Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trade and R&D policy in a product-quality model of intra-industry trade: Theory and evidence from Bangladesh

We investigate how domestic R&D policy and trade policy by the trading partner affect R&D in quality enhancement by the domestic firm in a model of intra-industry trade. We find that the relationship between the trading cost of the high quality good and R&D is nonlinear. A small cost will deter R&D but, as the size of the cost gets bigger, the relationship changes sign. The size of an R&D subsidy depends on the market share of the firms. We test some of our theoretical predictions using firm-level data for Bangladesh from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS), and find strong support.
Protection tissulaire dans l'arrêt circulatoire : du massage cardiaque à la protection pharmacologique. Approche clinique et expérimentale

Malgre de tres nombreuses etudes experimentales et cliniques dans le domaine de l'arret circulatoire, seulement 2% a 12% des patients quittent l'hopital avec une bonne recuperation neurologique. Il est donc necessaire de proposer de nouvelles therapeutiques pour tenter d'augmenter la survie apres un arret circulatoire. Pour atteindre ce but il semble indispensable d'ameliorer la qualite du massage cardiaque durant la reanimation et de proteger le myocarde et le cerveau contre les phenomenes d'ischemie-reperfusion. Dans la premiere partie de ce travail, nous avons evalues dans une etude pre hospitaliere l'utilisation d'un dispositif innovant de massage cardiaque interne par minithoracotomie et montre une amelioration de l'hemodynamique en comparaison avec le massage cardiaque standard. Dans la deuxieme partie, nous avons testes les possibles effets protecteurs de l'EPO (erythropoietine) dans deux types d'arret circulatoire. Dans un modele d'arret cardiaque experimental chez le rat nous avons demontre que lorsque l'EPO etait injectee avant l'arret cardiaque, la reanimation initiale etait amelioree et la survie des animaux augmentee ce qui pouvaient suggerer un effet cardio et/ou neuroprotecteur de l'EPO contre les effets deleteres de l'ischemie reperfusion. Dans une etude clinique en chirurgie cardiaque sous circulation extra corporelle, nous n'avons pas pu demontre d'effet benefique de l'EPO ni sur l'ischemie myocardique, ni sur l'ischemie cerebrale ni sur les parametres de l'inflammation. Sur la base de ces deux etudes, il est donc difficile de conclure sur le potentiel role benefique de l'EPO dans l'arret circulatoire. Neanmoins, sur la seule base des resultats experimentaux, l'EPO pourrait faire partie de l'arsenal therapeutique pour mieux proteger le myocarde et le cerveau contre les effets deleteres de l'ischemie reperfusion apres un arret cardiaque.
Does Humor in Radio Advertising Affect Recognition of Novel Product Brand Names?

Abstract The authors proposed that item selection during shopping is based on brand name recognition rather than recall. College students rated advertisements and news stories of a simulated radio program for level of amusement (orienting activity) before participating in a surprise recognition test. Humor level of the advertisements was varied systematically, and content was controlled. According to signal detection analysis, humor did not affect the strength of recognition memory for brand names (nonsense units). However, brand names and product types were significantly more likely to be associated when appearing in humorous advertisements than in nonhumorous advertisements. The results are compared with prior findings concerning humor and recall.
A discussion of anti-islanding protection schemes incorporated in a inverter based DG

The discussion in this paper is about the local anti-islanding protection techniques that are incorporated in a inverter based DG. The most widely used passive and active techniques along with their suitability to reduce the Non-detection zone (NDZ) are explained here. The most recent work using wavelet transform which actually reduces the NDZ to zero is also introduced in the last section of the paper.
The Dilemma of Repeated Purchase of Environmentally Friendly Products and Its Solution Mechanism

Current research on green consumption focused on improving the short-term performance of the first purchase, lack of research on the repurchase of environmentally friendly products. This research is from the perspective of psychological connectedness, to explore the relationship between the motivation and the long-term performance of environmentally friendly products, to uncovered a clearer black box mechanism of consumer repurchase of environmentally friendly products.
Modeling TCP/IP network traffic for intrusion detection by genetic evolution

The detection of intrusions over computer networks (i.e., network access by non-authorized users) can be cast to the task of detecting anomalous patterns of network traffic. Learning systems based on Genetic Algorithms can contribute powerful search techniques for the acquisition of patterns of the network traffic from the large amount of data made available by audit tools.
It's the Seizures, S#%&*D! the Tragedy of Recurring Seizures in Adults

