LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Damage and failure in low energy impact of fiber-reinforced polymeric composite laminates

We analyze the damage initiation, damage progression, and failure during 3-dimensional (3-D) elastoplastic deformations of a fiber reinforced polymeric laminated composite impacted by a low speed rigid sphere, and compare computed results with experimental findings available in the literature. Damage is assumed to initiate when one of Hashin’s failure criteria is satisfied, and its evolution is modeled by an empirical relation proposed by Matzenmiller, Lubliner and Taylor. The transient nonlinear problem is solved by the finite element method (FEM). Contributions of the work include considering damage in 3-D rather than plane stress deformations of a laminated structure and elasto-plastic deformations of the composite. This has been accomplished by developing a user defined subroutine and implementing it in the FE software ABAQUS. From strains supplied by ABAQUS the material subroutine uses a micromechanics approach based on the method of cells and values of material parameters of constituents to calculate average stresses in an FE, and checks for Hashin’s failure criteria. If damage has initiated in the material, the subroutine evaluates the damage developed, computes resulting stresses, and provides them to ABAQUS. The damage evolved at a material point is not allowed to decrease during unloading. The delamination failure mode is simulated by using the cohesive zone model available in ABAQUS. The computed time histories of the axial load acting on the impactor are found to agree well with the experimental ones available in the literature, and various damage and failure modes agree qualitatively with those observed in tests. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Roughness modeling and optimization in CNC end milling using response surface method: effect of workpiece material variation

Influence of machining parameters, viz., spindle speed, depth of cut and feed rate, on the quality of surface produced in CNC end milling is investigated. In the present study, experiments are conducted for three different workpiece materials to see the effect of workpiece material variation in this respect. Five roughness parameters, viz., centre line average roughness, root mean square roughness, skewness, kurtosis and mean line peak spacing have been considered. The second-order mathematical models, in terms of the machining parameters, have been developed for each of these five roughness parameters prediction using response surface method on the basis of experimental results. The roughness models as well as the significance of the machining parameters have been validated with analysis of variance. It is found that the response surface models for different roughness parameters are specific to workpiece materials. An attempt has also been made to obtain optimum cutting conditions with respect to each of the five roughness parameters considered in the present study with the help of response optimization technique.
Role of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide in risk stratification in patients presenting in the emergency room.

BACKGROUND
Natriuretic peptides are promising markers in diagnosing acute and chronic heart failure and assessing prognosis in these patients. Increasing routine use to unselected patients is challenged by false-positive results. The aims of this study were to assess (a) the distributions of N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) values in various diagnostic groups, (b) factors that influence NT-proBNP, and (c) the value of NT-proBNP in risk stratification in unselected emergency room (ER) patients.


METHODS
NT-proBNP was measured in 876 unselected consecutive patients [mean (SD) age, 58 (18) years; 53% male] attending the ERs of 2 university hospitals and 1 community hospital. Diagnoses, age, sex, hemoglobin, creatinine (CREA), C-reactive protein (CRP), troponin T, and intensity of care were documented. In a subset consisting of all 417 patients at 1 center, in-hospital follow-up was completed with respect to a complicated clinical course, including intensive care treatment and death.


RESULTS
NT-proBNP was significantly increased in patients with cardiac diagnoses or histories compared with patients with only pulmonary or other diagnoses. In patients with other diagnoses, NT-proBNP values increased significantly with the number of atherosclerotic risk factors (P=0.044). Age, renal function, CRP, and to a much lesser extent, hemoglobin significantly influenced NT-proBNP values. The amount of care was positively correlated with NT-proBNP (P<0.001). Classification and regression tree analysis showed a superior impact of NT-proBNP for identification of high-risk patients.


