Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of finite-element limit analysis and strength reduction techniques

In practical geotechnical engineering the factor of safety is still determined by means of simple limit equilibrium analysis in many cases. However, because displacement finite-element analysis is routinely applied for assessing displacements and stresses for working load conditions, this technique is increasingly being used to calculate ultimate limit states and, consequently, factors of safety, usually by means of the so-called strength reduction technique, and results which are comparable to those obtained with limit equilibrium methods have been reported in the literature. However, owing to the inherent assumptions of limit equilibrium analyses, they do not always provide unique factors of safety. The purpose of this paper is on the one hand to compare the strength reduction method with rigorous limit analyses which are based on collapse theorems of plasticity, and on the other hand to investigate if a shortcoming of the strength reduction method, namely possible numerical instabilities for non-associ.
Diagnostic Performance of Cortactin in the Diagnosis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background: Cortactin gene was up-regulated in various human cancers. However, the role of cortactin in the diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remained unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of cortactin in OSCC patients.Methods: The relative mRNA expression levels of cortactin in OSCC tissues and adjacent normal oral mucosal tissues were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Chi-square test was used to analyze the correlation between cortactin expression and clinical characteristics of patients. The diagnostic value of cortactin in OSCC patients was estimated via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.Results: Compared with the normal controls, cortactin mRNA expression was significantly increased in OSCC tissues (P<0.001). Importantly, notable correlations were found between cortactin expression and tumor size (P=0.040), TNM stage (P=0.018), lymph node metastasis (P=0.013) as well as recurrence (P=0.031). Furthermore, the result of ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.867 with a sensitivity of 76.2% and a specificity of 86.9%. It revealed that the diagnostic value of cortactin was high in OSCC patients.Conclusions: Our data reveal that cortactin expression is up-regulated in OSCC and correlated with tumor progression. Cortactin may be a potential bio-marker for early diagnosis of OSCC.
Construction Partnering Process and Associated Critical Success Factors: Quantitative Investigation

This paper aims at examining a customized model of construction partnering in order to highlight the relationships between the critical success factors and individual partnering process stages. It used two surveys (a simple rating method and the analytic hierarchy process) to produce empirical evidence for identifying the critical success factors and the partnering process stages. Results suggest that this study is consistent with previous findings that a general partnering process consists of three stages (formation, application, and completion/reactivation). In addition, it reaffirms that there are critical common factors affecting the whole partnering process and critical functional factors influencing individual process stages. Specifically, the four critical common factors are top management support, open communication, effective coordination, and mutual trust. Also, the critical functional factors at the stage of partnering formation are team building, facilitator, and partnering agreement; those of.
Characteristics of concentrically shorted circular patch microstrip antennas

Input impedance, resonant frequency, bandwidth and radiation characteristics of microstrip circular patch antennas coaxially shorted by a cylindrical post are investigated. The analytical results for the dominant and higher modes are compared with experimental data. The radiation conductance, the fringing field and the effect of feed position, i.e. a coaxial probe, are included by the mode expansion and matching methods. The dielectric effect of the substrate is also taken into account for the computation of the radiation characteristics. The results show that the electrical performance parameters of a centrally shorted circular microstrip antenna are sufficiently adjustable by a modification of the radius of the shorted post. The characteristics indicate that the proposed radiation element is a useful antenna with higher gain, wider bandwidth and improved impedance behaviour.
Combinatorial analyses reveal that cellular composition changes have different impact on transcriptomic changes of cell type specific genes in Alzheimer’s Disease brains

