Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling of Squat Structural Walls Controlled by Shear

Reinforced concrete squat walls are common in low-rise construction and as wall segments formed by window and door openings in perimeter walls. Existing approaches used to model the lateral force versus deformation responses of wall segments typically assume uncoupled axial/flexural and shear responses. A more comprehensive modeling approach, which incorporates flexure-shear interaction, is implemented, validated, and improved upon using test results. The experimental program consisted of reversed cyclic lateral load testing of heavily instrumented wall segments dominated by shear behavior. Model results indicate that variation in the assumed transverse normal stress or strain distribution produces important response variations. The use of the average experimentally recorded transverse normal strain data or a calibrated analytical expression resulted in better predictions of shear strength and lateral load-displacement behavior, as did incorporating a rotational spring at wall ends to model extension of longitudinal reinforcing bars within the pedestals.
Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma in a coastal region of Haiti: multiplex bead assay detection of immunoglobulin G antibodies that recognize the SAG2A antigen

SUMMARY Toxoplasma gondii is a globally distributed parasitic protozoan that infects most warm-blooded animals. We incorporated a bead coupled with recombinant SAG2A protein into our Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) multiplex bead assay (MBA) panel and used it to determine Toxoplasma infection rates in two studies in Haiti. In a longitudinal cohort study of children aged 0–11 years, the infection rate varied with age reaching a maximum of 0·131 infections/year in children aged 3 years [95% confidence interval (CI) 0·065–0·204]. The median time to seroconversion was estimated to be 9·7 years (95% CI 7·6–∞). In a cross-sectional, community-wide survey of residents of all ages, we determined an overall seroprevalence of 28·2%. The seroprevalence age curve from the cross-sectional study also suggested that the force of infection varied with age and peaked at 0·057 infections/year (95% CI 0·033–0·080) at age 2·6 years. Integration of the Toxoplasma MBA into NTD surveys may allow for better estimates of the potential burden of congenital toxoplasmosis in underserved regions.
Differential Effects of Palmitoylethanolamide against Amyloid-β Induced Toxicity in Cortical Neuronal and Astrocytic Primary Cultures from Wild-Type and 3xTg-AD Mice.

BACKGROUND Considering the heterogeneity of pathological changes occurring in Alzheimer's disease (AD), a therapeutic approach aimed both to neuroprotection and to neuroinflammation reduction may prove effective. Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) has attracted attention for its anti-inflammatory/neuroprotective properties observed in AD animal models. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS We evaluated the protective role of PEA against amyloid-β₄₂ (Aβ₄₂) toxicity on cell viability and glutamatergic transmission in primary cultures of cerebral cortex neurons and astrocytes from the triple-transgenic murine model of AD (3xTg-AD) and their wild-type littermates (non-Tg) mice. RESULTS Aβ₄₂ (0.5 μM; 24 h) affects the cell viability in cultured cortical neurons and astrocytes from non-Tg mice, but not in those from 3xTg-AD mice. These effects were counteracted by the pretreatment with PEA (0.1 μM). Basal glutamate levels in cultured neurons and astrocytes from 3xTg-AD mice were lower than those observed in cultured cells from non-Tg mice. Aβ₄₂-exposure reduced and increased glutamate levels in non-Tg mouse cortical neurons and astrocytes, respectively. These effects were counteracted by the pretreatment with PEA. By itself, PEA did not affect cell viability and glutamate levels in cultured cortical neurons and astrocytes from non-Tg or 3xTg-AD mice. CONCLUSION The exposure to Aβ₄₂ induced toxic effects on cultured cortical neurons and astrocytes from non-Tg mice, but not in those from 3xTg-AD mice. Furthermore, PEA exerts differential effects against Aβ₄₂-induced toxicity in primary cultures of cortical neurons and astrocytes from non-Tg and 3xTg-AD mice. In particular, PEA displays protective properties in non-Tg but not in 3xTg-AD mouse neuronal cultured cells overexpressing Aβ.
Reducing peripheral nerve stimulation due to gradient switching using an additional uniform field coil

