Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Production of particleboards with bamboo (Dendrocalamus giganteus) reinforcement

The focus of this research was to study the utilization of residues from bamboo (Dendrocalamus giganteus) lamination in the manufacturing of panels for structural purposes. Bamboo particleboards were produced under three conditions: pure boards, reinforced with bamboo laminas, and with treated particles. Castor oil-based polyurethane was the resin binder, in view of using lower toxicity materials. The mechanical tests were performed according to Brazilian Standard (NBR) 14810-3 (2006) and European Standard (EN) 310 (2000). The results were superior to those recommended by these and other standards for internal adhesion resistance, modulus of rupture, and elasticity in static bending, as well as to the results of other studies. Starch treatment was an unnecessary stage. According to the conditions of this process, the studied panels showed a good potential for construction use. Moreover, the bamboo particleboards are an economically viable, environmentally friendly, and sustainable alternative for the use of waste generated during the processing of Dendrocalamus giganteus bamboo species, allied with castor oil-based polyurethane resin. The reinforced particleboard and its production process are being licensed as an Innovation Patent in Brazil, (BR 1020130133919-1-2013).
Functional and cognitive changes in community-dwelling elderly: longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND The relationship between aging and increased life expectancy in the overall population likely contributes to a higher frequency rate and incidence of illnesses and functional disabilities. Physical dependence and cognitive impairment might hinder the performance of activities and result in an overload of care duties for the patient's family and the healthcare system. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to compare the functional and cognitive changes exhibited by the elderly over a 6-month period. METHOD This longitudinal and observational study was conducted in a sample of 167 elderly people, who were selected from the database of the Network of Studies on Frailty in Brazilian Elderly, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG. The participants submitted to the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Katz Index, Lawton and Brody's scale and responded to items on Advanced Activities of Daily Living (AADLs). We analyzed the data using multivariate regression models. RESULTS The participants' functional capacity exhibited reduced performance of specific instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), p=0.002, and basic activities of daily living (BADLs), p=0.038. Living alone (odds ratio (OR), 2.53; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.09-5.87) and work status (OR, 2.52; 95% CI, 1.18-5.41) were associated with changes in the IADLs. The scores in the AADL scale (p=0.163) and MMSE (p=0.059) did not exhibit any significant difference during the study period. The participants with better cognitive function were more independent in their performance of AADLs and IADLs. CONCLUSION The results depict specific patterns of loss and stability of functional capacity in community-dwelling elderly.
Temporal Subspace Clustering for Unsupervised Action Segmentation

Action segmentation (segmenting a continuous sequence of motion data into a set of actions) has a wide range of applications and plays a role in many problems in computer vision. We look at subspace clustering as an unsupervised approach for this task. Classical subspace clustering methods uncover relationships within the data by learning codes for the samples (i.e. frames), but in this process these methods do not consider the temporal dependency of nearby samples in motion data. In this paper, we propose two subspace clustering methods with temporal regularization terms: Temporal Sparse Subspace Clustering Laplacian Regularization (TSSC-LR) and Temporal Sparse Subspace Clustering Linear Combination (TSSC-LC). TSSC-LR encourages similar codings of samples within a window and TSSC-LC enforces codings within a window to be linear combinations of each other. Efficient ADMM algorithms are proposed for each method. Experiments against state-of-the-art methods on three action datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the two proposed methods.
trans rescue of a mutant poliovirus RNA polymerase function

A series of three-nucleotide insertions was engineered into the P2 and P3 coding regions of the T7 expression plasmid pT7(tau)-PV1, which encodes a full-length copy of poliovirus type 1 (Mahoney) cDNA. When RNA derived in vitro from these mutated templates was used to transfect HeLa cells, viable virus mutants were recovered. One mutant, Sel-3D-18, which contained a single amino acid insertion in the 3Dpol coding region, was temperature sensitive for growth at 39 degrees C and showed defects in both RNA synthesis and P1 protein processing at the nonpermissive temperature. The RNA replication defect in Se1-3D-18 was identified at the level of RNA chain elongation. A highly specific and sensitive method was developed for analyzing the ability of mutant RNA templates to replicate in the presence or absence of helper functions provided in trans. This approach was used to demonstrate that RNA synthesis in Se1-3D-18 can be rescued by helper functions provided in trans.
Relation between Emotion Regulation and Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis Review