Commentary The report from Perucca et al. confirms the reality of what we face in the office each day: any seizure occurrence is a major risk for our adult patients. The risk is not the inconvenience of losing 15 to 30 minutes of normal functioning, but is the subtle cumulative risk of a severe social setback such as loss of employment or divorce, and the immediate, impending physical risk of injury, hospitalization, and death. In this study, the authors reviewed the course of a group of carefully selected, high-functioning adults who initiated epilepsy treatment at the Columbia Presbyterian Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. The cohort was divided into two groups: the “controls” (n = 30), those who were seizurefree after the first appropriate antiepileptic drug (AED); and the “cases” (n = 33), those who were not seizure-free. The occurrence of major adverse health outcomes per year for 5 consecutive years after starting treatment was compared between the two groups. Patients were identified through chart review, and then were contacted to participate in the study, which included completing a structured interview and questionnaires. The major adverse health outcomes were loss of driving privileges, unemployment, divorce or separation, injury, emergency room admission, hospitalization, and death. The source of how these events were determined to be major adverse health outcomes is not cited, and they appear to have been derived by the authors. They seem appropriate, however, and interestingly encompass several severe psychosocial stressors. Notably, the groups were well matched, with 80 to 90 percent of subjects in each group driving and employed at the time of AED initiation; not so after 5 years, especially for the “case” group. (There was no assessment of how many seizures likely occurred before AED treatment in each group. However, if there were more seizures prior to treatment in the “case” group, it would probably not change the eventual implications of this paper, since, to quote Kwan and Brodie: “Patients who have many seizures before therapy or who have an inadequate response to initial treatment with antiepileptic drugs are likely to have refractory epilepsy” [1].) The major epilepsy comorbidities put forth as having as much or more adverse impact on quality of life than seizure It’s the Seizures, S#%&*D! The Tragedy of Recurring Seizures in Adults
A multiwavelength analysis of the clumpy FIR-bright sources in M33

We present a multiwavelength study of a sample of far-infrared (FIR) sources detected on the Herschel broad-band maps of the nearby galaxy M33. We perform source photometry on the FIR maps as well as mid-infrared (MIR), Halpha, far-ultraviolet and integrated H I and CO line emission maps. By fitting MIR/FIR dust emission spectra, the source dust masses, temperatures and luminosities are inferred. The sources are classified based on their Halpha morphology (sub-structured versus not-substructured) and on whether they have a significant CO detection (S/N > 3sigma). We find that the sources have dust masses in the range 102-104 Ms and that they present significant differences in their inferred dust/star formation/gas parameters depending on their Halpha morphology and CO detection classification. The results suggests differences in the evolutionary states or in the number of embedded H II regions between the sub-samples. The source background-subtracted dust emission seems to be predominantly powered by local star formation, as indicated by a strong correlation between the dust luminosity and the dust-corrected Halpha luminosity and the fact that the extrapolated young stellar luminosity is high enough to account for the observed dust emission. Finally, we do not find a strong correlation between the dust-corrected Halpha luminosity and the dust mass of the sources, consistent with previous results on the breakdown of simple scaling relations at sub-kpc scales. However, the scatter in the relation is significantly reduced by correcting the Halpha luminosity for the age of the young stellar populations in the star-forming regions.
Wound‐healing effect of electrospun gelatin nanofibres containing Centella asiatica extract in a rat model

Centella asiatica (CA) is a traditional herbal medicine that has been shown to exert pharmacological effects on wound healing. This study demonstrated that CA extract facilitates the wound‐repair process by promoting fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis and exhibits antibacterial activity. Gelatin nanofibres containing C. asiatica extract were fabricated via electrospinning and were shown to exhibit dermal wound‐healing activity in a rat model. The wound areas of rat skin treated with electrospun gelatin membranes containing C. asiatica (EGC) presented the highest recovery rate compared with those treated with gauze, neat gelatin membranes and commercial wound dressings. The results of the histopathological examination support the outcome of the wound models. Contact‐angle and water‐retention measurements confirmed that the addition of C. asiatica extract did not significantly affect the hydrophilicity of the EGC membranes. The measured weight loss revealed that the EGC membranes are biodegradable. The findings suggest that EGC membranes are a promising material for the treatment of skin wounds. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effectiveness of personally tailored computer-generated advice letters for smoking cessation.

