Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Analysis of Wind Speed Distribution at Thasala, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

The main objective of this paper was to analyze the statistical wind data obtained from measurements for the 12 months period of January to December 2008 at Thasala district in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern Thailand. The wind speed at heights of 20 m, 30 m, and 40 m above ground level were measured using 3-cup anemometers attached to booms on a 45 m lattice met tower. The recording interval was 10 min. The statistical wind data set was analyzed using Weibull distributions in order to investigate the Weibull shape and scale parameters. The Weibull parameters obtained from WAsP 9.0 analysis as well as from the probability density function and cumulative distribution function of graphical methods were compared and the mean bias error between the methods was determined. Results showed that the monthly Weibull shape parameter was in the range of 1.1-2.8, while the monthly Weibull scale parameter was in the range of 2.27-5.94 m/s corresponding to monthly mean wind speeds in the range of 2.2-9.4 m/s. The mean wind speeds at 20 m, 30 m, and 40 m determined by WAsP 9.0 from the observational data were in the range of 2.4-7.8 m/s, 2.7-8.3 m/s, and 3.1-8.8 m/s respectively. The monthly power density was in the range of 5.8-480.3 W/m2 corresponding to the wind power class ranging from class 1- to class 4+. Results showed that strong and sufficient winds for power generation occurred during the months of January to July and in the month of October.
Gray-box optimization and factorized distribution algorithms: where two worlds collide

The concept of gray-box optimization, in juxtaposition to black-box optimization, revolves about the idea of exploiting the problem structure to implement more efficient evolutionary algorithms (EAs). Work on factorized distribution algorithms (FDAs), whose factorizations are directly derived from the problem structure, has also contributed to show how exploiting the problem structure produces important gains in the efficiency of EAs. In this paper we analyze the general question of using problem structure in EAs focusing on confronting work done in gray-box optimization with related research accomplished in FDAs. This contrasted analysis helps us to identify, in current studies on the use problem structure in EAs, two distinct analytical characterizations of how these algorithms work. Moreover, we claim that these two characterizations collide and compete at the time of providing a coherent framework to investigate this type of algorithms. To illustrate this claim, we present a contrasted analysis of formalisms, questions, and results produced in FDAs and gray-box optimization. Common underlying principles in the two approaches, which are usually overlooked, are identified and discussed. Besides, an extensive review of previous research related to different uses of the problem structure in EAs is presented. The paper also elaborates on some of the questions that arise when extending the use of problem structure in EAs, such as the question of evolvability, high cardinality of the variables and large definition sets, constrained and multi-objective problems, etc. Finally, emergent approaches that exploit neural models to capture the problem structure are covered.
What Component of Coal Causes Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis?

Objective: To evaluate the component of coal responsible for coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP). Methods: A literature search of PubMED was conducted to address studies that have evaluated the risk of CWP based on the components of coal. Results: The risk of CWP (CWP) depends on the concentration and duration of exposure to coal dust. Epidemiology studies have shown inverse links between CWP and quartz content. Coal from the USA and Germany has demonstrated links between iron content and CWP; these same studies indicate virtually no role for quartz. In vitro studies indicate strong mechanistic links between iron content in coal and reactive oxygen species, which play a major role in the inflammatory response associated with CWP. Conclusions: The active agent within coal appears to be iron, not quartz. By identifying components of coal before mining activities, the risk of developing CWP may be reduced.
Interconnect-Driven Floorplanning with Fast Global Wiring Planning and Optimization

This paper presents an interconnect-driven floorplanning (IDFP) flow and algorithm integrated with multi-layer global wiring planning (GWP). It considers a number of interconnect performance optimizations during floorplanning, including interconnect topology optimization, layer assignment, buffer insertion, wire sizing and spacing. It also includes fast routability estimation and performance-driven routing for congestion control. Our experiments on the SUN picoJavacore test circuit show that over 74% delay reduction can be achieved using our interconnect-driven floorplanner, compared to a conventional floorplanner without consideration of interconnect performance optimization/planning. We expect that IDFP with GWP will play a central role in designing interconnect-limiting, high-performance integrated circuits.
Sustainability of High Temperature Polymeric Materials for Electronic Packaging Applications

