Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental investigation on asphalt mixtures prepared with reclaimed asphalt pavement and rejuvenators based on the BTSV method

In this paper, the combined use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and rejuvenators for producing hot recycled asphalt mixture is investigated based on the new Bitumen Typisierungs Schnell Verfahren – BTSV method (Binder-Fast-Characterization-Test), recently proposed in Germany, and through laboratory experimentation. For this purpose, a set of three different asphalt mixtures is prepared with different amounts of RAP and with three types of rejuvenators. Then, the BTSV method is used to obtain the rheological properties of the binder extracted from the mixtures. Resistance to permanent deformation, stiffness, fatigue and low temperature behaviour are evaluated to determine the material response. It is observed that the combined use of RAP and rejuvenators results in mechanical properties are comparable to mixtures prepared with virgin material, confirming the validity of BTSV in determined the rejuvenator’s proportions. These findings suggest the possibility of using rejuvenators for field applications.
ASIA: An Automatic Annotation Technique for Query-by-Concept in Image Retrieval Systems

In this paper we introduce ASIA, a sampling-based image annotation technique for high-level image retrieval. ASIA consists of two phases. In the first phase we create off-line an annotated image database with high-level image concepts using low-level image features such as the colors and structure of sample objects. This annotation technique uses a new sampling-based matching framework relatively more robust to rotation, scaling and translation invariants. In the second phase, the user can query the annotated image database using text-only concepts. We show, by experimental results, that the ASIA method is significantly better than a recently proposed alternative Monotonic Tree method. ASIA has the ability to identify more relevant images, while producing fewer false matches.
Proteomic analysis of electronegative low-density lipoprotein[S]

Low density lipoprotein is a heterogeneous group of lipoproteins that differs in lipid and protein composition. One copy of apolipoprotein (apo)B accounts for over 95% of the LDL protein, but the presence of minor proteins could disturb its biological behavior. Our aim was to study the content of minor proteins in LDL subfractions separated by anion exchange chromatography. Electropositive LDL [LDL(+)] is the native form, whereas electronegative LDL [LDL(−)] is a minor atherogenic fraction present in blood. LC-ESI MS/MS analysis of both LDL fractions identified up to 28 different proteins. Of these, 13 proteins, including apoB, were detected in all the analyzed samples. LDL(−) showed a higher content of most minor proteins. Statistical analysis of proteomic data indicated that the content of apoE, apoA-I, apoC-III, apoA-II, apoD, apoF, and apoJ was higher in LDL(−) than in LDL(+). Immunoturbidimetry, ELISA, or Western blot analysis confirmed these differences. ApoJ and apoF presented the highest difference between LDL(+) and LDL(−) (>15-fold). In summary, the increased content of several apolipoproteins, and specifically of apoF and apoJ, could be related to the physicochemical characteristics of LDL(−), such as apoB misfolding, aggregation, and abnormal lipid composition.
Identification and characterization of phage‐resistance genes in temperate lactococcal bacteriophages

The sie2009 gene, which is situated between the genes encoding the repressor and integrase, on the lysogeny module of the temperate lactococcal bacteriophage Tuc2009, was shown to mediate a phage‐resistance phenotype in Lactococcus lactis against a number of bacteriophages. The Sie2009 protein is associated with the cell membrane and its expression leaves phage adsorption, transfection and plasmid transformation unaffected, but interferes with plasmid transduction, as well as phage replication. These observations indicate that this resistance is as a result of DNA injection blocking, thus representing a novel superinfection exclusion system. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐based strategy was used to screen a number of lactococcal strains for the presence of other prophage‐encoded phage‐resistance systems. This screening resulted in the identification of two such systems, without homology to sie2009, which were shown to mediate a phage‐resistance phenotype similar to that conferred by sie2009. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a phage‐encoded superinfection exclusion/injection blocking mechanism in the genus Lactococcus.
Day-to-day variability in spot urine protein-creatinine ratio measurements.

