Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does sodium intake affect the relationship between blood pressure and vascular damage?

INTRODUCTION Although the differences between central and peripheral blood pressure (BP) values have been known for decades, the consequences of decision making based on peripheral rather than central BP have only recently been recognized. Recently, a U-shaped relation between sodium intake and cardiovascular risk has been suggested. OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between intima-media thickness (IMT) and central and peripheral BP as well as the effect of 24-hour urinary sodium excretion on this relationship. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study included 182 subjects (mean age, 37.3 ±14.0 years, 92 men and 90 women) who were members of families randomly selected from one of the gminas (administrative regions) in southern Poland. In all patients, peripheral and central BP (using applanation tonometry), IMT, and 24-hour sodium excretion were measured. RESULTS Hypertension was observed in 44.5% of the participants. The mean urinary sodium excretion was 243 ±81 mmol/d. IMT was significantly more correlated with central pulse pressure (PP) compared with peripheral PP (r = 0.54 vs r = 0.27; P <0.01). After multivariate adjustments, IMT remained significantly related to central systolic BP and central and peripheral PP. When the study group was divided according to the tertiles of sodium excretion, central PP was related to IMT only in the second and third tertiles. When the study group was divided according to sex and sex-specific median values of sodium excretion, IMT was associated with central PP only in subjects with sodium excretion exceeding the median values (both in men and women). CONCLUSIONS IMT is more correlated with central than with peripheral BP. The association between IMT and central PP may be modulated by sodium intake. This hypothesis should be tested in larger studies.
Probing multivalency in ligand–receptor-mediated adhesion of soft, biomimetic interfaces

Many biological functions at cell level are mediated by the glycocalyx, a dense carbohydrate-presenting layer. In this layer specific interactions between carbohydrate ligands and protein receptors are formed to control cell–cell recognition, cell adhesion and related processes. The aim of this work is to shed light on the principles of complex formation between surface anchored carbohydrates and receptor surfaces by measuring the specific adhesion between surface bound mannose on a concanavalin A (ConA) layer via poly(ethylene glycol)-(PEG)-based soft colloidal probes (SCPs). Special emphasis is on the dependence of multivalent presentation and density of carbohydrate units on specific adhesion. Consequently, we first present a synthetic strategy that allows for controlled density variation of functional groups on the PEG scaffold using unsaturated carboxylic acids (crotonic acid, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid) as grafting units for mannose conjugation. We showed by a range of analytic techniques (ATR–FTIR, Raman microscopy, zeta potential and titration) that this synthetic strategy allows for straightforward variation in grafting density and grafting length enabling the controlled presentation of mannose units on the PEG network. Finally we determined the specific adhesion of PEG-network-conjugated mannose units on ConA surfaces as a function of density and grafting type. Remarkably, the results indicated the absence of a molecular-level enhancement of mannose/ConA interaction due to chelate- or subsite-binding. The results seem to support the fact that weak carbohydrate interactions at mechanically flexible interfaces hardly undergo multivalent binding but are simply mediated by the high number of ligand–receptor interactions.
The complementary role of two evaluation methods in the usability and accessibility evaluation of a non-standard system

Usability, which is generally defined in terms of application effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction, is one of the focus areas of human-computer interaction (HCI). Accessibility is the design of systems that can be perceived, understood and used by people with varying abilities. Although accessibility concerns are aimed at making systems usable for people with disabilities, support for direct accessibility, the built-in redundancies in an application that enable as many people as possible to utilize it without system modifications, is beneficial to people with or without disabilities. Different usability evaluation methods (UEMs) are available. Selecting between the various methods can be influenced by the type of system being evaluated. The Digital Doorway (DD), a non-standard computer system deployed to promote computer literacy amongst underprivileged communities in South Africa, was evaluated using the heuristic evaluation method and a field usability study. The heuristic evaluation method revealed a large number of usability and direct accessibility-related problems, some of which could be classified as low-severity problems. The field study showed additional problems that affected the successful completion of user tasks. Since a number of these were a direct consequence of the context of use, they were not recognized as problems by expert evaluators. The study showed that the heuristic evaluation method can be optimized by complementing it with another method that involves user participation and is, preferably, carried out in the intended context of use.
Shape in Picture: Mathematical Description Of Shape In Grey-Level Images

