Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of infrastructural factors related to adolescent smoking behavior: a path analysis study

ABSTRACT Background Reductions in the age of onset of smoking in adolescence is a public health concern. Evidence suggests that infrastructural factors play an important role in adolescent smoking behavior. Therefore, the present study aimed to perform a psychometric analysis of the questionnaire of infrastructural factors on smoking behavior and evaluate the theoretical framework with a path analysis approach in adolescents in Isfahan, Iran. Methods A total of 340 adolescents in Isfahan, Iran selected using simple random stratified cluster sampling were included in the present psychometric cross-sectional research. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire of infrastructural factors. Results The participants’ mean age was16.67(0.98) years. The total corrected item-total correlations index was 0.714. Considering the three-factor assumption of the present study and identification of two factors, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed simultaneously in both models. The results of path analysis showed acceptable goodness of fit for the explanatory model of infrastructural factors. Conclusions This study proposed a reliable and valid explanatory model of infrastructural factors and its questionnaire for smoking behavior. The questionnaire can also be utilized in future research on smoking behavior in adolescents.
Acute Zonal Occult Outer Retinopathy in a Patient Suffering from Epilepsy: Five-Year Follow-Up

We report an unprecedented case of a young patient with epilepsy coexisting with acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR), a rare white dot syndrome of unknown etiology, associated with damage to the large zones of the outer retina. Recently, it has been established that epileptic episodes contribute to an inflammatory response both in the brain and the retina. A 13-year-old male patient with epilepsy was referred by a neurologist for an ophthalmologic consultation due to a sudden deterioration of visual acuity in the left eye. The examination, with a key role of multimodal imaging including color fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography (ICGA), fundus autofluorescence (FAF), swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) with visual field assessment, and electroretinography indicated AZOOR as the underlying entity. Findings at the first admission included enlargement of the blind spot in visual field examination along a typical trizonal pattern, which was revealed by FAF, ICGA, and SS-OCT in the left eye. The right eye exhibited no abnormalities. Seminal follow-up revealed no changes in best corrected visual acuity, and multimodal imaging findings remain unaltered. Thus, no medical intervention is required. Our case and recent laboratory findings suggest a causative link between epilepsy and retinal disorders, although this issue requires further research.
Prevalence of malocclusion in early childhood and its associated factors in a primary care service in Brazil

ABSTRACT Purpose to evaluate the prevalence of malocclusion and its associated factors of children cared for by a PHC Service in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Methods a cross-sectional study nested in a cohort, carried out in 12 Health Care Practices. Of the 414 children in the cohort examined, 268 were assessed for malocclusion. The presence of anterior open bite, posterior and anterior crossbite was evaluated by the criteria of Foster and Hamilton. Socioeconomic variables, breastfeeding habits and pacifier use information were collected through a standardized questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using a hierarchical approach by Poisson Regression with robust variance. Results out of the total 268 evaluated, 135 (50.4%) were boys, and the average age was 28.6 (± 11.9) months. Out of the 143 (53.4%) cases of malocclusion, 113 were anterior open bite, 16 were anterior crossbite, 27 were posterior crossbite, and 38 had increased overjet. In the final analysis, it was observed that there was a higher prevalence of malocclusion in children who never breastfed (PR = 1.44; 95%CI 1.00-2.08) and who always used a pacifier to sleep (PR = 1.81; 95%CI 1.14-2.86). Conclusion the prevalence of malocclusion in this population was high and was associated with behavioral habits, such as the use of pacifier and not breastfeeding.
Stochastic simulation of reference rainfall scenarios for hydrological applications using a universal multifractal approach

Abstract. Hydrological applications such as storm-water management or flood design usually deal with and are driven by region-specific reference rainfall regulations or guidelines based on Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) curves. IDF curves are usually obtained via frequency analysis of rainfall data using which the exceedance probability of rain intensity for different durations are determined. It is also rather common for reference rainfall to be expressed in terms of precipitation P, accumulated in a duration D (related to rainfall intensity ), with a return period T (inverse of exceedance probability). Meteorological modules of hydro-meteorological models used for the aforementioned applications therefore need to be capable of simulating such reference rainfall scenarios. The multifractal cascade framework, since it incorporates physically realistic properties of rainfall processes (non-homogeneity or intermittency, scale invariance and extremal statistics) seems to suit this purpose. Here we propose a discrete-in-scale universal multifractal (UM) cascade based approach. Daily, Hourly and six-minute rainfall time series datasets (with lengths ranging from 100 to 15 years) over three regions (Paris, Nantes, and Aix-en-Provence) in France that are characterized by different climates are analyzed to identify scaling regimes and estimate corresponding UM parameters (α, C1) required by the UM cascade model. Suitable renormalization constants that correspond to the P, D, T values of reference rainfall are used to simulate an ensemble of reference rainfall scenarios, and the simulations are finally compared with datasets. Although only purely temporal simulations are considered here, this approach could possibly be generalized to higher spatial dimensions as well.
Group Differences in Fall Risk Assessment among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract Aims This study aims to examine group differences in performance and self-report measures distinguishing non-, single, and recurrent fallers. Methods Fifty-seven community-dwelling older adults completed cognitive and functional assessments and reported number of falls over 12 months. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) examined differences between non-, single, and recurrent fallers. Results Significant group differences were found on fast and comfortable gait speed (p < .01 and p < .01, respectively), Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) (p = .04), 30-Second Chair Stand (30-SCS) (p < .01), and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) (p < .01). An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to control for MMSE after which the previous outcome measures no longer displayed significance. Conclusions Group differences exist between fallers; further, single fallers may experience a fall differently than other fallers. This sample consisted of healthy older adults yet cognition still played a role, demonstrating that the link between cognition and fall risk is yet to be fully understood.
Phase-locked loop design with fast-digital-calibration charge pump

