Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Geometric Optimization of Plug-Supported End-Caps on the Performance of Thick Thermoplastic Composite Pressure Vessels Under External Hydrostatic Pressure

A finite element model was developed to investigate the response of a thick composite pressure vessel under hydrostatic pressure for deep ocean applications. To verify the finite element model, layer-by-layer stress and strain responses at the mid-length of a composite pressure vessel, i.e., free from the end-cap effects, were obtained and compared with an existing analytical solution. Excellent agreement was obtained between the numerical and analytical solutions. The created model was employed to investigate the performance of an APC-2/AS4 thermoplastic composite pressure vessel using plug-supported end-caps with contoured-ends and initial radial clearances. The plug-supported end-caps with contoured-ends and initial radial clearances were modeled as radial simply supported boundary conditions at the ends of the composite cylinder. The pressure vessel has a thickness of 4.3 cm, an inner diameter of 33 cm, an internal effective length of 45.7 cm, and a symmetric sub-laminate configuration of [(90/90/0)s]4 subjected to an external hydrostatic pressure of 71 MPa. The results of finite element analysis revealed that the performance of the pressure vessel greatly depends on the length of the tapered section as well as the tapered radius of the contoured-end plug-supported end-caps. In addition, it is shown that an initial radial clearance of plug-supported end-caps can also affect the performance of the pressure vessel. The optimum performance of the pressure vessel was obtained when the length of the tapered section and tapered radius were 38.1 mm and 3.3 m, respectively. The best initial radial clearance for this pressure vessel was found to be 0.5 mm; however, sealing issues should also be taken into account when selecting the final amount of an initial radial clearance. The comparisons between the performances of the pressure vessels reveal that the stress factor of safety of the pressure vessels using plug-supported end-caps with optimum tapered and initial radial clearance can be 2 and 2.29 times, respectively, greater than that for the pressure vessel with plug-supported end-caps.
The Swedish ACCES model: predicting the health economic impact of celecoxib in patients with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.

The Arthritis Cost Consequence Evaluation System (ACCES) pharmacoeconomic model was used to evaluate the economic and health impact of the recent introduction of celecoxib for treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Sweden. The model demonstrates that use of celecoxib can be expected to reduce the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse events, resource utilization and treatment costs. In a cost-effectiveness analysis, celecoxib demonstrated economic dominance (i.e. improved health at reduced cost) compared with the currently available alternatives for OA, and demonstrated economic dominance against a clinically relevant base-case scenario for RA. In sensitivity analyses, the results were shown to be relatively robust; celecoxib demonstrated economic dominance or favourable cost-effectiveness ratios in all analyses. Based on these data, it can be concluded that the use of celecoxib in Sweden will provide societal benefits by improving health care at reduced cost for patients with OA and RA.
Phase-Rotation-Aided Relay Selection in Two-Way Decode-and-Forward Relay Networks

This paper proposes a relay selection (RS) scheme that aims to improve the end-to-end symbol error rate (SER) performance of a two-way relay network (TWRN). The TWRN consists of two single-antenna sources and multiple relays employing a decode-and-forward (DF) protocol. It is shown that the SER performance is determined by the minimum decision distance (DD) observed in the TWRN. However, the minimum DD is likely to be made arbitrarily small by channel fading. To tackle this problem, a phase rotation (PR)-aided RS scheme is proposed to enlarge the minimum DD, which, in turn, improves the SER performance. The proposed PR-based scheme rotates the phases of the transmitted symbols of one source and of the selected relay according to the channel state information (CSI), aiming for increasing all DDs to be above a desired bound. The lower bound is further optimized by using a MaxMin-RS criterion associated with the channel gains. It is demonstrated that the PR-aided MaxMin-RS approach achieves full diversity gain and improved array gain. Furthermore, compared with the existing DF-based schemes, the proposed scheme allows more flexible relay antenna configurations.
Structural motifs at protein‐protein interfaces: Protein cores versus two‐state and three‐state model complexes