The Khalimsky Line as a Foundation for Digital Topology. - Topological Foundations of Shape Analysis. - A New Concept for Digital Geometry. - Theoretical Approaches to N-Dimensional Digital Objects. - On Boundaries and Boundary Crack-Codes of Multidimensional Digital Images. - Studying Shape Through Size Functions. - to Categorical Shape Theory, with Applications in Mathematical Morphology. - Shape Theory: an ANR-Sequence Approach. - Can Categorical Shape Theory Handle Grey-level Images? - Mathematical Morphology as a Tool for Shape Description. - On Information Contained in the Erosion Curve. - Morphological Area Openings and Closings for Grey-scale Images. - Manifold Shape: from Differential Geometry to Mathematical Morphology. - On Negative Shape. - An Overview of the Theory and Applications of Wavelets. - Fractal Surfaces, Multiresolution Analyses, and Wavelet Transforms. - Interpolation in Multiscale Representations. - Discrete Stochastic Growth Models for Two-Dimensional Shapes. - Classical and Fuzzy Differential Methods in Shape Analysis. - Elements of a Fuzzy Geometry for Visual Space. - On the Relationship Between Surface Covariance and Differential Geometry. - Image Representation Using Affine Covariant Coordinates. - Equivariant Dynamical Systems: a Formal Model for the Generation of Arbitrary Shapes. - Neural Processing of Overlapping Shapes. - Contour Texture and Frame Curves for the Recognition of Non-Rigid Objects. - Conic Primitives for Projectively Invariant Representation of Planar Curves. - Blind Approximation of Planar Convex Shapes. - Recognition of Affine Planar Curves Using Geometric Properties. - Recognizing 3-D Curves from a Stereo Pair of Images: a Semi-differential Approach. - Statistical Shape Methodology in Image Analysis. - Recognition of Shapes from a Finite Series of Plane Figures. - Polygonal Harmonic Shape Characterization. - Shape Description and Classification Using the Interrelationship of Structures at Multiple Scales. - Learning Shape Classes. - Inference of Stochastic Graph Models for 2-D and 3-D Shapes. - Hierarchical Shape Analysis in Grey-level Images. - Irregular Curve Pyramids. - Multiresolution Shape Description by Corners. - Model-based Bottom-Up Grouping of Geometric Image Primitives. - Hierarchical Shape Representation for Image Analysis. - Scale-Space for N-dimensional Discrete Signals. - Scale-Space Behaviour and Invariance Properties of Differential Singularities. - Exploring the Shape Manifold: the Role of Conservation Laws. - Performance in Noise of a Diffusion-based Shape Descriptor. - Towards a Morphological Scale-Space Theory. - Geometry-based Image Segmentation Using Anisotropic Diffusion. - Images: Regular Tempered Distributions. - Local and Multilocal Scale-Space Description. - List of Authors.
The Geometric Construct of Multivariate Analysis of Variance

for this procedure has been in development for over 40 years (see, for example, Roy and Gnanadesikan, 1959). However, MANOVA has not been extensively utilized by educational researchers. There are probably several reasons for this lack of use, among them a lack of familiarity with the procedure, and the limited availability of computer programs. Several authors have alluded to the apparent, if not obvious, applicability of MANOVA in educational research (e.g., Pruzek, 1969). It is a technique by which the responses to two or more dependent variables can be analyzed simultaneously and thus it includes the correlations that may exist between the dependent variables. In a MANOVA, the dependent variables are combined
Mega-bimodules of topological polynomials: Sub-hyperbolicity and thurston obstructions

