Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advanced numerical investigation into structural behaviour of high-strength cold-formed steel lapped Z-sections with different overlapping lengths

In order to improve buildability of cold-formed steel structures, a series of research and development projects have been undertaken by the authors to examine structural behaviour of bolted moment connections between cold-formed steel sections. In this article, a systematic numerical investigation with advanced finite element modelling technique into the structural behaviour of high-strength cold-formed steel lapped Z-sections under gravity loads is presented, and details of the modelling techniques are presented thoroughly. It aims to examine deformation characteristics of these lapped Z-sections with different overlapping lengths. After careful calibration of advanced finite element models of lapped Z-sections against test data, it is demonstrated that the predicted moment rotation curves of these models follow closely the measured data not only up to the maximum applied moments but also at large deformations. In general, all of these lapped Z-sections are unable to resist sustained loadings after section failure under combined bending and shear, and they exhibit sudden unloadings once the maximum applied loads are attained. Hence, the proposed finite element models are able to simulate highly non-ductile deformation characteristics of these Z-sections. While long overlapping lengths over internal supports in multi-span cold-formed steel purlin systems are often advantageous in terms of both ‘stiffness and strength’, more steel materials are used at the same time. Hence, it is very desirable to establish an efficient use of the lapped Z-sections with optimal overlapping lengths. A total of six models with different overlapping lengths are then extended to simulate the structural behaviour of lapped double-span beams, and extensive material and geometrical non-linear analyses have been carried out. It is found that lapped double-span beams with practical overlapping lengths tend to behave superior to continuous double-span beams in terms of both load resistances and deformations. Depending on the overlapping lengths of the lapped Z-sections, different system failure mechanisms have been clearly identified after significant moment redistribution within the beams, and their structural behaviour has been compared in a rational manner. Consequently, these models will be readily employed to investigate the structural behaviour of high-strength cold-formed steel lapped Z-sections under a wide range of practical loading and boundary loading conditions for possible development of effective design rules.
Evaluation of the SharkCore® needle for EUS-guided core biopsy of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

Background and Objectives: EUS guided core biopsy was once rarely performed but is now entering mainstream practice. Neuroendocrine tumors often warrant core biopsy as sufficient tissue must be obtained to allow for special staining to ensure a correct diagnosis. Traditionally these lesions were sampled with FNA needles. We performed a retrospective pilot study to evaluate the clinical value and efficacy of the a new EUS core needle biopsy needle as compared to a standard EUS FNA needle in the evaluation of patients with known or suspected neuroendocrine tumors. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the first 10 patients (between January 2015 and April 2016) to undergo EUS-FNA with the SharkCore® needle at the University of Utah School of Medicine/Huntsman Cancer Center with neuroendocrine tumors. Each case was retrospectively reviewed by a board certified cytopathologist (BLW) for the following cytologic parameters on the aspirate smears or touch/squash preparations: overall cellularity [1 (low) to 3 (high)], percentage of obtained cells that were lesional/representative (<25%, 26%-50%, and >50%), relative ease of interpretation [1 (difficult) to 3 (easy)]. Pathologic material and reporting records were also reviewed for each case to confirm the number of needle passes to achieve diagnostic adequacy, the presence or absence diagnostic material on H&E slide (from cell block, if prepared), whether a definitive diagnosis was able to be rendered, and the presence or absence of a true core/core fragments (within the cell block, if prepared). Results: A total of 20 patients underwent EUS-FNA for suspected neuroendocrine lesions. Ten patients underwent either transgastric or transduodenal EUS-FNA with the 22 gauge SharkCore® needle. The comparison cohort of 10 patients underwent either transgastric or transduodenal EUS-FNA with the standard 22 gauge Echotip® needle. The SharkCore® needle required a fewer mean number of needle passes to obtain diagnostic adequacy than the Echotip® (P=0.0074). For cases with cell blocks, the SharkCore® needle produced diagnostic material in 100% of cases, whereas Echotip® produced diagnostic material in 60% of cases. There was no significant difference between specimen cellularity, percentage of lesional material, or ease of interpretation between the two needle types. Conclusion: Our pilot investigation targeting patients with known or suspected pancreatic NETs indicates that the SharkCore® needle shows promise in obtaining suitable tissue for ancillary testing that can allow for more definitive pathologic interpretations on EUS FNA specimens. Fewer passes were needed with the core needle when compared to a standard needle.
Subduction or delamination beneath the Apennines? Evidence from regional tomography

