Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring the plastic limit of fine soils: an experimental study

The Casagrande thread-rolling method for determining the plastic limit of fine-grained soil is heavily dependent on operator judgement and can often give inconsistent or unreliable results. This paper presents an energy-based approach used in the development of an improved testing procedure for the plastic strength limit. A 0·727 kg cone is allowed to fall freely through 200 mm before contacting the surface of the test specimen, with the plastic strength limit determined for a cone penetration depth of 20 mm. For ten mineral clays of intermediate to very high plasticity tested, the plastic limits deduced using the cone were in good agreement with the measured Casagrande plastic limits. The values deduced using an 8 kg contacting cone were consistently lower than the Casagrande limits.
Maternal Colonization With Group B Streptococcus and Serotype Distribution Worldwide: Systematic Review and Meta-analyses

Abstract Background Maternal rectovaginal colonization with group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the most common pathway for GBS disease in mother, fetus, and newborn. This article, the second in a series estimating the burden of GBS, aims to determine the prevalence and serotype distribution of GBS colonizing pregnant women worldwide. Methods We conducted systematic literature reviews (PubMed/Medline, Embase, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature [LILACS], World Health Organization Library Information System [WHOLIS], and Scopus), organized Chinese language searches, and sought unpublished data from investigator groups. We applied broad inclusion criteria to maximize data inputs, particularly from low- and middle-income contexts, and then applied new meta-analyses to adjust for studies with less-sensitive sampling and laboratory techniques. We undertook meta-analyses to derive pooled estimates of maternal GBS colonization prevalence at national and regional levels. Results The dataset regarding colonization included 390 articles, 85 countries, and a total of 299924 pregnant women. Our adjusted estimate for maternal GBS colonization worldwide was 18% (95% confidence interval [CI], 17%–19%), with regional variation (11%–35%), and lower prevalence in Southern Asia (12.5% [95% CI, 10%–15%]) and Eastern Asia (11% [95% CI, 10%–12%]). Bacterial serotypes I–V account for 98% of identified colonizing GBS isolates worldwide. Serotype III, associated with invasive disease, accounts for 25% (95% CI, 23%–28%), but is less frequent in some South American and Asian countries. Serotypes VI–IX are more common in Asia. Conclusions GBS colonizes pregnant women worldwide, but prevalence and serotype distribution vary, even after adjusting for laboratory methods. Lower GBS maternal colonization prevalence, with less serotype III, may help to explain lower GBS disease incidence in regions such as Asia. High prevalence worldwide, and more serotype data, are relevant to prevention efforts.
Impact of prior therapy on the efficacy and safety of oral ixazomib-lenalidomide-dexamethasone vs. placebo-lenalidomide-dexamethasone in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma in TOURMALINE-MM1

Prior treatment exposure in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma may affect outcomes with subsequent therapies. We analyzed efficacy and safety according to prior treatment in the phase 3 TOURMALINE-MM1 study of ixazomib-lenalidomide-dexamethasone (ixazomib-Rd) versus placebo-Rd. Patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma received ixazomib-Rd or placebo-Rd. Efficacy and safety were evaluated in subgroups defined according to type (proteasome inhibitor [PI] and immunomodulatory drug) and number (1 vs. 2 or 3) of prior therapies received. Of 722 patients, 503 (70%) had received a prior PI, and 397 (55%) prior lenalidomide/thalidomide; 425 patients had received 1 prior therapy, and 297 received 2 or 3 prior therapies. At a median follow up of ~15 months, PFS was prolonged with ixazomib-Rd vs. placebo-Rd regardless of type of prior therapy received; HR 0.739 and 0.749 in PI-exposed and –naïve patients, HR 0.744 and 0.700 in immunomodulatory-drug-exposed and -naïve patients, respectively. PFS benefit with ixazomib-Rd vs. placebo-Rd appeared greater in patients with 2 or 3 prior therapies (HR 0.58) and in those with 1 prior therapy without prior transplant (HR 0.60) versus those with 1 prior therapy and transplant (HR 1.23). Across all subgroups, toxicity was consistent with that seen in the intent-to-treat population. In patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, ixazomib-Rd was associated with a consistent clinical benefit vs. placebo-Rd regardless of prior treatment with bortezomib or immunomodulatory drugs. Patients with 2 or 3 prior therapies, or 1 prior therapy without transplant seemed to have greater benefit than patients with 1 prior therapy and transplant. TOURMALINE-MM1 registered at clinicaltrials.gov identifier: 01564537.
Intense or malicious? The decoding of eyebrow-lowering frowning in laughter animations depends on the presentation mode

