Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural Health Monitoring of a 54-Story Steel-Frame Building Using a Wave Method and Earthquake Records

The variations of identified wave velocities of vertically propagating waves through the structure are investigated for a 54-story steel-frame building in downtown Los Angeles, California, over a period of 19 years since construction (1992–2010), using records of six earthquakes. The set includes all significant earthquakes that shook this building, which produced maximum transient drift ∼0.3% and caused no reported damage. Wave velocity profiles β(z) are identified for the NS, EW, and torsional responses by fitting layered shear beam/torsional shaft models in the recorded responses, by waveform inversion of pulses in impulse response functions. The results suggest variations larger than the estimation error, with a coefficient of variation about 2–4.4%. About 10% permanent reduction of the building stiffness is detected, caused mainly by the Landers and Big Bear earthquake sequence of 28 June 1992, and the Northridge earthquake of 17 January 1994. Permanent changes of comparable magnitude were identified also in the first two apparent modal frequencies, f1;app, and f2;app, which were identified from the peaks of the transfer-function amplitudes.
Accelerated Brain Gray Matter Loss in Fibromyalgia Patients: Premature Aging of the Brain?

Fibromyalgia is an intractable widespread pain disorder that is most frequently diagnosed in women. It has traditionally been classified as either a musculoskeletal disease or a psychological disorder. Accumulating evidence now suggests that fibromyalgia may be associated with CNS dysfunction. In this study, we investigate anatomical changes in the brain associated with fibromyalgia. Using voxel-based morphometric analysis of magnetic resonance brain images, we examined the brains of 10 female fibromyalgia patients and 10 healthy controls. We found that fibromyalgia patients had significantly less total gray matter volume and showed a 3.3 times greater age-associated decrease in gray matter than healthy controls. The longer the individuals had had fibromyalgia, the greater the gray matter loss, with each year of fibromyalgia being equivalent to 9.5 times the loss in normal aging. In addition, fibromyalgia patients demonstrated significantly less gray matter density than healthy controls in several brain regions, including the cingulate, insular and medial frontal cortices, and parahippocampal gyri. The neuroanatomical changes that we see in fibromyalgia patients contribute additional evidence of CNS involvement in fibromyalgia. In particular, fibromyalgia appears to be associated with an acceleration of age-related changes in the very substance of the brain. Moreover, the regions in which we demonstrate objective changes may be functionally linked to core features of the disorder including affective disturbances and chronic widespread pain.
Residual stresses in friction stir welding: numerical simulation and experimental verification

In the present paper the effects of the thermal and mechanical actions on the residual stress field occurring in friction stir welding (FSW) of AA7075-T6 were investigated. Both numerical and experimental analyses were carried out to highlight the metallurgical phenomena and induced residual stresses in FS welded blanks. The welding process was simulated using a continuous rigid-viscoplastic finite element model (FEM) in a single block approach through the software DEFORM-3D TM , Lagrangian implicit code designed for metal forming processes. Then, the temperature histories at each node of the FE model were extracted and transferred to a further FE model of the joint considering an elasto-plastic behavior of the AA7075-T6 material. The map of the residual stress were extrapolated from the numerical model along several directions. Thus the cut-compliance methodology was used to compare the residual stress profiles with those of the numerical model. The numerical-experimental comparisons have shown how the numerical model can be successfully used to predict the residual stress field in FSW joint by considering all the local mechanical action of the tool.
In vivo evidence of structural brain asymmetry in musicians

Certain human talents, such as musical ability, have been associated with left-right differences in brain structure and function. In vivo magnetic resonance morphometry of the brain in musicians was used to measure the anatomical asymmetry of the planum temporale, a brain area containing auditory association cortex and previously shown to be a marker of structural and functional asymmetry. Musicians with perfect pitch revealed stronger leftward planum temporale asymmetry than nonmusicians or musicians without perfect pitch. The results indicate that outstanding musical ability is associated with increased leftward asymmetry of cortex subserving music-related functions.
Modeling and Analysis of Active Benign Worms and Hybrid Benign Worms Containing the Spread of Worms

Worms are a serious and growing threat to network and traditional antivirus technologies do not currently scale to deal with the worm threat. Benign worms, especially active benign worms and hybrid benign worms, become a new active countermeasure. In this paper, we classify active benign worms and hybrid benign worms into three sub types respectively. Based on two-factor worm model, we model each sub type of active benign worms and hybrid benign worms under the circumstance of no time delay and time delay. Finally, we simulate the models and discuss the effect of each type containing the spread of worms based on the results. These models of benign worms lead to a better understanding and prediction of the scale and speed of benign worms countering against the propagation of worms.
Towards Integrating AI Story Controllers and Game Engines: Reconciling World State Representations

