Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Algebraic Identification Method for Mass-Spring-Damper System

In this paper we describe a procedure for parameters identification using an algebraic iden- tification method for a continuous time constant lin- ear system. We make a specific application in the determination of the parameters mass-spring-damper system. The method is suitable for simultaneously identifying, both, the spring constant and the damp- ing coecient. It is found that the proposed method is computationally fast and robust with respect to noises. The identification algorithm has been verified by simulation results. The estimations are carried out on-line.
Implementation of Patient Safety and Patient-Centeredness Strategies in Iranian Hospitals

Objective To examine the extent of implementation for patient safety (PS) and patient-centeredness (PC) strategies and their association with hospital characteristics (type, ownership, teaching status, annual evaluation grade) in Iran. Methods A cross-sectional study through an adapted version of the MARQuIS questionnaire, eliciting information from hospital and nursing managers in 84 Iranian hospitals on the implementation of PS and PC strategies in 2009–2010. Results The majority of hospitals reported to have implemented 84% of the PS and 72% of the PC strategies. In general, implementation of PS strategies was unrelated to the type of hospital, with the exception of health promotion reports, which were more common in the Social Security Organization (SSO), and MRSA testing, which was reported more often in nonprofit hospitals. MRSA testing was also more common among teaching hospitals compared to non-teaching hospitals. The higher grade hospitals reported PS strategies significantly more frequently than lower grade hospitals. Overall, there was no significant difference in the reported implementation of PC strategies across general and specialized hospitals; except for the provision of information in different languages and recording of patient’s diet which were reported significantly more often by general than specialized hospitals. Moreover, patient hotel services were more common in private compared to public hospitals. Conclusions Despite substantial reporting of PS and PC strategies, there is still room for strengthening standard setting on safety, patient services and patient-centered information strategies in Iranian hospitals. To assure effective implementation of PS and PC strategies, enforcing standards, creating a PS and PC culture, increasing organizational responsiveness, and partnering with patients and their families need more attention.
The Time Between: Continuously Defined Accessibility Functions for Schedule-Based Transportation Systems

Accessibility is traditionally considered to be a property of a point or region in space, and to be invariant over time (or at least over some computationally convenient time interval). How- ever, a locations accessibility can vary over time on a wide range of scales. This temporal variation is especially significant for schedule-based transportation systems. Current measures of accessibility generally reflect the accessibility only at points in time corresponding to the departures of one or more trips; accessibility between these time points remains unconsidered and undefined. Consequently, these measures are insensitive to changes in route frequency and the distribution of trip departure times. Furthermore, these approaches ignore the disutility experienced by a system user who is limited to departing or arriving at scheduled times rather than at preferred times. As a result, they systematically overestimate the accessibility experienced by users of scheduled transportation systems. We establish new methods for representing the accessibility provided by a schedule-based transportation system from a specific location as a continuously-defined accessibility function (CDAF) of desired departure time, defined for all time points. Using schedule and route information from metropolitan transit providers, we demonstrate the application of these methods to gain new insight into the accessibility provided by real-world transportation systems. Four examples are developed to represent common service types in metropolitan transit networks. The results confirm that accessibility is significantly overestimated by measuring single points and show that trip frequency is more valuable for sustained accessibility than high accessibility on individual trips.
Spatiotemporal Variability in Start and End of Growing Season in China Related to Climate Variability

Satellite-derived vegetation phenophases are frequently used to study the response of ecosystems to climate change. However, limited studies have identified the common phenological variability across different climate and vegetation zones. Using NOAA/Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) dataset, we estimated start of growing season (SOS) and end of growing season (EOS) for Chinese vegetation during the period 1982–2012 based on the Midpoint method. Subsequently, the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis was applied to extract the main patterns of phenophases and their annual variability. The impact of climate parameters such as temperature and precipitation on phenophases was investigated using canonical correlation analysis (CCA). The first EOF mode of phenophases exhibited widespread earlier or later SOS and EOS signals for almost the whole country. The attendant time coefficients revealed an earlier SOS between 1996 and 2008, but a later SOS in 1982–1995 and 2009–2012. Regarding EOS, it was clearly happening later in recent years, mainly after 1993. The preseason temperature contributed to such spatiotemporal phenological change significantly. The first pair of CCA patterns for phenology and preseason temperature was found to be similar and its time coefficients were highly correlated to each other (correlation coefficient >0.7). These results indicate that there is a substantial amount of common variance in SOS and EOS across different vegetation types that is related to large-scale modes of climate variability.
EFFICIENT NEURAL CODING OF NATURAL IMAGES