Joyful laughter is the only laughter type that has received sufficient validation in terms of morphology (i.e., face, voice). Still, it is unclear whether joyful laughter involves one prototypical facial-morphological configuration (Duchenne Display and mouth opening) to be decoded as such, or whether qualitatively distinct facial markers occur at different stages of laughter intensity. It was proposed that intense laughter goes along with eyebrow-lowering frowning, but in decoding studies of pictures, these “frowns” were associated with perceived maliciousness rather than higher intensity. Thus, two studies were conducted to investigate the influence of the presentation mode (static, dynamic) and eyebrow-lowering frowning on the perception of laughter animations of different intensity. In Study 1, participants (N = 110) were randomly assigned to two presentation modes (static pictures vs. dynamic videos) to watch animations of Duchenne laughter and laughter with added eyebrow-lowering frowning. Ratings on the intensity, valence, and contagiousness of the laughter were completed. In Study 2, participants (N = 55) saw both animation types in both presentation modes sequentially. Results confirmed that the static presentation lead to eyebrow-lowering frowning in intense laughter being perceived as more malicious, less intense, less benevolent, and less contagious compared to the dynamic presentation. This was replicated for maliciousness in Study 2, although participants could potentially infer the “frown” as a natural element of the laugh, as they had seen the video and the picture. Thus, a dynamic presentation is necessary for detecting graduating intensity markers in the joyfully laughing face. While this study focused on the decoding, future studies should investigate the encoding of frowning in laughter. This is important, as tools assessing facially expressed joy might need to account for laughter intensity markers that differ from the Duchenne Display.
First Molecular Epidemiological Study of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Libya

Background Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a major public health problem in Libya. The objective of this study was to investigate, for the first time, epidemiological features of CL outbreaks in Libya including molecular identification of parasites, the geographical distribution of cases and possible scenarios of parasite transmission. Methodology/Principal Findings We studied 450 patients that came from 49 areas distributed in 12 districts in north-west Libya. The patients' ages ranged from 9 months to 87 years (median age 25 years); 54% of the cases were males. Skin scrapings spotted on glass slides were collected for molecular identification of causative agent. The ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) was amplified and subsequently characterized by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. In total, 195 samples were successfully identified of which 148 (75.9%) were Leishmania major, and 47 (24.1%) Leishmania tropica. CL cases infected with L. major were found in all CL areas whereas L. tropica cases came mainly from Al Jabal Al Gharbi (46.4%), Misrata (17.8%) and Tarhuna districts (10.7%). A trend of seasonality was noticed for the infections with L. major which showed a clear peak between November and January, but was less pronounced for infections by L. tropica. Conclusion The first molecular study on CL in Libya revealed that the disease is caused by L. major and L. tropica and the epidemiological patterns in the different foci were the same as in other Mediterranean foci of CL.
Solar Based Hybrid Electric Powered Wheel Chair

Differently abled people face many hardships in life, having to be dependent on a third person to move from place to place. To provide them with a supporting aid, many scientists have been toiling for a long time. The invention of wheel chair is a great boon to them but it still restricts their motion. This project aims at providing them with a non-polluting and cost effective solution in the form of a - Hybrid Solar Powered Electric Wheel Chair. The project implements two state battery charging using Single Ended Primary Inductor Converter (SEPIC) and Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm for efficient battery charging and improved battery life. The key achievements are: successful implementation of Estimate Perturb and Perturb (EPP) algorithm for MPPT and the construction of a durable and car-sized wheel-chair capable of zero radius turns.
The effect of exercise in muscular dystrophy.

