Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Compression Response of Thick Layer Composite Laminates with Through-the-Thickness Reinforcement

Compression and compression-after-impact (CAI) tests were conducted on seven different AS4-3501-6 [0/90] 0.64-cm thick composite laminates. Four of the seven laminates had through-the-thickness (TTT) reinforcement fibers. Two TTT reinforcement methods, stitching and integral weaving, and two reinforcement fibers, Kevlar and carbon, were used. The remaining three laminates were made without TTT reinforcements and were tested to establish a baseline for comparison with the laminates having TTT rein forcement. Six of the seven laminates consisted of nine thick layers whereas the seventh material was composed of 46 thin plies. The use of thick-layer material has the potential for reducing structural part cost because of the reduced part count (layers of material).
Over-the-Counter Relief From Pains and Pleasures Alike

Acetaminophen, an effective and popular over-the-counter pain reliever (e.g., the active ingredient in Tylenol), has recently been shown to blunt individuals’ reactivity to a range of negative stimuli in addition to physical pain. Because accumulating research has shown that individuals’ reactivity to both negative and positive stimuli can be influenced by a single factor (an idea known as differential susceptibility), we conducted two experiments testing whether acetaminophen blunted individuals’ evaluations of and emotional reactions to both negative and positive images from the International Affective Picture System. Participants who took acetaminophen evaluated unpleasant stimuli less negatively and pleasant stimuli less positively, compared with participants who took a placebo. Participants in the acetaminophen condition also rated both negative and positive stimuli as less emotionally arousing than did participants in the placebo condition (Studies 1 and 2), whereas nonevaluative ratings (extent of color saturation in each image; Study 2) were not affected by drug condition. These findings suggest that acetaminophen has a general blunting effect on individuals’ evaluative and emotional processing, irrespective of negative or positive valence.
SOME METEOROLOGICAL ASPECTS OF DROUGHT

Abstract The problem of drought is examined as a manifestation of anomalous patterns of the atmosphere's general circulation. Special consideration is given to the quasi-stationary planetary wave ensembles which are responsible for extensive summertime drought over the United States. The critical importance of the great Atlantic and Pacific anticyclones for encouraging or discouraging the development of the great North American upper level anticyclone, the immediate drought producing cell, is emphasized.
On finite element analysis of fluid flows fully coupled with structural interactions

The solution of fluid flows, modeled using the Navier-Stokes or Euler equations, fully coupled with structures/solids is considered. Simultaneous and parti- tioned solution procedures, used in the solution of the coupled equations, are briefly discussed, and advantages and disadvantages of their use are mentioned. In addi- tion, a simplified stability analysis of the interface equa- tions is presented, and unconditional stability for certain choices of time integration schemes is shown. Further- more, the long-term dynamic stability of fluid-structure interaction systems is assessed by the use of Lyapunov characteristic exponents, which allow differentiating be- tween a chaotic and a regular system behavior. Some state-of-the-art numerical solutions are also presented to indicate the type of problems that can now be solved us- ing currently available techniques.
Cross-Age LFW: A Database for Studying Cross-Age Face Recognition in Unconstrained Environments

Labeled Faces in the Wild (LFW) database has been widely utilized as the benchmark of unconstrained face verification and due to big data driven machine learning methods, the performance on the database approaches nearly 100%. However, we argue that this accuracy may be too optimistic because of some limiting factors. Besides different poses, illuminations, occlusions and expressions, cross-age face is another challenge in face recognition. Different ages of the same person result in large intra-class variations and aging process is unavoidable in real world face verification. However, LFW does not pay much attention on it. Thereby we construct a Cross-Age LFW (CALFW) which deliberately searches and selects 3,000 positive face pairs with age gaps to add aging process intra-class variance. Negative pairs with same gender and race are also selected to reduce the influence of attribute difference between positive/negative pairs and achieve face verification instead of attributes classification. We evaluate several metric learning and deep learning methods on the new database. Compared to the accuracy on LFW, the accuracy drops about 10%-17% on CALFW.
Oral Food Intake Versus Fasting on Postoperative Pancreatic Fistula After Distal Pancreatectomy

