Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Innovative Pedestrian Signs at Unsignalized Locations: Three Treatments

Three types of devices that have been used in conjunction with marked crosswalks in an attempt to improve pedestrian safety were evaluated: an overhead crosswalk sign in Seattle, Washington; pedestrian safety cones (which read, “State Law: Yield to Pedestrians in Crosswalk in Your Half of Road”) in New York State and in Portland, Oregon; and pedestrian-activated overhead signs (which read, “Stop for Pedestrians in Crosswalk”) in Tucson, Arizona. The signs were used under varying traffic and roadway conditions. The effects of these three treatments on pedestrian and motorist behavior were evaluated. The variables of interest were whether pedestrians had the benefit of motorists yielding to them; whether pedestrians had to run, hesitate, or abort their crossing; and whether pedestrians crossed in the crosswalk. The New York cones and Seattle signs were effective in increasing the numbers of pedestrians who had the benefit of motorists yielding to them. At one location in Tucson, the overhead sign increased motorist yielding to pedestrians. The signs in Seattle and Tucson were effective in reducing the number of persons who had to run, hesitate, or abort their crossing. None of the treatments had a clear effect on whether people crossed in the crosswalk. By themselves, these devices cannot ensure that motorists will slow down and yield to pedestrians. It is essential to use these and other devices along with education and enforcement, but creation of friendlier pedestrian environments (e.g., by means of implementing geometric improvements) for the purpose of reducing vehicle speeds may be more important.
Effects of Dietary Resveratrol Supplementation on Growth Performance and Anti-Inflammatory Ability in Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) through the Nrf2/HO-1 and TLR4/NF-κB Signaling Pathways

Simple Summary This study clarified for the first time that the Nrf2 and NF-κB signaling pathways in ducks are related to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. For the first time, we found that dietary resveratrol (RES) effectively alleviated the inflammatory response caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) by reducing oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress, alternating the blood biochemical index, and restoring the destruction of hepatocyte morphology. The results of this study provide strong evidence that dietary RES improved the anti-inflammatory ability and the growth performance of ducks. Abstract The aim of this study was to explore the effect of dietary resveratrol on the growth performance and anti-inflammatory mechanism in ducks. A total of 280 one-day-old specific pathogen-free male ducklings (Anas platyrhynchos) with an average body weight of 35 ± 1 g were randomly divided into two dietary treatment groups with different supplementation levels of resveratrol for growth performance experiments: R0 and R400 (0 and, 400 mg kg−1 resveratrol, respectively). At the age of 28 days, 16 ducks were selected from each treatment group and divided into four subgroups for a 2 × 2 factorial pathological experiment: R0; R400; R0 + LPS; R400 + LPS, (0 mg kg−1 resveratrol, 400 mg kg−1 resveratrol, 0 mg kg−1 resveratrol, 400 mg kg−1 resveratrol + 5 mg lipopolysaccharide/kg body weight). The results showed that resveratrol significantly improved final body weight and average daily gain (p < 0.01) and alleviated the lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory response with a reduction in IL-1β and IL-6 in the plasma and the liver (p < 0.05). Resveratrol improved mRNA levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 and decreased the mRNA levels of TLR4 and NF-κB in duck liver (p < 0.05). Dietary resveratrol can improve growth performance and reduce inflammation through the Nrf2/HO-1 and TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathways in duck.
Body Positivity and Self-Compassion on a Publicly Available Behavior Change Weight Management Program

According to recent research, body positivity and self-compassion are key outcomes that are tied to better psychological and physical health. To date, it is unclear whether body positivity and self-compassion improve, stay constant, or deteriorate over the course of a weight management program, particularly one that addresses the psychological roots of behavior change. Additionally, beyond controlled settings, there are no studies on body positivity and self-compassion in individuals who choose to join a commercial weight management program. Therefore, this single-arm prospective study examined changes in body positivity and self-compassion from baseline to the 16 week milestone of Noom Weight, a commercial behavior change weight management program informed by acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). We also examined how baseline and over-time changes in body positivity and self-compassion predicted engagement in program-measured relevant behaviors (e.g., exercises logged). Participants were a random subset of individuals who had recently self-enrolled in the program (n = 133). Body positivity and self-compassion were measured via survey at baseline and end of the core program (16 weeks). Self-reported weight and program-recorded engagement were extracted from the program database. Compared to baseline, body appreciation, body image flexibility, self-compassion, and body-focused rumination significantly improved at 16 weeks (all ps < 0.007). Participants lost a statistically significant amount of weight (3.9 kg; t(128)) = 10.64, p < 0.001) by 16 weeks, which was 4.4% body weight. Greater engagement, especially messaging a coach, reading articles, and logging meals, was associated with improvements over time in body appreciation (r = 0.17, p = 0.04), body image flexibility (r = −0.23, p = 0.007), and the brooding component of rumination (r = −0.23, p = 0.007). Greater engagement was also associated with baseline total self-compassion (r = 0.19, p = 0.03) and self-judgment (r = 0.24, p = 0.006). The results suggest that individuals experience improvements in body positivity and self-compassion while learning about ACT, DBT, and CBT through curriculum and coaching in this setting. The results also have important clinical implications, such as the possibility that psychologically-oriented (i.e., ACT, DBT, and CBT-based) weight management could be important to improve body positivity or that baseline self-compassion could be used to target individuals at risk for lower engagement. Future work should investigate these possibilities as well as delineate the causal relationships between body positivity, self-compassion, engagement, and weight loss.
A plane-wave boundary method for analysis of bent optical waveguides

