Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of microvascular alterations induced by revascularization on coronary wave intensity in humans

Background: Wave Intensity (WI) Analysis applied to epicardial pressure and flow velocity signals is a powerful tool that can distinguish between forward(aortic origin) and backward-traveling (microcirculatory origin) waves. We hypothesized that the size of the backward waves is dependent on coronary microvascular resistance (MR) and that they can therefore be used for assessment of the coronary microcirculation. Methods: ECG, aortic pressure (Pa) and distal coronary pressure (Pd) and flow velocity (v) were recorded at rest and during maximal hyperemia in 26 patients in a normal reference vessel and in a diseased vessel before and after stent placement. From the WI contour the areas of two major backward and two major forward waves were calculated, representing wave energy. Microvascular resistance was computed as MR = Pd/v and microvascular conductance, MC, as its inverse: 1/MR. Results: Vasodilation induced a decrease in Pd and MR (P<0.0001) and was associated with an increase in the area of both backward waves (P<0.005). The changes induced by stent placement in the energy of hyperemic backward waves were strongly correlated to the accompanying changes in MC (P<0.0005). Wave intensities at hyperemia and at rest were strongly correlated as well. Conclusions: The increase in the energy of the hyperemic backward waves after stent placement is indicative of a decrease in hyperemic coronary microvascular resistance, occurring concomitantly with coronary pressure restoration. Wave intensity is more strongly determined by MR than stenosis resistance. Wave intensity in healthy and diseased coronary vessels 71
Analysis of wintertime atmospheric moisture transport and its variability over southern Europe in the NCEP Reanalyses

A common analysis of instrumental monthly precipitation records and 6 h meteorologi- cal Reanalysis from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) was performed to diagnose the main modes of tropospheric, vertically integrated moisture transport over the Mediter- ranean basin and southern Europe. The moisture transport and its variability at each grid point and at the boundaries of the domain were quantified. Quantities such as the standard deviation of filtered geopotential height, one-point correlation maps and Z300-Z500 and Z500-Z700 thicknesses, related to the intensity and typical paths of baroclinic disturbances, were also computed to help in the inter- pretation of the results. It is clear that the leading mode of Mediterranean precipitation has its roots in the dynamics of the Atlantic storm track and the associated moisture transports. The second mode represents the internal redistribution of moisture inside the Mediterranean basin. Moisture is sup- plied to the atmosphere in the western Mediterranean, and this moisture is transported and precipi- tates over the eastern Mediterranean (mainly Turkey and Greece). Finally, the third mode depends on the role of European topography as a blocking factor for westerly moisture transport advected from the North Atlantic region.
Why Restaurants Fail? Part II - The Impact of Affiliation, Location, and Size on Restaurant Failures: Results from a Survival Analysis

It has been suggested that changes in organizational populations are shaped by a natural (biological) selection process. Industries and businesses evolve through standard and identifiable phases throughout their lifespan. This study analyzed organizational mortality in the restaurant sector based on restaurant location, affiliation (presence/no presence of multi-unit locations of restaurants in a given geographical area), and size. Objectives of this study are to understand organizational failure from a population ecology perspective and, specifically, to identify the influences of location, competitive density, and organizational size on restaurant failure. The analyses indicated all three variables—location, affiliation, and size—are significant influences on restaurants' mortality. Chain restaurants were found to have significantly lower failure rates than independently owned restaurants. Restaurants that are smaller in size had higher failurerates than large sized restaurants. There is a significant effect of location, as measured by U.S. postal zip codes, on restaurant failures.
Laboratory and Field Evaluation of Two Warm-Mix Additives in Connecticut and Validation of an Alternative Moisture Susceptibility Test

