Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of Indented Wire Geometry and Concrete Parameters on the Transfer Length in Prestressed Concrete Crossties

A study was conducted to determine the variation in the transfer length of prestressed concrete railroad ties with different indented wire geometries and different concrete properties, including slump and release strength. The study included 12 different reinforcement wire types that are used in concrete railroad ties worldwide.This paper presents the results from transfer length measurements on 96 pretensioned concrete members that were cast in the laboratory. In order to replicate the wire-to-concrete proportions commonly used in prestressed concrete railroad ties, small (3 1/2″ (88.9 mm) × 3 1/2″ (88.9 mm)) prestressed concrete prisms were fabricated and each contained four 5.32-mm-diameter indented wires. A special jacking arrangement was used to ensure that each of the wires was tensioned to the same jacking force.The wires were initially tensioned to 7000 pounds (31.14 kN) each, and the transfer of prestress force into the members was accomplished by a gradual release method replicating the one used in most prestressed concrete crosstie manufacturing plants. The study consisted of two phases. In the first phase, 36 concrete prisms were cast to investigate the effect of different wire indent geometry in a 6-inch (152.4mm) slump concrete mix with 4500 psi (31.03 MPa) release strength.In the second phase, a total of 60 prisms were used to investigate the effect of 4 different concrete parameters with a select group of 5 indented wire types. The second phase included concrete release strengths of 3500 psi (24.13 MPa) and 6000 psi (41.37 MPa), and concrete consistencies (slumps) of 3 (76.2) and 9 inches (228.6 mm). The results have shown that there is a significant variation in transfer lengths for the different indented wires at the same release strength. Additionally, the results show that the transfer lengths decreased significantly with modest increases in the concrete release strength. However, there was no correlation observed between transfer lengths and different concrete slumps for mixes having the same water-to-cementitious (w/c) ratio. For each concrete pour, the splitting tensile strength and modulus of elasticity were measured at the time of prestress transfer. All wire indents were measured according to ASTM A-881 [1] and the results of both phases are presented.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Information seeking, gathering and review : journalism as a case study for the design of search and authoring systems

It is often argued that research into information systems design must consider the complex relationships existing between information activities and the context of work or leisure within which they occur. Recent research has seen an increase in studies and models locating information seeking and use within its wider task context. Less common, though, are studies that extend this focus to the equally important issue of how users manage and manipulate found information in the service of a task. This thesis explores the relationship between writing tasks and information seeking and manipulation, using journalistic writing as a case study, in order to reason about the design of integrated information retrieval and authoring systems. The empirical work begins with a lab-based exploratory study of news-writing which identifies phenomena for further consideration. Drawing on these, an interview study with journalists in a national newspaper newsroom provides a model of how journalists seek, gather and marshal information in the context of what is an uncertain and evolving task. Following this, writing and the way it relates to information behaviour is considered in more abstract terms based on the idea of writing as a design activity (Sharpies, 1996). Drawing on research from design psychology, this perspective forms the basis for a conceptualisation of writing within which findings from the newsroom study and other key information seeking research findings (particularly uncertainty and focus refinement) can be understood and explained. The thesis then draws together its various threads with a set of requirements for integrated information retrieval and authoring systems focussing once again on the task of journalistic writing. A novel experimental information retrieval and authoring system is described based on some of the requirements, and a study of journalists using the system is reported, validating theoretical contributions of the thesis as well as the system's functionality.
Design of irregular LDPC codes for nonparametric channels

In this paper we propose a design-method for irregular LDPC codes in the context of channels, that can not sufficiently be described with the known parametric channel-models. We introduce a very flexible histogram-based channel-model. Furthermore a design-method based on the downhill simplex optimization is explained for the design of irregular LDPC codes in the context of histogram-based channel-models. We also propose an extension for soft-decision based LDPC decoders and explain the simulation of LDPC codes considering histogram-based channels-models. Following results based on a 2-state Markov-model prove the effectiveness of our design-method, the description of the channel and the decoding based on histograms.
N-(3-Chloro-4-fluorophenyl)acetamide

In the title compound, C8H7ClFNO, the dihedral angle between the benzene ring and the acetamide side chain is 5.47 (6)°. An S(6) ring motif is formed via an intramolecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bond. In the crystal, N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the molecules into C(4) chains along [001].
Eurographics Symposium on Geometry Processing 2011 Deformable 3d Shape Registration Based on Local Similarity Transforms