AbstractThe usefulness of enteral nutrition via a nasointestinal tube for patients who develop postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) after miscellaneous pancreatectomy procedures has been reported. However, no clear evidence regarding whether oral intake is beneficial or harmful during management of POPF after distal pancreatectomy (DP) is currently available.To investigate the effects of oral food intake on the healing process of POPF after DP.Multi-institutional randomized controlled trial in Nagoya University Hospital and 4 affiliated hospitals.Patients who developed POPF were randomly assigned to the dietary intake (DI) group (n = 15) or the fasted group (no dietary intake [NDI] group) (n = 15). The primary endpoint was the length of drain placement.No significant differences were found in the length of drain placement between the DI and NDI groups (12 [6–58] and 12 [7–112] days, respectively; P = 0.786). POPF progressed to a clinically relevant status (grade B/C) in 5 patients in the DI group and 4 patients in the NDI group (P = 0.690). POPF-related intra-abdominal hemorrhage was found in 1 patient in the NDI group but in no patients in the DI group (P = 0.309). There were no significant differences in POPF-related intra-abdominal hemorrhage, the incidence of other complications, or the length of the postoperative hospital stay between the 2 groups.Food intake did not aggravate POPF and did not prolong drain placement or hospital stay after DP. There may be no need to avoid oral DI in patients with POPF.
Radiotracer Technology in Mixing Processes for Industrial Applications

Many problems associated with the mixing process remain unsolved and result in poor mixing performance. The residence time distribution (RTD) and the mixing time are the most important parameters that determine the homogenisation that is achieved in the mixing vessel and are discussed in detail in this paper. In addition, this paper reviews the current problems associated with conventional tracers, mathematical models, and computational fluid dynamics simulations involved in radiotracer experiments and hybrid of radiotracer.
Gas Pressure Sintering of Arbitrary Porous Silicon Nitride Ceramics with High Mechanical Strength

Gas pressure sintering is applied to prepare arbitrary porous silicon nitride (Si3N4) ceramics using yttria (Y2O3) as the sintering additive and naphthalene powder as the pore-forming agent. The results obtained show that the porosity of the sintered porous Si3N4 ceramics is 40%–54% when the Y2O3 content is from 3 to 15 wt% and the sintering temperature is from 1700° to 1850°C. The bending strength is in the range of 60–226 MPa. The porosity of the porous Si3N4 ceramics with Y2O3 content of 9 wt%, sintered at 1800°C, is increased to 51%–66% when the naphthalene powder content is 5–30 wt%. Finally, large and arbitrary porous Si3N4 ceramics with a porosity of ∼60% can be successfully fabricated by this method.
Differential association of concurrent, baseline, and average depressive symptoms with cognitive decline in older adults.

OBJECTIVES The impact of depressive symptoms on cognitive decline in older adults remains unclear due to inconsistent findings in the literature. It is also unclear whether effects of depressive symptoms on cognitive decline vary with age. This study investigated the effect of concurrent, baseline, and average depressive symptoms on cognitive functioning and decline, and examined the interactive effect of age and depressive symptoms on cognition. DESIGN Prospective observational design with examination of cognitive performance and depressive symptoms at 1- to 2-year intervals for up to 26 years. SETTING Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, National Institute on Aging. PARTICIPANTS One thousand five hundred eighty-six dementia-free adults 50 years of age and older. MEASUREMENTS Scores over time on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and measures of learning and memory, attention and executive functions, verbal and language abilities, visuospatial functioning, and general cognitive status. RESULTS Increased depressive symptoms were associated with poor cognitive functioning and cognitive decline in multiple domains. Concurrent, baseline, and average depressive symptoms had differential associations with cognition. Average depressive symptoms, a measure of chronic symptoms, seemed to show the most widespread effects on cognitive abilities. Effects of depressive symptoms on some frontal functions were greater with advancing age. CONCLUSION Depressive symptoms are associated with poor cognitive functioning and cognitive decline, particularly with advancing age. The widespread impact of average depressive symptoms on cognition suggests that clinicians should consider the chronicity of depressive symptoms when evaluating cognitive functioning in older adults.
Effects of a 2-Week High-Intensity Training Camp on Sleep Activity of Professional Rugby League Athletes.

PURPOSE To investigate the effects of a training camp on the sleep characteristics of professional rugby league players compared with a home period. METHODS During a 7-d home and 13-d camp period, time in bed (TIB), total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency (SE), and wake after sleep onset were measured using wristwatch actigraphy. Subjective wellness and training loads (TL) were also collected. Differences in sleep and TL between the 2 periods and the effect of daytime naps on nighttime sleep were examined using linear mixed models. Pearson correlations assessed the relationship of changes in TL on individuals' TST. RESULTS During the training camp, TST (-85 min), TIB (-53 min), and SE (-8%) were reduced compared with home. Those who undertook daytime naps showed increased TIB (+33 min), TST (+30 min), and SE (+0.9%). Increases in daily total distance and training duration above individual baseline means during the training camp shared moderate (r = -.31) and trivial (r = -.04) negative relationships with TST. CONCLUSIONS Sleep quality and quantity may be compromised during training camps; however, daytime naps may be beneficial for athletes due to their known benefits, without being detrimental to nighttime sleep.
Photochemically Grown Silver Nanoparticles with Wavelength-Controlled Size and Shape

