Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Control of Transient Growth Induced Transition in a Zero-pressure Gradient Boundary Layer Using Plasma Actuators

Control of Transient Growth Induced Transition in a Zero–Pressure Gradient Boundary Layer Using Plasma Actuators Ronald Edwin Hanson Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Aerospace Science and Engineering University of Toronto 2013 The level of the skin friction drag depends on the boundary layer state, either low, for the laminar case or high for the turbulent case. Flow control is sought to attenuate the streamwise velocity streaks preceding sub-critical bypass transition to turbulence. In addition, the targeted instability is ubiquitous to the self-sustaining wall-bounded turbulence cycle and at the root of the long-term goal of turbulence control. The longer spatial and temporal scales associated with the laminar case make a physical demonstration of a model-based boundary layer flow control more tractable. The effectiveness of control systems is inherently linked to the ability of the actuator to alter the flow to a desired state. Therefore, actuators are a critical enabling technology component in any active flow control system. Arguably, the most important missing technology in boundary layer flow control is effective and robust actuators, which can be readily integrated with an active flow control system. Plasma actuators fulfil these characteristics and are an ideal candidate for the control of the bypass transition instability. In this thesis, the receptivity of the boundary layer to forcing by arrays of plasma actuators capable of producing streamwise streaks was characterized. Following, the transient growth instability was targeted in an open-loop framework to identify the physics of the attenuation mechanism, which was shown to be a linear process. The control loop was then closed with feedback from simultaneous spanwise distributed shear stress sensors. A wavenumber specific control objective was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of feedback for steady disturbance attenuation as well as to provide robustness to
Apprehension of Writing as a Predictor of Message Intensity.

The present study sought to determine the effects of writing apprehension on message encoding strategies. Ninety-eight undergraduate students completed measures of language intensity and writing apprehension. As hypothesized, individuals with high apprehension of writing encoded significantly less intense messages than did those with low apprehension (p < .05). The finding offers support for both (a) a theoretic proposition advanced by Burgoon et al. concerning the role of language intensity in persuasive messages and (b) the predictive validity of the writing apprehension measure.
Blockade of Kv1.5 channels by the antidepressant drug sertraline

Sertraline, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), has been reported to lead to cardiac toxicity even at therapeutic doses including sudden cardiac death and ventricular arrhythmia. And in a SSRI-independent manner, sertraline has been known to inhibit various voltage-dependent channels, which play an important role in regulation of cardiovascular system. In the present study, we investigated the action of sertraline on Kv1.5, which is one of cardiac ion channels. The eff ect of sertraline on the cloned neuronal rat Kv1.5 channels stably expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells was investigated using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Sertraline reduced Kv1.5 whole-cell currents in a reversible concentration-dependent manner, with an IC50 value and a Hill coefficient of 0.71 µM and 1.29, respectively. Sertraline accelerated the decay rate of inactivation of Kv1.5 currents without modifying the kinetics of current activation. The inhibition increased steeply between –20 and 0 mV, which corresponded with the voltage range for channel opening. In the voltage range positive to +10 mV, inhibition displayed a weak voltage dependence, consistent with an electrical distance δ of 0.16. Sertraline slowed the deactivation time course, resulting in a tail crossover phenomenon when the tail currents, recorded in the presence and absence of sertraline, were superimposed. Inhibition of Kv1.5 by sertraline was use-dependent. The present results suggest that sertraline acts on Kv1.5 currents as an open-channel blocker.
High-Field Transport Investigation for 25-nm MOSFETs With 0.64-nm EOT: Intrinsic Performance and Parasitic Effects

Low- and high-field transports are investigated for HfO2-based MOSFETs with ultrathin equivalent oxide thickness (UTEOT) achieved by a remote interface layer (IL) scavenging method. A detailed comparison with a SiON reference demonstrates none of the detrimental effects from HfO2-related Coulomb nor phonon additional scattering on the high-field velocity. Increased surface roughness may reduce the high-field velocity by 20% for the device with the thinnest IL. This is explained by an increase of the backscattering which reduces the ballistic efficiency for the shortest devices . However, the on-state current for UTEOT devices has the best performance at a given high-lateral-field velocity. Therefore, EOT scaling remains a valid tool for ION-performance improvement for CMOS scaling also with new architectures and substrates.
Comparison between fractional flow reserve and visual assessment for moderate coronary artery stenosis.

