Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A theoretical and experimental study of magnetostrictive mini-actuators

The magnetostrictive mini-actuator (MMA), with its unique characteristics such as large strain, high force and high energy density, is potentially a new class of actuator most suitable for distributed actuator applications such as vibration control of smart structures. The authors present a theoretical framework, validated experimentally, to develop an MMA and its feasibility for vibration control. Based on two-dimensional thermal analysis, the general form of thermoelastic mathematical model for characterizing magnetostrictive-based actuators is proposed and experimentally validated. Thermal effects, at other than the initial state, are shown to have a significant effect on attainable strain and force of an MMA. Experimental results show that the MMA has good static and dynamic performance, and is suitable for applications in smart structures.
Simulation of Reinforced Concrete Frames with Nonductile Beam-Column Joints

The accurate prediction of shear strength and flexibility of beam-column joints without transverse reinforcement is essential to assess the seismic performance of nonductile reinforced concrete (RC) buildings characterized by having such unreinforced beam-column joints. In this study, a multilinear backbone curve to represent the moment-rotation relationship of an unreinforced corner beam-column joint is proposed. The modeling parameters of the backbone curve are estimated based on experimental results of four corner joint specimens recently tested by the authors. Furthermore, the proposed backbone curve is modified to be applicable to interior and roof beam-column joints. These backbone curves are validated by accurate reproduction of the force-drift responses of the four corner joint specimens and eight other exterior and interior joint specimens from literature. Using these backbone curves, nonlinear dynamic analyses are performed on three hypothetical building frames. The analytical results demonstrate the importance of joint flexibility for seismic assessment of nonductile RC buildings.
Effect of CMC and MCC as Sole Carbon Sources on Cellulase Activity and eglS Gene Expression in Three Bacillus subtilis Strains Isolated from Corn Stover

Cellulolytic activities in Bacillus subtilis have been demonstrated and it is known that the eglS gene encodes an endoglucanase that could play a key role. Three Bacillus subtilis strains (RZ164, RS351, and RS273) isolated from corn stover with contrasting cellulase activity were examined in this work. The aim was to analyze the influence of eglS gene on the ability of bacteria to grow on a liquid medium supplied with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) or microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) as sole carbon sources. All strains displayed similar growth in CMC medium and comparable exoglucanase and endoglucanase activity. However, the expression of eglS did not correlate among strains. On the other hand, when MCC was the carbon source tested, the growth of RS351 was higher than that obtained by RZ164 and RS273 strains. This behavior could be related to the level of cellulase activities displayed by this strain. Besides, eglS expression was higher in RS351 strain, suggesting a direct participation of this enzyme when the carbon source is MCC. Taken together, eglS could be involved in different roles exerted by these strains on either exo- or endoglucanase activity and under either substrate. The enzymes described here could be considered good alternatives for biomass conversion.
INTEGRATED INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: SMALL URBAN AREA'S EXPERIENCE

Earlier management systems were typically developed to manage individual components of the transportation system. More recently, these systems have been evolving into integrated infrastructure management systems (IIMSs) that simultaneously consider the needs of the different components of the entire transportation system. This paper describes the preliminary experience of a small urban area, located in northwestern Vermont, with the development of a framework for an IIMS. The framework, which is designed to manage the needs of six different components of the transportation system, is based on the use of available off-the-shelf tools whenever possible, and the use of geographic information systems (GIS) software to serve as an integration platform, as well as a visual interface. Within this framework, budget allocation among the competing needs of the different transportation components is determined using a mathematical programming approach. The paper concludes with a case study that describes how the developed framework is applied to the city of South Burlington, Vermont. Important lessons learned from this case study are also summarized.
Multilevel Analysis on Determinants of Diarrhea in Demak, Central Java