A plane-wave boundary method is proposed for the analysis of bent optical waveguides. The realization of the method is based on the equivalent straight waveguide approach and consists of two steps. At first, the plane-wave boundary condition is introduced at the computational boundary where the outgoing wave is expected. Then, the optimum location of the computational boundary is determined, corresponding to the maximum of radiation power loss. The optimized computational window helps to significantly reduce the influence of the nonphysical reflections of the outgoing wave caused by the particular index profile of bent waveguide structures in the straight waveguide approach. Using this method, the propagation constants and radiation losses are determined for waveguides with different bend radii. In contrast to methods based on the absorption concept, the proposed method does not require the introduction of additional parameters.
DOK1 and DOK2 regulate CD8+ T cell signaling and memory formation without affecting tumor cell killing

Targeting intracellular inhibiting proteins is a promising strategy to improve CD8+ T cell anti-tumor efficacy. DOK1 and DOK2 are CD8+ T cell inhibitory proteins that are targeted in this study in order to improve the activation and cytotoxic capacities of these cells. To evaluate the role of DOK-1 and DOK-2 depletion in physiology and effector function of T CD8+ lymphocyte and in cancer progression, a transgenic T cell receptor mouse model specific to melanoma antigen hgp100 (pmel-1 TCR Tg) was established. Depletion of both Dok1 and Dok2 did not affect the development, proliferation, mortality, activation and cytotoxic function of naive CD8+ T cells. However, after an in vitro pre-stimulation Dok1/Dok2 DKO CD8+ T cells had higher percentage of effector memory T cells and showed an increase in levels of pAKT and pERK upon TCR stimulation. Despite this improved TCR signaling, pre-stimulated Dok1/Dok2 DKO CD8+ T cells did not show any increase in their activation or cytotoxicity capacities against melanoma cell line expressing hgp100 in vitro. Altogether we demonstrate here a novel aspect of the negative regulation by DOK1 and DOK2 proteins in CD8+ T cells. In conclusion, DOK1 and DOK2 have an inhibitory role following long term T cell stimulations.
Virtual Reality for Aggression Assessment: The Development and Preliminary Results of Two Virtual Reality Tasks to Assess Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Males

Validly measuring aggression is challenging because self-reports are plagued with biased answer tendencies and behavioral measures with ethical concerns and low ecological validity. The current study, therefore, introduces a novel virtual reality (VR) aggression assessment tool, differentially assessing reactive and proactive aggression. Two VR tasks were developed, one in an alley environment (N = 24, all male, Mage = 23.88, 83.3% students) and an improved second one in a bar (N = 50, all male, Mage = 22.54, 90% students). In this bar VR task, participants were randomly assigned to either the reactive condition where they were triggered by a cheating and insulting dart-player or to the proactive condition where they could earn extra money by aggressing. Participants’ level of self-reported aggression and psychopathy was assessed, after which they engaged in either the reactive or proactive VR task. Changes in affect and blood pressure were also measured. Aggression in the reactive VR task was evidenced to mostly display convergent validity because it positively correlated with self-reported aggression and total and fearless dominance factor scores of psychopathy, and there was a trend relationship with increased systolic blood pressure. The validity of the proactive aggression variant of our VR bar paradigm received less support, and needs more refinement. It can be concluded that VR is a potentially promising tool to experimentally induce and assess (reactive) aggression, which has the potential to provide aggression researchers and clinicians with a realistic and modifiable aggression assessment environment.
Eigenvalue Spectrum and Synchronizability of Double-Layer Directed Ring Networks