BACKGROUND Accurate measurement of proteinuria is important in the diagnosis and management of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The reference standard test, 24-hour urinary protein excretion, is inconvenient and vulnerable to collection errors. Spot urine protein-creatinine ratio (PCR) is a convenient alternative and is in widespread use. However, day-to-day variability in PCR measurements has not been evaluated. STUDY DESIGN Prospective cohort study of day-to-day variability in spot urine PCR measurement. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS Clinically stable outpatients with CKD (n = 145) attending a university hospital CKD clinic in Australia between July 2007 and April 2010. INDEX TEST Spot urine PCR. OUTCOMES Spot PCR variability was assessed and repeatability limits were determined using fractional polynomials. MEASUREMENTS Spot PCRs were measured from urine samples collected at 9:00 am on consecutive days and 24-hour urinary protein excretion was collected concurrently. RESULTS Paired results were analyzed from 145 patients: median age, 56 years; 59% men; and median 24-hour urinary protein excretion, 0.7 (range, 0.06-35.7) g/d. Day-to-day variability was substantial and increased in absolute terms, but decreased in relative terms with increasing baseline PCR. For patients with a low baseline PCR (20 mg/mmol [177 mg/g]), a change greater than ±160% (repeatability limits, 0-52 mg/mmol [0-460 mg/g]) is required to indicate a real change in proteinuria status with 95% certainty, whereas for those with a high baseline PCR (200 mg/mmol [1,768 mg/g]), a change of ±50% (decrease to <100 mg/mmol [<884 mg/g] or increase to >300 mg/mmol [>2,652 mg/g]) represents significant change. LIMITATIONS These study results need to be replicated in other ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS Changes in PCR observed in patients with CKD, ranging from complete resolution to doubling of PCR values, could be due to inherent biological variation and may not indicate a change in disease status. This should be borne in mind when using PCR in the diagnosis and management of CKD.
Executive Summary: The State of the Science on Safe Medication Administration symposium.

BACKGROUND In 2000 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System drew national attention by estimating that medical errors are the eighth-leading cause of death in this country each year. Medication errors are the most common types of such errors, accounting for more than 7,000 deaths annually. It’s estimated that five medication errors occur per 100 medication administrations. Adverse drug events (ADEs) occur at an estimated rate of 6.5 per 100 hospital admissions; 28% are considered preventable. One of every three ADEs related to medication errors occurs when a nurse administers medications. Classen reported that 56% of medication errors are related to prescriptions. Nurses were blamed for medication errors even when the source was traced to the prescriber of the medication. IV medications and infusion pumps are also being increasingly viewed as safety concerns. 9 Most medication errors occur at patient care–transition points. Nurses serve important roles at such points, which include hospital admission, transfer from one unit to another, and discharge to home or another facility. During these transitions, the transfer of medication information often is incorrect or incomplete. An estimated 46% of all medication errors occur during such transitions. Although physicians, pharmacists, sociologists, and psychologists have conducted and published extensive research on safe medication administration, publications in this area from a nursing perspective are scant. The nursing literature has T he University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the Infusion Nurses Society, and the American Journal of Nursing held an invitational symposium in Philadelphia on July 16 and 17, 2004. The goals of the symposium were to determine research priorities and to make clinical education and policy recommendations to ensure safe medication administration. The symposium, supported by a conference grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ 1 R13 HS14836-01) and by unrestricted grants from manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and other products designed to promote safe medication administration, was attended by 40 nursing and professional experts. Nurses in clinical practice, administration, education, and research, as well as leaders in regulatory and consumer sectors and representatives from industry (for example, product manufacturers), addressed the following objectives: • to describe the state of the science on safe medication administration • to delineate barriers to safe administration of medication • to develop approaches to overcoming barriers to safe medication administration • to identify gaps in research aimed at facilitating and improving the safety of medication administration by nurses • to recommend clinical, educational, research, and policy priorities to ensure best practices for safe medication administration in a variety of settings, including pediatrics and geriatrics Executive Summary
Phosphorylation-dependent Autoinhibition of Myosin Light Chain Phosphatase Accounts for Ca2+ Sensitization Force of Smooth Muscle Contraction*

The reversible regulation of myosin light chain phosphatase (MLCP) in response to agonist stimulation and cAMP/cGMP signals plays an important role in the regulation of smooth muscle (SM) tone. Here, we investigated the mechanism underlying the inhibition of MLCP induced by the phosphorylation of myosin phosphatase targeting subunit (MYPT1), a regulatory subunit of MLCP, at Thr-696 and Thr-853 using glutathione S-transferase (GST)-MYPT1 fragments having the inhibitory phosphorylation sites. GST-MYPT1 fragments, including only Thr-696 and only Thr-853, inhibited purified MLCP (IC50 = 1.6 and 60 nm, respectively) when they were phosphorylated with RhoA-dependent kinase (ROCK). The activities of isolated catalytic subunits of type 1 and type 2A phosphatases (PP1 and PP2A) were insensitive to either fragment. Phospho-GST-MYPT1 fragments docked directly at the active site of MLCP, and this was blocked by a PP1/PP2A inhibitor microcystin (MC)-LR or by mutation of the active sites in PP1. GST-MYPT1 fragments induced a contraction of β-escin-permeabilized ileum SM at constant pCa 6.3 (EC50 = 2 μm), which was eliminated by Ala substitution of the fragment at Thr-696 or by ROCK inhibitors or 8Br-cGMP. GST-MYPT1-(697–880) was 5-times less potent than fragments including Thr-696. Relaxation induced by 8Br-cGMP was not affected by Ala substitution at Ser-695, a known phosphorylation site for protein kinase A/G. Thus, GST-MYPT1 fragments are phosphorylated by ROCK in permeabilized SM and mimic agonist-induced inhibition and cGMP-induced activation of MLCP. We propose a model in which MYPT1 phosphorylation at Thr-696 and Thr-853 causes an autoinhibition of MLCP that accounts for Ca2+ sensitization of smooth muscle force.
Analysis of Eighth Graders' Performance On Standardized Mathematics Tests.

