Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coaxing Effect in Stainless Steels and High-Strength Steels

The effects of prestrain and strength level on the coaxing behavior were studied in austenitic stainless steels and high strength steels, respectively. The materials used were austenitic stainless steels, SUS304 and SUS316, and high strength steels, SCM435, SNCM439 and SUJ2. Stress incremental fatigue tests were performed using cantilever-type rotating bending fatigue testing machines. It was found that the steels except for SUJ2 showed a marked coaxing effect. Non-propagating cracks were not detected in all the steels examined. Based on hardness test, X-ray diffraction measurement and EBSD analysis, it was indicated that the coaxing effect occurred due to work hardening and strain-induced martensite transformation in austenitic stainless steels and to strain-aging in high strength steels.
Molecular basis for antagonistic activity of anifrolumab, an anti-interferon–α receptor 1 antibody

Anifrolumab (anifrolumab) is an antagonist human monoclonal antibody that targets interferon α receptor 1 (IFNAR1). Anifrolumab has been developed to treat autoimmune diseases and is currently in clinical trials. To decipher the molecular basis of its mechanism of action, we engaged in multiple epitope mapping approaches to determine how it interacts with IFNAR1 and antagonizes the receptor. We identified the epitope of anifrolumab using enzymatic fragmentation, phage-peptide library panning and mutagenesis approaches. Our studies revealed that anifrolumab recognizes the SD3 subdomain of IFNAR1 with the critical residue R279. Further, we solved the crystal structure of anifrolumab Fab to a resolution of 2.3 Å. Guided by our epitope mapping studies, we then used in silico protein docking of the anifrolumab Fab crystal structure to IFNAR1 and characterized the corresponding mode of binding. We find that anifrolumab sterically inhibits the binding of IFN ligands to IFNAR1, thus blocking the formation of the ternary IFN/IFNAR1/IFNAR2 signaling complex. This report provides the molecular basis for the mechanism of action of anifrolumab and may provide insights toward designing antibody therapies against IFNAR1.
Dietary exposure to an environmental toxin triggers neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid deposits in the brain

Neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) and β-amyloid plaques are the neurological hallmarks of both Alzheimer's disease and an unusual paralytic illness suffered by Chamorro villagers on the Pacific island of Guam. Many Chamorros with the disease suffer dementia, and in some villages one-quarter of the adults perished from the disease. Like Alzheimer's, the causal factors of Guamanian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism dementia complex (ALS/PDC) are poorly understood. In replicated experiments, we found that chronic dietary exposure to a cyanobacterial toxin present in the traditional Chamorro diet, β-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA), triggers the formation of both NFT and β-amyloid deposits similar in structure and density to those found in brain tissues of Chamorros who died with ALS/PDC. Vervets (Chlorocebus sabaeus) fed for 140 days with BMAA-dosed fruit developed NFT and sparse β-amyloid deposits in the brain. Co-administration of the dietary amino acid l-serine with l-BMAA significantly reduced the density of NFT. These findings indicate that while chronic exposure to the environmental toxin BMAA can trigger neurodegeneration in vulnerable individuals, increasing the amount of l-serine in the diet can reduce the risk.
Species delineation in the tree pathogen genus Celoporthe (Cryphonectriaceae) in southern Africa

The genus Celoporthe was first described when C. dispersa was discovered in South Africa associated with dieback and cankers on trees in the Myrtales. Four additional species were recently described from Eucalyptus and Syzygium cumini in China as well as S. aromaticum and Eucalyptus in Indonesia. Inoculation trials have shown that all Celoporthe species, including those that have not been found on Eucalyptus species in nature, are pathogenic to Eucalyptus and they are thus potentially threatening to commercial Eucalyptus forestry. New isolates, morphologically similar to Celoporthe, have been collected from S. legatti in South Africa and S. guineense in Zambia. Multigene phylogenetic analyses based on DNA sequences of the ITS region, TEF1α gene and two areas of the β-tubulin gene revealed additional cryptic species in Celoporthe. Phylogenetic data were supported by morphological differences. These resulted in the description of two previously unknown species of Celoporthe, namely C. fontana and C. woodiana, for two of these cryptic groups, while the third group represented C. dispersa. These species all can readily infect Eucalyptus as well as several species of Syzygium, the latter of which are native to Africa.
Charagram: Embedding Words and Sentences via Character n-grams