Abstract : Recently, many AI researchers working on interactive storytelling systems have turned to off-the-shelf game engines for simulation and visualization of virtual 3D graphical worlds. Integrating AI research into game engines can be difficult due to the fact that game engines typically do not use symbolic or declarative representations of characters, settings, or actions. This is particularly true for interactive storytelling applications that use an AI story controller to subtly manipulate a virtual world in order to bring about a structured narrative experience for the user. In this paper, I describe a general technique for translating between an arbitrary game engine's proprietary and procedural world state representation into a declarative form that can be used by an AI story controller. The work is placed in the context of building a narrative- based training simulation.
Evolutionary principles and their practical application

Evolutionary principles are now routinely incorporated into medicine and agriculture. Examples include the design of treatments that slow the evolution of resistance by weeds, pests, and pathogens, and the design of breeding programs that maximize crop yield or quality. Evolutionary principles are also increasingly incorporated into conservation biology, natural resource management, and environmental science. Examples include the protection of small and isolated populations from inbreeding depression, the identification of key traits involved in adaptation to climate change, the design of harvesting regimes that minimize unwanted life‐history evolution, and the setting of conservation priorities based on populations, species, or communities that harbor the greatest evolutionary diversity and potential. The adoption of evolutionary principles has proceeded somewhat independently in these different fields, even though the underlying fundamental concepts are the same. We explore these fundamental concepts under four main themes: variation, selection, connectivity, and eco‐evolutionary dynamics. Within each theme, we present several key evolutionary principles and illustrate their use in addressing applied problems. We hope that the resulting primer of evolutionary concepts and their practical utility helps to advance a unified multidisciplinary field of applied evolutionary biology.
Evaluating Screening Procedures Across Changes to the Statewide Achievement Test

Several states have changed their statewide achievement tests over the past 5 years. These changes may pose difficulties for educators tasked with identifying students in need of additional support. This study evaluated the stability of decision-making accuracy estimates across changes to the statewide achievement test. We analyzed extant data from a large suburban district in Wisconsin in 2014–2015 (N = 2,774) and 2015–2016 (N = 2,882). We estimated the decision-making accuracy of recommendations from the Measures of Academic Progress for predicting risk on a Common Core State Standards aligned test (2014–2015) and a new test based on updated academic standards (2015–2016) in reading and math. Findings suggest that sensitivity and specificity estimates were relatively stable in math. Changes in the criterion measure were associated with decreased sensitivity when predicting performance in reading. These results provide initial support for educators to continue existing screening practices until test vendors or state educational agencies establish cut-scores for predicting risk on the newer test. Using a lower cut-score to establish risk (increasing sensitivity while decreasing specificity) may be prudent in reading. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.
The visual brain in action

Prologue 1. Introduction: vision from a biological point of view 2. Visual processing in the primate visual cortex 3. 'Cortical blindness' 4. Disorders of spatial perception and the visual control of action 5. Disorders of visual recognition 6. Dissociations between perception and action in normal subjects 7. Attention, consciousness, and the coordination of behaviour 8. Epilogue: twelve years on
Self Quenching Streamer Mode in Quenching Gases Initiated by Alpha Particles

The transition from a proportional to a self quenching streamer mode, as a function of track length and angle, was investigated in a single wire chamber filled with either pure DME or isobutane. The chamber was irradiated with 241Am alpha particles. An investigation of multistreamer events in DME due to alpha particles entering the chamber at 20deg with track length ~ 4 mm gave an estimate of a dead zone, defined as the product of dead length and dead time, to be less than 0.1 mus middot cm. This value is 3 orders of magnitude less than those observed by other groups for noble gases based mixtures. No second streamers were observed with pure isobutane for similar tracks.
Mentoring to Promote Courage and Confidence Among Elementary School Students With Internalizing Problems: A Single-Case Design Pilot Study

ABSTRACT There is a paucity of selective, Tier 2 interventions that educators can implement for students with internalizing problems as part of their schools' Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports. To fill this void, the authors' purpose was to evaluate the efficacy, acceptability, and integrity of a structured school-based mentoring program, the Courage and Confidence Mentor Program (CCMP), for elementary students. A single-case experimental multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the efficacy of the CCMP with 6 students. Visual analysis of the results and single-case effect size estimates revealed that all but 1 of the participants demonstrated noticeable reductions in internalizing problems as measured by teacher-completed direct behavior ratings. Findings were confirmed by other dependent variables gathered from students and teachers. Limitations of the methods and directions for future research involving Tier 2 interventions for elementary students with internalizing problems are discussed.
Stimulus intensity determines experience-dependent modifications in neocortical neuron firing rates

