Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Micro and nanometric wear evaluation of metal discs used on determination of biodiesel fuel lubricity

The contact of diesel fuel with engine subsystems demands a good wear resistance. Lubricity is an important feature for integrity of injection system and the sulphur composites are primarily responsible for lubrication of the injector nozzle. Biodiesel is responsible for partially restoring the lubricity of diesel fuel that presents low levels of sulphur composites and, furthermore, it causes less pollution than diesel fuel. The lubricity is measured through the wear scar diameter following the ASTM D 975 standards. However, the friction and wear with light loads of micro/nanocomponents are highly dependent on surface interactions that can be evaluated by microscopy techniques. This study aimed to measure and to analyze the biodiesel lubricity and their blends (B5, B20) with diesel by observing the wear scars of discs using the scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and micro roughness techniques. The fuels performance was evaluated using HFRR tribometer. The tests conditions were based on standard ADTM D-6079-04. The coefficient of friction was measure during the test. After the test, the worn ball and disc were analyzed by SEM, AFM and profilometer. The results showed that the addition of biodiesel in diesel improve the tribological performance of fuel. Also, the just WSD value is not sufficient to evaluate the lubrication ability of a fuel. Analysis of the worn disc surfaces proved to be compatible with WSD number and also more sensitive to these kinds of fuels, showing mainly the form and intensity of the wear.
Male homosexuality and maternal immune responsivity to the Y-linked protein NLGN4Y

Significance Gay men have, on average, a greater number of older brothers than do heterosexual men, a well-known finding within sexual science. This finding has been termed the fraternal birth order effect. Strong scientific interest in sexual orientation exists because it is a fundamental human characteristic, and because its origins are often the focal point of considerable social controversy. Our study is a major advance in understanding the origins of sexual orientation in men by providing support for a theorized but previously unexamined biological mechanism—a maternal immune response to a protein important in male fetal brain development—and by beginning to explain one of the most reliable correlates of male homosexuality: older brothers. We conducted a direct test of an immunological explanation of the finding that gay men have a greater number of older brothers than do heterosexual men. This explanation posits that some mothers develop antibodies against a Y-linked protein important in male brain development, and that this effect becomes increasingly likely with each male gestation, altering brain structures underlying sexual orientation in their later-born sons. Immune assays targeting two Y-linked proteins important in brain development—protocadherin 11 Y-linked (PCDH11Y) and neuroligin 4 Y-linked (NLGN4Y; isoforms 1 and 2)—were developed. Plasma from mothers of sons, about half of whom had a gay son, along with additional controls (women with no sons, men) was analyzed for male protein-specific antibodies. Results indicated women had significantly higher anti-NLGN4Y levels than men. In addition, after statistically controlling for number of pregnancies, mothers of gay sons, particularly those with older brothers, had significantly higher anti-NLGN4Y levels than did the control samples of women, including mothers of heterosexual sons. The results suggest an association between a maternal immune response to NLGN4Y and subsequent sexual orientation in male offspring.
Work design as antecedent of knowledge sharing behavior

This study examines work design as an antecedent for employees’ Knowledge Sharing Behavior (KSB). As intraorganizational knowledge sharing has a positive impact on organizational performance and innovativeness (Wijk, Jansen & Lyles, 2008), managers must find ways to encourage voluntary knowledge sharing of employees. Work design as HR practice can encourage KSB (Cabrera & Cabrera, 2005). The dimensions task, knowledge and social characteristics are hypothesized to have a positive influence on KSB in this study. Organizational context is theorized to interact with work design as additional antecedent. 384 employed students of the Berlin School of Economics and 184 company data sets of partnering companies could be obtained. Using multiple regression analysis, a model of work characteristics as antecedent of KSB was built. It accounts for 24 % of observed variance. The results indicate that employees working in jobs with enriched task and knowledge characteristics show a larger KSB. In the complex field of numerous impacting elements on individual, team, organizational and contextual factors, the findings underline the importance of work design as antecedent of KSB. High job autonomy and task variety, next to others, must thus be ensured in the design of work. Further implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Application to a compacted soil of a Cam Clay model extended to unsaturated conditions