In this paper, a new method for deformable 3D shape registration is proposed. The algorithm computes shape transitions based on local similarity transforms which allows to model not only as-rigid-as-possible deformations but also local and global scale. We formulate an ordinary differential equation (ODE) which describes the transition of a source shape towards a target shape. We assume that both shapes are roughly pre-aligned (e.g., frames of a motion sequence). The ODE consists of two terms. The first one causes the deformation by pulling the source shape points towards corresponding points on the target shape. Initial correspondences are estimated by closest-point search and then refined by an efficient smoothing scheme. The second term regularizes the deformation by drawing the points towards locally defined rest positions. These are given by the optimal similarity transform which matches the initial (undeformed) neighborhood of a source point to its current (deformed) neighborhood. The proposed ODE allows for a very efficient explicit numerical integration. This avoids the repeated solution of large linear systems usually done when solving the registration problem within general-purpose non-linear optimization frameworks. We experimentally validate the proposed method on a variety of real data and perform a comparison with several state-of-the-art approaches.
Multivariate Analysis and Machine Learning in Cerebral Palsy Research

Cerebral palsy (CP), a common pediatric movement disorder, causes the most severe physical disability in children. Early diagnosis in high-risk infants is critical for early intervention and possible early recovery. In recent years, multivariate analytic and machine learning (ML) approaches have been increasingly used in CP research. This paper aims to identify such multivariate studies and provide an overview of this relatively young field. Studies reviewed in this paper have demonstrated that multivariate analytic methods are useful in identification of risk factors, detection of CP, movement assessment for CP prediction, and outcome assessment, and ML approaches have made it possible to automatically identify movement impairments in high-risk infants. In addition, outcome predictors for surgical treatments have been identified by multivariate outcome studies. To make the multivariate and ML approaches useful in clinical settings, further research with large samples is needed to verify and improve these multivariate methods in risk factor identification, CP detection, movement assessment, and outcome evaluation or prediction. As multivariate analysis, ML and data processing technologies advance in the era of Big Data of this century, it is expected that multivariate analysis and ML will play a bigger role in improving the diagnosis and treatment of CP to reduce mortality and morbidity rates, and enhance patient care for children with CP.
Building an Urban Spatial Structure from Urban Land Use Data: An Example Using Automated Recognition of the City Centre

It has been suggested that the method of constructing an urban spatial structure typically follows a forward process from planning and design up to expression, as reflected in both graphic and text descriptions of urban planning. Although unorthodox, the original status structures can be extracted and constructed from an existing urban land-use map. This approach not only provides the methodological foundation for urban spatial structure evolution and allows for a comparative and quantitative analysis between the existing and planned conditions, but also lays a theoretical basis for failure in scientific decision making during the planning phase. This study attempts to achieve this by identifying the city centre (a typical element of the urban spatial structure) from urban land use data. The city centre is a special region consisting of several units with particular spatial information, including geometric attributes, topological attributes, and thematic attributes. In this paper, we develop a methodology to support the delineation of the city centre, considering these factors. First, using commercial land data, we characterise the city centre as units based on a series of indicators, including geometric and thematic attributes, and integrate them into a composite index of “urban centrality”; Second, a graph-based spatial clustering method that considers both topological proximity and attribute similarity is designed and used to identify the city centre. The precise boundary of the city centre is subsequently delimited using a shape reconstruction method based on the cluster results. Finally, we present a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness and practicability of the methodology.
Coping and HIV Infection in African-American Women

ABSTRACT HIV is impacting African-American women at alarming rates. Many of these women are poor and socially disadvantaged, resulting in a combination of stressors that impacts the quality of their lives. This study investigated whether coping style (i.e., problem-focused, emotion-focused) varies as a function of HIV status or stage of HIV-related illness. Secondly, we examined whether the use of a particular style is associated with three areas of functioning among HIV-infected women: general psychological distress, depressive symptomatology, and physical symptomatology. Ninety-nine HIV-infected women and 143 noninfected women completed measures assessing coping styles and functioning. No significant differences emerged in coping styles between the HIV-infected and noninfected women or for the groups when symptomatic women were examined separate from asymptomatic women. Greater emotion-focused coping was associated with less general psychological distress and depression specifically. Problem-focused coping interacted with illness stage to predict all areas of functioning. By identifying effective coping strategies among African-American women with HIV, mental health professionals can design empirical interventions that can help improve quality of life for these women.
Implementation of Secure Software Design and their impact on Application