Background : Diarrhea is an infectious disease with high mortality in Indonesia. Diarrhea often occurs where risk factor control is weak, such as in rural area. This study aimed to examine the determinants of diarrhea in Demak, Central Java. Subjects and Method : A case-control study was conducted in Demak, Central Java, in October to November 2018. A sample of 200 study subjects was selected by fixed disease sampling. The dependent variable was diarrhea. The independent variables were age, clean water supply, latrine availability, waste water management, waste management, hand wash behavior, family income, and education level. The data were collected by questionnaire and analyzed by a multilevel regression, run on Stata 13. Results : Diarrhea increased with poor clean water supply (b= 1.45; 95% CI= 0.23 to 2.67; p= 0.020), latrine unavailable (b= 1.86; 95% CI= 0.66 to 3.06; p= 0.002), poor waste management (b= 2.71; 95% CI= 1.52 to 3.90; p<0.001), poor garbage management (b= 1.34; 95% CI= 0.17 to 2.50; p= 0.024), irregular hand washing with soap (b= 1.34; 95% CI= 0.12 to 2.40; p= 0.030). Diarrhea decreased with high family income (b= -1.56; 95% CI= -2.78 to -0.34; p= 0.012) and high education (b= -1.75; 95% CI= -2.95 to -0.565; p= 0.004). Diarrhea was negatively associated with age but it was statistically non-significant (b= -0.33; 95% CI= -1.51 to 0.844; p= 0.578). Village had contextual effect on the incidence of diarrhea (ICC= 13.9%). Conclusion : Diarrhea increases with poor clean water supply, latrine unavailable, poor waste management, poor garbage management, irregular hand washing with soap. Diarrhea decreases with high family income and high education. Village has contextual effect on the incidence of diarrhea. Keywords : diarrhea, water supply, hand wash behavior, waste management Correspondence: Aulia Noorvita Ramadani. Masters Program in Public Health, Universitas Sebelas Maret. Jl. Ir. Sutami 36 A, Surakarta, Central Java 57126. Email: aulia.noorviat@yahoo.com. Mobile: +6285641577322. Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health (2019), 4(2): 88-96 https://doi.org/10.26911/jepublichealth.2019. 04.02. 04
Variation of malaria cases, parasite density and the multiplicity of Plasmodium falciparum infection throughout the year at three different health centers in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

Background: In the Republic of Congo, hot temperature and seasons distortions observed may impact seasonal variations of the development of malaria parasites. We investigate the variation of malaria cases, parasite density and the multiplicity of Plasmodium falciparum infection throughout the year in Brazzaville. Methods: From May 2015 to May 2016, suspected patients with uncomplicated malaria were enrolled at the Hôpital de Mfilou, CSI « Maman Mboualé», and the Laboratoire National de Santé Publique. For each patient, thick blood was examined and parasite density was calculated. After DNA isolation, MSP1 and MSP2 genes were genotyped. Results: A total of 416, 259 and 131 patients with suspected malaria were enrolled at the CSI «Maman Mboualé», Hôpital de Mfilou and the Laboratoire National de Santé Publique respectively. Proportion of malaria cases and geometric mean parasite density were higher at the CSI «Maman Mboualé» compared to over sites (P-value ˂0.001). However the multiplicity of infection was higher at the Hôpital de Mfilou (P-value ˂0.001). At the Laboratoire National de Santé Publique, malaria cases and multiplicity of infection were not influenced by different seasons. However, variation of the mean parasite density was statistically significant (P-value ˂0.01). Higher proportions of malaria cases were found at the end of main rainy season including the beginning of the main dry season at the Hôpital de Mfilou and the CSI «Maman Mboualé»; while, lowest proportions were observed in September and January and in September and March respectively. Higher mean parasite densities were found at the end of rainy seasons with persistence at the beginning of dry seasons. The lowest mean parasite densities were found during dry seasons, with persistence at the beginning of rainy seasons. Fluctuation of the multiplicity of infection throughout the year was observed without any impact of different seasons. Conclusion: The current study suggests that malaria transmission is still variable between the north and south parts of Brazzaville. Seasonal fluctuations of malaria cases and mean parasite densities were observed with some extension to different seasons. Thus, both meteorological and entomological studies are needed to update the season’s periods as well as malaria transmission intensity in Brazzaville.
The Impact of Intervention on Survival of Elderly Patients with Gastric Cancer at IV Stage: A SEER Population-Based Study.

Background The selection of therapeutic regimens for elderly patients with gastric cancer (GC) has attracted much attention. However, few clinical trials have been conducted concerning the subpopulation of patients diagnosed with stage IV disease. In this study, cases from the Surveillance, Epidemiologic and End Results (SEER) database were collected to investigate the effects of surgery and chemotherapy (CT) on the survival benefit in elderly GC patients with stage IV disease. Methods GC patients aged >65 years diagnosed with stage IV disease between 1973 and 2014 in the SEER database were included in the study pool based on strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. Univariate and multivariate analyses were employed to determine prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of different intervention methods on OS and CSS. Results A total of 9,306 patients were selected from the SEER database. The results showed that patients who received both surgery and chemotherapy significantly obtained OS and CSS benefits (P < 0.0001). Compared with the no surgery and CT group, the CT alone group (P < 0.0001) and the surgery alone group (P < 0.0001) had prolonged survival time. Furthermore, age and grade stratifications served as important indicators for the selection of therapeutic regimens Conclusions Surgery combined with CT outperformed monotherapy or no therapy strategies for elderly patients with stage IV disease.
On the Mechanics of Chip Segmentation In Machining