This paper presents an interpretation of experimental results obtained at the Department of Geotechnical Engineering of the Universita di Napoli Federico II. The results are part of an extensive program carried out to investigate the effects of partial saturation on the volumetric behaviour and on the initial shear stiffness of a compacted silt. Tests were performed using two suction-controlled devices, a triaxial cell and a Resonant Column Torsional Shear (RCTS) cell. The compatibility of experimental data with a Bishop Stress Model (BSM) is discussed in the paper. The BSM permits highlighting of the two main effects of suction on soil behaviour: the increase of the average stress acting on the soil skeleton and the hardening—cementing of the soil packing. Hydraulic hysteresis is included in the definition of the water retention curve so that its effects, such as the irreversible component of volume change recorded during drying paths, are automatically incorporated in the predictions of the model.
Comprehensive life cycle support for access rules in information systems: the CEOSIS project

The definition and management of access rules (e.g. to control access to business documents and business functions) is a fundamental task in any enterprise information system (EIS). While there exists considerable work on how to specify and represent access rules, only little research has been spent on access rule changes. Examples include the evolution of organisational models with need for subsequent adaptation of related access rules as well as direct access rule modifications (e.g. to state a previously defined rule more precisely). This paper presents a comprehensive change framework for the controlled evolution of role-based access rules in EIS. First, we consider changes of organisational models and elaborate how they affect existing access rules. Second, we define change operations which enable direct adaptations of access rules. In the latter context, we define the formal semantics of access rule changes based on operator trees. Particularly, this enables their unambiguous application, i.e. we can precisely determine which effects are caused by respective rule changes. This is important, for example, to be able to efficiently and correctly adapt user worklists in process-aware information systems. Altogether this paper contributes to comprehensive life cycle support for access rules in (adaptive) EIS.
Cognitive adaptation and mental health: A motivational analysis

The present study tested a motivational model where the beneficial impact that processes of cognitive adaptation have on mental health takes place through self-determined motivation. The model proposes that the components of cognitive adaptation theory (positive self-perceptions, perceptions of control, and optimism) foster a self-determined motivation. In turn, self-determined motivation predicts positive indices of mental health. In addition, the model posits that the beneficial role of cognitive adaptation on mental health is mediated by motivational processes. The model was tested using a 1-year prospective design with a random sample from the general population. Results from structural equation modelling analysis provided empirical support for the proposed model. Results are discussed with regards to Taylor’s (1983) cognitive adaptation theory, self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1991), and the Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation (Vallerand, 1997). Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. When individuals are victims of a chronic illness, one could expect that such an event would challenge their world assumptions that they are invulnerable, that everything has a meaning, and that they are good people. Realizing that these basic assumptions have been shattered could lead one to experience negative mental health such as feeling depressed, anxious, or worthless. This common conception has been challenged by research in the victimization literature, which suggests that individuals undergoing such an event positively distort their self-relevant perceptions, which in turn allows them to successfully adapt to their condition (Taylor, 1983). Although research has documented the positive impact of cognitive adaptation on mental health (Taylor & Brown, 1988), very little is known on the nature of the psychological processes through which it operates. In this article, we present a motivational model of cognitive adaptation in which we
Multiple Map Intersection Detection using Visual Appearance

It is difficult to detect intersections between maps using only geometric information. We propose a novel technique to solve this correspondence problem using a visual similarity matrix. Given sequences of images collected by robots, subsequences of visually similar images are detected. Since every image is time-stamped, we can extract from each robot the portion of the local geometric map that was built when the sequence of images was captured. Using standard scan matching, an alignment of corresponding geometric submaps is determined. The local maps can then be joined into a single global map. Crucially, the algorithm does not depend on the knowledge of relative poses between the robots or mutual observation. A statistical assessment of significance in the visual alignment score of the subsequence of images is used to prevent false triggering of joint map detection. We present results of combining four local maps into a single map over 180m in length traversed, through the detection of the intersections using the proposed algorithm.
AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON GLASS FIBRE REINFORCED HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE WITH SILICAFUME AS ADMIXTURE

