Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Schema support for forming inferences in the human brain

Associative inference, the process of drawing novel links between existing knowledge to rapidly integrate associated information, is supported by the hippocampus and neocortex. Within the neocortex, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been implicated in the rapid cortical learning of new information that is congruent with an existing framework of knowledge, or schema. How the brain integrates associations to form inferences, specifically how inferences are represented, is not well understood. In this study, we investigate how the brain uses schemas to facilitate memory integration in an associative inference paradigm (A-B-C-D). We conducted two event-related fMRI experiments in which participants retrieved previously learned direct (AB, BC, CD) and inferred (AC, AD) associations between word pairs for items that are schema congruent or incongruent. Additionally, we investigated how two factors known to affect memory, a delay with sleep, and reward, modulate the neural integration of associations within, and between, schema. Schema congruency was found to benefit the integration of associates, but only when retrieval immediately follows learning. RSA revealed that neural patterns of inferred pairs (AC) in the PHc, mPFC, and posHPC were more similar to their constituents (AB and BC) when the items were schema congruent, suggesting that schema facilitates the assimilation of paired items into a single inferred unit containing all associated elements. Furthermore, a delay with sleep, but not reward, impacted the assimilation of inferred pairs. Our findings reveal that the neural representations of overlapping associations are integrated into novel representations through the support of memory schema. Significance Statement Our ability to draw novel links between pieces of existing knowledge allows us to understand how information in memory is related. Existing knowledge (memory ‘schema’) can facilitate learning, and then integration, of new related information. We ask how the human brain uses schema to form links between related pieces of information, and how sleep and reward affect this process. Our results suggest that memory schema helps pieces of knowledge become a single inferred unit in the brain’s memory systems. A delay with sleep between learning and retrieval, though not reward, is important for how schema achieve this.
27-GHz low phase-noise CMOS standing-wave oscillator for millimeter wave applications

This work presents a 27-GHz low phase-noise standing-wave voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) design with the folded microstrip line structure over floating metal strips. Because the floating metal strips serve to retard the wave, the length of microstrip line (and thus the overall layout area) can be further reduced at a given frequency. Meanwhile, the floating metal strips reduce the substrate effect and improve the Q-factor of the microstrip line. The measurement results exhibit a tuning range from 26.26 GHz to 26.80 (27.55) GHz with the tuning voltage rising from 0.1 V to 1.8 (3.3) V. The measured phase-noise levels are around −115 dBc/Hz and −134 dBc/Hz at 1-MHz and 10-MHz offset, respectively. The DC power consumption of the oscillator core is 17.7 mW at the supply voltage of 1.8 V. The figure of merits (FOM) of this VCO is −191 dB.
Nonlinear hypoelastic analysis of reinforced concrete flat plate floors.

A three dimensional finite element model has been developed for nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete flat plate structures in this study. A 3-D hypo-elastic orthotropic material model based on equivalent uniaxial strain concept for modeling the material properties of uncracked concrete and cracked reinforced concrete was proposed. Material property of uncracked concrete under multiaxial stress state was simulated by uniaxial stress-equivalent uniaxial strain relationships. The five-parameter strength surface proposed by Willam and Warnke (1975) was employed to determine the ultimate peak stress and peak strain. A new model describing the material properties of cracked reinforced concrete with multiple non-orthogonal cracks has been developed. The material properties of the multi-directional cracked reinforced concrete are represented by the material properties of the intact solid concrete and a number of uniaxially cracked concrete with their coupling solids. Cracking effects due to multiple non-orthogonal cracks are traced in each uniaxially cracked concrete. Tension softening, aggregate interlock occurred at crack interface as well as tension stiffening and compression softening initiated in concrete between cracks due to multiple non-orthogonal cracks are all incorporated explicitly. Tension softening effect of cracked plain concrete is in terms of stress-equivalent uniaxial strain relationship. In case of the reinforcement does not normal to crack plane, the tension stiffening effect is considered in crack normal direction by nonlinear interpolation between tension softening and tension stiffening. Compression softening effect of cracked reinforced concrete due to principal tensile strain, principal tensile stress normal to crack as well as shear stress in crack interface is considered. The shear friction effect of aggregate interlock and dowel action of uniaxially cracked concrete is modeled as a variable fraction of shear stiffness of uncracked concrete. Reinforcement is modeled as elasto-plastic material with possible strain-hardening having uniaxial stiffness property. Perfect bond is assumed between reinforcement and concrete. v i i i ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library
Strategic preparation for crisis management in hospitals: empirical evidence from Egypt

