Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
REGULAR AND MACH REFLECTION OF SHOCK WAVES 1

The properties that distinguish a shock wave from other waves are that its thickness is negligible compared with other characteristic lengths, and that the state of the medium is changed irreversibly by the passage of the wave. Shocks are therefore a highly nonlinear phenomenon, and parameter changes may be expected to lead to numerous bifurcations. The multitude of possibilities is compounded when more than one shock occurs, such as in the interaction of a shock with a solid surface or symmetry plane (i.e. in shock reflection). The subject of shock reflection is complicated that it is necessary to introduce it at some length. In the interest of conciseness, this is done according to a logical rather than a historical sequence, with explicit reference to the important authors omitted in the text unless their work is relatively recent. Salient points in the early development of the subject should be mentioned here, however. These may be found in the experiments of Mach (1878), the theoretical work of von Neumann (1943), the experimental theoretical work of the group around Bleakney at Princeton (e.g. Bleakney & Taub 1949, Smith 1945), the experiments of Kawamura & Saito (1956), Smith (1959), and Bryson & Gross (1961), and the theoretical work Lighthill (1949) and Jones et al. (195l). A review by Pack (1964) gives detailed references. Of the work since 1960, that of the group around Glass at Toronto (e.g. Law & Glass 1971, Ben-Dor & Glass 1979, 1980) and around Henderson at Sydney (e.g. Henderson & Lozzi 1975, 1979, t Dedicated to the memory f Ernst Becket.
Vessel Segmentation in Retinal Images Using Multi-scale Line Operator and K-Means Clustering

Detecting blood vessels is a vital task in retinal image analysis. The task is more challenging with the presence of bright and dark lesions in retinal images. Here, a method is proposed to detect vessels in both normal and abnormal retinal fundus images based on their linear features. First, the negative impact of bright lesions is reduced by using K-means segmentation in a perceptive space. Then, a multi-scale line operator is utilized to detect vessels while ignoring some of the dark lesions, which have intensity structures different from the line-shaped vessels in the retina. The proposed algorithm is tested on two publicly available STARE and DRIVE databases. The performance of the method is measured by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and the segmentation accuracy. The proposed method achieves 0.9483 and 0.9387 localization accuracy against STARE and DRIVE respectively.
Hybrid carbon fiber-textile compliant force sensors for high-load sensing in soft exosuits

Wearable robotic systems which aid or enhance human performance are the subject of substantial ongoing research efforts. Soft exosuits to assist with walking represent one class of system that leverage textiles and apparel to provide a lightweight and nonrestrictive means to interface to the lower extremity and apply assistive joint torques via a cable that applies a force across a biological joint. Current embodiments of the soft exosuit use off-the-shelf load cells attached to the distal end of a Bowden cable to measure and control the delivered force. As these systems evolve, we envision replacing all rigid components with compliant, textile-based components. Here we present a new force sensing concept suitable for exosuit applications. The approach is based on micro-machined carbon fiber composite structures encapsulated in elastomer materials as the transducer element, and high-strength, stiff textiles as the load bearing element. The transduction mechanism uses the Poisson effect in the encapsulating elastomer to create electrical contact between the carbon fiber structures. This method allows the sensor to be sensitive in tension while remaining insensitive to bending deformation. We fabricate a prototype sensor capable of detected forces up to 300 N, yet weighing just 2.15 g. The compliant nature of the materials used in fabrication allow the sensor to be flexible. The sensor output is qualitatively very repeatable, yet exhibits moderate drift at peak load. However this drift begins to stabilize over the test duration. These preliminary results demonstrate the promising potential of this sensor technology for soft exosuit systems.
Critical insights on the demographic concept of “birth spacing”: locating Nef in family well-being, bodies, and relationships in Senegal