This paper presents the details on the first official state Warm-Mix Asphalt (WMA) pavement project in Connecticut. The construction took place between July 20 and 22, 2010 and it involved three experimental sections, i.e. one section with a conventional HMA (control section) and two WMA sections with different technologies, wax and foamed asphalt. All three sections are located on Route 70 in central Connecticut. Each section is approximately 1 km long and includes lanes in both directions. The construction was done as 50-mm overlay with 12.5 mm SuperPave mix. Each mix was sampled over three day construction period for further evaluation in the laboratory. The materials were collected in loose form and reheated and compacted in laboratory conditions (laboratory fabricated specimens). This paper discusses the effect of mix type on the results from several tests conducted in the laboratory, such as SemiCircular Bending, Hamburg Wheel Tracking, Indirect Tensile, and Disk Compact Tension. The results from the WMA specimens are also compared against conventional HMA specimens. Finally, the paper presents the performance data from all three test sections after the first winter season and correlates these observations with the laboratory
The effect of acceptance and commitment therapy on the conflict resolution styles of incompatible marital women

Aim: Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is one of the third-generation behavioral therapies in which it is attempted to increase the psychological relationship of an individual with his or her thoughts and feelings instead of changing cognition. The purpose of this study was the effectiveness of ACT on conflict resolution styles of incompatible marital women. Methods: This is a semi-experimental, pretest and posttest design and a 3-month follow-up. The statistical population of the study consisted of all incompatible women who referred to counseling centers in Arak in 2018. Therefore, 24 participants were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to one test groups and one control group of 12 participants for each. Data were collected in the pretest, posttest and follow-up stages with (the Conflict Resolution Styles Scale or Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II). The test group received a therapeutic intervention based on ACT for twelve 90-min sessions, but no therapy was provided for the control group. After the completion of treatment sessions, both groups were subjected to posttest. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance with repeated measures and Bonferroni post-hoc test. Results: The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the posttest scores of the test group compared with that of the control group (P < 0.05), and the difference was suitably sustainable during the time. Conclusion: ACT is considered as an effective intervention in improving conflict resolution styles.
Representation and participation in formulating Nepal’s REDD+ approach

ABSTRACT REDD+ is an international policy aimed at incentivizing forest conservation and management and improving forest governance. In this article, we interrogate how newly articulated REDD+ governance processes established to guide the formulation of Nepal’s REDD+ approach address issues of participation for different social groups. Specifically, we analyse available forums of participation for different social groups, as well as the nature of their representation and degree of participation during the country’s REDD+ preparedness phase. We find that spaces for participation and decision-making in REDD+ have been to date defined and dominated by government actors and influential civil society groups, whereas the influence of other actors, particularly marginalized groups such as Dalits and women’s organizations, have remained limited. REDD+ has also resulted in a reduction of influence for some hitherto powerful actors (e.g. community forestry activists) and constrained their critical voice. These governance weaknesses related to misrepresentation and uneven power relations in Nepal cast doubt on the extent to which procedural justice has been promoted through REDD+ and imply that implementation may, as a consequence, lack the required social legitimacy and support. We discuss possible ways to address these shortcomings, such as granting greater prominence to neglected civil society forums within the REDD+ process, allowing for an increase in their influence on policy design, enhancing capacity and leadership of marginalized groups and institutionalizing participation through continued forest governance reform. Key policy insights Participation is a critical asset in public policy design. Ensuring wide and meaningful participation can enhance policy legitimacy and thus its endorsement and potential effective implementation. Fostering inclusive processes through dedicated forums such as multi-stakeholder groups can help overcome power dynamics. While REDD+ is open to participation by different actors through a variety of formal means, many countries lack a clear framework for participation in national policy processes. Nepal’s experience with representation and participation of non-state actors in its REDD+ preparedness programme provides useful insights for similar social and policy contexts.
Virilio: Mimesis, Mourning, and Modern Technology

