Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dry granular flows down an inclined channel: experimental investigations on the frictional-collisional regime.

This paper presents experimental results on dry granular flows down an inclined rough channel. Different flow regimes were identified depending on the Froude number. For Froude numbers exceeding a critical value (function of the channel slope), flow was characterized by a fairly linear velocity profile and a discharge equation in the form q varies with h(n) with q the flow rate per unit width, h the flow depth, and n an exponent in the range 2-3 (regime A). When the Froude number was lower than the critical value, the flow was characterized by a convex velocity profile and a discharge equation of the form q varies with h(n), with n ranging from 0.97 to 1.16, producing the striking result that the mean velocity was constant for a given inclination of the channel (regime B). Experimental data were used to test three theoretical models developed to describe dry granular flows in a frictional-collisional regime. Savage's model provides results that capture experimental trends well and yield the correct magnitude for velocity and discharge for regime A, but it reproduces the dependence of the discharge on the channel slope for only a narrow range of slopes [S. B. Savage, in U.S./Japan Seminar on New Models and Constitutive Relations in the Mechanics of Granular Materials, Ithaca, 1982, edited by J. T. Jenkins and M. Satake (Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, 1982), p. 261]. In contrast, Mills et al.'s model is less refined and requires fitting an input parameter to give the correct magnitude of velocity but it successfully accounts for the variation in the discharge with slope for regime A for a wide range of slopes [Mills, Loggia, and Tixier, Europhys. Lett. 45, 733 (1999); Eur. Phys. J. E 1, 5 (2000)]. Ancey and Evesque's model is also crude in determining the density profile but manages to provide velocity profiles and discharge equations in good agreement with experimental data for regime B [C. Ancey and P. Evesque, Phys. Rev. E 62, 8349 (2000)].
Dynamin is required for F‐actin assembly and pedestal formation by enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC)

After attaching to human intestinal epithelial cells, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) induces the formation of an actin‐rich pedestal‐like structure. The signalling pathway leading to pedestal formation is initiated by the bacterial protein Tir, which is inserted into the host cell plasma membrane. The domain exposed on the cell surface binds to another bacterial protein, intimin, while one of the cytoplasmic domains binds the adaptor protein Nck. This leads to recruitment of other cytoskeletal proteins including neural Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein (N‐WASP) and Arp2/3, resulting in focused actin polymerization at the site of bacterial attachment. In this study we investigated the role of the large GTPase dynamin 2 (Dyn2) in pedestal formation. We found that in HeLa cells, both endogenous and overexpressed Dyn2 were recruited to sites of EPEC attachment. Recruitment of endogenous Dyn2 required the presence of Tir, Nck and N‐WASP but was independent of cortactin and Arp2/3. Knock‐down of Dyn2 expression by RNA interference reduced actin polymerization and pedestal formation. Overexpression of dominant‐negative mutants of Dyn2 also reduced pedestal formation and prevented recruitment of N‐WASP, Arp3 and cortactin, but not Nck. Together, our results indicate that Dyn2 is an integral component of the signalling cascade leading to actin polymerization in EPEC pedestals.
Nifedipine Gastrointestinal Therapeutic System versus Nifedipine Coat-Core: Comparison of Efficacy via 24-Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring

OBJECTIVE: To assess the comparable efficacy and adverse effect profile of two extended-release preparations of nifedipine — Gastrointestinal therapeutic system (GITS) and coat-core (CC) — In patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension. DESIGN: Single institution, single-blind, prospective study. SETTING: Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, GA. PATIENTS: Ninety-one patients who were taking nifedipine GITS as a sole antihypertensive agent were randomized to receive either GITS or CC. After 3 weeks, 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was conducted and an adverse effect questionnaire was administered. The patients were then crossed over to the other treatment arm and monitoring was repeated after 3 weeks. MEASUREMENTS: Mean blood pressures, heart rates, and the percentage of readings exceeding 140 mm Hg systolic and 90 mm Hg diastolic were compared for the 24-hour period. Additionally, mean blood pressures at 4-hour intervals after drug administration and heart rate during the first 8 hours of the dosage interval were compared. RESULTS: Ninety-one patients enrolled, 79 completed the study, and 62 patients were included in the efficacy analysis. A statistically significant difference (p = 0.020) was shown only in the last 4-hour systolic blood pressure. However, this difference was small (122 ± 15 mm Hg with GITS vs. 126 ± 14 mm Hg with CC). There was no difference in the percentage of readings exceeding 140 mm Hg systolic or 90 mm Hg diastolic. Neither dosage nor treatment order had an effect on the results. Adverse effects were reported with a greater frequency during CC therapy (40 with CC vs. 22 with GITS; p = 0.006), but were generally transient. Discontinuation of the drug was necessary in 3 patients during the CC cycle. CONCLUSIONS: GITS and CC demonstrated clinically equivalent antihypertensive efficacy in the study population. The CC product may have a higher rate of adverse effects, but drug discontinuation was uncommon. Patients who are taking the GITS formulation of nifedipine as a sole antihypertensive agent can safely be switched to the CC preparation without a clinically important sacrifice in blood pressure control or a major increase in adverse effects that might lead to drug discontinuation. The results of this study cannot be extrapolated to patients with poorly controlled hypertension or with other conditions treated with nifedipine. At our military medical center or any cost-controlled institution, the reason to contemplate such a switch is clearly economic. We estimate that there are 600 patients at our institution receiving the GITS preparation, at an annual cost of $320 000. At the current market costs, a direct switch would lead to an annual savings of $120 000 for our institution. For patients currently taking the GITS nifedipine product, CC nifedipine offers adequate blood pressure control and is more cost effective.
Term spread regressions of the rational expectations hypothesis of the term structure allowing for risk premium effects

Abstract This paper suggests a new empirical methodology of testing the predictions of the term spread between long and short-term interest rates about future changes of the former allowing for term premium effects, according to the rational expectations hypothesis of the term structure. To capture the effects of a time-varying term premium on the term spread, the paper relies on an empirically attractive affine Gaussian dynamic term structure model which assumes that the term structure of interest rates is spanned by three unobserved state variables. To retrieve accurate values of these variables from interest rates series, the paper suggests a new method which can overcome the effects of measurement (or pricing) errors inherent in these series on the estimates of the model. This method is assessed by a Monte Carlo study. Ignoring these errors will lead to biased estimates of term structure models. The empirical results of the paper provide support for the suggested term structure model. They show that this model can efficiently capture the time-varying term premium effects embodied in long-term interest rates, which can explain the failures of term spread to forecast future changes in long-term rates.
A Dual-Tree Algorithm for Fast k-means Clustering With Large k

k-means is a widely used clustering algorithm, but for k clusters and a dataset size of N , each iteration of Lloyd’s algorithm costs O(kN) time. This is problematic because increasingly, applications of k-means involve both large N and large k, and there are no accelerated variants that handle this situation. To this end, we propose a dual-tree algorithm that gives the exact same results as standard kmeans; when using cover trees, we bound the single-iteration runtime of the algorithm as O(N + k log k), under some assumptions. To our knowledge these are the first subO(kN) bounds for exact Lloyd iterations. The algorithm performs competitively in practice, especially for large N and k, in low-dimensional settings. The algorithm is generic, so any type of tree (i.e. kd-tree, octree, etc.) may be used.
Mental salience and grammatical form: toward a framework for salience metrics in natural language generation

