Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epstein – Barr Virus Antibody Titres in Head and Neck Cancer

: The study compares Epstein – Barr virus (EBV) antibody titres between head and neck cancer (HNC) cancer patients and healthy control persons. It also investigates the virus antibody titre among some HNC clinic-histopathologic factors. Sera samples were obtained from 100 HNC patients and 82 healthy controls. The samples were analysed and screened for IgG and IgA antibody against EBV VCA and EA using ELISA. The results showed that the EBV antibody levels were significantly higher in patients than controls except for IgA-VCA (P=0.380). The cancer type was significantly associated with EBV IgG-EA and IgA-EA, both had the highest titre in NPC. The oral cavity cancer (for IgG-EA) and salivary gland (for IgA-EA) cancer also had high antibody levels within the same titre range as NPC. Only IgA-EA was significantly associated with undifferentiated grade (p=0.006) and lymphoepithelioma histologic type of HNC (p=0.006). These factors were only attributed to 19 out of the 24 NPC in the study. The clinical stage of the HNC was not associated with the EBV antibody levels. Based on the results obtained, HNC patients harbour higher EBV antibody titres than control and there is possible involvement of EBV in the progression of these NPC, Oral cavity and salivary gland carcinogenesis. A further experiment on tissue samples is recommended to investigate the role of
Simple truths from medical students: Perspectives on the quality of clinical learning environments

Background: The opportunity for students to learn whilst in a clinical placement is a central component of undergraduate medical education and an educationally conducive clinical environment is essential if the student is to optimise learning opportunities. Aim: This study, which was conducted by medical students, and amongst medical students aims to investigate the key conditions that students most value when placed in clinical settings. Methods: A qualitative approach was adopted in which a series of focus group discussions were conducted by senior medical students trained in the facilitation of focus group moderation. In total, 30 students contributed to four separate focus groups. Results: Whilst students identified some factors which were similar to previous studies, other factors considered important to learning in the clinical setting surfaced. Namely, the need for students to be self-motivated and the valuable contribution that other medical students can make to the learning of their peers. Conclusions: Our findings concur with other similar studies. However, our findings were generated by medical students and not subject to influence by university teachers during the data collection and analysis. This not only serves to reinforce previous studies but also supports the use of peer data collection from medical students.
Neuropathy-Associated Egr2 Mutants Disrupt Cooperative Activation of Myelin Protein Zero by Egr2 and Sox10

ABSTRACT Dominant mutations in the early growth response 2 (Egr2/Krox20) transactivator, a critical regulator of peripheral myelin development, have been associated with peripheral myelinopathies. These dominant mutants interfere with the expression of genes required for myelination by Schwann cells, including that for the most abundant peripheral myelin protein, Myelin protein zero (Mpz). In this study, we show that Egr2 mutants specifically affect an Egr2-responsive element within the Mpz first intron that also contains binding sites for the transcription factor Sox10. Furthermore, Egr2 activation through this element is impaired by mutation of the Sox10 binding sites. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, we found that Egr2 and Sox10 bind to this element in myelinating sciatic nerve and that a dominant Egr2 mutant does not perturb Egr2 binding but rather attenuates binding of Sox10 to the Mpz intron element. Sox10 binding at other sites of Egr2/Sox10 synergy, including a novel site in the Myelin-associated glycoprotein (Mag) gene, is also reduced by the dominant Egr2 mutant. These results provide the first demonstration of binding of Egr2/Sox10 to adjacent sites in vivo and also demonstrate that neuropathy-associated Egr2 mutants antagonize binding of Sox10 at specific sites, thereby disrupting genetic control of the myelination program.
Multiple criteria decision making in distribution utility investment planning