BACKGROUND Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is an interventional diagnostic method, based on intracoronary pressure measurement, used for the assessment of the severity of coronary artery stenoses. AIM Our study aimed to compare visual measurements made by multiple observers with FFR measurement in the assessment of angiographically moderate coronary artery stenosis. METHODS The angiographic images of moderate coronary artery lesions of 359 patients enrolled in the study were interpreted independently by three interventional cardiologists assigned as observers (O1, O2, O3). RESULTS In FFR, 37.9% were haemodynamically significant, while 62.1% were insignificant. 40.3% of the lesions were considered severe by O1, 39.9% by O2, and 44.4% by O3. When we compare the FFR results to the observers' decisions about lesion severity, the serious lesion percentages of all three observers were different both from each other and from the FFR result, at a statistically significant level (respectively, p < 0.001, p < 0.001). The kappa analysis performed to check the agreement between the observers' decisions and FFR revealed significant difference between FFR results and the decisions made by all observers (p < 0.001). The kappa agreement analysis performed by matching observers' decisions in pairs revealed a good agreement between O1 and O2 and a moderate agreement between O2 and O3 as well as O1 and O3, although there was still a significant disagreement between all pairs of observers (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Visual assessment, even when performed by experienced interventional cardiologists, does not yield similar results with FFR procedure in the process of determination of the functional importance of moderately severe coronary artery stenoses.
The Ameliorative Effects of a Tocotrienol-Rich Fraction on the AGE-RAGE Axis and Hypertension in High-Fat-Diet-Fed Rats with Metabolic Syndrome

The clinical value of tocotrienols is increasingly appreciated because of the unique therapeutic effects that are not shared by tocopherols. However, their effect on metabolic syndrome is not well-established. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) from palm oil in high-fat-diet-treated rats. Male, post-weaning Sprague Dawley rats were provided high-fat (60% kcal) diet for eight weeks followed by a TRF (60 mg/kg) treatment for another four weeks. Physical, metabolic, and histological changes were compared to those on control and high-fat diets respectively. High-fat feeding for eight weeks induced all hallmarks of metabolic syndrome. The TRF reversed systolic and diastolic hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hepatic steatosis, impaired antioxidant defense, and myeloperoxidase hyperactivity triggered by the high-fat diet. It also conferred an inhibitory effect on protein glycation to reduce glycated hemoglobin A1c and advanced glycation end products (AGE). This was accompanied by the suppression of the receptor for advanced glycation end product (RAGE) expression in the liver. The treatment effects on visceral adiposity, glycemic control, triglyceride level, as well as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α and γ expression were negligible. To conclude, treatment with a TRF exhibited protective effects on the cardiovascular and liver health in addition to the amelioration of plasma redox imbalance and AGE-RAGE activation. Further investigation as a therapy for metabolic syndrome is therefore worthwhile.
Direct Evidence for a Role of the "Spot 14" Protein in the Regulation of Lipid Synthesis (*)

“Spot 14” is a nuclear protein that is rapidly induced by thyroid hormone (T3) and dietary carbohydrate in liver. We used an antisense oligonucleotide to inhibit induction of spot 14 protein by T3 and glucose in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes to test the hypothesis that the protein could function in the regulation of lipid synthesis. Spot 14 protein was undetectable in hepatocytes maintained in 5.5 mM glucose without T3, and was induced within 4 h after addition of 27.5 mM glucose and 50 nM T3 to the culture medium, reaching a maximal level within 24 h. Accumulation of spot 14 protein was markedly inhibited in hepatocytes transfected with a spot 14 antisense oligonucleotide, but not in those treated with a control oligonucleotide. Transfection of the antisense, but not control, oligonucleotide also abrogated the increase in lipogenesis induced by T3 and glucose. Reduced triglyceride formation accounted for the diminished net lipid synthesis. In contrast to lipogenesis, glucose uptake was not significantly affected by the transfections. Antisense transfection inhibited the induction of both ATP-citrate lyase and fatty acid synthase immunoreactivities, as well as malic enzyme activity, indicating that the observed reduction in lipogenesis could be explained by diminished cellular content of lipogenic enzymes. Reduced malic enzyme activity in antisense-transfected hepatocytes was accompanied by lowered relative abundance of malic enzyme mRNA, suggesting that the antisense effects on lipogenic enzymes were mediated at the pretranslational level. The oligonucleotides did not significantly affect lipogenesis in a rat hepatoma cell line that does not express detectable spot 14 mRNA or protein. These data directly implicate the spot 14 protein in the transduction of hormonal and dietary signals for increased lipid metabolism in hepatocytes.
Default and Renegotiation: A Dynamic Model of Debt

We analyze the role of debt in persuading an entrepreneur to pay out cash flows, rather than to divert them. In the first part of the paper we study the optimal debt contract -- specifically, the trade-off between the size of the loan and the repayment -- under the assumption that some debt contract is optimal. In the second part we consider a more general class of (non-debt) contracts, and derive sufficient conditions for debt to be optimal among these.
An overview of peak-to-average power ratio reduction schemes for OFDM signals