In 2006, Bartholdi and Nekrashevych solved a decade-old problem in holomorphic dynamics by creatively applying the theory of self-similar groups. Nekrashevych expanded this work in 2009 to define what we refer to as mega-bimodules which capture the topological data of Hurwitz classes of topological polynomials. He also showed that proving that these mega-bimodules are sub-hyperbolic will have two important implications: that all iterated monodromy groups of topological polynomials are contracting and that the HubbardSchliecher spider algorithm for complex polynomials generalizes to topological polynomials. We prove subhyperbolicity in the simplest non-trivial case and apply these mega-bimodules to holomorphic dynamics to prove a partial converse to the Berstein-Levy Theorem proved in 1985.
“CinderFella” and First-Shift Fathers: The Effect of Work Schedule on Father Involvement

Using the qualitative data from the Time, Love, and Cash among Couples with Children (TLC3) study in addition to some supplementary data from the quantitative Fragile Families and Child Well-Being (FFCWB) survey, I investigate the relationship between men's employment schedules and their level of father involvement among cohabiting and married men. For the 62 men in my sample, the number of hours men work and the scheduling of those hours directly affect how involved they are with their children. Fathers who are not in the labor force tend to be highly involved fathers. Men who work second- or third-shift jobs for pay are involved or highly involved with their babies. The least involved fathers, on the whole, are those who work traditional 9-to-5 jobs. By using qualitative data, I move beyond the correlation between work shift and father involvement, demonstrated in previous quantitative research, and investigate the causal mechanisms at work in this relationship through the detailed stories provided by both mothers and fathers in the TLC3 sample.
MEASUREMENT OF PERCEIVED QUALITY, PERCEIVED VALUE, IMAGE, AND SATISFACTION INTERRELATIONS OF HOTEL SERVICES: COMPARISON OF TOURISTS FROM SLOVENIA AND ITALY

In the present paper, first the conceptual model of perceived value concept as a mediating variable in tourist perceptions of hotel services is presented and afterwards tested with structural equation modelling. The study reveals that: (a) the relationship between perceived hotel quality and perceived value is strong and positive; (b) the relationship between hotel quality and guest satisfaction is not direct, but rather indirect through the perceived value; (c) hotel image is significantly positively related to perceived value and perceived hotel quality; and (d) perceived value strongly impacts hotel guest satisfaction. Further, invariance analysis shows that no significant differences exist in relationships among perceived quality, image, perceived value and satisfaction between tourists from Slovenia and tourists from Italy.
Regeneration with Virtual Copies for Distributed Computing Systems

The authors consider the consistency control problem for replicated data in a distributed computing system (DCS) and propose a new algorithm to dynamically regenerate copies of data objects in response to node failures and network partitioning in the system. The DCS is assumed to have strict consistency constraints for data object copies. The algorithm combines the advantages of voting-based algorithms and regeneration mechanisms to maintain mutual consistency of replicated data objects in the case of node failures and network partitioning. The algorithm extends the feasibility of regeneration to DCS on wide area networks and is able to satisfy user queries as long as there is one current partition in the system. A stochastic availability analysis of the algorithm shows that it provides improved availability as compared to previously proposed dynamic voting algorithms. >
Osteonecrosis of the jaw in patients with cancer who received zoledronic acid and bevacizumab.

BACKGROUND The authors investigated the incidence of and risk factors for osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) in patients with metastases to the bone who received the bisphosphonate agent zoledronic acid (ZOL) and chemotherapy combined with the antiangiogenic agent bevacizumab (BEV). METHODS The authors evaluated 59 participants (34 with breast cancer and 25 with nonsmall-cell lung cancer). All of the participants received 4 milligrams of ZOL via intravenous (IV) infusion every four weeks and 15 mg per kilogram of BEV every three weeks. They conducted a dental examination in participants at baseline and every three months until the patients died or were lost to follow-up. If needed, participants received periodontal disease treatment and underwent tooth extraction before they started receiving ZOL and BEV. RESULTS The median time the participants received ZOL therapy was 18.8 months (range, 3.1-28.9 months); 36 participants (61.0 percent) received ZOL therapy for more than one year. The median time participants received BEV therapy was 16.7 months (range, 2.8-29.6 months). None of the participants required dentoalveolar surgery while undergoing cancer treatment. After a median follow-up period of 19.7 months, none of the participants developed bisphosphonate-related ONJ. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS ZOL combined with BEV did not predispose to ONJ participants with cancer that had metastasized to the bone who underwent a baseline dental examination and preventive dental measures. The study results must be considered in the context of the study's protocols and the follow-up period.
Causation, Prediction, and Search