A method and system for processing a substrate in the presence of high purity C5F8. When processing oxides and dielectrics in a gas plasma processing system, C5F8 is used in combination with a carrier gas (e.g., Ar) and one or more of CO and O2. When using a silicon nitride (SixNy) layer as an etch stop, effective etching is performed due to the selectivity of oxides versus silicon nitride. The method is used when etching down to self-aligning contacts and other layers. The method may be practiced with or without using an anti-reflective coating underneath the photoresist layer.
Initiation and termination of DNA replication during S phase in relation to cyclins D1, E and A, p21WAF1, Cdt1 and the p12 subunit of DNA polymerase δ revealed in individual cells by cytometry

During our recent studies on mechanism of the regulation of human DNA polymerase δ in preparation for DNA replication or repair, multiparameter imaging cytometry as exemplified by laser scanning cytometry (LSC) has been used to assess changes in expression of the following nuclear proteins associated with initiation of DNA replication: cyclin A, PCNA, Ki-67, p21WAF1, DNA replication factor Cdt1 and the smallest subunit of DNA polymerase δ, p12. In the present review, rather than focusing on Pol δ, we emphasize the application of LSC in these studies and outline possibilities offered by the concurrent differential analysis of DNA replication in conjunction with expression of the nuclear proteins. A more extensive analysis of the data on a correlation between rates of EdU incorporation, likely reporting DNA replication, and expression of these proteins, is presently provided. New data, specifically on the expression of cyclin D1 and cyclin E with respect to EdU incorporation as well as on a relationship between expression of cyclin A vs. p21WAF1 and Ki-67 vs. Cdt1, are also reported. Of particular interest is the observation that this approach makes it possible to assess the temporal sequence of degradation of cyclin D1, p21WAF1, Cdt1 and p12, each with respect to initiation of DNA replication and with respect to each other. Also the sequence or reappearance of these proteins in G2 after termination of DNA replication is assessed. The reviewed data provide a more comprehensive presentation of potential markers, whose presence or absence marks the DNA replicating cells. Discussed is also usefulness of these markers as indicators of proliferative activity in cancer tissues that may bear information on tumor progression and have a prognostic value.
Periapical Status of Endodontically Treated Teeth in Relation to the Quality of the Coronal Restoration

Svrha ovoga rada bila je procijeniti povezanost kakvoce restaurativnoga poslijeendodontskog nadomjestka i kakvoce ispuna korijenskoga kanala s periapeksnim statusom lijecenoga zuba temeljem radiografske rasclambe. Pregledani su ortopani slucajno izabranih pacijenata Zavoda za bolesti zubi te Zavoda za parodontologiju Stomatoloskog fakulteta u Zagrebu. Dva su ispitivaca neovisno jedan od drugoga procijenili 696 endodontski lijecenih zubi s 265 ortopana. Prema unaprijed dogovorenim radiografskim kriterijima tehnicka kakvoca punjenja kanala procijenjena je kao dobra ili kao losa, a isto tako i kakvoca poslijeendodontskoga nadomjestka. Apeksna trecina korijena s okolnim strukturama radiografski je proucena te je periapeksni status kategoriziran kao nepostojanje periradikularne upale ili kao postojanje periradikularne upale. Razlike između pojedinih skupina s obzirom na kakvocu ispuna kanala i kakvocu zuba statisticki su znatne (p<0, 05).
Bedingungen des situationalen Interesses im Mathematikunterricht - Eine mehrebenenanalytische Perspektive

In der vorliegenden Dissertation werden Bedingungsfaktoren des situationalen Interesses von SchulerInnen im Mathematikunterricht untersucht. Im Vordergrund steht dabei die Analyse des funktionalen Zusammenspiels von instruktionalen, motivational-affektiven und kognitiven Lernprozessvariablen aus einer mehrebenenanalytischen Perspektive. Vor dem Hintergrund aktueller Befunde der Interessensforschung sowie der empirischen Unterrichtsforschung wurde eine quantitative Fragebogenstudie mit 951 SchulerInnen aus 38 Klassen der Jahrgangsstufe 8 durchgefuhrt. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen die Bedeutung instruktionaler Lernprozessvariablen fur das situationale Interesse auf und belegen, dass individuelle motivational-affektive und kognitive Verarbeitungsprozesse zumindest teilweise die direkten Effekte der Unterrichtsgestaltung auf das situationale Interesse erklaren konnen.
ON USING THE COLOR–MAGNITUDE DIAGRAM MORPHOLOGY OF M67 TO TEST SOLAR ABUNDANCES

