Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigation of rolling contact fatigue cracks in a grade 900A rail steel of a metro track

ABSTRACT Rollingcontactfatigue(RCF)hasbeenofincreasingconcernintherecentyearsinrespectof the safe operation of high-speed railway track with high traffic intensity. The presentpaper summarizes the results of the first investigation of RCF damage encountered inthe Athens Metro. The objective of the investigation was to determine the initiation andpropagation of RCF cracks and to determine their geometrical characteristics.A thorough metallographic investigation of track regarding shelling and spalling defectsshowed the development of a subsurface network of cracks. An analysis of the Hertzianstress field was used to determine the conditions for first yield and shakedown limits as afunction of loading. Keywords rolling contact fatigue; rails, shelling; spalling, shakedown limit; surfacedefects.INTRODUCTIONDespite the advances in railway track engineering, ma-terials, manufacturing methods and rail inspection tech-nology, rail failure from rolling contact fatigue (RCF)remains a major threat to rail safety causing increasedmaintenance costs. Over the last 20 years, rail failurescaused by the exhaustion of the rail material fatigue resis-tance have been increasing especially those which involveRCF.
A novel duct silencer using dielectric elastomer absorbers

A novel duct silencer was developed using dielectric elastomer absorbers (DEAs). Dielectric elastomer, a lightweight, high elastic energy density and large deformation under high DC/AC voltages smart material, was used to fabricate this new generation actuator. The acoustic performances of this duct silencer were experimentally investigated in a transmission loss (TL) measurement system using two-load method. It was found that the resonance peaks of this new duct silencer could be controlled by applying various DC voltages, a maximum resonance shift of 59.5Hz for the resonance peaks was achieved which indicated that this duct silencer could be adjusted to absorb broadband range noise without any addition mechanical part. Furthermore, the resonance shift and multiple resonances mechanisms using DEAs were proposed and discussed in the present paper which was aiming to achieve broadband noise reduction. The present results also provide insight into the appropriateness of the absorber for possible use as new acoustic treatment to replace the traditional acoustic treatment.
Effects of Altitude and Heat on Complex Cognitive Tasks

The effects of heat and altitude on complex cognitive tasks involved in artillery fire direction center operations were examined. Five six-man groups received one week of intensive training on tasks involving message reception and decoding, arithmetic conversions, and reception and recording of meteorological data. Each group then performed the tasks for 7 h during each of the following daily series of conditions: control (sea level, normal temperature), altitude (4300 m, normal temperature), control (sea level, normal temperature), heat (sea level, 35°C, 88% RH). All tasks were significantly and similarly affected by altitude and by heat, although individuals differed considerably in degree and type of stress response. Errors of omission greatly exceeded errors of commission. This approach, anchored firmly in basic psychological processes and theory, is considered to be of significant potential value as a technique for analyzing stress-sensitive factors in complex cognitive performance.
Assessment of Oral Skills in Adolescents

There is broad consensus on the need to foster oral skills in middle school due to their inherent importance and because they serve as a tool for learning and acquiring other competences. In order to facilitate the assessment of communicative competence, we hereby propose a model which establishes five key dimensions for effective oral communication: interaction management; multimodality and prosody; textual coherence and cohesion; argumentative strategies; and lexicon and terminology. Based on this model, we developed indicators to measure the proposed dimensions, thus generating a self-report tool to assess oral communication in middle school. Following an initial study conducted with 168 students (mean age = 12.47 years, SD = 0.41), we selected 22 items with the highest discriminant power, while in a second study carried out with a sample of 960 students (mean age 14.11 years, SD = 0.97), we obtained evidence concerning factorial validity and the relationships between oral skills, emotional intelligence and metacognitive strategies related to metacomprehension. We concluded that the proposed model and its derived measure constitute an instrument with good psychometric properties for a reliable and valid assessment of students’ oral competence in middle school.
Levels of Moral Distress among Health Care Professionals Working in Hospital and Community Settings: A Cross Sectional Study

Moral distress is a concern for all healthcare professionals working in all care settings. Based on our knowledge, no studies explore the differences in levels of moral distress in hospital and community settings. This study aims to examine the level of moral distress among healthcare professional working in community or hospital settings and compare it by demographic and workplace characteristics. This is a cross-sectional study. All the professionals working in the hospitals or community settings involved received personal e-mail invitations to participate in the study. The Moral Distress Thermometer was used to measure moral distress among healthcare professionals. Before data collection, ethical approval was obtained from each setting where the participants were enrolled. The sample of this study is made up of 397 healthcare professionals: 53.65% of the sample works in hospital setting while 46.35% of the sample works in community setting. Moral distress was present in all professional groups. Findings have shown that nurses experienced level of moral distress higher than other healthcare professionals (mean: 4.91). There was a significant differences between moral distress among different professional categories (H(6) = 14.407; p < 0.05). The ETA Coefficient test showed significant variation between healthcare professionals working in community and in hospital settings. Specifically, healthcare professionals who work in hospital experienced a higher level of moral distress than those who work in community settings (means 4.92 vs. means 3.80). The results of this study confirm that it is imperative to develop educational programs to reduce moral distress even in those settings where the level perceived is low, in order to mitigate the moral residue and the crescendo effect.
Two novel transmission lines with vertical conductors added to ground planes

