Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Scaling of phononic transport with connectivity in amorphous solids

The effect of coordination on transport is investigated theoretically using random networks of springs as model systems. An effective medium approximation is made to compute the density of states of the vibrational modes, their energy diffusivity (a spectral measure of transport) and their spatial correlations as the network coordination z is varied. Critical behaviors are obtained as z→zc where these networks lose rigidity. A sharp crossover from a regime where modes are plane-wave–like toward a regime of extended but strongly scattered modes occurs at some frequency ω*∼z-zc, which does not correspond to the Ioffe-Regel criterion. Above ω* both the density of states and the diffusivity are nearly constant. These results agree remarkably with recent numerical observations of repulsive particles near the jamming threshold (Xu N. et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 102 (2009) 038001). The analysis further predicts that the length scale characterizing the correlation of displacements of the scattered modes decays as with frequency, whereas for ω≪ω* Rayleigh scattering is found with a scattering length ls∼(z-zc)3/ω4. It is argued that this description applies to silica glass where it compares well with thermal conductivity data, and to transverse ultrasound propagation in granular matter.
Effect of hypertonic saline and macrophage migration inhibitory factor in restoration of T cell dysfunction

Purpose Trauma-induced suppression of cellular immune function likely contributes to sepsis, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and death. T cell proliferation decreases after traumatic stress. The addition of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which depresses immune function after hemorrhage and trauma, to T-cells decreases T-cell proliferation; and hypertonic saline restores PGE2-induced T-cell suppression. Recently, it has become apparent that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) plays a central role in several immune responses, including T-cell proliferation. However, the role of MIF in mediating hypertonic saline (HTS) restoration of T cell dysfunction is unknown. Therefore, we hypothesize that T cell immune restoration by HTS occurs, at least in part, by a MIF-mediated mechanism. Methods Jurkat cells were cultured in Roswell Park Memorial Institute media, at a final concentration of 2.5 × 106 cell/mL. The effects of HTS on T-cell proliferation following PGE2-induced suppression were evaluated in Jurkat cells: HTS at 20 or 40 mmol/L above isotonicity was added. MIF levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blot analysis. Results PGE2 caused a 15.0% inhibition of Jurkat cell proliferation, as compared to the control. MIF levels decreased in PGE2-suppressed cells, as compared to the control. MIF levels were higher in cells treated with HTS than PGE2-stimulated cells. Conclusion The role of HTS in restoring Jurkat cells proliferation suppressed by PGE2, at least in part, should be mediated through a MIF pathway.
Alterations in the osmotic fragility of camel and donkey erythrocytes caused by temperature, pH and blood storage.

The present study examined the changes in the fragility of camel and donkey erythrocytes caused by variations in temperature, pH and blood storage. Although the fragility did not differ between sexes in both species, camel erythrocytes were more osmotically resistant than donkey erythrocytes. At a constant pH of 7.4, the fragility decreased in the camel but increased in the donkey at lowered temperatures. However, at a constant temperature of 28 oC, the fragility of camel and donkey erythrocytes increased in an acidic solution and decreased in an alkaline solution. Additionally, blood storage for 24 hours at 4 oC increased the fragility of camel erythrocytes, but not donkey erythrocytes. However, the erythrocyte fragility increased in both species after 48 or 72 hours of blood storage at 4 oC. In conclusion, our results suggest that variation in the temperature and pH of the erythrocyte environment and duration of blood storage may each play a signifi cant role in the osmotic behaviour of camel and donkey erythrocytes.
Trisodium citrate 4%--an alternative to heparin capping of haemodialysis catheters.

