Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feasibility of Friction Stir Processing (FSP) as a Method of Healing Cracks in Irradiated 304L Stainless Steels

Feasibility of Friction Stir Processing (FSP) as a Method of Healing Cracks in Irradiated 304L Stainless Steels Cameron Cornelius Gunter School of Technology, BYU Master of Science The current US fleet of nuclear reactors has been in service for three decades. Over this period, existing welds in stainless steel (SS) shrouds have sustained stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and are in need of repair. Additionally, helium has formed interstitially as a byproduct of proton bombardment. Current repair technology, such as TIG welding, puts extreme amounts of heat into the material and allows for interstitial helium atoms to aggregate and form bubbles/voids at grain boundaries. This significantly weakens the material, proving to be a very counterproductive and ineffective repair technique. Much study has been done on friction stir processing (FSP), but none has explored it as an enabling repair technology for use in nuclear applications. Because of its relatively low energy input as a solid state joining technology, it is proposed that FSP could effectively heal SCCs in these existing welds without the negative side effect of helium bubble formation. A spread of speeds and feeds were initially tested using a PCBN-W-Re tool on 304L SS. Six of these parameter sets were selected as representations of high, medium, and low temperature-per-power outputs for this research: 2 IPM-80 RPM, 2 IPM-150 RPM, 4 IPM-150 RPM, 4 IPM-250 RPM, 6 IPM-125 RPM, and 6 IPM-175 RPM. These varied parameter sets were tested for their tensile, micro-hardness, and corrosion resistant properties. In general, the lower IPM and RPM values resulted in higher ultimate tensile strengths (UTS). Higher IPM and RPM values resulted in tunnel, pin hole, and surface void defects. These defects caused premature failure in tensile tests and could often be identified through microscopy. Micro-hardness testing demonstrated a strong correlation per the Hall-Petch relationship – finer grain sizes resulted in higher yield strength (hardness values) of the material. The tool temperature during FSP was a good indicator of the expected hardness – lower temperatures resulted in higher hardness values. Corrosion testing was performed with a 1000-hour alternate immersion test in a room temperature 3.5% NaCl solution. With these testing parameters, the results demonstrated that FSP had no effect on the corrosion resistance of 304L SS under these conditions.
H∞ bounds for least-squares estimators

We obtain upper and lower bounds for the H/sup /spl infin// norm of the Kalman filter and the recursive-least-squares (RLS) algorithm, with respect to prediction and filtered errors. These bounds can be used to study the robustness properties of such estimators. One main conclusion is that, unlike H/sup /spl infin//-optimal estimators which do not allow for any amplification of the disturbances, the least-squares estimators do allow for such amplification. This fact can be especially pronounced in the prediction error case, whereas in the filtered error case the energy amplification is at most four. Moreover, it is shown that the H/sup /spl infin// norm for RLS is data dependent, whereas for least-mean-squares (LMS) algorithms and normalized LMS, the H/sup /spl infin// norm is simply unity.
Phenolic compounds of apple cultivars resistant or susceptible to Venturia inaequalis

Abstract Content: Phenolic compounds play an important role in the plant defense mechanism and are responsible for antioxidant capacity in fruits and vegetables. It is known that the phenolics can determine in the leaves of plants which are resistant/susceptible to fungal infections. Objective: This study investigated the total phenolic compounds, content of shikimic acid from 33 different apple cultivars leaves infected with Venturia inaequalis [(Cke). Wint. ] cultured in Fruit Research Station, in Egirdir, Isparta, Turkey. Materials and methods: Leaves of apple cultivars were collected three times in an interval of 30 d from July to September in 2010, and analyzed using HPLC methods to detect changes in the amount of the phenolic compounds and shikimic acid. Results: Total phenolic compounds and shikimic acid in resistant/moderate susceptible apple cultivars were higher than susceptible apple cultuvars, although not statistically different between resistant and susceptible apples. The content of shikimic acid was statistically higher only in the leaves of the domestic cultivar Ankara güzeli on all three dates. Discussion and conclusion: Recently, there have been increased studies trying to explain the resistance mechanism in plants. Natural resistance genes are investigated in some apple cultivars and new resistance varieties which have resistant genes are identified daily. Our study hold to determine the relationship between the phenolic compounds and the expression of resistance seems to be promising.
Effect of Intravenous Iron Supplementation on Acute Mountain Sickness: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Study