In this article, two different novel Coplanar Waveguides (CPW) structures have been proposed and analyzed. The CPW structures proposed provide flexibility for practical applications. For the analyses, conformal mapping techniques were employed. The closed form analytical expressions are generally suitable for usage in CAD‐oriented microwave circuit design. Both the structures have been simulated for quasi‐TEM mode in a 3D commercially available software. In addition, the results obtained in this work have been compared with the others available in the literature. Simulations and comparisons give support to the validity of the obtained analytical expressions in this study. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 1653–1656, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22508
Navigation without vision: bumblebee orientation in complete darkness

In flight cages, worker bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) spontaneously explored the surroundings of their nest and foraged in complete darkness, by walking instead of flying, from feeders up to 150 cm away from the nest. This behaviour was wholly unexpected in these classically visual foragers. The finding provides a controlled system for dissecting possible non–visual components of navigation used in daylight. It also allows us to isolate navigation mechanisms used in naturally dark situations, such as in the nest. Using infrared video, we mapped walking trails. We found that bumblebees laid odour marks. When such odour cues were eliminated, bees maintained correct directionality, suggesting a magnetic compass. They were also able to assess travel distance correctly, using an internal, non–visual, measure of path length. Path integration was not employed. Presumably, this complex navigational skill requires visual input in bees.
Analysis of Factors Affecting the Restatement of Financial Statements

The convergence of IFRS has brought an impact on the changes of financial accounting standards in Indonesia. The variation provide an opportunity for the restatement of financial statements. Therefore, this study aimed to examine CEO turnover, earnings management, and audit quality on the restatement of financial statements of manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) during the period of2014 to 2018. In this study, purposive sampling method was carried out to consider samples with predetermined criteria. The obtained data were about 376 and analyzed using logistic regression with the SPPS 24.0 tool. As the results of data analysis, this study indicated that the CEO turnover had a positive effect on restatement; the earnings management had a positive effect on restatement; and the audit quality had no effect on restatement of financial statements.
Correlating business process re-engineering with the information systems department

Despite the widespread use of re-engineering to enhance organizational competitiveness, the role of an information systems department in business process re-engineering is not clearly understood. The role of an information systems department in the success of business process re-engineering projects was empirically investigated. Structured interviews with 27 executives were initially conducted to identify critical information systems department roles in business process re-engineering. These roles were then empirically validated using survey research method to determine their extent of impact on business process re-engineering success. The results of hierarchical regression analysis show that support of top information system management, the existence of technology champion, the management of resistance to change, the quality of information system planning, the integration of an information system–business strategy, the sophistication of user's computer skill and the extent of integration of the information architecture are the most critical information systems department roles in business process re-engineering success. Other roles of an information systems department that facilitate business process re-engineering success include the management of transition, the provision of information technology training, the competency of information system staff and the extent of computer use by users. The implications of these findings for information system researchers and practitioners are discussed.
Assessment of crop usage in ad libitum fed birds and short-term phytase efficiency as affected by acid addition

ABSTRACT 1. A field assessment was performed to map the extent of crop usage and thus retention time in broiler chickens. In addition, a broiler experiment was carried out to study the short-term effect of acid addition on phytase efficacy in the crop. 2. In the field assessment, the crop content of 40 ad libitum fed broiler chickens from 4 different farms were sampled at 10, 20 and 30 d of age. The dry matter (DM) content varied from 0 to 32 g. 3. From 11 d of age, 120 individually caged chickens were intermittently fed a high phytate-P diet with either no addition or 500 FYT C. braakii-derived phytase added or both phytase and 1.4% formic acid added. Excreta were collected for assessment of phosphorus (P) retention. At 20 and 21 d of age, starved birds were fed for 1 h, and thereafter crop and gizzard contents were collected every 20 min until 140 min after start of the feeding. At 60 and 140 min, the contents from the jejunum and ileum were collected. 4. All diets reduced the concentration of phytate in the crop, however the combination of acid and phytase resulted in a higher degradation (P < 0.05) than the other diets from 20 min after the start of feeding. Simultaneously, the concentration of the smaller inositol phosphate isomers, such as inositol-5-phosphate, increased (P < 0.05). Phytase increased (P < 0.05) P retention, and the combination of acid and phytase increased jejunal P digestibility (P < 0.05) compared to the other diets. 5. The results indicated that lower pH in the crop due to acid addition improved phytase efficacy and increased P digestibility in the anterior digestive tract, even with short retention times.
Knowledge management for sustainable competitiveness in small and medium surveying practices