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) has been adopted as a standard for various high data rate wireless communication systems due to the spectral bandwidth efficiency, robustness to frequency selective fading channels, etc. However, implementation of the OFDM system entails several difficulties. One of the major drawbacks is the high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), which results in intercarrier interference, high out-of-band radiation, and bit error rate performance degradation, mainly due to the nonlinearity of the high power amplifier. This paper reviews the conventional PAPR reduction schemes and their modifications for achieving the low computational complexity required for practical implementation in wireless communication systems.
Dozer: Ultra-Low Power Data Gathering in Sensor Networks

Environmental monitoring is one of the driving applications in the domain of sensor networks. The lifetime of such systems is envisioned to exceed several years. To achieve this longevity in unattended operation it is crucial to minimize energy consumption of the battery-powered sensor nodes. This paper proposes Dozer, a data gathering protocol meeting the requirements of periodic data collection and ultra-low power consumption. The protocol comprises MAC-layer, topology control, and routing all coordinated to reduce energy wastage of the communication subsystem. Using a tree-based network structure, packets are reliably routed towards the data sink. Parents thereby schedule precise rendezvous times for all communication with their children. In a deployed network consisting of 40 TinyOS- enabled sensor nodes, Dozer achieves radio duty cycles in the magnitude of 0.2%.
Sex Allocation Theory for Birds and Mammals

Parents divide their reproductive effort into the production of sons and daughters. Darwin (43) was intrigued by the fact that parents usually split their effort so that approximately equal numbers of sons and daughters are raised. He believed that this male: female ratio had been adjusted by natural selection because he understood that the number of females set a limit on reproductive capacity. He could not, however, clearly specify how natural selection shaped the sex ratio. Fisher (5 1 , 52) provided the explanation by noting that frequency-dependent selection stabilizes the sex ratio near equal­ ity. Since Fisher presented his explanation, many examples of biased sex ratios have been observed in nature. For example, Hamilton (7 1 ) observed very female-biased sex ratios in parasitic wasps that mate in small groups. Hamil­ ton explained this bias by showing that in these wasps the mating competition among brothers violates a latent assumption in Fisher's argument. In other examples of observed biases, the explanations put forth provided new dimensions to Fisher's central theory rather than direct exceptions. The most important of these new dimensions for birds and mammals was observed by Trivers & Willard (109). They noted that, in some mammals, healthy mothers tended to produce a relatively higher proportion of sons than did unhealthy mothers. They explained this pattern of variation among families
Benefits of F-T wax based warm asphalt mixes for short-term binder aging and pavement durability

Wax based warm mix additives are increasingly applied to enable asphalt mixing and paving at lower temperatures or to improve the workability and compactability of hot-mix asphalt at conventional temperatures. The effects of these wax additives on the rheological behaviour and mechanical properties of bitumen and asphalt were already extensively investigated. Effects on the chemical properties of bitumen, such as aging, are largely unknown. For evaluating the effects of F-T wax, 50/70 bitumen was modified with F-T wax and analysed after short term aging (RTFOT). RTFOT at 163°C simulated the asphalt mixing and paving at conventional temperature. Warm mix conditions were simulated by RTFOT at 143°C in order to consider the lower mixing temperatures in the plant. The aging of the binders was characterised by measuring rheological properties (DSR, penetration, softening point), chemical analysis (IR spectroscopy; SARA chromatography) and analysis of the colloidal components (asphaltenes fractionation). The results show that the chemical composition is only determined by the bitumen characteristics. F-T wax modification significantly influences the mechanical properties after ageing. Compared to the unmodified binder, wax modification results in decreased effects of ageing on the shear properties in the complete service temperature range. The warm mix aging simulation indicated the significantly reduced aging and the resulting potential for increased pavement durability by applying wax additives.
Learning Parts-based Representations with Nonnegative Restricted Boltzmann Machine

The success of any machine learning system depends critically on eective representations of data. In many cases, especially those in vision, it is desirable that a representation scheme uncovers the parts-based, additive nature of the data. Of current representation learning schemes, restricted Boltzmann machines (RBMs) have proved to be highly eective in unsupervised settings. However, when it comes to parts-based discovery, RBMs do not usually produce satisfactory results. We enhance such capacity of RBMs by introducing nonnegativity into the model weights, resulting in a variant called nonnegative restricted Boltzmann machine (NRBM). The NRBM produces not only controllable decomposition of data into interpretable parts but also oers a way to estimate the intrinsic nonlinear dimensionality of data. We demonstrate the capacity of our model on well-known datasets of handwritten digits, faces and documents. The decomposition quality on images is comparable with or better than what produced by the nonnegative matrix factorisation (NMF), and the thematic features uncovered from text are qualitatively interpretable in a similar manner to that of the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA). However, the learnt features, when used for classication,
Various approaches to a human preference analysis in a digital signage display design

