Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
OPTIMIZATION OF THE LOUVER FIN-AND-TUBE HEAT EXCHANGERS-A PARAMETRIC APPROACH

Ali Sadeghianjahromi, Saeid Kheradmand, Hossain Nemati, & Chi-Chuan Wang Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Malek-Ashtar University of Technology, Shahin Shahr, P.O. Box 83145/115, Isfahan, Iran Department of Mechanics, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht, Iran
Semi-analytic modelling of the europium production by neutron star mergers in the halo of the Milky Way

Neutron star mergers (NSM) are likely to be the main production sites for the rapid (r-) neutron capture process elements. We study the r-process enrichment of the stellar halo of the Milky Way through NSM, by tracing the typical r-process element Eu in the Munich-Groningen semi-analytic galaxy formation model, applied to three high resolution Aquarius dark matter simulations. In particular, we investigate the effect of the kick velocities that neutron star binaries receive upon their formation, in the building block galaxies (BBs) that partly formed the stellar halo by merging with our Galaxy. When this kick is large enough to overcome the escape velocity of the BB, the NSM takes place outside the BB with the consequence that there is no r-process enrichment. We find that a standard distribution of NS kick velocities decreases [Eu/Mg] abundances of halo stars by $\sim 0.5$~dex compared to models where NS do not receive a kick. With low NS kick velocities, our simulations match observed [Eu/Mg] abundances of halo stars reasonably well, for stars with metallicities [Mg/H]$\geq -1.5$. Only in Aquarius halo B-2 also the lower metallicity stars have [Eu/Mg] values similar to observations. We conclude that our assumption of instantaneous mixing is most likely inaccurate for modelling the r-process enrichment of the Galactic halo, or an additional production site for r-process elements is necessary to explain the presence of low-metallicity halo stars with high Eu abundances.
Environmental attributes and sedentary behaviours among Canadian adults

The potential of the neighbourhood built environment for reducing sedentary behaviour has been highlighted in the recent research building on the socio-ecological models. Nevertheless, few studies have investigated the associations between objectively-measured environmental attributes and domain-specific sedentary behaviours in different geographical locations. Notably, high-quality environmental measures that are less data-dependent and are replicable in and comparable across different contexts are needed to expand the evidence on urban design and public health. We examined associations of environmental attributes and Space Syntax Walkability (SSW) with leisure screen time and car driving in a sample of Canadian adults. A total of 2006 Calgarian adults completed a survey that captured their leisure screen time and car driving. Environmental attributes were population density, intersection density, availability of sidewalks, availability of destinations, and SSW using geographic information systems. Adjusting for covariates, a one standard deviation increase in SSW was associated with 0.43 (95% CI −0.85, −0.02) hours/week decrease in leisure screen time. No other environmental attributes were significantly associated with leisure screen time. All environmental attributes (except the availability of sidewalks) were negatively associated with car driving. The strongest association was observed between SSW with car driving—a one standard deviation increase in SSW was associated with 0.77 (95% CI −0.85, −0.02) hours/week decrease in the car driving. Those who lived in highly populated and more connected areas with a variety of destinations nearby spent less time driving their cars. Further, our findings highlight that the composite measure of SSW is associated with both leisure screen time and car driving. Focusing on a novel environmental aspect (SSW) and an emerging health risk factor (sedentary behaviour) among a relatively large sample of Canadian adults, our study provides unique insights into environmental health research.
Design of Quantum Cost and Delay Optimized Code Converter Using New Reversible Quantum Circuit Block (QCB)

In this article, we have proposed a new reversible quantum circuit block along with the quantum cost (QC), constant input (CI), garbage output (GO) and delay optimized code converterusing quantum circuit block. Initially, new quantum circuit block has been designed and later reversible code converter circuits have been implemented using it. The proposed new quantum blockused to design 2’s complement code converter (2SCCC), cost efficient BCD to Excess-3 code converter (BECC) and can also be used to implement different logic functions. The QC of proposed quantum circuit block is 8. The QC and delay of the proposed 2SCCC is 8 and 1 respectively. Similarly, the QC and delay of the proposed BECC is 11 and 2 respectively. The proposed cost efficient BECC is designed using two NOT gate, one Feynman gate and one new quantum circuit block with QC is 11. The improvement of QC for 2SCCC and BECC are 27.27 % and 21.43% respectively. The improvement of delay for 2SCCC and BECC are 66.67% and 50% respectively compared with respect to the latest reported results. So the improvement of QC and delay are very high using QCB.
Identifying effectiveness of different input devices as pointing devices for graphical user interfaces