is associated with the system and it is a big risk for system and result in surplus maintenance cost. It is due to many reasons those are not considered during the stages of System Development Life Cycle (SDLC). During SDLC it may be reduced to minimum level. Millions of dollars waste due to vulnerable application and rescind working. Most of the software are not secure and cause Physical and Financial mutilation. It may not be possible to eliminate vulnerability completely but it might be reduced to the minimum level because it is the ongoing process. A web application using secure design patterns (SDPs) is presented in this paper. Two secure design patterns and their implementation are given. Secure Strategy Design Pattern (SSDP) and Secure Builder Design Pattern (SBDP) are purposed for two different forms SSDP is used for Driver information page and SBDP is used for Route information page. Special codes are used for inquiring whether valid user is using site or not. A class of encryption/decryption technique is added to add security. An encryption/decryption technique named SHA-1 is used. The result shows that SDPs are beneficial to all application developers especially for the developers of critical and sensitive systems. The system suits secure and design pattern makes it simple to understand its functionality. However, any other encryption/decryption techniques may also be applied on it in place of SHA-1. In future we plan to attach this class with other design patterns to make them secure from attackers and eliminate vulnerable points. Many features can be included in web application with the help of different design patterns and can be secured by attaching encryption/decryption class.
A Digitally Testable Capacitance-Insensitive Mixed-Signal Filter

One of the main problems when developing analog filters in VLSI is to achieve high accuracy regarding the cutoff frequency. This is mainly due to the difficulty in obtaining accurate time constants. Testing of such filters is also challenging, in the sense that special equipment is required. Small deviations in the resistor or capacitor values may lead to a very high mismatch between the expected and the achieved cutoff frequency. Although switched-capacitor or active-transistor techniques may produce good results, the cost to use such approaches becomes another limiting factor, and only increases the tester needs. In this work, we present the development of an analog FIR filter, which does not use passive components to tune the cutoff frequency or the quality factor. Instead, the filter coefficients and the input signal are represented in a bit stream fashion, and are digitally processed, thus avoiding the use of expensive analog-to- digital converters. The impact of this filter architecture on test cost and possible design-for-test techniques are discussed in this paper.
Bending Resistance of Short-Chopped Basalt Fiber Hydraulic Concrete and RC Element

According to a series experiment for bending resistance of hydraulic concrete and RC element of mixing short-chopped basalt fiber, the reinforcing effect of bending strength and flexural elastic modulus of short-chopped basalt fiber concrete are analyzed, and increased cracking-resistance loads of short-chopped basalt fiber RC beams is also researched. Experimental results show that bending resistances of short-chopped basalt fiber concrete are increased, short-chopped basalt fiber in concrete is useful to reinforce the bending strength of concrete and cracking loads of RC beams.
The Thrombopoietin Receptor: Structural Basis of Traffic and Activation by Ligand, Mutations, Agonists, and Mutated Calreticulin

A well-functioning hematopoietic system requires a certain robustness and flexibility to maintain appropriate quantities of functional mature blood cells, such as red blood cells and platelets. This review focuses on the cytokine receptor that plays a significant role in thrombopoiesis: the receptor for thrombopoietin (TPO-R; also known as MPL). Here, we survey the work to date to understand how this receptor functions at a molecular level throughout its lifecycle, from traffic to the cell surface, dimerization and binding cognate cytokine via its extracellular domain, through to its subsequent activation of associated Janus kinases and initiation of downstream signaling pathways, as well as the regulation of these processes. Atomic level resolution structures of TPO-R have remained elusive. The identification of disease-causing mutations in the receptor has, however, offered some insight into structure and function relationships, as has artificial means of receptor activation, through TPO mimetics, transmembrane-targeting receptor agonists, and engineering in dimerization domains. More recently, a novel activation mechanism was identified whereby mutated forms of calreticulin form complexes with TPO-R via its extracellular N-glycosylated domain. Such complexes traffic pathologically in the cell and persistently activate JAK2, downstream signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs), and other pathways. This pathologic TPO-R activation is associated with a large fraction of human myeloproliferative neoplasms.
The Detection and Sequencing of a Broad-Host-Range Conjugative IncP-1β Plasmid in an Epidemic Strain of Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. bolletii