The general similarity in the forces governing protein folding and protein‐protein associations has led us to examine the similarity in the architectural motifs between the interfaces and the monomers. We have carried out extensive, all‐against‐all structural comparisons between the single‐chain protein structural dataset and the interface dataset, derived both from all protein‐protein complexes in the structural database and from interfaces generated via an automated crystal symmetry operation. We show that despite the absence of chain connections, the global features of the architectural motifs, present in monomers, recur in the interfaces, a reflection of the limited set of the folding patterns. However, although similarity has been observed, the details of the architectural motifs vary. In particular, the extent of the similarity correlates with the consideration of how the interface has been formed. Interfaces derived from two‐state model complexes, where the chains fold cooperatively, display a considerable similarity to architectures in protein cores, as judged by the quality of their geometric superposition. On the other hand, the three‐state model interfaces, representing binding of already folded molecules, manifest a larger variability and resemble the monomer architecture only in general outline. The origin of the difference between the monomers and the three‐state model interfaces can be understood in terms of the different nature of the folding and the binding that are involved. Whereas in the former all degrees of freedom are available to the backbone to maximize favorable interactions, in rigid body, three‐state model binding, only six degrees of freedom are allowed. Hence, residue or atom pair‐wise potentials derived from protein‐protein associations are expected to be less accurate, substantially increasing the number of computationally acceptable alternate binding modes (Finkelstein et al., 1995).
Effect of regional precursor emission controls on long-range ozone transport – Part 1: Short-term changes in ozone air quality

Abstract. Observations and models demonstrate that ozone and its precursors can be transported between continents and across oceans. We model the influences of 10% reductions in anthropogenic nitrogen oxide (NO x ) emissions from each of nine world regions on surface ozone air quality in that region and all other regions. In doing so, we quantify the relative importance of long-range transport between all source-receptor pairs, for direct short-term ozone changes. We find that for population-weighted concentrations during the three-month "ozone-season", the strongest inter-regional influences are from Europe to the Former Soviet Union, East Asia to Southeast Asia, and Europe to Africa. The largest influences per unit of NO x reduced, however, are seen for source regions in the tropics and Southern Hemisphere, which we attribute mainly to greater sensitivity to changes in NO x in the lower troposphere, and secondarily to increased vertical convection to the free troposphere in tropical regions, allowing pollutants to be transported further. Results show, for example, that NO x reductions in North America are ~20% as effective per unit NO x in reducing ozone in Europe during summer, as NO x reductions from Europe itself. Reducing anthropogenic emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) and carbon monoxide (CO) by 10% in selected regions, can have as large an impact on long-range ozone transport as NO x reductions, depending on the source region. We find that for many source-receptor pairs, the season of greatest long-range influence does not coincide with the season when ozone is highest in the receptor region. Reducing NO x emissions in most source regions causes a larger decrease in export of ozone from the source region than in ozone production outside of the source region.
Multidroplet Impact Model for Prediction of Residual Stresses in Water Jet Peening of Materials

In this article, a multidroplet impact model, proposed for predicting residual stresses induced on materials subjected to water jet peening, is presented. This approach considers the impact pressure distribution due to high-velocity droplets impinging on the material surface instead of stationary pressure distribution for prediction of residual stresses on water jet-peened surfaces. It makes use of Reichardt's theory for predicting the velocity distribution of droplets and liquid impact theory for predicting the impact pressure and duration of impact of high-velocity droplets. For predicting residual stresses on the surface and subsurface of material subjected to water jet peening, finite element modeling approach was adopted by using transient elastoplastic finite element analysis by considering an impingement of a set of droplets in succession to one another over a certain time period after which this pressure is released. The effectiveness of the proposed approach was demonstrated bv comparing the predicted residual stresses with those predicted by using the single set of droplets approach proposed by Rajesh et al. [6]. Finally, the practical relevance of the proposed approach was shown by comparing the predicted results with the experimental results obtained by water peening of 6063-T6 aluminium alloy.
Predictive Factors for Success in Surgical Treatment for Partial Epilepsy: A Multivariate Analysis

Summary: We conducted a longitudinal self‐controlled study of 131 patients aged 4–60 treated with resectivesurgery for medically uncontrolled partial epilepsy from 1949 to 1988. Using multivariate logistic regression, weshowed that pre‐ and perioperative variables can be usedto predict “success” or “failure” of surgical resectivetreatment in ∼79% of cases. If the predicted probability is >0.75 or < 0.25, the model predicts a correct result in 87% of cases. Eight predictive factors emerged with abackward multivariate logistic regression model with the likelihood‐ratio (LR) test to exclude variables from theequation: (a) the influence of the surgical team and surgical procedure, (b) the presence of paresis preoperatively, (c) duration of disease, (d) age at treatment, (e) positive neuroradiologic findings in preoperative investigations, (f) preoperative complex partial seizures (CPS), (g) nonepileptic EEG abnormalities, and (h) generalizedspike activity in EEG preoperatively. Sex, age at firstseizure, area of resection, presence of simple or generalized seizures preoperatively, preoperative seizure frequency, tissue pathology, use of computed tomography/nuclear magnetic resonance (CTINMR) in preoperativeinvestigations, degree of preoperative neurologic deficit, perioperative electrocorticographic results, and bilateralEEG spikes did not have predictive value in the model.
Diagnosis of Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis by Smear, Culture, and PCR Using Universal Sample Processing Technology