ing from these minor conceptual difficulties, however, the markedness hierarchy established so far corresponds to the ‘consensus hierarchy’ that was proposed in Sect. 2.1. 4.1 as a generalization over different hierarchies of referring expressions found in linguistic literature. Correspondingly, hierarchies of referring expressions as discussed in Sect. 2.1. 2 can be interpreted as markedness hierarchies. One fundamental difference, however, between these cognitivefunctional models and the markedness hierarchy in (3.4) is that (3.4) is firmly grounded on empirically verifiable, surface-oriented markedness measurements, rather than with reference to a particular ranking of hypothetical cognitive categories. The application of markedness measurements also allows developing alternative markedness hierarchies. We can introduce additional distinctions between packaging phenomena, e.g., a differentiation between different forms of names similar to Ariel’s (1990, p.208) spectrum of cognitive statuses associated with full names, full name + description, title + last name, last name, first name, etc. Similarly, the markedness hierarchy can be augmented with language-specific grammatical devices, as I do not predict that the hierarchy itself is cross-linguistically applicable or even universal, but only that the underlying ordering principles are. In the same way as Ariel’s accessibility marking scale, this markedness hierarchy is thus extensible. As an illustration, consider possessive NPs: Possessives have been assumed to represent referents with low degrees of hearer salience by Prince (1981, possessive pronouns ‘anchor’ brand-new entities), and we can expect that this is reflected in a high degree of markedness. In terms of structural markedness, possessive NPs are indeed at least as phonologically and graphematically complex as the-NPs. For German Mann ‘man’ and English woman as two representative examples, this is also confirmed by distributional markedness. Because of this markedness characterization, 47 German possessive pronouns mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer; definite article der, die, das. English possessive pronouns my, your, his, her, its, our, their; definite article the. The only exceptions are English my that is graphematically less complex than the (two letters), although phonologically more complex (diphthong), and German ihr that is phonologically less complex than the masculine and neuter definite articles der, das. 48 For persons, the use of the possessive is normally inapplicable unless a social relationship is meant, not a proper possession. English woman does not seems to be an appropriate head of possessive NPs at all, and
In the Right Place at the Right Time!: The Influence of Knowledge Governance Tools on Knowledge Transfer and Utilization in MNEs

This article examines the utilization of knowledge transferred between sending and receiving subsidiaries within multinational enterprises. A model was developed and tested on 169 specific knowledge transfer projects. The model explains the utilization of knowledge subject to transfer in terms of hierarchical governance tool efficacy and lateral relationships within the multinational enterprise. The results show that headquarters' involvement during knowledge development does not have any significant impact on subsequent knowledge utilization in the receiving units and, in fact, hierarchical governance forms have a negative impact on knowledge utilization. However, lateral relationships are positive stimuli to building subsidiary capabilities in the knowledge transfer process that enhance receiving unit knowledge utilization.
Identifying Trends in Land Use/Land Cover Changes in the Context of Post-Socialist Transformation in Central Europe: A Case Study of the Greater Olomouc Region, Czech Republic

Many countries in Central and Eastern Europe have been undergoing marked economic changes following the collapse of the former "Eastern Bloc" and totalitarian regimes. In the Czech Republic, this transition has had a profound effect on land use management that subsequently results in widespread land cover changes. This study analyzes trends in land use/land cover changes (LULCC) in the context of political and economic transformation of the Czech Republic, using the greater Olomouc region in the period between 1991 and 2001 as a case study. Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images from 1991 and 2001 were acquired and processed for maximum likelihood classification to produce land use/land cover maps for both times with overall map accuracies between 0.8 and 0.84. Major land changes were identified using post-classification comparison and trend surface analysis. Results showed significant marginalization of intensive agricultural activities (12%), a shift in forest composition from mixed to deciduous forest (6%), and an overall increase in residential development on arable land (3.5%). Our findings are consistent with recent socioeconomic and political studies that describe post-socialist land change drivers in Central and Eastern Europe, such as decreased need for intensive agriculture, shift to ecological management of forested areas, or increasing suburbanization.
Sodium relaxation times in the knee joint in vivo at 7T

