Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Demographic Determinants of Disaster Preparedness Behaviors Amongst Tehran Inhabitants, Iran

Background: Tehran is vulnerable to natural hazards, especially earthquakes. Disaster preparedness behaviors (DPB) are measures that can mitigate the adverse consequences of disasters. Demographic factors affect DPB, however, the role of some of these factors is not still clear. By understanding these effects, disaster specialists could design interventions toward specific demographics. In the present study, we aimed to investigate demographic determinants of DPB. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in August 2014. The target population included inhabitants of Tehran who were 18 years or older. A total of 1250 participants were selected randomly and interviewed using a standardized questionnaire. Results: Results of our study showed that monthly income level, previous disaster experience, residential district and occupation are demographic factors that influence DPB significantly. However, disaster preparedness was not affected by gender, educational level, number of household members, home type, home ownership and being the head of household. Conclusion: To promote DPB in Tehran, disaster specialists should focus on improving DPB in low-income and unemployed people, and individuals who live in high risk districts, especially in those who have not experienced disasters. Key words: Disaster, Preparedness behavior, Demographic determinants.
Recruitment Strategy Effectiveness for a Cryotherapy Intervention for a Venous Leg Ulcer Prevention Study

PURPOSE To describe the strategies and costs associated with recruiting African American and white adults into a randomized controlled pilot trial. DESIGN “Cryotherapy for Venous Disorders: A Pilot Study” is a randomized controlled trial designed to determine the effects of a cool gel wrap and leg elevation intervention versus a leg elevation alone intervention on skin temperature, skin microcirculation, quality of life, and pain in adults with stages 4 and 5 chronic venous disorders. We sought to recruit 60 participants (21 African Americans, 37 whites, and 2 Hispanic or Latino) to complete the study. These enrollment targets reflect the demographic distribution of the community in which the study was conducted (33% African American, 66% white, and 2% Latino). Proactive and reactive recruitment strategies were implemented to recruit subjects. RESULTS Seventy-three individuals (9 African American men, 29 African American women, 11 white men, 22 white women, 1 Asian woman, and 1 Hispanic woman) were screened, and of those, 67 were randomized (9 African American men, 25 African American women, 9 white men, 22 white women, 1 Asian woman, and 1 Hispanic women). Fifty-eight completed the study, yielding an overall 11% attrition rate. An additional 8 subjects canceled or did not show up for a first appointment. Reactive recruitment strategies were most successful for recruiting men, women, African American, and white participants. The 3 most successful reactive strategies were referrals from providers/clinics (34%), flyers posted in the hospital elevators (22%), and targeted mailings from a business (16%). Of the healthcare provider referrals (19), wound care nurses referred 12 completed participants. The amount budgeted for advertisement was $5,000 (2% of the total grant award). The amount spent on recruitment including labor was $5,978, which averaged $103 per participant who completed the study (N = 58). Reactive strategies per participant completer proved more cost-efficient than proactive strategies ($83 vs $215). However, the time spent by the principal investigator (approximately 100 hours or 2.5 hours per week × 40 weeks) on recruitment, particularly maintaining frequent face-to-face contact with providers, increased success in the area of healthcare provider referrals. CONCLUSION A variety of recruitment strategies are needed to ensure a diverse participant response to clinical research studies. As nurses become more involved in research activities, and particularly in recruitment, it is important to understand the most effective types of strategies and costs associated with these activities.
An Overview of Underwater Time-Reversal Communication

Time reversal (TR) exploits spatial diversity to achieve spatial and temporal focusing in complex environments. Over the last decade, the TR concept has been applied successfully to phase-coherent acoustic communications in time-varying multipath ocean environments, as an alternative to conventional adaptive multichannel equalization. Temporal focusing (pulse compression) mitigates the intersymbol interference (ISI) and subsequent single-channel equalization removes the residual ISI, thus providing nearly optimal performance in theory. The spatial focusing capability facilitates multiuser or multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) communications without explicit use of time, frequency, or code division multiplexing, while an adaptive TR approach can reduce further the crosstalk among users or multiple transmitters. TR communications can be extended easily to time-varying channels using a block-based approach with channel updates. This paper provides an overview of TR communications in both shallow and deep water and recent advances including bidirectional equalization, multiuser communications with mobile users, and communication with a glider serving as a mobile gateway.
MICROCONTROLLERS BASED REAR-END ANTI-COLLISION WARNING SYSTEM FOR VEHICLES