The optimisation of capital expenditure is an important consideration for an electricity distribution utility if it is to remain competitive in an ever demanding market. In order that capital expenditure can be optimised it is important that the utility has some means of identifying and implementing the most efficient investment options. This paper proposes the novel use of multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) methods to assist with the decision making process for utility problems involving multiple investment programmes. A case study is performed showing how one MCDM method can be used for a typical utility investment problem. In addition, the uncertainty associated with each investment strategy is included in the investment optimisation.
Benthic Filter Feeding: A Natural Eutrophication Control

The importance of the benthic filter feeding community as a natural control on eutrophication is considered. The important environmental factors favorable for such a control are relatively shallow water depths and a dense benthic filter feeding commmunity of small animals. The criteria are summarized in the equivalence of the water recycling time, t, for the benthic community and the time constant, tp, for phytoplankton growth. The criteria are applied specifically to the conditions that exist in South San Francisco bay.
Diagnostics and Therapeutic Insights in a Severe Case of Mevalonate Kinase Deficiency

Mevalonate kinase deficiency is a rare inborn disorder of isoprenoid and sterol biosynthesis characterized by a recurrent autoinflammatory syndrome and, in most severe cases, psychomotor delay. Clinical manifestations can be very complex and, in some cases, mimic a chronic inflammatory disease. Diagnosis is also complex and often requires immunologic, genetic, and biochemical investigations. There is no standardized therapy, but biological agents could help to control inflammatory complaints in some cases. A severe case of mevalonate kinase deficiency that was associated with nephritis and successfully treated with anakinra (interleukin 1 receptor antagonist) is reported here, and new insights into diagnosis and therapy of this complex disorder are discussed.
French Group Goodwill from 1992 to 2002 (Goodwill Des Groupes Francais De 1992 a 2002)

During the last years, the goodwill of the non financial companies has increased before to move back. The efficiency of financial market has been contested because of the gap between the increase of the goodwill and the lack of value for shareholders. At the same time, the international insolvency rules produces many questions about the sustainability of growth and the ability of companies to create value.
Journal of Problem Solving Human-Machine Cooperation in Large-Scale Multimedia Retrieval: A Survey

Large-Scale Multimedia Retrieval (LSMR) is the task to fast analyze a large amount of multi-media data like images or videos and accurately find the ones relevant to a certain semantic meaning. Although LSMR has been investigated for more than two decades in the fields of multimedia processing and computer vision, a more interdisciplinary approach is necessary to develop an LSMR system that is really meaningful for humans. To this end, this paper aims to stimulate attention to the LSMR problem from diverse research fields. By explaining basic terminologies in LSMR, we first survey several representative methods in chronological order. This reveals that due to prioritizing the generality and scalability for large-scale data, recent methods interpret semantic meanings with a completely different mechanism from humans, though such humanlike mechanisms were used in classical heuristic-based meth-ods. Based on this, we discuss human-machine cooperation , which incorporates knowledge about human interpretation into LSMR without sacrificing the generality and scalability. In particular, we present three approaches to human-machine cooperation ( cognitive , ontological , and adaptive ), which are attributed to cognitive science, ontology engineering, and metacognition, respectively. We hope that this paper will create a bridge to enable researchers in different fields to communicate about the LSMR problem and lead to a ground-breaking next generation of LSMR systems.
The Effect Of Dimension Companies On The Level Of Debt: A Study Of The Fishing Industry In Spain

The present concern that exists in the economy on account of the high level of debt facing non-financial companies in Spain also exists in the fish and seafood processing industry, particularly to the extent that it might affect the fisheries sector as a whole. Given that Spain has generated an important processing sector and has become the main producer of canned fish and seafood in the EU, it is undoubtedly a pertinent case of reference to analyse this problem. Along these lines, this study specifically looks at the economic structure and financial viability of the canning industry in Spain’s largest area of production (Galicia), analysing the possible interrelationships that may exist between debt levels and the business structure in this sector of the economy. Furthermore, the study is carried out in a scenario of increased demand and of risks associated with international competition, which makes the implementation of competitive strategies to guarantee the future of this activity recommendable. The results obtained show the existence of a close relationship between the size of the companies and the debt level.
Change management practice:The case of Nyati and Elimu savings and credit co-operative societies