A fast-digital-calibration technique is proposed for reducing current mismatch in the charge pump (CP) of a phase-locked loop (PLL). The current mismatch in the CP generates fluctuations, which is transferred to the input of voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). Therefore, the current mismatch increases the reference spur in the PLL. Improving current match of CP will reduce the reference spur and decrease the static phase offset of PLLs. Moreover, the settling time, ripple and power consumption of the PLL are also improved by the proposed technique. This study evaluated a 2.27–2.88 GHz frequency synthesiser fabricated in TSMC 0.18 μm CMOS 1.8 V process. The tuning range of proposed VCO is about 26%. By using the fast-digital-calibration technique, current mismatch is reduced to lower than 0.97%, and the operation range of the proposed CP is between 0.2 and 1.6 V. The proposed PLL has a total power consumption of 22.57 mW and a settling time of 10 μs or less.
Consensus-based course design and implementation of constructive alignment theory in a power system analysis course

This article presents the implementation of the constructive alignment theory (CAT) in a power system analysis course through a consensus-based course design process. The consensus-based design process involves both the instructor and graduate-level students and it aims to develop the CAT framework in a holistic manner with the goal of including different perceptions. The considerations required to implement this approach are described in detail. To examine the effect of this approach, three different course evaluations were conducted by querying the students during different stages of the course. These evaluations show that most of the students find a benefit for their learning in the implementation of CAT within the new course design. These observations are supported by a comparison of the students’ performance in the new course and the previous one. Finally, the revised two-factor study process questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) is utilised to identify the students’ learning approach towards the course. The aim is to correlate the students’ approach with their final grade to assess if students adopting a deep learning approach are rewarded with higher marks and vice versa, that is, to check if the CAT implementation was successful. Meanwhile, some of the R-SPQ-2F limitations, which affect the quality of the results, are identified and discussed. Additionally, to facilitate the practical usage of R-SPQ-2F, an algorithm was developed by the authors to rank the students’ approach towards the course. The results of the new ranking algorithm demonstrate positive correlation with the students’ final grade, which is an indication of the effective CAT implementation.
Negation as a predictor of clausal complement choice in World Englishes

Research on complementizer selection has shown that the presence of a negative particle in a subordinate complement clause influences complement choice, leading to a relatively higher proportion of finite complementation patterns by increasing the complexity of the syntactic environment. Studies have also shown that different types of negation, namely not- and no-negation, increase the tendency towards more explicit complementation options (Rohdenburg 2015). The current study focuses on the effect of not- and no-negation on the complementation profile of the verb regret, which allows variation between finite that/zero-complement clauses and nonfinite (S) -ing clauses. The GloWbE corpus was used to create a data set of more than 4,000 examples from 16 varieties of English. The results of the analysis support previous findings that the presence of a negative marker in the complement clause increases the preference for finite patterns, especially in L2 varieties of English. However, contrary to the expectations of this study, no-negation was found to have a stronger effect on complement choice than not-negation.
Greenhouse gas emissions from the production and use of palm methyl ester in Thailand

This study compares the life cycle Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from Palm Methyl Ester (PME) and conventional diesel (diesel hereinafter) used for transportation in Thailand. The life cycle GHG emissions from the production and use of PME were found to be 79.5% less than that from diesel production and use. Hence, a fuel switch from diesel to PME, according to the Thai government's plan of using a 10% blend of biodiesel countrywide by 2012, will contribute to reducing global warming potential by 7.8 million tonne CO2-eq per year as well as reducing crude oil imports.
Investigation of Tsunami-Induced Damage and Fragility of Buildings in Thailand after the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