Background The aim of this study was to assess the role of intravenous iron supplementation in the prevention of AMS. Material/Methods This was a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. Forty-one (n=41) healthy Chinese low-altitude inhabitants living in Beijing, China (altitude of about 50 meters) were randomly assigned into intravenous iron supplementation (ISS group; n=21) and placebo (CON group; n=20) groups. Participants in the ISS group received iron sucrose supplement (200 mg) before flying to Lhasa, China (altitude of 4300 meters). Acute mountain sickness (AMS) severity was assessed with the Lake Louise scoring (LLS) system within 5 days after landing on the plateau (at high altitude). Routine check-ups, clinical biochemistry, and blood tests were performed before departure and 24 h after arrival. Results A total of 38 participants completed the study (ISS group: n=19; CON group: n=19). The rate of subjects with AMS (LLS>3) was lower in the ISS group compared with the CON group, but no significant differences were obtained (P>0.05). There were no differences in patients’ baseline characteristics. The physiological indices were similar in both groups except for serum iron concentrations (19.44±10.02 vs. 85.10±26.78 μmol/L) and transferrin saturation rates (28.20±12.14 vs. 68.34±33.12%), which were significantly higher in the ISS group (P<0.05). Finally, heart rate was identified as a contributing factor of LLS. Conclusions These preliminary findings suggest that intravenous iron supplementation has no significant protective effect on AMS in healthy Chinese low-altitude inhabitants.
Associative Memories Using Cellular Neural Networks

This paper presents a performance comparison of various methods for associative memory design using cellular neural networks (CNNs). Even though there have been an increasing interest in such kind of application for CNNs, there is no proper comparison of performance among the available methods in the literature. This paper reviews methods of associative memory design based on CNNs, and provides comparative performance analyses of these approaches.
The Theory of 2-Regularity for Mappings with Lipschitzian Deriatives and its Applications to Optimality Conditions

We study local structure of a nonlinear mapping near points where standard regularity and/or smoothness assumptions need not be satisfied. We introduce a new concept of 2-regularity a certain kind of second-order regularity for a once differentiable mapping whose derivative is Lipschitz continuous. Under this 2-regularity condition, we obtain the representation theorem and the covering theorem i.e., stability with respect to “right-hand side” perturbations under assumptions that are weaker than those previously employed in the literature for results of this type. These results are further used to derive a constructive description of the tangent cone to a set defined by 2-regular equality constraints and optimality conditions for related optimization problems. The class of mappings introduced and studied in the paper appears to be a convenient tool for treating complementarity structures by means of an appropriate equation-based reformulation. Optimality conditions for mathematical programs with equivalently reformulated complementarity constraints are also discussed.
Fishing amplifies forage fish population collapses

Significance Forage fish provide substantial benefits to both humans and ocean food webs, but these benefits may be in conflict unless there are effective policies governing human activities, such as fishing. Collapses of forage fish induce widespread ecological effects on dependent predators, but attributing collapses to fishing has been difficult because of natural fluctuations of these stocks. We implicate fishing in forage fish stock collapses by showing that high fishing rates are maintained when stock productivity is in rapid decline. As a consequence, the magnitude and frequency but not duration of stock collapses are far greater than expected from natural fluctuations. Risk-based management policies would provide substantial ecological benefits with little effect on fishery catches. Forage fish support the largest fisheries in the world but also play key roles in marine food webs by transferring energy from plankton to upper trophic-level predators, such as large fish, seabirds, and marine mammals. Fishing can, thereby, have far reaching consequences on marine food webs unless safeguards are in place to avoid depleting forage fish to dangerously low levels, where dependent predators are most vulnerable. However, disentangling the contributions of fishing vs. natural processes on population dynamics has been difficult because of the sensitivity of these stocks to environmental conditions. Here, we overcome this difficulty by collating population time series for forage fish populations that account for nearly two-thirds of global catch of forage fish to identify the fingerprint of fisheries on their population dynamics. Forage fish population collapses shared a set of common and unique characteristics: high fishing pressure for several years before collapse, a sharp drop in natural population productivity, and a lagged response to reduce fishing pressure. Lagged response to natural productivity declines can sharply amplify the magnitude of naturally occurring population fluctuations. Finally, we show that the magnitude and frequency of collapses are greater than expected from natural productivity characteristics and therefore, likely attributed to fishing. The durations of collapses, however, were not different from those expected based on natural productivity shifts. A risk-based management scheme that reduces fishing when populations become scarce would protect forage fish and their predators from collapse with little effect on long-term average catches.
Accuracy of aPTT Values Drawn from Heparinized Arterial Lines in Children

The practice of withdrawing blood samples for activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) analysis from heparinized arterial lines may result in inaccurate aPTT values. The purpose of this study was to compare venous aPTT values to aPTT values withdrawn from heparinized arterial lines in children. The author suggests a method of obtaining accurate aPTT values using a specified discard volume.
A Pilot Study to Propose a "Harm Scale", a New Method to Predict Risk of Harm to the Corneal Endothelium Caused by Longitudinal Phacoemulsification, and the Subsequent Effect of Endothelial Damage on Post Operative Visual Acuity