As new input devices are introduced to the technological market and an increasing part of the population are familiar with the usage of digital devices, it may seem difficult to know which input devices to aim for when developing new programs and applications that use graphical interfaces. According to a previous study in this area, the computer mouse was the most preferred and performed best when tested in speed and accuracy when compared to the keyboard and drawing tablet even though the keyboard was the device most were familiar with. This paper attempted to recreate the study with the exception of testing more things, such as number of miss-clicks, distance travelled, directional changes and time. The keyboard was replaced by a handheld controller as well. The results were that the mouse performed best yet again, and proved to be easy to use efficiently for both new and experienced users. The handheld controller was shown not to be an optimal pointing device, mostly due to it being stuck to a fixed speed and not able to accelerate. It did well in the matter of amount off miss-clicks and directional changes, which can be tied to its slow speed. The drawing tablet was well received by the new users and experienced as more accurate than the handheld device. Its results suggest that the drawing tablet could be an efficient pointing device than proven here in the hands of an experienced user, but for new users it could not perform as well as the mouse device overall.
Summary of theoretical considerations and wind tunnel tests of an aerodynamic spoiler for stall proofing a general aviation airplane

An airplane stall proofing system utilizing a spoiler was investigated for application on a low wing airplane representative of typical general aviation aircraft. Tests of the full scale airplane were conducted in the NASA Langley 30 x 60 foot full scale wind tunnel. The test velocity was 86 feet per second, corresponding to a Reynolds number of 2.20 million. The stall proofing capability of the spoiler is shown and a theoretical approach to the design of the spoiler and analysis of the spoiler's contribution to the airplane's trim and longitudinal stability is verified. Controlled spoiler deployment in a narrow angle of attack range, 4 degrees, immediately preceding the stall angle will stall proof the airplane. The results also show some of the limitations of flight tests to determine spoiler deployment rate for good handling qualities.
Evidence on economic versus political institutions as determinants of development

A growing body of evidence suggests that institutions are an important causal determinant of economic development, yet there remains considerable debate over which institutions are most important. In this paper, we employ an identification strategy that allows us to simultaneously examine the potential causal impact of economic and political institutions. The results of different instrumental variable estimators strongly suggest that economic institutions, gauged by the Index of Social Infrastructure and by the Economic Freedom of the World Index, are economically and statistically significant determinants of income per capita. However, political institutions, measured by Constraints on the Executive, exert smaller and less discernible statistical impact on development. These findings are robust to the inclusion of confounding factors that potentially influence development such as geography, ethnolinguistic fractionalization, human capital, as well as robust to a number of alternative sets of covariates, data sources, sample sizes, instrumental variables, and to tests that provide for valid inferences under near exogeneity.
Nutrient Metabolism Expression of a Cloned Ovine Gastrointestinal Peptide Transporter ( oPepT 1 ) in Xenopus Oocytes Induces Uptake of Oligopeptides in Vitro 1

We determined the primary structure, tissue distribution and in vitro functional characterization of a peptide transporter, oPepT1, from ovine intestine. Ovine PepT1 (oPepT1) cDNA was 2829-bp long, encoding a protein of 707 amino acid residues with an estimated molecular size of 78 kDa and an isoelectric point (pI) of 6.57. Transport function of oPepT1 was assessed by expressing oPepT1 in Xenopus oocytes using a two-electrode voltage-clamp technique. The transport process was electrogenic and pH dependent, but independent of Na, Cl and Ca. The oPepT1 displayed a broad substrate specificity for transport of neutral and charged dipeptides and tripeptides. All dipeptides and tripeptides examined evoked inward currents in a saturable manner, with an affinity constant (Kt) ranging from 27 mmol/L to 3.0 mmol/L. No responses were detected from tetrapeptides or free amino acids. Northern blot analysis demonstrated that oPepT1 was expressed in the small intestine, omasum and rumen, but was not expressed in liver and kidney. The presence of the peptide transporter in the forestomach at such levels could provide nutritionally important amino acid nitrogen to ruminants. J. Nutr. 131: 1264–1270, 2001.
Air Quality and Asthma Hospitalization: Evidence of PM2.5 Concentrations in Pennsylvania Counties

