Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accelerating 3D nonrigid registration using the Cell Broadband Engine processor

Registration or alignment of medical images in clinical applications requires cost-effective high-performance computing. In this paper, we present a parallel design and implementation of a mutualinformation-based multiresolution nonrigid registration algorithm that takes advantage of the Cell Broadband Engine® (Cell/B.E.) Architecture by exploiting the different levels of parallelism and optimization strategies. The new method was tested with a dualprocessor Cell/B.E. processor-based system. The experiments show an average performance of 1.09 µs per voxel and excellent scalability, demonstrating real-time or near-real-time performance for the computationally demanding task of nonrigid image registration.
Hagfish slime ecomechanics: testing the gill-clogging hypothesis

SUMMARY Hagfish are able to produce substantial amounts of slime when harassed, but the precise ecological function of the slime is unclear. One possibility is that the slime acts as a defence against gill-breathing predators, whose gills may become entangled with the slime's mixture of mucins and fibrous threads during an attack. We previously demonstrated that hagfish slime does not bind water tightly, but instead behaves like a fine sieve that slows water down via viscous entrainment. These properties are consistent with the gill-clogging hypothesis, which we tested here by quantifying the effects of hagfish slime on water flow through an artificial gill model and real fish gills. Our results indicate that the slime is capable of clogging gills and increasing the resistance that they present to the flow of water. We also characterized the behaviour of slime release from live hagfish and the effect of convective mixing on the formation of slime in vitro. Our observations show that exudate is locally released from the slime glands as a coherent jet and that hagfish do not appear to use their slime as a protective envelope. We found that convective mixing between the exudate and seawater is necessary for proper slime formation, but excessive mixing leads to the slime's collapse. We suggest that the loose binding of water by the slime may be an optimal solution to the problem of delivering an expanding jet of flow-inhibiting material to the gills of would-be predators.
The Mannmaven: an agent for diffusing market information

With the growing competition and complexity of marketing information,interpersonal communication is becoming increasingly important to marketers and consumers (mavens) who can act as disseminators of marketing communications and play an important role. Previous research, which has found that mavens are more likely to be female, has ignored the way in which these consumer communicators make decisions and process information. As male product markets grow and gender roles in shopping become blurred, identifying male mavens could be a useful promotional tool. Sixty male and 78 female market mavens were identified from a survey of 455 German consumers, which differed only marginally in terms of age and education. The prime decision-making traits of male mavens differed from females and were related to brand consciousness, shopping avoidance/satisficing, impulsiveness, speedy fashion seeking, perfectionism, price–value consciousness, confused by overchoice and quality brand loyal. Implications and recommendations for marketers targeting male product markets in Germany are discussed.
Measuring Deficiencies in Nonprofit Management

The need to measure the performance of nonprofit boards has been recognised for over 30 years primarily because of the direct relationship between board performance and organisation performance but also because identifying management strengths and weaknesses across a range of performance factors forms the basis for an effective management development programme. The results of past studies are generally inconclusive leading to a lack of consensus as to which is the best approach. The objective for this study was to demonstrate that a heuristic methodology does produce an acceptable, approximate solution to the measurement of individual management performance in a nonprofit board. Testing established that the heuristic model produced a satisfactory solution and was able to provide a detailed assessment of management strengths and weaknesses across a wide range of factors. Analysis of the results obtained from a sample of nonprofit board members provided clear evidence that management skills, management experience, relevant knowledge and commitment are key competencies for nonprofit board members. A direct, positive relationship between age and management performance was also identified. © 2015 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy. org.uk
Intraspinal transplantation of motoneuron-like cell combined with delivery of polymer-based glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor for repair of spinal cord contusion injury

To evaluate the effects of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor transplantation combined with adipose-derived stem cells-transdifferentiated motoneuron delivery on spinal cord contusion injury, we developed rat models of spinal cord contusion injury, 7 days later, injected adipose-derived stem cells-transdifferentiated motoneurons into the epicenter, rostral and caudal regions of the impact site and simultaneously transplanted glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor-gelfoam complex into the myelin sheath. Motoneuron-like cell transplantation combined with glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor delivery reduced cavity formations and increased cell density in the transplantation site. The combined therapy exhibited superior promoting effects on recovery of motor function to transplantation of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, adipose-derived stem cells or motoneurons alone. These findings suggest that motoneuron-like cell transplantation combined with glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor delivery holds a great promise for repair of spinal cord injury.
Effects of dietary physical form on performance and water intake of broiler chicken