The sodium concentration correlates directly with the concentration of proteoglycans (PG) in cartilage, the loss of which is an early signature of osteoarthritis (OA). As a result, quantitative sodium MRI is a promising technique for assessing the degradation of articular cartilage in patients with OA. Sodium relaxation times can also provide information on the degradation of cartilage: it has already been shown on bovine cartilage that T1 and T2long are longer and T2short shorter when the PG concentration decreases. In this study, sodium T1, T2short∗ and T2long∗ relaxation maps were measured in vivo at 7 T on 8 healthy volunteers and in 4 different regions of the cartilage in the knee joint. The patellar, femoro‐tibial medial, lateral, and femoral condyle cartilage have an average T1 ∼ 20 ms, but different T2short∗ (from 0.5 ms to 1.4 ms) and T2long∗ (from 11.4 ms to 14.8 ms). Statistically significant differences in T1, T2short∗ and T2long∗ were observed between the different regions in cartilage (p ≪ 10− 5). Statistical differences in T1 were also observed between male and female data (p ≪ 10− 5). These relaxation times measurements can further be applied as correction factors for sodium concentration maps in vivo and can also be useful as complementary information to quantitative sodium MRI in the quest for detecting early OA. These measurements were done on low resolution sodium images in order to acquire sufficient quality data for fitting (5 images for T1 and 9 images for T2∗ ) while keeping the total time of acquisition of the data reasonable for the volunteer’s comfort (1 h 15 min). Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sentinel node biopsy with technetium‐99m colloidal rhenium sulphide in patients with breast cancer

Sentinel node biopsy is emerging as a technique to replace routine axillary lymph node dissection. The lymphatic mapping technique is still at a developmental stage and no standard technique exists. This study used technetium‐99m colloidal rhenium sulphide with a mean particle size of 100 (range 50–200) nm for sentinel node mapping.
Metabolic disposition of 5-iminodaunorubicin in the rat.

We determined the metabolic disposition of 5-iminodaunorubicin (IMD) in rats receiving acute doses of IMD (16 and 4 mg/kg) i.v. , i.p., and p.o. Major compounds found in plasma, liver, heart, lung, and brain of the rats receiving the higher dose, i.v. or i.p., were IMD and 5-imino-13-dihydrodaunorubicin. The aglycones, 5-iminodaunorubicinone and 5-imino-13-dihydrodaunorubicinone, were minor metabolites. No deoxyaglycones of IMD were detected in any tissue. We could not detect daunorubicin or its metabolites indicating IMD was not a prodrug of daunorubicin. Highest levels of IMD and metabolites were found in lung, liver, and heart, and lowest levels were found in the plasma and brain. Plasma levels of IMD after the higher i.v. dose decayed in a biphasic manner, and we calculated alpha-phase and beta-phase halftimes of decay of 1.4 and 10 hr, respectively. Patterns of distribution of IMD and metabolites were very similar following i.v. and i.p. treatments, except for higher amounts of IMD and metabolites in the liver after the latter route. A p.o. dose of IMD (16 mg/kg) yielded plasma levels of IMD that were only about 20% of those found by the parenteral routes. Summations of all compounds in all tissues at all times after this treatment yielded less than 2% of the corresponding totals found by the other routes. Results obtained following IMD (4 mg/kg) by the three routes generally confirmed conclusions derived from the studies at the higher dose, and we found an approximate linear dose relationship between the results from the two studies. Our inability to detect the formation of deoxyaglycone metabolites of IMD in vivo is consistent with earlier in vitro findings that IMD does not participate in the oxygen-cycling phenomenon typical of daunorubicin and doxorubicin to form drug and oxygen radicals and deoxyaglycone metabolites.
Study of denture-induced fibrous hyperplasia cases diagnosed from 1979 to 2001.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this research was to study the cases of inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia (IFH) at the Clinic of Semiology, Department of Bioscience and Oral Diagnosis, São Jose dos Campos Dental School, State University of São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS AND MATERIALS A total of 141 clinical file cards indicating a final diagnosis of IFH, from the archives of the Department of Bioscience and Oral Diagnosis and dated from 1979 to 2001, were included in the study. Of these files, 50 indicated a diagnosis of denture-induced fibrous hyperplasia. Sex, age, race, duration, and clinical features that confirm their classification in the non-neoplastic proliferating process were analyzed statistically. RESULTS Of the 50 analyzed cases of denture-induced lesion, 22% occurred in men and 78% in women. Patients in the age group of 41 to 50 years presented the highest frequency of the lesion. CONCLUSIONS Inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia occurs more frequently in women (71.63%), and denture-induced lesions appear mainly in patients over 40 years of age (70% of cases). Patients with denture-induced hyperplasia reported pain associated with the lesion (70%).
Mutual Cross-Feeding Interactions between Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum NCC2705 and Eubacterium rectale ATCC 33656 Explain the Bifidogenic and Butyrogenic Effects of Arabinoxylan Oligosaccharides