This study shows that larger rates of change of gradient with time (dG/dt) can be achieved at the threshold for peripheral nerve stimulation by applying a uniform concomitant field varying synchronously with a transverse field gradient and that this increase may be achieved without significant reduction of the spatial extent of the region over which imaging can be carried out. Realization of similar benefits through application of a uniform, z‐directed field varying synchronously with an axial gradient is also demonstrated. The design and construction of transverse and axial coil arrangements is described, along with the results of volunteer studies that were carried out on 20 subjects, with the subjects positioned with four different regions (head, heart, hips, and knees) centered in the coils. These experiments were carried out at zero‐field on a prototype system in which the coils were not actively shielded. The uniform concomitant field coil was not torque balanced. The increase in the rate of change of gradient at the threshold for peripheral nerve stimulation that could be achieved by the addition of the uniform field depends on body position and was larger for the transverse coils (head = × 1.9 ± 0.6; heart = × 0.9 ± 0.3; hips = × 1.4 ± 0.4; knees = × 1.5 ± 0.4) than for the axial coils (head = × 1.5 ± 0.6; heart = × 0.8 ± 0.3; hips = × 1.3 ± 0.4; knees = × 1.1 ± 0.3). Magn Reson Med, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Supervisory Feedback and Newcomer Accommodation

This study investigates the effects of positive and negative supervisory feedback on newcomer accommod ation. Survey data was collected from 181 newly hired coll ectors in 5 National Tax Administration (NTA) in Ta iwan, and hierarchical regression was utilized to test the hy potheses. The results suggest that positive feedba ck serves the uncertainty reduction and competence creating funct ions to increase newcomers’ role clarity and perfor mance proficiency. It also serves as a social support fu nction to improve newcomers’ feelings of acceptance by the supervisor. In contrast, negative feedback appears to have dysf unctional impact on newcomer accommodation. The st udy findings provide some managerially actionable implications adirections for further research.
Perception of laypersons and dental professionals and students as regards the aesthetic impact of gingival plastic surgery.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the degree of perception of laypersons, professionals, and dental students, regarding the aesthetic appearance of the smile in cases of gingival plastic surgery of the maxilla for correction of a gingival smile, by examining alterations in photographs. MATERIALS/METHODS Alterations were made to an extraoral front-view-photograph of a gingival smile in normal occlusion, by gingival recontouring of the maxilla, simulating a gingival plastic surgery procedure to diminish gingival exposure. For this purpose, specific image-manipulation program (Adobe-Photoshop-Software-CS3) was used. Images were printed on photographic-paper, attached to questionnaire, distributed among laypersons, professionals, and dental students to evaluate degree of aesthetics (n = 150). To evaluate degree of aesthetics, an attractiveness scale was used, with 0 representing hardly attractive, 5 for attractive, and 10 for very attractive. Differences between examiners were examined by Mann-Whitney test. All the statistics were performed with a confidence level of 95 per cent. RESULTS Both dental professionals and students and laypersons were capable of identifying alterations resulting from gingival plastic surgery. In all evaluated groups, they demonstrated that large gingival extension does not always affect aesthetic appearance of the smile, and maxillary incisors not being much visualized is characterized as hardly attractive, with statistically lower scores being attributed (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS According to aesthetic parameters, the presence of the gingiva is important in the composition of the smile, however, only when exposed to small extent.
Neurobehavioral side effects of corticosteroids during active treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children are age‐dependent: Report from Dana‐Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium Protocol 00‐01

Although corticosteroids remain a mainstay of treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), they can cause troublesome neurobehavioral changes during active treatment, especially in young children. We evaluated acute neurobehavioral side effects of corticosteroid therapy in preschool versus school‐age children by obtaining structured reports weekly for 1 month.
Scientific risk communication about controversial issues influences public perceptions of scientists' political orientations and credibility

Many scientists communicate with the public about risks associated with scientific issues, but such communication may have unintended consequences for how the public views the political orientations and the credibility of the communicating scientist. We explore this possibility using an experiment with a nationally representative sample of Americans in the fall of 2015. We find that risk communication on controversial scientific issues sometimes influences perceptions of the political orientations and credibility of the communicating scientist when the scientist addresses the risks of issues associated with conservative or liberal groups. This relationship is moderated by participant political ideology, with liberals adjusting their perceptions of the scientists' political beliefs more substantially when the scientist addressed the risks of marijuana use when compared with other issues. Conservatives' political perceptions were less impacted by the issue context of the scientific risk communication but indirectly influenced credibility perceptions. Our results support a contextual model of audience interpretation of scientific risk communication. Scientists should be cognizant that audience members may make inferences about the communicating scientist's political orientations and credibility when they engage in risk communication efforts about controversial issues.
Influence of a 12.8-km military load carriage activity on lower limb gait mechanics and muscle activity

Abstract The high stress fracture occurrence in military populations has been associated with frequent load carriage activities. This study aimed to assess the influence of load carriage and of completing a load carriage training activity on gait characteristics. Thirty-two Royal Marine recruits completed a 12.8-km load carriage activity as part of their military training. Data were collected during walking in military boots, pre and post-activity, with and without the additional load (35.5 kg). Ground contact time, lower limb sagittal plane kinematics and kinetics, and electromyographic variables were obtained for each condition. When carrying load, there was increased ground contact time, increased joint flexion and joint moments, and increased plantar flexor and knee extensor muscle activity. Post-activity, there were no changes to kinematic variables, knee extensor moments were reduced, and there was evidence of plantar flexor muscle fatigue. The observed gait changes may be associated with stress fracture development. Practitioner Summary: This study identified gait changes due to load carriage and after a military load carriage training activity. Such activities are associated with lower limb stress fractures. A pre–post study design was used. Gait mechanics changed to a greater extent when carrying load, than after completion of the activity when assessed without load.
Concurrent Web-Programming in CLP(WEB)

Recent research has placed emphasis on the need for support for concurrency in the context of programming for the World Wide Web (W3). Frameworks like WebL, LogicWeb and Jinny make concurrency a key component of their W3 support. In this paper, we analyze the concurrent capabilities of CLP(WEB) (Constraint Logic Programming for the Web), a W3-oriented logic-based concurrent framework. CLP(WEB) offers two forms of concurrency, OR-concurrency and AND-concurrency. We illustrate how these forms of concurrency have been applied to tackle problems arising in W3 programming. We also show how the concurrent features proposed in other W3 programming frameworks are subsumed by CLP(WEB).
Thermogravimetric and Kinetics of Thermal Degradation of Powdered Laboratory Examination Gloves: 2. Analysis of Isotherm and Thermal Scan Traces from 307-455⁰C

The kinetics of pyrolysis of powdered laboratory safety examination gloves (PLEG) by the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was studied and the corresponding parameters were evaluated. Original Research Article Hamidi et al.; BJAST, 6(4): 316-334, 2015; Article no.BJAST. 2015.091 317 The goal was to look for approaches to save the condensed energy within the PLEG wastes in order to reduce the environmental pollution caused by an ever increasing amount of laboratory safety examination gloves (LEG) in the landfills. The study was conducted in the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences at South Carolina State University (SCSU), Orangeburg, SC, USA, during the spring and summer of 2014. Twelve TGA experiments were performed on twelve samples of PLEG under three distinct conditions. From the thermal scans and isotherms, the highest rate of weight loss, the temperature at the maximum weight loss, the apparent order of reaction (wlo), the apparent rate constant (k) and the apparent activation energy of weight loss (Ea) were estimated. The experimental results confirmed keeping the PLEG in temperatures near to 340°C for a period of 30 min resulted in production of new materials with more thermal stability than the original PLEG.
Expression of the soxR Gene ofPseudomonas aeruginosa Is Inducible during Infection of Burn Wounds in Mice and Is Required To Cause Efficient Bacteremia

ABSTRACT Burn wounds are prone to infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is an opportunistic pathogen causing various human diseases. During infection, the bacterium senses environmental changes and regulates the expression of genes appropriate for survival. A purine-auxotrophic mutant of P. aeruginosa was unable to replicate efficiently on burn wounds, suggesting that burn wounds are purine-deficient environments. An in vivo expression technology based on purEK gene expression was applied to the burned mouse infection model to isolate P. aeruginosa genes that are specifically induced during infection. Four such in vivo-inducible (ivi) genetic loci were identified, including the gene for a superoxide response regulator (soxR), the gene for a malate synthase G homologue (glcG), an antisense transcript of a putative regulator responding to copper (copR), and an uncharacterized genetic locus. SoxR of Escherichia coli is known to regulate genes involved in protecting the bacterium against oxidative stress. The expression of soxR was proven to be highly inducible during the infection of burned mice and also inducible by treatment with paraquat, which is a redox-cycling reagent generating intracellular superoxide. The SoxR protein functions as an autorepressor in the absence of paraquat, whereas in the presence of paraquat, this autorepression is diminished. Furthermore, asoxR null mutant was shown to be much more sensitive than wild-type P. aeruginosa to macrophage-mediated killing. In support of this observation, a soxR null mutant exhibited a significant delay in causing systemic infections in the burned mice. Since most mortality in burn patients is caused by systemic infection, the defect in the ability to cause efficient bacteremia in burned mice suggests an important role of the soxR gene in the infection of burn wounds.
Classification, Identification, and Clinical Significance of Proteus, Providencia, and Morganella

SUMMARY This review presents the current taxonomy of the genera Proteus, Providencia, and Morganella, along with the current methods for the identification of each species within the three genera, incorporating both conventional biochemical and commercial methods. While all of these organisms are ubiquitous in the environment, individual case reports and nosocomial outbreak reports that demonstrate their ability to cause major infectious disease problems are presented. Lastly, anticipated antimicrobial susceptibility patterns are reviewed. Many of these organisms are easily controlled, but the advent of newer and more powerful antimicrobial agents has led to some problems of which laboratorians need to be aware.
AlGaAs Photovoltaics for Indoor Energy Harvesting in mm-Scale Wireless Sensor Nodes

Indoor photovoltaic energy harvesting is a promising candidate to power millimeter (mm)-scale systems. The theoretical efficiency and electrical performance of photovoltaics under typical indoor lighting conditions are analyzed. Commercial crystalline Si and fabricated GaAs and Al0.2Ga0. 8As photovoltaic cells were experimentally measured under simulated AM 1.5 solar irradiation and indoor illumination conditions using a white phosphor light-emitting diode to study the effects of input spectra and illuminance on performance. The Al0.2Ga0. 8As cells demonstrated the highest performance with a power conversion efficiency of 21%, with open-circuit voltages >0.65 V under low lighting conditions. The GaAs and Al0.2Ga0. 8As cells each provide a power density of ~100 nW/mm2 or more at 250 lx, sufficient for the perpetual operation of present-day low-power mm-scale wireless sensor nodes.
Dissociated Mechanisms of Extracting Perceptual Information into Visual Working Memory

Background The processing mechanisms of visual working memory (VWM) have been extensively explored in the recent decade. However, how the perceptual information is extracted into VWM remains largely unclear. The current study investigated this issue by testing whether the perceptual information was extracted into VWM via an integrated-object manner so that all the irrelevant information would be extracted (object hypothesis), or via a feature-based manner so that only the target-relevant information would be extracted (feature hypothesis), or via an analogous processing manner as that in visual perception (analogy hypothesis). Methodology/Principal Findings High-discriminable information which is processed at the parallel stage of visual perception and fine-grained information which is processed via focal attention were selected as the representatives of perceptual information. The analogy hypothesis predicted that whereas high-discriminable information is extracted into VWM automatically, fine-grained information will be extracted only if it is task-relevant. By manipulating the information type of the irrelevant dimension in a change-detection task, we found that the performance was affected and the ERP component N270 was enhanced if a change between the probe and the memorized stimulus consisted of irrelevant high-discriminable information, but not if it consisted of irrelevant fine-grained information. Conclusions/Significance We conclude that dissociated extraction mechanisms exist in VWM for information resolved via dissociated processes in visual perception (at least for the information tested in the current study), supporting the analogy hypothesis.
The Grey Mouse Lemur Uses Season-Dependent Fat or Protein Sparing Strategies to Face Chronic Food Restriction

During moderate calorie restriction (CR) the heterotherm Microcebus murinus is able to maintain a stable energy balance whatever the season, even if only wintering animals enter into torpor. To understand its energy saving strategies to respond to food shortages, we assessed protein and energy metabolisms associated with wintering torpor expression or summering torpor avoidance. We investigated body composition, whole body protein turnover, and daily energy expenditure (DEE), during a graded (40 and 80%) 35-day CR in short-days (winter; SD40 and SD80, respectively) and long-days (summer; LD40 and LD80, respectively) acclimated animals. LD40 animals showed no change in fat mass (FM) but a 12% fat free mass (FFM) reduction. Protein balance being positive after CR, the FFM loss was early and rapid. The 25% DEE reduction, in LD40 group was mainly explained by FFM changes. LD80 animals showed a steady body mass loss and were excluded from the CR trial at day 22, reaching a survival-threatened body mass. No data were available for this group. SD40 animals significantly decreased their FM level by 21%, but maintained FFM. Protein sparing was achieved through a 35 and 39% decrease in protein synthesis and catabolism (protein turnover), respectively, overall maintaining nitrogen balance. The 21% reduction in energy requirement was explained by the 30% nitrogen flux drop but also by torpor as DEE FFM-adjusted remained 13% lower compared to ad-libitum. SD80 animals were unable to maintain energy and nitrogen balances, losing both FM and FFM. Thus summering mouse lemurs equilibrate energy balance by a rapid loss of active metabolic mass without using torpor, whereas wintering animals spare protein and energy through increased torpor expression. Both strategies have direct fitness implication: 1) to maintain activities at a lower body size during the mating season and 2) to preserve an optimal wintering muscle mass and function.
Stroke Rehabilitation at Home: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward

The modern hospital evolved from a place to care for the sick staffed by members of religious orders to a symbol of rationality and progress fostering medical innovation, professional development, science, research, and training.1 As hospitalization grew to be the norm for seriously ill patients, there was also the recognition that not all care had to be institutionalized, and in the 1960s, a practice of offering hospital care at home2 for the terminally or chronically ill emerged. By the 1990s, the hospital-at-home became an attractive option in response to demand for acute-care hospital beds.3 In 1997, hospital-at-home was tested for acute stroke patients in Italy.4 Published in 2004, 120 patients were randomized from the emergency department to be managed at home or to be managed in the hospital as usual. The results showed that functional and neurological outcomes improved similarly in both groups, but patients managed at home had lower depression scores, fewer complications, and were more likely still be at home at 6 months. With the development of effective therapies for acute stroke, hospital admission was considered best practice and stroke unit care was shown to be superior to other models of care.5,6 The hospital-at-home approach changed from a focus on avoiding hospitalization to a focus on early discharge from acute care but with support for on-going recovery by providing rehabilitation and other services in a community setting.7 Home rehabilitation for stroke can now be considered under 3 broad rubrics: (1) rehabilitation at home to replace acute care—the early supported discharge (ESD) model; (2) rehabilitation at home to replace institutional rehabilitation; and (3) home exercise to prevent deterioration and promote health through physical activity. The aim of this review is to summarize what lessons have been learned from the many well-designed …