Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Critical Gap as a Function of Waiting Time in Determining Roundabout Capacity

This paper presents a study of two important roundabout performance issues: (1) the impact of the waiting time of drivers on the approach leg, on the critical gap they accept before entering a roundabout and (2) the entry capacity of the approach. The main hypothesis is that an increase in drivers’ average waiting times reduces the average accepted gap and, consequently, the critical gap. A model for a change in the critical gap at busy roundabouts, with long approach queues and long waiting times, is provided. The model for a change in the critical gap was found to be logistic; i.e., it had an s-shape between a maximum and a minimum critical gap. The parameters of each site studied in the present investigation were found to correlate in regard to geometric complexity and traffic intensity. The parameters were the outside diameter, pedestrian volume, and circulating flow of vehicles around the central island. A reduction in the critical gap because of increased waiting times results in a significant incre.
Differential Gene Expression in Host Ubiquitination Processes in Childhood Malarial Anemia

Background: Malaria remains one of the leading global causes of childhood morbidity and mortality. In holoendemic Plasmodium falciparum transmission regions, such as western Kenya, severe malarial anemia [SMA, hemoglobin (Hb) < 6.0 g/dl] is the primary form of severe disease. Ubiquitination is essential for regulating intracellular processes involved in innate and adaptive immunity. Although dysregulation in ubiquitin molecular processes is central to the pathogenesis of multiple human diseases, the expression patterns of ubiquitination genes in SMA remain unexplored. Methods: To examine the role of the ubiquitination processes in pathogenesis of SMA, differential gene expression profiles were determined in Kenyan children (n = 44, aged <48 mos) with either mild malarial anemia (MlMA; Hb ≥9.0 g/dl; n = 23) or SMA (Hb <6.0 g/dl; n = 21) using the Qiagen Human Ubiquitination Pathway RT2 Profiler PCR Array containing a set of 84 human ubiquitination genes. Results: In children with SMA, 10 genes were down-regulated (BRCC3, FBXO3, MARCH5, RFWD2, SMURF2, UBA6, UBE2A, UBE2D1, UBE2L3, UBR1), and five genes were up-regulated (MDM2, PARK2, STUB1, UBE2E3, UBE2M). Enrichment analyses revealed Ubiquitin-Proteasomal Proteolysis as the top disrupted process, along with altered sub-networks involved in proteasomal, protein, and ubiquitin-dependent catabolic processes. Conclusion: Collectively, these novel results show that protein coding genes of the ubiquitination processes are involved in the pathogenesis of SMA.
N-Terminal Pro-brain Natriuretic Peptide Is Associated With Hemorrhagic Transformation and Poor Outcomes in Patients With Stroke Treated With Intravenous Thrombolysis

Background: N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels are a promising biomarker for predicting stroke outcomes; however, their prognostic validity is not well-understood in patients who have undergone intravenous thrombolysis. This study was designed to evaluate the prognostic value of NT-proBNP levels in patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with intravenous thrombolysis. Methods: Patients with ischemic stroke who underwent intravenous thrombolysis between April 2015 and December 2020 were analyzed. Demographic information, information related to intravenous thrombolysis, medical history, and laboratory test results were collected. Outcomes, such as hemorrhagic transformation, early neurologic deterioration, poor 3-month functional outcomes, and 3-month mortality were recorded. Correlations between NT-proBNP levels and the above outcomes were analyzed, an individualized prediction model based on NT-proBNP levels for functional outcomes was developed, and a nomogram was drafted. Results: A total of 404 patients were included in the study. Elevated NT-proBNP levels were independently associated with hemorrhagic transformation, poor 3-month functional outcomes, and 3-month mortality, while early neurological deterioration was not. An association between NT-proBNP levels and hemorrhagic transformation was noted. An individualized prediction model for poor functional outcomes was established, which was composed of ln(NT-proBNP), National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and baseline glucose, with good discrimination [area under the curve (AUC) 0.764] and calibration (P > 0.05). Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the association between NT-proBNP levels and hemorrhagic transformation in patients who have undergone intravenous thrombolysis. The 3-month functional outcomes and mortality were found to be associated with NT-proBNP levels. An individualized prediction model based on NT-proBNP levels to predict the 3-month functional outcomes was established. Our results suggest that NT-proBNP levels could be used as a prognostic biomarker in patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with intravenous thrombolysis.
Multislit interpretation of cascaded fiber gratings