Development of polymeric packaging materials for electronic devices have attracted discussions in many published works amid challenges in high speed electronic performance. In order to achieve hybrid integration in most power system, sustainable packaging materials with high thermal conductivity are needed to achieve this purpose. In this paper, attempts were made to analyse the existing packaging materials and the modification of electronics system using 2-D and 3-D dimensional packaging approaches. Also introduced in this work is the integration of polymer multi-functional block in electronic packaging which is aimed at reducing the density of electronic devices. It is hoped that the recommendation from this work will stimulate novel research and generate new interest in applications of sustainable materials for the electronics packaging industry.
Genotype-Specific Genomic Markers Associated with Primary Hepatomas, Based on Complete Genomic Sequencing of Hepatitis B Virus

ABSTRACT We aimed to identify genomic markers in hepatitis B virus (HBV) that are associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development by comparing the complete genomic sequences of HBVs among patients with HCC and those without. One hundred patients with HBV-related HCC and 100 age-matched HBV-infected non-HCC patients (controls) were studied. HBV DNA from serum was directly sequenced to study the whole viral genome. Data mining and rule learning were employed to develop diagnostic algorithms. An independent cohort of 132 cases (43 HCC and 89 non-HCC) was used to validate the accuracy of these algorithms. Among the 100 cases of HCC, 37 had genotype B (all subgenotype Ba) and 63 had genotype C (16 subgenotype Ce and 47 subgenotype Cs) HBV infection. In the control group, 51 had genotype B and 49 had genotype C (10 subgenotype Ce and 39 subgenotype Cs) HBV infection. Genomic algorithms associated with HCC were derived based on genotype/subgenotype-specific mutations. In genotype B HBV, mutations C1165T, A1762T and G1764A, T2712C/A/G, and A/T2525C were associated with HCC. HCC-related mutations T31C, T53C, and A1499G were associated with HBV subgenotype Ce, and mutations G1613A, G1899A, T2170C/G, and T2441C were associated with HBV subgenotype Cs. Amino acid changes caused by these mutations were found in the X, envelope, and precore/core regions in association with HBV genotype B, Ce, and Cs, respectively. In conclusion, infections with different genotypes of HBV (B, Ce, and Cs) carry different genomic markers for HCC at different parts of the HBV genome. Different HBV genotypes may have different virologic mechanisms of hepatocarcinogenesis.
Hydrothermal Processing for Increasing the Hydroxyl Ion Concentration in Hydroxyl Depleted Hydroxyapatite

Thermal spraying is commercially used to produce hydroxyapatite coatings, but the high temperature depletes hydroxyl ions in the structure. To return hydroxyapatite to its original state, it is necessary to restore the hydroxyl ion content in the structure. In this work, the effect of hydrothermal treatment on the hydroxyl ions was investigated in hydroxyapatite powder and thermally sprayed hydroxyapatite coatings. Samples were hydrothermally treated at 200 °C for 24 h and 48 h. Chemical phases were determined by X-ray diffraction, functional groups and hydroxyl ion concentration was examined by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy. Results showed that hydrothermal processing of hydroxyapatite coatings at 200 °C for 48 hours produced the greatest increase in the hydroxyl ion concentration by 29%.
Zernike polynomial fitting fails to represent all visually significant corneal aberrations.