Now a day’s vehicle accident is becoming critical issue allover the world and in Ethiopia in particular that demands engineer’s endeavor to find ways to minimize the incidence. The application of electronic systems embedded in automobile is expected to contribute a lot on the race to minimize vehicle accident disaster. Thus, the research focused on developing a model of rear end anti-collision warning system that will detect the distance between two vehicles moving on the same lane in the same direction and alert the driver whenever she or he is in danger range using microcontroller (PIC).
VERKEHRSSICHERHEIT UND VERKEHRSABLAUF IM BEREICH VON BAUSTELLEN AUF BETRIEBSSTRECKEN DER BUNDESAUTOBAHN

ZUR ZEIT MUESSEN JAEHRLICH 800 KM RICHTUNGSFAHRBAHNEN DER AUTOBAHNEN ERNEUERT WERDEN. AN MEHR ALS 200 VON INSGESAMT 2000 BRUECKEN MIT EINER LAENGE GROESSER ALS 30 M SIND EBENFALLS JAEHRLICHE ERNEUERUNGSARBEITEN NOETIG. DAZU KOMMT DIE ZAHL VON INSTANDSETZUNGSARBEITEN VON 1-14 TAGEN. DIE NACHTEILE DER BAUSTELLEN FUER DEN VERKEHR UND DIE MOEGLICHKEITEN IHRER BESEITIGUNG WERDEN EROERTERT. BEI LAENGER DAUERNDEN BAUSTELLEN SOLLEN GRUNDSAETZLICH FUER JEDE FAHRTRICHTUNG MINDESTENS ZWEI FAHRSTREIFEN VORGESEHEN WERDEN, AUSGENOMMEN BUNDESAUTOBAHNEN MIT SEHR GERINGER VERKEHRSSTAERKE. IM BEREICH VON BAUSTELLEN SIND UNFAELLE HAEUFIGER ALS AUF FREIER STRECKE. HOECHSTGESCHWINDIGKEITEN WERDEN VORGESCHRIEBEN. VOM BUNDESVERKEHRSMINISTERIUM SIND 1986 "RICHTLINIEN FUER DIE SICHERUNG VON ARBEITSSTELLEN AN STRASSEN (RSA)" ERSCHIENEN. GEWISSE MINDEST-FAHRBAHNBREITEN DUERFEN NICHT UNTERSCHRITTEN WERDEN. IM UEBERLEITUNGSBEREICH IST OPTISCHE FUEHRUNG BESONDERS WICHTIG. DIE ZAHL VON 500 LAENGERDAUERNDEN BAUSTELLEN IM 8000 KM AUTOBAHNNETZ BEDEUTET ETWA 16 KM ABSTAND IM MITTEL. DURCH VERKUERZUNG DER BAUZEIT IST EIN SICHERHEITSVORTEIL ZU ERREICHEN, WOBEI AUCH MEHRKOSTEN ZU VERTRETEN SIND. DIE BISHERIGEN ERFAHRUNGEN MIT STAUWARNANLAGEN, LEITWAENDEN IM BEREICH VON BAUSTELLEN, NUTZUNG DER STANDSTREIFEN UND UMKEHRBARE 2 + 1 VERKEHRSFUEHRUNG BEI SEHR BEGRENZTEN FAHRBAHNBREITEN WERDEN DARGELEGT. AUF VERKEHRSTECHNISCHE HILFSMITTEL ZUR ERHOEHUNG DER VERKEHRSSICHERHEIT VON BAUSTELLEN WIRD HINGEWIESEN.
Efficient mixed-spectrum estimation with applications to target feature extraction

In this paper, we present a decoupled parameter estimation (DPE) algorithm for estimating sinusoidal parameters from both one-dimensional (1-D) and two-dimensional (2-D) data sequences corrupted by AR noise. In the first step of the DPE algorithm, we use a relaxation (RELAX) algorithm that requires simple fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) to obtain the estimates of the sinusoidal parameters. We describe how the RELAX algorithm may be used to extract radar target features from both 1-D and 2-D data sequences. In the second step of the DPE algorithm, a linear least squares approach is used to estimate the AR noise parameters. The DPE algorithm is both conceptually and computationally simple. The algorithm not only provides excellent estimation performance under the model assumptions, in which case the estimates obtained with the DPE algorithm are asymptotically statistically efficient, but is also robust to mismodeling errors.
Influence of parental smoking on smoking habit of Bangladeshi adult population in rural and urban areas