BACKGROUND Central venous catheters (CVCs) continue to be used at a high rate for dialysis access and are frequently complicated by thrombus-related malfunction. Prophylactic locking with an anticoagulant, such as heparin, has become standard practice despite its associated risks. Trisodium citrate (citrate) 4% is an alternative catheter locking anticoagulant. METHODS The objective was to prospectively study the clinical effectiveness, safety and cost of citrate 4% vs heparin locking by comparing rates of CVC exchanges, thrombolytic use (TPA) and access-associated hospitalizations during two study periods: heparin period (HP) (1 June 2003-15 February 2004) and Citrate Period (CP) 15 March-15 November 2004. Incident catheters evaluated did not overlap the two periods. RESULTS There were 176 CVC in 121 patients (HP) and 177 CVC in 129 patients (CP). The event rates in incident CVC were: CVC exchange 2.98/1000 days (HP) vs 1.65/1000 days (CP) (P = 0.01); TPA use 5.49/1000 (HP) vs 3.3/1000 days (CP) (P = 0.002); hospitalizations 0.59/1000 days (HP) vs 0.28/1000 days (CP) (P = 0.49). There was a longer time from catheter insertion to requiring CVC exchange (P = 0.04) and TPA (P = 0.006) in the citrate compared with the heparin lock group. Citrate locking costs less than heparin locking but a formal economic analysis including indirect costs was not done. CONCLUSION Citrate 4% has equivalent or better outcomes with regards to catheter exchange, TPA use and access-related hospitalizations compared with heparin locking. It is a safe and less expensive alternative. Randomized trials comparing these anticoagulants with a control group would definitively determine the optimal haemodialysis catheter locking solution.
Improvement of address discharge characteristics using asymmetric variable-width scan waveform in ac plasma display panel

A new asymmetric variable-width scan waveform is proposed to improve the characteristics of an address discharge, including a reduced address time and increased dynamic voltage margin, based on the formative and statistical time lags of an address discharge in an ac-plasma display panel (ac-PDP). The new asymmetric variable-width scan waveform has a progressively increasing scan pulsewidth that is wider than the address pulsewidth, thereby enabling stable wall charge accumulation under short address pulsewidth conditions. When adopting this new scan waveform, the address pulsewidth was reduced from 3.0 to 1.4 /spl mu/s and the address voltage lowered from 65 to 55 V without any misfiring problem at an address pulsewidth of 1.4 /spl mu/s.
Evaluation of Rainfall Measurements from the WXT510 Sensor for Use in the Oklahoma City Micronet

A network of 40 real-time, automated atmospheric monitoring stations was deployed in Oklahoma City and of- ficially commissioned on 8 November 2008: the Oklahoma City Micronet (OKCNET). The Oklahoma City Micronet in- cludes 36 stations mounted on traffic signals which utilize the Vaisala WXT510 sensor. As part of the design of the WXT510, an impact sensor is utilized for the collection of rainfall observations. Prior to deployment in Oklahoma City, an array of 33 WXT510 sensors were deployed at the OKCNET intercomparison facility and compared with traditional instruments used to measure rainfall including tipping bucket rain gauges and a Geonor weighing gauge. The results of the comparison revealed that a consistent, linear bias was present between the WXT510 sensors and the traditional gauges whereby, on average, the traditional gauges measured approximately 26% less precipitation than the WXT510 sensors. In addition, the variation in recorded rainfall between WXT510 sensors was consistent with that recorded by the tipping bucket gauges. As such, a correction was developed using the WXT510 and tipping bucket data. This correction was ap- plied to the WXT510 rainfall observations and cross-verified using the Geonor gauge data. The overall result of the study yielded a bulk correction that can be applied to rainfall observations recorded by the WXT510 to greatly improve the ac- cumulated rainfall values. This correction is designed to improve the overall accuracy of the observations without specifi- cally calibrating each individual WXT510 sensor and is valid regardless of rainfall intensity, length of the precipitation event, seasonal characteristics of the rainfall, or rainfall type (i.e., stratiform, convective, etc.).
Clinical Outcomes of Revascularization Strategies for Patients With MVD/LMCA Disease