The writing is not uniformly polished and is scattered with long, awkward sentences that require some effort to unravel. I wonder if this is the result of infelicitous translation from the original German version (Wellek 1994). There are also numerous small typographical errors. More careful editing could have solved these problems before publication. There are no exercises, and so I would hesitate to use the book as a text (although it should be noted that this is not one of the author’s stated aims). Although Testing Statistical Hypotheses of Equivalence has some weaknesses, it is a useful reference for those interested in the question of equivalence testing, particularly in biological applications.
Characteristics of visual short-term memory

Abstract It is clear that human beings have the capacity to retain visual information over brief intervals, and that the representation may take the form of active visualisation. However, the characteristics of the cognitive mechanism(s) or system(s) involved in visualisation and temporary storage of visual information are as yet unclear. Of particular interest are the limitations on the operation of such a system. One suggestion is that the system has a capacity of a single pattern (Phillips, 1983). Other studies have suggested that several patterns may be retained. More recent work has suggested a limitation in terms of pattern complexity or the similarity of pattern elements. Studies of verbal short-term memory have benefited from the exploration of the effects on retention of phonological similarity or word length. Both of these effects constitute limitations on the effective function of verbal “working memory”. This paper will review contrasting views and data on the characteristics of visual short-t.
Children’s participation in preschool – on the conditions of the adults? Preschool staff’s concepts of children’s participation in preschool everyday life

The purpose of this study was to investigate, analyse and describe preschool staff’s concepts of children’s participation in everyday preschool life, as well as preschool staff’s experiences and concepts of what characterises the children who participate. Furthermore, it addresses the conditions that preschool staff consider as crucial in promoting children’s participation in preschool. This study has a mixed methods design in which the definitions of participation given by preschool staff were initially analysed using a qualitative content analysis approach. The definitions provided by the preschool teams were then matched to interviews with staff from 20 preschools. Results from the questionnaire show that self‐determination and management of everyday life are strong indicators for high participation according to the staff. The interview results show that preschool staff share the understanding that giving children a sense of coherence and comprehension of their surrounding world consequently supports children’s management of and participation in everyday life in preschool.
Apoptotic cell death induced by optic nerve lesion in the neonatal rat

Cell death can be ascribed to one of two distinct modes of degeneration: apoptosis (programmed or active cell death) or necrosis (passive degeneration). While apoptosis is generally assumed to occur in physiological conditions such as normal development or tissue turnover, necrotic cell degeneration is induced in pathological situations. Here we report that also in a pathological situation, such as after axotomy in the CNS, apoptotic type of cell death comes into play: following intracranial transection of the optic nerve in the neonatal rat in vivo, retinal ganglion cells undergo an active, apoptotic cell death. In fact, the administration of protein synthesis inhibitors (actinomycin D and cycloheximide) prevents the appearance of pyknotic nuclei as well as of fragmented DNA of ganglion cells at 24 hr postlesion. Correspondingly, the number of surviving cells after actinomycin D and cycloheximide treatment is comparable to normal, unlesioned retinas. In addition, cycloheximide decreases the number of pyknotic ganglion cells during spontaneous cell death.
Multirobot Rendezvous Planning for Recharging in Persistent Tasks