Purpose To study the effect of longitudinal phacoemulsification energy on corneal endothelium and to evaluate the relationship between changes of endothelial cells and postoperative visual acuity. Methods This prospective clinical observational cohort study included 50 patients with cataract who underwent longitudinal phacoemulsification. Sequential quantitative and qualitative morphometric endothelial cell analyses of the cornea were performed 4 weeks preoperatively and 6 weeks postoperatively using noncontact specular microscopy. Results There was a relationship between ECL percentage (ECL%) and the 5-score harm scale, well-described by a linear model (one-way ANOVA, R2 = 73.3%). Analyzing the distribution of ECL% Mean with Tukey post-hoc pairwise comparison test (P < 0.001), the value of ECL = 20% has been regarded as cut-off to discriminate patients who obtained an excellent postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA > 85 letters) from those who just had a good visual outcome (BCVA ≤ 85 letters). There was a significant correlation among the 5-score harm scale, phaco energy intraoperatively delivered, and average cell area postoperatively. Conclusions The 5-score harm scale, a new method that enables to pigeonhole cataracts taking into account nucleus hardness and phaco times, allows to predict the harm on corneal endothelium after longitudinal phacoemulsification. Assessment of ECL% permits to discriminate between patients with excellent BCVA and with just good BCVA, postoperatively.
Optimal clinical management of children receiving the ketogenic diet: Recommendations of the International Ketogenic Diet Study Group

The ketogenic diet (KD) is an established, effective nonpharmacologic treatment for intractable childhood epilepsy. The KD is provided differently throughout the world, with occasionally significant variations in its administration. There exists a need for more standardized protocols and management recommendations for clinical and research use. In December 2006, The Charlie Foundation commissioned a panel comprised of 26 pediatric epileptologists and dietitians from nine countries with particular expertise using the KD. This group was created in order to create a consensus statement regarding the clinical management of the KD. Subsequently endorsed by the Practice Committee of the Child Neurology Society, this resultant manuscript addresses issues such as patient selection, pre‐KD counseling and evaluation, specific dietary therapy selection, implementation, supplementation, follow‐up management, adverse event monitoring, and eventual KD discontinuation. This paper highlights recommendations based on best evidence, including areas of agreement and controversy, unanswered questions, and future research.
Prevention of Stroke in Patients With Silent Cerebrovascular Disease: A Scientific Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association

Two decades of epidemiological research shows that silent cerebrovascular disease is common and is associated with future risk for stroke and dementia. It is the most common incidental finding on brain scans. To summarize evidence on the diagnosis and management of silent cerebrovascular disease to prevent stroke, the Stroke Council of the American Heart Association convened a writing committee to evaluate existing evidence, to discuss clinical considerations, and to offer suggestions for future research on stroke prevention in patients with 3 cardinal manifestations of silent cerebrovascular disease: silent brain infarcts, magnetic resonance imaging white matter hyperintensities of presumed vascular origin, and cerebral microbleeds. The writing committee found strong evidence that silent cerebrovascular disease is a common problem of aging and that silent brain infarcts and white matter hyperintensities are associated with future symptomatic stroke risk independently of other vascular risk factors. In patients with cerebral microbleeds, there was evidence of a modestly increased risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage in patients treated with thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke but little prospective evidence on the risk of symptomatic hemorrhage in patients on anticoagulation. There were no randomized controlled trials targeted specifically to participants with silent cerebrovascular disease to prevent stroke. Primary stroke prevention is indicated in patients with silent brain infarcts, white matter hyperintensities, or microbleeds. Adoption of standard terms and definitions for silent cerebrovascular disease, as provided by prior American Heart Association/American Stroke Association statements and by a consensus group, may facilitate diagnosis and communication of findings from radiologists to clinicians.
Electrophysiological evaluation of sensory and motor pathways after incomplete unilateral spinal cord contusion.

OBJECT Unilateral contusions represent an increasingly popular model for studying the pathways and recovery mechanisms of spinal cord injury (SCI). Current studies rely heavily on motor behavior scoring and histological evidence to make assessments. Electrophysiology represents one way to reliably quantify the functionality of motor pathways. The authors sought to quantify the functional integrity of the bilateral motor and sensory pathways following unilateral SCI by using measurements of motor and somatosensory evoked potentials (MEPs and SSEPs, respectively). METHODS Eighteen rats were randomly divided into 3 groups receiving a mild unilateral contusion, a mild midline contusion, or a laminectomy only (control). Contusions were induced at T-8 using a MASCIS impactor. Electrophysiological analysis, motor behavior scoring, and histological quantifications were then performed to identify relationships among pathway conductivity, motor function, and tissue preservation. RESULTS Hindlimb MEPs ipsilateral to the injury showed recovery by Day 28 after injury and corresponded to approximately 61% of spared corticospinal tract (CST) tissue. In contrast, MEPs of the midline-injured group did not recover, and correspondingly > 90% of the CST tissue was damaged. Somatosensory evoked potentials showed only a moderate reduction in amplitude, with no difference in latency for the pathways ipsilateral to injury. Furthermore, these SSEPs were significantly better than those of the midline-injured rats for the same amount of white matter damage. CONCLUSIONS Motor evoked potential recovery corresponded to the amount of spared CST in unilateral and midline injuries, but motor behavior consistently recovered independent of MEPs. These data support the idea that spared contralateral pathways aid in reducing the functional deficits of injured ipsilateral pathways and further support the idea of CNS plasticity.
Limited value of patient history and physical examination in diagnosing deep vein thrombosis in primary care.