Twenty-four patients with muscular dystrophy carried out a maximum resistance exercise program for one year. Improvement in muscle strength occurred in all patients throughout the first four months of exercise regardless of type of dystrophy. Subsequently, a plateau occurred which was maintained throughout the period of observation. The increased muscle function as documented by objective measurements was correlated with the initial level of muscle function. Improvement in functional abilities was less than increase in muscle strength. Patients with "limb-girdle" and facioscapulohumeral dystrophy derived the greatest physical and functional benefit from the program. A resistive exercise program in muscular dystrophy is most effective if instituted early in the course of disease.
A 60 GHz LOS MIMO Backhaul Design Combining Spatial Multiplexing and Beamforming for a 100 Gbps Throughput

In this work, a two-level hierarchical MIMO system is proposed to combine the spatial multiplexing gain and beamforming gain in a strong LOS channel. The superior is a MIMO system that consists of specially arranged sub-arrays to fully exploit the spatial multiplexing gain in deterministic channels. Additionally, a deterministic spherical-wave channel model is introduced. This channel model includes the radiation patterns of the sub-arrays, orthogonal phase relations introduced by the specific sub-array arrangement and the path loss considering deployment in practical scenarios. The attenuation includes the free space path loss, the oxygen absorption, the rain attenuation in bad weather and the front-end loss. The regulations for the maximum radiated power and the available bandwidth at 60GHz were also investigated. Furthermore, the maximum transmission rate and upper bound of the energy efficiency are modeled and calculated for the proposed system operating at 60GHz compliant to those regulations, as well for a constraint of the maximum available transmit power on-board. The result shows that the proposed system architecture is promising to achieve over 100Gbps for macro-cell backhaul links with reasonable antenna sizes and high energy efficiency.
Employment Characteristics and Socioeconomic Factors Associated with Disparities in Smoking Abstinence and Former Smoking Among U.S. Workers

Purpose. This study examines the associations among employment and socioeconomic factors and the outcomes, current smoking, cigarette abstinence and former smoking among adult U.S. workers ages 18–64 (n###5###288,813). Methods. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the associations among the variables using cross-sectional data from the 1998–1999 and 2001–2002 Tobacco Use Supplements to the Current Population Survey. Results. Lower odds of current smoking was observed among part-time workers compared to those working variable hours and multiple job holders compared to persons holding one job. The self-employed, part-time workers and multiple job holders had higher odds of former smoking than comparison groups. Employment factors were not associated with short-term abstinence or 12-month abstinence from smoking, but income, education, marital status, and duration of smoking were associated with 12-month abstinence. Conclusions. These data suggest that while employment factors are associated with current and former smoking, socioeconomic factors are associated with long-term quitting.
Inhibitory actions of the NRG-1/ErbB4 pathway in macrophages during tissue fibrosis in the heart, skin, and lung.