This study examines Egyptian managers' perceptions of their hospitals' preparation for crisis management. A total of 259 participants completed a 24‐item Strategic Preparation for Crisis Management (SPCM) instrument. The instrument was found to be valid and reliable in a non‐Western context. The study detected a positive relationship between long‐term strategy and crisis readiness. A significant statistical relationship was also found between external strategic orientation and crisis readiness. Finally, organizational complexity was found to be significantly and negatively associated with perceived crisis readiness.
The two sides of the coin : learning and inertia among Italian automobile producers, 1896-1981

Based on the premise that organizational learning and structural inertia are both rooted in prior organizational experiences, this paper examines under what conditions adaptation or selection will take place. We find that implementing a core change generates negative repercussions for survival but this effect can be countered by leveraging relevant core competencies. But we also argue that which of the two outcomes occurs is generally beyond the control of the organization. Instead, environmental transformations render what firms have learned relevant or obsolete, thereby facilitating learning-based adaptation or inertia-based selection. The direction in which organizational learning evolves is a combined function of organizational demographics and the structure of the competitive environment. We propose relevant hypotheses and test them in the analysis of data from the Italian Automobile Industry, 1896-1981. We report results of hazard rate models of failure and position change and discuss general implications.
Accurate measurement of Q-factors of isolated dielectric resonators

In this paper, a set-up used to accurately measure the resonant frequencies and Q-factors of isolated dielectric resonators is described. The measured resonant frequencies and Q-factors of first five lowest order modes of two cylindrical dielectric resonators of relative permittivity 38.0 and 79.7 respectively are reported. The measured values are compared with those of rigorous numerical methods available in the literature. >
Ultra-wide-band traveling-wave photodetectors for photonic local oscillators

This paper reviews recent advances in the development of high-speed 1.55-/spl mu/m traveling-wave p-i-n photodetectors (TWPD) for photonic millimeter-wave and submillimeter-wave local oscillators. We first discuss the basic physics and performances of high-speed 1.55-/spl mu/m TWPD. Next, we present a frequency-domain optical-heterodyne measurement technique for ultra-wide-band characterization of the TWPD and photonic transmitter modules within the frequency range from almost dc up to more than 1 THz. We further demonstrate ultra-wide-band (0.02-0.7 THz) photonic transmitter modules consisting of a high-speed TWPD coupled to a broad-band bow-tie antenna as well as a narrow-band 0.46-THz photonic transmitter module producing output power levels sufficient to operate a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) astronomical receiver under optimum conditions. Finally, we will report on ultra-wide-band (0.06-1 THz) photonic transmitter modules consisting of high-speed TWPDs coupled to various rectangular metallic waveguides (WR10, WR8, and WR5).
Carbon Dioxide Levels and Ventilation Rates in Schools

Abstract In the following, measurements of CO2 levels in seven classrooms in four schools are reported. Measurements were taken for approximately one week in each classroom during the heating season and the time-varying ventilation rates estimated. The results of the experiments show CO2 concentrations which are far beyond the guideline value of 1000 ppm (the average concentration during the occupied period was 1957 ppm). In some classrooms the level exceeded the range of the detector (4000ppm). Calculated air supply rates vary from unacceptably low levels to rates which are in line with guidance (the average occupied rate was 0.84 ac/h or 1.38 l/s.p). The occurrence of periods with acceptable supply rates, and the rates found during purge ventilation, show that the surveyed classrooms have the potential to provide adequate fresh air. Anecdotal evidence from the classroom teachers suggest that the reason enough fresh air is not being provided is the reluctance of staff to open windows: firstly because of the draughts this might cause, and secondly, because they are unaware of a problem.
Modeling of electromagnetic wave penetration in a human head due to emissions from cellular phone

In recent years, there has been an increasing public concern about possible health hazard resulting from exposure to electromagnetic (EM) waves. Much attention has been paid to the induced of SAR in the human head for exposure to EM waves emitted from commercial cellular phone antennas. Therefore, the computation of the electric fields and SAR generated by cellular phone inside a four-tissue phantom head model is presented in this paper. The phone was considered working at 900 MHz to 1800 MHz bands according to the global system of mobile communication (GSM). The penetration of the E-fields and averaged SAR values in 1g and 10g of tissue were computed inside the model of human head using finite difference time domain (FDTD) technique. The E-fields and SAR are then evaluated using CST Microwave Studio as it capable to do an accurate 3D simulation. The CST Microwave Studio results show that magnitude of EM field decreases exponentially with the penetration distance at a rate specified by the attenuation constant, alpha. Besides, the SAR is affected by operational frequency of the phone and the distance of the antenna to the human head. An experimental technique on SAR distribution needs to be done to validate the results from simulation technique.
YAPILARIN YERDEĞİŞTİRMEYE GÖRE TASARIMI DISPLACEMENT-BASED SEISMIC DESIGN OF CONCRETE STRUCTURES