ABSTRACT Definitive and rapid diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis is challenging since conventional techniques have limitations. We have developed a universal sample processing (USP) technology for detecting mycobacteria in clinical specimens. In this study, this technology was evaluated blindly on 99 extrapulmonary specimens collected from 87 patients. USP-processed specimens were submitted to smear microscopy for detection of acid-fast bacilli (AFB), culture, and two PCR tests targeting devR (Rv3133c) and IS6110 gene sequences. On the basis of clinical characteristics, histology and cytology, conventional microbiology results, and response to antitubercular therapy, 68 patients were diagnosed with tuberculosis. Although USP smear and culture were significantly superior to conventional microbiology, which was not optimized (P < 0.0001), these approaches fell short of PCR tests (P < 0.0001). The low yields by smear and culture are attributed to the paucibacillary load in the specimens. The highest sensitivity in PCR was achieved when devR and IS6110 test results were combined; the sensitivity and specificity values were 83 and 93.8%, 87.5 and 100%, and 66.7 and 75%, respectively, in pleural fluid, needle-biopsied pleural tissue, and lymph node specimens. In conclusion, the application of USP technology, together with clinicopathological characteristics, promises to improve the accuracy and confidence of extrapulmonary tuberculosis diagnosis.
Direct and reverse pollen-mediated gene flow between GM rice and red rice weed

Several studies have reported transgenic rice transferring transgenes to red rice weed. However, gene flow also occurs in the opposite direction resulting in transgenic seeds that have incorporated the traits of wild red rice. We quantified this reverse flow being higher than the direct gene flow, nevertheless transgenic seeds carrying wild genes would remain in the spike and therefore most of it would be removed at harvesting. This phenomenon must be considered in fields used for elite seed production and in developing countries where there is a higher risk of GM red rice weed infestation increasing from year to year.
Genetic Diversity and Molecular Evolution of a Violaxanthin De-epoxidase Gene in Maize

Violaxanthin de-epoxidase (VDE) has a critical role in the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway, which is involved in protecting the photosynthesis apparatus from damage caused by excessive light. Here, a VDE gene in maize, ZmVDE1, was cloned and shown to have functional domains in common with the gramineous VDE protein. Candidate gene association analysis indicated that no polymorphic sites in ZmVDE1 were significant association with any of the examined carotenoid-related traits at P = 0.05 in an association panel containing 155 maize inbred lines. Nucleotide diversity analysis of VDE1 in maize and teosinte indicated that its exon had less genetic variation, consistent with the conserved function of VDE1 in plants. In addition, dramatically reduced nucleotide diversity, fewer haplotypes and a significantly negative parameter deviation for Tajima’s D test of ZmVDE1 in maize and teosinte suggested that a potential selective force had acted across the ZmVDE1 locus. We further identified a 4.2 Mb selective sweep with low recombination surrounding the ZmVDE1 locus that resulted in severely reduced nucleotide diversity on chromosome 2. Collectively, natural selection and the conserved domains of ZmVDE1 might show an important role in the xanthophyll cycle of the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway.
Uterine activity during the two hours after placental delivery among low-risk pregnancies: an observational study

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe uterine activity within the first two hours after placental delivery among low-risk pregnant women. Materials and methods: Participants were 17 low-risk pregnant women who had a singleton birth at midwifery birth centers in Japan. Contractile waves of uterine activity were measured by using an external tocodynamometer. Results: Spontaneous uterine contraction frequency during the first two hours after the placental delivery decreased over time (F9, 54 = 19.7, p < 0.001). The mean contraction intervals were 1.9 ± 0.3 min, 2.4 ± 0.9 min, 4.2 ± 0.7 min and 7.9 ± 2.1 min for the second stage, third stage, and the first hour and second hour after placental delivery, respectively. Uterine contraction frequency increased with oxytocin administration and infant suckling; however, an icepack to cool the uterus did not change the contraction waves. No correlations were found between uterine activity and blood loss or pain. Conclusion: Contraction of the myometrium is the primary mechanism for hemostasis. The uterine contraction intervals became prolonged over time, and blood loss did not increase. The findings provide insight into the role of myometrium contraction as a hemostasis mechanism.
Research Paper: Multimedia Software to Help Caregivers Cope