The analogy between the transmission spectrum of a cascaded long-period grating (LPG) and the diffraction pattern of a multislit is presented. Both of them can be expressed with the exact same equation. Only the phase parameters that describe the interference are different. The spectrum of the cascaded LPG and/or a single LPG has been derived into a single analytic equation by diagonalizing the matrix that describes the system. The diagonalizing method that gives the analytic solution of the cascaded device is introduced in detail. Experimentally and theoretically, it is presented that the device composed of N equally spaced identical LPGs has a series of regularly spaced main-loss peaks enveloped by a slowly varying curve determined by the spectrum of the single LPG. Between the adjacent main peaks, there exists N-2 side peaks. With the multislit analogy, the complicated mode coupling in an LPG and/or cascaded LPGs can be explained with the interference among the beams coupled by the series of gratings from an undepleted core mode into a cladding mode. The recoupling back to the core mode does not need to be considered but embedded in the phases of the coupled beams. The analogy holds for any strength of gratings. The phase parameter is proved to be the eigenvalue of the system unit matrix composed of an LPG and the grating-free region between LPGs. The spectral properties of the cascaded LPG are analyzed in detail. As the diffraction pattern of the multislit is enveloped by the curve determined by the shape of a single slit, the interference of the cascaded LPG is enveloped by the curve determined by the specification of a single LPG. The fringe-enveloping curve is also derived in a closed analytic form. As the finesse of the multislit becomes high as the number of slits increases, the finesse of the cascaded LPG increases with the number of the LPGs. The free spectral range decreases with the separation between elements in both cases.
Dietary Strategies to Improve Cardiovascular Health: Focus on Increasing High-Density Lipoprotein Functionality

Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with increasing incidence. A cornerstone of cardiovascular disease prevention is lifestyle modification through dietary changes to influence various risk factors such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes. The effects of diet on cardiovascular health are complex. Some dietary components and metabolites directly affect the composition and structure of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and increase anti-inflammatory and vasoprotective properties. HDLs are composed of distinct subpopulations of particles of varying size and composition that have several dynamic and context-dependent functions. The identification of potential dietary components that improve HDL functionality is currently an important research goal. One of the best-studied diets for cardiovascular health is the Mediterranean diet, consisting of fish, olive oil, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes/nuts, and moderate consumption of alcohol, most commonly red wine. The Mediterranean diet, especially when supplemented with extra virgin olive oil rich in phenolic compounds, has been shown to markedly improve metrics of HDL functionality and reduce the burden, or even prevent the development of cardiovascular disease. Particularly, the phenolic compounds of extra virgin olive oil seem to exert the significant positive effects on HDL function. Moreover, supplementation of anthocyanins as well as antioxidants such as lycopene or the omega−3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid improve parameters of HDL function. In this review, we aim to highlight recent discoveries on beneficial dietary patterns as well as nutritional components and their effects on cardiovascular health, focusing on HDL function.
Gender Variations in Pharmacokinetics of Paracetamol in Hausa/Fulani Ethnic group in Northwest Nigeria – A Two-stage Approach

Background: Paracetamol is one of the most commonly used drugs worldwide and has been linked to drug-related liver damage, even when taken at recommended doses. Ingesting the upper limit of recommended doses of the drug produced a doubling of mortality when compared to not taking the drug. Acetaminophen ingestion has been implicated in the development of angioedema, the exasperation of asthma, and urticaria in patients with aspirin intolerance. Aim: This study aimed at assessing gender variations in the pharmacokinetics of paracetamol in Hausa/Fulani, the most populous ethnic group in Nigeria and determines a possibility of toxicity in the group. Methods: It was an exploratory study involving twenty participants selected by criterion sampling who satisfied inclusion criteria. They were fasted 11-h preceding acetaminophen administration to 3 h after administration. A single dose of acetaminophen, 1 g orally with 300 ml of distilled water, was administered at 8 A. M. Blood was obtained before the administration and 15, 30, and 45 min, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 h after the administration. Acetaminophen plasma concentrations were determined by validated reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography Food and Drug Administration guidelines. Results: Six out of 19 (31.6%) participants have higher than maximum therapeutic plasma concentration (>20 μg/ml). Pharmacokinetics parameters were higher in males except for clearance and volume of distribution. Conclusion: Clearance from the plasma tends to be more for females than their male counterparts. A good proportion of Hausa/Fulani is prone to acetaminophen toxicity at a therapeutic dose.
Determination of proximate composition, amino acids, and some phytochemical properties of sesame seed capsule (Sesamum indicum L.) in semi-arid Zone of North-Eastern Nigeria

