Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving Store Liquidation

Store liquidation is the time-constrained divestment of retail outlets through an in-store sale of inventory. The retail industry depends extensively on store liquidation, both to allow managers of going concerns to divest stores in efforts to enhance performance and as a means for investors to recover capital from failed ventures. Retailers sell billions of dollars of inventory annually during store liquidations. This paper introduces the store liquidation problem to the literature and presents a technique for optimizing key store liquidation decisions, including markdowns, inventory transfers, and the timing of store closings. We propose a heuristic for solving the store liquidation problem and evaluate the performance of this method. Through applications, we show that our approach could improve net recovery on cost (i.e., the profit obtained during a liquidation stated as a percentage of the cost value of liquidated inventory) by two to five percentage points in the cases we examined. Further, we discuss ways in which current practice in store liquidation differs from the decisions identified by our method, and we trace the consequences of these differences.
Sensitivity of Simulated Supercell Thunderstorms to Horizontal Grid Resolution

The effects of horizontal grid spacing on idealized supercell simulations are investigated. Motivation for the study largely stems from the NOAA Warn-on-Forecast program, which envisions a paradigm shift from “warn-on-detection”, where convective hazard warning decisions are primarily based on current observations, to a new paradigm where storm-scale numerical weather models play a greater role in generating forecasts and warnings. Unlike most previous grid spacing sensitivity studies, we focus on impacts to operationally significant features of supercells. Using the WRF-ARW model, idealized supercell simulations are run for 2 hours using three different environments and horizontal grid spacings of 333 m and 1, 2, 3, and 4 km. Given that forecasts under the Warn-on-Forecast paradigm will be initialized after several radar data assimilation cycles, we initialize our coarser simulations with filtered versions of the 333m “truth” simulation valid at t = 30 min. To isolate differences in storm evolution arising from finer-scale processes being unrepresented in the coarser simulations, the latter are compared to appropriately filtered versions of the truth simulations. Results show that operationally significant errors in supercell evolution arise as the grid spacing is increased. Furthermore, the grid spacing sensitivity is strongly influenced by the environment. The 4 km grid spacing is too coarse to even qualitatively reproduce the supercell evolution, with the storm dying before the end of the simulation in one of the three environments. The improvement as grid spacing decreases from 2 to 1 km is greater than that from 3 to 2 km. Implications of this and other findings for Warn-on-Forecast are discussed. ______________________________________________
University of Zurich Zurich Open Repository and Archive I Feel How You Feel but Not Always: the Empathic Brain and Its I Feel How You Feel but Not Always: the Empathic Brain and Its Modulation

(2008). I feel how you feel but not always: the empathic brain and its modulation. Current I feel how you feel but not always: the empathic brain and its modulation Abstract The ability to share the other's feelings, known as empathy, has recently become the focus of social neuroscience studies. We review converging evidence that empathy with, for example, the pain of another person, activates part of the neural pain network of the empathizer, without first hand pain stimulation to the empathizer's body. The amplitude of empathic brain responses is modulated by the intensity of the displayed emotion, the appraisal of the situation, characteristics of the suffering person such as perceived fairness, and features of the empathizer such as gender or previous experience with pain-inflicting situations. Future studies in the field should address inter-individual differences in empathy, development and plasticity of the empathic brain over the life span and the link between empathy, compassionate motivation and prosocial behavior. Summary The ability to share the other's feelings, known as empathy, has recently become the focus of social neuroscience studies. We review converging evidence that empathy with, for example, the pain of another person, activates part of the neural pain network of the empathizer, without first hand pain stimulation to the empathizer's body. The amplitude of empathic brain responses is modulated by the intensity of the displayed emotion, the appraisal of the situation, characteristics of the suffering person such as perceived fairness, and features of the empathizer such as gender or previous experience with pain-inflicting situations. Future studies in the field should address inter-individual differences in empathy, development and plasticity of the empathic brain over the life span and the link between empathy, compassionate motivation and prosocial behavior.
Characteristics of Milk Fermented by Streptococcus thermophilus MGA45-4 and the Profiles of Associated Volatile Compounds during Fermentation and Storage

The lactic acid bacterium Streptococcus thermophilus is a major starter culture for the production of dairy products. In this study, the physiochemical characteristics of milk fermented by the MGA45-4 isolate of S. thermophilus were analyzed. Our data indicate that milk fermented using S. thermophilus MGA45-4 maintained a high viable cell count (8.86 log10 colony-forming units/mL), and a relatively high pH (4.4), viscosity (834.33 mPa·s), and water holding capacity (40.85%) during 14 days of storage. By analyzing the volatile compound profile using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, we identified 73 volatile compounds in the fermented milk product, including five carboxylic acids, 21 aldehydes, 13 ketones, 16 alcohols, five esters, and 13 aromatic carbohydrates. According to the odor activity values, 11 of these volatile compounds were found to play a key role in producing the characteristic flavor of fermented milk, particularly octanal, nonanal, hexanal, 2,3-butanedione, and 1-octen-3-ol, which had the highest odor activity values among all compounds analyzed. These findings thus provide more insights in the chemical/molecular characteristics of milk fermented using S. thermophilus, which may provide a basis for improving dairy product flavor/odor during the process of fermentation and storage.
Nitrate‐depleted conditions on the increase in shallow northern European lakes