The December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami caused human loss and devastating damage to civil engineering structures along the west coast of southern Thailand. This damage was investigated to evaluate the vulnerability of structures. Criteria for post-tsunami investigation were developed, and a database system was established to manage and present the data. The database of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings was then analyzed to find the relationship between the damage level and (a) the distance from the shoreline or (b) the inundation height. A representative RC column's capacity to resist lateral forces was measured by a full-scale loading test to gain insight into the relationship between the observed damage and the actual structural performance.
A Novel Nitrogen Ion Implantation Technique for Turning Thin Film “Normally On” AlGaN/GaN Transistor into “Normally Off” Using TCAD Simulation

This study presents an innovative, low-cost, mass-manufacturable ion implantation technique for converting thin film normally on AlGaN/GaN devices into normally off ones. Through TCAD (Technology Computer-Aided Design) simulations, we converted a calibrated normally on transistor into a normally off AlGaN/GaN transistor grown on a silicon <111> substrate using a nitrogen ion implantation energy of 300 keV, which shifted the bandgap from below to above the Fermi level. In addition, the threshold voltage (Vth) was adjusted by altering the nitrogen ion implantation dose. The normally off AlGaN/GaN device exhibited a breakdown voltage of 127.4 V at room temperature because of impact ionization, which showed a positive temperature coefficient of 3 × 10−3 K−1. In this study, the normally off AlGaN/GaN device exhibited an average drain current gain of 45.3%, which was confirmed through an analysis of transfer characteristics by changing the gate-to-source ramping. Accordingly, the proposed technique enabled the successful simulation of a 100-µm-wide device that can generate a saturation drain current of 1.4 A/mm at a gate-to-source voltage of 4 V, with a mobility of 1487 cm2V−1s−1. The advantages of the proposed technique are summarized herein in terms of processing and performance.
Cognitive home environment of infants, toddlers and preschoolers: A study from a hospital setting

Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the Cognitive Home Environment (CHE) of young children who apply to the hospital for various reasons. Material and Methods: In total 121 mothers participated. CHE was measured by The StimQ – (Infant, Toddler and Preschool) Home Environment Assessment Tools and sociodemographic characteristics of the families were noted. Results: Averages of total StimQ scores were lowest in Infant Group (IG) with 13.7 points out of 43; 15.9 points out of 39 in Toddler Group (TG); 27.78 points out of 49 in Preschool Group (PG). There was a significant difference in the Total StimQ scores of mothers with high level of education in Toddler (p=.005) and Preschool (p=.000) groups. Looking at childrens' books increased with age. Only 15% of the mothers in the IG, 32.5% in the TG, and 90% in the PG were looking at children's books with their children. Conclusion: The CHE of young children is not enough to serve for optimal development, especially the infants. High maternal education iseffects CHE positively. Applying STIMQ can be a good opportunity to explore CHE of children in hospital settings.
Analysis of power/ground-plane EMI decoupling performance using the partial-element equivalent circuit technique

The design of printed circuit (PC) boards with decoupling capacitors has been the subject of debate and different opinions for many years. The design and electrical impact of the capacitors has been difficult to separate from all other electrical interactions occurring on a conventional PC board populated with integrated circuits. This work demonstrates how the partial-element equivalent circuit (PEEC) modeling technique can be used to accurately predict the performance of various decoupling design strategies. Computer modeling using the PEEC approach is very flexible due to the ease of mixing physical geometries with a large number of circuit elements. Also, the compute time for such practical mixed EM and circuit problems are relatively short. Using this technique, the usual iteration between a number of different designs of test boards can be avoided. We show that the change of the voltage across the PC board, or the voltage gradient, can be used as an effective tool for the improvement of the decoupling efficiency.
Experimental Study on Aircraft Landing Gear Noise

An experimental investigation on aircraft landing gear noise is presented. The study includes systematic testing and data analysis using a full-scale Boeing 737 landing gear. The database covers a range of mean flow Mach numbers typical of landing conditions for commercial aircraft and various landing gear configurations, ranging from a fully dressed, complete gear to cleaner configurations involving only some parts of the complete gear. This enables the examination of noise radiation from various groups of the gear assembly and the derivation of functional dependencies of the radiated noise on the flow Mach number at various far-field directivity angles and on various gear geometry parameters. It is shown that the noise spectrum can be decomposed into three frequency components, namely, the low-, mid-, and high-frequency components, respectively, representing contributions from the wheels, the main struts, and the small details such as hoses, wires, cutouts, and steps. It is found that these different frequency components have different dependencies on flow parameters and gear geometry. Based on the spectral decomposition in the three frequency domains, normalized spectra are derived for all three components and a model for the overall sound levels is developed as a function of flow and geometry parameters.
Guardrail Run-Out Length Design Procedures Revisited