Abstract Hybrid coronary revascularization (HCR), a new minimally invasive procedure for patients requiring revascularization for multivessel coronary lesions, combines coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for left anterior descending (LAD) lesions and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for non-LAD coronary lesions. However, available data related to outcomes comparing the 3 revascularization therapies is limited to small studies. We conducted a search in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library of Controlled Trials up to December 31, 2014, without language restriction. A total of 16 randomized trials (n=4858 patients) comparing HCR versus PCI or off-pump CABG (OPCAB) were included in this meta-analysis. The primary outcomes were major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), cerebrovascular events (CVE), and target vessel revascularization (TVR). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using random-effect and fixed-effect models. Ranking probabilities were used to calculate a summary numerical value: the surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) curve. No significant differences were seen between the HCR and PCI in short term (in hospital and 30 days) with regard to MACCE (odds ratio [OR] = 0.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.00–2.35), all-cause death (OR = 2.09, 95% CI 0.34–7.66), MI (OR = 1.02, 95% CI 0.19–2.95), CVE (OR = 4.45, 95% CI 0.39–19.16), and TVR (OR = 6.99, 95% CI 0.17–39.39). However, OPCAB had lower MACCE than HCR (OR = 0.19, 95% CI 0.00–0.95). In midterm (1 year and 3 year), in comparison with HCR, PCI had higher all-cause death (OR = 5.66, 95% CI 0.00–13.88) and CVE (OR = 4.40, 95% CI 0.01–5.68), and lower MI (OR = 0.51, 95% CI 0.00–2.86), TVR (OR = 0.53, 95% CI 0.05–2.26), and thus the MACCE (OR = 0.51, 95% CI 0.00–2.35). Off-pump CABG presented a better outcome than HCR with significant lower MACCE (OR = 0.17, 95% CI 0.01–0.68). Surface under the cumulative ranking probabilities showed that HCR may be the superior strategy for MVD and LMCA disease when regarded to MACCE (SUCRA = 0.84), MI (SUCRA = 0.76) in short term, and regarded to MACCE (SUCRA = 0.99), MI (SUCRA = 0.94), and CVE (SUCRA = 0.92) in midterm. Hybrid coronary revascularization seemed to be a feasible and acceptable option for treatment of LMCA disease and MVD. More powerful evidences are required to precisely evaluate risks and benefits of the 3 therapies for patients who have different clinical characteristics.
Statistical Inference

Some statistical studies record categorical variables that can be measured as counts or per cents. The population parameters of interest are the population proportions in the separate categories. We can analyse a single proportion or compare two proportions. The methods of analysis are similar to methods used for inference about means, discussed in Chapter 7. Both methods of inference are based on sampling distributions that are approximately normal.
Enhanced Single-Sided Ventilation with Overhang in Buildings

Enhancing the ventilation performance of energy-efficient buildings with single-sided openings is important because their ventilation performance is poor and strongly depends on the wind conditions. We considered an overhang as a potential building facade for improving the single-sided ventilation performance. We performed numerical simulations of three-dimensional unsteady turbulent flows over an idealized building with an overhang in order to investigate the effect of the overhang on the ventilation performance. Parametric studies were systematically carried out where the overhang length, wind speed, and wind direction were varied. The numerical results showed that the overhang drastically enhanced the ventilation rate in the windward direction regardless of the wind speed. This is because, for windward cases, the overhang produces a vortex with strong flow separation near the tip of the overhang, which promotes a net airflow exchange at the entrance and increases the ventilation rate. However, the ventilation rates for the leeward and side cases are slightly decreased with the overhang. Using an overhang with single-sided ventilation greatly reduces the local mean age of air (LMA) in the windward direction but increases it in the leeward direction.
Disclosure versus recognition: The case of asset revaluations

Abstract Australian GAAP requires firms to either disclose or recognise the current values of real estate in their financial statements. Given recognition criteria related to reliable measurement, the propensity to recognise an upward revaluation is subject to the inherent uncertainty of the assessed increase in value. Accordingly, we predict and find that managers are more likely to recognise (rather than just disclose) revaluations when the revaluation estimate is more reliable. The recognition criteria contained in Australian GAAP implies that market participants will rationally infer that revaluations recognised in the balance sheet are more reliably measured than those disclosed in footnotes. An analysis of share market effects finds that the market discounts disclosure compared to recognition of real estate revaluations. This effect becomes insignificant when controls for the reliability of revaluations are included in the analysis, and we therefore conclude that the value relevance of recognised revaluations is not due to recognition per se, but rather to the fact that the assets being revalued are more reliably measured. © City University of Hong Kong.
Glial cell interactions and glaucoma

