Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Introduction to Dynamics and Control of Flexible Structures

Effective control laws for mechanical systems are best designed by professionals who understand both the basic mechanics of the system under consideration and the control methodology being used to design the control law. This textbook is the first to blend two traditional disciplines: engineering mechanics and control engineering. Beginning with theory, the authors proceed through computation to laboratory experiment and present actual case studies to illustrate practical aerospace applications. Intended for first-year graduate students in engineering and applied science, this book will help the next generation of structural dynamists and control engineers gain broad competence in mechanics and control. A software package, SDCMO: Structural Dynamics and Control MATLAB Operators, complements this important new teaching tool. A 100-page solutions manual is available for professors.
Immunomodulation Effect of Kaempferia galanga Ethanolic Extract On In Vitro Lymphocyte Cell Proliferation

Kaempferia galanga L. is a traditional medicine with antitumor properties, as indicated by its immunomodulatory activities. This study aimed to determine the effect of K. galanga on lymphocyte cell proliferation activity as an indicator of immunomodulatory properties. This study was conducted at the Indonesian Research Center for Veterinary Science (February to April 2018). The immunomodulatory activity of the extract was evaluated with an in vitro splenocyte proliferation assay. The assay was based on cellular enzymatic synthesis to transform the XTT from formazan tetrazolium as an indicator. The K. galanga extract was obtained by 96% ethanol extraction. The test was conducted in an aseptic condition, consisted of five treatment groups with three replications each. Three groups of splenocyte cell culture, each with extract concentration of 2.5 µg. ml-1, 25 µg. ml-1, and 250 µg. ml-1, as well as a positive (Concanavalin A/Con A) and negative (cell only) control. The cell suspension (10x104 cells/ml) was distributed on 96-well plates and cultured following the treatment groups. The same five plates were made for five days of observation and retrieved daily by observing an Elisa reader at 450 nm. The extract of K. galanga at 2.5 µg. ml-1, 25 µg. ml-1, and 250 µg. ml-1 significantly (P <0.05) promoted splenocyte proliferation compared to control. Therefore, it was expected that K. galanga has a high potential to be used as immunomodulators. Hence, further investigations should be done to clarify the mechanisms of the immunomodulatory effect of K. galanga as an antitumor in vivo.
The Birth of Broadcasting

This is the first part of a five-volume history of broadcasting in the UK. Together the volumes give an authoritative account of the rise of broadcasting in this country. Though naturally largely concerned with the BBC it does give a general history of broadcasting, not simply an institutional history of the BBC. The Birth of Broadcasting covers early amateur experiments in wireless telephony in America and in England, the pioneer days at Writtle in Essex and elsewhere, and the coming of organized broadcasting and its rapid growth during the first four years of the BBC's existence as a private Company before it became a public Corporation in January 1927. Briggs describes how and why the Company was formed, the scope of its activities and the reasons which led to its conversion from a business enterprise into a national institution. The issues raised between 1923 and 1927 remain pertinent today. The hard bargaining between the Post Office, private wireless interests, and the emergent British Broadcsting Company is discussed in illuminating details, together with the remarkable opposition with which the Company had to contend in its early days. Many sections of the opposition, including a powerful section of the press, seemed able to conceive of broadcasting only as competing with their own interests, never as complementing or enlarging them. One of the main themes of this volume is that of the gradual forging of the instruments of public control, and particular attention is paid to the Crawford Report (1926) from which the Corporation arose. During this period all the characteristics of the Corporation first appeared - particularly its reputation for publc service and impartiality. Briggs also examines the background of wireless as an invention and considers its impact on society. He has much to say about personalities and programmes as well as policies.
Noise evaluation of various pavement textures on new Portland cement concrete