Abstract Birth spacing has emerged since the early 1980s as a key concept to improve maternal and child health, triggering interest in birth spacing practices in low-income countries, and drawing attention to prevailing norms in favour of long birth intervals in West Africa. In Senegal, the Wolof concept of Nef, which means having children too closely spaced in time, is morally condemned and connotes a resulting series of negative implications for family well-being. While Nef and “birth spacing” intersect in key ways, including acknowledging the health benefits of longer birth intervals, they are not translations of each other, for each is embedded in distinct broader cultural and political assumptions about social relations. Most notably, proponents of the demographic concept of birth spacing assume that the practice of using contraception after childbearing to postpone births could contribute to “empowering” women socially. In Senegal, by contrast, preventing Nef (or short birth intervals) is also viewed as strengthening family well-being by allowing women to care more fully for their family. This paper draws on policy documents and interviews to explore women's and men's understanding of Nef, and in turn critically reflect on the demographic concept of birth spacing. Our findings reinforce the relevance of the concept of birth spacing to engage with women and men around family planning services in Senegal. Accounts of the Nef taboo in Senegal also show that social norms stigmatising short birth intervals can legitimise constraints faced by women on control of their body.
Adaptive detection without training data in colocated MIMO radar

For colocated multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar target detection in colored noise, we propose two adaptive detectors according to the Rao and Wald test criteria. These detectors do not need training data and possess constant false alarm rate properties. We investigate the manner in which they work. From a detection viewpoint, we show that there is no need for matched filtering for colocated MIMO radar.We derive the statistical distributions of the proposed detectors and then obtain the analytical expressions for the probabilities of false alarm and detection for both deterministic and random signals. Numerical examples are provided to compare the detection performance of the Rao andWald tests with an existing detector.
Anatomic Variations of the Obturator Nerve in the Inguinal Region: Implications In Conventional and Ultrasound Regional Anesthesia Techniques

Background and Objectives: This study was conducted to provide a thorough description of the variability in the obturator nerve branching pattern in the inguinal region. Methods: The anatomic variability of obturator nerve branching among 84 dissected embalmed cadavers was investigated. Ultrasound examination of the inguinal region was undertaken in 20 cases and the location of the obturator nerve was identified. Results: The point of division for the obturator nerve into the anterior and posterior branches was intrapelvic (23.22%), within the obturator canal (51.78%), or in the thigh (25%). Most commonly, the anterior branch was divided among 3 major muscular branches (66.66%) that innervated the adductor longus, adductor brevis, and gracilis muscles. Four, and 2 subdivisions of the anterior branches were observed, in 4.76% and 28.57% of cases, respectively. The posterior branch predominantly separated into 2 divisions (60.11%), which provided innervation to the adductor brevis and adductor magnus muscles. In addition, either 1 (13.69%), 3 (19.04%), or 4 (7.14%) muscular divisions of the posterior branch were observed. The articular branch of the obturator nerve showed 9 different branching patterns, which most frequently arose from the common obturator nerve. The fascias medial to the femoral vessels and deep to the pectineus muscle were clearly visualized (100%) by ultrasound imaging. This region was used as an "imaging" landmark for localization (success rate of 80%) of the common obturator nerve. Conclusions: High anatomic variability in the obturator nerve's divisions and subdivisions does exist, and explains the difficulty frequently encountered in the application of regional anesthetic techniques.
Discrimination against Women: Prevalence, Consequences, Remedies

PART ONE: PREVALENCE AND CONSEQUENCES OF SEXIST DISCRIMINATION Introduction Discrimination against Women Measuring Sexist Discrimination The Schedule of Sexist Events Social Status Differences in Experiencing Sexist Discrimination Physical and Psychiatric Correlates of Sexist Discrimination Replication and Extension of the Schedule of Sexist Events Appraisal v Frequency of Discrimination in Women's Symptoms Theoretical Model and Interim Summary PART TWO: REMEDIES FOR SEXIST DISCRIMINATION Coping with Sexist Discrimination - Phyllis Bronstein Toward Recovery and Resistance Individual and Collective Action - Bernice Lott and Lisa Rocchio Social Approaches and Remedies for Sexist Discrimination PART THREE: THE LAW AND SEXIST DISCRIMINATION Legal Approaches to Sex Discrimination - Lynne Wurzburg and Robert H Klonoff
Comparison of p16INK4a and ProEx™ C immunostaining on cervical ThinPrep® cytology and biopsy specimens