This meta-analysis examined the relationship between emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression) and mental health (measured by life-satisfaction, positive affect, depression, anxiety, and negative affect). 48 studies, which included 51 independent samples, 157 effect sizes, and 21,150 participants, met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that cognitive reappraisal was correlated significantly and positively with positive indicators of mental health (r=.26) and negatively with negative indicators of mental health (r=–.20). Expressive suppression was correlated negatively with positive indicators of mental health (r=–.12), and positively with negative indicators of mental health (r=.15). Expressive suppression was correlated positively with positive indicators of mental health within the category of samples with Western cultural values (r=–.11) but not the category with Eastern cultural values. Moreover, the correlation of expressive suppression and negative indicators of mental health was stronger in the Western cultural values category (r=.19) than in the Eastern cultural values category (r=.06). Therefore, it is necessary for follow-up studies about emotion regulation and mental health to consider some moderator variable like the culture.
Use of Mobiles by Library and Information Science Professionals: A Survey

Due to proliferation and multi-disciplinary relevance in all the subjects, lot of digital information in various formats is knocking the doors of the knowledge seekers and it can be accessed by using tools and techniques of information and communication technology (ICT). The present study is on how library and information science (LIS) professionals use mobile phones for getting access to the information, usefulness of mobile technologies in their learning activity, their attitudes towards use of mobile devices and its impact on their behaviours. The results reveals that majority of LIS users most frequently use mobiles for communication purpose operating from their homes and expend 1-2 hours daily on mobiles using a 3G network. They are well aware about search techniques and skills to access information on internet over mobiles and use it for downloading implications by not participating in online discussion/chatting forum on internet. Further survey perceived that they are not using mobile for financial transaction and online shopping. The paper concluded that basic knowledge accompanied with self-learning skill is the pre-requisite for easy handling of mobile and its related technologies for all kinds of professionals. http://dx.doi. org/10.14429/djlit.35. 6.8898
Diagnoses of 964 oral biopsies from people aged over 50 years in Karnataka State, India.

INTRODUCTION The drastic epidemiological transition has created a huge void in evidence with regard to the health statistics of elderly population. Data are sparse on the oral mucosal conditions prevalent among the elderly Indian population. This study aimed to review the oral biopsies reported in the institute over the last 21 years and to examine the trends in geriatric oral pathologies. METHODOLOGY A total of 964 histologically confirmed geriatric (age ranging 50-97 years) oral lesions among 4000 cases reported were retrieved from the files of Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology of KLE VK institute, Belgaum, Karnataka commencing since 1992 till 2012. These cases were retrospectively evaluated for various parameters such as age, gender, duration, location and type of lesions. RESULTS The geriatric oral lesions were seen to occur predominantly in men (65%), especially the sixth decade of life (47%). The most common location was the buccal mucosa (29%). The malignant neoplastic lesions accounted for the majority of the geriatric lesions (36%) followed by non-neoplastic lesions (27%), potentially malignant disorders (26%) and benign neoplasms, which formed a minor proportion of (11%). The oral squamous cell carcinoma was the single most common geriatric lesion accounted. Gender and age-wise correlation analyses among the various lesion categories showed statistical significance. CONCLUSION The study provides valuable information about major oral pathologies in our scenario that contribute to significant morbidity and mortality among the geriatric population. It also sheds light about the diseases that need to be targeted in future Indian public health policies and initiatives for geriatric care.
Aggregate Audit Adjustments and Discretionary Accruals: Further Evidence on the Relation between Audit Quality and Earnings Management

This study uses a new measure, aggregate audit adjustment (AAA), of audit quality to reexamine the relation between audit quality and earnings management. The AAA is defined as the difference between pre-audited earning and post-audited earning, which represents an objective measure of the auditors' ability at detecting errors and irregularities in the pre-audited financial statements, and then credibly making necessary adjustments. We predict that there is a negative effect of aggregate audit adjustment on earnings management (measured by discretionary accruals). The empirical result indicates that even in the case of controlling the auditor type (Big 5 vs. Non-Big 5), this relation still holds. This means that higher quality auditors can not only report a lower degree of discretionary accruals but also adjust a larger amount/magnitude of errors (or perhaps unwarranted accruals) included in their client's pre-audited earnings. This finding complements and reinforces the findings of prior research, in particular those provided in Becker et al. (1998).
Electrothermal Transport in Silicon Carbide Semiconductors via a Hydrodynamic Model

A hydrodynamic model describing the electron transport in silicon carbide semiconductors, coupled with the heating of the crystal lattice, is presented. It has been obtained by taking the moments of the coupled Boltzmann equations for the electrons and phonons, and by using the maximum entropy principle. The main advantage of this model is that the transport coefficients are explicitly determined. The model makes use of analytic conduction bands, and the main scattering mechanisms in such semiconductor are taken into account. Simulation results in the bulk case are shown.
Conspicuous Consumption: A Literature Review

States that status and prestige considerations play a significant part in shopping preferences for products, which, although they appear to have a direct utility, serve only as a means of displaying wealth and purchasing power. Examines the literature on the subject, looking at the conspicuous customer, for whom the cost of a purchase is only of real significance and not the product. Suggests, from the literature, that consumer behaviour and demand for status goods and services needs further investigation.
Structural Evolution Through Idiosyncratic Jobs: The Potential for Unplanned Learning