CONCLUSIONS
NT-proBNP is a promising marker for identification of patients with structural heart disease in the ER and a suitable tool for risk stratification. Its use in the ER should be limited to clearly clinically defined patient groups at present to avoid a potential excess of additional diagnostic procedures in positive but asymptomatic patients.
A semi-mechanistic integrated pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model of the testosterone effects of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist leuprolide in prostate cancer patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
Leuprolide is a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist, which inhibits gonadotropin secretion by down-regulating pituitary GnRH receptor when administered continuously at therapeutic doses. The objectives of this analysis were to develop a population model that can describe the pharmacokinetics of the 6-month depot formulation of leuprolide acetate in patients with prostate cancer and to characterize the relationship of leuprolide plasma concentrations and serum testosterone concentrations.


METHODS
The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analyses were performed using a non-linear mixed-effect modeling approach. Observations were pooled from studies on healthy male volunteers and prostate cancer patients, who were administered a single 1 mg intravenous dose of immediate-release leuprolide acetate and two intramuscular doses of 45 mg of the depot formulation, respectively. The covariates that were screened for the pharmacokinetic model included body weight, creatinine clearance, liver function markers (total bilirubin, blood urea nitrogen, AST, alanine aminotransferase), age, and body mass index.


RESULTS
A two-compartment model with parallel first- and zero-order absorption processes and a delayed first-order process well-characterized the multi-phasic absorption profile of leuprolide acetate depot formulation. Typical population values of the absorption rate constant of the immediate and delayed processes were estimated to be 0.357 and 0.017 day(-1), respectively, with a mean transit time of 9.5 days. No covariates were significant in this analysis. A semi-mechanistic model, which accounts for down-regulation of the GnRH receptor via an inhibitory maximum effect (E max) model and the stimulatory effect of activated receptors on testosterone levels, adequately described serum testosterone profiles following dosing. The equilibrium dissociation constant of leuprolide and the typical leuprolide plasma concentration required to achieve a castration testosterone level of ≤0.5 ng/mL were 0.3 and 0.03 ng/mL, respectively.


CONCLUSION
Population pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the leuprolide depot formulation were characterized using an integrated semi-mechanistic model. The developed model adequately describes the leuprolide-testosterone relationship and can potentially be used to facilitate design of clinical studies for new formulations, to aid in the selection of candidate formulations, and for the optimization of doses and dosing schemes.
Single-Visit Pulp Revascularization of a Nonvital Immature Permanent Tooth Using Biodentine 

UNLABELLED
An 11-year-old female patient was referred with a chief complaint of pain in the right mandibular second premolar. Clinical and radiographic examinations showed secondary caries under an old composite restoration, a negative response to a pulp test and an immature root with an open apex. After root canal cleaning and shaping, bleeding was invoked in the canal up to 2 mm short of the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ). After 10 min to allow clotting at this level, a plug of Biodentine was placed over the blood clot and the tooth was temporized with glass ionomer cement. At the next visit, the tooth was free of symptoms and a permanent filling was placed. Clinical and radiographic examinations during a two-year follow-up showed complete root maturation and intact supporting soft tissues without sinus tract, pain or swelling.


CONCLUSION
The use of Biodentine in a single-visit apexification protocol to treat an immature permanent tooth with necrotic pulp can create a suitable environment for revascularization, resulting in the completion of root maturation.
Comparison of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion and multiple daily injection regimens using insulin lispro in type 1 diabetic patients on intensified treatment: a randomized study. The Study Group for the Development of Pump Therapy in Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE
To compare the efficacy of 2 intensified insulin regimens, continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) and multiple daily injections (MDI), by using the short-acting insulin analog lispro in type 1 diabetic patients.


RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
A total of 41 C-peptide-negative type 1 diabetic patients (age 43.5+/-10.3 years; 21 men and 20 women, BMI 24.0+/-2.4 kg/m2, diabetes duration 20.0+/-11.3 years) on intensified insulin therapy (MDI with regular insulin or lispro, n = 9, CSII with regular insulin, n = 32) were included in an open-label randomized crossover study comparing two 4-month periods of intensified insulin therapy with lispro: one period by MDI and the other by CSII. Blood glucose (BG) was monitored before and after each of the 3 meals each day.