We present Charagram embeddings, a simple approach for learning character-based compositional models to embed textual sequences. A word or sentence is represented using a character n-gram count vector, followed by a single nonlinear transformation to yield a low-dimensional embedding. We use three tasks for evaluation: word similarity, sentence similarity, and part-of-speech tagging. We demonstrate that Charagram embeddings outperform more complex architectures based on character-level recurrent and convolutional neural networks, achieving new state-of-the-art performance on several similarity tasks.
Bankruptcy Spillovers between Close Neighbors

We examine bankruptcy spillovers between very close neighbors. Our fine grained location data allows us to use the cross-sectional difference methodology (e.g. Grinblatt, Keloharju, Ikaheimo (2008), Campbell, Giglio, Pathak (2011)) to control for non-random neighborhood sorting and unobservable neighborhood shocks. This approach subtracts characteristics of inner-ring neighbors (14 households on average) from outer-ring neighbors (207 households and 0.2 square kilometers on average) to control for neighborhood level unobservables affecting both rings. We show that inner-ring neighborhood bankruptcies, controlling for outer-ring neighborhood bankruptcies, impacts the individual’s choice of whether or not to default, as well as of the legal mechanism of default.
Niobium in modern steels

Abstract It is well known that niobium is added to a wide range of steels for improving processing, microstructure, properties and performance. Over the past 20 years, the use of niobium has also permitted new steels with attractive properties to be developed. Furthermore, the addition of niobium to existing steels such as ferritic stainless steels has also led to improvement. The goal of this paper is to review the basic behaviour of niobium in a wide range of steels, including not only the traditional steels but also some of the newer versions. Particular emphasis has been placed on the basic metallurgical principles that apply to these steels, for it is the application of these principles that allows the composition- processing-microstructure-mechanical property relationships to be rationalised and exploited. The application of basic metallurgical principles has resulted in a predictive capability that has led to alterations in composition and processing for the purpose of producing steels with superior mechanical properties and improved overall performance.
Morphological and Physiological Responses of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Plants to Salinity

Salinization usually plays a primary role in soil degradation, which consequently reduces agricultural productivity. In this study, the effects of salinity on growth parameters, ion, chlorophyll, and proline content, photosynthesis, antioxidant enzyme activities, and lipid peroxidation of two cotton cultivars, [CCRI-79 (salt tolerant) and Simian 3 (salt sensitive)], were evaluated. Salinity was investigated at 0 mM, 80 mM, 160 mM, and 240 mM NaCl for 7 days. Salinity induced morphological and physiological changes, including a reduction in the dry weight of leaves and roots, root length, root volume, average root diameter, chlorophyll and proline contents, net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance. In addition, salinity caused ion imbalance in plants as shown by higher Na+ and Cl− contents and lower K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ concentrations. Ion imbalance was more pronounced in CCRI-79 than in Simian3. In the leaves and roots of the salt-tolerant cultivar CCRI-79, increasing levels of salinity increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutathione reductase (GR), but reduced catalase (CAT) activity. The activities of SOD, CAT, APX, and GR in the leaves and roots of CCRI-79 were higher than those in Simian 3. CAT and APX showed the greatest H2O2 scavenging activity in both leaves and roots. Moreover, CAT and APX activities in conjunction with SOD seem to play an essential protective role in the scavenging process. These results indicate that CCRI-79 has a more effective protection mechanism and mitigated oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation by maintaining higher antioxidant activities than those in Simian 3. Overall, the chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and Chl (a+b) contents, net photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance, SOD, CAT, APX, and GR activities showed the most significant variation between the two cotton cultivars.
Enhancing Electrical Properties in NBT-KBT Lead-Free Piezoelectric Ceramics by Optimizing Sintering Temperature