The synchronizability of multiplex undirected regular networks has been intensively studied based on the study of the synchronizability of single-layer networks. However, most real networks are characterized by some degree of directionality. So multiplex directed networks can better explain the synchronizability phenomenon. Here, based on the theory of master stability function (MSF), we study the eigenvalue spectrum and synchronizability of double-layer inter-layer directed ring networks (Networks-A) and double-layer intra-layer directed ring networks (Networks-B). The eigenvalue spectrum of the supra-Laplacian matrix of the networks is rigorously derived, and the influence of the networks structure parameters on the network’s synchronizability is analyzed. The correctness of the theory is further verified by numerical simulation analysis. Finally, the synchronizability of four kinds of double-layer ring networks with different coupling modes, namely, Networks-A, Networks-B, Networks-C (double-layer undirected ring networks), and Networks-D (double-layer undirected inter-layer random-added-edge ring networks), is compared and the results can provide guidance for constructing the optimal synchronization network.
Controller design for PSS and FACTS devices to enhance damping of low-frequency power oscillations in power systems

ii APPROVAL of a dissertation submitted by Ruhua You This dissertation has been read by each member of the dissertation committee and has been found to be satisfactory regarding content, English usage, format, citations, bibliographic style, and consistency, and is ready for submission to the Division of Graduate Education. In presenting this dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a doctoral degree at Montana State University, I agree that the Library shall make it available to borrowers under rules of the Library. I further agree that copying of this dissertation is allowable only for scholarly purposes, consistent with " fair use " as prescribed in the U.S. to whom I have granted " the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute my dissertation in and from microform along with the non-exclusive right to reproduce and distribute my abstract in any format in whole or in part. "
Some Characteristics of Foamed Bitumen Mixes

A study was conducted at the School of Engineering of Griffith University on characterization of a range of foamed bitumen stabilized mixes in the laboratory. Marshall and servo-controlled gyratory compactors were used in specimen preparation. A closed-loop, servo-controlled dynamic loading system was utilized to determine the resilient modulus. It was found that the Marshall compaction method produced higher resilient modulus values compared with the gyratory compaction method. Moreover, Marshall compaction showed an optimum bitumen content associated with the maximum density. The gyratory compactor produced specimens that were less dependent on bitumen content but had higher density values. The temperature used to cure the specimens was also examined. An accelerated curing temperature of 60°C was found to be too high, resulting in an over-estimation of the resilient modulus compared with specimens cured at an ambient temperature. Furthermore, the resilience test results also showed that the resilient modulus was significantly affected by the applied strain; with higher strain, a lower modulus resulted. Because of its relatively low bitumen content and use of lime additive, the resilient modulus of foamed bitumen mixes is affected by temperature variation less than that of typical hot-mix asphalt concrete mixes.
CHP and its role in efficient energy production: a feasibility assessment model

Purpose – The way and manner in which energy is produced is known to have a significant impact on emissions. For this reason, the UK government has sought to enhance the efficiency of energy production/conversion by focusing on a number of energy production approaches, including Combined Heat and Power (CHP). The purpose of this paper is to describe a practical approach for assessing the feasibility of CHP.Design/methodology/approach – The authors provide an overview of Combined Heat and Power (CHP); describe a new and easy‐to‐implement feasibility and optimisation model to aid in the installation of CHP; and discuss the practical feasibility issues of CHP through an analysis of existing case studies using the proposed model. The modelling utilises regression models which are created using historical data obtained from public sources.Findings – Compared against alternatives, the model is shown to be particularly useful, as its functionality is embedded in resource‐intensive prime mover specifications obta.
Historical, Architectural, and Structural Assessment of the Bell Tower of Santa Maria Del Carmine

An in-depth survey was carried out in situ on the masonry bell tower of the Santa Maria del Carmine Church in the city of Naples, Italy. The analyses followed a multidisciplinary approach to identify its architectural and structural features, to identify the materials used and the state of damage and interventions made in various periods, to assess the stress state in the masonry under gravity loads, and to define its dynamic behavior. The information gathered represents the starting point for designing a seismic upgrade to meet the standards applied to historic monuments.
Response of Faba Bean Yield And Yield Components to Different Levels of Nano Fertilizer

Todays, the Nano fertilizers have become apioneer approach in farm of agriculture. A field experiment wasConducted at the farm Collage of Agricultural Engineering Science, University of Duhok, during the growing winter season 2019-2020 to investigate how Nano fertilizer affects the growth and yield of a local faba bean variety, the experiment units were arranged in a Randomize Complete Block Design with three replications. The result exhibited high significant effect of phosphorus and nitrogen and their interaction on all studied traits. The application ofphosphorus and nitrogen interactions increased plant height 153.4cm, first pod height 85.9cm, main brunches 3.6, number of pod plant -1 , 38.3, seed pod -1 4.6,100 seed weight 189.4g and seed yield 294.5g at rate of108 P 2 O 5 kg ha -1 . We can conclude from this study that the application of proper amount of nitrogen and phosphorus increased the most growth traits and yield components. Furthermore, the findings revealed a substantial and positive correlation among seed yield and plant height. 0.96, first pod height 0.91, number of main brunches 0.56, number of pod plant -1 0.92, number of seed pod -1 0.90 and 100 seed weight 0.91. These results emphasize the role of these traits in selection of faba genotypes when putting in breeding program for improving faba bean production.
Investigating the Endo-Lysosomal System in Major Neurocognitive Disorders Due to Alzheimer’s Disease, Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration and Lewy Body Disease: Evidence for SORL1 as a Cross-Disease Gene