PURPOSE It is assumed that wavefront error data arising from aberrometry are adequately described by a Zernike polynomial function, although this assumption has not been extensively tested. Inaccuracies in wavefront error may compromise clinical testing and refractive correction procedures. The current retrospective study correlates visual acuity with corneal wavefront error and with the residual surface elevation error after fitting with the Zernike method. METHODS Corneal topography maps were obtained from 32 keratoconus cases, 27 postoperative penetrating keratoplasty cases, and 29 postoperative conductive keratoplasty cases (88 total). The best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) for each case ranged from -0.2 to 1.3 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) units (20/12.5-20/400). Topography was analyzed to determine wavefront error and the elevation fit error for a 4-mm optical zone. The 4th and 10th expansion series were analyzed with the 0th-order (piston) and 1st order (tip and tilt) removed. Linear regression analysis was performed. The difference in root mean square (RMS) error between the 4th- and 10th-order analyses was assessed for both wavefront and elevation fit error. RESULTS The correlation of BSCVA to wavefront error for 4th-order terms was moderately strong and significant (R2=0.581; P<0.001). The 10th-order correlation for wavefront error had a similar result (R2=0.565; P<0.001), but the regression was not significantly different from the 4th-order result. The correlation of BSCVA to the elevation fit error was strong and significant for the 4th order (R2=0.658; P<0.001). The 10th-order data had a similar result (R2=0.509; P<0.001), and there was no significant difference between the two regressions. Only 72% of the cases showed a shift toward increased wavefront error with the 10th-order series, whereas 18% lost wavefront error. All cases showed a shift toward improved elevation fit with the 10th-order expansion. CONCLUSIONS The wavefront error correlation to acuity was moderately strong, but the corneal elevation fit error also strongly correlated with visual acuity, indicating that Zernike polynomials do not fully characterize the surface shape features that influence vision and that exist in postsurgical or pathologic eyes. In addition, the change in wavefront error when using a larger expansion series was found to increase or diminish somewhat unpredictably. The authors conclude that Zernike polynomials fail to model all the information that influences visual acuity, which may confound clinical diagnosis and treatment.
Role of E2-Ub-conjugating enzymes during skeletal muscle atrophy

The Ubiquitin Proteasome System (UPS) is a major actor of muscle wasting during various physio-pathological situations. In the past 15 years, increasing amounts of data have depicted a picture, although incomplete, of the mechanisms implicated in myofibrillar protein degradation, from the discovery of muscle-specific E3 ligases to the identification of the signaling pathways involved. The targeting specificity of the UPS relies on the capacity of the system to first recognize and then label the proteins to be degraded with a poly-ubiquitin (Ub) chain. It is fairly assumed that the recognition of the substrate is accomplished by the numerous E3 ligases present in mammalian cells. However, most E3s do not possess any catalytic activity and E2 enzymes may be more than simple Ub-providers for E3s since they are probably important actors in the ubiquitination machinery. Surprisingly, most authors have tried to characterize E3 substrates, but the exact role of E2s in muscle protein degradation is largely unknown. A very limited number of the 35 E2s described in humans have been studied in muscle protein breakdown experiments and the vast majority of studies were only descriptive. We review here the role of E2 enzymes in skeletal muscle and the difficulties linked to their study and provide future directions for the identification of muscle E2s responsible for the ubiquitination of contractile proteins.
Energy Time Series Forecasting Based on Pattern Sequence Similarity

This paper presents a new approach to forecast the behavior of time series based on similarity of pattern sequences. First, clustering techniques are used with the aim of grouping and labeling the samples from a data set. Thus, the prediction of a data point is provided as follows: first, the pattern sequence prior to the day to be predicted is extracted. Then, this sequence is searched in the historical data and the prediction is calculated by averaging all the samples immediately after the matched sequence. The main novelty is that only the labels associated with each pattern are considered to forecast the future behavior of the time series, avoiding the use of real values of the time series until the last step of the prediction process. Results from several energy time series are reported and the performance of the proposed method is compared to that of recently published techniques showing a remarkable improvement in the prediction.
A new oral amoebicid (RO 7-0207) in the treatment of intestinal amoebiasis.