ProEx™ C and p16INK4a staining of cytology/histology specimens have recently been explored to help distinguish high‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) from benign mimics. The goal of this study was to evaluate the performance characteristics of p16 and ProEx C in tissue and patient matched ThinPrep® liquid‐based cytology specimens. Residual cervical ThinPrep cytology specimens and tissue blocks (N = 64) from 63 patients were stained with p16 and ProEx C. Review of immunostained material, Papanicolaou and H&E stained slides was performed by two cytopathologists. The cytology slides were evaluated for the presence or absence of squamous atypia as well as immunoreactivity. Histologic specimens were interpreted as negative, indeterminate, or positive for each immunostain. There was 86% agreement (55/64) between the p16 and ProEx C stains on tissue specimens. Eleven specimens were interpreted as positive for both stains. All had a low‐ or high‐grade squamous lesion on the corresponding H&E section. ProEx C was able to identify four low‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesion specimens that were interpreted as negative by p16. All four HSIL specimens demonstrated p16 and ProEx C staining. However, 84% of cytology negative specimens demonstrated false‐positive staining. Clinical utilization of both stains, combined with morphologic features, may be beneficial for confirming HSIL on histologic specimens. ProEx C and/or p16 immunostains may lead to a false‐positive result in cytology specimens due to staining of normal appearing cells. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2010;38:564–572. 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Spatially localized intermolecular zero‐quantum coherence spectroscopy for in vivo applications

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) techniques that use the distant dipolar field (DDF) to locally refocus inhomogeneous line‐broadening promise improved spectral resolution in spatially varying fields. We investigated three possible implementations of localized DDF spectroscopy. Theoretical analysis and phantom experiments at 17.6 T showed that only localization immediately prior to acquisition provides sufficient spatial selectivity and sensitivity for in vivo applications. Spectra from an (8 mm)3 voxel of the rat brain were acquired in 25 min, and three major metabolites were resolved. In a tumor mouse model, DDF spectra with well‐resolved lines can be obtained from significantly larger voxels compared to conventional localized spectroscopy. From an inhomogeneous voxel, improved spectral resolution can be obtained with DDF techniques when a sufficient number of increments are sampled along the second spectral dimension. With fewer increments, measurement time is significantly shortened, and DDF techniques can provide higher signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) efficiency. Magn Reson Med, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The influence of target size and distance on the production of speech and gesture in multimodal referring expressions

In this paper we report on a production experiment for multimodal referring expressions. Subjects performed an object identification task in an interactive setting. 20 subjects participated and were asked if they could identify 30 countries on a world map on the wall. Subjects performed their tasks on two distances: close (10 subjects) and at a distance of 2.5 meters (10 subjects). The assumption is that these conditions yield precise and imprecise pointing gestures respectively. In addition we varied the ’size’ of target objects (large or isolated objects versus small objects). This study resulted in a corpus of 600 multimodal referring expressions. A statistical analysis (ANOVA) revealed a main effect of distance (subjects adapt their language to the kind of pointing gesture) and also a main effect of target (smaller objects are more difficult to describe than large or isolated objects).
Endoscopic scoring of mucus quantity and quality: observer and horse variance and relationship to inflammation, mucus viscoelasticity and volume.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY Endoscopic scoring of airway mucus quantity and quality has not been critically assessed. OBJECTIVES To evaluate mucus scores for 1) observer- and horse-related variance and 2) association with inflammation, mucus viscoelasticity and measured volume. METHODS Variance of scoring within and between observers and over time within horses were determined for airway mucus accumulation, apparent viscosity, localisation and colour, and correlations of mucus accumulation scores with neutrophil ratios in secretions. The relationship of accumulation score to measured volumes of 'artificial mucus' was investigated. Correlations of mucus accumulation, apparent viscosity and colour scores with measured viscoelasticity were tested. Viscoelasticity was compared between tracheal secretion samples collected ventrally and dorsally. RESULTS Mucus accumulation scoring showed excellent interobserver agreement and moderate horse-related variance, was related to measured volumes of 'artificial mucus', and correlated well with neutrophilic airway inflammation. Scores of mucus viscosity, colour and localisation showed high observer-related variance. Mucus accumulation, apparent viscosity and colour scores did not correlate with measured tracheal mucus viscoelasticity, but dorsally-localised mucus showed 2-fold higher measured viscoelasticity than ventrally-localised samples. CONCLUSIONS Mucus accumulation scores are a reproducible measure of mucus volumes in the trachea. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE Endoscopic scoring of mucus accumulation is a reliable clinical and research tool. In contrast, apparent viscosity, localisation and colour scores should be interpreted with caution.
CURRENT APPROACHES TO MODELING MHD FLOWS IN THE DUAL COOLANT LEAD LITHIUM BLANKET

