Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bending of sandwich beams with transversely flexible core

The bending behavior of a sandwich beam with a foam core is analytically investigated. The beam consists of upper and lower skins, metallic or composite laminated, and a soft core. The loading pattern consists of concentrated as well as distributed loads exerted at the upper or the lower skin or a combination of the two. The analysis includes the effects of the flexibility of the core in the vertical direction on the overall bending behavior. The main parameters affecting the overall behavior and particularly the peeling and the shear stresses between the skins and the core are studied. ANDWICH beams have been used in various industries for many years. A typical beam consists of two skins made of metal or laminated composite and a core. The core is usually made of honeycomb, metallic or nonmetallic, which is stiff in the vertical direction and flexible in the horizontal one. In recent years, plastic foams are used for cores in sandwich structures. In this case, the effect of the transverse flexibility of the core on the mechanical behavior of the beam should be taken into account. This flexibility affects the transverse bend- ing behavior of the beam and leads to unequal deflections of the upper and lower symmetrical skins (see Fig. 1). Sandwich beams with honeycomb cores were considered by many researchers. Reissner1'2 included the shear strain effect on the bending, but only the average bending behavior of the composite beam is considered. Many researchers3'5 dealt with the analysis of beams with an antiplane core, i.e., a core with shear rigidity only. The Hexcel designer manual6 outlines the design procedures for beams with honeycomb cores only. An antiplane-cor e approach with anisotropic and composite skin appears in Refs. 7-9. Ojalvo10 assumed different deflec- tions to the two skins, but neglected the peeling stresses. Ogorkiewicz and Sayigh11 dealt with a foam core by replacing it with an ordinary beam with equivalent properties. In this paper, the proposed analysis includes the effects of the transverse flexibility of the core and the peeling stresses between the skin face and the core on the overall bending behavior. The analysis is general and applicable to metallic or com- posite laminated identical skins. The behavior is described in terms of the deflections, the peeling, and the shear stresses in the adhesive layers. The effect of the variables that govern the behavior is incorporated through a parametric study. The mathematical formulation and the boundary conditions are discussed. The analytical solution for the various types of loading with different boundary conditions is presented.
A numerical simulation for the omega band formation

[1] The formation of the omega bands and torch structures in the recovery phase of a substorm is numerically simulated. The kinetic energies of auroral particles are substantially provided by nonadiabatic acceleration in the tail current sheet. The magnetic drift flux (in the adiabatic sense) of the plasma sheet ions increases with decreasing invariant latitude; it starts to increase significantly around a certain magnetic shell, which is assumed, as a first approximation, to be the interface demarcating the nonadiabatic and adiabatic regions in the tail current sheet. Region 1 field-aligned currents can be generated in the situation that this interface is inclined with respect to the direction of the average magnetic drift velocity. As long as the energy density of injected particles does not significantly change with time, the region 1 current remains stable and no electrostatic waves with long wavelengths (>100 km at the ionospheric height) grow. Since the nonadiabatic particle acceleration is assumed to weaken during the (early) recovery phase of a substorm, the flux-tube-integrated energy density of injected particles attains a latitudinal profile unstable to the hybrid Kelvin-Helmholtz/Rayleigh-Taylor instability. While injected particles with less kinetic energies are transported to magnetic shells at lower latitudes, the unstable region expands in latitude so that long-wavelength waves develop in the plasma sheet. Then omega bands similar to those observed commonly in the substorm recovery phase form. The main characteristics of the omega bands in the simulation are shown to be consistent with observations.
On Transforming a Certain Class of Stochastic Processes by Absolutely Continuous Substitution of Measures

