel pairs. Experiments used several challenging datasets that proved the robust performance of object detection in various environments.
Heuristic Classifier Performance Bounds in High Dimensional Settings

Abstract : This paper is concerned with probability density estimation in high-dimensional settings. Simplified geometric arguments and supporting examples point to a performance bound which limits algorithm performance to that of either (1) nearest-neighbor or (2) single-kernel PDF estimators. A method of monitoring PDF estimation performance as well as recommendations for neural net and classification algorithm practitioners is provided.
Low resistance to adefovir combined with lamivudine: a 3-year study of 145 lamivudine-resistant hepatitis B patients.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Adefovir monotherapy is an established treatment modality for lamivudine-experienced patients with chronic hepatitis B, but it carries a significant risk of resistance in the long term. We assessed whether this risk could be overcome by adefovir-lamivudine combination therapy. METHODS A total of 145 lamivudine-resistant patients with chronic hepatitis B (73% cirrhotics, 86% hepatitis B e antigen negative, 92% genotype D) were treated with adefovir 10 mg in addition to lamivudine 100 mg. Liver function tests and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA (Versant 3.0) were assessed bimonthly, whereas adefovir-related mutations were searched by INNO-LiPA assay at baseline and at yearly intervals. RESULTS During 42 months (range, 12-74), 116 patients (80%) cleared serum HBV DNA, 67 (84%) had normalized alanine aminotransferase levels, and 145 (100%) remained free of virologic and clinical breakthroughs, independently of the degree of HBV suppression. The rtA181V/T was the only adefovir-related mutation detected, which occurred in 6 patients at baseline (4%; 1 rtA181V and 5 rtA181T) and in an additional 3 patients (2%; all rtA181T) during treatment. In all these 9 patients, HBV DNA levels progressively declined during therapy to become undetectable in 7 (78%). The 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-year cumulative rates of de novo rtA181T were 1%, 2%, 4%, and 4%, respectively. None of the cirrhotic patients clinically decompensated, but 11 (12%) developed hepatocellular carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS Under prolonged adefovir-lamivudine therapy, patients with lamivudine-resistant hepatitis B were unlikely to develop genotypic resistance to adefovir and had durable prevention of virologic and clinical breakthrough.
Maturational Aspects of Epilepsy Mechanisms and Consequences for the Immature Brain

The immature brain differs from the adult brain in its susceptibility to seizures, seizure characteristics, and responses to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) (1). Experimental evidence from animal models has revealed factors that may contribute to the age dependence of epileptic syndromes, and further suggests that early life seizures or treatment with AEDs can alter the normal maturation of brain function (1). To understand fully the age dependence of childhood epilepsies and to optimize treatments, it is necessary to consider maturational differences in the cellular and molecular mechanisms of epilepsy and how these may be functionally altered by early-life seizures or AED treatment. We discuss the developmental regulation of several factors and how these may contribute to seizure susceptibility and epileptogenesis in the developing brain.
Cambios en la normativa sobre fondo de comercio: algunas evidencias empíricas

El fondo de comercio constituye una de las partidas mas controvertidas entre la doctrina contable. En la actualidad, tras el cambio en la normativa norteamericana, el IASB ha efectuado modificaciones en la misma linea, de forma que, en vez de amortizar este bien, se debera evaluar anualmente un eventual deterioro del mismo. En el presente trabajo hemos investigado las consecuencias que para determinados ratios hubiera tenido utilizar un criterio semejante al establecido en la actualidad en las NIIF, utilizando para ello una muestra de 177 sociedades espanolas durante el periodo 1998-2000. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que los ratios de endeudamiento, rentabilidad economica y rentabilidad financiera del periodo analizado se hubieran visto afectados de forma estadisticamente significativa por la eliminacion de la amortizacion sistematica del fondo de comercio. Sin embargo, de cara a la normalizacion contable, creemos que tambien se deben tener en cuenta otros factores que se senalan en el estudio.
Energy-aware routing in wireless sensor networks: a complex networks based approach

Wireless Sensor Networks WSNs have practical application in various fields. Routing in WSNs focuses on reduction of energy consumption and extension of the network lifetime owing to the limited energy, storage space and computing ability. In recent years, complex network-based approaches, which attempt to exploit the structure of WSNs to make better routing decision, are becoming increasingly popular. Since data transmission in WSNs follows a multi-hop pattern, the selection of the best forwarding sensor node is very important in routing. In order to let all sensor nodes take part in routing as evenly as possible and extend the network lifetime of WSNs, an energy-aware routing strategy is proposed with the aid of complex network theory. The proposed routing algorithm introduces node degree deviation as an indicator of high-or low-degree nodes, and adopts a combination of the distance and consumed energy as the forwarding criterion. By shifting traffic from high-degree to low-degree nodes, the proposed routing algorithm extends the network lifetime and balances the energy consumption between the two node types. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm dramatically extends the network lifetime and balances the network energy consumption compared with local betweenness centrality-based energy-aware routing algorithm and the shortest path routing algorithm.