The mechanics of chip segmentation, during machining of a cold rolled steel has been investigated from a phenomenological point of view using a high speed movie camera and an explosive quick stop device. The latter was used for obtaining chip root samples at various stages of segmentation for subsequent examination in the Optical and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The chip segmentation process is found to arise as a result of instabilities in the cutting process and is further augmented by the dynamic response of part of the machine tool structure. This process involves a slow forward movement of the plastic boundary in the primary shear zone forming a ramp on the free surface of the chip followed by a rapid return of the plastic boundary back towards the tool forming a step on the chip segment as a result of partial fracture at the free surface. This process is characterized by large strains, low shear angles that oscillate cyclically and stick-slip friction on the rake face. The instability in the cutting process is proposed to be due to the negative stress—strain characteristics of certain materials at large strains, as Walker and Shaw [1] proposed, involving void formation around second phase particles, their propagation into microcracks in the primary shear zone and coalescence of these cracks leading to partial fracture. Evidence for this has been obtained in this investigation.
Influence of soil amendments and azotobacter on growth and yield of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica L.)

During 2004-05 and 2005-06 experiments were conducted at Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi to study the effect of synthetic chemical fertilizers alone or in combinations with several soil amendments viz., sewage sludge, FYM, vermicompost and hiofertilizer (Azotobacter) on vegetative growth and head yield of broccoli hybrid Fiesta. Vermicompost @ 2.5 t/ha + ½ dose of N.P.K. (recommended, 1 50: 80: 80) + Azotobacter expressed the maximum head weight (491 .97g) and marketable yield (207.87 q/ha) along with highest B:C ratio (5.21).
Observing, Understanding, and Manipulating Biological Membranes

The phospholipid bilayer is one of the hallmarks of eukaryotic life. This complicated two dimensionally fluid surface is composed of a double layer of lipids which have a region that is hydrophobic and a region that is hydrophilic. The lipid bilayer membranes of a cell act as a barrier that distinguishes the cells and the organelles interiors from the outside environment. In order for the cell to be able to effectively communicate across these impermeable barriers they have evolved many intricate systems of lipid and protein interaction that serve to transmit information from one side of the membrane to the other. The abundance of functionality in the membrane has made them incredibly complicated and intricate structures. This complexity makes the study of any one membrane associated signaling pathway or system more often than not very challenging if not impossible. Because of this a simplified analogue of the biological membrane is necessary for controlled and quantitative studies. The amphiphilic nature of phospholipids allows researcher to create lipid bilayer that can be controlled for composition and placed on a surface that is accessible to many investigative systems. These supported lipid bilayer (SLB) systems have been used for decades to figure out the intricate series of actions and reactions that occur in a natural biomembrane. While there is still a lot to be learned from simple lipid bilayer systems there is also now the need to produce bilayers that incorporate more of the functions of a living cell. These will permit the study of signaling systems involving multiple molecules, the direct observation of cellular responses to surface stimuli, and even the control of cellular behavior. Along with providing greater versatility in the study of cells and membrane mediated systems these enhanced lipid bilayers will have major biomedical applications. Given that a lipid bilayer is the exterior presented by cells in nature there can be no more biocompatible surface than a lipid bilayer, for the surface treatment of medical devices this could have great implications. For instance, if sufficient knowledge is developed about these systems, then all types of medical implants could have a customized lipid bilayer based coating that would help it to integrate perfectly with the tissue to which it is embedded. Joint replacements could have a surface that would promote the growth of osteoblast cells, a cardiac stent could have a coating to prevent clot formation while promoting epithelial cell growth and discouraging smooth muscle cell growth, perhaps even neural implants capable of two way communication for the treatment
Settlement Analysis for Embedded Foundation Resting on Non-Homogeneous Subgrade

Elastic modulus of soil increases continuously with depth because of the overburden pressure. By combining the modified Mohr-Coulomb elastic-plastic constitutive model with this type of nonhomogeneous subgrade and considering factors of embedment depth of foundation, friction coefficients between the foundation bottom face and soil, the nonhomogeneity and strength of subgrade soil are analyzed by FEM method. It is shown that the settlement laws of the magnitude and the distribution range of the subgrade are different to other models using in literatures ordinarily
Common Chicken Diseases in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh: Estimation Through the Veterinary Hospital-Based Passive Surveillance System