A completely randomized design experiment was conducted to determine the effects of physical form of the diet (pellets or mash) on the growth performance and water intake of broiler chicken. Twenty seven days-old (n=32) broiler chicks were randomly allocated into 8 deep litter cages. Each cage housed 4 birds and contained a feeder and a drinker. Birds in four cages were fed a commercial broiler finisher diet (Nutrina Feed Sri Lanka) in pelleted form. The pellets of the same diet were ground and fed as a mash to the other four groups. The experimental diets were fed for two weeks from day 28 to day 42. The bulk densities of the pelleted and mash form diets were 0.67 and 0.55 g/cm', respectively. Feeds and water were given ad libitum. Daily feed and water intakes were measured. The mean day time temperature and relative humidity during the experiment period ranged from 26 to 32 ()C (mean 29.1 °C) and 65 to 92%. (mean 76.3). respectively. Live weights were taken on day 35 and day 42. Growth performance parameters such as weight on day 42 and weight gains and feed intake were not significantly affected due to the physical form of the diets. Water intake was also not significantly affected by the dietary physical form. Water intakes ofbroilers between 28 and 42 days old broilers were 478 and 502 ml per day for mash and pellets. respectively. The intake of water per 100 g of B W decreased from 36 ml to 34 ml in mashform diet fed birds and from 40 ml to 36 ml in pelleted diet fed birds during day 28-35 and day 35-42. respectively. In contrast, the water intake per unit of feed ingested increased as birds grew. Water: feed ratio of the mash form diet fed birds during day 38-35 increased from 2.9 to 3.6 during day 35-42. Similarly, when pelleted diets were given, the water: feed ratio increased from 3 to 3.7 during day 28-35 to day 35-42 periods. It was concluded that growth performances of broiler chicks fed reground pellets in mash form are comparable with the broilers fed pelleted form of the same diet.
Do Procurement Agreements Work

Since 1990, the United States has signed agreements on government procurement with more than forty nations. Bids from non-agreement countries must overcome a preference margin in domestic rms’ favor, whereas agreement partners’ rms are to be accorded national treatment. The key research question is whether these agreements do indeed improve rms’ success in procurement auctions, and if so, to what extent. I construct a theoretical framework to model the competitive behavior of bidders in this environment and derive a gravity-type equation to predict bilateral trade ows. Empirical results using U.S. data indicate that national treatment agreements increase partners’ probability of success by 174 percent and total revenues by 251 percent; however, evidence suggests that these gains come primarily from trade diversion. Gains are concentrated in high-value contracts. Worldwide, agreements increase typical partners’ annual income by $25 to $45 million.
Assessment of patients with stable chest pain

### Learning objectives Chest pain is a frequent symptom at presentation in both primary and secondary care. There are several international guidelines available for patients with stable chest pain including the NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines ‘Chest pain of recent onset’ which were updated in 2016,1 2 the 2012 ACCF/AHA/ACP/AATS/PCNA/SCAI/STS ‘Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of patients with stable ischemic heart disease’ for which there was a focused update in 2014,3 4 and the 2013 ESC (European Society of Cardiology) ‘Guidelines for the management of stable coronary artery disease’. 5 In this article, we will highlight the 2016 NICE guidelines for the diagnosis of stable chest pain including assessment of clinical findings, risk stratification models, and invasive and non-invasive investigations. It is important to appreciate that the 2016 guidelines were an update of the 2010 guidelines, not a full revision, and only certain aspects were reassessed; this review focuses on these sections. We will also highlight similarities and difference between the other international guidelines. ### Patient population Cardiovascular disease remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality globally and was the second most common cause of death in the UK in 2014.6 Although mortality from coronary artery disease (CAD) is decreasing, the prevalence of CAD has remained relatively constant between 3% and 4%. 7 Chest pain is a frequent symptom …
Feature-based filter design for resolution enhancement of known features in microscopy.

We present a new feature-based design concept for filter design in which a filter is designed specifically to image a known feature with dimensions lower than the optical resolution of the system. Unlike the conventional filter design based on focal spot engineering, we use the complete response of the microscope to form a resolution factor and consider minimizing the resolution factor as the design goal. We consider three design goals (i.e., resolution factors) based on the system response and show that a feature matching approach is more suitable in practice. It is shown that a three-bar pattern and grid of square dots of critical dimension, 0. 08λ, can be resolved using a simple two-layer feature-based filter designed for radially polarized illumination in aplanatic solid immersion lens microscopy. An example that requires a more complex filter is also shown. Applicability of the concept of feature-based filter design in diverse microscopy scenarios is discussed as well.
Islamic Banking and Asset Price Bubbles