Abstract. In this study we present a new regional tomography model of the upper mantle beneath Italy and the surrounding area derived from the inversion of travel times of P and S waves from the updated International Seismological Centre (ISC) catalogue. Beneath Italy, we identify a high-velocity anomaly which has the appearance of a long, narrow "sausage" with a steeply dipping part down to a depth of 400 km and then expanding horizontally over approximately 400 km. Rather than to interpret it as a remnant of the former Tethyan oceanic slab, we consider that it is made up of the infra continental lithospheric mantle of Adria, which is progressively delaminated, whereas its overlying crust becomes progressively accreted into the Apenninic tectonic wedge.
Impact of Smoking Ban on Passive Smoke Exposure in Pregnant Non-Smokers in the Southeastern United States

Prenatal passive smoke exposure raises risk for negative birth outcomes. Legislation regulating public smoking has been shown to impact exposure levels, though fewer studies involving pregnant women have been conducted within the U.S. where bans are inconsistent across regions. This study examined the effect of a ban enacted in the southeastern U.S. on pregnant women’s cotinine levels. Additional analyses compared self-reported exposure to cotinine and identified characteristics associated with passive exposure. Pregnant women (N = 851) were recruited prospectively between 2005 and 2011 in North Carolina. Sociodemographic and health data were collected via surveys; maternal blood samples were assayed for cotinine. Among non-active smokers who provided self-report data regarding passive exposure (N = 503), 20% were inconsistent with corresponding cotinine. Among all non-smokers (N = 668), being unmarried, African American, and less educated were each associated with greater passive exposure. Controlling for covariates, mean cotinine was higher prior to the ban compared to after, F(1, 640) = 24.65, p < 0.001. Results suggest that banning smoking in public spaces may reduce passive smoke exposure for non-smoking pregnant women. These data are some of the first to examine the impact of legislation on passive smoke exposure in pregnant women within the U.S. using a biomarker and can inform policy in regions lacking comprehensive smoke-free legislation.
Evaluation of In-Situ Analysis Strategies at Scale for Power Efficiency and Scalability

The increasing gap between available compute power and I/O capabilities is resulting in simulation pipelines running on leadership computing facilities being reformulated. In particular, in-situ processing is complementing conventional post-process analysis, however, it can be performed by using the same compute resources as the simulation or using secondary dedicated resources. In this paper, we focus on three different in-situ analysis strategies, which use the same compute resources as the ongoing simulation but different data movement strategies. We evaluate the costs incurred by these strategies in terms of run time, scalability and power/energy consumption. Furthermore, we extrapolate power behavior to peta-scale and investigate different design choices through projections. Experimental evaluation at full machine scale on Titan supports that using fewer cores per node for in-situ analysis is the optimum choice in terms of scalability. Hence, further research effort should be devoted towards developing in-situ analysis techniques following this strategy in future high-end systems.
GDP-Tubulin Incorporation into Growing Microtubules Modulates Polymer Stability*

