Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting the Impact of Long-Term Temperature Changes on the Epidemiology and Control of Schistosomiasis: A Mechanistic Model

Background Many parasites of medical and veterinary importance are transmitted by cold-blooded intermediate hosts or vectors, the abundance of which will vary with ambient temperatures, potentially altering disease prevalence. In particular, if global climate change will increase mean ambient temperature in a region endemic with a human pathogen then it is possible that the incidence of disease will similarly increase. Here we examine this possibility by using a mathematical model to explore the effects of increasing long-term mean ambient temperature on the prevalence and abundance of the parasite Schistosoma mansoni, the causative agent of schistosomiasis in humans. Principal Findings The model showed that the impact of temperature on disease prevalence and abundance is not straightforward; the mean infection burden in humans increases up to 30°C, but then crashes at 35°C, primarily due to increased mortalities of the snail intermediate host. In addition, increased temperatures changed the dynamics of disease from stable, endemic infection to unstable, epidemic cycles at 35°C. However, the prevalence of infection was largely unchanged by increasing temperatures. Temperature increases also affected the response of the model to changes in each parameter, indicating certain control strategies may become less effective with local temperature changes. At lower temperatures, the most effective single control strategy is to target the adult parasites through chemotherapy. However, as temperatures increase, targeting the snail intermediate hosts, for example through molluscicide use, becomes more effective. Conclusions These results show that S. mansoni will not respond to increased temperatures in a linear fashion, and the optimal control strategy is likely to change as temperatures change. It is only through a mechanistic approach, incorporating the combined effects of temperature on all stages of the life-cycle, that we can begin to predict the consequences of climate change on the incidence and severity of such diseases.
Modelling of the cutting temperature distribution under the tool flank wear effect

Abstract The understanding of cutting temperature distribution at the presence of tool wear can aid in addressing important metal cutting issues such as part surface integrity, tool life and dimensional tolerance under practical operating conditions. The effect of tool wear on the cutting temperature distribution was first modelled by Chao and Trigger and there have been very few followers since. In Chao's model, the primary heat source was assumed to have no effect on the workpiece temperature rise and the chip temperature rise was treated as a bulk quantity. This paper analytically quantifies the tool wear effect by taking into account the contributions of the primary heat source and considering the distribution of chip temperature rise. On the chip side, the primary shear zone is modelled as a uniform moving oblique band heat source and the secondary shear zone as a non-uniform moving band heat source within a semi-infinite medium. On the tool side, the effects of both the secondary and the rubbing heat sources are modelled as non-uniform static rectangular heat sources within a semi-infinite medium. For the workpiece side, the study models the primary shear zone as a uniform moving oblique band heat source and the rubbing heat source as a non-uniform moving band heat source within a semi-infinite medium. The proposed model is verified based on the published experimental data in the orthogonal cutting of Armco iron. Furthermore, a comparison case is presented on the temperature variation with respect to cutting speed, feed rate and flank wear length.
Inherent tensile strength of molybdenum nanocrystals

Abstract The strength of Mo nanorods was measured under uniaxial tension. Tensile tests of 〈 110〉-oriented single-crystalline molybdenum rod-shaped specimens with diameters from 25 to 90 nm at the apex were conducted inside a field-ion microscope (FIM). The nanocrystals were free from dislocations, planar defects and microcracks, and exhibited the plastic mode of failure under uniaxial tension with the formation of a chisel-edge tip by multiple gliding in the and deformation systems. The experimental values of tensile strength vary between 6.3 and 19.8 GPa and show a decrease with increasing nanorod diameter. A molecular dynamic simulation of Mo nanorod tension also suggests that the strength decreases from 28.8 to 21.0 GPa when the rod diameter increases from 3.1 to 15.7 nm. The maximum values of experimental strength are thought to correspond to the inherent strength of Mo nanocrystals under uniaxial tension (19.8 GPa, or 7.5% of Young's modulus).
Thermophysiological comfort properties of different knitted fabrics used in cycling clothes

In this paper, we measured the thermal and moisture management properties of six different types of polyester knitted fabrics that are used in the production of summer cycling clothes. The test samples were selected from the most commonly used fabric structures according to the results of a survey on a cycling team in Bursa. The fabrics were compared to determine which fabrics were more convenient for cyclists. Thus, we carried out objective fabric tests to determine the thermal resistance, water vapor resistance, air permeability and moisture management properties. Good moisture comfort, low water vapor resistance and good moisture management properties were preferred, especially in summer clothes. In the final evaluations of the fabrics, it was found that Type 6 Warp knitted raschel fabric was more convenient for summer cycling clothing because of its good air permeability, low thermal resistance, low water vapor resistance and good moisture management properties.
Performance of the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria for rheumatoid arthritis: comparison with 1987 ACR criteria in a very early synovitis cohort