VIII CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION I 1.1 Background 1 1.1.1 Evolution o f Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies 1 1.1.2 Nyati Savings and Credit Co-operative Society 4 1.1.3 Elimu Savings and Credit Society 5 1.2 Statement of the Research Problem 6 1.3 Objectives of the s tu d y 8 1.4 Importance of the Study 8 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 9 2.1 Concept of Change M anagem ent 9 2.2 Strategic Change l'i 2.3 Approaches to Organizational Change 13 2.3.1 Planned vs. Emergent Change 13 2.3.2 Episodic versus continuous change 15 2.4 Models of C hange 16 2.5 Organizational Perform ance 17 2.6 Change management and Organizational Perform ance 18 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 19 3.1 Research Design 19 3.2 Data Collection 19 3.3 Data Analysis 19 CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS 21 4.1 In troduction 21 4.2 Society Demographics 21 4.3 Change Management 22 4.4 Resistance to Change 24 CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 26 5.1 In troduction 26 5.2 Sum m ary and Conclusions 26 5.3 Recommendations 28 5.4 Areas for Further Research 28 REFERENCES 30 APPENDICES 35 Appendix 1: Interview G uide 35 Appendix 2: Letter of introduction 36
Biological Markers of Stress in Pregnancy: Associations with Chronic Placental Inflammation at Delivery

Abstract Objective To estimate the association between biomarkers of chronic stress during pregnancy and chronic placental inflammation. Study Design African-American and Caucasian pregnant women were recruited between May 2008 and July 2009. Blood samples were collected between 14 and 226/7 weeks and between 28 and 326/7 weeks of gestation. Samples were analyzed for serum C-reactive protein (CRP), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibody, corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). Placentas were collected at delivery and evaluated for chronic inflammation. Results Placentas were available from 88 of the 112 women enrolled in the study. EBV antibody levels were significantly higher during both the second and third trimester in women whose placentas demonstrated chronic villitis. CRP values also were significantly higher during the third trimester when chronic villitis was present. No association between placental chronic inflammation and CRH or ACTH was found. Conclusion Chronic placental inflammation is associated with elevated serum EBV antibody and CRP levels during pregnancy.
Muscle forces during locomotion in kangaroo rats: force platform and tendon buckle measurements compared.

The muscle forces and stresses occurring during normal locomotor activity in kangaroo rats are compared with the peak isometric force developed by the same muscles in situ. Two methods were used simultaneously to determine the stresses (force/cross-sectional area) acting in the ankle extensors during steady-speed hopping and during jumps when animals were startled: a direct measurement using a force buckle surgically implanted around a tendon; and an indirect measurement using a force platform/ciné analysis technique. We obtained essentially the same values with the two techniques. We found that at slow speeds (0.7 m s-1) the ankle extensor muscles of kangaroo rats exerted 20% of the maximum isometric force developed when the muscles were stimulated via the tibial nerve. This increased to 53% at higher speeds (1.9 m s-1). At the animals's preferred hopping speed (1.5 m s-1), peak force was approximately 40% of maximum isometric force. In jumps when animals were startled, peak forces as high as 175% of the maximal elicited isometric force were recorded. These high forces always occurred when the muscles were being stretched. It appears that kangaroo rats utilize nearly the entire range of muscle force possible during normal locomotor events (i.e. up to 175% of maximum isometric force when muscles are stretched).
Small and Medium Size Enterprises’ Outsourcing Factors and Firm Level Benefits: Case of Outsourcing Manufacturing Firms in Bangladesh

The purpose of this study was to identify and understand the process and factors which influence the outsourcing decision in context of manufacturing firm in a developing country like Bangladesh. The data was collected through questionnaires from the manufacturing firms in Bangladesh. The findings revealed that the factors of outsourcing identified for the study had significant effect on outsourcing decision except reducing operating cost. The recommendations are also offered more in-depth guidelines for maximizing the benefits of outsourcing.
Customer Oriented Product Development? An exploratory study of four Swedish SME's