Tire/pavement noise measurements were made on a newly constructed, unopened portion of California State Route 58 that bypasses the City of Mojave. Initially, three different Portland Cement Concrete surface textures were tested including longitudinally tined, burlap drag, and longitudinally broomed. Afterwards, eight test sections of the original pavements were ground and/or grooved to various surface texture geometries and the noise measurements repeated on all eleven pavement textures. Noise measurements were made near the tire/pavement interface using the on-board sound intensity (OBSI) method and at the wayside using limited, controlled vehicle pass-bys. Interior noise testing was also done for comparative purposes. Audible slaps from the concrete joints were also isolated in the OBSI recordings of the test surfaces. Noise from the slaps was also clearly apparent in the vehicle pass-by data. The effect of grooving/grinding operations on joint slap was also evaluated
Analysis of the attributes of smart tourism technologies in destination chatbots that influence tourist satisfaction

ABSTRACT Chatbots are an emerging technology that is disrupting the tourism industry. Despite their implementation in companies and at destinations, there is little research that evaluates chatbots’ smart tourism technologies (STTs) attributes and their influence on tourist satisfaction. This study seeks to examine the relationship between informativeness, empathy, accessibility, interactivity and chatbot user satisfaction. The research was based on an experiment and a survey conducted on a sample of 468 potential tourists who used a chatbot during their trip. Statistical tools such as exploratory factor analysis and the hierarchical regression method were used in the data analysis. The results suggest that informativeness, empathy and interactivity of destination chatbots are the attributes that influence and predict tourist satisfaction while accessibility does not. The main contribution of this study is the analysis of the attributes of STTs applied to destination chatbots, which also provides valuable information for both tourism chatbot developers and smart destination managers who wish to adopt this technology. Highlights The communication with a chatbot resembles the dialogues they have with human agents. Informativeness is a predictor factor in users’ satisfaction with chatbot The empathic ability of the chatbot is a factor that predicts user satisfaction A high level of interactivity in a human-chabot interaction predicts user satisfaction
Mechanics of Angioplasty: Wall, Balloon and Stent

Studying the solid mechanics of angioplasty provides essential insight in the mechanisms of angioplasty such as overstretching the disease-free tissue, plaque disruption or dissection, redistribution inside the wall and lipid extrusion etc. We desribe our current understanding of the mechanics of angioplasty based on the example of a human iliac artery with an eccentric stenosis. We outline a new approach which has the potential to improve interventional treatment planning, to predict the balloon and stent-induced wall stresses as well as the dilation success. In particular, we use MRI to obtain accurate geometrical data for the vessel wall and plaque architecture and to identify their different types of soft (biological) tissues and calcifications. One issue is to characterize the quasistatic stress-strain response of these components in both axial and circumferential directions. We present new experimental results showing strong nonlinearity and anisotropy. Another issue is to identify predominant directions of each component by analyzing orientations of cellular nuclei. The morphological and mechanical information is used for the elastoplastic constitutive model designed to capture the finite strains of the stenotic artery during angioplasty. The three-dimensional model is fitted to the experimental data. Associated material parameters, corresponding to the different tissues of the stenosis, are presented. The numerical part outlines briefly the concept of the finite element model and, based on a computational structural analysis, discusses the mechanism of angioplasty for the considered type of stenosis.
Influence of Nanoscale Inhomogeneity Incorporating Interface Effect on Crack Nucleation at Intersection of Twin and Grain Boundary in Nanocomposite

Nanocracks can generate at the intersection of the deformation twin and grain boundary (GB). A mathematical model is built to study the nanoinhomogeneity effect on nanocrack nucleation and propagation in the nanocrystalline matrix. The boundary condition at the interface between the nanoinhomogeneity and the matrix is modified by incorporating the interface effect. The influence of the nanoinhomogeneity shear modulus, the nanoinhomogeneity radius, the nanoinhomogeneity position, the interface effect, and the external stress on the nanocrack nucleation and propagation is investigated in detail. The results indicate that the stiff nanoinhomogeneity suppresses nanocrack nucleation and propagation and thereby improves the tensile ductility of nanocomposites without loss of their predominantly high strength. Both the positive interface residual tension and interface elastic constants suppress nanocrack nucleation and propagation, while the negative interface residual tension and interface elastic constants promote nanocrack nucleation and propagation. Furthermore, the effect of interface residual tension is rather significant. The interface elastic constants have a weak effect on nanocrack nucleation and propagation.
Effect of water restriction on milk yield and milk composition in camels (Camelus dromedarius)