We determined relative nitrate‐nitrogen (NO3‐N) loss rates in 100 north‐mid‐European lakes from late spring to summer by using the exponential function N2 = N1e−k(t2−t2), where N1 and N2 are NO3‐N concentrations at the beginning (t1) and the end (t2) of the time interval, respectively, and k is the specific NO3‐N loss rate. We found that k decreased with increasing lake depth. Adjusting k to the lake depth (kadj), we observed that kadj was positively related to spring NO3‐N concentrations, but this relationship became insignificant at mean lake depths exceeding 12.5 m. A relationship between kadj and spring NO3‐N concentrations in lakes shallower than 12.5 m implies that changes in spring NO3‐N concentrations influence the NO3‐N loss rate and thereby summer NO3‐N concentrations. Time series from one Estonian, one German, and 14 Swedish lakes shallower than 12.5 m since 1988 revealed that May to August NO3‐N concentrations have decreased over time everywhere, and the number of time periods exhibiting a NO3‐N depleted condition, i.e., NO3‐N levels below 10 mg L−1, in these lakes has tripled since 1988. We explained the decreasing NO3‐N concentrations by a reduction in external nitrogen loading including atmospheric deposition, and by changes in climate. The observed prolongation of NO3‐N depleted conditions might be one possible explanation for the increasing occurrence of nitrogen‐fixing cyanobacteria in a variety of lake ecosystems.
ExCITE Project: A Review of Forty-Two Months of Robotic Telepresence Technology Evolution

This article reports on the EU project ExCITE with specific focus on the technical development of the telepresence platform over a period of 42 months. The aim of the project was to assess the robustness and validity of the mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) system Giraff as a means to support elderly people and to foster their social interaction and participation. Embracing the idea of user-centered product refinement, the robot was tested over long periods of time in real homes. As such, the system development was driven by a strong involvement of elderly people and their caregivers but also by technical challenges associated with deploying the robot in real-world contexts. The results of the 42-months’ long evaluation is a system suitable for use in homes rather than a generic system suitable, for example, in office environments.
Role of melatonin in glucose uptake by cardiomyocytes from insulin-resistant Wistar rats

Summary Aim Melatonin supplementation reduces insulin resistance and protects the heart in obese rats. However, its role in myocardial glucose uptake remains unknown. This study investigated the effect of short-term melatonin treatment on glucose uptake by cardiomyocytes isolated from obese and insulin-resistant rats. Methods Cardiomyocytes were isolated from obese rats fed a high-calorie diet for 16 to 23 weeks, their age-matched controls, as well as young control rats aged four to eight weeks. After incubation with melatonin with or without insulin, glucose uptake was initiated by the addition of 2-deoxy-D-[3H] glucose and measured after 30 minutes. Additional control and obese rats received melatonin in the drinking water (4 mg/kg/day) for the last six weeks of feeding (20 weeks) and glucose uptake was determined in isolated cardiomyocytes after incubation with insulin. Intraperitoneal glucose tolerance and biometric parameters were also measured. Results Obese rats (fed for more than 20 weeks) developed glucose intolerance. Cardiomyocytes isolated from these obese rats had a reduced response to insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (ISGU) (p < 0.05). Melatonin administration in vitro had no effect on glucose uptake per se. However, it increased ISGU by cardiomyocytes from the young rats (p < 0.05), while having no effect on ISGU by cardiomyocytes from the older control and obese groups. Melatonin in vivo had no significant effect on glucose tolerance, but it increased basal (p < 0.05) and ISGU by cardiomyocytes from the obese rats (50.1 ± 1.7 vs 32.1 ± 5.1 pmol/mg protein/30 min, p < 0.01). Conclusion These data suggest that short-term melatonin treatment in vivo but not in vitro improved glucose uptake and insulin responsiveness of cardiomyocytes in obesity and insulin-resistance states.
Decreased Staphylococcus aureus and increased osteoblast density on nanostructured electrophoretic-deposited hydroxyapatite on titanium without the use of pharmaceuticals