The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of customer orientation in a small sample of Swedish SME's. In-depth interviews were carried out with product developers in four companies from three different product areas. The questions posed concerned the company's overall strategy, ways of managing the external dialogue (i.e. the dialogue between the company and the customer), and ways of managing the internal dialogue (i.e. the dialogue between the product development team members, and between the product development team and the company). The study indicates some ambiguities regarding key issues in customer orientation. All companies claimed to be customer-oriented, however, the meanings of the concept varied slightly – between ‘offering the customer what the customer wants’ to ‘understanding and solving customer problems’. The study also showed that the companies had difficulties defining their customer. While customer-orientation in general seems to imply a consumer-orientation, the customer can also be the middleman or the distributor. The latter was the case in three of the four companies and had clear implications on overall strategy. Also, the direct dialogue between the manufacturer and the end customers, i.e. consumers was rather limited, even though such a dialogue was considered and needed.
Two channels in the cerebellothalamocortical system

Two channels of the cerebellothalamocortical system were investigated in cats by using cerebellar‐evoked synaptic responses and cortical‐evoked antidromic invasion of single thalamic cells. One channel arises in interpositus and dentate cerebellar nuclei and mainly projects through ventroanterior‐ventrolateral (VA‐VL) thalamic nuclei to cortical motor areas 4 and 6; the other channel arises in cerebellar fastigial nuclei and projects through ventromedial (VM) thalamic nuclei to more widespread cortical areas. The antidromic response latencies of VM neurons to stimuli applied to cortical areas 4 and 6 were longer (medians 2.8 and 3.0 msec, respectively) than the antidromic response latencies of VA‐VL neurons to stimulation of the same cortical areas (1.8 and 2.3 msec). This was a statistically significant difference, and it matched the longer latencies of fastigial‐evoked synaptic responses of VM cells (2.9 msec) compared to the response latencies of VA‐VL cells elicited by stimulation of interpositus or dentate nuclei (1.7 and 2.4 msec).
Investigation of American Association of Physicists in Medicine Report 204 size-specific dose estimates for pediatric CT implementation.

PURPOSE To compare five methodologies the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Report 204 used to calculate size-specific dose estimates (SSDEs) for pediatric computed tomography (CT). MATERIALS AND METHODS The institutional review board waived consent for this HIPAA-compliant retrospective study. The five SSDE methodologies were investigated for calculation variation based on volumetric CT dose index (CTDI), or CTDI(vol), of chest, abdominal, and pelvic CT. SSDE calculations were derived from a predominantly pediatric population of 186 patients retrospectively and consecutively analyzed from June through November 2011. Eighty (43%) of the 186 patients were female, and 106 (57%) were male. Mean patient age was 8.6 years ± 6.3 (standard deviation), the age range was 1 month to 28 years, and mean weight was 37.7 kg ± 33.1, with a range of 3.4-146.6 kg. SSDE conversion factors were derived from anteroposterior (AP) and lateral dimensions measured on the patient's CT radiograph. The measurements were either used independently, or as a summation, or to calculate the patient's effective diameter; additionally, SSDE was derived on the basis of the patient's age (International Commission on Radiation Units Report 74 data). SSDE conversion factors were applied to CTDI(vol) data that corrected for both 16- and 32-cm-diameter CTDI phantom measurements. SSDE data were summarized by using the patient's originally prescribed weight-based CT scanning protocols. Data were summarized by using descriptive statistics. RESULTS SSDEs derived from individual measurements varied 2%-12%. The combination of measurements (sum or effective diameter) varied 0.9%-2%. The age approach varied by an average of 2% (in the younger population [0-13 years]), but up to 44%, with an average of 18% (in the older population [14-18 years]). No SSDE correction was required for patients of varying size who weighed 36 kg or less when CTDI(vol) was measured by using a 16-cm CTDI phantom or for patients weighing 100-140 kg when CTDI(vol) was measured by using a 32-cm phantom. CTDI(vol) measured by using a 32-cm phantom in patients weighing between 36 and 100 kg and patients weighing more than 140 kg differed from SSDE by an average of 35%. An average difference of 1% was found between male and female SSDE-corrected values when the two sexes were compared within the same CT weight scanning categories. CONCLUSION The combination of AP and lateral measurements should be used to determine SSDE correction factors when possible. For pediatric patients, CTDI(vol) calculated with a 32-cm phantom requires SSDE conversion to more accurately estimate patient dose; CTDI(vol) calculated with a 16-cm phantom for pediatric patients weighing 36 kg or less does not require SSDE conversion.
ITALIAN PUBLIC GUARANTEES TO SME: THE IMPACT ON REGIONAL GROWTH