Conventional sintering of (Na1−xKx)0.5Bi0. 5TiO3 (abbreviated as NKBTx, x=18–22 mol%) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics was investigated to clarify the optimal sintering temperature for densification and electrical properties. Both sintered density and electrical properties were sensitive to sintering temperature; particularly, the piezoelectric properties deteriorated when the ceramics were sintered above the optimum temperature. The NKBT20 and NKBT22 ceramics synthesized at 1110°–1170°C showed a phase transition from tetragonal to rhombohedral symmetry, which was similar to the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). Because of such MPB-like behavior, the highest piezoelectric constant (d33) of about 192 pC/N with a high electromechanical coupling factor (kp) of about 32% were obtained in the NKBT22 ceramics sintered at 1150°C.
Simulation of Wave Induced Forces on Semi Submerged Horizontal Cylinders Using OpenFOAM

The work presented in this thesis documents the simulation of wave induced forces on semi submerged horizontal cylinders in OpenFOAM, utilizing the blending method for generation and damping of waves. The blending method is not included with OpenFOAM and thus required development before it could be employed. Both a linear Airy wave model and a fifth order stokes wave model are implemented. The blending method is implemented as an extension of the laminar multiphase solver interFoam, utilizing the volume of fluid method for capturing the interface and the finite volume method for spatial discretization. A validation study is carried out aiming to confirm that the simulated waves accurately represent reality. Simulation results are compared with experimental data, in this study the property compared are wave induced forces on a partially submerged cylinder. Time force histories for three different cylinder axis submergences and wave amplitudes are presented. The agreement between experimental forces and simulation forces is good. A verification study is attempted. This study shows significant deformation of the surface profile, most notably a raising of the trough and a lowering of the crest. The cause of the deformation is still unknown.
Survival, Growth and Condition of Freshwater Mussels: Effects of Municipal Wastewater Effluent

Freshwater mussels (Family Unionidae) are among the most imperiled group of organisms in the world, with nearly 65% of North American species considered endangered. Anthropogenic disturbances, including altered flow regimes, habitat alteration, and pollution, are the major driver of this group's decline. We investigated the effects of tertiary treated municipal wastewater effluent on survivorship, growth, and condition of freshwater mussels in experimental cages in a small Central Texas stream. We tested the effluent effects by measuring basic physical parameters of native three ridge mussels (Amblema plicata) and of non-native Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea), before and after 72-day exposure at four sites above and below a municipal wastewater treatment plant outfall. Survivorship and growth of the non-native Asian clams and growth and condition indices of the native three ridge mussels were significantly higher at the reference site above the outfall than in downstream sites. We attribute this reduction in fitness below the outfall to elevated nutrient and heavy metal concentrations, and the potential presence of other untested-for compounds commonly found in municipal effluent. These results, along with an absence of native mussels below the discharge, indicate a significant negative impact of wastewater effluent on both native and non-native mussels in the stream.
Tensorial elastic properties and stability of interface states associated with Σ5(210) grain boundaries in Ni3(Al,Si)

Graphical Abstract Grain boundaries (GBs) represent one of the most important types of defects in solids and their instability leads to catastrophic failures in materials. Grain boundaries are challenging for theoretical studies because of their distorted atomic structure. Fortunately, quantum-mechanical methods can reliably compute their properties. We calculate and analyze (tensorial) anisotropic elastic properties of periodic approximants of interface states associated with GBs in one of the most important intermetallic compounds for industrial applications, Ni3Al, appearing in Ni-based superalloys. Focusing on the Σ5(210) GBs as a case study, we assess the mechanical stability of the corresponding interface states by checking rigorous elasticity-based Born stability criteria. The critical elastic constant is found three-/five-fold softer contributing thus to the reduction of the mechanical stability of Ni3Al polycrystals (experiments show their GB-related failure). The tensorial elasto-chemical complexity of interface states associated with the studied GBs exemplifies itself in high sensitivity of elastic constants to the GB composition. As another example we study the impact caused by Si atoms segregating into the atomic layers close to the GB and substituting Al atoms. If wisely exploited, our study paves the way towards solute-controlled design of GB-related interface states with controlled stability and/or tensorial properties.
Existence, Functional Impairment, and Lung Repair Potential of Endothelial Colony-Forming Cells in Oxygen-Induced Arrested Alveolar Growth