Background An extended outbreak of mycobacterial surgical infections occurred in Brazil during 2004–2008. Most infections were caused by a single strain of Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. bolletii, which was characterized by a specific rpoB sequevar and two highly similar pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns differentiated by the presence of a ∼50 kb band. The nature of this band was investigated. Methodology/Principal Findings Genomic sequencing of the prototype outbreak isolate INCQS 00594 using the SOLiD platform demonstrated the presence of a 56,264-bp circular plasmid, designated pMAB01. Identity matrices, genetic distances and phylogeny analyses indicated that pMAB01 belongs to the broad-host-range plasmid subgroup IncP-1β and is highly related to BRA100, pJP4, pAKD33 and pB10. The presence of pMAB01-derived sequences in 41 M. abscessus subsp. bolletii isolates was evaluated using PCR, PFGE and Southern blot hybridization. Sixteen of the 41 isolates showed the presence of the plasmid. The plasmid was visualized as a ∼50-kb band using PFGE and Southern blot hybridization in 12 isolates. The remaining 25 isolates did not exhibit any evidence of this plasmid. The plasmid was successfully transferred to Escherichia coli by conjugation and transformation. Lateral transfer of pMAB01 to the high efficient plasmid transformation strain Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155 could not be demonstrated. Conclusions/Significance The occurrence of a broad-host-range IncP-1β plasmid in mycobacteria is reported for the first time. Thus, genetic exchange could result in the emergence of specific strains that might be better adapted to cause human disease.
Analysis and results for the orthogonality factor in WCDMA downlinks

The presence of multipath leads to a loss of orthogonality between the signals transmitted simultaneously on a WCDMA downlink. We derive general analytical expressions for the orthogonality factor (OF), which quantifies this loss of orthogonality. We show that the orthogonality factor exhibits a significant temporal variation for the three channel profiles suggested in the WCDMA standard, namely, typical urban, rural area, and hilly terrain, which span a wide range of realistic cases. Moreover, its temporal variations and statistics vary significantly from one channel profile to another. Also, while the pulse shape and the number of RAKE fingers has only a marginal impact on the OF's statistics, the granularity in setting the finger positions has a considerable impact. The results of the work can be directly used for evaluation of the system performance of WCDMA cellular systems.
Transdermal Fentanyl as A Front-Line Approach to Moderate-Severe Pain: A meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials

Objective: The safety of transdermal fentanyl (TF) in comparison with slow-release oral morphine (SROM) in moderate-severe pain was assessed. Design: A systematic review of the literature was performed to identify all randomized trials comparing TF and SROM in moderate-severe pain. Overall safety was the primary end point. Trials enrolling both cancer and non-cancer patients were included in the analysis. Heterogeneity was assessed using the Mantel-Haenszel test; a random effects model was used for the pooled analysis. Cumulative and distinctive analyses for cancer and non-cancer pain were performed whenever the outcome was reported in at least two trials. Results: Five trials met the inclusion criteria. A significant advantage of TF was documented for constipation, laxative use, and urinary retention. TF was preferred by cancer and non-cancer patients. A difference in favour of SROM was documented for nausea, diarrhea, and sweating in cancer and non-cancer patients. No differences were observed for the other items considered. Conclusions: TF and SROM seem to have a different side effects profile, and TF seems to be preferred by patients. The hierarchical approach traditionally recommended by the main scientific societies (oral morphine and then TF) could be replaced by a front-line approach based on patients’ characteristics and needs.
Does Publication Bias Inflate the Apparent Efficacy of Psychological Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of US National Institutes of Health-Funded Trials

Background The efficacy of antidepressant medication has been shown empirically to be overestimated due to publication bias, but this has only been inferred statistically with regard to psychological treatment for depression. We assessed directly the extent of study publication bias in trials examining the efficacy of psychological treatment for depression. Methods and Findings We identified US National Institutes of Health grants awarded to fund randomized clinical trials comparing psychological treatment to control conditions or other treatments in patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder for the period 1972–2008, and we determined whether those grants led to publications. For studies that were not published, data were requested from investigators and included in the meta-analyses. Thirteen (23.6%) of the 55 funded grants that began trials did not result in publications, and two others never started. Among comparisons to control conditions, adding unpublished studies (Hedges’ g = 0.20; CI95% -0.11~0.51; k = 6) to published studies (g = 0.52; 0.37~0.68; k = 20) reduced the psychotherapy effect size point estimate (g = 0.39; 0.08~0.70) by 25%. Moreover, these findings may overestimate the "true" effect of psychological treatment for depression as outcome reporting bias could not be examined quantitatively. Conclusion The efficacy of psychological interventions for depression has been overestimated in the published literature, just as it has been for pharmacotherapy. Both are efficacious but not to the extent that the published literature would suggest. Funding agencies and journals should archive both original protocols and raw data from treatment trials to allow the detection and correction of outcome reporting bias. Clinicians, guidelines developers, and decision makers should be aware that the published literature overestimates the effects of the predominant treatments for depression.