Microtubule growth proceeds through the endwise addition of nucleotide-bound tubulin dimers. The microtubule wall is composed of GDP-tubulin subunits, which are thought to come exclusively from the incorporation of GTP-tubulin complexes at microtubule ends followed by GTP hydrolysis within the polymer. The possibility of a direct GDP-tubulin incorporation into growing polymers is regarded as hardly compatible with recent structural data. Here, we have examined GTP-tubulin and GDP-tubulin incorporation into polymerizing microtubules using a minimal assembly system comprised of nucleotide-bound tubulin dimers, in the absence of free nucleotide. We find that GDP-tubulin complexes can efficiently co-polymerize with GTP-tubulin complexes during microtubule assembly. GDP-tubulin incorporation into microtubules occurs with similar efficiency during bulk microtubule assembly as during microtubule growth from seeds or centrosomes. Microtubules formed from GTP-tubulin/GDP-tubulin mixtures display altered microtubule dynamics, in particular a decreased shrinkage rate, apparently due to intrinsic modifications of the polymer disassembly properties. Thus, although microtubules polymerized from GTP-tubulin/GDP-tubulin mixtures or from homogeneous GTP-tubulin solutions are both composed of GDP-tubulin subunits, they have different dynamic properties, and this may reveal a novel form of microtubule “structural plasticity. ”
Enhanced shear strength of sodium bentonite using frictional additives

One of the most important obstacles to using geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) in landfill cover systems is the low shear strength provided by the bentonitic portion of the GCL. In this study, the authors propose that granular, frictional materials might be added to the bentonite to form an admixture that would have greater shear strength than the bentonite alone while still raining low hydraulic conductivity. Bentonite was mixed with two separate granular additives, expanded shale and recycled to form mixtures consisting of 20-70% bentonite by weight. In direct shear tests at normal stresses of 34.5-103.5 kPa, effective friction angles were measured as 45{degrees} for the expanded 36{degrees} for the recycled glass, and 7{degrees} for the hydrated granular bentonite. The strength of the expanded shale mixtures increased nearly linearly as the percentage shale in the mixture increased, to 44{degrees} for a bentonite mixture with 80% shale. The addition of recycled glass showed little effect on the shear strength of the mixtures of glass and bentonite. Hydraulic conductivity measurements for both types of mixtures indicated a linear increase with log(k) as the amount of granular additive increased. For applications involving geosynthetic clay liners for cover systems, a mixture of 40% expanded shalemore » and 60% bentonite is recommended, although further testing must be done. The 40/60 mixture satisfies the hydraulic equivalency requirement, with k = 5.1X10{sup -9} cm/sec, while increasing the shear strength parameters of the bentonitic mixture to {phi}{prime} = 17{degrees} and c{prime} = 0. « less
Sexual Risk Behavior and Its Change among HIV-Positive Persons after Notifying their HIV Infection Status: A Retrospective Survey

Background: The number of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is increasing by year, and sexual transmission accounts for the main route of transmission. While there is some debate on whether notifying HIV infection status will affect PLWHAs’ sexual behavior in China, this study investigates sexual risk behavior and its change among PLWHA before and after they are informed of HIV infection and provide evidence for prevention and control of AIDS. Methods: A retrospective survey using integrated questionnaires was conducted among PLWHA, who had been notified their HIV-positive status for more than 6 months, to analyze their sexual risk behavior and the behavior change. Chi Square Test and Fisher’s Exact Test were used to compare their behavior change before and after notification. Results: 1105 PLWHA were investigated in this study, 84.2% of them have not had risky sex after notification. Among those who still had sexual risk behavior after notification, the proportions of those whose sexual frequency were more than once per week, those who have more than one sexual partner, and those who have temporary sexual partners decreased by 7.3%, 36.9%, and 48.4%, respectively. Chi-square test results revealed that the differences of proportion of sexual behavior, number of sexual partners, and type of sexual partners before and after notification were significant. Conclusion: In total, the sexual risk behavior of PLWHA turned safer in the first 6 months after notification, which indicates that the notification and intervention of HIV infection is effective for HIV prevention.
Whole-Genome Duplication and the Functional Diversification of Teleost Fish Hemoglobins