The open cluster M67 has solar metallicity and an age of about 4 Gyr. The turnoff (TO) mass is close to the minimum mass for which solar metallicity stars develop a convective core during main sequence evolution as a result of the development of hydrogen burning through the CNO cycle. The morphology of the color–magnitude diagram (CMD) of M67 around the TO shows a clear hook-like feature, a direct sign that stars close to the TO have convective cores. VandenBerg et al. investigated the possibility of using the morphology of the M67 TO to put constraints on the solar metallicity, particularly CNO elements, for which solar abundances have been revised downward by more than 30% over the last few years. Here, we extend their work, filling the gaps in their analysis. To this aim, we compute isochrones appropriate for M67 using new (low metallicity) and old (high metallicity) solar abundances and study whether the characteristic TO in the CMD of M67 can be reproduced or not. We also study the importance of other constitutive physics on determining the presence of such a hook, particularly element diffusion, overshooting and nuclear reaction rates. We find that using the new solar abundance determinations, with low CNO abundances, makes it more difficult to reproduce the characteristic CMD of M67. This result is in agreement with results by VandenBerg et al. However, changes in the constitutive physics of the models, particularly overshooting, can influence and alter this result to the extent that isochrones constructed with models using low CNO solar abundances can also reproduce the TO morphology in M67. We conclude that only if all factors affecting the TO morphology are completely under control (and this is not the case), M67 could be used to put constraints on solar abundances.
Effects of hyperthermia on survival and progression of Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Abstract In general, the survival of Chinese hamster ovary cells exposed to hyperthermic temperatures of 42.5–46.0° decreases exponentially as a function of duration of heat exposure in a manner quite similar to survival as a function of radiation dose. The data indicate that above 43° a 1° change in temperature requires a 2-fold change in time to achieve the same degree of killing, whereas below 43° the same 2-fold change in time requires only a 0.5° change in temperature for the same effect. An Arrhenius-type plot of the logarithm of the rate of killing as a function of reciprocal temperature exhibits linearity with a change in slope at 43°. This change in slope suggests either a change in the mechanism of cell killing below this temperature or a manifestation of thermal tolerance that is readily observed when the duration of heating exceeds 4 to 5 hr. Thermotolerance to 45.5°, as evidenced by a 3- to 4-fold increase in D 0 , is observed in synchronous G 1 cells exposed to heat 20 hr after an initial heat dose. This thermotolerance develops, although no progression of cells into S phase occurs during this period. In addition, thermotolerance develops in both asynchronous and synchronous G 1 cells exposed to single heat doses between 41.5 and 42.5° for periods exceeding 4 to 5 hr, i.e. , survival decreases exponentially as a function of duration of heating up to 4 to 5 hr, after which survival decreases very little. At 42.0–42.5°, survival is extremely sensitive to changes in temperature, with as much as a 10-fold difference in survival for a 0.1° difference in temperature with heat exposures greater than 4 hr. The above data indicate the importance of careful treatment design and precise temperature control if hyperthermia is to be used for cancer therapy. No progression of synchronous G 1 cells into S phase is observed for cells continuously exposed to temperatures of 42.0° and above. However, computer simulation of sequential DNA histograms from flow cytometry of synchronous cells continuously exposed to 41.5° indicates that cell cycle delays of 5.4 and 2.4 hr for G 1 and S, respectively, occurred for cells for which exposure began in G 1 , and delays of 0.5 and 5.4 hr for S and G 2 plus mitosis, respectively, occurred for cells for which exposure began in late S. Normal cell cycle phase transit times for G 1 , S, and G 2 plus mitosis are 4.3, 7.1, and 2.4 hr, respectively. In addition, mitotic indices and increases in cell number of asynchronous populations of cells continuously exposed to 41.5° indicate that entry into mitosis is delayed for approximately 2 hr. Following this delay, cells begin to enter mitosis and accumulate from 2 to 6 hr in metaphase; after about 6 hr, they begin to progress into G 1 . However, comparison of flow cytometry data and mitotic index data suggests that during the initial 6 hr of heating, the majority of cells accumulating in G 2 plus mitosis are actually delayed in G 2 .
First Record of the Myrmicine Ant Genus Meranoplus Smith, 1853 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Arabian Peninsula with Description of a New Species and Notes on the Zoogeography of Southwestern Kingdom Saudi Arabia

The ant genus Meranoplus is reported for the first time from the Arabian Peninsula (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) by the new species M. pulcher sp. n. , based on the worker caste. Specimens were collected from Al Sarawat and Asir Mountains of southwestern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia using pitfall traps. Meranoplus pulcher sp. n. is included in the Afrotropical M. magretii-group, with greatest similarity to M. magrettii André from Sudan. A key to the Afrotropical species of the M. magretii-group is presented. A brief review of the ant taxa with Afrotropical affinities in southwestern region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is given.
How Social Are Social Media? A Review of Online Social Behaviour and Connectedness