The study was conducted to determine sesame seed capsules' proximate composition, amino acid, and phytochemical properties as a potential feed resource. Homogeneous triplicate representative samples were analyzed following scientific protocols. The results indicated that the sesame seed capsule contained 75.41% carbohydrate, 3.59% ether extract, 4.32% protein, 93.57% dry matter, 12.01% crude fiber, and 4.77% ash. The amino acids profile showed glutamic acid with the highest value of 1.71, while proline was not found. The phytochemical contents of the seed showed the presence of alkaloid (1209.88 mg/100 g, phytate (41.07 mg/100 g), saponin (31.94 mg/100 g), oxalate (3.33 mg/100 g), and trypsin inhibitor (9.92 Tiu/mg/g), respectively. The crude fiber and energy values indicated it was a good source of fiber and energy; however, the protein quality was poor, and the concentration of alkaloid, trypsin inhibitor, and oxalate were above the standard limits for safe feed. This may adversely influence digestibility and utilization. It is better to detoxified and supplemented with good quality protein sources before feeding to animals.
Supporting Self-management Among Young People With Acne Vulgaris Through a Web-Based Behavioral Intervention: Development and Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Acne is a common skin condition that is most prevalent in young people. It can have a substantial impact on the quality of life, which can be minimized with the appropriate use of topical treatments. Nonadherence to topical treatments for acne is common and often leads to treatment failure. Objective The aim of this study is to develop a web-based behavioral intervention to support the self-management of acne and to assess the feasibility of recruitment, retention, and engagement of users with the intervention. Methods The intervention was developed iteratively using the LifeGuide software and following the person-based approach for intervention development. The target behavior was appropriate use of topical treatments. Barriers and facilitators identified from the qualitative research and evidence from the wider literature were used to identify techniques to improve and promote their use. Young people with acne aged 14-25 years who had received treatment for acne in the past 6 months were invited to participate through mail-out from primary care practices in the South of England in a parallel, unblinded randomized trial. Participants were automatically randomized using a computer-generated algorithm to usual care or to usual care plus access to the web-based intervention. Usage data was collected, and a series of questionnaires, including the primary outcome measure for skin-specific quality of life (Skindex-16), were collected at baseline and at the 4- and 6-week follow-ups. Results A total of 1193 participants were invited, and 53 young people with acne were randomized to usual care (27/53, 51%) or usual care plus intervention (26/53, 49%). The response rate for the primary outcome measure (Skindex-16) was 87% at 4 weeks, 6 weeks, and at both time points. The estimate of mean scores between groups (with 95% CI) using linear regression showed a trend in the direction of benefit for the web-based intervention group in the primary outcome measure (Skindex-16) and secondary measures (Patient Health Questionnaire-4 and the Problematic Experiences of Therapy Scale). Intervention usage data showed high uptake of the core module in the usual care plus web-based intervention group, with 88% (23/26) of participants completing the module. Uptake of the optional modules was low, with less than half visiting each (myth-busting quiz: 27%; living with spots or acne: 42%; oral antibiotics: 19%; what are spots or acne: 27%; other treatments: 27%; talking to your general practitioner: 12%). Conclusions This study demonstrated the feasibility of delivering a trial of a web-based intervention to support self-management in young people with acne. Additional work is needed before a full definitive trial, including enhancing engagement with the intervention, recruitment, and follow-up rates. Trial Registration ISRCTN 78626638; https://tinyurl.com/n4wackrw
Lossless Online Rounding for Online Bipartite Matching (Despite its Impossibility)

For numerous online bipartite matching problems, such as edge-weighted matching and matching under two-sided vertex arrivals, the state-of-the-art fractional algorithms outperform their randomized integral counterparts. This gap is surprising, given that the bipartite fractional matching polytope is integral, and so lossless rounding is possible. This gap was explained by Devanur et al.~(SODA'13), who showed that \emph{online} lossless rounding is impossible. Despite the above, we initiate the study of lossless online rounding for online bipartite matching problems. Our key observation is that while lossless online rounding is impossible \emph{in general}, randomized algorithms induce fractional algorithms of the same competitive ratio which by definition are losslessly roundable online. This motivates the addition of constraints that decrease the ``online integrality gap'', thus allowing for lossless online rounding. We characterize a set of non-convex constraints which allow for such lossless online rounding, and better competitive ratios than yielded by deterministic algorithms. As applications of our lossless online rounding approach, we obtain two results of independent interest: (i) a doubly-exponential improvement, and a sharp threshold for the amount of randomness (or advice) needed to outperform deterministic online (vertex-weighted) bipartite matching algorithms, and (ii) an optimal semi-OCS, matching a recent result of Gao et al.~(FOCS'21) answering a question of Fahrbach et al.~(FOCS'20).
A deep-learning assisted empathetic guide for self-attachment therapy

Conversational agents are increasingly being used to administer psychotherapy, both within academia and commercially. At present, the majority of chatbots built for this purpose are rule-based, as this framework guarantees the stability and predictability that are required in a sensitive area such as mental healthcare. In this work, we present a new dataset and a computational strategy that aim to improve users’ experience of interacting with a virtual agent for guiding them through self-attachment therapy, while at the same time maintaining safety and reliability. Our framework combines a deep-learning classifier for identifying the underlying emotion in a user’s text response, as well as a deep-learning assisted retrieval method for producing novel, fluent and empathetic utterances. We also craft a set of human-like personas for our chatbot. Our goal is to achieve a high level of user engagement during virtual therapy sessions. We evaluate the effectiveness of our framework in a non-clinical trial with N=16 participants, all of whom have had at least four interactions with the bot over the course of five days. We find that our platform is consistently rated higher than the baseline for empathy, user engagement and usefulness. Finally, we provide guidelines to further improve the design and performance of the chatbot, in accordance with the feedback received.
Efficient jobshop dispatching rules: Further developments