Subsequent to the two rounds of whole-genome duplication that occurred in the common ancestor of vertebrates, a third genome duplication occurred in the stem lineage of teleost fishes. This teleost-specific genome duplication (TGD) is thought to have provided genetic raw materials for the physiological, morphological, and behavioral diversification of this highly speciose group. The extreme physiological versatility of teleost fish is manifest in their diversity of blood–gas transport traits, which reflects the myriad solutions that have evolved to maintain tissue O2 delivery in the face of changing metabolic demands and environmental O2 availability during different ontogenetic stages. During the course of development, regulatory changes in blood–O2 transport are mediated by the expression of multiple, functionally distinct hemoglobin (Hb) isoforms that meet the particular O2-transport challenges encountered by the developing embryo or fetus (in viviparous or oviparous species) and in free-swimming larvae and adults. The main objective of the present study was to assess the relative contributions of whole-genome duplication, large-scale segmental duplication, and small-scale gene duplication in producing the extraordinary functional diversity of teleost Hbs. To accomplish this, we integrated phylogenetic reconstructions with analyses of conserved synteny to characterize the genomic organization and evolutionary history of the globin gene clusters of teleosts. These results were then integrated with available experimental data on functional properties and developmental patterns of stage-specific gene expression. Our results indicate that multiple α- and β-globin genes were present in the common ancestor of gars (order Lepisoteiformes) and teleosts. The comparative genomic analysis revealed that teleosts possess a dual set of TGD-derived globin gene clusters, each of which has undergone lineage-specific changes in gene content via repeated duplication and deletion events. Phylogenetic reconstructions revealed that paralogous genes convergently evolved similar functional properties in different teleost lineages. Consistent with other recent studies of globin gene family evolution in vertebrates, our results revealed evidence for repeated evolutionary transitions in the developmental regulation of Hb synthesis.
Expression of Ki-67, p53 and VEGF in pediatric neuroblastoma.

BACKGROUND Neuroblastoma (NB), is a neuroectodermal tumor derived from neural crest cells, and it is the second most common pediatric malignant tumor. The biological and clinical behavior of NB is very heterogeneous. This study was conducted to evaluate the expression of Ki-67, p53 and VEGF markers in tissues obtained from NB patients with different histologic types and stage. MATERIALS AND METHODS Tissue microarray (TMA) blocks were constructed from paraffin blocks of the NB tissues. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on TMA sections to detect the expression of Ki-67, p53 and VEGF markers. The association between the expression of these markers and clinicopathological parameters were then analyzed. RESULTS We had 18 patients with NB, one patient with ganglioneuroblastoma (GNB) and one with ganglioneuroma. Ki-67 was expressed in 13 (65%) tumors, and negatively correlated with age, prognosis, histologic type and stage of NB (all p<0.05). High and moderate expression of VEGF was found in 5% (1/20) and 65% (13/20) of the tumors, respectively; and it was positively correlated with age, prognosis and histologic types (all p<0.05) and negatively correlated with MKI (mitosis-karyorrhexis index). p53 expression was observed in 10% (2/20) of the tumors, which showed a relative correlation with MKI (p value=0.07). CONCLUSIONS VEGF as a candidate for anti-angiogenic targeted therapy was correlated with the development and progression of NB; therefore, VEGF along with Ki-67 can serve as a valuable marker for the prognosis of this tumor type.
Assessing the impact of a Clinical Audiology Simulator on first year students