AIM To assess the effectiveness of a new computer-generated tailored advice programme designed to be used by smokers and recent quitters having problems staying stopped. DESIGN Randomized trial comparing a series of questionnaire assessments leading to tailored computer-generated advice letters mailed at strategically relevant times, to a no extra treatment control sent standardized printed self-help materials. SETTING Victoria, Australia. PARTICIPANTS A total of 1058 smokers or recent quitters recruited from callers to the Quitline. MEASUREMENTS Smoking status and sustained abstinence at 12-month follow-up, plus extent of participation in the intervention. FINDINGS Using a conservative analysis (missing data coded as a treatment failure), 6-month sustained abstinence was reported by significantly more participants in the computer-generated tailored advice (20%) than the standard printed materials condition (12%) at 12-month follow-up OR 1.82 (1.31-2.55)). Group differences in point prevalence abstinence (28% intervention, 25% control) were not significant. Among participants in the tailored advice condition, 6-month sustained abstinence was associated with the number of advice letters received. CONCLUSION The provision of a series of tailored, computer-generated advice letters resulted in greater rates of sustained cessation than for controls. A dose-response relationship was found, with increased compliance with the intervention associated with improved cessation outcomes. The programme appears to have much of its effect by preventing relapse.
The Role of Concomitant Radiation Boost in Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM This study analyzed the impact of concomitant boost on long-term clinical outcomes in locally advanced rectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 141 patients (median age=61 years) were treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Median total dose was 50.4 Gy. Forty-three patients received a concomitant boost. Concurrent chemotherapy consisted of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), given as a 24-h continuous infusion. Mean follow-up was 83.7 months. RESULTS The 3, 5-, and 10-year overall survival (OS) rates were 91.9%, 84.6%, and 52.9%, respectively. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates at 3, 5, and 10 years were 91.4%, 88.9%, and 79.3%, respectively. Metastasis-free survival (MFS) rates at 3, 5, and 10 years were 84.6%, 75.4%, and 49.9%, respectively. Overall, 9.9% of all patients achieved pathological complete response. Down-staging of T- or N-stage was achieved in 55.1% and 41.5% of patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that female sex (p=0.011), concomitant boost-radiotherapy (p=0.014), and the presence of fewer than five positive lymph nodes (p<0.001) were positive predictors of OS. Fewer than five positive lymph nodes was also a positive predictor for RFS (p=0.019). Female gender (p=0.018) and fewer than five positive lymph nodes (p<0.001) were significant predictors for MFS. CONCLUSION Our data support the efficacy of preoperative treatment for rectal cancer in terms of local outcomes. Intensified radiotherapy using a concomitant boost has a positive effect on OS.
Human factors in studies of the safety and reliability of agro-equipment

Abstract This paper aims to show the importance of taking into account human factors in risk analysis. Safety analysis methods identify system failures and dangers, thus allowing risk to be analyzed. However, although erroneous human behaviour can affect the Human-Machine System, studies using safety analysis usually do not explicitly take the human factors into account. In fact, human operators constitute an important element for system safety since they simultaneously represents a system user and a system component. They manage and recuperate degraded system states, especially during unforeseen and/or unknown events. It is thus important to integrate human factors into safety analysis. This observation led to the development of human behaviour models and human reliability analysis methods. This paper presents the relevance of human reliability analysis methods for dealing with problems in the domain of agriculture and examines whether or not these methods can be applied to this domain.
Locomoción bípeda del robot humanoide Nao

La locomocion bipeda de robots humanoides, es decir, aquellos que tienen morfologia humana y las articulaciones necesarias para realizar movimientos parecidos a los humanos, es un desafio para el desarrollo tecnologico. Esta faceta de la ingenier ia agrupa muchas ramas reunidas para un mismo objetivo: mecanica, automatica, electronica, informatica, biologia. Este proyecto de investigacion se propone como objetivo principal desarrollar un algoritmo de control para conseguir que el robot humanoide Nao camine, mejorando su algoritmo propio. Ademas, se crearia una interfaz grafica de usuario para el control de Nao y las funciones que se desarrollen. Como fuente de inspiracion y para ver el estado del arte se haria un analisis de otros algoritmos de locomocion existentes en robots, tales como: Generacion de trayectorias imponiendo estabilidad. Aprovechamiento de dinamicas internas. Maquinas de estados. La propia locomocion humana. El algoritmo propio que se desarrollara, Sammy's Walk, aprovecharaa las oscilaciones propias del sistema para generar la locomocion y asi tener una dinamica de locomocion mas e ficiente. Esto conllevaria hacer estudios de frecuencias de oscilacion del robot y atractores en el espacio de fases. Este planteamiento, distante de la mayoriaa de algoritmos de locomocion basados en generaci on de trayectorias, es novedoso en su aplicacion para robots con muchos grados de libertad activos, y puede sentar una base para investigaciones futuras. El resultado de aprovechar estas dinamicas se traduciria en un ahorro energetico, y un estilo de marcha parecido al humano.
Hepatitis C and Depressive Symptoms: Psychological and Social Factors Matter More Than Liver Injury