Background— Bronchopulmonary dysplasia and emphysema are life-threatening diseases resulting from impaired alveolar development or alveolar destruction. Both conditions lack effective therapies. Angiogenic growth factors promote alveolar growth and contribute to alveolar maintenance. Endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) represent a subset of circulating and resident endothelial cells capable of self-renewal and de novo vessel formation. We hypothesized that resident ECFCs exist in the developing lung, that they are impaired during arrested alveolar growth in experimental bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and that exogenous ECFCs restore disrupted alveolar growth. Methods and Results— Human fetal and neonatal rat lungs contain ECFCs with robust proliferative potential, secondary colony formation on replating, and de novo blood vessel formation in vivo when transplanted into immunodeficient mice. In contrast, human fetal lung ECFCs exposed to hyperoxia in vitro and neonatal rat ECFCs isolated from hyperoxic alveolar growth–arrested rat lungs mimicking bronchopulmonary dysplasia proliferated less, showed decreased clonogenic capacity, and formed fewer capillary-like networks. Intrajugular administration of human cord blood–derived ECFCs after established arrested alveolar growth restored lung function, alveolar and lung vascular growth, and attenuated pulmonary hypertension. Lung ECFC colony- and capillary-like network-forming capabilities were also restored. Low ECFC engraftment and the protective effect of cell-free ECFC-derived conditioned media suggest a paracrine effect. Long-term (10 months) assessment of ECFC therapy showed no adverse effects with persistent improvement in lung structure, exercise capacity, and pulmonary hypertension. Conclusions— Impaired ECFC function may contribute to arrested alveolar growth. Cord blood–derived ECFC therapy may offer new therapeutic options for lung diseases characterized by alveolar damage.
Non-physical practice improves task performance in an unstable, perturbed environment: motor imagery and observational balance training

For consciously performed motor tasks executed in a defined and constant way, both motor imagery (MI) and action observation (AO) have been shown to promote motor learning. It is not known whether these forms of non-physical training also improve motor actions when these actions have to be variably applied in an unstable and unpredictable environment. The present study therefore investigated the influence of MI balance training (MI_BT) and a balance training combining AO and MI (AO+MI_BT) on postural control of undisturbed and disturbed upright stance on unstable ground. As spinal reflex excitability after classical (i.e., physical) balance training (BT) is generally decreased, we tested whether non-physical BT also has an impact on spinal reflex circuits. Thirty-six participants were randomly allocated into an MI_BT group, in which participants imagined postural exercises, an AO+MI_BT group, in which participants observed videos of other people performing balance exercises and imagined being the person in the video, and a non-active control group (CON). Before and after 4 weeks of non-physical training, balance performance was assessed on a free-moving platform during stance without perturbation and during perturbed stance. Soleus H-reflexes were recorded during stable and unstable stance. The post-measurement revealed significantly decreased postural sway during undisturbed and disturbed stance after both MI_BT and AO+MI_BT. Spinal reflex excitability remained unchanged. This is the first study showing that non-physical training (MI_BT and AO+MI_BT) not only promotes motor learning of “rigid” postural tasks but also improves performance of highly variable and unpredictable balance actions. These findings may be relevant to improve postural control and thus reduce the risk of falls in temporarily immobilized patients.
On the macroscopic response, microstructure evolution, and macroscopic stability of short-fiber-reinforced elastomers at finite strains: II – Representative examples