Background Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brains are characterized by progressive neuron loss and gliosis which involves mostly microglia and astrocytes. Comparative transcriptomic analysis on AD vs. normal brain tissues helps to identify key genes/pathways involved in AD initiation and progression. However, many such studies using bulk brain tissue samples have not considered cell composition changes in AD brains, which may lead to expression changes that are not due to transcriptional regulation. Methods Using five large transcriptomic datasets including 1,681 brain tissue samples (882 AD, 799 normal) in total, we first mined frequent co-expression network modules across them, then combined differential expression and differential co-expression analysis on the mined modules in AD versus normal brains. Integrated with cell type deconvolution analysis, we addressed the question of whether the module expression changes are due to altered cellular composition or transcriptional regulation. We then used four additional large AD/normal transcriptomic datasets to validate our findings. Results The integrative analysis revealed highly elevated expression level of microglia modules in AD without co-expression change. Decreased expression and elevated co-expression are observed for neuron modules in AD, while significant over-expression and co-expression perturbation are observed in astrocyte modules, all of which has not been previously reported. The expression levels of astrocyte modules also show the strongest correlation with the clinicopathological biomarkers among all cell type specific modules. Conclusion Further analysis indicated that the overall increased expression of the core microglia modules can be well explained by the increased microglia cell population in AD brains instead of bona fide microglia genes’ upregulation. In contrast, the decreased expression and perturbed co-expression in AD neuron modules are due to both neuron cell loss and expression regulation of neuronal pathways including differentially expressed transcription factors such as BCL6 and STAT3, which previous study was not able to identify from the shadow of the cellular composition change. Similarly, the strong changes in expression and co-expression in the astrocyte modules may be also due to a combinatory effect from astrogliosis and astrocyte gene activation in AD brains. In this work, we demonstrated that the combinatorial analyses not only provide a powerful approach to delineate the origin of transcriptomic changes in bulk tissue data, but also lead to a deeper understanding of genes in AD.
Optical PMD compensation performance: numerical assessment

Our study provides an extensive comparison of many proposed polarisation mode dispersion (PMD) compensation schemes in terms of pure 'BER performance'. Our study is, of course system, dependent, but it gives important hints on their behavior. We warn, that we did not optimize the compensator's differential group delay (DGD) so that we underestimate SC and 2PMFs's performance. We proved that the extrapolations usually done from CP=10/sup -3/ are fairly optimistic, which contributes to (with sub-optimal DGD) the divergence of our results from previously published work. We established that a compensation technique can not be separated from a feedback signal, which is sometimes more important that the compensator itself.
TRAVELER RESPONSE TO INNOVATIVE PERSONALIZED DEMAND-RESPONSIVE TRANSIT IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

Urban sprawl makes conventional transit less competitive and points to the need for more innovative and flexible demand-responsive transit systems in the future. To increase their efficiency, such systems can take advantage of the emerging advanced public transportation systems technologies, e.g., vehicle location and information systems. However, little is known about how consumers might respond to such systems and what they desire. This paper explores the demand for a consumer-oriented Personalized Demand Responsive Transit (PDRT) service in the San Francisco Bay Area. Such a system could provide services to the traveling public for journeys to work and to non-work destinations. Results from six focus group meetings and a computer-assisted telephone survey of commuters and non-commuters are reported. While about 60% of those surveyed were willing to consider PDRT as an option, about 12% reported that they were "very likely" to use PDRT (N=1000). Many were willing to pay for the service and valued highly the flexibility in scheduling the service. Spatial analysis of the survey responses suggests localities where a PDRT may be field-tested.
High-output-impedance current-mode multiphase sinusoidal oscillator employing current differencing transconductance amplifier-based allpass filters

This article presents a multiphase sinusoidal oscillator using current differencing transconductance amplifier (CDTA)-based allpass filters. The oscillation condition and oscillation frequency can be orthogonally controlled. The proposed circuit provides 2n – phase signals (n≥2) that are equally spaced in phase and of equal amplitude. The circuit requires one CDTA, two resistors and one capacitor for each phase and no additional current amplifier. Owing to high-output impedances, the proposed circuit enables easy cascading in current-mode configurations. The effects of the nonidealities of the CDTA-allpass sections were also studied. The results of PSpice simulations are presented, demonstrating their consistency with theoretical assumptions.
Analysis of risk factors for prolong hospitalization in chronic subdural hematoma undergoing single burr hole and drainage