The neuregulin-1 (NRG-1)/receptor tyrosine-protein kinase erbB (ErbB) system is an endothelium-controlled paracrine system modulating cardiac performance and adaptation. Recent studies have indicated that NRG-1 has antifibrotic effects in the left ventricle, which were explained by direct actions on cardiac fibroblasts. However, the NRG-1/ErbB system also regulates the function of macrophages. In this study, we hypothesized that the antifibrotic effect of NRG-1 in the heart is at least partially mediated through inhibitory effects on macrophages. We also hypothesized that the antifibrotic effect of NRG-1 may be active in other organs, such as the skin and lung. First, in a mouse model of angiotensin II (ANG II)-induced myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis, NRG-1 treatment (20 µg·kg-1·day-1 ip) significantly attenuated myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis and improved passive ventricular stiffness (4 wk). Interestingly, 1 wk after exposure to ANG II, NRG-1 already attenuated myocardial macrophage infiltration and cytokine expression. Furthermore, mice with myeloid-specific deletion of the ErbB4 gene (ErbB4F/FLysM-Cre+/-) showed an intensified myocardial fibrotic response to ANG II. Consistently, NRG-1 activated the ErbB4 receptor in isolated macrophages, inhibited phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase/Akt and STAT3 signaling pathways, and reduced the release of inflammatory cytokines. Further experiments showed that the antifibrotic and anti-inflammatory effects of NRG-1 were reproducible in mouse models of bleomycin-induced dermal and pulmonary fibrosis. Overall, this study demonstrates that the antifibrotic effect of NRG-1 in the heart is linked to anti-inflammatory activity NRG-1/ErbB4 signaling in macrophages. Second, this study shows that NRG-1 has antifibrotic and anti-inflammatory effects in organs other than the heart, such as the skin and lung.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Our study contributes to the understanding of the antifibrotic effect of neuregulin-1 during myocardial remodeling. Here, we show that the antifibrotic effect of neuregulin-1 is at least partially mediated through anti-inflammatory activity, linked to receptor tyrosine-protein kinase erbB-4 activation in macrophages. Furthermore, we show that this effect is also present outside the heart.
A grid of synthetic ionizing spectra for very hot compact stars from NLTE model atmospheres

The precise analysis of properties of planetary nebulae is strongly dependent on good models for the stellar ionizing spectrum. Observations in the UV - X-ray wavelength range as well as NLTE model atmosphere calculations of spectra of their exciting stars have shown that neither blackbody fluxes nor "standard" NLTE atmosphere models which are composed out of hydrogen and helium only are good approximations. Strong dierences between synthetic spectra from these compared to observed spectra at energies higher than 54 eV (He II ground state) can be ascribed to the neglect of metal-line blanketing. Realistic modeling of the emergent fluxes of hot stars in the UV - X-ray wavelength range requires metal-line blanketed NLTE model atmospheres which include all elements from hydrogen up to the iron-group. For this purpose, we present a grid (solar and halo abundance ratios) of metal-line blanketed NLTE model atmosphere fluxes which covers the parameter range of central stars of planetary nebulae.
THE MAASS SPACE FOR U(2, 2) AND THE BLOCH-KATO CONJECTURE FOR THE ADJOINT MOTIVE OF A MODULAR FORM

Let K be an imaginary quadratic field of discriminant DK . We introduce a notion of an adelic Maass space SM k,−k/2 for automorphic forms on the quasi-split unitary group U(2, 2) associated with K and prove that it is stable under the action of all Hecke operators. When DK is prime we obtain a Hecke-equivariant descent from SM k,−k/2 to the space of elliptic cusp forms Sk−1(DK , χK), where χK is the quadratic character of K. For a given φ ∈ Sk−1(DK , χK), a prime ` > k, we then construct (mod `) congruences between the Maass form corresponding to φ and hermitian modular forms orthogonal to SM k,−k/2 whenever val`(L alg(Symm2 φ, k)) > 0. This gives a proof of the holomorphic case of the unitary analogue of Harder’s conjecture. Finally, we use these congruences to provide evidence for the Bloch-Kato conjecture for the motives ad ρφ(−1) and ad ρφ(2), where ρφ denotes the Galois representation attached to φ.
Malignant neoplasms originating in synovial tissues (synoviomata); a study of thirty-two specimens registered at the Army Institute of Pathology during the war-time period, 1941-1945.