Let $X\{ x(t,w),{\bf P}\} $ be a stochastic process in n-dimensi onalEuclidean space $R_n $ having continuous trajectories, which satisfy the stochastic equation: $x^i (t,\omega ) = x^i (0,\omega ) + \int_0^t {\phi _j^i (s,\omega )} + \int_0^t {\Psi ^i (s,\omega )ds} ,\quad 0 \leqq t \leqq 1. $Here $p = p(d\omega )$ is a measure in the space $\Omega $ of elementary events, $\int_0^t {\Phi _j^i d\xi ^j } $ is considered to be the stochastic integral of K. Ito with respect to the Wiener process $\xi $. The process is called a Wiener process if it satisfies conditions (1.1) and (1.2) of this paper. Process X is called an K. Ito process (with respect to the Wiener process $\xi $) corresponding to the diffusion matrix $\phi (t,\omega ) = ||\phi _j^i (t,\omega )||$ and to the translation vector $\Psi (t,\omega ) = \{ \Psi ^i (t,\omega )\} $. It is proved with certain restrictions imposed on the vector $\varphi (t,\omega ) = \{ \varphi ^i (t,\omega )\} $ that the process $\tilde X = \{ x(t,\omega ),\tilde {\bf P}\.
Pentad: A reproducible cytoarchitectonic protocol and its application to parcellation of the human hippocampus

Introduction The hippocampus is integral for learning and memory and is targeted by multiple diseases. Neuroimaging approaches frequently use hippocampal subfield volumes as a standard measure of neurodegeneration, thus making them an essential biomarker to study. Collectively, histologic parcellation studies contain various disagreements, discrepancies, and omissions. The present study aimed to advance the hippocampal subfield segmentation field by establishing the first histology based parcellation protocol, applied to n = 22 human hippocampal samples. Methods The protocol focuses on five cellular traits observed in the pyramidal layer of the human hippocampus. We coin this approach the pentad protocol. The traits were: chromophilia, neuron size, packing density, clustering, and collinearity. Subfields included were CA1, CA2, CA3, CA4, prosubiculum, subiculum, presubiculum, parasubiculum, as well as the medial (uncal) subfields Subu, CA1u, CA2u, CA3u, and CA4u. We also establish nine distinct anterior-posterior levels of the hippocampus in the coronal plane to document rostrocaudal differences. Results Applying the pentad protocol, we parcellated 13 subfields at nine levels in 22 samples. We found that CA1 had the smallest neurons, CA2 showed high neuronal clustering, and CA3 displayed the most collinear neurons of the CA fields. The border between presubiculum and subiculum was staircase shaped, and parasubiculum had larger neurons than presubiculum. We also demonstrate cytoarchitectural evidence that CA4 and prosubiculum exist as individual subfields. Discussion This protocol is comprehensive, regimented and supplies a high number of samples, hippocampal subfields, and anterior-posterior coronal levels. The pentad protocol utilizes the gold standard approach for the human hippocampus subfield parcellation.
Targeting Some Key Metalloproteinases by Nano-Naringenin and Amphora coffeaeformis as a Novel Strategy for Treatment of Osteoarthritis in Rats

Osteoarthritis (OA) represents the highest degenerative disorder. Because cartilage erosion is a common pathological alteration in OA, targeting some key metalloproteinases such as MMP-3, ADAMTS-5 besides their inhibitor TIMP-3 by natural products, could be an effective strategy to protect against osteoarthritis. Forty female Wister rats were categorized into five equal groups. Control, osteoarthritic (OA) (monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) 2 mg/50 µL saline, single intra-articular injection), OA+ indomethacin (2 mg/kg/daily/orally), OA+ nano-naringenin (25 mg/kg/daily/orally), and OA+ Amphora coffeaeformis (772 mg/kg/daily/orally). Treatments were initiated on the 8th day after osteoarthritis induction and continued for 28 days thereafter. Finally, blood and knee joint samples were collected from all rats for biochemical and histopathological evaluations. The current study showed that MIA induced oxidative stress, which resulted in changes in the inflammatory joint markers associated with increased right knee diameter and higher clinical scores for lameness. Amphora coffeaeformis followed by nano-naringenin exhibited a potential anti-arthritic activity by reducing the concentrations of serum MMP-3, ADAMTS-5, and joint MDA and increasing the levels of serum TIMP-3 and joint GSH, similar to indomethacin. The histopathological results confirmed these outcomes. In conclusion, Amphora coffeaeformis and nano-naringenin can be considered as natural therapeutic agents for osteoarthritis owing to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.
Surface consistent corrections