This article is concerned with various ways of analyzing the subjective assessment of displaying digital signage content. In the beginning, the brief description of the signage system evolution is described; next, the carried out experiment is depicted. The preferences of the 32 subjects were obtained using pairwise comparisons of the designed screen formats. Then the priorities were derived by applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process framework. The gathered data were modeled and analyzed by means of the analysis of variance, multiple regression, and conjoint and factor analyses. The results suggest that the application of different methods of preference analysis may provide additional information that could facilitate more in‐depth understanding of the given preference structure. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Three-Phase Common-Mode Inductor: Modeling and Design Issues

This paper presents a comprehensive physical characterization and modeling of the three-phase common-mode (CM) inductors along with the equivalent circuits that are relevant for their design. Modeling issues that are treated sparsely in previous literature are explained in this paper, and novel insightful aspects are presented. The calculation of the leakage inductance is reviewed, along with the magnetic core saturation issues, and a new expression for the leakage flux path is derived. The influence of the core material characteristics on the performance of the component is discussed, and a new method for the selection of the material for the minimized volume CM inductors is proposed in order to simplify the design procedure. Experimental results which validate the model are presented.
A STUDY OF THE X-RAY DUST SCATTERING HALO OF CYG X-1 WITH A CROSS-CORRELATION METHOD

X-ray photons scattered by the interstellar medium carry information about dust distribution, dust grain model, scattering cross section, and the distance of the source; they also take a longer time than unscattered photons to reach the observer. Using a cross-correlation method, we study the light curves of the X-ray dust scattering halo of Cyg X-1, observed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Significant time lags are found between the light curves of the point source and its halo. This time lag increases with the angular distance from Cyg X-1, implying a dust concentration at a distance along the line of sight (LOS) of 2.0 kpc × (0.876 ± 0.002) from the Earth. By fitting the observed light curves of the halo at different radii with simulated light curves, we obtain a width of ΔL = 33+18−13 pc of this dust concentration. The origin of this dust concentration is still not clearly known. The advantage of our method is that we need no assumption of scattering cross section, dust grain model, or dust distribution along the LOS. Combining the derived dust distribution from the cross-correlation study with the surface brightness distribution of the halo, we conclude that the two commonly accepted models of dust grain size distribution need to be modified significantly.
Inland Treatment of the Brine Generated from Reverse Osmosis Advanced Membrane Wastewater Treatment Plant Using Epuvalisation System

The reverse osmosis (RO) brine generated from the Al-Quds University wastewater treatment plant was treated using an epuvalisation system. The advanced integrated wastewater treatment plant included an activated sludge unit, two consecutive ultrafiltration (UF) membrane filters (20 kD and 100 kD cutoffs) followed by an activated carbon filter and a reverse osmosis membrane. The epuvalisation system consisted of salt tolerant plants grown in hydroponic channels under continuous water flowing in a closed loop system, and placed in a greenhouse at Al-Quds University. Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) plants were selected, and underwent two consecutive hydroponic flowing stages using different brine-concentrations: an adaptation stage, in which a 1:1 mixture of brine and fresh water was used; followed by a functioning stage, with 100% brine. A control treatment using fresh water was included as well. The experiment started in April and ended in June (2012). At the end of the experiment, analysis of the effluent brine showed a remarkable decrease of electroconductivity (EC), PO43−, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and K+ with a reduction of 60%, 74%, 70%, and 60%, respectively, as compared to the influent. The effluent of the control treatment showed 50%, 63%, 46%, and 90% reduction for the same parameters as compared to the influent. Plant growth parameters (plant height, fresh and dry weight) showed no significant difference between fresh water and brine treatments. Obtained results suggest that the epuvalisation system is a promising technique for inland brine treatment with added benefits. The increasing of channel number or closed loop time is estimated for enhancing the treatment process and increasing the nutrient uptake. Nevertheless, the epuvalisation technique is considered to be simple, efficient and low cost for inland RO brine treatment.
Reduced Cancer Incidence among the Blind

Melatonin is a hormone primarily produced by the pineal gland at night and is suppressed by exposure to light. Experimental studies have indicated that melatonin may protect against cancer development. In the majority of totally blind people, melatonin is never suppressed by light exposure. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that blind people have a decreased cancer incidence, and that this effect is more pronounced in the totally blind than in the severely visually impaired. We identified a cohort of 1,567 totally blind and 13,292 severely visually impaired subjects and obtained information about cancer incidence from the Swedish Cancer Registry. We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) based on the number of person-years and incidence rates specific for national age, sex, and calendar year. Totally blind people had a lower incidence of all cancers combined [SIR = 0.69; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.59–0.82]. The risk reduction was observed in both men and women and was equally pronounced in hormone-dependent tumors as in other types of cancer. In the severely visually impaired, SIR was 0.95 (95% CI = 0.91–1.00). The findings support the hypothesis that blind people have a lower cancer incidence, although other explanations than the higher melatonin exposure must also be considered. (Epidemiology 1998;9:490–494)