This experiment was conducted to study the effect of water deprivation on daily milk yield and milk composition in she camels (Camelus dromedarius). Six lactating she camels of approximately equal daily milk yield were selected and divided randomly into three experimental groups of two each. The average daily water requirement and the average daily milk yield of the she camels were determined. During the experiment, each group received a different watering regime. Group 1 (G1) was allowed free access to water, group 2 (G2) was offered half the average daily water requirement (18 litters/head/day) while Group 3 (G3) was allowed to get the actual average daily camel's water requirement (36 litters/head/day) as a control group. The results elucidated that, the daily milk yield and composition were significantly (p<0.05) affected by the amount of water offered to the camels. Camels offered half the average daily water requirement (G2) produced higher (p<0.05) amount of milk (5.39 kg) than both G1 (4.98 kg) and G3 (5.27 kg). As for milk composition, the fat content of the milk produced by camels of G2 was found to be lower (p<0.05) (3%) than that of the milk produced by the other two groups. No significant differences were observed among the three groups regarding protein, lactose, solid not fat content and pH. These results proved the capability of camels to tolerate the dehydration conditions and produce sufficient amount of milk.
SHORT-TERM IMPACT OF A COMBINED NUTRACEUTICAL ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION, PERCEIVED STRESS AND DEPRESSION IN YOUNG ELDERLY WITH COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT: A PILOT, DOUBLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

Background: The prevalence of senile dementia is increasing worldwide, especially in the developed countries. Nevertheless, drug therapy isn’t often enough to treat this condition. Researchers are evaluating the possible impact of a preventive approach, based on an improvement of lifestyle and the intake of micronutrients. Moreover, there is an increasing interest for combined nutraceuticals that can act as memory and learning enhancers, with a significant and beneficial potential on the cognitive disorders. Objective: To evaluate the effects of a rational assemblage of nutraceuticals on cognitive functions in a sample of 30 elderly subjects. Design: Double bind, cross-over designed trial versus placebo Setting: outpatient clinical practice Participants: 30 elderly subjects with basal Mini-Mental State Examination score between 20 and 27 and self-perceived cognitive decline. Intervention: Treatment with a combination of nutraceuticals based on Bacopa monnieri, L-theanine, Crocus sativus, copper, folate and vitamins of B and D group. After2 months of treatment or placebo. Measurements: Patients were evaluated with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) and Index and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SRDS). Results: MMSE and PSQ Index significantly improved in the active treatment arm, both versus baseline and versus the parallel arm. Both groups experienced a significant improving in the SRDS scores. Conclusions: We obtained a good and significant improvement of the cognitive functions tested with the MMSE, PSQ-Index and SRDS score, after 2 months of combined therapy of nutraceuticals. Further confirmation will be needed to verify these observations on the middle and long term in a larger number of subjects.
Perceived Barriers of Physical Activity Participation in Individuals with Intellectual Disability—A Systematic Review

Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) tend to have a sedentary lifestyle, with low physical fitness and an increased risk of chronic diseases. One reason for the prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle is the existence of barriers to participation in physical activity (PA). The purpose of this systematic review is to update knowledge about the perceived barriers of PA participation in individuals with ID. Electronic searches were carried out in the PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science databases, from September 2020 to May 2021, and included articles published between January 2016 and May 2021. The terms used were: “mental retardation”, “intellectual disability”, “intellectual disabilities”, “physical activity”, “motor activity”, “barriers”, “obstacles”, “embarrassment” and “constraint”, in combination with the Boolean operators “AND” or “OR”. After the methodological process, five studies were included for analysis. These studies revealed the existence of several perceived barriers to regular PA participation, which were grouped into five main groups: personal (6 topics), family (4 topics), social (13 topics), financial (1 topic) and environmental (1 topic). The knowledge and identification of participation barriers can be of extreme importance both to institutions and professionals aiming to enhance the participation of individuals with ID in regular PA programs.
Rheological and chemical properties of field aged binders and their variation within the wearing course