This paper describes an evolutionary model of organizational change through the selective retention of jobs. This type of change can operate in addition to top-down planned organizational change, providing “another engine” of organizational transformation over time.All evolutionary change processes require that there be a system for replicating activities over time, a source of variation in activities, and mechanisms which permit some activities to persist while others do not. In this model, formalized job systems and related management practices provide the mechanism for the replication of job activities. Idiosyncratic jobs—or jobs created around particular people rather than in the abstract—serve as a mechanism for unplanned variation in sets of job duties. Finally managerial actions such as layoffs, reorganizations, budget changes and copying jobs from other areas lead to the selective retention of some sets of job activities over others.The organizational change created by these processes may or may not be adaptive for the organization. The outcome will depend on such factors as the birth, death and imitation rates for idiosyncratic and other jobs, as well as the criteria used for job birth and job termination. Adaptation is possible, but is a function of complex, nonlinear constraints. Specific organizational processes that determine these factors are discussed.The model implies that adaptive change can occur in the absence of clear and consistent goals. Thus, the model's implications contradict the frequent assumption of strategic planning literatures that clear and stable goals are necessary for adaptive organizational change. Formalization is necessary for the organization to maintain over time those job activities which have proved to be useful innovations. Thus, the model's implications also contradict the assumption in structural contingency theory that formalization deters adaptive change.Although consistent with other theories of evolutionary organizational change, the model extends prior work by detailing concrete mechanisms, clarifying boundary conditions for the process, and stressing that adaptation is feasible but definitely not assured. The outcome depends in part upon managerial attention to organizational processes rather than to outcomes, and “benign opportunism”—or creative attention to unfolding organizational competencies.Finally, the paper outlines the potential of the model for further study, especially for empirical research on evolutionary change processes and on organizational learning. The evolutionary change process described can be seen as a form of trial-and-error learning in which retained jobs constitute the organization's memory. It is distinct from many other organizational learning models, however, because the source of innovation—idiosyncratic jobs—is not planned in advance by top management, and may be unrelated to current aspirations of the dominant coalition.
Pilot trial of etanercept in the treatment of inclusion-body myositis

Inclusion-body myositis (IBM) is an inflammatory muscle disease that has proven resistant to treatment. Tumor necrosis factor molecules have been detected in muscle biopsies from patients with IBM. Etanercept is a TNFα receptor fusion protein that binds and inactivates tumor necrosis factor. Nine patients were treated with etanercept at a dose of 25 mg, two times a week for an average of 17 ± 6.1 months. Each patient was evaluated using quantitative strength testing. Their data were compared to two different control groups. The first control group consisted of patients who participated in trials of beta-interferon-1A and had received placebo. There was no significant difference. The second control group was a natural history cohort of IBM patients. There was no statistically significant difference between the treated group and the natural history group at 6 and 12 months when looking at elbow flexors, or 6 months when looking at hand grip. In the treated patients there was a small but significant improvement (p = 0.002) in handgrip at 12 months.
Evaluation of the effect of cellular SMS reminders on consistency of antiretroviral therapy pharmacy pickups in HIV-infected adults in Botswana: a randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT Objective: Several studies have demonstrated that cellular phone short message service (SMS) improve antiretroviral adherence for people living with HIV in Africa, although less data are available to support using SMS reminders to improve timeliness of antiretroviral therapy (ART) pharmacy pick up. This study tested the efficacy of SMS reminders on timeliness of ART pharmacy pickups at an urban clinic in Gaborone, Botswana. Design: A randomized-controlled trial evaluating the effect of SMS reminders on ART collection for patients with HIV on treatment. Methods: One hundred and eight treatment-experienced adult patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to a control group or an intervention group. Participants in the intervention group received SMS reminders that were sent in advance of monthly ART refills that needed to be collected. The primary outcome was 100% timeliness of pharmacy ART pickups. Secondary outcomes included frequency of physician visits, CD4 cell counts and viral loads. Results: Baseline characteristics in the intervention (n = 54) and control arms (n = 54) were similar. After six months, 85% of those receiving SMS reminders were 100% on time picking up monthly ART refills compared to 70% in the control group (p = 0.064). In secondary analysis, there were no significant changes in the CD4 counts and viral loads over the course of the study. Conclusions: Timeliness of ART pickup was not significantly improved by SMS reminders. Additionally, the intervention had no impact on immunologic or virologic outcomes in treatment-experienced patients.
Assessing Advantage: A Framework for Diagnosing Competitive Superiority