ABSTRACT Arabinoxylan oligosaccharides (AXOS) are a promising class of prebiotics that have the potential to stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria and the production of butyrate in the human colon, known as the bifidogenic and butyrogenic effects, respectively. Although these dual effects of AXOS are considered beneficial for human health, their underlying mechanisms are still far from being understood. Therefore, this study investigated the metabolic interactions between Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum NCC2705 (B. longum NCC2705), an acetate producer and arabinose substituent degrader of AXOS, and Eubacterium rectale ATCC 33656, an acetate-converting butyrate producer. Both strains belong to prevalent species of the human colon microbiota. The strains were grown on AXOS during mono- and coculture fermentations, and their growth, AXOS consumption, metabolite production, and expression of key genes were monitored. The results showed that the growth of both strains and gene expression in both strains were affected by cocultivation and that these effects could be linked to changes in carbohydrate consumption and concomitant metabolite production. The consumption of the arabinose substituents of AXOS by B. longum NCC2705 with the concomitant production of acetate allowed E. rectale ATCC 33656 to produce butyrate (by means of a butyryl coenzyme A [CoA]:acetate CoA-transferase), explaining the butyrogenic effect of AXOS. Eubacterium rectale ATCC 33656 released xylose from the AXOS substrate, which favored the B. longum NCC2705 production of acetate, explaining the bifidogenic effect of AXOS. Hence, those interactions represent mutual cross-feeding mechanisms that favor the coexistence of bifidobacterial strains and butyrate producers in the same ecological niche. In conclusion, this study provides new insights into the bifidogenic and butyrogenic effects of AXOS.
Risk Factors for Asthma Among Cosmetology Professionals in Colorado

Problem: After receiving several reports of occupational asthma among cosmetology professionals, we studied the prevalence, work-attributable risk, and tasks associated with asthma in this industry. Methods: We selected a stratified random sample of cosmeticians, manicurists, barbers, and cosmetologists holding licenses in Colorado for a mail survey instrument. Results: The prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma among the 1883 respondents (68% response rate) was 9.3%; of these, 67 (38%) developed asthma after entering the cosmetology profession. Multivariate analyses showed that hairstyling, application of artificial nails, and shaving and honing were significantly associated with asthma arising in the course of employment (P < 0.005) with relative risks of 2.6–2.9. Conclusions: The increased risk of asthma with onset during employment among cosmetologists is probably attributable to their exposure to sensitizers and irritants in tasks demonstrated to be associated with asthma.
Using Duplicate Genotyped Data in Genetic Analyses: Testing Association and Estimating Error Rates

Although researchers use duplicate genotyped data to calculate an inconsistency rate, there is no power analysis to assess the value of the duplicate data. In this paper, we present a model in which the genotyping error rate is related to the inconsistency rate. We extend the g genotype by h phenotype chi-squared test to incorporate the duplicate genotyped data. When a subject is inconsistently genotyped (that is, has two observed genotypes), our procedure is to allocate 0.5 units to each of the two genotypes. We specify the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) test comparing these extended counts. We provide freely available software for this test and also for a permutation test used on small samples. A simulation study shows that the asymptotic null distribution of the MANOVA test holds when the total number of subjects, N, is at least 300. We also document with a simulation study that the asymptotic distribution of this test under various alternative hypotheses is a satisfactory approximation to the simulated power. In all cases, the power of the MANOVA test using the duplicate genotyped data is greater than the power of the chi-squared test ignoring the duplicate data. Power increases ranged from 0.776% to 4.652% for 80% powered tests and 0.292% to 2.028% for 95% powered tests. Researchers now can compute the value of the duplicate genotyped data as part of the design of the study.