The use of social media is rapidly increasing, and one of the major discussions of the 21st century revolves around how the use of these applications will impact on the social relationships of users. To contribute to this discussion, we present a brief narrative review highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of social media use on three key aspects of social connectedness: social capital, sense of community, and loneliness. The results indicate that using social media can increase social capital, lead to the formation of friendships and communities, and reduce loneliness. However, some social media site users may experience weakening friendships, online ostracism, and heightened loneliness. Therefore, we argue that the use of social media has contradictory effects on social connectedness. Moreover, the direction of these outcomes is contingent upon who is using the site and how they are using it. Based on these arguments, possible directions for future research are discussed. It is recommended that discourse be continued relating to the association between online social behaviour and connectedness, as this will enable researchers to establish whether the positive outcomes of social media use outweigh the negative.
Detection of Sub-Clinical CWD Infection in Conventional Test-Negative Deer Long after Oral Exposure to Urine and Feces from CWD+ Deer

Background Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of cervids is a prion disease distinguished by high levels of transmissibility, wherein bodily fluids and excretions are thought to play an important role. Using cervid bioassay and established CWD detection methods, we have previously identified infectious prions in saliva and blood but not urine or feces of CWD+ donors. More recently, we identified very low concentrations of CWD prions in urine of deer by cervid PrP transgenic (Tg[CerPrP]) mouse bioassay and serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA). This finding led us to examine further our initial cervid bioassay experiments using sPMCA. Objectives We sought to investigate whether conventional test-negative deer, previously exposed orally to urine and feces from CWD+ sources, may be harboring low level CWD infection not evident in the 19 month observation period. We further attempted to determine the peripheral PrPCWD distribution in these animals. Methods Various neural and lymphoid tissues from conventional test-negative deer were reanalyzed for CWD prions by sPMCA and cervid transgenic mouse bioassay in parallel with appropriate tissue-matched positive and negative controls. Results PrPCWD was detected in the tissues of orally exposed deer by both sPMCA and Tg[CerPrP] mouse bioassay; each assay revealed very low levels of CWD prions previously undetectable by western blot, ELISA, or IHC. Serial PMCA analysis of individual tissues identified that obex alone was positive in 4 of 5 urine/feces exposed deer. PrPCWD was amplified from both lymphoid and neural tissues of positive control deer but not from identical tissues of negative control deer. Discussion Detection of subclinical infection in deer orally exposed to urine and feces (1) suggests that a prolonged subclinical state can exist, necessitating observation periods in excess of two years to detect CWD infection, and (2) illustrates the sensitive and specific application of sPMCA in the diagnosis of low-level prion infection. Based on these results, it is possible that low doses of prions, e.g. following oral exposure to urine and saliva of CWD-infected deer, bypass significant amplification in the LRS, perhaps utilizing a neural conduit between the alimentary tract and CNS, as has been demonstrated in some other prion diseases.
Topics in string field theory

This review of bosonic string field theory is concentrated on two main subjects. In the first part we revisit the construction of the three string vertex and rederive the relevant Neumann coefficients both for the matter and the ghost part following a conformal field theory approach. We use this formulation to solve the VSFT equation of motion for the ghost sector. This part of the paper is based on a new method which allows us to derive known results in a simpler way. In the second part we concentrate on the solution of the VSFT equation of motion for the matter part. We describe the construction of the three strings vertex in the presence of a background B field. We determine a large family of lump solutions, illustrate their interpretation as D-branes and study the low energy limit. We show that in this limit the lump solutions flow toward the so-called GMS solitons.
Plaque rupture and intact fibrous cap assessed by optical coherence tomography portend different outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

AIMS Patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) may have different plaque morphologies at the culprit lesion. In particular, plaque rupture (PR) has been shown as the more frequent culprit plaque morphology in ACS. However, its prognostic value is still unknown. In this study, we evaluated the prognostic value of PR, compared with intact fibrous cap (IFC), in patients with ACS. METHODS AND RESULTS We enrolled consecutive patients admitted to our Coronary Care Unit for ACS and undergoing coronary angiography followed by interpretable optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. Culprit lesion was classified as PR and IFC by OCT criteria. Prognosis was assessed according to such culprit lesion classification. Major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) were defined as the composite of cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, unstable angina, and target lesion revascularization (follow-up mean time 31.58 ± 4.69 months). The study comprised 139 consecutive ACS patients (mean age 64.3 ± 12.0 years, male 73.4%, 92 patients with non-ST elevation ACS and 47 with ST-elevation ACS). Plaque rupture was detected in 82/139 (59%) patients. There were no differences in clinical, angiographic, or procedural data between patients with PR when compared with those having IFC. Major adverse cardiac events occurred more frequently in patients with PR when compared with those having IFC (39.0 vs. 14.0%, P = 0.001). Plaque rupture was an independent predictor of outcome at multivariable analysis (odds ratio 3.735, confidence interval 1.358-9.735). CONCLUSION Patients with ACS presenting with PR as culprit lesion by OCT have a worse prognosis compared with that of patients with IFC. This finding should be taken into account in risk stratification and management of patients with ACS.