Objective Early identification of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is essential to allow the prompt institution of therapy. The 2010 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) classification criteria, which replace the 1987 classification criteria, have been developed to facilitate such identification in patients with newly presenting inflammatory arthritis. This study therefore assesses the performance of these new criteria in patients with early synovitis. Methods Data were analysed from patients with synovitis seen within 3 months of the onset of inflammatory arthritis. Patients were followed for 18 months to determine outcomes, and data on the cumulative fulfilment of 2010 and 1987 criteria and therapy were recorded. Results 265 patients were included in the study. 60 had alternative diagnoses at baseline. Of the remaining 205 patients, 20% fulfilled both 1987 and 2010 criteria, 3% fulfilled only 1987 criteria and 22% fulfilled only 2010 criteria at baseline. The 2010 criteria, when applied at baseline, detected more patients who eventually required disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) (65 (62%) vs 40 (38%); p<0.001), especially methotrexate (50 (68%) vs 31 (42%); p<0.01), within the first 18 months. However, more patients whose disease eventually resolved without ever requiring DMARD were classified at baseline as RA according to the 2010 criteria than with the 1987 criteria (16 (8%) vs 5 (2%); p=0.01). Conclusion The 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria allow more rapid identification of patients requiring methotrexate compared with the 1987 ACR criteria when applied at baseline. However, overdiagnosis is an important issue to consider if these criteria are to be used in very early disease.
Averaged energy conditions and evaporating black holes.

In this paper the averaged weak and averaged null energy conditions, together with uncertainty-principle-type restrictions on negative energy ({open_quote}{open_quote}quantum inequalities{close_quote}{close_quote}), are examined in the context of evaporating black hole backgrounds in both two and four dimensions. In particular, integrals over only half-geodesics are studied. We determine the regions of the spacetime in which the averaged energy conditions are violated. In all cases where these conditions fail, there appear to be quantum inequalities which bound the magnitude and extent of the negative energy, and hence the degree of the violation. The possible relevance of these results for the validity of singularity theorems in evaporating black hole spacetimes is discussed. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society. }
Longitudinal Analysis of Early Semantic Networks

Analyses of adult semantic networks suggest a learning mechanism involving preferential attachment: A word is more likely to enter the lexicon the more connected the known words to which it is related. We introduce and test two alternative growth principles: preferential acquisition—words enter the lexicon not because they are related to well-connected words, but because they connect well to other words in the learning environment—and the lure of the associates—new words are favored in proportion to their connections with known words. We tested these alternative principles using longitudinal analyses of developing networks of 130 nouns children learn prior to the age of 30 months. We tested both networks with links between words represented by features and networks with links represented by associations. The feature networks did not predict age of acquisition using any growth model. The associative networks grew by preferential acquisition, with the best model incorporating word frequency, number of phonological neighbors, and connectedness of the new word to words in the learning environment, as operationalized by connectedness to words typically acquired by the age of 30 months.
A Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Human Asymptomatic CD8+ T-Cell Epitopes-Based Vaccine Protects Against Ocular Herpes in a "Humanized" HLA Transgenic Rabbit Model.

PURPOSE A clinical vaccine that protects from ocular herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection and disease still is lacking. In the present study, preclinical vaccine trials of nine asymptomatic (ASYMP) peptides, selected from HSV-1 glycoproteins B (gB), and tegument proteins VP11/12 and VP13/14, were performed in the "humanized" HLA-transgenic rabbit (HLA-Tg rabbit) model of ocular herpes. We recently reported that these peptides are highly recognized by CD8+ T cells from "naturally" protected HSV-1-seropositive healthy ASYMP individuals (who have never had clinical herpes disease). METHODS Mixtures of three ASYMP CD8+ T-cell peptides derived from either HSV-1 gB, VP11/12, or VP13/14 were delivered subcutaneously to different groups of HLA-Tg rabbits (n = 10) in incomplete Freund's adjuvant, twice at 15-day intervals. The frequency and function of HSV-1 epitope-specific CD8+ T cells induced by these peptides and their protective efficacy, in terms of survival, virus replication in the eye, and ocular herpetic disease were assessed after an ocular challenge with HSV-1 (strain McKrae). RESULTS All mixtures elicited strong and polyfunctional IFN-γ- and TNF-α-producing CD107+CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, associated with a significant reduction in death, ocular herpes infection, and disease (P < 0.015). CONCLUSIONS The results of this preclinical trial support the screening strategy used to select the HSV-1 ASYMP CD8+ T-cell epitopes, emphasize their valuable immunogenic and protective efficacy against ocular herpes, and provide a prototype vaccine formulation that may be highly efficacious for preventing ocular herpes in humans.
Patient Activation in Primary Healthcare: A Comparison Between Healthier Individuals and Those With a Chronic Illness