Aim: To examine whether smoking status of adult Bangladeshis was influenced by their parental smoking behaviour. Study design: Descriptive cross sectional study. Place and duration of study: A community-based study was conducted in urban and rural areas of Bangladesh during the period from 2001 to 2003. Methodology: Data of the cross-sectional study involving 35,446 (16,196 males and 19, 250 females) adults in urban and rural Bangladesh were analyzed in 2007. Data were collected on their smoking pattern and parents’ smoking habit by interview. Results: Among the total study subjects, 67.8% and 15.2% reported that their fathers and mothers smoked, respectively, and 14% reported that both parents smoked. In both sexes, current smokers and ever smokers were more often found among respondents when both parents smoked. Smoking was also higher than expected if one parent smoked; this was especially true, for father and son and mother and daughter combinations. The mean (SD) reported age of commencing smoking was 17.8 (5.0) years. Both males and females started smoking at an earlier age if both their parents smoked, compared with only one parent smoking. Conclusion: Parental smoking influences smoking habit and age of starting to smoke of their offspring. Future prevention programs might need to give special attention to the individuals having smoking parents.
Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 and −9 Involvement in Canine Tumors

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of enzymes implicated in the degradation and remodeling of extracellular matrix and in vascularization. They are also involved in pathologic processes such as tumor invasion and metastasis in experimental cancer models and in human malignancies. We used gelatin zymography and immunohistochemistry to determine whether MMP-2 and MMP-9 are present in canine tumors and normal tissues and whether MMP production correlates with clinicopathologic parameters of prognostic importance. High levels of pro-MMP-9, pro-MMP-2, and active MMP-2 were detected in most canine tumors. Significantly higher MMP levels were measured in canine tumors than in nontumors, malignancies had higher MMP levels than benign tumors, and sarcomas had higher active MMP-2 than carcinomas. Cartilaginous tumors produced higher MMP levels than did nonsarcomatous malignancies, benign tumors, and normal tissues, and significantly greater MMP-2 than osteosarcomas and fibrosarcomas. Pro-MMP-9 production correlated with the histologic grade of osteosarcomas. The 62-kd form of active MMP-2 was detected only in high-grade, p53-positive, metastatic malignancies. Zymography proved to be a sensitive and quantitative technique for the assessment of MMP presence but has the limitation of requiring fresh tissue; immunohistochemistry is qualitative and comparatively insensitive but could be of value in archival studies. MMP presence was shown in a range of canine tumors, and their link to tumor type and grade was demonstrated for the first time. This study will allow a substantially improved evaluation of veterinary cancer patients and provides baseline information necessary for the design of clinical trials targeting MMPs.
Brottsoffer. Offerskapets innebörder och villkor: viktimiseringsideologins effekter

Inledning Syftet med denna artikel ar att diskutera allmanna forestallningar om brottsoffer och vad dessa forestallningar kan innebara for enskilda offer. Jag kommer att anvanda mig av begreppet viktimiseringsideologi (brottsofferideologi) for att fanga upp allmant forekommande ideer om offerskap – t.ex. formedlade via massmedier – och jag ska visa vad denna ideologi kan betyda for ett enskilt brottsoffer. Jag kommer att ta stod av intervjuer som jag har gjort med brottsutsatta manniskor och av visst annat material. Artikeln avslutas med en diskussion om brottsofferbegreppets och viktimiseringsideologins mojligheter och begransningar. En tanke som genomsyrar framstallningen ar att offerskildringar, t.ex. i medierna, inte ”bara” ar beskrivningar av manniskors erfarenheter, utan de fungerar ocksa som kollektiva tankeoch handlingsmodeller. De kan med andra ord sagas gora offret som en social och kulturell kategori. Vad det innebar att vara drabbad, vilka kanslor som bor erfaras och hur man lampligen skall agera ar sadant som denna kategori och viktimiseringsideologin ”bestammer”. En person utsatt for brott tvingas i samspel med omgivningen att prova olika tolkningsmodeller. Ar de egna erfarenheterna och handlingarna tecken pa en hjalteposition eller star de for nagonting annat? I denna tolkningsprocedur samverkar forestallningar om kriminalitet, lagbrytare och brottsoffer med vokabularer rorande t.ex. moral, rattvisa och samhalle. Men som resonemanget om en viktimiseringsideologi kommer att visa ar det vissa forestallningar som dominerar talet om offerskap.
Inducing single-cell suspension of BTI-TN5B1-4 insect cells: II. The effect of sulfated polyanions on baculovirus infection.