Conceptual problems inherent in conventional initial-stiffness force-based seismic design of concrete structures are outlined. It is noted that structural performance in terms of damage potential is related to strain or drift limits and does not correlate well with strength. As a consequence, structures designed by force-based criteria have non-uniform seismic risk. Displacement-based seismic design is offered as a rational replacement for force-based design. Following extensive recent research, a variant known as Direct Displacement-Based Design (DDBD) has reached sufficient maturity to be considered for routine seismic design. The DDBD procedure, described in this paper, is extremely simple, and aims to achieve, rather than be bounded by performance limit states defined by displacement limits. This essentially results in uniform-risk buildings, a result compatible with the concept of uniform risk spectra, which have long been accepted for seismic input. Application of the procedure to different structural forms, including concrete frame buildings, walls, dual wall/frame buildings and bridges, have been validated by extensive inelastic time-history analyses. A brief summary of the research is presented. It is shown that the design results follow trends that are often opposed to those resulting from force-based design.
Association between COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects and Body Mass Index in Spain

COVID-19 vaccines have shown high efficacy, with most side effects being mild–moderate and more frequently reported by females and people at younger ages. Since no studies have assessed the impact that weight status could have on the reported adverse reactions, we aim to study the association between weight status and reported side effects. We included data on 2136 adults from an online survey conducted from 6 May to 9 June 2021. The questionnaire was filled in by participants over Google forms. Generalized Linear Mixed Models were used. A higher risk of presenting fever ≥38°, vomiting, diarrhea and chills was found in those with a non-overweight status compared to those overweight after adjusting for age, sex, education, medication to prevent/relieve post-vaccination effects and vaccine administered. When adjusting, most of the significant effects, in the association between side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine and weight status, did not remain significant. In conclusion, a non-overweight status was associated with a higher risk of presenting fever ≥38°, vomiting, diarrhea and chills compared to those overweight. Nevertheless, most of the reported side effects to COVID-19 vaccine were not associated with a higher risk of presenting more adverse effects, and individual differences were determined by sex and age.
Urban air pollution in school-related microenvironments in Bogota, Colombia

Particle-related pollution (PM10, PM2.5 and soot) was measured in both indoor and outdoor microenvironments at four public elementary schools in Bogotá, Colombia. Three of these schools were located alongside major urban roads in which different types of public transit systems are used (bus rapid transit system and conventional transit buses). The fourth school was located on a non-congested road (background school). Pollutant levels at schools situated on major-roads were higher than those found at the low-congestion-road school. Outdoor black carbon daily mean concentrations at the schools located near major roads were up to six times higher than those recorded at the background school. Mean particulate matter concentrations at schools near major roads were above international standards, suggesting that school-age children in Bogotá are exposed to pollution levels that are considered to be harmful by environmental and public health authorities. Elevated indoor and outdoor pollutant concentrations documented in this study suggested that traffic has a direct impact on air quality regarding the schools' characterised microenvironments.
Hydrodynamic Bearing Lubricated with Magnetic Fluids

This article summarizes the work carried out in the development of hydrodynamic lubricated journal bearings with magnetic fluids. Two different fluids have been analyzed: one is the ferrofluid from FERROTEC APG s10n and the other is the magnetorheological (MR) fluid from LORD Corp., MRF122-2ED. Theoretical analysis has been carried out with numerical solutions of Reynolds equation, based on apparent viscosity modulation for ferrofluid and Bingham model for MR fluid. To validate this model, one test bench has been designed, manufactured, and set up, where preliminary results showed in this article demonstrate that magnetic fluids can be used to develop active journal bearings.
Synthesis of temperature-responsive P(vinyl pyrrolidone-co-methyl methacrylate) micelle for controlled drug release

Abstract In the study we synthesized thermo-responsive amphiphilic P(vinyl pyrrolidone-co-Methyl methacrylate) (P(VP-co-MMA)) polymers at varying ratios (100/0, 95/5, 94/6, and 92.5/7.5), which were used further for the synthesis of thermo-responsive micelles. The 1H-NMR results revealed the successful copolymerization of VP with MMA without any chemical deterioration. Further, it was observed that the variations in monomers molar ratio showed no prominent effect on the critical micelle concentration of any copolymeric solution. Although micellar self-assembly was observed in all the monomers molar ratio, the degree of self-assembly was directly proportional to the content of MMA monomer. Moreover, the formation of micelles is favored from all the prepared copolymers due to the high hydrophilic monomeric content in the copolymers. In addition, as-synthesized micelles were spherical and had almost similar diameter, that is, 70–90 nm. Moreover, the loading % of Nile red was also similar in all the self-assembled micelles. It was observed that the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the polymer decreases with an increase in MMA content, and at 95/5 molar ratio the LCST of P(VP-co-MMA) was around 40 °C, which is suitable for in vivo drug delivery system. Moreover, high payload release, that is, 44%, was measured from P(VP-co-MMA) (95/5) at 45 °C, as compared to 33% payload release at 37 °C, suggesting that micelles formed from P(VP-co-MMA) (95/5) could be suitable for in vivo drug delivery. Graphical Abstract
Hitting Net-Zero Without Stopping Flying: Increasing Air Travelers’ Likelihood to Opt-in to Voluntary Carbon Offsetting