The main objective of this study was to show whether eighth graders' performance on standardized mathematics tests could be predicted from a variety of variables. These predictors included the students' race/ethnicity, gender, attitudes toward mathematics, students' time spent on homework, whether parents helped with homework assignments, students' perceptions of their teachers, reported school climate, and the availability of remedial mathematics. Data came from the base year of the National Education Longitudinal Study of Eighth Graders. A sample of 9,000 students was selected from the data set. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the data. As expected, the socioeconomic indicator (SES) was the best predictor of math performance. However, after controlling for the variation in SES and race/ethnicity, a number of other variables also contributed significantly to the variations in math performance. Among these were students' perceptions about mathematics, school climate, the availability of remedial mathematics, student/teacher relationship, gender, and the amount of time spent on homework. (Author) Reproductions supplied by EDRS arr the best that can be made from the origina. document. An Analysis of Eighth Graders' Performance On Standardized Mathematics Tests Joseph Meyinsse Louisiana State University Abbas Tashakkori Louisiana State University R( MATE. FUAL HAS BEEN (. ;RANILD RN, F U S DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION on.re or Educational Research and improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERICI 71;14 document has bean refooducep trom the parson or organization oriortating it fl Minor changes have Peen made to improve reproduction Quality Pants of veer or oPtnront Melt/dm this Clocu "'Pr" do rwII ncfaaaPIT Mt/resent oeiciat DEMporSdOnOtWKY Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midsouth Educational Research Association, Nashville, 1994.
Risk Factors, Health Effects and Behaviour in Older People during Extreme Heat: A Survey in South Australia

Older people had a high incidence of hospitalisation during the 2009 heat wave in South Australia. We sought to explore resilience, behaviours, health risk factors and health outcomes during recent heat waves for a representative sample of independently living residents. A telephone survey of 499 people aged 65 years and over was conducted, and included both metropolitan and rural residences. A variety of adaptive strategies were reported, with 75% maintaining regular appointments and activities during the heat. However, 74% took medication for chronic disease and 25% assessed their health status to be fair to poor. In a multivariate model, factors associated with heat health outcomes included medication for mental health, heart failure, diabetes or respiratory health, reporting a reduced health status, use of mobility aids and being female. Compared with younger participants, those over 75 had more check-up calls and visits by family, friends and neighbours. However, confidence to call on support was associated with indicators of social isolation. The study indicates that older people are generally resilient, but interventions addressing multi-morbidity and medication interactions and social isolation should be developed.
A Comparative Study of Clonidine and Lignocaine for Attenuating Pressor Responses to Laryngoscopy and Endotracheal Intubation in Neurosurgical Cases

Background and Aims: Laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation are associated with reflex sympathetic stimulation, known as pressor response and can cause major complications. We compared the attenuating effect of time-tested lignocaine versus clonidine on the hemodynamic response to laryngoscopy and intubation in neurosurgical cases. Design: A prospective, randomized, comparative, double-blind study with a sample size of sixty patients. Methods: Sixty patients undergoing elective neurosurgery were randomly allocated into one of the two groups: Group L (n = 30) received lignocaine 1.5 mg/kg intravenous (i.v.) before induction and Group C (n = 30) received clonidine 2 μg/kg i.v. before induction. Heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were recorded at baseline, after drug, after induction and 1, 2, 3,5,10, and 15 min after intubation. Statistical Analysis: Statistical software, namely, SPSS, version 15.0 by SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA was used for the analysis of data with Chi-square test to compare intergroup hemodynamic parameters. Results: Mean HR remained above baseline at all times after intubation in lignocaine group but decreased at 2 min after intubation and remained below baseline at all times in the clonidine group. SBP, DBP, and MAP all increased above baseline at 1 min after intubation in lignocaine group, and decreased below baseline at 2 min after intubation, whereas in the clonidine group they all decreased below baseline after drug administration and remained below baseline at all times. Therefore, clonidine is very effective in attenuating pressor responses and this difference between the groups is statistically very significant with P< 0.001. Conclusion: Clonidine is more effective than lignocaine for attenuating the pressor responses to laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation in neurosurgical cases.
The influence of ripple damping on electromagnetic bistatic scattering by sea surface