This paper examines how Islamic banks’ risk sharing contracts, compared to conventional banks’ risk shifting contracts, can help prevent the formation of asset price bubbles and a possible financial crisis. The paper develops a model showing that in the event of a macroeconomic shock, investors become risk averse, relinquish their direct investments in the real economy, and invest in the banking sector, which is perceived to be safer. The banking sector, as a result, is flushed with excess liquidity. As bank managers’ compensation is linked to loan volume, they dispose the increased deposits by making risky loans. The excessive lending creates asset price bubbles. Given the risk sharing nature of Islamic banks’ liability side, our model shows that Islamic bank depositor’s payoff, during periods of heightened macroeconomic risk, is much more volatile compared to their conventional counterparts. If a macroeconomic shock occurs, therefore, Islamic banks’ liquidity influx would be relatively lower. This should prevent excessive lending and reduce the possibility of an asset price bubble. The paper also demonstrates, as a special case, that risk sharing contracts on the Islamic banks’ asset side can reduce the incentive for excessive borrowing and prevent asset price bubbles. Deposit growth rate data for Islamic and conventional banking industries from five Middle Eastern countries corroborate the findings of our model.
Nitrogen Assimilation in Mycorrhizas : Ammonium Assimilation in the N-Starved Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Cenococcum graniforme.

Ammonium assimilation was followed in N-starved mycelia from the ectomycorrhizal Ascomycete Cenococcum graniforme. The evaluation of free amino acid pool levels after the addition of 5 millimolar NH(4) (+) indicated that the absorbed ammonium was assimilated rapidly. Post-feeding nitrogen content of amino acids was very different from the initial values. After 8 hours of NH(4) (+) feeding, glutamine accounted for the largest percentage of free amino acid nitrogen (43%). The addition of 5 millimolar methionine sulfoximine (MSX) to NH(4) (+)-fed mycelia caused an inhibition of glutamine accumulation with a corresponding increase in glutamate and alanine levels.Using (15)N as a tracer, it was found that the greatest initial labeling was into glutamine and glutamate followed by aspartate, alanine, and ornithine. On inhibiting glutamine synthetase using MSX, (15)N enrichment of glutamate, alanine, aspartate, and ornithine continued although labeling of glutamine was quite low. Moreover, the incorporation of (15)N label in insoluble nitrogenous compounds was lower in the presence of MSX. From the composition of free amino acid pools, the (15)N labeling pattern and effects of MSX, NH(4) (+) assimilation in C. graniforme mycelia appears to proceed via glutamate dehydrogenase pathway. This study also demonstrates that glutamine synthesis is an important reaction of ammonia utilization.
Effects of cytochalasin B on meiosis and development of fertilized and activated eggs of Sabellaria alveolata L. (Polychaete Annelid).

1. Unfertilized, fertilized and activated eggs of Sabellaria alveolata were submitted to cytochalasin B concentrations ranging from 0·1 to 20 μg/ml. Their behaviour was studied either in vivo or in acetocarmine squash preparations. 2. Polar body extrusion, cytokinesis and polar lobe formation are completely inhibited by cytochalasin B concentrations as low as 0·3–0·5 μg/ml. 3. Caryotype determinations demonstrate that chromosomal meiotic and mitotic processes are not affected by the drug. Thus, polyploid embryos usually developed from fertilized eggs whilst they did not from activated ones. This is related to the contrasting behaviour of meiotic and cleavage centres. While the latter duplicates at each cycle, the former cannot replicate at the end of meiosis. This leads to an abortive monastral stage even if inhibition of polar body extrusion has provided the egg with two or four centres. These observations suggest the existence of an internal mechanism regulating the number of effective centrioles at the end of meiosis. They demonstrate also that the main cause of developmental failure in activated eggs cannot be related to ploidy. 4. Eggs treated throughout meiosis with moderate drug concentrations developed into swimming larvae. However, frequent developmental abnormalities affecting lobe dependent structures were obtained even if polar lobe formation was unimpaired. This suggests either that cytochalasin B has irreversibly affected some decisive cortical element or that previously described activating processes, which begin with polar lobe formation, are actually exerted on specific materials segregated during meiosis.
The Use of Controlled Postharvest Abiotic Stresses as a Tool for Enhancing the Nutraceutical Content and Adding-Value of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

This paper proposes a concept based on applying postharvest abiotic stresses to enhance the nutraceutical content of fresh fruits and vegetables. We hypothesize that selected abiotic stress treatments, such as wounding, phytohormones, temperature, ultraviolet light, altered gas composition, heat shock, and water stress, among others, will affect the secondary metabolism of fresh produce and increase the synthesis of phytochemicals with nutraceutical activity or reduce the synthesis of undesirable compounds. Controlled stresses may be used as tools by the fresh produce industry to enhance the health benefit properties of fresh-cut or whole fresh produce and by the food processing and dietary supplement industries to obtain healthier processed products or enhance extractable nutraceutical yields.
Assessment of postoperative pain management: patient satisfaction and perceived helpfulness.