Purpose of review The present review describes new advances in our understanding of the role of glial cells in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. It is becoming clear that retinal glia should not be studied in isolation in glaucoma because glia have dynamic and diverse interactions with a range of different cell types that could influence the disease process. Recent findings Microglial activity is modulated by signals from retinal ganglion cells and macroglia that influence RGC survival in various models of injury. New studies suggest that circulating monocytic populations may play a role in mediating the immune response to glaucoma. Astrocytes have been found to develop discrete localized processes that interact with a specific subset of retinal ganglion cells, possibly responding to the expression of phagocytic signals by stressed retinal ganglion cells. Summary Retinal glia constitute a highly versatile population that interacts with various cells to maintain homeostasis and limit disease. Defining the mechanisms that underlie glial communication could enable the development of more selective therapeutic targets, with great potential clinical applications.
A Second Outer-Core Region in Klebsiella pneumoniae Lipopolysaccharide

ABSTRACT Up to now only one major type of core oligosaccharide has been found in the lipopolysaccharide of all Klebsiella pneumoniae strains analyzed. Applying a different screening approach, we identified a novel Klebsiella pneumoniae core (type 2). Both Klebsiella core types share the same inner core and the outer-core-proximal disaccharide, GlcN-(1,4)-GalA, but they differ in the GlcN substituents. In core type 2, the GlcpN residue is substituted at the O-4 position by the disaccharide β-Glcp(1-6)-α-Glcp(1, while in core type 1 the GlcpN residue is substituted at the O-6 position by either the disaccharide α-Hep(1-4)-α-Kdo(2 or a Kdo residue (Kdo is 3-deoxy-d-manno-octulosonic acid). This difference correlates with the presence of a three-gene region in the corresponding core biosynthetic clusters. Engineering of both core types by interchanging this specific region allowed studying the effect on virulence. The replacement of Klebsiella core type 1 in a highly type 2 virulent strain (52145) induces lower virulence than core type 2 in a murine infection model.
Alluvial deposition and lake-level fluctuations forced by Late Quaternary climate change : the Dead Sea case example

Based on geomorphic observations, we discuss lake-level fluctuations, alluvial deposition and river entrenchment in the Dead Sea–Wadi Araba area. The bulk of alluvium in the northern Wadi Araba was probably deposited before the Lisan period of lake transgression that started at about 70 kyears B.P. The lake reached a maximum elevation about 150 m below sea level (b.s.l.), possibly around 15 cal. kyears B.P. as indicated by the highest preserved beach ridges. Cosmogenic exposure dates show that the ridge material consists mainly of remobilized Pleistocene gravel indicating little sediment supply during most of the Lisan period. During this period, a reduced sediment flux fed subaquatic fan deltas along the margin of the Dead Sea. Wetter conditions settled at the end of this period, the water level rose to about 280 m b.s.l. around 15 kyears B.P. and prevailed in the early Holocene (10.5–7 cal. kyears B.P.). Following that humid period, the lake level dropped and two major episodes of fluvial aggradation occurred during periods of relative low lake level. The first aggradational episode took place between about 7.0 and 6.2 cal. kyears B.P. Beach bars indicate a subsequent lake transgression between 6.2 and 4.4 kyears B.P. up to 350 m b.s.l. The second aggradational episode happened between 4.4 and 2.0 cal. kyears B.P., and was also followed by a late transgression up to 375 m b.s.l. , dated to 1960–1715 cal. years B.P. The correlation between low lake level and fluvial aggradation is taken to reflect the synchronous change of the fluvial regime and of the lake hydrologic balance, forced by climate changes, rather than a base-level control. We also exclude large tectonic forcing on fan emplacement and river entrenchment. Alluviation appears in this setting as a very irregular process, characterized by long periods of quiescence alternating with periods of fan build-up, reflecting the transient response of the water drainage system to climate change. D 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
The mechanisms of malic enzyme 2 in the tumorigenesis of human gliomas

