Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Review on IPO Withdrawal

Abstract This study reviews and analyses the empirical and theoretical literature on IPO withdrawal. VOSviewer techniques are used to identify relationships of citations, authorship, themes and patterns of the research conducted in this area. My perspective on the current state of IPO withdrawal research is threefold. First, I believe that the phenomenon of IPO withdrawal is not specific to a country, jurisdiction or vintage. Second, considering its economic significance, there is a surprising scarcity of research on IPO withdrawal. Third, existing research predominantly focuses on market level determinants which do not fully explain IPO withdrawal. I argue that promising research will come from non-rational and agency conflict based explanations.
Wearable Affective Memory Augmentation

Human memory prioritizes the storage and recall of information that is emotionally-arousing and/or important in a process known as value-directed memory. When experiencing a stream of information (e.g. conversation, book, lecture, etc.), the individual makes conscious and subconscious value assessments of the incoming information and uses this as a metric to determine what to remember. In order to improve automatic recall of memory, previous memory augmentation systems have sensed users' physiological state to determine which sensory media should be prioritized. Here, we propose to prioritize memories using the affective state of individuals that the user is interacting with. Thereby, the proposed wearable Affective Memory Augmentation system uses affective information from the user's social companions in order to facilitate value-directed memory.
Masked Hypertension in Elderly Managerial Employees and Retirees

Masked hypertension is reported to have the same level of hazard risk of cardiovascular mortality and stroke morbidity as sustained hypertension. The number of managerial employees suffering from cardiovascular disease and stroke is known to be greater than other employee. The aim of this study was to compare the 24-h blood pressure (BP) recordings between elderly male managerial employees and retirees and to propose a strategy for identifying masked hypertension. A total of 38 males (16 managerial employees aged 50–69 years and 22 retirees aged 60–65 years) who were not taking any antihypertensive medications participated in this study. Their 24-h BP was measured by an ambulatory BP monitoring device. Daytime (9:00–17:00 h) BPs of the employees (mean, 139/92 mm Hg) were significantly higher than in the retirees (mean 124/80 mm Hg), while there was no difference in BP before and during sleep. In all, 5 of 16 employees (31%) who were diagnosed as normotensive (<140/90 mm Hg) at a periodic health check had hypertension (>135/85 mm Hg) in the morning measured by ambulatory BP monitoring, while 6 (38%) had a similar level of hypertension during the daytime (9:00–17:00h). These individuals were diagnosed as having masked hypertension. Multiple regression analyses showed that the job was the only factor that contributed to the difference in BP in the subjects during the daytime. This finding suggested that job stress seemed to be one of the main causes of masked hypertension. We argue that more frequent measurements of BP at the work place are necessary to identify subjects with masked hypertension.
Intergenerational Wisdom through Autoethnography

Author(s): Joseph, Shalene Niltinna | Advisor(s): Champagne, Duane W | Abstract: Indigenous scholars and academics play a pivotal role in creating and defining social terms and frameworks for what it means to be a Native person in contemporary U.S. society. These terms and frameworks contribute to social norms, how we as Native people view ourselves, and how others view us. In this study, I draw on the work of Native scholars and practitioners who have been instrumental in conducting groundbreaking work to document the role of historical and intergenerational trauma in the continuity and disruption of tribal epistemologies and lifeways. The groundbreaking work on historical trauma has provided explanatory models for educational and health disparities that do not lay blame at the individual level. These models, in contrast to deficit-based narratives that focus on what is inherently "wrong" with Native peoples and cultures, point to structural, historical, societal, and structural determinants for inequities. In this thesis, I employ autoethnography to develop historical and intergenerational wisdom as a parallel and complementary strand of work to historical and intergenerational trauma. Drawing on my life-long experience with the Native Wellness Institute, a national non-profit organization, as well as interviews with leaders in the Native wellness and healing movement, including family members, I sift through information, stories, and examples from everyday experiences to bring forth the spirit of our ancestors. By doing so, I aim to simultaneously change models in academia that have fore-grounded deficit-based narratives and re-focus the lens on abundance-based, also referred to as strength-based or culture-based, research. A framework of intergenerational wisdom can guide and influence future students and scholars as well as permeate beyond academia. As individuals, families and communities continue to learn more about historical and intergenerational trauma, they can also learn more about historical and intergenerational wisdom. My hope is that through this, Indigenous peoples will understand that the answer to trauma is healing and the tools to healing are embedded in intergenerational wisdom.
[Prevalence and risk factors of the development of irritable bowel syndrome in adolescents: a population study].