OBJECTIVE Increasing attention has been given to the assessment of patient satisfaction as a way to monitor quality of care in hospital settings. Postoperative patient satisfaction has been thought to be related to level of pain intensity, expectations of outcome, perceived concern by the staff, and helpfulness of treatments. The aim of this study is to develop a simple, reliable measure to assess pain and satisfaction in postsurgical patients and to examine factors related to patient satisfaction. DESIGN A satisfaction questionnaire was developed for this study and administered to 119 patients who had undergone a major orthopedic surgical procedure. The majority of the patients were diagnosed with osteoarthritis and reported moderate to severe preoperative pain. The 13-item measure was found to be reliable (test-retest r = .86; interexaminer r = .98), valid (exploratory factor analyses; intercorrelations), and easy to administer. RESULTS Results showed that the majority of the patients were satisfied with their care (91%), postoperative pain intensity (94%), and the way they were treated by the physicians and nurses (98%). Patients with low postoperative pain ratings who perceived that the physicians and nurses showed concern with how much pain they were feeling reported greatest satisfaction with their care (p < .001). In general, lower postoperative pain ratings were the best predictors of satisfaction and helpfulness of treatment. Preoperative pain status, expected level of postoperative pain, and time waiting for pain medication after a request was made were not significantly correlated with ratings of postoperative pain or satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS These results highlight the important influence of adequate treatment of postoperative pain and perceived concern by the hospital staff on patient satisfaction.
Double-Liposome – Based Dual-Drug Delivery System as Vectors for Effective Management of Peptic Ulcer

The aim of the present investigation was to prepare and evaluate a vesicular dual-drug delivery system for effective management of the mucosal ulcer. Inner encapsulating and double liposomes were prepared by the glass-bead and reverse-phase evaporation methods, respectively. The formulation consisted of inner liposomes bearing ranitidine bismuth citrate (RBC) and outer liposomes encapsulating amoxicillin trihydrate (AMOX). The optimized inner liposomes and double liposomes were extensively characterized for vesicle size, morphology, zeta potential, vesicles count, entrapment efficiency, and in vitro drug release. In vitro, the double liposomes demonstrated a sustained release of AMOX and RBC of 93.6 ± 1.9 and 84.1 ± 0.9%, respectively, at the end of 144 hours. Ex vivo studies were conducted on Helicobacter pylori (ATCC26695) bacterial cell lines. Double liposomes showed a more enhanced percent H. pylori growth inhibition than the plain drug combination. Further, in vivo studies illustrated enhanced antisecretory and ulcer-protective activity of double liposomes, as compared to the plain drug combination. Microscopic studies also supported the ulcer-protective action of the formulation. Thus, it may be concluded that double liposomes are instrumental in reducing gastric secretions and targeting ulcer sites with the interception of minimal side effects, thus suggesting their potential in ulcer therapy.
Imperfect Knowledge of Pension Plan Type

This paper investigates the reasons for discrepancies between the pension plan type reported by respondents to the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and pension plan type obtained from documents produced by their employers, called Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs). The analysis suggests the discrepancies are sizable and are mainly due to misreports by respondents. Discrepancies between respondent and firm reports of plan type are first documented for different years and from different data sources. Changes over time in respondent and firm reports are analyzed for those who say their plans did not change. Plan type from payroll data produced by Watson Wyatt, a pension consulting company, is examined and compared to respondent reports for employees covered by Watson Wyatt plans. The Watson Wyatt payroll data report plan type without error, and yet we find the patterns of discrepancies between respondent and firm provided data are the same as for the HRS employer and respondent data. We also explore other evidence gathered by the HRS in the course of interviews and various experiments. Our findings that errors are mainly the result of misreporting by respondents, together with findings from experiments, suggest a number of changes in survey design that can help to reduce reporting error. They also suggest that models of retirement and saving behavior should allow for imperfect knowledge by decision makers.
MicroRNA-143 and -155 Levels as Biomarkers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection

1 Internal Medicine Department, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt. 2 Hepatology Department, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt. 3 Clinical Pathology Department, El Sahel Teaching Hospital, Egypt. 4 MedicalBiochemistry Department, Beni-Suef Faculty of Medicine, Egypt. 5 Clinical pathology Department, Damanhur National Medical Institute, Egypt. 6 Radiology Department, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt.