Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of Sustainable High-Strength Self-Consolidating Concrete Utilising Fly Ash, Shale Ash and Microsilica

With high flowability and passing ability, self-consolidating concrete (SCC) does not require compaction during casting and can improve constructability. The favourable properties of SCC have enabled its widespread adoption in many parts of the world. However, there are two major issues associated with the SCC mixes commonly used in practice. First, the cement content is usually at the high side. Since the production of cement involves cal- cination at high temperature and is an energy-intensive process, the high cement content imparts high embodied energy and carbon footprint to the SCC mixes. Besides, the exo- thermic reaction of cement hydration would cause high heat generation and early thermal cracking problem that would impair structural integrity and necessitate repair. Second, the strength is usually limited to around grade 60, which is considered as medium strength in nowadays achievable norm. With a view to develop sustainable high-strength self-consoli- dating concrete (HS-SCC), experimental research utilising fly ash (FA), shale ash (SA), and microsilica (MS) in the production of SCC has been conducted, as reported herein. by adopting low W/CM ratios through the use of polycarboxylate-ether-based superplasticiser (SP). A series of 12 SCC mixes incorporating FA, SA and MS have been produced for laboratory testing. From the experimental results, all the concrete mixes have the required workability and flowability of self-consolidating. The flow values have satisfied the respective ranges of slump-flow classes SF1, SF2 or SF3 according to the European guidelines for SCC, there has been no problem of segregation instability as revealed from visual observations. mean 28-day compressive cube strengths of the SCC the range from 80.2 to 108.5 MPa, could grade C70 to C90. (EE) For comparison on at so concurrent improvement in and by and demonstrated, by more achieved. Overall the results have concluded successful development sustainable HS-SCC superior compared mix
Toward Understanding the Outer Membrane Uptake of Small Molecules by Pseudomonas aeruginosa*

Background: Occ channels mediate small molecule uptake in Pseudomonads. Results: We have analyzed a number of site-directed mutants for two Occ channels. Conclusion: Pores of OccD subfamily members are highly flexible. The central basic ladder residues interact with the substrate carboxyl group and are essential for transport. Significance: The data provide the first atomistic insights into transport by an important class of OM channels. Because small molecules enter Gram-negative bacteria via outer membrane (OM) channels, understanding OM transport is essential for the rational design of improved and new antibiotics. In the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, most small molecules are taken up by outer membrane carboxylate channel (Occ) proteins, which can be divided into two distinct subfamilies, OccD and OccK. Here we characterize substrate transport mediated by Occ proteins belonging to both subfamilies. Based on the determination of the OccK2-glucuronate co-crystal structure, we identify the channel residues that are essential for substrate transport. We further show that the pore regions of the channels are rigid in the OccK subfamily and highly dynamic in the OccD subfamily. We also demonstrate that the substrate carboxylate group interacts with central residues of the basic ladder, a row of arginine and lysine residues that leads to and away from the binding site at the channel constriction. Moreover, the importance of the basic ladder residues corresponds to their degree of conservation. Finally, we apply the generated insights by converting the archetype of the entire family, OccD1, from a basic amino acid-specific channel into a channel with a preference for negatively charged amino acids.
High cycle fatigue analysis in the presence of autofrettage compressive residual stress

An experimental and numerical investigation of the effect of residual compressive stress on the high cycle fatigue life of notched low carbon steel test specimens is presented. Experimentally determined cyclic stress strain curves for S355 low carbon steel are utilized in a Finite Element Analysis plasticity modelling framework incorporating a new cyclic plasticity material model representative of cyclic hardening and softening, cyclic mean stress relaxation and ratcheting behaviors. Fatigue test results are presented for standard tensile fatigue test specimens and novel double notch specimens. Double notch specimens are tested with and without compressive residual stress prior-induced through tensile overload. It is shown that cyclic plasticity phenomena have a significant influence on the induced residual stress distribution and also on material behavior when fatigue tested in the high cycle regime. It is observed that higher initial compressive residual stresses magnitude does not necessarily lead to a longer fatigue life. Finite Element Analysis using the new cyclic plasticity material model shows this behavior is due to combined residual stress redistribution under fatigue test cyclic loading and cyclic hardening effects. A fatigue life methodology based on the stress-life approach augmented by a critical distance method is proposed and shown to give good agreement with experimental results for test specimens with no induced residual stress. The results obtained for specimens with induced residual stress are more conservative but the degree of conservatism is significantly lower than that in the conventional stress life approach. The proposed methodology is therefore suitable for analysis and design assessment of components with pre-service induced compressive residual stress, such as autofrettaged pressure components.
Balance Performance in Head-Shake Computerized Dynamic Posturography: Aging Effects and Test-Retest Reliability

Background The ability of the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) to detect subtle balance problems has been challenged. The Head-Shake Sensory Organization Test (HS-SOT) has been developed to improve the delineation of balance performance. Objective The purposes of this study were: (1) to examine age-related differences in balance measured with the HS-SOT and (2) to establish the test-retest reliability of the HS-SOT in younger adults who were healthy and older adults who were healthy. Design A test-retest design was used in this observational measurement study. Methods Ninety-two younger adults who were healthy (mean age=28.3 years) and 73 older adults who were healthy (mean age=60.3 years) underwent the SOT and the HS-SOT. Seventy-seven of them (56 younger adults, 21 older adults) underwent the same assessments 1 to 2 weeks later. Results The equilibrium scores in HS-SOT conditions 2 (head movements with eyes closed while standing on a firm surface) and 5 (head movements with eyes closed while standing on a sway-referenced surface) were significantly lower than those in tests without dynamic head movements added (SOT conditions 2 and 5). Older adults attained significantly lower scores in both HS-SOT conditions than their younger peers. The test-retest reliability values, reported as intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC [3,2]), of the HS-SOT scores in conditions 2 and 5 for the younger adults were . 85 and . 78, respectively; those for the older adults were . 64 and . 55, respectively. The corresponding minimal detectable change values for the former were 2.7 and 16.2, and those for the latter were 3.6 and 22.7. Limitations Only head rotation movements on the horizontal plane were tested. Conclusions Adding head movements to the SOT increased the separation of younger adults who were healthy and older adults who were healthy. The HS-SOT has good reliability, and the reported minimal detectable change values may facilitate the interpretation of clinical studies in which the HS-SOT is used to assess changes in balance performance in younger and older adults.
Attending, learning, and socioeconomic disadvantage: developmental cognitive and social neuroscience of resilience and vulnerability

We review current findings associating socioeconomic status (SES), development of neurocognitive functions, and neurobiological pathways. A sizeable interdisciplinary literature was organized through a bifurcated developmental trajectory (BiDeT) framework, an account of the external and internal variables associated with low SES that may lead to difficulties with attention and learning, along with buffers that may protect against negative outcomes. A consistent neurocognitive finding is that low‐SES children attend to information nonselectively, and engage in late filtering out of task‐irrelevant information. Attentional preferences influence the development of latent inhibition (LI), an aspect of learning that involves reassigning meaningful associations to previously learned but irrelevant stimuli. LI reflects learning processes clarifying the relationship between neurobiological mechanisms related to attention and socioeconomic disadvantage during child development. Notably, changes in both selective attention and typical LI development may occur via the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (MsCL‐DA) system. Chaotic environments, social isolation, and deprivation associated with low SES trigger stress responses implicating imbalances in the MsCL‐DA and consolidating anxiety traits. BiDeT describes plausible interactions between socioemotional traits and low‐SES environments that modify selective attention and LI, predisposing individuals to vulnerability in cognitive development and academic achievement. However, positive role models, parental style, and self‐regulation training are proposed as potential promoters of resilience.
Synergistic Utility of Brain Natriuretic Peptide and Left Ventricular Global Longitudinal Strain in Asymptomatic Patients With Significant Primary Mitral Regurgitation and Preserved Systolic Function Undergoing Mitral Valve Surgery

Background—In asymptomatic patients with ≥3+ mitral regurgitation and preserved left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction who underwent mitral valve surgery, we sought to discover whether baseline LV global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) and brain natriuretic peptide provided incremental prognostic utility. Methods and Results—Four hundred and forty-eight asymptomatic patients (61±12 years and 69% men) with ≥3+ primary mitral regurgitation and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction, who underwent mitral valve surgery (92% repair) at our center between 2005 and 2008, were studied. Baseline clinical and echocardiographic data (including LV-GLS using Velocity Vector Imaging, Siemens, PA) were recorded. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons score was calculated. The primary outcome was death. Mean Society of Thoracic Surgeons score, left ventricular ejection fraction, mitral effective regurgitant orifice, indexed LV end-diastolic volume, and right ventricular systolic pressure were 4±1%, 62±3%, 0.55±0.2 cm2, 58±13 cc/m2, and 37±15 mm Hg, respectively. Forty-five percent of patients had flail. Median log-transformed BNP and LV-GLS were 4.04 (absolute brain natriuretic peptide: 60 pg/dL) and −20.7%. At 7.7±2 years, death occurred in 41 patients (9%; 0% at 30 days). On Cox analysis, a higher Society of Thoracic Surgeons score (hazard ratio 1.55), higher baseline right ventricular systolic pressure (hazard ratio 1.11), more abnormal LV-GLS (hazard ratio 1.17), and higher median log-transformed BNP (hazard ratio 2.26) were associated with worse longer-term survival (all P<0.01). Addition of LV-GLS and median log-transformed BNP to a clinical model (Society of Thoracic Surgeons score and baseline right ventricular systolic pressure) provided incremental prognostic utility (&khgr;2 for longer-term mortality increased from 31–47 to 61; P<0.001). Conclusions—In asymptomatic patients with significant primary mitral regurgitation and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction who underwent mitral valve surgery, brain natriuretic peptide and LV-GLS provided synergistic risk stratification, independent of established factors.
Dynamics and system performance of visual servoing