High performance concrete (HPC) has been used in various structures all over the world since last two decades. Recently a few infrastructure projects have also seen specific application of high-performance concrete. The development of high performance concrete (HPC) has brought about the essential need for additives both chemical and mineral to improve the performance of concrete. Most of the developments across the work have been supported by continuous improvement of these admixtures. Hence variety of admixtures such as fly ash, rice husk ash, stone dust have been used so for. Also different varieties of fibres have below tried as additions. Hence, an attempt has been made in the present investigation to study the behavior of Glass fibres in High Performance Concrete. To attain the setout objectives of the present investigation, an aggregate binder ratio of 2.0 has been chosen and cement has been replaced partially with Silicafume in four different percentages viz. 0, 10, 20 and 30%. Glass fibres by 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 % to produce High Performance Concrete. Hardened Glass fibre Reinforced High Performance Concrete (GFRHPC) is tested for Compression, split tension and flexural strengths. The results are quite encouraging for use of Glass fibres in producing High Performance Concrete.
Idiosyncratic Patterns of Representational Similarity in Prefrontal Cortex Predict Attentional Performance

The efficiency of finding an object in a crowded environment depends largely on the similarity of nontargets to the search target. Models of attention theorize that the similarity is determined by representations stored within an “attentional template” held in working memory. However, the degree to which the contents of the attentional template are individually unique and where those idiosyncratic representations are encoded in the brain are unknown. We investigated this problem using representational similarity analysis of human fMRI data to measure the common and idiosyncratic representations of famous face morphs during an identity categorization task; data from the categorization task were then used to predict performance on a separate identity search task. We hypothesized that the idiosyncratic categorical representations of the continuous face morphs would predict their distractability when searching for each target identity. The results identified that patterns of activation in the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) as well as in face-selective areas in the ventral temporal cortex were highly correlated with the patterns of behavioral categorization of face morphs and search performance that were common across subjects. However, the individually unique components of the categorization behavior were reliably decoded only in right LPFC. Moreover, the neural pattern in right LPFC successfully predicted idiosyncratic variability in search performance, such that reaction times were longer when distractors had a higher probability of being categorized as the target identity. These results suggest that the prefrontal cortex encodes individually unique components of categorical representations that are also present in attentional templates for target search. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Everyone's perception of the world is uniquely shaped by personal experiences and preferences. Using functional MRI, we show that individual differences in the categorization of face morphs between two identities could be decoded from the prefrontal cortex and the ventral temporal cortex. Moreover, the individually unique representations in prefrontal cortex predicted idiosyncratic variability in attentional performance when looking for each identity in the “crowd” of another morphed face in a separate search task. Our results reveal that the representation of task-related information in prefrontal cortex is individually unique and preserved across categorization and search performance. This demonstrates the possibility of predicting individual behaviors across tasks with patterns of brain activity.
No influence of CO2 on stable isotope analyses of soil waters with off‐axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (OA‐ICOS)

Rationale It was recently shown that the presence of CO2 affects the stable isotope (δ2H and δ18O values) analysis of water vapor via Wavelength‐Scanned Cavity Ring‐Down Spectroscopy. Here, we test how much CO2 is emitted from soil samples and if the CO2 in the headspace influences the isotope analysis with the direct equilibration method by Off‐Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy (OA‐ICOS). Methods The headspace above different amounts of sparkling water was sampled, and its stable isotopic composition (δ2H and δ18O values) and CO2 concentration were measured by direct equilibration and by gas chromatography, respectively. In addition, the headspace above soil samples was analyzed in the same way. Furthermore, the gravimetric water content and the loss on ignition were measured for the soil samples. Results The experiment with the sparkling water showed that CO2 does not influence the stable isotope analysis by OA‐ICOS. CO2 was emitted from the soil samples and correlated with the isotopic fractionation signal, but no causal relationship between the two was determined. Instead, the fractionation signal in pore water isotopes can be explained by soil evaporation and the CO2 can be related to soil moisture and organic matter which both enhance microbial activity. Conclusions We found, despite the high CO2 emissions from soil samples, no need for a post‐correction of the pore water stable isotope analysis results, since there is no relation between CO2 concentrations and the stable isotope results of vapor samples obtained with OA‐ICOS. © 2016 The Authors. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Cognitive consequences of trilingualism