RESULTS
The basal insulin regimen had to be optimized in 75% of the patients during the MDI period (mean number of NPH injections per day = 2.65). HbA1c values were lower when lispro was used in CSII than in MDI (7.89+/-0.77 vs. 8.24+/-0.77%, P<0.001). BG levels were lower with CSII (165+/-27 vs. 175+/-33 mg/dl, P<0.05). The SD of all the BG values (73+/-15 vs. 82+/-18 mg/dl, P<0.01) was lower with CSII. The frequency of hypoglycemic events, defined as BG levels <60 mg/dl, did not differ significantly between the 2 modalities (CSII 3.9+/-4.2 per 14 days vs. MDI 4.3+/-3.9 per 14 days). Mean insulin doses were significantly lower with CSII than with MDI (38.5+/-9.8 vs. 47.3+/-14.9 U/day. respectively, P< 0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
When used with external pumps versus MDI, lispro provides better glycemic control and stability with much lower doses of insulin and does not increase the frequency of hypoglycemic episodes.
A Reactive Walking Pattern Generator Based on Nonlinear Model Predictive Control

The contribution of this work is to show that real-time nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) can be implemented on position controlled humanoid robots. Following the idea of “walking without thinking,” we propose a walking pattern generator that takes into account simultaneously the position and orientation of the feet. A requirement for an application in real-world scenarios is the avoidance of obstacles. Therefore, this letter shows an extension of the pattern generator that directly considers the avoidance of convex obstacles. The algorithm uses the whole-body dynamics to correct the center of mass trajectory of the underlying simplified model. The pattern generator runs in real-time on the embedded hardware of the humanoid robot HRP2 and experiments demonstrate the increase in performance with the correction.
A Spreadsheet Scenario Analysis Technique That Integrates with Optimization and Simulation

S analysis is a widely used technique, and business students should be proficient in running scenarios through a spreadsheet model. We propose 10 desirable properties for a scenario analysis technique, and show that the Microsoft Excel Scenario Manager tool satisfies only one of them. We provide a tutorial for a better technique that can be programmed into an existing spreadsheet in a matter of minutes. We show how to integrate the technique with the Excel Solver to allow for rapid optimization of multiple scenarios and with the Crystal Ball add-in for Monte Carlo simulation to enable simulation of multiple scenarios. Our undergraduate and MBA students are able to learn the technique with little difficulty.
Harmonic Analysis for Hyperspectral Image Classification Integrated With PSO Optimized SVM

A novel hyperspectral image classification approach named as HA-PSO-SVM is proposed by integrating the harmonic analysis (HA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and support vector machine (SVM). In the combined method, HA is first proposed to transform the pixels from spectral domain into frequency domain expressed by amplitude, phase and residual, yielding more functional and discriminative features for classification purpose. In this step, the original pixel vector can also be reconstructed. Then, PSO is adapted to optimize the penalty parameter C and the kernel parameter γ for SVM, which leads to improved classification performance. Finally, the extracted features are classified with the optimized model. The experimental results with three hyperspectral data sets collected by the airborne visible infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS) and the reflective optics spectrographic imaging system (ROSIS) indicate that the proposed method provides improved classification performance compared with some related techniques in terms of both the classification accuracy and the computational time.
Prevalence of extrauterine pelvic lesions on transvaginal ultrasound in asymptomatic 20-39-year-old women.

OBJECTIVES
To estimate the prevalence of extrauterine pelvic lesions on transvaginal ultrasound examination of gynecologically asymptomatic women of fertile age, and to compare this prevalence between women with spontaneous menstrual cycles, those using the combined oral contraceptive (COC) pill and those using a gestagen intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD).