Amplitudes of seismic reflections have been of interest since the first days of exploration seismology. Any change of amplitude or anomalous behavior may be significant, so it is important that the zones of interest be free from outside disturbances, such as those caused by the near‐surface layers. Surface consistent factors may be divided into source, receiver, offset, and subsurface components, and these may be divided further into amplitude and phase (or time shift) factors. Correction of trace amplitudes using multiplication by a scale factor is similar to correction of phase distortions by a static shift, and both corrections enhance seismic data. Displays of surface consistent components for time and amplitude corrections provide an additional diagnostic for the geophysicist.
DuctiLoc: Energy-Efficient Location Sampling With Configurable Accuracy

Mobile device tracking technologies based on various positioning systems have made location data collection ubiquitous. The frequency at which location samples are recorded varies across applications, yet it is usually pre-defined and fixed, resulting in redundant information, and draining the battery of mobile devices. In this paper, we first answer the question “at what frequency should individual human movements be sampled so that they can be reconstructed with minimum loss of information? ”. Our analysis unveils a novel linear scaling law of the localization error with respect to the sampling interval. We then present DUCTI LOC, a location sampling mechanism that utilises the law above to profile users and adapt the position tracking frequency to their mobility. DUCTI LOC is energy efficient, as it does not rely on power-hungry sensors or expensive computations; moreover, it provides a handy knob to control energy usage, by configuring the target positioning accuracy. Controlling the trade-off between accuracy and sampling rate of human movement is useful in a number of contexts, including mobile computing and cellular networks. Real-world experiments with an Android implementation show that DUCTI LOC can effectively adjust the sampling frequency to individual mobility habits and target accuracy level, reducing the energy consumption by 60% to 98% with respect to a baseline periodic sampling.
Discrete event systems with stochastic processing times

Discrete-event dynamic systems (DEDS) are studied in which the underlying algebra is the max-algebra and the coefficients in the system, referring to processing times in practice, are stochastic. The authors note that until now the study of DEDS in the context of max-algebra has been purely deterministic; in the present work, the authors discuss certain stochastic extensions. The theory given deals with the analysis of stochastic DEDS in which the processing times and/or the transportation times within a network show stochastic fluctuations. <<ETX>>
Variational approach for static mirror structures

Anisotropic static plasma equilibria where the parallel and perpendicular pressures are only functions of the amplitude of the local magnetic field are shown to be amenable to a variational principle with a free energy density given by the parallel tension. This approach is used to demonstrate that two-dimensional small-amplitude static magnetic holes constructed from a Grad-Shafranov type equation slightly below the (subcritical) mirror instability threshold identify with lump solitons of KPII equation, but turn out to be unstable. Differently, large-amplitude magnetic structures, which are stable as they realize a minimum of the free energy, are computed using a gradient method within two-dimensional numerical simulations where the regularizing effect of finite Larmor radius corrections is retained. Interestingly, these structures transform from stripes to bubbles when the angle of the magnetic field with the coordinate plane is increased.
Ardosia: Simulating Circuits and Robotic Systems in a Single Learning Platform

Circuit simulation, together with practical sessions, is considered a fundamental tool to assist in the teaching of electronics. Robotics offers rich real-world applications that foster student interest in developing engineering projects. Despite the potential benefits of uniting these two realities, software tools that combine circuits and robotic systems in a single simulation platform are scarce. This article presents Ardosia, a simulation software that combines electronics and robotics in a single simulation arena. The electronic aspects of the simulation are handled by the Falstad Circuit Simulator, a software with proven success in promoting student interest and learning outcomes. Importantly, this software features significant interactive and visualization characteristics that are deemed valuable to enhance conceptual understanding. Non–electrical physics simulation is performed by a special-purpose engine, designed to simulate sensor and actuator behavior in a 2-D world. In combination, the two simulation engines yield a model where electronic circuits are embodied in the world through robot sensors and actuators interacting together and with the surroundings. Such a simulator is intended to promote the use of robotics projects in electronics education, since students will be equipped with software to conveniently design and evaluate robotic systems, through simulation, before applying their ideas in an experimental setting. This article presents an overview of Ardosia, complemented with examples of use in electronics education and a validation experiment comparing simulation with real-world data.
Evaluation of Plastic Bifurcation for Plane Strain versus Axisymmetry

