Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Model for the Strategic Planning of National Freight Transportation by Rail

Recently, we developed a multimode multiproduct network optimization model, that is the network assignment method implemented in an interactive-graphic system for the strategic analysis and planning of national freight transportation systems, called STAN. For STAN, we developed a modeling framework of the rail freight transportation system, its components, operations and goals, that is adapted for both the strategic objectives of the planning system and the representation of the other transportation modes that compose a national multimode transportation system. The objective of this paper is to present and analyze the rail component of this strategic model of a national freight transportation system. We show how the rail model is integrated into STAN, as well as how this modeling framework may be used to represent a number of realistic scenarios.
Technical Note - Conical Volume-Delay Functions

The widely used BPR volume-delay functions have some inherent drawbacks. A set of conditions is developed which a “well behaved” volume delay function should satisfy. This leads to the definition of a new class of functions named conical volume-delay functions , due to their geometrical interpretation as hyperbolic conical sections. It is shown that these functions satisfy all conditions set forth and, thus, constitute a viable alternative to the BPR type functions.
A Model for Fleet Sizing and Vehicle Allocation

There are important interactions between decisions on sizing a vehicle fleet and decisions on utilizing that fleet. A model is formulated to optimize both sets of decisions simultaneously under dynamic and uncertain conditions. A network approximation to this model is presented and a solution procedure proposed. The convergence behavior of the solution procedure and the potential consequences of using simpler models to solve the fleet sizing and vehicle allocation problem are illustrated using several hypothetical problems. We conclude that this model is useful in identifying good strategies for the sizing of vehicle fleets and for the allocation of empty vehicles.
Equilibrium on a Traffic Corridor with Several Congested Modes

This paper examines the user equilibrium on a traffic corridor with several congested modes, a continuum of entry points and a single exit point. The approach taken is in the spirit of Beckmann et al. (1956) since it exploits the equivalence between the user equilibrium problem and a minimization problem. It is shown that this equivalence can be derived from a general economic principle due to Pigou (1950) that “If people are forced through taxes to pay the social costs of their actions, they act optimally. ” The paper also demonstrates a set of conditions under which efficiency can be achieved by the application of only a gasoline tax on auto travel.
Unmet needs in antiplatelet therapy

Despite antiplatelet therapy, patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and those undergoing coronary intervention continue to experience atherothrombotic events, indicating a need for improvement in both overall patient management and antiplatelet treatments. Limitations of clopidogrel, which is widely used in dual therapy with aspirin, include slow onset of effect, low inhibition of platelet aggregation (IPA) in many patients, interindividual variability in response, and irreversible P2Y12 binding that prevents rapid offset of effect. Higher doses of clopidogrel may overcome some of these issues, and new oral agents such as the thienopyridine prasugrel and the reversible P2Y12 antagonist AZD6140 have faster onset of action and produce greater IPA. However, antiplatelet treatment must strike a balance between reduced atherothrombotic risk and bleeding risk, and it has yet to be determined whether greater platelet inhibition will produce better clinical outcome in terms of ischaemic events with an acceptable bleeding profile. Bleeding is an inherent risk of antiplatelet therapy and an independent predictor of poor prognosis in ACS patients, a factor that should be taken into account in assessing risks and benefits of antiplatelet treatment. New reversible P2Y12 antagonists offer the potential to discontinue antiplatelet therapy closer to invasive procedures compared with the thienopyridines, thus potentially reducing both procedure-related bleeding rates and duration of exposure to atherothrombotic risk prior to procedures. Ongoing large-scale Phase 3 trials will provide important information on whether the strategies of achieving higher levels of P2Y12 inhibition and using reversible inhibitors can improve antiplatelet therapy.
Culture Negative Prosthetic Joint Infection-A Description of Current Treatment and Outcomes