AIM To determine prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and associated factors in a community-based population of adolescents. MATERIAL AND METHODS 189 schoolboys and 250 schoolgirls aged 14-17 years from four randomly chosen schools of Novosibirsk participated in the study. RESULTS The prevalence of IBS defined according to Rome criteria was higher in girls (24 vs 14% in boys, p = 0.01). Colonic pain frequency was similar in both genders (11% in girls vs 9% in boys, p = 0.46), however disturbed defecation occurred significantly more often in girls than in boys (16 vs 7%, p = 0.003). Half of the subjects who reported IBS had also dyspeptic symptoms. Fiber-rich diet and/or laxatives to prevent constipation were used by 2% of boys and 7% of girls (p = 0.012). However, only one third of those having less than 3 stools a week thought it abnormal. IBS is associated with the age over 15-16 years, female gender, abdominal pain in childhood, appendectomy, irregular meals and smoking (in girls). No association was found with other socio-demographic factors and serological markers of some infections and invasions (H. pylori, G. lamblia, O. felineus, hepatitis viruses B and C). Of the persons with diagnosable IBS, 49% have consulted a physician about it, 21% have undergone upper endoscopy. School absenteeism was reported by 62% of the IBS sufferers. CONCLUSION IBS is common among adolescents (especially girls) with the prevalence rates similar to those described in adults from West Europe and USA. These disorders are associated with significant disability and health care costs.
Guaranteed-Cost Consensus for Singular Multi-Agent Systems With Switching Topologies

Guaranteed-cost consensus problems for high-order singular multi-agent systems with switching topologies are investigated. Firstly, to achieve a trade-off design object between consensus regulation performances and control energy consumptions, a quadratic cost function is constructed by state errors among agents and control inputs of all agents and guaranteed-cost consensus problems are introduced. Then, based on linear matrix inequality techniques, sufficient conditions for guaranteed-cost consensus and consensualization are presented respectively, which can guarantee the scalability of singular multi-agent systems since the dimensions of all the variables in these conditions are independent of the number of agents. Moreover, an upper bound of the cost function is determined, explicit expressions of consensus functions are given on the basis of the Second Equivalent Form, and it is shown that consensus functions are dependent on the average of initial states of all agents but are independent of switching topologies. Finally, the applications of theoretical results in multi-agent supporting systems are shown.
Data Governance Taxonomy: Cloud versus Non-Cloud

Forward-thinking organisations believe that the only way to solve the data problem is the implementation of effective data governance. Attempts to govern data have failed before, as they were driven by information technology, and affected by rigid processes and fragmented activities carried out on a system-by-system basis. Until very recently, governance has been mostly informal, with very ambiguous and generic regulations, in siloes around specific enterprise repositories, lacking structure and the wider support of the organisation. Despite its highly recognised importance, the area of data governance is still underdeveloped and under-researched. Consequently, there is a need to advance research in data governance in order to deepen practice. Currently, in the area of data governance, research consists mostly of descriptive literature reviews. The analysis of literature further emphasises the need to build a standardised strategy for data governance. This task can be a very complex one and needs to be accomplished in stages. Therefore, as a first and necessary stage, a taxonomy approach to define the different attributes of data governance is expected to make a valuable contribution to knowledge, helping researchers and decision makers to understand the most important factors that need to be considered when implementing a data governance strategy for cloud computing services. In addition to the proposed taxonomy, the paper clarifies the concepts of data governance in contracts with other governance domains.
FcμR Interacts and Cooperates with the B Cell Receptor To Promote B Cell Survival

The IgM FcR (FcμR) promotes B cell survival, but the molecular mechanism remains largely unknown. We show using FcμR−/− and wild-type mice that FcμR specifically enhanced B cell survival induced by BCR cross-linking with F(ab′)2-anti-IgM Abs while having no effect on survival when the B cells were activated by CD40 ligation or LPS stimulation. FcμR expression was markedly upregulated by anti-IgM stimulation, which may promote enhanced FcμR signaling in these cells. Immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy analyses demonstrated that FcμR colocalized with the BCR on the plasma membrane of primary B cells. Coimmunoprecipitation analysis further revealed that FcμR physically interacted with the BCR complex. Because NF-κB plays a prominent role in B cell survival, we analyzed whether FcμR was involved in BCR-triggered NF-κB activation. FcμR did not affect BCR-triggered IκBα phosphorylation characteristic of the canonical NF-κB activation pathway but promoted the production of the noncanonical NF-κB pathway component p52. Consistent with the elevated p52 levels, FcμR enhanced BCR-triggered expression of the antiapoptotic protein BCL-xL. Importantly, FcμR stimulation alone in the absence of BCR signaling had no effect on either IκBα phosphorylation or the expression of p52 and BCL-xL. Therefore, FcμR relied on the BCR signal to activate the noncanonical NF-κB pathway and enhance B cell survival. These results reveal a cross-talk downstream of FcμR and BCR signaling and provide mechanistic insight into FcμR-mediated enhancement of B cell survival after BCR stimulation.
A novel diagnostic test detects a low frequency of the hemicentin Gln5345Arg variant among Northern Irish age related macular degeneration patients.