BACKGROUND Properly ruling in or out deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is important because of the risk of developing pulmonary embolism if untreated and the risk of bleeding when treated with anticoagulants. In primary care, the diagnosis in suspected DVT is non-specific and the physician has to decide which patients to refer for further diagnostic work-up on the basis of patient history and physical examination alone. OBJECTIVE To quantify which (combination of) items from patient history and physical examination contribute to the diagnosis of DVT in primary care. METHODS A cross-sectional study design was chosen and the setting was all primary care physicians adherent to three local hospitals. 1325 consecutive patients consulting their primary care physician with symptoms suggestive of DVT were included. RESULTS We studied 1325 patients with suspected DVT. The prevalence of thrombosis (assessed by means of compression ultrasonography) in these patients was 29%. Multivariate regression analysis of 17 candidate predictors resulted in nine independent predictors of DVT: male gender, duration of symptoms, malignancy, immobilization, leg trauma, pain when walking, oedema, calf circumference and dilated veins. The predictive value of the combination of the nine independent variables was low, reflected in the ROC area (as a combination of the sensitivity and specificity) of this model of 0.68. The low discriminative value was also exhibited in the numbers of DVT in the different risk categories. For example, in the low-risk group, the probability of DVT was still 15%. The diagnostic performance of patient history and physical examination was similar (and thus poor) in all clinically relevant subgroups. CONCLUSION Patient history and physical examination in patients suspected of DVT are of limited value for the primary care setting to identify patients with a low or high probability of DVT and thus in the decision to refer for further diagnostic work-up.
Microstrip design of low noise amplifier for application in narrowband and wideband

A low-noise amplifier (LNA) is presented in this paper. The LNA is designed and optimized for narrowband and wideband operations along with minimum noise figure around 24 GHz (K-band). The designed LNA employs microstrip input and output matching networks; it achieves a noise figure of 3.85 dB and 10.55 dB of gain along with 10.27 dB and 17.83 dB of input and output return losses, respectively for its narrow band. Where as for its wideband it accomplishes a gain of 6.5 dB with plusmn0.3 dB flatness from 24 to 25.25 GHz wideband frequency range, the noise figure obtained for the presented LNA is in close proximity to the minimum noise figure over 23 - 24.5 GHz frequency range.
A record of Lateglacial and early Holocene environmental and ecological change from southwestern Connecticut, USA

Analyses of a sediment core from Highstead Swamp in southwestern Connecticut, USA, reveal Lateglacial and early Holocene ecological and hydrological changes. Lateglacial pollen assemblages are dominated by Picea and Pinus subg. Pinus, and the onset of the Younger Dryas (YD) cold interval is evidenced by higher abundance of Abies and Alnus viridis subsp. crispa. As climate warmed at the end of the YD, Picea and Abies declined and Pinus strobus became the dominant upland tree species. A shift from lacustrine sediment to organic peat at the YD–Holocene boundary suggests that the lake that existed in the basin during the Lateglacial interval developed into a swamp in response to reduced effective moisture. A change in wetland vegetation from Myrica gale to Alnus incana subsp. rugosa and Sphagnum is consistent with this interpretation of environmental changes at the beginning of the Holocene. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The cognitive coherence approach for agent communication pragmatics

Different approaches have investigated the syntax and semantic of agent communication. However, all these approaches (including : agent communication languages, conversation policies and dialogue games) have not indicated how agents should dynamically use communications. In fact, most of these approaches have mainly focused on "structure" of dialogues even though developers are more interested in agents' capabilities of having "useful" conversations in respect to their goals rather than in their abilities to structure dialogues. This leads us to propose a theory of use of conversations between agents. This pragmatic theory extends and adapts the cognitive dissonance theory (a major theory of social psychology) to multi-agent systems. In this paper, we show how this theory allows us to provide generic conceptual tools for the automation of both agent communicational behavior and attitude change processes. The cognitive coherence that we propose is formulated in terms of constraints and elements of cognition and allows us to define cognitive incoherences and dialogue utility measures. We show how these measures could be used to solve common problems and answer some critical questions concerning agent communication frameworks use. Finally, the theory is illustrated with an example of dialogue games automatic use.