Background: The management of prosthetic joint infections remains a clinical challenge particularly when standard aerobic and anaerobic culture techniques fail to isolate the causative pathogen, so called ‘culture negative prosthetic joint infection’ (CNPJI). There are few studies detailing approaches to management in this cohort of patients. This study reports the treatment and outcomes of 19 patients with CNPJI. Results: The majority of patients (68%) with CNPJI had exposure to antibiotic therapy in the week prior to presentation with CNPJI. Patients with early (10 patients) and haematogenous (3 patients) CNPJI were treated with debridement and retention of the prosthesis. In contrast, patients with delayed and late chronic CNPJI (6 patients) were managed by two-stage exchange. In addition to the surgical management patients were commenced on broadspectrum oral antibiotics combination therapy with rifampicin, fusidic acid +/- ciprofloxacin for a prolonged duration (median 7 months; interquartile range 3-20). Patients were followed up for a median of 19 months (interquartile range 13-29). Two patients experienced treatment failure with a 12 month estimate of infection free survival of 95% (95% confidence interval: 68,99). Of concern, 28% patients receiving oral antibiotics experienced adverse effects necessitating change in treatment. Conclusions: In this cohort, the outcomes for patients with CNPJI were comparable to those reported for culture positive infections, and contrary to previous recommendations, this study demonstrates that debridement and retention of a CNPJI is reasonable for patients with early infections. It also highlights the importance of exclusion of prosthetic joint infection prior to instigation of antibiotic therapy to optimise peri-prosthetic tissue culture yields to avoid this situation in which multiple broad spectrum antibiotics with potential side effects become necessary
One-to-Many Distribution with Transshipments: An Analytic Model

This paper presents and optimizes two cases of an approximate analytic model of distribution from a single origin to many destinations via transshipment terminals. Linehaul vehicles carry items from the origin to terminals and local vehicles make deliveries on peddling routes from the terminals. It has been shown that transshipments are not desirable when local vehicles can be as large as linehaul vehicles. This paper limits the size of local vehicles and explores conditions under which transshipments are desirable. This paper focuses on situations in which local vehicles operate on multi-stop tours. The tradeoffs between the transportation, inventory and terminal cost components determine optimal values for the number of terminals, the number of stops per vehicle route and the distribution cost. The optimal type of distribution system is shown to depend on the ratio of the linehaul to local vehicle load size. Examples are presented that show how distribution via terminals can reduce the total cost.
Modelling Vehicular Traffic Using the Discrete Time Markovian Arrival Process

A discrete time Markovian Arrival Process which models platooned arrivals in road traffic is presented. It takes into account the bunching of traffic and correlation between headways. Several examples involving different types of probability distributions for interplatoon and intraplatoon headways, and platoon sizes are presented. An application of the MAP to a traffic signal queue is carried out and a numerical example is presented. The example confirmed the intuition that ignoring correlation in the arrival process results in the underestimation of performance measures such as the mean queue length, especially at high traffic intensities.
In Vitro Antimicrobial Evaluation of Lozenges Containing Extract of Garlic and Ginger

Purpose: The present work is an antimicrobial evaluation of lozenge dosage forms containing garlic and ginger extract. Methods: Lozenges containing pulverized garlic and ginger were produced by the moulding method and was evaluated against oropharyngeal microbial isolates after time-release in a normal saline-saliva sink solution. The solution was withdrawn at different intervals and screened for antimicrobial activities using the agar diffusion method against Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus , and Candida albicans . Nystatin tablets were used as standard. Results: There was inhibition of growth by Nystatin tablet but garlic-ginger combination only inhibited growth of laboratory strains of C. albicans . Conclusion: The result of this study showed that the garlic and ginger can be formulated into lozenges and used in nonresistant oral thrush. Keywords: Antimicrobial evaluation, Lozenges, Garlic extract, Ginger extract, Oral thrush.
VITAMIN B6 (PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE) TOXICOSIS IN FALCONS