Introduction Single burr hole surgery for Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is commonly performed neurosurgical procedure with >90% favorable outcome and less hospital stay. However, sometimes hospital stay may be prolonged due to associated prognostic factors, even in patients with favorable outcome. This study aims to analyze the early outcome of single burr hole and drainage surgery and factors that may be associated with prolong hospitalization. Materials and method A retrospective analysis of the patients who underwent single burr hole and drainage for CSDH from sept 2017 to may 2020 in Nepal Mediciti hospital. The patients with B/L CSDH, who underwent double burr hole and drainage or craniotomy evacuation or conservatively managed patients were excluded from the study. Early outcome was assessed using Glasgow outcome score at 7 days. Effect of use of antiplatelet/ anticoagulant drugs, age, comorbidity, preoperative Glasgow coma score on number of hospital stay was analyzed. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis in SPSS version 25. Results Out of 85 patients, 73 were male. Mean age was 63.8 years. Early outcome in 7 days was favorable with GOS (4-5) in 90.6%. The use of antiplatelet or anticoagulant drugs was more common amongst patients with age > 70 years (p=0.01). The number of hospital stay was associated with age (p=0.00), antiplatelet or anticoagulant drugs (p=0.00), comorbidities (p=0.001), preoperative GCS(P=0.001) and GOS at 7 days (p=0.001). Conclusion Single burr hole and drainage surgery for CSDH mostly produce favorable outcome. The use of antiplatelet or anticoagulant drugs is more common in patients above 70 years. Age, antiplatelet or anticoagulant drugs, comorbidities, preoperative GCS, GOS at 7 days are related with longer hospital stay.
An Investigation of Various Factors Affecting Measurement Accuracy of the Tekscan Seat Pressure System

This study investigated the following factors affecting the measurement accuracy of the seat pressure measurement system made by TekScan, Inc.: (a) contact time; (b) contact area; (c) the amount of force applied on the pressure mat at the time of calibration and at measurement; and (d) the consistency of contact time before calibration and measurement, and the time interval between calibration and measurement. Results show that the above factors significantly affect the accuracy of measurement. The measurement error can be limited by controlling the contact time for both calibration and measurement to 2 minutes, and controlling the contact area and applied force equally at calibration and measurement.
The Effect of Deep Eutectic Solvents as Co-solvent on Organophosphorus Hydrolase Targeting Engineering Enzyme-catalyzed

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are systems formed from one or more compounds in a mixture form, to give a eutectic with a melting point much lower than either of the individual components. DESs have attracted considerable attention as green alternative solvents to conventional solvents because they are not only eco-friendly, non-toxic, and biodegradable organic compounds, but also low cost and easy to produce.and share several features and properties. DESs not only have particular properties in comparison with traditional organic solvents, but also their combination with organic solvents may also show improved and desired properties. In this study, DESs were used as the solvent in buffer containing organophosphorus hydrolase enzyme, in order to optimize the enzyme reaction buffer. Different DESs such as reline (choline chloride 2:1 urea), ethaline (choline chloride 2:1 ethanol) and glyceline (choline chloride 2:1 glycerol) were selected as an adjuvant for OPH enzyme reaction buffer. Biochemical properties, thermal stability and half-life of the OPH enzyme were studied, accordingly. In the reline, a reduction in the activity of the enzyme and in ethaline and glyceline, an increase in the activity and the stability were observed when compared with the buffer. The highest activity and stability in ethaline and glyceline in molar fraction was 0.025 and 0.25, respectively.
The Cyclical Behavior of the Price-Cost Markup

A countercyclical markup of price over marginal cost is the key transmission mechanism for demand shocks in textbook New Keynesian (NK) models. This paper re-examines the foundation of those models. We study the cyclicality of markups in the private economy as well as in detailed manufacturing industries. First, we show that frameworks for measuring markups that have produced the strongest evidence for countercyclicality produce the opposite result when we substitute new methods and data. Second, because the NK model's predictions differ by the nature of the shock, we present evidence on the cyclicality of the markup conditional on various types of shocks. Consistent with the NK model, we find that markups are procyclical conditional on a technology shock. However, we find that they are either procyclical or acyclical conditional on demand shocks. Thus, the textbook NK explanation for the effects of government spending or monetary policy is not supported by the behavior of the markup.
The role of a manager support in successful e-induction and engagement

In today’s competitive business environment, many organisations are adopting e-learning systems in the workplace as a means for knowledge sharing and knowledge acquisition. E-learning is about cost effectiveness and delivery according to Macpherson, Elliot, Harris and Homan (2004), while other organisations see it as a benefit as they see it as a way to increase employee retention, provide effective training which can be updated quickly if necessarily and is available anytime and anywhere (Minton, 2000). This is why many organisations have spent considerable resources implementing e-learning as part of their learning and development strategy. There are many articles and studies on the importance of implementing e-learning in an organisation to gain ‘lifelong learning’. Yet there is very little about the effectiveness of e-learning on employee engagement or about the need for support from line managers throughout the process – especially during induction, as this is when employee engagement is highest. Henderson (2003) writes that not only must managers control and monitor the whole e-learning process, but that its success rests with the management team.
Modified pressure system for imaging egg cracks