Properties of discontinuous bifurcation solutions for elastic‐plastic solids are established for conventional test conditions that are pertinent to experiments on soil, powder, and rock. Typically, such conditions are characterized as plane strain and axisymmetry. A restricted form of nonassociativity is assumed, where only the volumetric portion of the flow rule is nonassociated. Apart from this restriction, the aim is to make as general predictions as possible without resorting to a specific elastic‐plastic model. It is shown that states of plane strain are far more susceptible to bifurcations than those encountered in the conventional triaxial apparatus (which represents cylindrical stress states). Moreover, the solutions for dilatant materials will rarely bifurcate under conventional triaxial compression (CTC) test conditions, while conventional triaxial extension (CTE) test conditions fall between the two extremes of plane strain and CTC. For Drucker‐Prager criterion it is shown that bifurcation is n.
Optical modes in semiconductor microdisk lasers

We present a method for calculation of the optical modes in microdisk resonant cavities. The optical field distribution, the eigenvalue equation for resonant wavelengths, and the formula for the Q values of microdisks are established. Numerical results for emitting modes of long-wavelength semiconductor microdisk lasers are presented in detail and compared with experimental data.
Synthesis and Crystal Structure of the Zintl Phases NaSrSb, NaBaSb and NaEuSb

This work details the synthesis and the crystal structures of the ternary compounds NaSrSb, NaBaSb and NaEuSb. They are isostructural and adopt the hexagonal ZrNiAl-type structure (space group P6¯2m; Pearson code hP9). The structure determination in all three cases was performed using single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. The structure features isolated Sb3– anions arranged in layers stacked along the crystallographic c-axis. In the interstices, alkali and alkaline-earth metal cations are found in tetrahedral and square pyramidal coordination environments, respectively. The formal partitioning of the valence electrons adheres to the valence rules, i.e., Na+Sr2+Sb3–, Na+Ba2+Sb3– and Na+Eu2+Sb3– can be considered as Zintl phases with intrinsic semiconductor behavior. Electronic band structure calculations conducted for NaBaSb are consistent with this notion and show a direct gap of approx. 0.9 eV. Additionally, the calculations hint at possible inverted Dirac cones, a feature that is reminiscent of topological quantum materials.
GLIM-Net: Chronic Glaucoma Forecast Transformer for Irregularly Sampled Sequential Fundus Images

Chronic Glaucoma is an eye disease with progressive optic nerve damage. It is the second leading cause of blindness after cataract and the first leading cause of irreversible blindness. Glaucoma forecast can predict future eye state of a patient by analyzing the historical fundus images, which is helpful for early detection and intervention of potential patients and avoiding the outcome of blindness. In this paper, we propose a GLaucoma forecast transformer based on Irregularly saMpled fundus images named GLIM-Net to predict the probability of developing glaucoma in the future. The main challenge is that the existing fundus images are often sampled at irregular times, making it difficult to accurately capture the subtle progression of glaucoma over time. We therefore introduce two novel modules, namely time positional encoding and time-sensitive MSA (multi-head self-attention) modules, to address this challenge. Unlike many existing works that focus on prediction for an unspecified future time, we also propose an extended model which is further capable of prediction conditioned on a specific future time. The experimental results on the benchmark dataset SIGF show that the accuracy of our method outperforms the state-of-the-art models. In addition, the ablation experiments also confirm the effectiveness of the two modules we propose, which can provide a good reference for the optimization of Transformer models.
Neuropsychiatric Manifestations, Reduced Self-Esteem and Poor Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1): The Impact of Symptom Visibility and Bullying Behavior