Abstract: In The Vision Machine (1994) Paul Virilio uses powerful imagery to warn us about the consequences of our increasing dependence on “vision machines. ” With little use, he claims that our sense organs will atrophy and we will degenerate into neurologically simple organisms. This article examines his use of imagery, arguing (after Nicholsen, 1997; Saussy, 2006; and Taussig, 1993) that he mimetically replicates cultural anxieties as well as the destructive drives he critiques. Arguing that he mourns the loss of an ideal human animal of knowledge constituted through the Greek practice of techne (Heidegger, 1977), the article further questions whether his writing is symptomatic of “left melancholia” (Brown, 2003). Resume : Dans La machine de vision (1994), Paul Virilio emploie des images puissantes pour nous avertir des consequences de notre dependance croissante par rapport aux « machines de vision ». Il croit que nos sens, en etant sousutilises, s’atrophient et que nous allons nous degrader, devenant des organismes neurologiquement simples. Cet article examine les images que Virilio utilise; il soutient (a l’exemple de Nicholsen, 1997; Saussy, 2006; et Taussig, 1993) que cet auteur reproduit mimetiquement des anxietes culturelles ainsi que les pulsions destructrices memes qu’il critique. L’article, affirmant qu’il fait le deuil d’un animal humain ideal possedant un savoir forme au moyen de la pratique grecque du techne (Heidegger, 1977), souleve en outre la question de l’ecriture de Virilio en tant que symptome de « melancolie de gauche » (Brown, 2003).
Breast Cancer Knowledge and Breast Self-examination Practice among Female Students in Rift Valley University, Adama campus, Adama,Ethiopia, 2017

Background: Several studies reported that breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, and is the principal cause of cancer deaths and is therefore, a world concern. Early detection of breast cancer using breast self-examination (BSE) plays an important role in decreasing its morbidity and mortality. Objective: To assess the level of knowledge of breast cancer and practice of breast self-examination among female students in Rift Valley University. Methods and Materials: Cross-sectional study design was employed. A total of 423 female students were included. Stratified sampling method was used. Students were divided into two strata, as health science students and non-health science students. A pretested structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Binary and Multiple logistic regressions were performed. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI was used to measure the strength of association. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05 Results: Most of the respondents (94.1%) were with age of 20-30 years. The mean score knowledge about breast cancer was 6.5. Out of 423 female students, 59.8% of them had a good knowledge about breast cancer. Half of them (54.4%) reported that they had heard about breast self-examination while 25.8% reported that they had practiced breast self-examination before. Students who had family history of breast cancer were more likely knowledgeable than who hadn’t family history of breast cancer (COR=3.042, AOR=1.225, 95% CI=1.636-5.656). Conclusions: Nearly half of them had poor knowledge about breast cancer. Majority of them had poor knowledge how to perform breast self-examination and most of them didn’t perform breast self-examination before.
Terrestrial ecosystem process model Biome-BGCMuSo v4.0: summary of improvements and new modeling possibilities

Abstract. The process-based biogeochemical model Biome-BGC was enhanced to improve its ability to simulate carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles of various terrestrial ecosystems under contrasting management activities. Biome-BGC version 4.1. 1 was used as a base model. Improvements included addition of new modules such as the multilayer soil module, implementation of processes related to soil moisture and nitrogen balance, soil-moisture-related plant senescence, and phenological development. Vegetation management modules with annually varying options were also implemented to simulate management practices of grasslands (mowing, grazing), croplands (ploughing, fertilizer application, planting, harvesting), and forests (thinning). New carbon and nitrogen pools have been defined to simulate yield and soft stem development of herbaceous ecosystems. The model version containing all developments is referred to as Biome-BGCMuSo (Biome-BGC with multilayer soil module; in this paper, Biome-BGCMuSo v4.0 is documented). Case studies on a managed forest, cropland, and grassland are presented to demonstrate the effect of model developments on the simulation of plant growth as well as on carbon and water balance.
Are Ratings the Worst Form of Credit Assessment Apart from All the Others?