In Part I of this work, we presented a homogenization-based constitutive model for the overall behavior of reinforced elastomers consisting of aligned, spheroidal particles distributed randomly in an incompressible, hyperelastic matrix. In particular, we provided analytical estimates for the effective stored-energy functions of the composites, as well as for the associated average particle rotations under finite deformations. The rotation of the particles is found to be very sensitive to the specific loading conditions applied, and is such that the particles tend to align themselves with the largest tensile direction. In addition, we obtained corresponding formulae for the detection of macroscopic instabilities in these composites. With the objective of illustrating the key features of the analytical results presented in Part I, we conduct here a more detailed study of these results for several representative values of the microstructural and loading parameters, as well as matrix properties. More specifically, this study deals with neo-Hookean and Gent elastomers reinforced with spheroidal particles of prolate and oblate shapes with various aspect ratios and volume fractions, subjected to aligned and non-aligned macroscopic loading conditions. In addition, to assess the accuracy of the model, we compare our results with corresponding finite element results available from the literature for the special case of spherical particles, and good agreement is found. For non-spherical particles, the results indicate that the possible rotation of the particles has a major influence on the overall response of the elastomeric composites. Furthermore, it is found that the composite may develop macroscopic shear localization instabilities, as a consequence of the geometric softening induced by the sudden rotation – or flopping – of the particles, when a sufficiently large amount of compression is applied along the long axes of the particles.
Association of Fibrinogen With Quantity of Coronary Artery Calcification Measured by Electron Beam Computed Tomography

Increased plasma fibrinogen concentration is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Fibrinogen is the main coagulation protein in plasma, a determinant of blood viscosity, and can act as a cofactor for platelet aggregation. In this study of middle-aged men and women, we examined the association between plasma fibrinogen concentration and coronary artery calcification (CAC), a marker of preclinical coronary atherosclerosis. Two hundred twenty-eight participants were selected from the community-based Epidemiology of Coronary Artery Calcification Study, in which CAC was measured noninvasively by electron beam computed tomography. One hundred fourteen participants (57 men) were selected because they had high quantities of CAC; the remaining 114 participants (57 men) were selected because they had no detectable CAC. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the association between plasma fibrinogen concentration and high quantity of CAC. In men, an increase of 1 standard deviation in fibrinogen concentration was associated with a statistically significant odds ratio of 1.6 (95% CI 1.1 to 2.5) for a high quantity of CAC. In women, the corresponding odds ratio was 2.5 (95% CI 1.6 to 4.1). Inferences from sex-specific bivariate logistic models for odds ratios adjusted individually for each coronary risk factor and C-reactive protein were similar to those from the univariate models. In women, there was also a significant interaction between fibrinogen concentration and age. According to the models, younger women with high plasma fibrinogen were more likely to have high quantities of CAC than were younger women with low plasma fibrinogen. The strength of this association was diminished in older women.
Estimating Risk of C. difficile Transmission from PCR Positive but Cytotoxin Negative Cases

Background The use of molecular methods to diagnose Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has improved diagnostic yield compared to conventional methods. However, PCR testing can detect colonization and has introduced several practical challenges pertaining to need for treatment and isolation of cases. Methods For all new cases detected by real-time PCR, concurrent cytotoxin assay was performed and genetic characterization with MLVA (multi-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis) was done to determine relatedness. We used PCR cycle threshold (Ct) of detection as surrogate marker for bacterial burden in stool. Results Overall, 54 cases of CDI were detected during the study period. 42 were concurrently tested by CYT and characterized by MLVA . MLVA analysis revealed marked genetic diversity with no ongoing outbreaks; four cases were due to NAP1 strain. CYT −/PCR + cases had a higher median Ct value of detection compared to CYT+/PCR + cases (28.2 vs 22.5; p = 0.01). Among 25 strains that were genetically related, 9/11 isolates in this dominant cluster were positive by CYT compared to 4/14 in non-dominant clusters (p = 0.02). Conclusion CYT−/PCR+ cases contribute to hospital based transmission. However, the risk of transmission of C. difficile from CYT +/PCR+ cases may be higher than those that are CYT−/PCR+.