Field ageing is investigated based on recovered binders. Fifteen sections were considered, consisting of unmodified and polymer-modified binders (PmB). Binders were recovered from the wearing course, after slicing the cores horizontally. To assess field and laboratory ageing tendencies, recovered binders were compared to a set of reference binders, tested before and after laboratory ageing. For three sites, the binders recovered from bottom slices were long-term aged and compared to the properties of top slices. Stiffness-based rheological parameters showed good relations to the carbonyl index. Field and laboratory ageing induced the same trends, but field ageing often turned out to be more severe. It was shown, for three sections, that a standard ageing test applied to the bottom slices is not enough to reach the ageing levels of the top slices. Finally, a relation between the vertical ageing profile and the void content of the corresponding asphalt mixtures was observed.
SARS-COV-2 Delta variant displays moderate resistance to neutralizing antibodies and spike protein properties of higher soluble ACE2 sensitivity, enhanced cleavage and fusogenic activity

The SARS-CoV-2 B.1. 617 lineage variants, Kappa (B.1.617.1) and Delta (B.1.617.2, AY) emerged during the second wave of infections in India, but the Delta variants have become dominant worldwide and continue to evolve. The spike proteins of B.1. 617.1, B.1. 617.2, and AY.1 variants have several substitutions in the receptor binding domain (RBD), including L452R+E484Q, L452R+T478K, and K417N+L452R+T478K, respectively, that could potentially reduce effectiveness of therapeutic antibodies and current vaccines. Here we compared B.1. 617 variants, and their single and double RBD substitutions for resistance to neutralization by convalescent sera, mRNA vaccine-elicited sera, and therapeutic neutralizing antibodies using a pseudovirus neutralization assay. Pseudoviruses with the B.1. 617.1, B.1. 617.2, and AY.1 spike showed a modest 1.5 to 4.4-fold reduction in neutralization titer by convalescent sera and vaccine-elicited sera. In comparison, similar modest reductions were also observed for pseudoviruses with C.37, P.1, R.1, and B.1.526 spikes, but seven- and sixteen-fold reduction for vaccine-elicited and convalescent sera, respectively, was seen for pseudoviruses with the B.1. 351 spike. Four of twenty-three therapeutic neutralizing antibodies showed either complete or partial loss of neutralization against B.1. 617.2 pseudoviruses due to the L452R substitution, whereas six of twenty-three therapeutic neutralizing antibodies showed either complete or partial loss of neutralization against B.1. 617.1 pseudoviruses due to either the E484Q or L452R substitution. Against AY.1 pseudoviruses, the L452R and K417N substitutions accounted for the loss of neutralization by four antibodies and one antibody, respectively, whereas one antibody lost potency that could not be fully accounted for by a single RBD substitution. The modest resistance of B.1. 617 variants to vaccine-elicited sera suggest that current mRNA-based vaccines will likely remain effective in protecting against B.1. 617 variants, but the therapeutic antibodies need to be carefully selected based on their resistance profiles. Finally, the spike proteins of B.1. 617 variants are more efficiently cleaved due to the P681R substitution, and the spike of Delta variants exhibited greater sensitivity to soluble ACE2 neutralization, as well as fusogenic activity, which may contribute to enhanced spread of Delta variants.
Experimental investigation on reduced exposure to pollutants indoors by applying wearable personalized ventilation