Among the many lesions removed surgically from synovial-lined structures and registered With the Army Institute of Pathology during the years of the second World War were thirty-two examples of the malignant neoplasm usually designated as synovioma . Certain cytological and structural features distinguish this type of neoplasm from other mesenchymal tumors. These cell patterns may be explained by referring to the anatomical and physiological Peculiarities of the normally developing and mature synovial tissues. Although the determination of the fatality rate in the present series must await the completion of the follow-up study which is now in progress, the knowledge that sixteen patients have died, have had metastases, or have shown local recurrences, points again to the seriousness of this neoplasm, as well as to the necessity for its Prompt and complete surgical removal. The present observations indicate a need for a follow-up study of the many cases in which synovial-membrane lesions, now regarded as benign, have been removed. Such an investigation should aid in determining the future course of these lesions of varied histological patterns and there by serve as a guide for appropriate treatment.
Homotopical dynamics, III: Real singularities and Hamiltonian flows

On the space of nondepraved (see []) real, isolated singularities, we consider the stable equivalence relation induced by smooth deformations whose asymptotic behaviour is controlled by the Palais-Smale condition. It is shown that the resulting space of equivalence classes admits a canonical semiring structure and is isomorphic to the semiring of stable homotopy classes of CW-complexes. In an application to Hamiltonian dynamics, we relate the existence of bounded and periodic orbits on noncompact level hypersurfaces of Palais-Smale Hamiltonians with just one singularity that is nondepraved to the lack of self-duality (in the sense of E. Spanier and J. Whitehead) of the sublink of the singularity.
Upregulation of Haptoglobin in Reactive Astrocytes after Transient Forebrain Ischemia in Rats

Immunohistochemistry for haptoglobin (Hp) in the postischemic hippocampus demonstrated an immunoreactivity visible one day after reperfusion and continuing to increase until 14 days after ischemia. The immunoreactivity was most prominent in CA1 and the dentate hilar region, especially in cells with astroglial morphology. Double immunofluorescence histochemistry confirmed colocalization of the Hp and glial fibrillary acidic protein. Furthermore, a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction study confirmed an elevated Hp mRNA level in the postischemic hippocampus. The Hp gene expression was also upregulated in C6 and A-172 glioblastoma cell lines after H2O2 treatment. These findings suggest that Hp is synthesized in reactive astrocytes in response to ischemia-reperfusion injury.
Permanent Functional Reorganization of Retinal Circuits Induced by Early Long-Term Visual Deprivation

Early sensory experience shapes the functional and anatomical connectivity of neuronal networks. Light deprivation alters synaptic transmission and modifies light response properties in the visual system, from retinal circuits to higher visual centers. These effects are more pronounced during a critical period in juvenile life and are mostly reversed by restoring normal light conditions. Here we show that complete light deprivation, from birth to periods beyond the critical period, permanently modifies the receptive field properties of retinal ganglion cells. Visual deprivation reduced both the strength of light responses in ganglion cells and their receptive field size. Light deprivation produced an imbalance in the ratio of inhibitory to excitatory inputs, with a shift toward larger inhibitory conductances. Ganglion cell receptive fields in visually deprived animals showed a spatial mismatch of inhibitory and excitatory inputs and inhibitory inputs were highly scattered over the receptive field. These results indicate that visual experience early in life is critical for the refinement of retinal circuits and for appropriate signaling of the spatiotemporal properties of visual stimuli, thus influencing the response properties of neurons in higher visual centers and their processing of visual information.
Dimensionality reduction strategies for the design of human machine interface signal classifiers

The goal in this paper is to overcome the dimensionality problem related to designing human-machine-interface (HMI) signal classifiers. The dimension is decreased by selecting a small set of linear combination of the input space features using the principal components transform (PCT) and the discrete cosine transform (DCT). Issues dealing with the selection of the basis vectors of the PCT and DCT for multi-class classification problems are addressed and four different class-dependant ranking criteria are introduced to select basis vectors from the transformed training vectors in the PCT and DCT domains. The application and evaluation of the resulting PCT and DCT based multivariate classification strategies are demonstrated by classifying ear-pressure signals and event related potentials. The signals in these experiments are typical of control signals used in HMI applications and are also typical of those in which the dimensionality problem occurs. Based on the evaluations and comparisons, it is concluded that the PCT and the DCT based strategies developed in this paper offer viable solutions to overcome the dimensionality problem that frequently plagues the design of practical HMI signal classifiers.