This paper addresses a multirobot scheduling problem in which autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) must be recharged during a long-term mission. The proposal is to introduce a separate team of dedicated charging robots that the UAVs can dock with in order to recharge. The goal is to schedule and plan minimum cost paths for charging robots such that they rendezvous with and replenish the UAVs, as needed, during the mission. The approach is to discretize the 3-D UAV flight trajectories into sets of projected charging points on the ground, thus allowing the problem to be abstracted onto a partitioned graph. Solutions consist of charging robot paths that collectively charge each of the UAVs. The problem is solved by first formulating the rendezvous planning problem to recharge each UAV once using both an integer linear program and a transformation to the Travelling Salesman Problem. The methods are then leveraged to plan recurring rendezvous' over longer horizons using fixed horizon and receding horizon strategies. Simulation results using realistic vehicle and battery models demonstrate the feasibility and robustness of the proposed approach.
When reform hits reality: the bottleneck effect in Hong Kong primary schools

A lack of analysis and research into primary education in general, and primary school leadership in particular, has left primary practitioners exposed like never before to the vagaries of policy-makers and unpredictable contextual pressures. The purpose of this article is to initiate discussion on the state of primary school leadership in Hong Kong since 2000. It attempts to explore some of the major reforms and other contextual factors impacting primary school leaders and comment on the challenges which accompany these. It further proposes that when initiatives confront the existing structural and cultural make up of primary schools they are blocked by what we call the bottleneck effect. The article also attempts to explain and illustrate this effect and what it means for primary school principals. It is hoped that the analysis serves to highlight interest in primary school leadership in Hong Kong and stimulate research in the area locally and internationally.
Impact of human mobility on social networks

Mobile phone carriers face challenges from three synergistic dimensions: Wireless, social, and mobile. Despite significant advances that have been made about social networks and human mobility, respectively, our knowledge about the interplay between two layers remains largely limited, partly due to the difficulty in obtaining large-scale datasets that could offer at the same time social and mobile information across a substantial population over an extended period of time. In this paper, we take advantage of a massive, longitudinal mobile phone dataset that consists of human mobility and social network information simultaneously, allowing us to explore the impact of human mobility patterns on the underlying social network. We find that human mobility plays an important role in shaping both local and global structural properties of social network. In contrast to the lack of scale in social networks and human movements, we discovered a characteristic distance in physical space between 10 and 20 km that impacts both local clustering and modular structure in social network. We also find a surprising distinction in trajectory overlap that segments social ties into two categories. Our results are of fundamental relevance to quantitative studies of human behavior, and could serve as the basis of anchoring potential theoretical models of human behavior and building and developing new applications using social and mobile technologies.
Remoxipride in acute psychosis: Intramuscular followed by oral treatment compared to haloperidol, a doubleblind, multicenter trial

A double‐blind, randomized, multicentre study comparing the efficacy and safety of intramuscular (i.m.) remoxipride to that of i.m. haloperidol was undertaken in 119 psychotic patients (mean age: 37 ± 13.4 years). The study period was 1 week i.m. , followed by 3 weeks of oral treatment. Dosage was 200–600 mg/day for remoxipride and 10–30 mg/day for haloperidol during i.m. and 150–600 mg/day for remoxipride and 10–40 mg/day for haloperidol during oral treatment. Both drugs produced marked clinical improvements during i.m. and oral treatment. During the i.m. week, the median Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) total score decreased from 51 to 34 in the remoxipride group and from 53 to 38 in the haloperidol group. Over the 4‐week treatment period, there was a significantly greater reduction in ‘some factors’ for remoxipride‐treated patients when compared to haloperidol‐treated patients. Somnolence was reported by 14% of haloperidol‐treated patients during i.m. treatment. Akathisia and tremor occurred significantly less in remoxipride‐treated patients as compared to haloperidol‐treated patients. Intramuscularly administered remoxipride is as effective as haloperidol in reducing acute phase psychotic symptoms, and is associated with fewer extrapyramidal symptoms.