Abstract This manuscript reports three independent accidental cases of vitamin (Vit) B6 toxicosis in gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus) and peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) and a toxicology study that was conducted to characterize the clinical responses of gyrfalcons and gyrfalcon × peregrine falcons to a range of single intramuscular (IM) and oral (PO) doses of Vit B6. Both lethal and nonlethal doses were determined. Twelve female gyrfalcons died following IM injection of 1 ml of a vitamin B preparation. Within 30 min of injection, the birds passed pistachio green-colored urates and progressed to vomiting, anorexia, cessation of normal activity, ptosis, collapse, and death, occurring 24–36 hr post injections. Three individuals vomited frothy, partially digested blood and had clonic spasms and convulsions. Postmortem and histopathology revealed multifocal severe hepatic necrosis, splenic lymphoid tissue depletion and hemorrhages with arterial necrosis, and acute renal tubular necrosis. Following administration of a different, oral, mineral-vitamin supplement, a total of 21 peregrine falcons in two separate European facilities died suddenly. Histology of the liver showed diffuse congestion and multifocal coagulative necrosis with mild infiltration of heterophils. The particular nutritional supplement, used by both breeders, was analyzed and found to contain 5–9.7% Vit B6. Other randomly selected lots of the product contained 0.007–0.27% Vit B6. According to the product label, Vit B6 should have been present at 0.004%. To confirm the hypothesis that Vit B6 was responsible for the deaths of the falcons in Abu Dhabi, Vit B6 (British Pharmacopoeia [BP] grade) in powder form was diluted in water for injection and administered IM to four groups of falcons. Groups of four gyrfalcon × peregrine hybrid falcons or gyrfalcons (or both) were given a single IM dose of 5, 10, 15, or 20 mg/kg of Vit B6 or received an oral dose of 25, 50, or 75 mg of Vit B6. Only birds in the lowest-dose groups survived. The maximum nonlethal single doses of Vit B6 in falcons were 5 mg/kg i.m. and 25 mg/kg p.o.
Use of glucocorticoids and risk of venous thromboembolism

In this Danish population-based case-control study, the association between use of glucocorticoids and risk of venous thromboembolism was studied. The study included 38 765 cases of venous thromboembolism and 387 650 age-matched and sex-matched controls. Conditional logistic regression, adjusted for risk factors for venous thromboembolism, was used to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRR) and 95% CI …
Retargeting Video Tutorials Showing Tools With Surface Contact to Augmented Reality

A video tutorial effectively conveys complex motions, but may be hard to follow precisely because of its restriction to a predetermined viewpoint. Augmented reality (AR) tutorials have been demonstrated to be more effective. We bring the advantages of both together by interactively retargeting conventional, two-dimensional videos into three-dimensional AR tutorials. Unlike previous work, we do not simply overlay video, but synthesize 3D-registered motion from the video. Since the information in the resulting AR tutorial is registered to 3D objects, the user can freely change the viewpoint without degrading the experience. This approach applies to many styles of video tutorials. In this work, we concentrate on a class of tutorials which alter the surface of an object.
Clinical Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Monitoring for Mycophenolate Mofetil

The use of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), in combination with cyclosporine (CsA) or tacrolimus (FK) and corticosteroids, has been shown to improve clinical outcomes through significant reduction in the incidence of acute rejection in solid organ transplant patients. A fixed oral dosing regimen of 1 or 1.5 g MMF twice daily received Food and Drug Administration approval in 1995 with no recommendations for concentration monitoring at that time. Subsequent evidence has generated substantial debate on the need of clinical monitoring for MMF. This article summarizes the rationale, evidence, and approaches of clinical monitoring for MMF. Mycophenolic acid (MPA), the active moiety of MMF, noncompetitively inhibits the enzyme inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), which is the target enzyme for MPA. Pharmacokinetic monitoring, by use of MPA predose or MPA area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) values, and pharmacodynamic monitoring by analysis of inhibition of IMPDH have been evaluated in organ transplant patients. The possibility of drug interactions between other immunosuppressive agents has also received attention recently. The clinical implications of drug interactions are discussed in this article.
Sketching CuddleBits: Coupled Prototyping of Body and Behaviour for an Affective Robot Pet