The ongoing work on the development of modeling tools to address MHD flows in the Dual Coolant Lead Lithium blanket has been presented. Analysis is performed for rectangular channel flows with a SiCf /SiC flow channel insert in a toroidal magnetic field. Such effects as 2D turbulence and buoyancy are considered. A newly-developed 3D MHD software HIMAG is described, which is potentially an effective tool to study complex blanket flows.
Phylogeny of rock-inhabiting fungi related to Dothideomycetes

The class Dothideomycetes (along with Eurotiomycetes) includes numerous rock-inhabiting fungi (RIF), a group of ascomycetes that tolerates surprisingly well harsh conditions prevailing on rock surfaces. Despite their convergent morphology and physiology, RIF are phylogenetically highly diverse in Dothideomycetes. However, the positions of main groups of RIF in this class remain unclear due to the lack of a strong phylogenetic framework. Moreover, connections between rock-dwelling habit and other lifestyles found in Dothideomycetes such as plant pathogens, saprobes and lichen-forming fungi are still unexplored. Based on multigene phylogenetic analyses, we report that RIF belong to Capnodiales (particularly to the family Teratosphaeriaceae s.l.), Dothideales, Pleosporales, and Myriangiales, as well as some uncharacterised groups with affinities to Dothideomycetes. Moreover, one lineage consisting exclusively of RIF proved to be closely related to Arthoniomycetes, the sister class of Dothideomycetes. The broad phylogenetic amplitude of RIF in Dothideomycetes suggests that total species richness in this class remains underestimated. Composition of some RIF-rich lineages suggests that rock surfaces are reservoirs for plant-associated fungi or saprobes, although other data also agree with rocks as a primary substrate for ancient fungal lineages. According to the current sampling, long distance dispersal seems to be common for RIF. Dothideomycetes lineages comprising lichens also include RIF, suggesting a possible link between rock-dwelling habit and lichenisation.
Alternative Splicing of 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl Coenzyme A Reductase Is Associated With Plasma Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Response to Simvastatin