Purpose – An investigation of the importance of the knowledge of the key individuals in organisations, knowledge within organisations as well as customer capital and knowledge; and how these might impact on sustainable competitive advantage of small and medium sized enterprises. The key challenges for knowledge‐intensive SMEs are the identification, capture, storing, mapping, dissemination and creation of knowledge from different perspectives and for different purposes.Design/methodology/approach – Based on a thorough review of literature and field study, this paper presents and discusses the benefits of knowledge management (KM) for sustainable competitiveness in SMEs in surveying practices. A field study was conducted, involving 12 professionals from eleven organisations, of which 2 of the 11 organisations were surveying practices.Findings – The paper highlights the role of strategies, tools and techniques which might be of assistance. The paper concludes that managing knowledge assets in SME is not eas.
An Evaluation of Sleepiness, Performance, and Workload Among Operators During a Real-Time Reactive Telerobotic Lunar Mission Simulation

Objective We assessed operator performance during a real-time reactive telerobotic lunar mission simulation to understand how daytime versus nighttime operations might affect sleepiness, performance, and workload. Background Control center operations present factors that can influence sleepiness, neurobehavioral performance, and workload. Each spaceflight mission poses unique challenges that make it difficult to predict how long operators can safely and accurately conduct operations. We aimed to evaluate the performance impact of time-on-task and time-of-day using a simulated telerobotic lunar rover to better inform staffing and scheduling needs for the upcoming Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. Methods We studied seven trained operators in a simulated mission control environment. Operators completed two five-hour simulations in a randomized order, beginning at noon and midnight. Performance was evaluated every 25 minutes using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, Psychomotor Vigilance Task, and NASA Task Load Index. Results Participants rated themselves as sleepier (5.06 ± 2.28) on the midnight compared to the noon simulation (3.12 ± 1.44; p < .001). Reaction time worsened over time during the midnight simulation but did not vary between simulations. Workload was rated higher during the noon (37.93 ± 20.09) compared to the midnight simulation (32.09 ± 21.74; p = .007). Conclusion Our findings suggest that work shifts during future operations should be limited in duration to minimize sleepiness. Our findings also suggest that working during the day, when distractions are present, increases perceived workload. Further research is needed to understand how working consecutive shifts and taking breaks within a shift influence performance.
Interaction of Acute Respiratory Failure and Acute Kidney Injury on in-Hospital Mortality of Patients with Acute Exacerbation COPD

Purpose Both acute respiratory failure (ARF) and acute kidney injury (AKI) are two common complications in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Moreover, both ARF and AKI are reported as increasing the risk of mortality of patients with AECOPD. However, the interaction of ARF and AKI on the mortality of patients with AECOPD remains unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the joint effect of ARF and AKI on in-hospital mortality in AECOPD patients. Patients and Methods We performed a retrospective, observational cohort study of data from Nanjing First Hospital. The effect of AKI and ARF on in-hospital mortality was assessed using a multivariate logistic regression model. Additive interaction was assessed with the relative excess risk due to interaction. Results A total of 1647 participants were enrolled. ARF and AKI occurred in 515 (31.3%) and 357 (21.7%) patients, respectively. Overall, in-hospital mortality was 5.7%. The in-hospital mortality of the neither ARF nor AKI group, the ARF only group, the AKI only group, and both the ARF and AKI group were 0.8%, 7.0%, 7.5%, and 29.9%, respectively. After multivariate logistic regression analysis, the independent factors for in-hospital death included: albumin (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.83–0.93, P < 0.001), ARF only (OR 8.53, 95% CI 3.64–19.99, P < 0.001), AKI only (OR 8.99, 95% CI 3.58–22.55, P < 0.001), and both ARF and AKI (OR 39.13, 95% CI 17.02–89.97, P < 0.001). The relative excess risk due to interaction was 22.62 (95% CI, 0.31 to 44.93), the attributable proportion due to interaction was 0.59 (95% CI, 0.36 to 0.79), and the synergy index was 2.46 (95% CI, 1.44 to 4.20), indicating ARF and AKI had a significant synergic effect on in-hospital mortality. Conclusion ARF and AKI had a synergistic effect on in-hospital mortality in AECOPD patients.
Travel time prediction under heterogeneous traffic conditions using global positioning system data from buses