We present a prediction model to forecast corporate defaults. In a theoretical model, under incomplete information in a market with publicly traded equity, we show that our approach must outperform ratings, Altman’s Z-score, and Merton’s distance to default. We reconcile the statistical and structural approaches under a common framework, i.e., our approach nests Altman’s and Merton’s approaches as special cases. Empirically, we cannot reject the superiority of our approach.Furthermore, the numbers of observed defaults align well with the estimated probabilities. Finally, with rank transforms, we obtain cycle-adjusted forecasts that still outperform ratings.
Measurement and modelling of the turbulent boundary layer near the attachment line of a swept wing

ABSTRACT This work is motivated by the need for low-order aerodynamic models to predict accurately the effect on profile drag of controlling attachment line transition. Head's entrainment method(1), a rapid integral boundary layer technique used for design studies on swept wings, suffers from the governing swept-tapered turbulent integral boundary layer equations being ill-posed in the vicinity of the attachment line. This singularity has been treated using crude extrapolations of the attachment-line similarity solution for over half a century, but this approach is unlikely to deliver accurate predictions of the effect of changes in the attachment line flow on profile drag. An experimental study has been carried out to explore the nature of the turbulent flow in the vicinity of a highly swept swept attachment line and has revealed a quite complex, non-monotonic development of the momentum thickness in this region. It has also revealed lower levels of twist in the boundary layer velocity profiles than anticipated from the highly curved character of the inviscid flow streamlines. These observations have prompted an alternative approach to the modelling of the flow in this region which not only successfully eliminates the lack of robustness in the swept-tapered equations but which also matches the experimental results to within ±5%.
PROXIMATE ANALYSIS AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF ECLIPTA ALBA (L.) HASSK. - A TRADITIONALLY USED HERB

Eclipta alba is an herb that is widely used in traditional cuisine and in folk medicine for the treatment of various ailments. Proximate analysis of the plant was carried out using the fresh material by the standard methods. Preliminary qualitative phytochemical analysis of the extracts was carried out by standard methods. Antimicrobial activity of petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, ethanol and aqueous extracts of E. alba was evaluated against selected strains of bacteria and fungi using agar well diffusion method against Bacillus subtilis MTCC 441, Staphyllococcus aureus MTCC 96, Proteus mirabilis MTCC 1429, Bacillus cereus MTCC 430, Escherichia coli MTCC 739, Salmonella enterica serv.typhi MTCC 3917, Pseudomon as aeruginosa MTCC 1688, Staphyllococcus epidermidis MTCC 435 and Candida albicans MTCC 3017. The proximate analysis yielded moisture (79.02 ± 0.03 %), ash (15.78 ± 1.12 %), organic matter (84.22 ± 1.12 %), fibre (2.22 ± 0.04 %), carbohydrates (67.50 ± 1.50 %), proteins (2.6 ± 0.05 %) and lipids (4.87 ± 0.42%) and major phytochemicals viz. alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, phenols, tannins, sterols, cardiac glycosides and anthraquinone glycosides were detected in the extracts. The extracts exhibited antimicrobial activity differently against the tested microorganisms. Maximum number of test strains were inhibited by the ethyl acetate extract (PI= 1) with zones of inhibition in the range of 11 ± 1 mm to 22 ± 1 mm with maximum activity against Bacillus cereus. It was followed by ethanol extract (PI= 0.89) with zone of inhibition in the range of 9 ± 1 mm to 27 ± 1 mm and maximum activity against Escherichia coli. Petroleum ether extract exhibited inhibition of only Bacillus cereus (10 ± 2 mm). Aqueous extract inhibited four strains (Bacillus subtilis, Staphyllococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Candida albicans) with zone of inhibition in the range of 10 ± 0 to 11 ± 1 mm. This study justifies the use of the plant in traditional system and also shows that the plant could be a potential source of new antimicrobial agent/s.
Heavy Metal Levels in Vegetables with Growth Stage and Plant Species Variations