Background— HMGCR(3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase), the direct target of statin inhibition, undergoes alternative splicing of exon 13, which encodes part of the statin-binding domain of the enzyme. We hypothesized that HMGCR alternative splicing might be related to the interindividual variation in plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol response to statin treatment. Methods and Results— We measured mRNA expression of both the full-length and the alternatively spliced HMGCR transcript lacking exon 13 (HMGCRv_1) in 170 simvastatin-incubated immortalized lymphocyte cell lines derived from participants in the Cholesterol and Pharmacogenetics (CAP) study who were treated with simvastatin 40 mg/d for 6 weeks. Greater upregulation of HMGCRv_1 in vitro was significantly correlated (P≤0.0001) with smaller in vivo reductions of plasma total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apoprotein B, and triglycerides and explained 6% to 15% of the variation in their response to treatment. In contrast, no significant relationship was found between expression of the full-length HMGCR transcript and in vivo response. By siRNA knockdown of the full-length transcript, we found that HMGCR enzyme activity measured in cells enriched in HMGCRv_1 was relatively resistant to statin inhibition, consistent with the association of increased alternative splicing with reduced statin response in the CAP study. In addition, we found that a common HMGCR single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs3846662) located within intron 13 was associated with variation in the proportion of HMGCR mRNA that is alternatively spliced. Conclusions— Variation in the production of an HMGCR isoform with reduced statin sensitivity is a determinant of interindividual differences in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, and triglyceride response to statin treatment.
Nitrogen dioxide formation during inhaled nitric oxide therapy.

BACKGROUND Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a toxic by-product of inhalation therapy with nitric oxide (NO). The rate of NO2 formation during NO therapy is controversial. METHODS The formation of NO2 was studied under dynamic flows emulating a base case NO ventilator mixture containing 80 ppm NO in a 90% oxygen matrix. The difficulty in measuring NO2 concentrations below 2 ppm accurately was overcome by the use of tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy. RESULTS Using a second-order model, the rate constant, k, for NO2 formation was determined to be (1.19 +/- 0.11) x 10(-11) ppm-2s-1, which is in basic agreement with evaluated data from atmospheric literature. CONCLUSIONS Inhaled NO can be delivered safely in a well-designed, continuous flow neonatal ventilatory circuit, and NO2 formation can be calculated reliably using the rate constant and circuit dwell time.
Impact of employee benefits on work motivation and productivity / Влияние вознаграждения на работу и продуктивность служащего

Чтобы понять воздействие вознаграждения на профессиональную мотивацию служащих и их производительность, в корпорациях, которые используют систему вознаграждения рабочих, были проведены специальные анкетные опросы. В статье представлены некоторые результаты исследования: программы вознаграждения служащего оказывают большее влияние на мотивацию рабочих, чем на их производительность; денежно-кредитные программы вознаграждения высоко оценены и руководителями, и рабочими; выявилось несоответствие управленческого подхода и представлений рабочих о важности программ вознаграждения; существуют гендерные различия в требованиях по отношению к системе вознаграждения; состоящие в браке служащие в большей степени, чем не состоящие в браке считают, что вознаграждение влияет на выполнение работы; служащие, отличающиеся уровнем образования и статусом в организации, по-разному оценивают вознаграждение; программы вознаграждения гораздо более эффективны для молодых специалистов.
Motivated and Self-Regulated Learning of Adult Learners in a Collective Online Environment

The main goal of this research was to further understanding of the motivational and learning strategies of adult learners. This was studied in particular in an online environment of group settings in which the learners were engaged in shared learning activities and goals. Earlier research in the area has used quantitative methodology and focussed on individual learners, whereas the present research used qualitative methods to build a new, more extensive model of learning in online environments that includes the collective point of view. In addition to this main goal, the study also explored the qualitative variation of motivation and learning strategies, and the factors that best differentiate high and low achievers, and described qualitatively the cooperative performances of the five learner groups that participated in the study. The study used both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The data included study journals, written by 25 adult learners during their one-year-long studies and totalling over 300 pages of their own notes and descriptions, and responses to the Abilities for Professional Learning Questionnaire. The study journals were analysed and categorised phenomenographically, whereas the APL questionnaire was analysed with Bayesian methods. The results were used to explore the qualitative variation of motivational and strategic capabilities and to construct a model of collective online learning. The model of collective online learning comprises four levels of factors that affect learning achievement: individual motivation, individual learning strategies, collective motivation, and collective learning strategies. These findings greatly enhance the understanding of how learner groups work and what kinds of internal forces affect them over the course of their studies and group development. These findings will also form a fruitful basis for the further development of online learning and its support structures, especially in the case of