Social robots that physically display emotion invite natural communication with their human interlocutors, enabling applications like robot-assisted therapy where a complex robot's breathing influences human emotional and physiological state. Using DIY fabrication and assembly, we explore how simple 1-DOF robots can express affect with economy and user customizability, leveraging open-source designs. We developed low-cost techniques for coupled iteration of a simple robot's body and behaviour, and evaluated its potential to display emotion. Through two user studies, we (1) validated these CuddleBits' ability to express emotions (N=20); (2) sourced a corpus of 72 robot emotion behaviours from participants (N=10); and (3) analyzed it to link underlying parameters to emotional perception (N=14). We found that CuddleBits can express arousal (activation), and to a lesser degree valence (pleasantness). We also show how a sketch-refine paradigm combined with DIY fabrication and novel input methods enable parametric design of physical emotion display, and discuss how mastering this parsimonious case can give insight into layering simple behaviours in more complex robots.
EFFECTS OF PLANT PROTEIN DIETS ON THE HEALTH OF FARMED AMERICAN ALLIGATORS (ALLIGATOR MISSISSIPPIENSIS)

Abstract The objective of this prospective, blinded study was to compare plasma biochemical values and gross and histologic evaluation of kidney and liver from American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) fed extruded diets with protein derived from animal or plant sources. Alligators in two treatment groups were fed an extruded diet with protein derived primarily from plant products for 7 (n = 20) or 10 (n = 20) mo prior to harvest. A control group (n = 20) was fed a commercial diet with protein derived from animal products for the duration of the study. Plasma biochemistry panels were obtained and gross and histologic examination of kidney and liver tissues was conducted for each animal. No differences were found between alligators fed diets with animal or plant protein in terms of either biochemistry profiles or gross or histologic examination of kidney and liver. Plant-based diets, fed for up to 10 mo, do not appear to have any ill effects on the kidney or liver of American alligators.
The Epidemiology of Cycling Fractures in Adults

Objective: To Understand the Epidemiology of Cycling Fractures. Cycling injuries are increasing in incidence but there is, as yet, very little information about which fractures are associated with cycling. Methods: We have undertaken a prospective study of cycling fractures in adults over a one-year period in 2010- 11. All in-patient and out-patient fractures in patients aged ≥ 16 years were examined. Results: The results show that 3.6% of all fractures are caused by cycling and that the highest incidence in males is between 30-39 years of age with the highest incidence in females being between 50-59 years. The highest incidence in all types of cycling is in young males following road traffic accidents. Overall 86.5% of the fractures were in the upper limb and 29.3% were around the shoulder with clavicular fractures being the most common cycling fracture. The commonest lower limb fracture was the proximal femoral fracture, this usually being considered to be an osteoporotic fracture. We believe that this fracture occurs in cycling because of the use of shoes that are fixed to the pedals. There were very few foot fractures associated with cycling. Conclusions: Cycling is a common cause of fractures. It is the commonest cause of fracture after road traffic accidents and the third commonest cause of fracture after sports injury. Our results demonstrate the importance of protective clothing and cycle paths.
Genetic Variations of CYP2C9 in 724 Japanese Individuals and Their Impact on the Antihypertensive Effects of Losartan

CYP2C9, a drug-metabolizing enzyme, converts the angiotensin II receptor blocker losartan to its active form, which is responsible for its antihypertensive effect. We resequenced CYP2C9 in 724 Japanese individuals, including 39 hypertensive patients under treatment with losartan. Of two novel missense mutations dentified, the Arg132Gln variant showed a fivefold lower intrinsic clearance toward diclofenac when expressed in a baculovirus-insect cell system, while the Arg335Gln variant had no substantial effect. Several known missense variations were also found, and approximately 7% of the Japanese individuals (53 out of 724) carried one of the deleterious alleles (CYP2C9*3, *13, *14, *30, and Arg132Gln) as heterozygotes. After 3 months of losartan treatment, systolic blood pressure was not lowered in two patients with CYP2C9*1/*30, suggesting that they exhibited impaired in vivo CYP2C9 activity. CYP2C9*30 might be associated with a diminished response to the antihypertensive effects of losartan.
West Virginia Therapists' Knowledge of Tarasoff - related Court Cases