PURPOSE Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common cause of severe vision loss. Identification of genes involved in AMD will facilitate early detection and ultimately help to identify pathways for treatment for this disorder. The A16,263G mutation in the HEMICENTIN-1 gene produces a non-conservative substitution of arginine for glutamine at codon 5345 which has been implicated in familial AMD. The aim of this study is to develop a rapid diagnostic assay for the detection of this mutation and to evaluate its frequency in a sample of AMD patients. METHODS A primer probe set was designed from exon 104 of the HEMICENTIN-1 gene to differentiate between mutant and wild type alleles. A region spanning the mutation was amplified by PCR using a LightCycler (Roche Diagnostic). The mutation was then detected by melt curve analysis of the hybrid formed between the PCR product and a specific fluorescent probe. The frequency of the mutation within the Northern Ireland population was evaluated by assaying 508 affected AMD patients, 25 possibly affected and 163 controls. RESULTS This assay clearly discriminates between the A16,263G mutant and wild type HEMICENTIN-1 alleles. The wild type sequence has a single base mismatch with the probe which decreases the stability of the hybrid, resulting in a lower TM (TM=51.27 degrees C) than that observed for the perfectly matched mutant allele (TM=59.9 degrees C). The mutant allele was detected in only one of the 696 subjects, an affected AMD patient. CONCLUSIONS We describe a rapid assay for the genotyping of the Gln5345Arg mutation using real-time fluorescence PCR to facilitate rapid processing of samples through combined amplification and detection steps. These characteristics are suitable for a clinical setting where high throughput diagnostic procedures are required. The frequency of this mutation within the Northern Ireland population has been estimated at 0.2%, concurring with previous findings that this mutation is a rare variant associated with AMD. A rapid diagnostic assay will facilitate a reliable and convenient evaluation of the frequency of the Gln5345Arg mutation and its association with AMD within other populations.
A Cadaveric Study Comparing Discography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Histology, and Mechanical Behavior of the Human Lumbar Disc

The aims of this study were 1) to compare discography and magnetic resonance imaging scanning on cadaver specimens and to correlate these imaging procedures by examining all the discs histologically; and 2) to study the extent to which the amplitude of rotational movement in the neutral and flexed position at a certain level correlates with the morphologic appearance of that disc. Twenty-four human lumbar spines were harvested from cadavers between the ages of 19 and 75 years. Each specimen underwent standard radiography, magnetic resonance imaging scanning, discography, histologic examination, and measurement of axial rotation in a torsion apparatus. For practical reasons, all specimens did not undergo all of the examinations. Not all peripheral anular lesions were detected by discography. Histology showed rim lesions of the anterior anulus in 18% of discs with normal discography. The overall incidence of anterior and posterior anular tears was greater in discs where larger amplitudes of rotation were observed. To which extent the one is a consequence of the other or vice versa is not clear. Magnetic resonance imaging was found to be less specific than discography. However, it must be emphasized that no axial magnetic resonance imaging scans were taken in this study. Discs with significantly decreased amounts of nuclear material (observed at histology) can still produce normal magnetic resonance imaging images. Infolding of the inner layers of the anulus fibrosus (33% anterior, 4% posterior) was a frequently observed feature.
Speeding up softmax computations in DNN-based large vocabulary speech recognition by senone weight vector selection

Deep neural network has obtained significant accuracy improvement in many large vocabulary continuous speech recognition (LVCSR) tasks. Recently, it was shown that even better performance can be obtained by modeling a larger number of more discriminative senones. However, as the neural network becomes larger, the number of parameters increases greatly, resulting in greater computation cost and slower decoding process. Since in LVCSR systems, most DNN computations are done in the output softmax layer, we propose a senone weight vector selection method in this paper to speed up the DNN softmax computation while keeping the system accuracy more or less the same. We apply clustering on the weight vectors of the softmax layer and group all the senone weight vectors into several clusters. During decoding, we only compute the exact posteriors for senones in the selected clusters. For the senones in the unselected clusters, their posteriors are approximated using their cluster centers. Experimental results show that our speed-up method can reduce DNN computation time by more than 35% with negligible accuracy loss in a DNN model with 60,000 senones on Switchboard.
Increased Ratio of CD31+/CD42− Microparticles to Endothelial Progenitors as a Novel Marker of Atherosclerosis in Hypercholesterolemia