Background and ObjectiveCurrent policy directions place increasing expectations on patients to actively engage in their care, especially in chronic disease management. We examined relationships between patient activation and multiple dimensions of primary healthcare (PHC), including access, utilization, responsiveness, interpersonal communication, and satisfaction for patients with and without chronic illness. Research DesignCross-sectional, random digit dial survey conducted in British Columbia (BC), Canada. SubjectsStratified sample of adults (n=504), aged 19 to 90 years, who had visited their regular provider within the past 24 months. All data were weighted to represent residents living in BC. MeasuresPatient activation and PHC experiences include accessibility, continuity, whole-person care, interpersonal communication, responsiveness, chronic disease management, and satisfaction. ResultsThe multivariate models provide evidence that both quantity of time and quality of interactions with one's regular provider are associated with higher patient activation. Those with no chronic illness had higher activation scores when they spent more time talking with their regular provider, experienced less hurried communication, or if their test results were explained. The more time people with chronic illness are able to spend with their physician, the more activated they were. Chronic illness respondents also had higher activation scores if they reported higher whole-person care or if they were more satisfied. ConclusionsPositive interactions between the patient and the provider can influence the patient's abilities to engage in and be confident in maintaining/improving his/her health. Supporting patients in becoming actively engaged, in ways that work for them, is essential to providing high quality care, especially among those with a chronic condition.
Prediction-Based Spectrum Aggregation with Hardware Limitation in Cognitive Radio Networks

In cognitive radio networks, multiple spectrum opportunities can be used together to satisfy the service requirement by spectrum aggregation. In this paper, an admission control algorithm and a spectrum assignment strategy are proposed in order for both increasing the spectrum aggregation aware access capacity and decreasing the channel switch times when the channel states change. Considering different bandwidth requirement of secondary users, the proposed greedy admission algorithm takes limited aggregation capability into account. The channel switch times of secondary users at sensing moments is minimized based on the prediction of primary activities and the corresponding channel state transitions. The concept of outage probability is introduced into the scheme to indicate the probability of channel switch. The numerical results show the performance improvement of the proposed algorithms.
Transient Development of Perturbations in Stratified Shear Flow

Abstract Transient development of perturbations in inviscid stratified shear flow is investigated. Use is made of closed form analytic solutions that allow concise identification of optimally growing plane-wave solutions for the case of an unbounded flow with constant shear and stratification. For the case of channel flow, variational techniques are employed to determine the optimally growing disturbances. The maximum energy growth attained over a specific time interval decreases continuously with increasing stratification, and no special significance attaches to Ri = 0.25. Indeed, transient growth can be substantial even for Ri = O(1). A general lower bound on the energy growth attained by an optimal perturbation in a stratified flow over a given time interval is the square root of the growth attained by the corresponding perturbation in unstratified flow. Enhanced perturbation persistence is found for mean-flow stratification lying in the range 0.1 < Ri < 0.3. Small but finite perturbations in mean flow.
Premedication with pregabalin 75 or 150 mg with ibuprofen to control pain after day-case gynaecological laparoscopic surgery.

BACKGROUND Multimodal pain management has been suggested to improve postoperative analgesia. In this study, we evaluated the quality of analgesia in women undergoing day-case gynaecological laparoscopic surgery, after premedication with pregabalin 75 mg (P75) or 150 mg (P150), compared with diazepam 5 mg (D5). All patients were given ibuprofen 800 mg orally. METHODS Altogether 90 consenting women were anaesthetized in a standardized fashion. Postoperative analgesia was provided by ibuprofen 800 mg twice a day with fentanyl i.v. on request in the recovery room (RR), and combination tablets with acetaminophen and codeine after the RR. The visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for pain and side-effects and the amounts of postoperative analgesics were recorded for 24 h after surgery. The areas under the curves (AUC) were calculated for the VAS scores for pain at rest, pain in motion, and pain at cough 1-8 and 1-24 h after surgery. RESULTS The median AUC values for VAS scores for pain at rest (P=0.048) and in motion (P=0.046) 1-8 h after surgery were lower in the P150 group than that in the D5 group. The amounts of rescue analgesics or the degree of drowsiness did not differ in the three study groups. CONCLUSIONS Analgesia was better after premedication with pregabalin 150 mg than after diazepam 5 mg, both with ibuprofen 800 mg, during the early recovery after day-case gynaecological laparoscopic surgery. Pregabalin 150 mg did not reduce the amount of postoperative analgesics required.
Playability heuristics for mobile multi-player games