Aims and objectives: The objectives of the present research were to examine the cognitive consequences of trilingualism and explain them relative to the cognitive consequences of bilingualism. Approach: A comparison of cognitive abilities in trilinguals and bilinguals was conducted. In addition, we proposed a cognitive plasticity framework to account for cognitive differences and similarities between trilinguals and bilinguals. Data and analysis: Three aspects of cognition were analyzed: (1) cognitive reserve in older adults, as measured by age of onset of Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment; (2) inhibitory control in children and younger adults, as measured by response times on behavioral Simon and flanker tasks; and (3) memory generalization in infants and toddlers, as measured by accuracy on behavioral deferred imitation tasks. Results were considered within a framework of cognitive plasticity, which took into account several factors that may affect plasticity including the age of learning a third language and the extent to which additional cognitive resources are needed to learn the third language. Findings: A mixed pattern of results was observed. In some cases, such as cognitive reserve in older adults, trilinguals showed larger advantages than did bilinguals. On other measures, for example inhibitory control in children and younger adults, trilinguals were found to exhibit the same advantages as bilinguals. In still other cases, such as memory generalization in infants and toddlers, trilinguals did not demonstrate the advantages seen in bilinguals. Originality: This study is the first comprehensive analysis of how learning a third language affects the cognitive abilities that are modified by bilingual experience, and the first to propose a cognitive plasticity framework that can explain and predict trilingual-bilingual differences. Significance: This research shows that the cognitive consequences of trilingualism are not simply an extension of bilingualism’s effects; rather, trilingualism has distinct consequences, with theoretical implications for our understanding of linguistic and cognitive processes and their plasticity, as well as applied-science implications for using second and third language learning in educational and rehabilitative contexts to foster successful cognitive development and aging.
Effectiveness of a novel topical powder on the treatment of traumatic oral ulcers in orthodontic patients: A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE To determine if 2-DeNT Oral Topical Powder is an effective treatment for traumatic oral ulcers. MATERIALS AND METHODS Of the 46 patients who were randomly allocated, 20 patients from the experimental group and 17 from the placebo control group completed the study. The patients, operators, and evaluators were all blinded. Patients applied the powder twice a day and completed a diary twice a day for 10 days. The diary was used to monitor the size of the lesions and pain levels (using a 10-cm visual analog scale). RESULTS By day 5, the ulcers in the experimental group had reduced in size by approximately 70%; and ulcers in the control group had reduced in size by 56%. The experimental-group ulcers were significantly (P < .05) smaller than the control-group ulcers from day 5 through day 9. Ulcers in the experimental group were completely resolved by day 8, whereas control-group ulcers were still present on day 10. Patients experienced a significant amount of stimulated pain until the night of day 2 in the experimental group and until the night of day 5 in the control group, but group differences in pain were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS The 2DeNT Oral Topical powder was more effective than the placebo powder at accelerating the healing of oral traumatic ulcers.
Waist-to-hip ratio but not body mass index predicts liver cirrhosis in women

Abstract Background: Being overweight can lead to fatty liver and end-stage liver disease. In men, higher body mass index is associated with higher risk of developing liver cirrhosis. The extent of association between overweight and liver cirrhosis in women is not fully elucidated. Aims: This study aimed to investigate the association between overweight and liver cirrhosis in women, taking into account different measures of adipose tissue distribution. Methods: A cohort of 1462 middle-aged women was followed over 40 years. Cases of liver cirrhosis were identified by linkage to Hospital Discharge and Death Certificate registries. The hazard ratios for different anthropometric measures and liver cirrhosis were obtained by Cox proportional hazard regression, using propensity score methods to adjust for important confounders. Results: During 48,062 person-years of follow-up, 11 cases of liver cirrhosis were identified. The incidence rate in women with waist-to-hip ratio ≥ 0.8 was 131.8 (48.1–287.0), compared to 12.0 (3.9–28.1) in women with a lower ratio. A waist-to-hip ratio ≥ 0.8 was associated with an increased risk of liver cirrhosis, the hazard ratio being 5.8 (95% confidence interval 1.6–21.4). No association between body mass index and liver cirrhosis was found and the hazard ratio for body mass index >25 was 1.8 (0.5–5.8). Conclusion: In women, an unfavorable adipose tissue distribution is more important for development of liver cirrhosis than total body fat per se. When assessing the risk for development of liver cirrhosis in women, waist-to-hip ratio is a better predictor than body mass index.