Amoebiasis is a widespread disease with the diffusion of the parasite varying more with hygienic than geopraphic conditions. The incidence varies from country to country. Soysa (1971) has estimated that ten per cent of the world-population suffers from amoebiasis. Udani et al. (1971) said that "it will not he an exaggaration to state that everyhody in a developing country either had, has or will have amoebic infection". In Indonesia, the incidence varies according to environmental, socia-economic, hygienic and sanitary conditions (Pudjiadi, 1971).
Reflexes from the Lungs and Airways Reflex regulation of airway smooth muscle tone

Canning, Brendan J. Reflex regulation of airway smooth muscle tone. J Appl Physiol 101: 971–985, 2006. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00313. 2006. —Autonomic nerves in most mammalian species mediate both contractions and relaxations of airway smooth muscle. Cholinergic-parasympathetic nerves mediate contractions, whereas adrenergic-sympathetic and/or noncholinergic parasympathetic nerves mediate relaxations. Sympathetic-adrenergic innervation of human airway smooth muscle is sparse or nonexistent based on histological analyses and plays little or no role in regulating airway caliber. Rather, in humans and in many other species, postganglionic noncholinergic parasympathetic nerves provide the only relaxant innervation of airway smooth muscle. These noncholinergic nerves are anatomically and physiologically distinct from the postganglionic cholinergic parasympathetic nerves and differentially regulated by reflexes. Although bronchopulmonary vagal afferent nerves provide the primary afferent input regulating airway autonomic nerve activity, extrapulmonary afferent nerves, both vagal and nonvagal, can also reflexively regulate autonomic tone in airway smooth muscle. Reflexes result in either an enhanced activity in one or more of the autonomic efferent pathways, or a withdrawal of baseline cholinergic tone. These parallel excitatory and inhibitory afferent and efferent pathways add complexity to autonomic control of airway caliber. Dysfunction or dysregulation of these afferent and efferent nerves likely contributes to the pathogenesis of obstructive airways diseases and may account for the pulmonary symptoms associated with extrapulmonary disorders, including gastroesophageal reflux disease, cardiovascular disease, and rhinosinusitis.
Multiple Merging Events in the Double Cluster A3128/A3125

Multifiber spectroscopy has been obtained for 335 galaxies in the field of the double cluster A3128/A3125, using the 2dF multifiber positioner on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. When combined with previously published results, a total of 532 objects in the double cluster now have known redshifts. We have also obtained a 20 ks Chandra ACIS-I image of the central 16′ × 16′ of A3128 and radio imaging of the cluster with the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope and the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The spatial/kinematic distribution of redshifts in the field of A3128/A3125, when combined with the Chandra ACIS-I image of A3128, reveals a variety of substructures present in the galaxy distribution and in the hot intracluster medium (ICM). The most striking large-scale feature in the galaxy distribution is a relatively underpopulated redshift zone ∼4000 km s-1 on either side of the mean cluster velocity at ∼17,500 km s-1. We attribute this depletion zone to the effect of the extensive Horologium-Reticulum (H-R) supercluster, within which A3128/A3125 is embedded. In addition to this large-scale feature, numerous smaller groups of galaxies can be identified, particularly within the underpopulated region within ±4000 km s-1 of the mean cluster redshift. Because of the large gravitational influence of the H-R supercluster, these groups arrive at A3128 with a high infall velocity, well in excess of the local sound speed. Two of these groups appear as elongated filaments in position-velocity diagrams, indicating that they are tidally distended groups that have been disrupted after a close passage through A3128. In fact, A3125 itself appears to be in such a postpassage condition. We have identified a primary northeast-southwest merger axis connecting A3128 with A3125, along which the filaments are also oriented. In addition, the Chandra image reveals that the X-ray emission is split into two components, each with very small core radii, that are separated by ∼1 Mpc along the northeast-southwest axis. We have combined the redshift, X-ray, and radio data to propose that the complex X-ray morphology revealed in the Chandra image is likely the result of a hypersonic infall of a relatively small group into A3128. The group produces a major disruption in the ICM as a result of its high infall velocity.
The flexural stiffness of superficial neuromasts in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) lateral line