Background Plasma-spray deposition of hydroxyapatite on titanium (Ti) has proven to be a suboptimal solution to improve orthopedic-implant success rates, as demonstrated by the increasing number of orthopedic revision surgeries due to infection, implant loosening, and a myriad of other reasons. This could be in part due to the high heat involved during plasma-spray deposition, which significantly increases hydroxyapatite crystal growth into the nonbiologically inspired micron regime. There has been a push to create nanotopographies on implant surfaces to mimic the physiological nanostructure of native bone and, thus, improve osteoblast (bone-forming cell) functions and inhibit bacteria functions. Among the several techniques that have been adopted to develop nanocoatings, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is an attractive, versatile, and effective material-processing technique. Objective The in vitro study reported here aimed to determine for the first time bacteria responses to hydroxyapatite coated on Ti via EPD. Results There were six and three times more osteoblasts on the electrophoretic-deposited hydroxyapatite on Ti compared with Ti (control) and plasma-spray-deposited hydroxyapatite on Ti after 5 days of culture, respectively. Impressively, there were 2.9 and 31.7 times less Staphylococcus aureus on electrophoretic-deposited hydroxyapatite on Ti compared with Ti (control) and plasma-spray-deposited hydroxyapatite on Ti after 18 hours of culture, respectively. Conclusion Compared with uncoated Ti and plasma-sprayed hydroxyapatite coated on Ti, the results provided significant promise for the use of EPD to improve bone-cell density and be used as an antibacterial coating without resorting to the use of antibiotics.
Transient growth of perturbations in a vortex column

Linear transient growth in a normal-mode-stable vortex column is studied by extracting ‘optimal modes’ of perturbations. Amplifications occur over a wide range of azimuthal wavenumbers $m$ and axial wavenumbers $k$, and can be more than three orders of magnitude even at moderate vortex Reynolds numbers $\hbox{\it Re}$ (checked up to $10^4$). Transient growth is unbounded in the inviscid limit. For given $\hbox{\it Re}$ and $k$, axisymmetric ($m\,{=}\,0$) modes undergo the largest volume-integrated energy growth, whereas maximum core energy growth occurs for bending waves ($|m|\,{=}\,1$). At fixed $m$ and $\hbox{\it Re}$, growth decreases with increasing $k$, due to the damping effect of viscosity. At fixed $m$ and $k$, growth increases rapidly with $\hbox{\it Re}$ – pointing to the significance of transient growth in high-$\hbox{\it Re}$ practical flows, such as the trailing vortex. Inviscid effects not only cause transient growth, but also its subsequent arrest. There are two distinct mechanisms for growth. First, two-dimensional perturbations amplify because the streamlines have ‘positive tilt’, contributing $uv\,{>}\,0$ stress necessary for growth; here $u$ and $v$ are the radial and azimuthal velocity perturbations, respectively. Second, three-dimensional perturbations grow through azimuthal stretching of spiral vortex filaments containing radial vorticity. Decay in both cases is due to the differential advection – of axial vorticity by the mean swirl – transforming the perturbation streamlines to predominantly ‘negative tilt’, producing $uv\,{<}\,0$ stress. The transient growth mechanism is explained in terms of the distinct effects of the strain and vorticity components of the mean flow, which play counteractive roles. While strain amplifies energy, vorticity limits transient growth by inducing wave motions, in which radial vorticity is depleted by vortex line coiling, i.e. by the tilting of radial vorticity into axial and azimuthal components. Since the strain-to-vorticity ratio varies with radius in the vortex, the competition between strain and vorticity selects a preferred radius of localization of an ‘optimal perturbation’. With increasing growth, axisymmetric optimal modes are localized at progressively larger radii and their growth rates progressively diminished – both limiting the physical significance of such modes in high-$\hbox{\it Re}$ practical flows. An optimal bending wave, on the other hand, is localized closer to the vortex column, where a vorticity perturbation external to the core can resonantly excite vortex core waves. This leads to substantial growth of core fluctuation energy and, probably, to core transition to turbulence. Such resonant growth may be the mechanism for the appearance of bending waves in a vortex in a turbulent field.
Food habits related to osteoporosis in women in iran.

BACKGROUND Osteoporosis is an important public health problem. The aim of this study was to investigate food habits and some factors related to osteoporosis in women in Iran. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted on 399 childbearing age women who were attending health centers and 200 healthcare providers in 2007. Food habits and dietary calcium intake was evaluated by food frequency questionnaire and 24-hour recall method. Weight and height of subjects were also measured. Independent t-test, Mann-withney U test, Pearson, Spearman and Partial correlation coefficient tests were used for analyzing of data. RESULTS Two groups of women had calcium intake deficiency. Daily frequency of milk, cheese, fruit and coffee consumptions in healthcare providers (0.82±0.82, 0.94±0.49, 2.01±1.28 and 0.84±2.05, P<0.02) were significantly higher than those of women attending health centers(0.58±0.72, 0.84±0.32, 1.50±0.99 and 0.48±1.25). Mean frequency use of dark vegetables, cola and pickles were significantly (P<0.004) higher in women who attending health centers (0.67±0.50, 1.55±2.36 and 1.92±2.03) than those of the other group (0.50±0.44, 1.09±2.65 and 1.49±1.72). In women who were attending health centers, negative and posi-tive significant relationship was found between daily calcium intake with age (P<0.04) and educational level (P<0.001). No significant relationship was found between body mass index with studied variables. CONCLUSION Women of health care providers had healthier food habits compared to women who attending health centers. Educational programs are suggested to improve food habits among women to prevent osteoporosis in later life.
The intracerebral hemorrhage blood transcriptome in humans differs from the ischemic stroke and vascular risk factor control blood transcriptomes