Many dispatching rules for scheduling in dynamic jobshops have been proposed over many years. The research issues in jobshop scheduling seem to be still open in the sense that no single rule has been found to be the best under all shopfloor conditions even with respect to one single measure of performance. Added to this problem, there are several measures of performance, e.g. the minimizations of mean, maximum and variance of flowtime, percentage of tardy jobs, and mean, maximum and variance of tardiness of jobs. Recent studies have reported the development of more efficient dispatching rules than the popular rules, e.g. SPT, COVERT, MOD and ATC. This study is an attempt to improve some of the recently reported dispatching rules. An extensive simulation study reveals that the improved rules developed in the present study appear to be quite effective in minimizing mean flowtime, and maximum tardiness and variance of tardiness of jobs.
Designing Myeloid Gene Panels Evaluation of the Association for Molecular Pathology–Recommended Core 34-Gene Panel for Next-Generation Sequencing in Chronic Myeloid Neoplasms

Note: This article was posted on the Archives Web site as an Early Online Release. Early Online Release articles have been peer reviewed, copyedited, and reviewed by the authors. Additional changes or corrections may appear in these articles when they appear in a future print issue of the Archives. Early Online Release articles are citable by using the Digital Object Identifier (DOI), a unique number given to every article. The DOI will typically appear at the end of the abstract.
THD Analysis of Tilting Pad Thrust Bearings—Comparison Between Theory and Experiments

The objective of the present research is to verify a THD model of hydrodynamic thrust bearings. The developed model of a pivoted pad bearing, which can tilt both radially and circumferentially, allows for three-dimensional temperature distribution in the oil film and in the pad, as well as two-dimensional temperature variation in the runner. Viscosity and density are treated as functions of both temperature and pressure. Experiments have been performed on a test rig, containing two identical equalizing pivoted pad thrust bearings. Power loss, runner temperature, and pressure profiles as a function of load and rotational speed are compared for both theoretical and experimental investigations. Fairly good agreement has been found when the oil inlet temperature and heat transfer coefficients have been estimated in order to get the same runner temperature in both theory and experiment.
Structural Behavior of Short Span Precast Channel Beam Bridges without Shear Reinforcement

This paper presents findings of a research study conducted by the writers for the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. The study investigated precast nonprestressed concrete channel beam sections cast without shear reinforcement used in short, multispan bridges. The original objective of the study was to establish a correlation for inspection purposes between the beam’s visual deteriorated state and its corresponding approximate structural capacity. However, during four-point load testing of 33 beams, it was found that beam strength was more a function of a beam’s concrete compression strength rather than deterioration state. A national survey of state transportation departments within the contiguous states was conducted by the authors and found that 13 states currently use precast channel beam bridges. The particular section considered in this paper is a 5.79 m (19 ft) precast channel beam section used to cross small streams and depressions; however constructed without shear reinforcing .
Fast functional modelling of the aircraft power system including line fault scenarios

The more-electric aircraft concept is a fast-developing trend in aviation industry resulting in an increase in electrical loads fed by power electronic converters. Extensive simulations need to be done for ensuring power system integrity of the next generation commercial aircraft. Since the possible number of loads in an on-board power system can be very large, the development of accurate, effective and computational timesaving models is of importance. This paper focuses on development of a modeling approach based-on functional representation of individual power system units. This provides for possibility of fast simulation of a full generator-load power system under both normal and fault conditions. The paper describes the modeling principle, illustrates the acceleration attainable and shows how the functional representation can handle fault scenarios. (7 pages)
The single event upset response of the Analog Devices, ADSP2100A, digital signal processor

The authors present the results of a radiation evaluation program carried out on the Analog Devices, ADSP2100A, which is a single chip microprocessor optimized for 12.5 Mips Digital Signal Processing (DSP). Single Event Upset/Latch-up (SEU/SEL) testing using Californium-252 was the primary aim of this program, however, accelerator heavy ion and proton SEU/SEL data as well as total ionising dose data are also presented. In order to perform these tests, in particular the SEU tests, a dedicated test system was required. Special test hardware and software were developed. The hardware design and software used are described and details of the various tests and test facilities are given. Finally, the authors report on the use of the SEU data for the calculation of expected in-orbit upset rates using the CREME suite of programs. <<ETX>>