Field experiment was conducted to compare and investigate the concentration levels of heavy metals in leafy vegetables with growth stage and plant species variations on an experimental field near the net house of Soil Science Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur, Bangladesh during November 2008 to January 2009. Seeds of spinach ( Spinacia oleracea ), red amaranth ( Amaranthus tricolor ) and amaranth ( Amaranthus oleraseus ) were sown on 14 November 2008. Plant and soil samples were collected at different growth stages, such as at 20, 30, 40, and 50 days after sowing (DAS). The concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), and chromium (Cr) in plant increased with the age of the plant, but the increase was not linear. The rate of increase of concentration of these metals at 20 to 30 DAS was found lower than that at 30 to 40 DAS, except Cr. Heavy metal content gradually increased at the early growing stage and fall during later stages of growth. The significant differences ( P < 0.01) were observed between the mean metal concentrations in the three vegetables species. The Pb and Co concentrations in amaranth were found higher compared to those found in spinach and red amaranth. Spinach exhibited higher levels of Cd and Cr than those of other vegetables. However, the three vegetables did not differ significantly in its Ni concentration. The order of heavy metal level in different vegetables was Cd<Co<Pb<Ni<Cr. In vegetable species in respect of heavy metal concentration Cd, Ni, and Cr was highest in spinach and amaranth showed highest concentration in Pb and Co. The highest correlation between soil-plant was found for Cd, while the lowest for Ni. Metal concentrations in the vegetables studied were found lower than the maximum allowable level in India but the concentrations of Cd and Cr were higher than the allowable levels set by the World Health Organization (WHO). DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/bjar.v36i4. 11743 Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 36(4): 563-574, December 2011
ARGINASE ENZYME ACTIVITY AND LACTOFERRIN PROTEIN CONCENTRATION IN EGYPTIAN DIABETIC PATIENTS.

Mohamed A. El-Desouky 1 , Sanaa Osman 2 , Nashwa M. Shams Eldin 1 and Ibrahim Emaraa 3 . 1. Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Department of Chemistry, Lab of Biochemistry. 2. Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Department of Chemistry. 3. NationalDiabetes and Endocrinology Institute. Manuscript Info Abstract . Manuscript History
The impact of a financial crisis on the dividend payout of Dutch publicly listed firms

As a result of the global financial crisis of 2007 many firms all around the world encountered serious liquidity problems, whereas others went bankrupt; a serious decrease in profitability was seen and investments dropped to zero. This paper examines whether these negative corollaries of the financial crisis had any consequence for the dividend payout of Dutch publicly listed firms. It does so by assessing the dividend payout ratios of 78 Dutch publicly listed firms during the pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis period (2006-2012). First of all, mean values of dividend payout ratio turns out to be higher during the crisis period, opposed to the pre- and post-crisis period, the mean differences are not statistically significant. Secondly important variables and derterminants of dividend payout with their corresponding relationships are identified by means of related literature after which they are tested by means of the data provided by these firms. All relationships between dividend payout ratio and the independent variables profitabilty, firm size, growth opportunities, earned equity and liquidity show to be statistically insignificant in the results of both the correlation and regression analysis. However, the self-constructed dummy variable crisis did show to be close significant dunring the regression analysis, so that this paper found a substantial yet not statistical significant impact of the financial crisis on the dividend payout ratio of Dutch publicly listed firms.
Interior a priori estimates for the Monge-Ampere equation

In this paper we prove the strict convexity, the interior C, C and W 2,p estimates for convex solutions to the Monge-Ampère type equation. For the strict convexity and C estimate, we assume that the inhomogeneous term f satisfies a doubling condition. For the C and W 2,p estimates, we assume that f is Hölder continuous or continuous. These estimates are mainly due to Caffarelli. We also give a brief discussion on the regularity for more general Monge-Ampère type equations arising in optimal transportation.