According to the World Health Organization, 235 million people around the world currently suffer from asthma, which includes approximately 25 million in the United States. There is substantial epidemiological evidence indicating linkages between outdoor air pollution and asthma symptoms, more specifically between concentrations of particulate matter and asthma. Using county level data for 2001-2014, a spatial panel framework is imposed based upon prevailing wind patterns to investigate the direct and indirect impacts of PM2.5 concentration levels on asthma hospitalization in Pennsylvania. This model controls for population density, precipitation, smoking rate, and population demographic variables. Results show that PM2.5 concentrations as measured at the county level have positive direct and indirect effects on asthma hospitalization. A one-unit increase in PM2.5 in one Pennsylvania county will add, on average $1.29M ($754,656 direct and $539,040 indirect) to total annual asthma hospitalization costs with the state of Pennsylvania. This study highlights the need for realistic and accurate impact analyses of ambient air pollution on asthma that reflects the impacts on neighboring regions as well. In order to capture the spillover effects of health-related impacts from PM2.5 pollution, a wind direction algorithm to identify appropriate neighbors is important.
Vehicle-bridge dynamic interaction using finite element modelling

First investigations on the dynamic response of bridges due to moving loads were motivated by the collapse of the Chester railway bridge in the UK in the middle of the 19th century. This failure made evident the need to gain some insight on how bridges and vehicles interact, and derived into the first models of moving loads by Willis (1849) and Stokes (1849). These models consisted of a concentrated moving mass where the inertial forces of the underlying structure were ignored. The latter were introduced for simple problems of moving loads on beams in the first half of the 20th century (Jeffcott, 1929; Inglis, 1934; Timoshenko & Young, 1955). Although Vehicle-Bridge Interaction (VBI) problems were initially addressed by railway engineers, they rapidly attracted interest in highway engineering with the development of the road network and the need to accommodate an increasing demand for heavier and faster vehicle loads on bridges. In the 1920’s, field tests carried out by an ASCE committee (1931) laid the basis for recommendations on dynamic allowance for traffic loading in bridge codes, and further testing continued in the 50’s as part of the Ontario test programme (Wright & Green, 1963). However, site measurements are insufficient to cover all possible variations of those parameters affecting the bridge response, and VBI modelling offers a mean to extend the analysis to a wide range of scenarios (namely, the effect of road roughness or expansion joints, the effect of vehicle characteristics such as suspension, tyres, speed, axle spacing, weights, braking, or the effect of bridge structural form, dimensions and dynamic properties). A significant step forward took place in the 50’s and 60’s with the advent of computer technology. It is of particular relevance the work by Frýba (1972), who provides an extensive literature review on VBI and solutions to differential equations of motion of 1-D continuous beam bridge models when subjected to a constant or periodic force, mass and sprung vehicle models. At that time, VBI methods were focused on planar beam and vehicle models made of a limited number of degrees of freedom (DOFs). From the decade of the 70’s, the increase in computer power has facilitated the use of numerical methods based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) and more realistic spatial models with a large number of DOFs. This chapter reports on the most widely used finite element techniques for modelling road vehicles and bridges, and for implementing the interaction between both. 26
Genomic characterization of Canine circovirus detected in a dog with intermittent hemorrhagic gastroenteritis in Brazil

ABSTRACT: Because Canine circovirus (CanineCV) is a new species of the genus Circovirus, several issues related to its epidemiology, pathogenesis and clinical disease remain unknown. Thus, this study aimed to perform the characterization of the first complete genome sequence of CanineCV detected in a dog with diarrhea in Brazil. A stool sample was collected of a ten-month-old female German Shepherd dog which had signs of intermittent hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, vomiting, and a history of eating raw pork. The complete CanineCV genome was sequenced by Next-Generation Sequencing. The sequence had 2,063 nucleotides, showed a typical genomic organization for circovirus, and was grouped with strain 214 described in the United States by phylogenetic analysis. One amino acid change was found in the replicase protein, and because of that it was considered unique to CanineCV. Therefore, the characterization of the complete genome of Brazilian CanineCV can be used in future studies of molecular epidemiology, pathogenesis and development of diagnostic tools for the prevention and control of this disease.
Long-term effect of high-dose supplementation with DHA on visual function at school age in children born at , 33 wk gestational age : results from a follow-up of a randomized controlled trial 1

Background: Children born preterm are at risk of visual-processing impairments. Several lines of evidence have contributed to the rationale that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation of preterm infants may improve outcomes in visual processing. Objective: The aim was to determine whether at 7 y of age children who were born very preterm and who received a high-DHA diet have better visual-processing outcomes than do infants fed a standard-DHA
Torrefaction as a Pretreatment Technology for Chlorine Elimination from Biomass: A Case Study Using Eucalyptus globulus Labill