Encroachment data sets by Hutchinson and Kennedy and by Cooper, which are used as the foundation for current guardrail design procedures, are compared with each other and with crash databases. Discrepancies between the two data sets are examined and explained. These encroachment data sets are also compared to available real-world crash data, including new crash data from an ongoing study. The encroachment and crash data evaluations clearly indicate that guardrail length calculation procedures developed from the Cooper encroachment data provide more appropriate guardrail run-out length designs for minimizing injuries and fatalities associated with ran-off-road crashes.
Crosswind stability of a high-speed train on a high embankment

Abstract This work presents aerodynamic results of crosswind stability obtained numerically and experimentally for the leading control unit (class 808) of Deutsche Bahn AG's high-speed train Inter-CityExpress 2. The train model is on top of a 6m high embankment in accordance with the proposed European code for interoperable trains, the so-called technical specifications for interoperability. The purpose of the study is to convey the predictive accuracy that typical steady-state computational fluid dynamics-Reynolds average Navier-Stokes methods (industry standard) return and to contribute to the understanding of the aerodynamics for the current application. Attention is drawn to the aerodynamics around the train and embankment when subjected to a steady block profile crosswind of 30° yaw angle on the basis of the onset velocity far upstream the embankment. The Re (Reynolds number) of the embankment cases is 4.6 × 106. Calculated results are obtained with the commercial code STAR-CD, with exclusively hexahedral meshes with a total cell count of 13.5 × 106. Results are obtained when the train stands on the windward and leeward tracks on top of the embankment. These results are first compared with a flat ground case from a previous study. Then experimental data are obtained in a high-pressure wind tunnel with a model scale of 1:100. Re effects are compensated by raising the ambient pressure by a factor of 60, which increases the air density and thus the Re by a similar factor. Calculated results are in fair agreement with the experiments, where both the calculations and the experiments predict the leeward case to be the more critical one. In addition, the related consequences on the mechanical behaviour, i.e. the stability of the car, are briefly addressed by means of a quasi-static mechanical analysis. The results of the present study indicate that the 6m high embankment concerning the current train reduces the permissible crosswind speed with approximately 20 per cent.
Dose and Dose Rate-Dependent Effects of Low-Dose Irradiation on Inflammatory Parameters in ApoE-Deficient and Wild Type Mice

Anti-inflammatory low-dose therapy is well established, whereas the immunomodulatory impact of doses below 0.1 Gy is much less clear. In this study, we investigated dose, dose rate and time-dependent effects in a dose range of 0.005 to 2 Gy on immune parameters after whole body irradiation (IR) using a pro-inflammatory (ApoE−/−) and a wild type mouse model. Long-term effects on spleen function (proliferation, monocyte expression) were analyzed 3 months, and short-term effects on immune plasma parameters (IL6, IL10, IL12p70, KC, MCP1, INFγ, TGFβ, fibrinogen, sICAM, sVCAM, sE-selectin/CD62) were analyzed 1, 7 and 28 days after Co60 γ-irradiation (IR) at low dose rate (LDR, 0.001 Gy/day) and at high dose rate (HDR). In vitro measurements of murine monocyte (WEHI-274.1) adhesion and cytokine release (KC, MCP1, IL6, TGFβ) after low-dose IR (150 kV X-ray unit) of murine endothelial cell (EC) lines (H5V, mlEND1, bEND3) supplement the data. RT-PCR revealed significant reduction of Ki67 and CD68 expression in the spleen of ApoE−/− mice after 0.025 to 2 Gy exposure at HDR, but only after 2 Gy at LDR. Plasma levels in wild type mice, showed non-linear time-dependent induction of proinflammatory cytokines and reduction of TGFβ at doses as low as 0.005 Gy at both dose rates, whereas sICAM and fibrinogen levels changed in a dose rate-specific manner. In ApoE−/− mice, levels of sICAM increased and fibrinogen decreased at both dose rates, whereas TGFβ increased mainly at HDR. Non-irradiated plasma samples revealed significant age-related enhancement of cytokines and adhesion molecules except for sICAM. In vitro data indicate that endothelial cells may contribute to systemic IR effects and confirm changes of adhesion properties suggested by altered sICAM plasma levels. The differential immunomodulatory effects shown here provide insights in inflammatory changes occurring at doses far below standard anti-inflammatory therapy and are of particular importance after diagnostic and chronic environmental exposures.
Classroom Composition Policy for Elementary Students Labeled English Learner: The Best of Intentions Gone Awry and Rectification

Abstract I describe how a policy aimed at increasing achievement among students labeled EL initially went awry—and how a researcher-district partnership persevered to rectify it. The policy, which called for 100% EL classrooms, produced unintended consequences. Critical discussion of empirical evidence and district-solicited input from multiple constituencies brought to light sociocultural, sociopolitical, and socioeconomic factors. This shift enabled policymakers to rectify the policy, allowing integration of ELs with non-EL peers.