SUMMARY Superficial neuromasts are structures that detect water flow on the surface of the body of fish and amphibians. As a component of the lateral line system, these receptors are distributed along the body, where they sense flow patterns that mediate a wide variety of behaviors. Their ability to detect flow is governed by their structural properties, yet the micromechanics of superficial neuromasts are not well understood. The aim of this study was to examine these mechanics in zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae by measuring the flexural stiffness of individual neuromasts. Each neuromast possesses a gelatinous cupula that is anchored to hair cells by kinocilia. Using quasi-static bending tests of the proximal region of the cupula, we found that flexural stiffness is proportional to the number of hair cells, and consequently the number of kinocilia, within a neuromast. From this relationship, the flexural stiffness of an individual kinocilium was found to be 2.4×10–20 N m2. Using this value, we estimate that the 11 kinocilia in an average cupula generate more than four-fifths of the total flexural stiffness in the proximal region. The relatively minor contribution of the cupular matrix may be attributed to its highly compliant material composition (Young's modulus of ∼21 Pa). The distal tip of the cupula is entirely composed of this material and is consequently predicted to be at least an order of magnitude more flexible than the proximal region. These findings suggest that the transduction of flow by a superficial neuromast depends on structural dynamics that are dominated by the number and height of kinocilia.
Spinal Anesthesia in Preeclamptic Parturients

In this prospective cohort study, we compared the incidence and severity of spinal anesthesia (SA) associated hypotension in preeclamptics (n=25) versus healthy parturients (n=25) undergoing cesarean delivery. After proper preloading, SA was administered with 0.75% hyperbaric bupivacaine. Blood pressure (BP) was recorded before performing SA (baseline BP), and then after SA, every 2 minutes for 30 minutes, and thereafter, every 5 minutes up to completion of surgery. The preeclamptic patients had a less frequent incidence of clinically significant hypotension, which was less severe and required less ephedrine. The risk of hypotension was significantly less in preeclamptic patients than that in healthy patients. Spinal anesthesia seemed to be a useful and safe option, and alternative to epidural anesthesia, in preeclamptic patients in setting of large patient turn up for cesarean deliveries.
Neural Correlates of Fear of Movement in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain vs. Pain-Free Individuals

Fear of movement (FOM) can be acquired by a direct aversive experience such as pain or by social learning through observation and instruction. Excessive FOM results in heightened disability and is an obstacle for recovery from acute, subacute, and chronic low back pain (cLBP). FOM has further been identified as a significant explanatory factor in the Fear Avoidance (FA) model of cLBP that describes how individuals experiencing acute back pain may become trapped into a vicious circle of chronic disability and suffering. Despite a wealth of evidence emphasizing the importance of FOM in cLBP, to date, no related neural correlates in patients were found and this therefore has initiated a debate about the precise contribution of fear in the FA model. In the current fMRI study, we applied a novel approach encompassing: (1) video clips of potentially harmful activities for the back as FOM inducing stimuli; and (2) the assessment of FOM in both, cLBP patients (N = 20) and age- and gender-matched pain-free subjects (N = 20). Derived from the FA model, we hypothesized that FOM differentially affects brain regions involved in fear processing in patients with cLBP compared to pain-free individuals due to the recurrent pain and subsequent avoidance behavior. The results of the whole brain voxel-wise regression analysis revealed that: (1) FOM positively correlated with brain activity in fear-related brain regions such as the amygdala and the insula; and (2) differential effects of FOM between patients with cLBP and pain-free subjects were found in the extended amygdala and in its connectivity to the anterior insula. Current findings support the FOM component of the FA model in cLBP.