Sulfated polyanions can be used to rapidly induce and maintain single-cell suspensions of BTI-TN5B1-4 insect cells, a cell line which clumps in suspension. Elimination of cell clumping results in a significant increase in volumetric yield of the baculovirus expression vector system. Sulfated polyanions, however, inhibited baculovirus infection of BTI-TN5B1-4. Data from binding studies and fusion assays suggest that the inhibition of infection was not due to the observed reduction in viral attachment rate but to inhibition of viral membrane fusion in the endosome.The three most effective polyanions for inducing single cells are dextran sulfate, pentosan sulfate, and polyvinyl sulfate. At concentrations required for single-cell formation, dextran sulfate and pentosan sulfate did not affect viral infection at multiplicities of infection greater than one plaque forming unit per cell. In contrast, polyvinyl sulfate blocked viral infection even at a high multiplicity of infection of 20 plaque-forming units per cell. To bypass this inhibition, polyvinyl sulfate can be removed by resuspending the cells in fresh medium before virus addition, and then added back to the cell suspension after a substantial amount of virus has been internalized. Alternatively, polyvinyl sulfate can be neutralized with a polycation before virus addition, and an equivalent amount of polyvinyl sulfate added back after most of the virus has been internalized. We present a simple mathematical model of the attachment and entry of baculovirus in BTI-TN5B1-4, which can be used to design appropriate infection regimens.
A Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in the E-cadherin Gene Promoter Alters Transcriptional Activities 1

E-cadherin plays a critical role in many aspects of cell adhesion, epithelial development, and the establishment and maintenance of epithelial polarity. The loss of the adhesive function of E-cadherin is a critical step in the promotion of epithelial cells to a more malignant phenotype. We identified a C/A single nucleotide polymorphism at2160 from the transcriptional start site of the E-cadherin gene promoter. Transient transfection experiments showed that theA allele of this polymorphism decreased the transcriptional efficiency by 68% compared with theC allele (P < 0.001). Electrophoretic mobility shift and footprinting assays revealed that the C allele had a stronger transcriptional factor binding strength than the A allele. These results indicate that the2160 C/A polymorphism has a direct effect on E-cadherin gene transcriptional regulation. This allelic variation may be a potential genetic marker that can help identify those individuals at higher risk for invasive/metastatic diseases.
Emergence of Competitive Dominant Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacterial Populations in a Full-Scale Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant

ABSTRACT Ammonia-oxidizing bacterial populations in an industrial wastewater treatment plant were investigated with amoA and 16S rRNA gene real-time PCR assays. Nitrosomonas nitrosa initially dominated, but over time RI-27-type ammonia oxidizers, also within the Nitrosomonas communis lineage, increased from below detection to codominance. This shift occurred even though nitrification remained constant.
Understanding and Eliminating the Large-kernel Effect in Blind Deconvolution

Blind deconvolution consists of recovering a clear version of an observed blurry image without specific knowledge of the degradation kernel. The kernel size, however, is a required hyper-parameter that defines the range of the support domain. In this study, we experimentally and theoretically show how large kernel sizes introduce noises to expected zeros in the kernel and yield inferior results. We explain this effect by demonstrating that sizeable kernels lower the squares cost in optimization. We also prove that this effect persists with a probability of one for noisy images. Using 1D simulation, we quantify the increment of error of estimated kernel with its size. To eliminate this effect, we propose a low-rank based penalty that reflects structural information of the kernel. Compared to the generic $\ell_\alpha$, our penalty can respond to even a small amount of random noise in the kernel. Our regularization reduces the noise and efficiently enhances the success rate of large kernel sizes. We also compare our method to state-of-art approaches and test it using real-world images.
Near Field of Film Cooling Jet Issued Into a Flat Plate Boundary Layer: LES Study