METHODS
Six hundred and forty-four gynecologically asymptomatic 20-39-year-old Caucasian women with no current or previous gynecological problems, who were recruited from a Swedish population registry, were examined with transvaginal ultrasound on cycle day 4-8. Our definition of ovarian cyst was a unilocular cyst with anechoic cyst contents ≥ 35 mm in mean diameter, or any other type of intraovarian lesion. The prevalence of extrauterine pelvic lesions was compared between women not using hormonal contraception and those using COC or a gestagen IUD.


RESULTS
Ovarian lesions were found in 24 (3.7%) women. One woman had bilateral ovarian lesions. An ultrasound diagnosis of paraovarian cyst was made in 41 (6.4%) women, of peritoneal cyst in four (0.6%) women and of hydrosalpinx in one (0.2%) woman. All incidentally detected lesions had a mean diameter of ≤ 5 cm. One 17-mm intraovarian lesion was suspicious for malignancy, and histology confirmed a Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor. The ultrasound diagnoses in the remaining 23 women were endometrioma (n = 10 (1.6%)), dermoid cyst (n = 5 (0.8%)), cystadenofibroma (n = 1 (0.2%)), mature teratoma (n = 1 (0.2%)) and functional cyst, i.e. a cyst that resolved within 3-5 months (n = 6 (0.9%)). Four women with an ultrasound diagnosis of a benign lesion were operated on, and the ultrasound diagnoses of endometrioma (n = 2), dermoid cyst (n = 1) and mature teratoma (n = 1) were confirmed histologically. The prevalence of persisting ovarian lesions was highest in women with spontaneous menstrual cycles (4.4% vs 0.9% and 0% in women using COC and gestagen IUD, respectively; P = 0.025), but age was the only factor independently associated with persisting ovarian masses, the prevalence increasing with age.


CONCLUSIONS
Benign ovarian lesions are found in about 1 in 25 gynecologically asymptomatic women aged 20-39 years with no history of gynecological disease. To be able to offer optimal management of such masses, their natural history needs to be elucidated in a large prospective observational study.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of tobacco use and prostate cancer mortality and incidence in prospective cohort studies.

CONTEXT
An association between tobacco smoking and prostate cancer (PCa) incidence and mortality was suggested in an earlier meta-analysis of 24 prospective studies in which dose-response associations and risks per unit of tobacco use were not examined.


OBJECTIVE
We investigated the association between several measures of tobacco use and PCa mortality (primary outcome) and incidence (secondary outcome) including dose-response association.


EVIDENCE ACQUISITION
Relevant articles from prospective studies were identified by searching the PubMed and Web of Science databases (through January 21, 2014) and reference lists of relevant articles. Combined relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using random effects methods. We also calculated population attributable risk (PAR) for smoking and PCa mortality.


EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS
We included 51 articles in this meta-analysis (11823 PCa deaths, 50349 incident cases, and 4,082,606 cohort participants). Current cigarette smoking was associated with an increased risk of PCa death (RR: 1.24; 95% CI, 1.18-1.31), with little evidence for heterogeneity and publication bias. The number of cigarettes smoked per day had a dose-response association with PCa mortality (p=0.02; RR for 20 cigarettes per day: 1.20). The PAR for cigarette smoking and PCa deaths in the United States and Europe were 6.7% and 9.5%, respectively, corresponding to >10000 deaths/year in these two regions. Current cigarette smoking was inversely associated with incident PCa (RR: 0.90; 95% CI, 0.85-0.96), with high heterogeneity in the results. However, in studies completed in 1995 or earlier (considered as completed before the prostate-specific antigen screening era), ever smoking showed a positive association with incident PCa (RR: 1.06; 95% CI, 1.00-1.12) with little heterogeneity.


CONCLUSIONS
Combined evidence from observational studies shows a modest but statistically significant association between cigarette smoking and fatal PCa. Smoking appears to be a modifiable risk factor for PCa death.


PATIENT SUMMARY
Smoking increases the chance of prostate cancer death. Not smoking prevents this harm and many other tobacco-related diseases.
Smart contracts vulnerabilities: a call for blockchain software engineering?