Objective: Given that the hepatitis C virus (HCV) crosses the blood-brain barrier, biological factors are commonly blamed for the high rates of mood disturbance in HCV-infected patients. However, no study assessing the potential contribution of psychosocial factors to depression in HCV has yet been conducted. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 65 patients was undertaken to identify biological, psychological, and sociological contributions to depression. Biological, psychological, and sociological variables were tested for their association with depressive symptomatology as measured by the BDI-II. Separate analyses were conducted on health-related quality of life (HRQOL), as measured by the SF-36, in order to confirm findings in previous work. Results: Psychosocial variables assessed in the study, such as less social functioning, less religious faith, less ability to work, less salary, personal suicide attempt, worse reaction to diagnosis, and feeling “stressed out” were all associated with higher depression scores and lower HRQOL. Biological variables, including viral load, liver enzyme levels, INR, and stage of liver fibrosis on biopsy, were not associated with higher depression or lower HRQOL. Conclusions: The amount of disease as measured by laboratory abnormalities such as viral load, liver function tests, liver biopsy, and INR do not provide much useful information about a patient's depressive symptoms. Instead, these depressive symptoms are more influenced by psychological and social factors. Psychosocial support may therefore be beneficial to HCV patients.
Screening and assessment of nutritional status following stroke: results from a national survey of registered dietitians in Canada

Abstract Purpose: The objective of this study was to survey registered dietitians (RDs) at acute care hospitals across Canada to determine whether valid screening and assessment methods (i.e. those with formal evaluation of the psychometric and/or clinimetric properties of the tool) are used to identify protein-energy malnutrition following stroke. Methods: One hundred and twenty-five Canadian healthcare institutions admitting high volumes (≥100/year) of acute stroke patients were identified. RDs at these sites who provided services to patients recovering from acute stroke were contacted and invited to participate in an online survey. Results: Ninety-five RDs completed the survey. Sixty dietitians (63%) indicated that patients were screened routinely at their institution, which was conducted primarily by dietitians (n = 64, 67.3%). Ten respondents (10.5%) stated they used a screening tool with previously-established validity, while 32 (33.7%) indicated they used a validated assessment tool. Among dietitians using validated tools, 40% and 64% indicated that they used modified versions of the original screening and assessment tools. The most frequently cited tools used for both screening and assessment purposes were Subjective Global Assessment and Mini Nutritional Assessment. Conclusions: The results of this national survey suggest that screening and assessment of nutritional status following acute stroke is conducted using tools that have not been validated previously. Implications for Rehabilitation Although the use of valid screening and assessment tools is considered part of evidence-based practice, and recommendations for their adoption are included in several national stroke-specific clinical practice guidelines, the results from an online survey suggest that they are not used in clinical practice by RDs in Canada caring for patients following stroke. There are associated risks with the use of screening and assessment tools, which have not been formally validated. The true nutritional status of patients may not be initially identified correctly, and the response to subsequent nutritional interventions may not be assessed accurately or reliably. While the results of this survey were stroke-specific, we suggest that the results are likely generalizable to dietitians working in other patient areas.
The Zucker Diabetic Fatty ( ZDF ) Rat Diet Evaluation Study for the Induction of Type 2 Diabetes in Obese Female ZDF Rats

A mutation occurred in a colony of outbred Zucker rats in the laboratory of Dr. Walter Shaw at Eli Lilly Research Laboratories in Indianapolis, IN, in 1974-75. In 1977, part of this colony containing the mutation was moved to the laboratory of Dr. Julia Clark at Indiana University Medical School (IUMS). Several groups of animals with diabetic lineage were identified and rederived in 1981. Inbreeding of selected pairs from this rederivation was performed in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Peterson at IUMS. An inbred line of the Zucker Diabetic Fatty (ZDF) rat was established by Dr. Peterson in 1985. This colony was transferred to Genetic Models, Inc., in 1991 and then to Charles River in 2001.
Detecção e extracção de características do olho em imagens usando um modelo protótipo deformável

Neste artigo, e apresentada uma metodologia que usa um modelo prototipo deformavel adequado para detectar e extrair caracteristicas do olho humano em imagens de faces.O modelo prototipo usado e constituido por dois elementos geometricos distintos: o primeiro, baseado numa circunferencia, que representa a iris do olho; e o segundo, baseado em duas parabolas, uma concava e outra convexa, que representa o contorno exterior do mesmo. Os parâmetros associados a cada um dos elementos geometricos considerados, uma vez actualizados, permitem obter uma estrutura geometrica dita dinâmica, dada a possibilidade de alterar a sua posicao, mudar de escala e orientacao; isto e, deformar-se rigidamente.Assim, a deteccao do olho, e a consequente extraccao das respectivas caracteristicas, e implementada emparelhando o modelo numa imagem em estudo, atraves de um processo dinâmico e interactivo, permitindo assim actualizar os seus parâmetros. Este processo e controlado por um algoritmo de optimizacao, que deve convergir sempre que o custo energetico inerente a deformacao do modelo e minimo. A conducao de todo o processo de emparelhamento e realizada com base na informacao obtida de campos de energia, extraidos previamente da imagem em estudo, que salientam algumas das caracteristicas mais importantes do olho.Neste artigo, realiza-se a apresentacao da metodologia adoptada, apresenta-se alguns resultados experimentais que ilustram a sua funcionalidade, e finalmente enumera-se algumas conclusoes e perspectivas de trabalho futuro.