Organic films and oil slicks modify the sea surface physics (permittivity, spectrum and slope distribution) depending on their viscosity, their bulk concentration and their diffusion coefficient. In this paper, special focus is given to the influence o f a pollutant upon the electromagnetic scattering by the sea surface . Our study is based on the sea spectrum variation described with a fluid mechanic model. More, the electromagnetic scattering is evaluated in various bistatic configurations using a Two-Scale Model (TSM).
Detection of Bleeding in Wireless Capsule Endoscopy Images Using Range Ratio Color

Wireless Capsule Endoscopy (WCE) is device to detect abnormalities in colon,esophagus,small intestinal and stomach, to distinguish bleeding in WCE images from non bleeding is a hard job by human reviewing and very time consuming. Consequently, automation for classifying bleeding frames not only will expedite the process but will reduce the burden on the doctors. Using the purity of the red color we can detect the Bleeding areas in WCE images. But, we could find various intensity of red color values in different parts of the small intestinal,so it is not enough to depend on the red color feature alone. We select RGB(Red,Green,Blue) because it takes raw level values and it is easy to use. In this paper we will put range ratio color for each of R,G,and B. Therefore, we divide each image into multiple pixels and apply the range ratio color condition for each pixel. Then we count the number of the pixels that achieved our condition. If the number of pixels grater than zero, then the frame is classified as a bleeding type. Otherwise, it is a non-bleeding. Our experimental results show that this method could achieve a very high accuracy in detecting bleeding images for the different parts of the small intestinal
The role of Personality, Mood, Subjective Health, and Stress in Depressive Symptoms among High School Students

·Background and Objectives: Traditionally, depression among adolescents has been considered uncommon, with around 5% estimated to suffer from depressive disorder. The purpose is to investigate occurrence and psychological correlates for depressive symptoms in male and female high school adolescents in urban and rural settings. Methods: Participants were 1,069 high school students (response rate 92.0%) with a mean age of 17.6 years. The instruments used were the Zung Depression Self-Rating Scale (SDS), Life Regard Index (LRl), the Neuroticism scale by Eysenck (EPQ-N), the Tension and Effort Stress Inventory (TESI), the Subjective Health Complaints scale (SHC), and the Sense of Humour Questionnaire (SHQ-6). Results: Analyzes of Variance showed sex and urban/rural main effects, and/or interactions (boys and rural students showing highest positive ratings). Stepwise regression analyzes on depression showed all but the TESI variables to significantly explain 41% of the variance in depression. The Sense of Humour and Life Regard Index were strong contributors to depression (55% of variation) when effects of bodily complaints and scores on stressors and efforts were eliminated. Conclusions: The present study showed an unexpectedly high prevalence of severe (12.7%) as well as moderate depressive symptoms (total of 49.2%). Therefore, the results indicate an increase of adolescent depression in recent years. Negative and positive mood, as well as sense of humour, goals in life, and fulfilment of goals seemed to be protecting. Prevalence of depressive symptoms in adolescents was shown to be higher than expected. Positive resource variables appeared to be protecting.
Analysis of primitive features for medical image modality classification

In this paper the performance of various descriptors is evaluated for medical image categorization. Many descriptors have been proposed in the literature for medical image categorization. It is unclear which descriptor encodes the content information efficiently. The descriptors that are calculated from these medical images should be descriptive, distinctive and robust to various transformations. The stability of these descriptors are evaluated under various transformations and are then analyzed for their discriminatory ability for the task of classification. In this study the criteria of transformations, repeatability, matching score and computations cost is used to evaluate the performance of these descriptors. The experimental results illustrates that among global descriptors local features patches histogram and among local descriptors SIFT encodes the content information quite efficiently.
Concerning SNS Use: How do Issues of Privacy and Trust Concern Users?

As the popularity of social networking sites (SNSs) continues to grow, the research on what affects user intentions is also experiencing increased attention. This study investigates the effect of privacy and trust in other SNS users on trust in the SNS and the relationship between trust in the SNS, social norms and the intention to use an SNS. Data collected from online surveys were analyzed using linear regression analysis. The findings indicate that perceived privacy and trust in other SNS users has a positive relationship with trust in the SNS. However, the data showed no significant relationship between trust in the SNS and intention to use the SNS, unless mediated by social norms. This finding contributes to the literature on SNS intention to use, by confirming that social norms play a significant role in the way SNS users evaluate their intention to use.
Delay Analysis of Slotted OBS Networks Under DAOBS MAC Protocol

Medium access control (MAC) protocols can improve the burst/packet delivery rate in optical burst-switched (OBS) networks. In this letter, the delay analysis of slotted OBS under the use of the DAOBS MAC protocol is proposed. The correctness of the analysis has been assessed through simulation, showing that it achieves a good approximation on different networks despite the operational complexity of the protocol.