Although subthreshold inputs of neocortical sensory neurons are broadly tuned, the spiking output is more restricted. These subthreshold inputs provide a substrate for stimulus intensity‐dependent changes their spiking output, as well as for experience‐dependent plasticity to alter firing properties. Here we investigated how different stimulus intensities modified the firing output of individual neurons in layer 2/3 of the mouse barrel cortex. Decreasing stimulus intensity over a 30‐fold range lowered the firing rates evoked by principal whisker stimulation and reduced the overall size of the responding ensemble in whisker‐undeprived animals. We then examined how these responses were changed after single‐whisker experience (SWE). After 7 days of SWE, the mean magnitude of response to spared whisker stimulation at the highest stimulus intensity was not altered. However, lower‐intensity whisker stimulation revealed a more than 10‐fold increase in mean firing output compared with control animals. Also, under control conditions, only ~15% of neurons showed any firing at low stimulus intensity, compared with more than 70% of neurons after SWE. However, response changes measured in the immediately surrounding representations were detected only for the highest stimulus intensity. Overall, these data showed that the measurement of experience‐dependent changes in the spike output of neocortical neurons was highly dependent upon stimulus intensity.
Energy efficient radio resource management in a coordinated multi-cell distributed antenna system

As well as the demand for higher data rates goes on, the rising energy costs and environmental concerns have also led researchers to increase energy efficiency in terms of bits-per-Joule. Cooperative communications with low power nodes, switching off under-utilized cells due to low traffic load and energy efficient radio resource management are some of the energy saving methods. It is observed that the conventional energy efficiency expression, which is defined as the ratio of the data rate to the total transmission power, can limit the system throughput significantly. In this paper, we introduce a novel energy efficiency expression which provides a trade-off between sum-rate maximization and total transmission power minimization in the network. A coordinated multi-cell distributed antenna system is considered and two energy efficient radio resource management schemes are investigated; either ports can be switched on and off or their transmission power can be adjusted in order to maximize energy efficiency. It is demonstrated that the proposed expression offers significant increase in data rate while keeping total transmission power low. The proposed and the traditional energy efficiency methods asymptotically converge when tradeoff effect diminishes, i.e., transmission power minimization takes the full priority.
The face of research: Do first impressions based on the facial appearance of scientists affect the selection and evaluation of science communication?

First impressions based on facial appearance alone predict a large number of important social outcomes in areas of interest to the general public, such as politics, justice and economics. The current project aims to expand these findings to science communication, investigating both the impressions that the public forms of a scientist based on their facial appearance, and the impact that these impressions may have on the public’s selection and evaluation of the research conducted by the scientist in question. First, we investigated what social judgement traits predict looking like a “good scientist” (someone who does high-quality research) and an “interesting scientist” (someone whose research people show interest in). Three studies showed that looking competent and moral were positively related to both looking like a good scientist and to interest ratings, whereas looking physically attractive positively predicted being perceived as a scientist with higher interest ratings, but was negatively related to looking like a good scientist. Subsequently, we investigated whether these perceptions translated into real-life consequences. Three studies examined the impact of first impressions on the public’s choice of scientific communications, and found that people were more likely to choose real science news stories to read or watch when they were paired with scientists high on interest judgements. Another three studies looked at whether the appearance of the researcher influenced people’s evaluations of real science news stories . We found that people judged the research to be of higher quality when it was associated with “good” scientists. Our findings illustrate novel insights into the social psychology of science communication, and flag a potential source of bias in the dissemination of scientific findings to the general public, stemming solely from the facial appearance of the scientist.
Rapid crustal accretion and magma assimilation in the Oman-U.A.E. ophiolite: High precision U-Pb zircon geochronology of the gabbroic crust

[1] New high-precision U/Pb zircon geochronology from the Oman-United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) ophiolite provides insight into the timing and duration of magmatism and the tectonic setting during formation of the lower crust. The new data come from a well-preserved and exposed crustal section in the center of the Wadi Tayin massif. Single grain and grain fragment 206Pb/238U dates from upper-level gabbros, tonalites/trondhjemites and gabbroic pegmatites, corrected for initial Th exclusion, range from 112.55 ± 0.21 to 95.50 ± 0.17 Ma, with most data clustered between 96.40 ± 0.17 to 95.50 ± 0.17 Ma. Zircon dates from upper-level gabbros are most consistent with the ophiolite forming at a fast spreading ridge with half-rates of 50–100 km/Ma. Dates from tonalites/trondhjemites and from a gabbroic pegmatite associated with a wehrlite intrusion overlap with dates from adjacent upper-level gabbros, suggesting that any age differences between these three magmatic series are smaller than the analytical uncertainties or intrasample variability in the dates. Three of the dated upper-level gabbros and a single gabbroic pegmatite from the base of the crust have >1 Ma intrasample variability in single grain dates, suggesting assimilation of older crust during the formation or crystallization of the magmas. Whole rock eNd(t) of seven samples, including the upper-level gabbros with variable zircon dates, have tightly clustered initial values ranging from eNd(96 Ma) = 7.59 ± 0.23 to 8.28 ± 0.31. The eNd values are similar to those from other gabbros within the ophiolite, suggesting that any assimilated material had a similar isotopic composition to primitive basaltic magmas. The new dates suggest that the studied section formed at a fast spreading mid-ocean ridge between ∼96.4–95.5 Ma. The large intrasample variability in zircon dates in some samples is unexpected in this setting, and may be related to propagation of a younger ridge into older oceanic lithosphere.
Transient statistics from the lightning strike current flowing along grounding electrode