Virtual Patients (VPs) have been successful in health education to promote and foster communication. Additionally, computer simulations offer the advantage of being standardized, repeatable, and do not require as much resources as role-play simulations. The research presented in this paper offers to explore the impact of a Clinical Audiology Simulator (CAS) using virtual patients technology on first year audiology students of the University of Canterbury. We look at the CAS's effects on students' perceived level of learning, confidence, and ability to conduct adequate Pure tone audiometry as well as Clinical history taking procedures. These studies showed positive results on students' perceived level of learning, and history taking skills when using the CAS as an additional training tool. We present the findings and lessons learned from these studies as well as our plans for future experiments and software implementations. VPs have the potential to offer audiology trainees more opportunities to practice and access to a wider range of pathologies as they would with their course's traditional practical sessions.
The Association between Socioeconomic Status and Adherence to Health Check-up in Korean Adults, Based on the 2010–2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Background We investigated the association between socioeconomic status and adherence to health check-ups in a Korean population aged 40 years or older. Methods This cross-sectional study included 12,311 participants who participated in the 2010–2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Self-reported questionnaires were used to assess each participant's socioeconomic status (household income, occupation, and education) and adherence to health check-ups. Results Men with a higher income (highest vs. lowest: odds ratio [OR], 1.799; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.296–2.497) and men with a higher education level (≥12 vs. <6 years: OR, 1.488; 95% CI, 1.078–2.054) and office workers compared with manual workers (men: OR, 1.431; 95% CI, 1.077–1.902; women: OR, 1.783; 95% CI, 1.256–2.532) appeared to undergo more health check-ups. In particular, men and women with a higher income and education appeared more likely to undergo opportunistic health check-ups (men: highest vs. lowest income: OR, 2.380; 95% CI, 1.218–4.653; ≥12 vs. <6 years education: OR, 2.121; 95% CI, 1.142–3.936; women: highest vs. lowest income: OR, 4.042; 95% CI, 2.239–7.297; ≥12 vs. <6 years education: OR, 2.475; 95% CI, 1.283–4.775). Conclusion A higher socioeconomic status was associated with a higher rate of participation in health check-ups. More efforts are needed to identify the factors associated with disparity in adherence to health check-ups.
Kiwisaver and Retirement Adequacy

Investors face a long and uncertain journey to retirement and beyond, particularly when investing in new defined contribution schemes such as New Zealand’s KiwiSaver. This paper seeks to provide positive insights into the design of KiwiSaver by assessing the recently announced move from 4 to 6% minimum contribution rates using stochastic simulation. We consider retirement adequacy from two perspectives: (i) multiples of gross final earnings achieved during the accumulation phase; and (ii) replacement rates of salaries during the decumulation phase. The findings reveal that an increase in the contribution rate from 4% to 6% dramatically increases the probability of investors reaching a retirement target of eight (8) times final earnings, from 6% to 40%. However, despite the shift in lifetime contributions in the right direction, the simulation analysis suggests that, in the majority of scenarios, KiwiSaver investors will not achieve an adequate retirement target.
Morphology, molecular phylogeny, and pigment characterization of an isolate of the dinoflagellate Pelagodinium bei from Korean waters

The dinoflagellate genus Pelagodinium is genetically classified in distinct sub-clades and subgroups. However, it is difficult to determine whether this genetic diversity represents intra- or interspecific divergence within the genus since only the morphology of the type strain of the genus Pelagodinium , Pelagodinium bei , is available. An isolate associated with the genus Pelagodinium from Shiwha Bay, Korea, was recently cultured. This isolate was clustered with 3 to 4 strains from the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean. This cluster was distinct from the subgroup more closely associated with P. bei . The morphology of the isolate was analyzed using optical and scanning electron microscopy and was almost identical to that of P. bei except that this isolate had two series of amphiesmal vesicles (AVs) in the cingulum, unlike P. bei that has one series. When the pigment compositions of the isolate and P. bei were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography, these two strains had peridinin as a major accessory pigment and their pigment compositions were almost identical. In addition, the swimming behaviors of these two strains were very similar. The reexamination of the type culture of P. bei revealed two series in the cingulum as for the isolate. The new findings on the number of series of AVs in the cingulum, the pigment composition, and the swimming behaviors suggest that P. bei and the isolate are conspecific despite their genetic divergence. This study provides a basis to further understand the molecular classification within Pelagodinium combining genetic, morphological, pigment, and behavioral data.