The recognition of the effects of fossil fuel consumption resulted in several agreements, legislation, and projects focusing on the minimization of impacts caused. Biomass is a versatile energy source. Eucalyptus is a fast-growing crop, mainly used by the pulp and paper industry. Torrefaction is a thermochemical conversion process that can improve biomass fuel properties, enabling its use in the energy sector. However, correct management of biomass is crucial for the sustainability of this process. Torrefaction can also be used to eliminate some elements that can hinder subsequent conversion processes. One example is chlorine, which, during combustion or gasification processes, can form hydrochloric acid that leads to corrosion of metal surfaces. In this context, this research aimed to determine the temperature at which chlorine is eliminated during torrefaction process. For this purpose, several tests were performed at different temperatures and residence times. All samples were analyzed before and after the process, and were characterized by proximate and elemental analysis, calorimetry, and chlorine titration. The analysis showed that, even for the lowest torrefaction temperature used, chlorine content was already below the detection value, showing that, even at lower temperatures, thermal treatment is an efficient technique for the elimination of chlorine from biomass.
Ictal asystole with reduced cardiac sympathetic function in new-onset symptomatic epilepsy

SUMMARY Introduction. So far, cardiac sympathetic dysfunction, demonstrated in pharmacoresistant epilepsy patients with ictal bradycardia or asystole by I-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (I-123 MIBG) imaging has been attributed to repeated occurrence of seizure activity. Aim. Discussion of the mechanisms of cardiac sympathetic dysfunction associated with ictal asystole under consideration of a case with new onset epilepsy. Materials and methods. We describe the occurrence of a cardiac asystole during a complex-partial seizure in an antiepileptic-drug-naïve patient with new-onset symptomatic epilepsy. Results. MIBG imaging showed reduced tracer accumulation in cardiac sympathetic nerve endings in this patient with right parietotemporal glioblastoma. Discussion and Conclusion. To our knowledge, this is the first report of impaired cardiac sympathetic function in new-onset symptomatic epilepsy without antiepileptic drug treatment. MIBG imaging should be considered in patients with ictal bradycardia or asystole.
Evaluation of Child Anxiety Prior to Dental Care by Means of Modified Venham Picture Test, RMS Pictorial Scale and Facial Image Scale Tests

Objective: To evaluate child anxiety prior to dental care; to compare the results obtained by applying different anxiety tests and to assess whether anxiety is related to age or gender, and to identify which test children find to be more attractive and easier to understand. Material and Methods: The research was performed with 30 children of both genders and age group of 4-9 years distributed into Group 1 = children aged 4, 5 and 6 years and Group 2 = children aged 7, 8 and 9 years. Modified Venham Picture Test (VPT), RMS Pictorial Scale (RMS-PS) and Facial Image Scale (FIS) were the anxiety evaluation tests used. For statistical analysis, the Shapiro Wilk Normality test, Spearman correlation and the Independent Proportions test were used . Results: Modified VPT identified 70% anxiety-free children, RMS-PS 90%, and FIS 87%. RMS-PS and FIS scores had moderate correlation (51%). Regarding age groups, no significant difference was found between proportions of group 1 and group 2. According to gender, in 11 girls, the modified VPT test identified 3 (27%) with some anxiety degree; RMS-PS test identified 1 (9%) and FIS test 2 (18%). In 19 boys, modified VPT test identified 6 (32%) with some anxiety degree; RMS-PS test identified 2 (11%) and the FIS test 2 (11%). The test that was the easiest to understand was the modified VPT (54%) and regarding attractiveness, modified VPT and RMS-PS presented similar results, 40% each . Conclusion: All three tests were able to identify anxiety prior to dental care. The evaluation of results showed that the more the children could identify themselves with the test, the more they found it to be easy and attractive.
Production Efficiency Analysis of Capsicum (Bell Pepper) Cropping System under the Tunnels in Punjab, Pakistan

Technological change is one of the most effective ways to make improvements in crop yields. However, lack of ability or willingness of the producers to adopt technology and other institutional barriers cause slow adoption. Technological adoption for value added crop production in Pakistan is making progress with the introduction of tunnel technology. The present study investigated the technical efficiency and productivity of capsicum crop (Bell Pepper) grown under the tunnels in Punjab, Pakistan. The farm data were collected from 150 farmers through an interview questionnaire. The stochastic frontier analysis was used to measure the productivity and technical efficiency of capsicum crop grown under tunnels. The results of the study revealed that the average technical efficiency of sampled capsicum farms under tunnels was around 83%. The farmers can optimize the production frontier of the capsicum cropping system by overcoming the existing level of technical inefficiencies. The number of irrigations, pesticides, labor hour, land preparation and seed have been important inputs for capsicum cropping system production and technical efficiency among farmers in the study area. The access to credit and farmer’s education have the positive relationship with technical efficiencies. Lack of credit and education cause significant production inefficiency.