We use light to transform a colloidal solution of spherical silver nanoparticles into larger nanoparticles of a different shape. The particle size and shape can be controlled by choosing the wavelength(s) of light used to drive the photochemical growth. These findings suggest a new way of thinking about growth of nanoparticles in solution and show the exciting possibility that light can be used as a major control parameter in metallic nanoparticle growth reactions.
Physical Properties of Moringa ( Moringa oleifera ) Seeds in relation to an Oil Expeller Design

Physical properties are very important in the design and manufacturing of processing machines. In this research work, the physical properties of Moringa were determined as design parameters for the development of an oil expeller for the crop. The properties were: length, width, thickness, arithmetic and geometric diameters, surface area, sphericity, aspect ratio, moisture content, bulk and true densities, porosity, one thousand seed weight, angle of repose and coefficient of static friction. The average moisture content was found to be 7.31 % wet basis. The average seed length, width and thickness were found to be 8.45, 7.82 and 6.41 mm respectively. The average arithmetic and geometric mean diameters were 7.560 and 7.490 mm respectively. The average surface area was 177.19 mm2; while the mean sphericity and aspect ratio were 0.889 and 0.9257 respectively. The average true and bulk densities were 971 and 662 kgm -3 respectively and the porosity was 68.18%. The mean angle of repose was 21.44o. The average static coefficient of friction on six different surfaces viz glass, stainless steel, mild steel, galvanized steel, rubber and plywood was found to be 1.027, 1.111, 1.376, 1.234, 2.199 and 1.607 respectively. It was found to be highest on rubber and lowest on glass. These parameters would serve as inputs for the efficient design of the oil expeller for Moringa seeds. Keywords : Moringa, Physical Properties, Oil and Oil Expeller.
Effects of Neonatal C-Fiber Depletion on Interaction between Neocortical Short-Term and Long-Term Plasticity

Introduction The primary somatosensory cortex has an important role in nociceptive sensory-discriminative processing. Altered peripheral inputs produced by deafferentation or by long-term changes in levels of afferent stimulation can result in plasticity of cortex. Capsaicin-induced depletion of C-fiber afferents results in plasticity of the somatosensory system. Plasticity includes short-term and long-term changes in synaptic strength. We studied the interaction between paired-pulse facilitation, as one form of short-term plasticity, with long-term potentiation (LTP) in the neocortex of normal and C-fiber depleted freely moving rat. Methods Neonatally capsaicin-treated rats and their controls were allowed to mature until they reached a weight between 250 and 300g. Then animals were anesthetized with ketamine and xylazine. For recording and stimulation, twisted teflon-coated stainless steel wires were implanted into somatosensory cortex or corpus callusom. In experiments for LTP induction, after two weeks of recovery period, 30 high frequency pulse trains were delivered once per day for 12 days. Paired-pulse ratio (PPR) was monitored before and after the induction of LTP in capsaicin-treated and control rats. Results Paired-pulse stimulation affected all field potential components at intervals < 200 ms. The largest changes occurred at intervals between 20-30 ms. C-fiber depletion postponed the development of LTP, whereas it had no effect on PPR. Discussion This finding provides further evidence that the expression of this form of LTP is postsynaptic. Furthermore, these results suggest that the effect of C-fiber depletion on cortical LTP is also postsynaptic and, therefore, is not caused by a decrease in neurotransmitter release.
A Theory of Political and Economic Cycles

We develop a theoretical framework in which political and economic cycles are jointly determined. These cycles are driven by three political economy frictions: policymakers are non-benevolent, they cannot commit to policies, and they have private information about the tightness of the government budget and rents. Our first main result is that, in the most favorable equilibrium to the households, distortions to production emerge and never disappear even in the long run. This result is driven by the interaction of limited commitment and private information on the side of the policymaker, since in the absence of either friction, there are no long run distortions to production. Our second result is that, if the variance of private information is sufficiently large, there is equilibrium turnover in the long run so that political cycles never disappear. Finally, our model produces a long run distribution of taxes, distortions, and turnover, where these all respond persistently to temporary economic shocks.
Stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS in health care settings: a comparative study in two hospitals of different categories in Douala-Cameroon