Understanding how the blood transcriptome of human intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) differs from ischemic stroke (IS) and matched controls (CTRL) will improve understanding of immune and coagulation pathways in both disorders. This study examined RNA from 99 human whole-blood samples using GeneChip® HTA 2.0 arrays to assess differentially expressed transcripts of alternatively spliced genes between ICH, IS and CTRL. We used a mixed regression model with FDR-corrected p(Dx) < 0.2 and p < 0.005 and |FC| > 1.2 for individual comparisons. For time-dependent analyses, subjects were divided into four time-points: 0(CTRL), <24 h, 24–48 h, >48 h; 489 transcripts were differentially expressed between ICH and CTRL, and 63 between IS and CTRL. ICH had differentially expressed T-cell receptor and CD36 genes, and iNOS, TLR, macrophage, and T-helper pathways. IS had more non-coding RNA. ICH and IS both had angiogenesis, CTLA4 in T lymphocytes, CD28 in T helper cells, NFAT regulation of immune response, and glucocorticoid receptor signaling pathways. Self-organizing maps revealed 4357 transcripts changing expression over time in ICH, and 1136 in IS. Understanding ICH and IS transcriptomes will be useful for biomarker development, treatment and prevention strategies, and for evaluating how well animal models recapitulate human ICH and IS.
Benzodiazepines Withdrawal: Initial Outcomes and Long-Term Impact on Falls in a French Nursing Home

Long-term use of benzodiazepines (BZDs) is known to induce tolerance and dependence, and increase the risk of falls-related injuries in older adults. We present a study carried out in a French nursing home that concerns the implementation of a BZD withdrawal program reassessed at one year. BZD deprescription was achieved by gradual cessation of doses. A secondary benefit of this program was assessed by comparing the number of falls among residents before and after withdrawal. The number of falls was recorded over a six-month period prior to the onset of withdrawal (T1) and then over a six-month period after reassessment at one year (T2). At the beginning, 31 (28.7%) of the patients were under BZD. Total deprescription was obtained for 11 patients. The number of falls per patient over the T1 period was not different between the two groups (future non-withdrawn and withdrawn patients in BZD): 2.1 ± 1.3 and 2.3 ± 0.6 falls per resident, respectively. Conversely, the number of falls per patient was significantly decreased in the population completely withdrawn in BZD between the T1 and T2 periods (2.3 ± 0.6 vs. 0.5 ± 0.2 falls, p = 0.01). The results show that BZD deprescription, through a gradual reduction of doses, is possible to achieve.
Access to palliative care by disease trajectory: a population-based cohort of Ontario decedents

Objectives To examine access to palliative care between different disease trajectories and compare to other geographic areas. Design A retrospective population-based decedent cohort study using linked administrative data. Setting Ontario, Canada. Participants Ontario decedents between 1 April 2010 and 31 December 2012. Patients were categorised into disease trajectories: terminal illness (eg, cancer), organ failure (eg, chronic heart failure), frailty (eg, dementia), sudden death or other. Interventions Receipt of palliative care services from institutional and community settings, derived from a validated list of palliative care codes from multiple administrate databases. Outcome measures Receiving any palliative care services in the last year of life (yes/no), intensity (total days) and time of initiation of palliative care, in hospital and community sectors. Multivariable analysis examined the association between disease trajectory and the receipt of palliative care in the last year of life. Results We identified 235 159 decedents in Ontario. In the last year of life, 88% of terminal illness, 44% of organ failure and 32% of frailty decedents accessed at least one palliative care service. Most care was provided during an inpatient hospitalisation. Terminal illness decedents received twice as many palliative care days (mean of 49 days) compared with organ failure and frailty decedents. Patients with terminal illness initiated palliative care median of 107 days before death compared with median of 19 days among those using the US Medicare hospice benefit. Conclusions Terminal illness decedents are more likely to receive any palliative care, with increased intensity and earlier before death than organ failure or frailty decedents. These data serve as a useful comparison for other countries with similar and different healthcare systems and eligibility criteria.