This paper aims to couple analytical solution of the Pocklington integro-differential equation with stochastic techniques for the statistics of transient current flowing along horizontal grounding electrode. The electrode is excited with a current source representing a lightning strike current. This problem, as it is the case for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) issues, is governed by many uncertain parameters (lightning source profile and location, ground properties, electrode position and length, etc.). The proposed results yield additional statistical information which enable more accurate and efficient design of a grounding systems.
Cadmium Accumulation in Aortas of Smokers

Abstract—Abdominal aortic aneurysm is a smoking-related disorder. Cadmium, inhaled from cigarettes, may accumulate in the aorta and facilitate weakening of the aorta through adverse effects on smooth muscle cell metabolism. Cadmium was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry in infrarenal aortas from 13 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm and from 17 age- and sex-matched patients with normal-diameter abdominal aorta. Total cadmium content was associated with smoking, assessed as pack-years (r =0.54, P =0.004), but was similar in aneurysmal and undilated aortas. The cadmium content (mean±SE) was higher in the media (3.25±0.53 ng/mg dry wt, 7±1.2 &mgr;mol/L) than in the intima or adventitia (1.14±0.24 and 1.87±0.38 ng/mg dry wt, respectively; ANOVA, P <0.005). There was a strong correlation between medial cadmium content and pack-years of smoking (r =0.87, P <0.001). In aortic smooth muscle cells cultured on fibrillar collagen, cadmium inhibited DNA synthesis and collagen synthesis and diminished cell numbers (IC50 2 &mgr;mol/L, 6 &mgr;mol/L, and 6 &mgr;mol/L, respectively), but higher concentrations of cadmium were required for upregulation of metallothionein (EC50 23 &mgr;mol/L). The cadmium content of the aorta increases in direct proportion to the pack-years of cigarettes smoked, with selective accumulation in the medial layer. However, the cadmium content of aneurysmal aortas was not higher than that of nondilated aortas for patients with matched smoking history. In smokers, the level of cadmium accumulation is probably sufficient to impair the viability of cultured smooth muscle cells. Similar mechanisms could underlie the development of degenerative aortic disease in smokers.
Combining Perception and Impressionist Techniques for Nonphotorealistic Visualization of Multidimensional Data

containing strings and numbers into a sequence of one or more images. Values in D represent m attributesA = fA1; : : : ; Amg recorded atn sample pointsei, that is,D = fe1; : : : ; eng andei = fai;1; : : : ; ai;mg; ai;j 2 Aj . A data-feature mapping M(V; ) defines a visual feature Vj 2 V to use to display values fromAj ; it also defines j : Aj ! Vj ; j 2 to map the domain ofAj to the range of displayable values in Vj . Visualization in this framework is the construction of a data-feature mappingM together with a viewer’s interpretation of the images produced by M .
Sex-biased avian host use by arbovirus vectors

Prevalence of arthropod-borne parasites often differs drastically between host sexes. This sex-related disparity may be related to physiological (primarily hormonal) differences that facilitate or suppress replication of the pathogen in host tissues. Alternately, differences in pathogen prevalence between host sexes may be owing to differential exposure to infected vectors. Here, we report on the use of PCR-based assays recognizing bird sex chromosomes to investigate sex-related patterns of avian host use from field-collected female mosquitoes from Florida, USA. Mosquitoes took more bloodmeals from male birds (64.0% of 308 sexed samples) than female birds (36.0%), deviating significantly from a hypothetical 1:1 sex ratio. In addition, male-biased host use was consistent across mosquito species (Culex erraticus (64.4%); Culex nigripalpus (61.0%) and Culiseta melanura (64.9%)). Our findings support the hypothesis that sex-biased exposure to vector-borne pathogens contributes to disparities in parasite/pathogen prevalence between the sexes. While few studies have yet to investigate sex-biased host use by mosquitoes, the methods used here could be applied to a variety of mosquito-borne disease systems, including those that affect health of humans, domestic animals and wildlife. Understanding the mechanisms that drive sex-based disparities in host use may lead to novel strategies for interrupting pathogen/parasite transmission.