We report results from a computational study of film cooling from cylindrical holes inclined at 35 degrees with respect to a flat surface using Large Eddy Simulations (LES). The hole length is L/d = 3.5 , distance between the holes is P/d = 3 , boundary layer above the flat surface is turbulent with Reθ = 938 , density ratio = 0.95, velocity ratio = 0.5. All pertinent components of geometry, namely, supply plenum, film hole and crossflow region above the test surface, are simulated. The simulations are performed using a multicode approach, where a low Mach number code is employed inside the plenum and in the film hole, and a compressible code is used for the flow above the test surface. Flow inside the plenum, film hole and above the test surface is analyzed. Mean velocity and turbulence characteristics in the near field of the jet injection obtained in the simulations are compared to experimental data of Pietrzyk et al. [1]. Adiabatic film cooling effectiveness is estimated and compared with experiments of Sinha et al. [2]. Relation of the coherent vortical structures observed in the flow to film cooling performance is discussed. Advantage of LES over RANS methods for this type of flow is confirmed by showing that spanwise u′ w′ shear stress and lateral growth of the jet are predicted correctly in the current LES as opposed to typical RANS computations. © 2008 ASME
Do females with patellofemoral pain have abnormal hip and knee kinematics during gait?

ABSTRACT Our objective was to test the hypothesis that females with patellofemoral pain (PFP) have increased hip adduction, hip medial rotation, and knee valgus (medial collapse) during the stance phase of gait. Twenty subjects with PFP and 20 pain-free subjects participated. Subjects underwent three-dimensional motion analysis during free speed and fast speed walking. Hip frontal and transverse plane angles and knee frontal plane angles were calculated at two time points (peak knee extensor moment [PkMOM], and maximum knee extension/hyperextension angle [MxExt]) and averaged over three trials. Within each walking task, Student's t-tests compared group differences in all variables. A post hoc analysis was performed, which compared a subgroup of four PFP subjects (those whose pain level was above 30/100) to pain-free subjects. Initially, there were no group differences during free speed walking. During fast speed walking, subjects with PFP had less hip adduction at PkMOM and greater hip adduction at MxExt. The subgroup of PFP subjects had greater hip adduction at PkMOM and greater knee valgus at MxExt during free speed walking and greater hip adduction and knee valgus at MxExt during fast speed walking. During low-level tasks, frontal plane components of medial collapse were present at the hip and knee in a subgroup of PFP subjects with higher pain levels. Symptom behavior may be important in identifying individuals with medial collapse movement impairments.
Neutrino Constraints on the Dark Matter Total Annihilation Cross Section

In the indirect detection of dark matter through its annihilation products, the signals depend on the square of the dark matter density, making precise knowledge of the distribution of dark matter in the Universe critical for robust predictions. Many studies have focused on regions where the dark matter density is greatest, e.g., the galactic center, as well as on the cosmic signal arising from all halos in the Universe. We focus on the signal arising from the whole Milky Way halo; this is less sensitive to uncertainties in the dark matter distribution, and especially for flatter profiles, this halo signal is larger than the cosmic signal. We illustrate this by considering a dark matter model in which the principal annihilation products are neutrinos. Since neutrinos are the least detectable standard model particles, a limit on their flux conservatively bounds the dark matter total self-annihilation cross section from above. By using the Milky Way halo signal, we show that previous constraints using the cosmic signal can be improved on by 1-2 orders of magnitude; dedicated experimental analyses should be able to improve both by an additional 1-2 orders of magnitude.
Teaching Information Security in Business Schools: Current Practices and a Proposed Direction for the Future

The growing importance of information security as a business issue has encouraged instructors to extend their courses beyond a hands-on, technical model to one that considers managerial and risk-based issues. In business schools, this shift has presented the pedagogical challenge of balancing the technical content fundamental to information security with the managerial content that the profession increasingly values. To draw on the best practices currently being undertaken in the classroom, we examine 44 information security course syllabi from business and other schools (i.e., computer science, engineering, information science, law, and mathematics). Using a qualitative approach, we identify the definitive technical and managerial-focused aspects of information security courses. Based on the results, we propose an introductory information security course that balances technical and non-technical content for business school students and that integrates the most innovative techniques used by today’s information security instructors.