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant condition, associated with neurocutaneous manifestations and neuropsychiatric manifestations. The present study explored the prevalence of bullying/cyberbullying behaviors and victimization behaviors in a cohort of children and adolescents with NF1. Possible gender differences and predictors of psychological symptoms, quality of life (QoL), and self-esteem were also examined. Thirty-eight school-aged participants with NF1 completed a psychological evaluation designed to assess anxiety and depression symptomatology, QoL, self-esteem, and the prevalence and extent of bullying/cyberbullying and victimization behaviors. We found that our participants frequently reported victimization behaviors rather than bullying/cyberbullying ones. Moreover, participants complained of depressive and anxiety symptomatology together with reduced self-esteem, and low psychosocial quality of life, with females reporting more severe performances than males. Furthermore, we found that reduced self-esteem was associated with more visibility of the NF1 symptoms, and victimization behaviors were found to mediate the relationship between anxiety and psychosocial QoL. Our findings indicated the presence of a maladaptive loop in children and adolescents with NF1 patients characterized by psychological symptoms, unfavorable self-perception, low self-esteem, and psychosocial difficulties that might be worsened by experiencing victimization behaviors. These results suggest the need to use a multidisciplinary approach in the diagnosis and treatment of NF1.
Follow-Up of PRRSv-Vaccinated Piglets Born from PRRSv-Vaccinated, ELISA-Seropositive and ELISA-Seronegative Sows

Vaccination against the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSv) is widely used to prevent production losses in the swine industry. In this study, piglets born from both PRRSv-vaccinated ELISA-seropositive sows (E+ piglets) and PRRSv-vaccinated ELISA-seronegative sows (E− piglets) were followed-up pre-vaccination, 3 weeks post-vaccination (wpv) and 8 wpv in two Belgian farrow-to-finish herds. The aim of the study was to analyze the presence of PRRSv-specific maternally-derived antibodies (MDAs) and the PRRSv vaccine response in both groups of piglets. The E− piglets lacked the presence of PRRSv-specific MDAs (0% seropositive), while these were present in the E+ piglets (97% seropositive). Due to this, the E− piglets showed a strong initial vaccine response (72–80% seroconversion) and vaccine viremia (65–75% PCR positive) at 3 wpv. In contrast, the E+ piglets showed only limited initial vaccine responses (25–61% with increased ELISA values) and vaccine viremia (30–31% PCR positive) at 3 wpv. By 8 wpv, the proportion of seropositive E− piglets (78–100%) and seropositive E+ piglets (55–90%) increased in both herds. However, a difference in vaccine viremia duration was observed between both herds at 8 wpv, with a decrease in the proportion of PCR positive piglets in herd 1 (E−: 47%; E+: 25%) and an increase in the proportion of PCR positive piglets in herd 2 (E−: 85%; E+: 92%). This study identified clear differences in the presence of PRRSv-specific maternally-derived antibodies and PRRSv vaccine responses between E− and E+ piglets. Further research is warranted to elicit the biological relevance of these observed differences.
Effects of Negative Attitudes towards Vaccination in General and Trust in Government on Uptake of a Booster Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine and the Moderating Role of Psychological Reactance: An Observational Prospective Cohort Study in Hong Kong

Uptake of a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine is effective in preventing infection and severe consequences caused by COVID-19. The present study examined the effects of negative attitudes towards vaccination in general and trust in government on uptake of a COVID-19 booster dose, as well as the moderating role of psychological reactance to pro-vaccination messages in Hong Kong. An observational prospective cohort study using online survey was conducted among 264 adults. Findings showed that, after adjustment for significant background characteristics, negative attitudes towards vaccination in general negatively predicted uptake of a booster dose, and trust in government positively predicted uptake of a booster dose. In addition, the association between negative attitudes towards vaccination in general and uptake of a booster dose was weaker among those who reported a higher level of psychological reactance. The present study highlighted the importance of improving attitudes towards vaccination in general especially among those who are not experiencing psychological reactance, and building trust in government. This study also suggested that interventions aimed at improving attitudes towards vaccination in general should seek to avoid psychological reactance, and special attention should be given to people who are experiencing psychological reactance to pro-vaccination messages.