The Tarasoff decisions regarding the duties to third parties were profoundly significant to the practice of psychology and counseling. Despite this, there have been few studies regarding the impact on these decisions on clinical practice. There are essentially three sources of data regarding the analysis of any Tarasoff-related clinical scenario. They include state statutes, court case law and the professional ethics codes. Most of the limited studies conducted have indicated serious knowledge gaps with respect to relevant state statues and the essence of the Tarasoff duties. This study evaluated West Virginia therapists’ knowledge of Tarasoff-related court cases. It was hypothesized that the overall knowledge level of the original Tarasoff decisions and the subsequent Tarasoff court cases would be low. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that there would be no differences between measured accuracy rates of court cases and practitioner’s discipline, years of experiences, or continuing educational experiences. With some moderate exceptions, all hypotheses were verified. The overall knowledge and understanding by respondents regarding Tarasoffrelated court cases was low even though their overall levels of confidence about their knowledge were relatively high. Furthermore, respondents revealed a fundamental misunderstanding about judicial imperatives and their impact on other jurisdictions and professional codes of ethics. The implications of these findings were discussed in terms of risk management, supervision and consultation.
Coercion and the Mentally Ill: Ethical Perspectives

Legal procedures have long been implemented to protect the rights of persons with mental illness, to mandate treatment for those unable to care for themselves, and to protect society from dangerous behavior. Although legal, mandated treatment poses ethical concerns. This article analyzes ethical issues emerging from a case study. Ethical principles, considered within a common morality framework, are applied to consider dilemmas inherent in the case study. A care-ethics lens is then introduced to enrich the ethical perspective and offer additional options for individualized and respectful resolutions. Considerations for nursing practice and research are offered. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc, 2007; 13(2), 101-108.
Effects of Different Levels of Exercise Volume on Endothelium-Dependent Vasodilation: Roles of Nitric Oxide Synthase and Heme Oxygenase

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of moderate and high levels of exercise volume on endothelium-dependent vasodilation and associated changes in vascular endothelial/inducible nitric oxide synthase (eNOS and iNOS) and heme oxygenase (HO). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to sedentary control, acute (2 weeks), or chronic (6 weeks) treadmill running at moderate intensity (50% maximal aerobic velocity) with different durations of exercise episodes: 2 h/d (endurance training, moderate volume) and 3 h/d (intense training, high volume). Endothelium-dependent vascular function was examined in isolated thoracic aorta. Co-localization and contents of aortic eNOS/iNOS and HO-1/HO-2 were determined with immunofluorescence and Western blotting. Compared with sedentary controls, rats subjected to acute and chronic endurance training showed enhanced endothelium-dependent relaxation (p<0.01). Whereas acetylcholine-induced dilation was inhibited completely by NOS inhibitor Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) in sedentary controls, the dilation in the training groups was only partly blocked by L-NAME (inhibition was 98±3%, 79±6%, and 77±5% in sedentary control, acute, and chronic training groups, respectively, p<0.01). The remnant dilation in the training groups was further inhibited by HO inhibitor protoporphyrin IX zinc, with concomitant elevation in aortic eNOS as well as HO-1 and HO-2. In contrast to endurance exercise, high-volume intense training resulted in mild hypertension with significant impairment in endothelium-dependent vasodilation and profuse increases in aortic iNOS and eNOS (p<0.01). In conclusion, endothelium-dependent vasodilation is improved by endurance exercise but impaired by chronic intense training. Elevations of vascular eNOS and HO-1/HO-2 may contribute to enhanced vasodilation, which can be offset by intense training and elevation in vascular iNOS.