The paper evaluates the effects of the Central Guarantee Fund on the economic growth of the Italian provinces. There are few works in literature showing a moderate positive effect of CGF on subsidized firms. In this paper the evaluation question is different, and concerns the overall effect of CGF on a regional economy: does the CGF actually support territorial development, taking into account crowding out and spillover effects between treated and not treated firms? We evaluate if an increase of guarantees, issued by the CGF, has been associated with employment or businesses growth in the area. The challenge of the empirical analysis is to capture macro effects of CGF, when its intervention covered on average only 3% of companies and 0.5% of funding at the provincial level. Using different models based on a “long” DID approach, the results suggest that there is a positive and statistically significant, albeit modest, correlation between the use of CGF and the growth of the provincial economies, controlling for sectoral differences, dimensional characteristics and several interactions. These results are robust to different assumptions, estimation strategies and variables used. Our findings therefore indicate that the intervention has mitigated the negative regional effects of the recent economic crisis in Italy.
Role of Lymphokine and Antigen in the Control of Specific T Cell Responses

Our interest in the process of T cell activation derives from a more general concern with the mechanism of the allograft reaction. In this review we will show how the study of allogeneic interactions led to the development of a two-signal model for T cell activation, in which both antigen and a hormone-like molecule produced by lymphoreticular cells (lymphokine) are seen to play an equally important role in the process of T cell activation. We will then go on to consider experimental evidence that supports the model, and to examine cellular requirements for the production and release of lymphokine from lymphoreticular cells.
Effects of Undesired Online Video Advertising Choice on User Behavior and Attitude

Although online video advertising is currently a pervasive medium, its effectiveness is still in great doubt. This study examines the effects of undesired choice on user behavior and attitude in the context of online video advertising. We propose that offering people a choice of video advertisements will motivate them into paying more attention to the chosen advertisement, which in turn leads to better memory of the information contained in the advertisement. Additionally, the choosing behavior will encourage viewers to form a favorable attitude towards the chosen video advertisement and their purchase intention towards the advertised product will also be enhanced. We posit that differentiability of choice-set is able to moderate the choice effect. This work is one of the first to investigate the impact of making an undesired choice regarding video advertisements. It extends our understanding of the impact of choice and presents significant implications for both researchers and practitioners.
Agent Orange and Cancer: An Overview for Clinicians

Approximately 3 million Americans served in the armed forces in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Some of them (as well as some Vietnamese combatants and civilians, and members of the armed forces of other nations) were exposed to defoliant mixtures, including Agent Orange. Evidence suggests some lasting health effects from these exposures, including certain cancers. This article reviews the evidence on cancer risk after Agent Orange exposure. Data sources include studies of Vietnam veterans, workers occupationally exposed to herbicides or dioxins (since dioxins contaminated the herbicide mixtures used in Vietnam), and Vietnamese populations. The article then reviews clinical issues that arise when caring for cancer patients who may have sustained Agent Orange exposure, or others concerned about such exposure to Agent Orange, such as available benefits programs and sources of information and counseling.