Strategy is about seeking new edges in a market while slowing the erosion of present advantages. Effective strategy moves are grounded in valid and insightful monitoring of the current competitive position coupled with evidence that reveals the skills and resources affording the most leverage on future cost and differentiation advantages. Too often the available measures and methods do not satisfy these requirements. Only a limited set of measures may be used, depending on whether the business starts with the market and uses a customer-focused approach or alternatively adopts a competitor-centered perspective. To overcome possible myopia, the evidence of advantage should illuminate the sources of advantage as well as the manifestations of superior customer value and cost superiority, and should be based on a balance of customer and competitor perspectives.
The Rise and Fall of Chinese Tax Incentives and Implications for International Tax Debates

China had no foreign direct investment (FDI) before 1979. Now, it is one of the world's largest recipients of FDI. China has been generous to a fault in granting tax incentives to foreign investors. As of January 1, 2008, however, these FDI-specific incentives are abolished or phased out. What explains the rise and fall? Were the tax incentives not effective in attracting FDI and promoting China's economic growth? What are the implications of the Chinese experience for international tax debates? This article examines these questions.
Quality of informal care is multidimensional.

PURPOSE To demonstrate that assessing quality of informal care involves more than merely determining whether care recipient needs for assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) are routinely satisfied. We investigated the extent to which potentially harmful behavior (PHB), adequate care, and exemplary care (EC) are empirically distinct dimensions of quality of care. DESIGN 237 care recipients completed the quality of care measures, and their caregivers completed psychosocial measures of their own depression, life events, cognitive status, and perceptions of pre-illness relationship quality. RESULTS Although PHB was moderately related to EC, adequate care was not associated with PHB and was only slightly related to EC. Psychosocial variables were not related to adequate care but were differentially associated with PHB and EC, providing additional evidence for the distinction between these measures of quality of care. CONCLUSIONS ADL assistance can be adequate in the presence of PHB and/or the absence of EC. Declines in EC may signal increases in PHB, independent of adequacy of care. These findings produce a brief, portable, and more comprehensive instrument for assessing quality of informal care.
CHANGES IN THE VISCERAL FUNCTIONS OF PLASMODIUM BERGHEI‐INFECTED AND ‐UNINFECTED RATS FOLLOWING ADMINISTRATION OF ARTEMETHER

1 The effects of artemether (12.5, 25.0 and 50.0 mg/kg per day, i.m.), administered to different groups of Plasmodium berghei‐infected and ‐uninfected adult Wistar rats for 1 week, were investigated. 2 The parameters evaluated were the feeding, drinking and urinating patterns of the rats and these were compared with those of rats that received normal saline. 3 Artemether caused a significant dose‐dependent reduction in food consumption of both P. berghei‐infected and ‐uninfected rats (P < 0.05). Food intake in infected rats was reduced by approximately 7 g/24 h. This reduction in food intake was further reduced during drug treatment with artemether. Artermether also reduced food intake in uninfected rats. The food consumption of rats that received 12.5 and 25.0 mg/kg artemether was restored after stopping treatment, in contrast with rats that received 50.0 mg/kg, in which the significant reduction in food consumption persisted 1 week after drug administration. 4 During treatment with artemether, the water intake of infected rats was significantly lower than that of uninfected rats in the 12.5 mg/kg artemether‐treated group, but was significantly higher in infected rats than in uninfected rats dosed with 25.0 and 50.0 mg/kg artemether. 5 For all doses of artemether tested, a significant increase in urine output was observed in infected rats during treatment and 1 week after treatment, whereas in uninfected rats a significant increase in urine output was observed only following 25.0 and 50.0 mg/kg artemether 1 week after drug administration. 6 The present study confirms the anorexic activity of a high dose of artemether in both P. berghei‐infected and ‐uninfected rats. It also indicates that high doses of the drug could cause impaired renal function in rats and that the significant increase in urine output could also be due to other effects of artemether, namely those on thirst, anti‐diuretic hormone output and the osmotic pressure of the blood.
Characterisation, Density, and Distribution of Kainate Receptors in Normal and Alzheimer's Diseased Human Brain

Abstract: The specific binding of [3H]kainic acid was investigated in membrane preparations from human parietal cortex obtained postmortem. Saturation studies revealed that binding occurred to a single population of sites with a KD of 15 nM and a Bmax of 110 fmol/mg of protein. The kinetically determined dissociation constant for these sites agreed well with that obtained from saturation analyses. Pharmacological characterisation of these sites gave a profile consistent with those reported for kainate receptor sites in animal brain. The integrity of kainate receptors was studied in several brain regions from six patients who had died of Alzheimer's disease and from six closely matched control subjects. No change in either the affinity or the number of kainate receptors was seen in any of the regions studied, despite the loss of neo‐cortical and hippocampal glutamatergic terminals in the Alzheimer's diseased brains, as previously reported.