One aspect of grading table eggs is shell checks or cracks. Currently, USDA voluntary regulations require that humans grade a representative sample of all eggs processed. However, as processing plants and packing facilities continue to increase their volume and throughput, human graders are having difficulty matching the pace of the machines. Additionally, some plants also have a problem with micro-cracks that the graders often miss because they are very small and hard to see immediately post-processing but grow and become readily apparent before they reach market. An imaging system was developed to help the grader detect these small micro-cracks. The imaging system utilized one image captured at atmospheric pressure and a second at a slight negative pressure to enhance the crack and make detection much easier. A simple image processing algorithm was then applied to the ratio of these two images and the resulting image, containing both cracked and/or intact eggs were color-coded to simplify identification. The imaging system was capable of imaging 15 eggs in about 3/4 second and the algorithm processing took about another 10 seconds. These times could easily be reduced with a dedicated, multi-threaded computer program. In analyzing 1000 eggs, the system was 99.6% accurate overall with only 0.3% false positives compared to 94.2% accurate overall for the human graders with 1.2% false positives. An international patent on the system was filed and further automation of the system is needed.
Bridging the Gap between the New Urbanist Ideas and Transportation Planning Practice

Metropolitan planning organizations have become increasingly interested in urban design solutions to transportation problems. Many design ideas under the umbrella of new urbanism appear promising, yet in practice are not often fully implemented in standard transportation planning procedures, in part because of remaining skepticism about the role that the built environment plays in influencing travel and in part because of technical, institutional, and political issues. This paper sets a twofold objective. First, it contributes to the continuing debate on the urban form–travel connection by adding further empirical evidence from the Austin, Texas, region. Unlike most existing empirical work, the paper studies and reports evidence in metrics commonly used by transportation planners and engineers for travel demand analysis. Second, the paper demonstrates ways to integrate urban design variables in transportation demand analysis. The study identified 42 mixed-use districts (MXDs) in the Austin region and then analyzed the following aspects of travel behavior in MXDs and non-MXDs: trip production rates, trip duration and length distribution, internal rate of capture, departure time, and travel mode choice; these correspond to the first three of the four-step planning models. The study contributes to transportation planning and policy making in Central Texas by providing local empirical evidence on the urban form–travel connection. The study's method and process can be of interest to a broad audience in academia and practice.
Shape optimisation of broadband microstrip antennas using genetic algorithm

The genetic algorithm (GA) is used to design patch shapes for microstrip antennas on FR-4 substrate for broadband applications. Measurement results of the GA-optimised designs show good agreement with numerical prediction. The optimised patch design achieves a fourfold improvement in bandwidth when contrasted with a standard square microstrip antenna.
Biological Process

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Experimental Investigation of the Wind Pressure Distribution and Wind Interference Effects on a Typical Tall Building

Most tall buildings are constructed in the prosperous center of large cities, where is inevitable to be surrounded by many interfering buildings. Wind interference effects among buildings should not be neglected. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate wind interference effects on such tall buildings. Based on the wind tunnel test of rigid model of a tall building, the wind pressure distribution on the building with interfering buildings around it has been researched, the contours of the mean and fluctuate wind pressure coefficients have also been presented. It has been found that shielding effect and channeling effect are significant in the wind interference effects on building. Wind pressure coefficients on side wall and leeward wall of a upstream building may be dramatically changed in case the wake boundary of the upstream building is interfered. The conclusions might be used as reference to structural design and plan.
Robust force tracking control scheme for MR dampers

This paper describes a novel force tracking control scheme for magnetorheological (MR) dampers. The feed forward, which is derived by a control‐oriented mapping approach to reduce modelling effort of the inverse MR damper behaviour, compensates for the main steady‐state nonlinearity of the MR damper force and thereby linearizes the plant. The resulting force tracking error due to model imperfections and parameter uncertainties is reduced by parallel proportional and integral feedback gains that are formulated based on the absolute values of actual MR damper force and desired control force due to the semi‐active constraint of the MR damper force. The feedback is enriched by an anti‐reset windup to account for MR damper current constraints and the concept of current reversal to accelerate demagnetization. The experimental validations of the force tracking control scheme on a rotational and a long‐stroke MR damper demonstrate its robustness and efficacy. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.