The high level of resistance of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) to currently used chemotherapies and other conventional therapies, its invasive characteristics and the presence of stem-like cells are the major factors that make the treatment of GBM difficult. Recent studies have demonstrated that the homeostasis of energy metabolism, glycolysis and mitochondrial oxidation of glucose are important for GBM cell growth and chemo-resistance. However, it is not clear which specific gene(s) are involved in the homeostasis of energy metabolism and invasiveness of GBM cells. We performed a preliminary analysis of data obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus profiles and determined that malic enzyme 2 (ME2) expression was positively associated with WHO grade in human primary gliomas. Hence, we evaluated the detailed working mechanisms of ME2 in human GBM cell processes, including proliferation, cell cycle, invasion, migration, ROS, and ATP production. Our data demonstrated that ME2 was involved in GBM growth, invasion and migration. ME2 has two cofactors, NAD+ or NADP+, which are used to produce NADH and NADPH for ATP production and ROS clearance, respectively. If the catalytic activity of ME2 is determined to be critical for its roles in GBM growth, invasion and migration, small molecule inhibitors of ME2 may be valuable drugs for GBM therapy. We hope that our current data provides a candidate treatment strategy for GBM.
Consumer Bankruptcy and Information

We analyze the relationship between the intensity of banks’ use of soft-information and household bankruptcy patterns. Using a unique data set on the universe of Canadian household bankruptcies, we document that bankruptcy rates are higher in markets where the collection of soft, or qualitative locally gathered information, is the weakest. Using two Canadian bank mergers as exogenous variation in local market structure, we show that the differences in bankruptcy rates are not due to changes in the supply of credit. Our findings indicate that screening via hard-information is not a perfect substitute for soft-information. Instead, the two appear to be complements.
Energy-efficient trajectory tracking for mobile devices

Emergent location-aware applications often require tracking trajectories of mobile devices over a long period of time. To be useful, the tracking has to be energy-efficient to avoid having a major impact on the battery life of the mobile device. Furthermore, when trajectory information needs to be sent to a remote server, on-device simplification of the trajectories is needed to reduce the amount of data transmission. While there has recently been a lot of work on energy-efficient position tracking, the energy-efficient tracking of trajectories has not been addressed in previous work. In this paper we propose a novel on-device sensor management strategy and a set of trajectory updating protocols which intelligently determine when to sample different sensors (accelerometer, compass and GPS) and when data should be simplified and sent to a remote server. The system is configurable with regards to accuracy requirements and provides a unified framework for both position and trajectory tracking. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by emulation experiments on real world data sets collected from different modes of transportation (walking, running, biking and commuting by car) as well as by validating with a real-world deployment. The results demonstrate that our approach is able to provide considerable savings in the battery consumption compared to a state-of-the-art position tracking system while at the same time maintaining the accuracy of the resulting trajectory, i.e., support of specific accuracy requirements and different types of applications can be ensured.
Wind power prediction with different artificial intelligence models

In this paper different prediction models based on methods of the artificial intelligence are studied for wind power prediction of single wind farms. The used methods are neural networks, mixture of experts, support vector machines and nearest neighbour search with a superior particle swarm optimization. We build for day-ahead prediction and for short-term prediction with a prediction horizon of one hour. As input variables for these prediction methods weather data of a numerical weather prediction model are used. For the short-term prediction with a prediction horizon of one hour we use additionally measured power values of the wind farms as model input. The performance of the presented methods is compared to predictions from neural networks and to persistence. As results we get improvements of the predictions compared to the neural network based predictions. An additional improvement is possible by using ensembles of the models.