Dysfunctions in the endo-lysosomal system have been hypothesized to underlie neurodegeneration in major neurocognitive disorders due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD), and Lewy body disease (DLB). The aim of this study is to investigate whether these diseases share genetic variability in the endo-lysosomal pathway. In AD, DLB, and FTLD patients and in controls (948 subjects), we performed a targeted sequencing of the top 50 genes belonging to the endo-lysosomal pathway. Genetic analyses revealed (i) four previously reported disease-associated variants in the SORL1 (p.N1246K, p.N371T, p.D2065V) and DNAJC6 genes (p.M133L) in AD, FTLD, and DLB, extending the previous knowledge attesting SORL1 and DNAJC6 as AD- and PD-related genes, respectively; (ii) three predicted null variants in AD patients in the SORL1 (p.R985X in early onset familial AD, p.R1207X) and PPT1 (p.R48X in early onset familial AD) genes, where loss of function is a known disease mechanism. A single variant and gene burden analysis revealed some nominally significant results of potential interest for SORL1 and DNAJC6 genes. Our data highlight that genes controlling key endo-lysosomal processes (i.e., protein sorting/transport, clathrin-coated vesicle uncoating, lysosomal enzymatic activity regulation) might be involved in AD, FTLD and DLB pathogenesis, thus suggesting an etiological link behind these diseases.
Complete methodology for electrical modeling of RFIC packages

A complete methodology based on broadband S-parameter measurement is proposed to establish the electrical models for radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) packages. The research is focused on calibration of the test-fixture parasitics to obtain the intrinsic S-parameters from which an equivalent coupled lumped model can be extracted for any pair of package leads under test. Then a step-by-step optimization scheme is employed to construct an equivalent circuit for the whole package. A real example on modeling a 16-lead Thin Shrink Small Outline Package (TSSOP) has been demonstrated. The established model can account for various package effects at radio frequencies.
If you Build it, will they come? Use of Rural Drinking Water Systems in the Peruvian Amazon

Abstract While organisations across the world struggle to extend access to the 522 million living in rural areas without clean water, those who do have access do not necessarily use it. This paper explores why, within areas that have public taps with treated water, some individuals continue to use water from untreated sources. We focus on non-use of available rural water supply systems as well as inconsistent use, a phenomenon typically overlooked. Based on surveys in 12 rural communities with water systems in the Peruvian Amazon and qualitative interviews, this study finds community meeting attendance is important for consistent use as attendance increases social influence and reinforces information about the importance of clean water. Non-users are more likely to be those living furthest from the water source and with lower levels of education. Findings point to ways in which community approaches to heath interventions may be more likely to reach some – those with stronger ties to communities, who live closer and have higher levels of education – than others.
Cover crop usage for the sustainable management of soilborne diseases in woody ornamental nursery production system

Abstract Cover crops represent a potential tool for suppression of soil borne diseases in woody ornamental nursery production, which can cause significant economic losses. Field experiments were conducted in 2019 and 2020 to explore the effects of a cover crop and the timing of cover crop disturbance on soilborne disease suppression. Soils from red maple (Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’) plantations grown with or without a cover crop [crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum)] were sampled following senescence of the cover crop. Greenhouse bioassays were conducted using red maple cuttings on inoculated (with Rhizoctonia solani, Phytopythium vexans or Phytophthora nicotianae) and non-inoculated field soils. Plant height, total and root fresh weight were measured, and the roots were assessed for disease severity on a 0 to 100% root damage scale. Pathogen recovery was assessed by culturing root pieces (~1 cm length) on oomycetes or Rhizoctonia semi-selective media. Soil samples were analyzed for organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, pH and Pseudomonad population count. A minimal effect of cover crop disturbance timing (late fall or early spring) was found on disease suppression. Cover crop usage reduced disease severity and pathogen recovery in red maple field soils. Plants grown in cover cropped soil had greater total, root and aboveground fresh weight compared with those from non-cover cropped soil, but plant height was not affected. Cover crops increased soil organic matter and total nitrogen in 2020. Pseudomonad populations were higher when cover crops were used. The results suggest that cover crops can reduce soilborne disease in woody ornamentals.