Objectives—Atherosclerosis may be caused by increased endothelial damage and by a consumptive loss of endothelial repair capacity by endothelial progenitors. Arterial stiffness is a reliable marker of atherosclerosis and a positive correlate of endothelial damage. We investigated whether an increased ratio of CD31+/CD42− microparticles to endothelial progenitors, a possible indicator of endothelial damage and impaired endothelium reparation, may contribute to aortic stiffness in hypercholesterolemia. We also studied the in vitro effect of microparticles from hypercholesterolemic patients on endothelial progenitor survival. Methods and Results—Circulating CD31+/CD42− microparticles, endothelial progenitors, and aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), a measure of aortic stiffness, were measured in 50 patients with never-treated hypercholesterolemia and 50 normocholesterolemic controls. Hypercholesterolemic patients had more circulating CD31+/CD42− microparticles, less endothelial progenitors, and a stiffer aorta than controls. aPWV was associated with CD31+/CD42− microparticles (r=0.61; P<0.001), endothelial progenitors (r=−0.45, P<0.001), and with cholesterol levels (r=0.51; P<0.001). High plasma cholesterol and a high ratio of CD31+/CD42− microparticles to endothelial progenitors independently predicted an increased aPWV. Microparticles from hypercholesterolemic patients caused a significant endothelial progenitor loss in vitro. Conclusions—Hypercholesterolemia-related aortic stiffness is promoted by plasma cholesterol directly, increased endothelial damage, and reduced endothelium repair capacity by endothelial progenitors.
The yeast two‐hybrid system for identifying protein–protein interactions

The yeast two‐hybrid assay is a system for identifying and analysing protein–protein interactions. Since the original description in 1989, the technique has provided insight into many biological pathways. A variety of adaptations to the technique have been developed that allow analysis of protein–DNA, protein–RNA, or small molecule–protein interactions. Recent developments now allow the use of these technologies to perform global analyses of all such interactions that occur in cells. The information gained from these approaches is uncovering many aspects of the complex networks that underlie normal cellular processes and how they are perturbed in disease states. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Influence of bite force and tongue pressure on oro-pharyngeal residue in the elderly.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the influence of maximal bite force, maximal tongue pressure, number of mastications and swallowing on the oro-pharyngeal residue in the elderly. BACKGROUND Oro-pharyngeal residue in the elderly is an indication of dysphagia. Pharyngeal residue is especially critical as it may cause aspiration pneumonia, which is one of the major causes of death in elderly. MATERIALS AND METHODS Videofluorographic recordings were performed on 14 elderly volunteers (six males, eight females, age range 65-93 years) without any history or symptoms of dysphagia. The subjects were instructed to consume 9 g of barium containing bread in two manners; free mastication and swallow (FMS: masticate and swallow freely), and limited mastication and swallow (LMS: swallow once after 30 chewing actions). The amount of oral and pharyngeal residue was evaluated using a 4-point rating scale. Maximal occlusal force was measured by a pressure sensitive sheet, and maximal tongue pressure using a handy probe. Multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the influence of these items on the amount of oral and pharyngeal residue in FMS and LMS. RESULTS In FMS, age was found to be a factor which increased oral residue (p = 0.053), and the number of swallowing (p = 0.017) and the state of the prosthesis (p = 0.030) reduced the pharyngeal residue. In LMS, tongue pressure was a factor which reduced oral residue (p = 0.015) and increased pharyngeal residue (p = 0.008). CONCLUSION It is suggested that in the elderly tongue pressure contributed to propulsion of the food bolus from oral cavity into the pharynx, and multiple swallowing contributed to the reduction in the amount of pharyngeal residue.
Crystal structure of extracellular domain of human lectin‐like transcript 1 (LLT1), the ligand for natural killer receptor‐P1A

Emerging evidence has revealed the pivotal roles of C‐type lectin‐like receptors (CTLRs) in the regulation of a wide range of immune responses. Human natural killer cell receptor‐P1A (NKRP1A) is one of the CTLRs and recognizes another CTLR, lectin‐like transcript 1 (LLT1) on target cells to control NK, NKT and Th17 cells. The structural basis for the NKRP1A‐LLT1 interaction was limitedly understood. Here, we report the crystal structure of the ectodomain of LLT1. The plausible receptor‐binding face of the C‐type lectin‐like domain is flat, and forms an extended β‐sheet. The residues of this face are relatively conserved with another CTLR, keratinocyte‐associated C‐type lectin, which binds to the CTLR member, NKp65. A LLT1‐NKRP1A complex model, prepared using the crystal structures of LLT1 and the keratinocyte‐associated C‐type lectin‐NKp65 complex, reasonably satisfies the charge consistency and the conformational complementarity to explain a previous mutagenesis study. Furthermore, crystal packing and analytical ultracentrifugation revealed dimer formation, which supports a complex model. Our results provide structural insights for understanding the binding modes and signal transduction mechanisms, which are likely to be conserved in the CTLR family, and for further rational drug design towards regulating the LLT1 function.