| Poultry farming in South-East Asia has been rapidly progressing to meet the demands of population growth and reducing malnutrition. However, the diseases and the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in poultry threaten the industry posing public health risks. A clinico-epidemiological study was therefore conducted at the District Veterinary Hospital, Kishoreganj, Bangladesh during October-November 2019 to determine the overall disease prevalence, prescription patterns, and disease associated factors in different bird types. Data were obtained through interviews and inspections and then stored in MS Excel 2010. Data were coded, recorded, and checked for consistency before exporting to STATA-13 software for statistical analysis. ArcGIS Desktop Version 10.4. 1 was used to produce a map showing geographical case distribution. In total, 552 cases (182 exotic broilers, 118 Sonali, and 252 exotic layers) were included during the study period. Visceral gout (42.4%), coccidiosis (49.2%), and colibacillosis (24.2%) were the most frequent disease in broiler, Sonali, and layers, respectively. The study also showed the single application of watch group antibiotics was the highest in broilers (88.3%), followed by Sonali (67.4%) and layers (56.5%). Doxycycline (72.7%) was the most common antibiotic for treating visceral gout in broilers, whereas ciprofloxacin was highly used in Sonali for infectious bursal disease (84.4%), and coccidiosis (58.6%) respectively, and tiamulin (6.4%) for salmonellosis in layers. This disease prevalence suggests poor farm hygiene and bio-security in the study areas. Special care should be taken around younger chickens’ as visceral gout and infectious bursal disease were the most common. Antibiotics should be used more judiciously to curb the growing multidrug resistance pattern among zoonotic bacteria.
Localized wave transmission physics and engineering

1407_41Several exact, nonseparable, space-time solutions of the scalar wave and Maxwell's equations have been found recently. These localized wave (LW) solutions contain very broad-bandwidth components and can be optimized to exhibit enhanced localization properties. Moreover, by driving an array with these LW solutions, one can generate beams that also exhibit these LW characteristics. A new type of array is required to try to realize these localized wave effects -- one that has independently addressable elements. The enhanced localization effects are intimately coupled to the proper spatial distribution of broad-bandwidth signals driving the array; i.e., by shading not only the amplitudes, but also the frequency spectra of the pulses driving the array. A LW pulse-driven array generates a moving localized, interference pattern, i.e., a set of pulses whose shapes are reconstituted as they propagate by the frequency components arriving at different times from the various aperture sources. Analytical bounds on the characteristics of beams generated by an arbitrary pulse-driven array have been derived and are supported by numerical and experimental values. These bounds extend the meaning of near-field distances or diffraction lengths to the situation where the array driving functions can be broad-bandwidth signals. It has been demonstrated theoretically and experimentally that an acoustic array driven with a designed set of localized wave (LW) solutions of the scalar wave equation generates a robust, well-behaved, transient pencil-beam of ultrasound in water that outperforms the beams generated by related continuous wave excitations of the same array. Numerical models predict similar results for an electromagnetic LW pulse-driven array.
Integrating Macronutrient Metabolism In Developing Chicken Embryos

Title of Document: INTEGRATING MACRONUTRIENT METABOLISM IN DEVELOPING CHICKEN EMBRYOS Nishanth E. Sunny, Doctor of Philosophy, 2008 Directed By: Assistant Professor, Brian J. Bequette, Department of Animal and Avian Sciences The objective of this thesis research was to determine the pathways of glucose metabolism and utilization in small and large egg embryos during the latter half of development, and whether in ovo nutrient supplementation alters glucose use. A further objective was to determine the contribution of glutamate, glutamine and glycerol to glucose, glycogen and non essential amino acid (NEAA) synthesis during embryo development. In ovo stable isotope ([U-C]glucose, [U-C]glutamate, [UC]glutamine and [U-C]glycerol) injection approaches were developed along with mass isotopomer distribution analysis of metabolic intermediates and end-products to acquire a metabolic phenotype of the fluxes and partition of these substrates through central pathways. Embryos developing in small and large eggs maintained similar rates of glucose metabolism. Thus, glucose entry and utilization gradually increased from day 12 to 18 embryonic. By embryonic day 20, gluconeogenesis accounted for >80% of glucose entry, a part (65%) of which was represented by glucose carbon recycling. Glutamate and glutamine were not found to be significant gluconeogenic precursors in day 19 embryos. However, catabolism of these amino acids contributed to ~25% of proline flux in the liver. By contrast, there was significant [M+3] Cisotopomer abundance in blood glucose and in liver and muscle glycogen when [UC]glycerol was injected in ovo. These observations clearly confirmed that glycerol derived from triacylglycerides is a significant precursor for glucose and glycogen synthesis. In ovo supplementation on day 9 embryonic of glucose and/or amino acids (5 non-essential amino acids) did not alter gluconoegenesis. However, these supplemental treatments significantly reduced catabolism of glucose via glycolysis. C-Mass isotopomer abundances of most substrates differed when each was individually compared in blood and in the various tissues, indicating differences in substrate utilization between tissues. In summary, this thesis research has provided new information on the degree and pathways of nutrient (glucose, glycerol, amino acids) use by the developing embryo and the rapid adjustments in the activity of networks of enzymes involved in non-essential amino acid, glucose and glycogen metabolism to support embryo survival. Most importantly, this work has systematically evaluated the potential substrates that the embryo utilizes for glucose synthesis, in particular, the significant role of glycerol. INTEGRATING MACRONUTRIENT METABOLISM IN DEVELOPING CHICKEN EMBRYOS.