Voluntary carbon offset (VCO) programs give air travelers opportunities to neutralize their carbon footprint. Despite its potential, few existing studies have explained how to present VCOs that can effectively appeal to the sensibilities of travelers in different conditions. We designed three online experiments with strategies to motivate travelers to opt-in. We found travelers who receive concrete messages that emphasize specific actions are more likely to opt-in to VCOs when flying in the near future. In contrast, travelers receiving abstract messages that emphasize general initiatives are more likely to opt-in to VCOs when flying in the distant future. When travelers are allowed to choose their preferred carbon offset method, they are more likely to opt in, especially when they receive concrete messages that indicate specific actions but not general initiatives. These findings contribute to the aviation carbon offset literature and offer useful new insights for airline companies.
The respiratory metabolism of overwintering paper wasp gynes (Polistes dominula and Polistes gallicus)

Winter in climatic regions with low temperatures is a challenge for overwintering insects. They are exposed to temperature extremes, which directly cause mortality or lead to energy depletion. The winter hibernaculum of paper wasp gynes protects from predators and rain, but only poorly from ambient temperature. In order to detect physiological adaptations to differing climates, we compared the respiratory metabolism of overwintering gynes of two polistine species from the Mediterranean climate in Italy (Polistes dominula and Polistes gallicus), and of one species from the temperate climate in Austria (Polistes dominula). The wasps' CO2 emission was measured with stop‐flow respirometry in a temperature range from 2.5 to 20 °C. The mass‐specific standard (resting) metabolic rate, the main type of metabolism of the dormant insects during overwintering, increased exponentially with ambient temperature but was suppressed in comparison to individuals measured in the summer, which conserves the energy stores. In addition, it was lower in the Mediterranean species (P. dominula and P. gallicus) in comparison to the temperate species (P. dominula), especially at higher temperatures. The active metabolic rate was suppressed to a similar amount. The suppressed metabolism of the overwintering Mediterranean gynes could be an adaptation to the higher winter temperatures to prevent a premature depletion of the energy resources.
Personalized Cell Therapy for Patients with Peripheral Arterial Diseases in the Context of Genetic Alterations: Artificial Intelligence-Based Responder and Non-Responder Prediction

Stem/progenitor cell transplantation is a potential novel therapeutic strategy to induce angiogenesis in ischemic tissue, which can prevent major amputation in patients with advanced peripheral artery disease (PAD). Thus, clinicians can use cell therapies worldwide to treat PAD. However, some cell therapy studies did not report beneficial outcomes. Clinical researchers have suggested that classical risk factors and comorbidities may adversely affect the efficacy of cell therapy. Some studies have indicated that the response to stem cell therapy varies among patients, even in those harboring limited risk factors. This suggests the role of undetermined risk factors, including genetic alterations, somatic mutations, and clonal hematopoiesis. Personalized stem cell-based therapy can be developed by analyzing individual risk factors. These approaches must consider several clinical biomarkers and perform studies (such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS)) on disease-related genetic traits and integrate the findings with those of transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) and whole-genome sequencing in PAD. Additional unbiased analyses with state-of-the-art computational methods, such as machine learning-based patient stratification, are suited for predictions in clinical investigations. The integration of these complex approaches into a unified analysis procedure for the identification of responders and non-responders before stem cell therapy, which can decrease treatment expenditure, is a major challenge for increasing the efficacy of therapies.
Unified Aeroelastic and Flight Dynamic Formulation via Rational Function Approximations

A unified aeroelastic and flight dynamic formulation is sought to take into account the influence of aeroelastic effects on the flight dynamic behavior of the whole aircraft in a format fully compatible with the aeroelastic, flight dynamics, and automatic control disciplines. By allowing the inclusion of gravity-related terms, vertical acceleration-related aerodynamic stability derivatives, and lift and drag forces due to forward-velocity perturbations into the rational function approximation matrices, the traditional quasi-steady flight dynamic equations of motion are fully recovered. Closed-form solutions are presented for translational and rotational degrees of freedom in the aeroelastic model. The General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) Predator® unmanned aerial vehicle is used to numerically demonstrate the unified aeroelastic modeling framework. The results indicate that this approach reproduces, with a high degree of fidelity, the underlying quasi-steady flight dynamic model when no elastic modes are included in the aeroelastic model. Comments are provided to determine the approximate number of elastic modes that need to be included in the aeroelastic model to accurately model its flight dynamic behavior.