OBJECTIVE This report describes the design and evaluation of a software application to help carers cope when faced with caring problems and emergencies. DESIGN The design process involved users at each stage to ensure the content of the software application was appropriate, and the research team carefully considered the requirements of disabled and elderly users. MEASUREMENTS Focus group discussions and individual interviews were conducted in five European countries to ascertain the needs of caregivers in this area. The findings were used to design a three-part multimedia software application to help family caregivers prepare to cope with sudden, unexpected, and difficult situations that may arise during their time as a caregiver. This prototype then was evaluated via user trials and usability questionnaires to consider the usability and acceptance of the application and any changes that may be required. RESULTS User acceptance of the software application was high, and the key features of usability such as content, appearance, and navigation were highly rated. In general, comments were positive and enthusiastic regarding the content of the software application and relevance to the caring situation. CONCLUSION The software application has the potential to offer information and support to those who are caring for the elderly and disabled at home and to help them prepare for a crisis.
The Relative Advantage of Electronic Channels: A Multidimensional View

The Internet has the potential to fundamentally change the structure of marketing channels, but only if consumers choose to adopt electronic channels. Thus, this paper aims to develop a more nuanced understanding of consumer channel choices. Specifically, it contends that it is important to examine consumers' intent to adopt electronic channels, not as a monolithic decision, but as a choice they make at each of four stages in the purchase process: requirements determination, vendor selection, purchase, and after-sales service. Innovation diffusion theory suggests that consumers make adoption decisions based on their perceptions of the relative advantage of the innovation. The relative advantage of electronic channels is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct involving a cumulative assessment of the perceived relative merits of channels on three dimensions: convenience, trust, and efficacy of information acquisition. Combining the multidimensional nature of relative advantage with the multistage purchase process, the central assertion, and intended contribution, of this paper is to show that the relative advantage of electronic channels, and the influence of each dimension of relative advantage on the adoption of electronic channels, will vary across the different stages of the purchase process. Survey data were collected from faculty and staff at a large university about their intention to use the web for auto insurance transactions. The results provide support for the multidimensional nature of relative advantage, although the emergent factors do not align neatly with the hypothesized dimensions (convenience, trust, and efficacy of information acquisition) or stages. Results of the study support three conclusions. First, the dimensions along which consumers assess relative advantage blend hypothesized dimensions such as trust and convenience with stages of the purchase process. Second, consumers consider the relative advantage of channels at two distinct stages of the purchase process: gathering information and executing the transaction. Third, different dimensions of relative advantage are critical in predicting consumer channel choice at each stage.
Infiltration of F98 glioma cells in Fischer rat brain is temporary stimulated by radiation

Abstract Purpose: Irradiation of brain stimulates the expression of inflammatory mediators, some of which can modify the ability of cancer cells to infiltrate the brain. In the present study, the time window during which this stimulation occurs was determined. Materials and methods: Brain of Fischer rat was irradiated (15 Gy) and expression of pro-inflammatory mediators IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α was measured from 4 h to 20 days post-irradiation. Level of the matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) which can favor cancer cell infiltration were also measured. The F98 glioma cells were implanted either during (4 h post-irradiation) or after (10 days post-irradiation) the pro-inflammatory phase. Infiltration distance of F98 cells in brain parenchyma and the median survival time of the animals were determined. Results: Expression of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α was significantly increased in the irradiated brains with a peak at 4 h post-irradiation. Implantation of F98 glioma cells 4 h post-irradiation reduced the median survival time of Fischer rats to 18 days, compared to 25 days when the F98 were implanted in non-irradiated brain. Irradiation of the brain increased the distance of infiltration of F98 cells and was associated with increased levels of MMP-2 and PGE2. Conversely, F98 cells implanted 10 days post-irradiation have infiltrated the brain over a shorter distance and the median survival time of rats was increased to 35 days. Conclusions: Cancer recurrence is frequently observed in GBM patients. A better understanding of the inflammatory response observed in irradiated brain could contribute to develop new therapeutic modalities to further increase the efficiency of radiotherapy.