The response to the human immunodeficiency virus epidemic faces many challenges with stigma and discrimination being two of them. The aim of this study is to determine the extent of effects of stigmatization and discrimination against people living with HIV-AIDS, and the influence of the type of hospital structure, in the manifestations of stigma and discrimination. A prospective cross sectional study was conducted among a total of 400 patients, using a pre-tested questionnaire. An observation form was also filled to evaluate attitudes and behaviour of health care providers towards patients. Chi-Square test and Fisher test were used to test association between two variables, then multi logistic regression tests were done to check predictive factors of discrimination. The level of significance was chosen at p<0.05. Among the participants, 104 (26%) patients reported having been victims of discrimination. Laquintinie hospital of Douala has a risk factor for blames and maltreatment (p = 0.0060) and (p= 0.0091) respectively. Also 152 (76.1%) patients of Laquintinie vs 103 (51.5%) of Nylon have been victims of stigmatization. The stigmatizing elements were: the name of the treatment center (p<0.0001) and the unconfidential manner of handling medical files (p=0.0527). Among the 400 patients, fifty nine (14.8%) avoided going to the hospital because of past experience of stigma and discrimination. Patients encounter several difficulties and those related to stigma and discrimination experienced in a hospital milieu can particularly constitute obstacles to better health seeking and therapeutic adherence. The human immunodeficiency virus infection response strategy should address stigma and discrimination by reviewing the management of treatment centers, elaborating relevant public health policies and training of healthcare practitioner. Keywords: HIV/AIDS; Stigma; Discrimination; Laquintinie; Nylon; Douala
Outcomes of Cataract Surgery in Ocular Cicatricial Pemphigoid

Abstract Purpose: To report the outcomes of cataract surgery in ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP). Setting: L. V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India. Design: Retrospective, interventional case series. Methods: Patients diagnosed with OCP who had undergone cataract surgery were included. Staging of disease, type of surgery, pre- and postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and number and duration of topical and systemic medications were recorded. Complications and any exacerbation or worsening of disease were noted. Results: Nine eyes of 7 patients (3 male, 4 female) were included in the study, with mean age of 60.44 ± 2.6 years (range 56–64 years). Follow-up ranged from 6 months to 10 years (mean 52.9 ± 46.25 months). Surgery performed was extracapsular cataract extraction with posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation (n = 5) or phacoemulsification with posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation (n = 4). Best-corrected visual acuity improved by more than 2 lines in 6 of 9 (66.67%) eyes, which remained stable till the last follow-up. Three eyes had no visual improvement due to corneal scar in 2 patients and preexisting posterior staphyloma in 1 eye. Disease progression was noted in 2 of 9 operated eyes by one stage at the end of 1 year. Conclusion: In this series, cataract surgery could be safely performed with no major intra- or postoperative complications. While the surgical intervention itself was not associated with acute exacerbations of inflammation, progression of disease was noted in some cases over time. In spite of ongoing disease, cataract surgery in OCP was associated with stable visual outcomes.
Association of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) +405 G>C Polymorphism with Endometriosis in an Iranian Population

Introduction Angiogenesis, growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels, is a crucial physiological process for tissue regeneration. This state is also seen in pathological processes such as malignancies and endometriosis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a major mediator of angiogenesis and vascular permeability which is known to play an important role in the development of endometriosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between +405 G>C VEGF polymorphism and endometriosis in an Iranian population. Materials and Methods The study population was comprised of 105 women with and 150 women without laparoscopic evidence of endometriosis. Genomic DNA from blood cells was extracted using salting out method. Genotype and allele frequency of +405 G>C polymorphism was compared between women with endometriosis and the controls using PCR-RFLP. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 13.0 software. Chi-squared test and odds ratio plus 95% confidence interval were determined. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results While the +405 VEGF genotype frequencies in the case group were 41.3% G/G, 46.2% C/G and %12.5 C/C, they were 32% GG, %53.3 GC and 14.7% CC in the control group. The distribution of three genotypes and allele frequencies of +405 G>C VEGF polymorphism between the case and control groups did not demonstrate any significant difference. Conclusion In contrast to previous studies, no significant correlation was found between +405 G>C VEGF polymorphism and endometriosis. Since this was the first study in an Iranian population, further investigation with bigger sample sizes may be indicated to be able to generalize the findings.
Rapid

Device-free human sensing is a key technology to support many applications such as indoor navigation and activity recognition. By exploiting WiFi signals reflected by human body, there have been many WiFi-based device-free human sensing applications. Among these applications, person identification is a fundamental technology to enable user-specific services. In this paper, we present Rapid, a system that can perform robust person identification in a device-free and low-cost manner, using fine-grained channel information (i.e., CSI) of WiFi and acoustic information from footstep sound. In order to achieve high accuracy in real-life scenarios with both system and environment noise, we perform noise estimation and include two different confidence values to quantify the impact of noise to both CSI and acoustic measurements. Based on an accurate gait analysis, we then adaptively fuse CSI and acoustic measurements to achieve robust person identification. We implement low-cost Rapid nodes and evaluate our system using experiments at multiple locations with a total of 1800 gait instances from 20 volunteers, and the results show that Rapid identifies a subject with an average accuracy of 92% to 82% from a group of 2 to 6 subjects, respectively.