A wearable personalized ventilation unit able to improve inhaled air quality and reduce risk from airborne disease contamination is reported. The performance of the personalized ventilation device relies on control over the flow interaction near the face of a person by inserting a reduced amount of clean air into the breathing zone. Experiments at 23°C (73.4°F) were performed in a full-scale test room with a breathing thermal manikin resembling a seated occupant in a state of thermal comfort, with a realistic free convection flow around the body and breathing cycle. The room air was mixed with tracer gas. The personalized ventilation supplied isothermally clean air from circular or elliptical nozzles of different diameters (equivalent diameter: 0.025–0.035 m [0.08–0.12 ft]) positioned near the mouth of the manikin. The enhancement of inhaled air quality was studied by varying the initial velocity (0.2–0.6 m/s [0.66– 1.97 fps]), the distance between the nozzles and the mouth (0.02–0.06 m [0.07–0.2 ft]), or the direction of the jet (front, side, or below). The personalized ventilation made it possible to increase up to 94% the portion of clean air into the air inhaled. A wearable personalized ventilation unit can significantly reduce (more than six times) the number of secondarily infected occupants compared to mixing ventilation.
The Spanish Version of the Child Medical Fear Questionnaire: Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation

Having valid and reliable tools that help health professionals to assess fear in children undergoing medical procedures is essential to offer humanised and quality of care in the paediatric population. The aim of this study was to develop the cross-cultural adaptation and the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the “Child Medical Fear Scale” in its shortened version (CMFS-R). The design consisted of two phases: first, of cross-cultural adaptation and second, of the psychometric validation of the CMFS-R with a sample of 262 children from Spain, applying a cross-sectional design. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess construct validity and the Cronbach’s alpha and the adjusted item-total score correlation coefficients were performed to study reliability. The results confirmed internal consistency and construct validity of the Spanish version of the CMFS-R, indicating that the scale has an acceptable level of validity and reliability. Therefore, this study brings a new version of the scale to assess fear related to medical procedures for use in the Spanish paediatric population.
Development of transgenic barley expressing human type I collagen

by Claudia E. Osorio, M.S. Washington State University December 2004 Chair: Diter von Wettstein Collagen I is the main protein found in the extracellular matrix. It consists of a heterotrimeric triple helix that aggregates to form a fibrillar structure. Eight specific enzymes are needed for correct folding and secretion of the protein to the extracellular space. The need to find a non-animal source for the production of collagen has led to the development of expression systems that are able to produce recombinant collagen. The main objective of this dissertation was to produce transgenic barley grains expressing the genes needed for production of hydroxylated procollagen in the endosperm. To prepare for reaching this objective, it was necessary to codon optimize the gene and express it in an eucaryotic system like Pichia pastoris for verification that the correct protein product was synthesized. Then Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation of immature zygotic embryos of barley could be initiated with the appropriate vectors. Accordingly, vectors were constructed for expression in
Effects of belowground interactions on crop yields and nutrient uptake in maize-faba bean relay intercropping systems

ABSTRACT Belowground interactions are crucial in the over-yielding of intercropping systems. However, the effects of belowground interactions on the yields of intercrops in faba bean-maize relay intercropping system are still unclear. In this study, field and pot experiments were conducted, and the biomass, yield, nutrient accumulation and photosynthetic parameters of intercrops were determined to analyze the effects of belowground interactions and relay intercropping. In the field experiments, the yield and biomass of faba bean and maize in the relay intercropping system was significantly increased compared with the monocropping. The relay intercropping promoted the accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorus in faba bean and maize but showed no effect on potassium accumulation. In the pot experiments, no barrier treatment significantly increased the nutrient accumulation of faba bean and maize, nutrient content in soil, photosynthesis, maize, yield, biomass, plant height, 100-grain weight of faba bean and maize. In summary, relay intercropping increased nutrient accumulation, photosynthesis, biomass and yield of crops. The belowground interactions of intercrops could provide good soil fertility conditions for crop growth. The results can provide references for high-yield cultivation of crops and sustainable development of agriculture.