Travel time information is a vital component of many intelligent transportation systems (ITS) applications. In recent years, the number of vehicles in India has increased tremendously, leading to severe traffic congestion and pollution in urban areas, particularly during peak periods. A desirable strategy to deal with such issues is to shift more people from personal vehicles to public transport by providing better service (comfort, convenience and so on). In this context, advanced public transportation systems (APTS) are one of the most important ITS applications, which can significantly improve the traffic situation in India. One such application will be to provide accurate information about bus arrivals to passengers, leading to reduced waiting times at bus stops. This needs a real-time data collection technique, a quick and reliable prediction technique to calculate the expected travel time based on real-time data and informing the passengers regarding the same. The scope of this study is to use global positioning system data collected from public transportation buses plying on urban roadways in the city of Chennai, India, to predict travel times under heterogeneous traffic conditions using an algorithm based on the Kalman filtering technique. The performance of the proposed algorithm is found to be promising and expected to be valuable in the development of APTS in India. The work presented here is one of the first attempts at real-time short-term prediction of travel time for ITS applications in Indian traffic conditions.
Role of oxidation of excitation-contraction coupling machinery in age-dependent loss of muscle function in C. elegans

Age-dependent loss of body wall muscle function and impaired locomotion occur within 2 weeks in C. elegans; however, the underlying mechanism has not been fully elucidated. In humans, age-dependent loss of muscle function occurs at about 80 years of age and has been linked to dysfunction of ryanodine receptor (RyR)/intracellular calcium (Ca2+) release channels on the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Mammalian skeletal muscle RyR1 channels undergo age-related remodeling due to oxidative overload, leading to loss of the stabilizing subunit calstabin1 (FKBP12) from the channel macromolecular complex. This destabilizes the closed state of the channel resulting in intracellular Ca2+ leak, reduced muscle function, and impaired exercise capacity. We now show that the C. elegans RyR homolog, UNC-68, exhibits a remarkable degree of evolutionary conservation with mammalian RyR channels and similar age-dependent dysfunction. Like RyR1 in mammals UNC-68 encodes a protein that comprises a macromolecular complex which includes the calstabin1 homolog FKB-2 and is immunoreactive with antibodies raised against the RyR1 complex. Further, as in aged mammals, UNC-68 is oxidized and depleted of FKB-2 in an age-dependent manner, resulting in “leaky” channels, depleted SR Ca2+ stores, reduced body wall muscle Ca2+ transients, and age-dependent muscle weakness. FKB-2 (ok3007)-deficient worms exhibit reduced exercise capacity. Pharmacologically induced oxidization of UNC-68 and depletion of FKB-2 from the channel independently caused reduced body wall muscle Ca2+ transients. Preventing FKB-2 depletion from the UNC-68 macromolecular complex using the Rycal drug S107 improved muscle Ca2+ transients and function. Taken together, these data suggest that UNC-68 oxidation plays a role in age-dependent loss of muscle function. Remarkably, this age-dependent loss of muscle function induced by oxidative overload, which takes ~2 years in mice and ~80 years in humans, occurs in less than 2-3 weeks in C. elegans, suggesting that reduced anti-oxidant capacity may contribute to the differences in life span amongst species.
Effects of percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty in patients with mitral stenosis and atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Objective The study aimed to systematically review the existing literature and assess the effects of percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV) in patients with mitral stenosis and atrial fibrillation (AF) as opposed to sinus rhythm (SR). Methods Eligible studies were identified from six electronic databases before June 2021. The primary outcome was mitral valve area (MVA), and secondary outcomes were hemodynamic measurements, in-hospital complications, and long-term outcomes. Relative risks (RRs) or weighted mean differences (WMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used as effect sizes. Results Fifteen studies were included involving 6351 patients. For the primary outcome, the AF group obtained less favourable changes in MVA (WMD: −0.10, 95%CI: −0.14, −0.06) and a significantly smaller postoperative and long-term MVA (WMD: −0.13, 95%CI: −0.18, −0.08 and WMD: −0.10, 95%CI: −0.17, −0.03, respectively) compared to the SR group. For secondary outcome, the AF group was associated with suboptimal outcomes as following (WMD/RR, [95%CI]): higher LAP (1.37, [0.86, 1.87]), more embolism (2.85, [1.44, 5.63]), lower event-free survival (0.89, [0.80, 1.00]), higher incidences of mitral valve replacement (2.20, [1.40, 3.46]), re-PBMV (2.28, [1.63, 3.19]), and mortality (3.28, [2.42, 4.44]). No significant differences were found in other outcomes. Conclusions The currently available evidence suggests that PBMV may be less effective in patients with AF than in those with SR. However, early treatment and appropriate management of AF patients undergoing PBMV may benefit the immediate and long-term outcomes.