Smart Contracts have gained tremendous popularity in the past few years, to the point that billions of US Dollars are currently exchanged every day through such technology. However, since the release of the Frontier network of Ethereum in 2015, there have been many cases in which the execution of Smart Contracts managing Ether coins has led to problems or conflicts. Compared to traditional Software Engineering, a discipline of Smart Contract and Blockchain programming, with standardized best practices that can help solve the mentioned problems and conflicts, is not yet sufficiently developed. Furthermore, Smart Contracts rely on a non-standard software life-cycle, according to which, for instance, delivered applications can hardly be updated or bugs resolved by releasing a new version of the software. In this paper we advocate the need for a discipline of Blockchain Software Engineering, addressing the issues posed by smart contract programming and other applications running on blockchains.We analyse a case of study where a bug discovered in a Smart Contract library, and perhaps "unsafe" programming, allowed an attack on Parity, a wallet application, causing the freezing of about 500K Ethers (about 150M USD, in November 2017). In this study we analyze the source code of Parity and the library, and discuss how recognised best practices could mitigate, if adopted and adapted, such detrimental software misbehavior. We also reflect on the specificity of Smart Contract software development, which makes some of the existing approaches insufficient, and call for the definition of a specific Blockchain Software Engineering.
Competitive algorithms for VWAP and limit order trading

We introduce new online models for two important aspectsof modern financial markets: Volume Weighted Average Pricetrading and limit order books. We provide an extensivestudy of competitive algorithms in these models and relatethem to earlier online algorithms for stock trading.
Nonlinear Performance Limits for High Energy Density Piezoelectric Bending Actuators

To keep pace with recent advances in micro robotic structures demands actuator technologies which can deliver high power and precise motion. For electroactive material based actuators, high power typically implies either high field or high current drives which may lead to greater nonlinearities such as saturation, softening, and increased loss. Physical modeling of actuators is normally taken to be linear since the range of displacements, applied loads, and applied fields is typically small. If extrapolated to high drive conditions, these linear models significantly over predict the power which can be delivered. For actuators driving dynamic systems, a complete nonlinear model of the system will improve controllability and give more accurate estimations of power delivery capabilities. Here static nonlinearities and dynamic linear and nonlinear parameters are derived for high performance piezoelectric bending actuators.
Adhesive-enhanced sternal closure to improve postoperative functional recovery: a pilot, randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND
We previously established a proof-of-concept in a human cadaveric model where conventional wire cerclage was augmented with a novel biocompatible bone adhesive that increased mechanical strength and early bone stability. We report the results of a single-center, pilot, randomized clinical trial of the effects of adhesive-enhanced closure of the sternum on functional postoperative recovery.


METHODS
In 55 patients undergoing primary sternotomy, 26 patients underwent conventional wire closure and were compared with 29 patients who underwent adhesive-enhanced closure, which consisted of Kryptonite biocompatible adhesive (Doctors Research Group Inc, Southbury, CT) applied to each sternal edge in addition to conventional 7-wire cerclage. Patients were monitored postoperatively at 72 hours, weekly for 12 weeks, and then after 12 months for incisional pain, analgesic use, and maximal inspiratory capacity measured by spirometry. Standardized assessment tools measured postoperative physical disability and health-related quality of life.


RESULTS
No adverse events or sternal complications from the adhesive were observed early or after 12 months. Incisional pain and narcotic analgesic use were reduced in adhesive-enhanced closure patients. Inspiratory capacity was significantly improved, postoperative health-related quality of life scores normalized more rapidly, and physical disability scores were reduced. Computed tomography imaging was suggestive of sternal healing.


CONCLUSIONS
Adhesive-enhanced closure is a safe and simple addition to conventional wire closure, with demonstrated benefits on functional recovery, respiratory capacity, incisional pain, and analgesic requirements. A large, multicenter, randomized controlled trial to examine the potential of the adhesive to prevent major sternal complications in higher risk patients is warranted.