Multi-player games are engaging because of social interaction and competing with real players. Currently, many digital games are multi-player or have multi-player features. When evaluating the playability of multi-player games, we need to consider player-to-player interaction. In this paper, we introduce and describe playability heuristics for mobile multi-player games that complement the playability heuristic model that we have presented earlier. Multi-player heuristics have been developed by identifying playability problems in game evaluations and comparing these findings to game design guidelines and other studies found in the literature. The results indicate that the presented multi-player heuristics correspond to issues that are addressed to be important in multi-player games.
A Survey of Traditional Health Remedies Used by the Maasai of Southern Kaijiado District, Kenya

This study investigated the use of traditional health remedies among the Maasai of Kuku Group Ranch of Southern Kajiado District, Kenya. A structured and semi—structured questionnaire was administered to heads or adult members of households in the study area as well as key people who are knowledgeable in Maasai traditional medicine. Use of ethno-medicine was prevalent, with 73% of the respondents indicating this was their preferred type of treatment. Traditional medicine was the primary health care system for the community even though 98% of the respondents mentioned that they frequently sought modern medical care provided by local dispensaries and clinics. Knowledge on traditional plant health remedies was immense, and a wide variety of illnesses and body conditions were treated and managed using locally available medicinal plants. The community had an elaborate and complex pharmacopoeia supported by a wide range of plant species majority of which were readily harvested within the group ranch. Knowledge about the use of ethno-medicinal resources and the resources themselves appeared to be threatened by rapid changes in traditional lifestyles and cultural practices particularly the spread of Christianity, formal education and emphasis on reliance of modern medical care. Plants recognized to be of medicinal value by the community appeared to be equally threatened by a myriad of factors particularly land use changes. There is great need to conserve the rich plant biodiversity in the ranch as well as preserve knowledge on the value and use of traditional plant based remedies amidst a rapidly changing society.
Multiuser detection by MAP estimation with sum-of-absolute-values relaxation

In this article, we consider multiuser detection that copes with multiple access interference caused in star-topology machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. We assume that the transmitted signals are discrete-valued (e.g. binary signals taking values of ±1), which is taken into account as prior information in detection. We formulate the detection problem as the maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation, which is relaxed to a convex optimization called the sum-of-absolute-values (SOAV) optimization. The SOAV optimization can be efficiently solved by a proximal splitting algorithm, for which we give the proximity operator in a closed form. Numerical simulations are shown to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach compared with the linear minimum mean-square-error (LMMSE) and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) methods.
An experimental and numerical investigation of progressive damage analysis in bonded patch repaired CFRP laminates

The damage evolution in composite material is a complex phenomenon, comprising several interacting failure modes like matrix cracking, fiber breakage, debonding and delamination. Damage initiation, its propagation and ultimate strength prediction of composite structure is of paramount importance for developing reliable and a safer design and utilizing them as primary load bearing one. During service life, these structures get damaged and are often repaired for extending their service life. In the present work, a 3D finite element-based progressive damage model is developed for predicting the failure and post-failure behaviour of notched and repaired panel under tensile load. Failure initiation load, ultimate strength and failure mechanisms are investigated through the developed progressive damage model. The accuracy of developed finite element model is assessed by comparing its prediction with the experimental results obtained from digital image correlation technique and they are found to be in good agreement. In this study, the panels made of carbon/epoxy composite laminates of pure unidirectional and quasi-isotropic stacking sequence are considered. The damaged panel is repaired with both single- and double-sided circular patch of same parent material. Stress-based 3D-Hashin’s failure criterion is used for predicting the damage mechanism. Maximum shear stress and strain criteria are considered to account for patch debonding. It is found that the damage in notched panel always initiates with matrix cracking around the hole. However, damage in repaired panel is influenced by localized patch debonding.
Pharmacy Students' Attitudes Toward and Professional Interactions With People With Mental Disorders

Background: Health professionals frequently exhibit negative attitudes toward people with mental disorders. It is not known whether stigmatising attitudes among pharmacy students predict less positive attitudes toward consumer participation in decision-making about medications. Aims: (1) To assess the attitudes of pharmacy students toward people with schizophrenia, and (2) to determine whether stigma predicts less positive attitudes toward concordant medication counselling. Method: All pharmacy students enrolled in a five-year degree program were invited to participate. Students completed the seven-item Social Distance Scale, six items related to stereotypical attributes of people with schizophrenia and the 14-item Leeds Attitudes Toward Concordance Scale. Results: Completed survey instruments were received from 157 students (94% response rate). Previous employment in a pharmacy and personal experience of a mental disorder were associated with low social distance. Later year of study, believing that people with schizophrenia are difficult to talk to, and believing people with schizophrenia have themselves to blame were predictive of high social distance. Low social distance and later year of study were associated with positive attitudes toward providing concordant medication counselling. Conclusion: Mental health stigma was common and predictive of less positive attitudes toward consumer participation in decision-making about medications.