The components in the control loop of a visual servoing system are analysed with respect to the dynamic performance. The performance measure is the velocity of the target that can be tracked and expressed as image pixel error. The best dynamic performance obtains the visual servoing system when the vision system operates at at the highest possible rate of image acquisition. The size of the tracking window results from image acquisition time. The optimal parallel architecture is independent of the computing power and the control method used.
TUISTER: a tangible UI for hierarchical structures

Tangible user interfaces provide access to virtual information through intuitive physical manipulation. However, feedback is mostly provided by displays in the environment instead of the TUI itself. In this paper we describe the design of Tuister, a tangible user interface with multiple embedded displays and sensors. We explain how Tuister can be used to browse and access hierarchical structures and briefly describe the current state of a prototype we're building.
Real‐time cutting simulation of meshless deformable object using dynamic bounding volume hierarchy

This paper proposes a novel method for a real‐time cutting simulation of deformable objects using meshless method. The method utilizes a rapid refinement of topological relations among the simulation nodes of meshless deformable objects. Topological relations are defined as an undirected graph based on a visibility criterion. The graph connects the adjacent nodes that lie within a support of each node. The topological relations are refined by removing the edges of the graph that is intersected by the cut surface during the cutting simulation. Our approach utilizes a bounding volume hierarchy (BVH) to accelerate the computation of the intersection test. The BVH reconstruction algorithm is proposed to account for the cases where pieces of the object are completely cut out from the object. Algorithms to examine the connectivity among simulation nodes and accordingly reconstructing the BVH using two‐level BVH are presented. The proposed approach achieves real‐time cutting simulation of deformable objects through the rapid refinement of the topological relation. In addition, the computational performance of the cutting procedure is preserved during the entire simulation, thanks to the real‐time reconstruction of the BVH. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Influence of Thermal Conditions on Particle Properties in Fluidized Bed Layering Granulation

Fluidized bed layering granulation is frequently used to formulate particles of high quality. From previous studies, it is well known that the dynamic behavior of the process, as well as the product properties depend on operating parameters. The process is characterized by heat and mass transfer between fluidized particles and the surrounding fluidization medium. To investigate the mutual influence between particle phase and fluidization medium, a dynamic model is introduced. The model comprises two parts: a population balance model to describe the evolution of the particle sizes and a system of ordinary differential equations to account for thermal conditions. For the first time, the dynamic model considers the bidirectional coupling of particles and fluidization medium in fluidized bed layering granulation. By means of simulations, it is shown that the derived model is capable of reproducing the experimental findings.
A Theoretical and Experimental View on the Temperature Dependence of the Electronic Conduction through a Schottky Barrier in a Resistively Switching SrTiO3‐Based Memory Cell

Metal–semiconductor Schottky interfaces are of high interest in many fields of semiconductor physics. One type of electronic devices based on Schottky contacts are resistive switching cells. The mostly applied analytical models are insufficient to describe all Schottky contact systems, which further impedes finding the correct conduction mechanism and may lead to physical misunderstandings. In this work, the electron transport properties of the resistively switching SrTiO3/Pt interface model system are investigated using a combination of experimental and theoretical methods. Temperature‐dependent I–V curves are measured and analyzed using an analytical approach, an atomistic approach based on density functional theory and the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism, and a continuum modeling approach. The findings suggest two different conduction mechanisms. Instead of a current transport over the barrier, as in the case of Schottky emission theory, the simulations show that tunneling through the Schottky barrier dominates. In the low voltage range, only thermally excited electrons can tunnel into the conduction band. For higher voltages, the SrTiO3 conduction band and the Fermi level at the injecting Pt‐electrode are aligned, allowing also electrons at the Fermi‐edge to tunnel. Consequently, the temperature dependence changes, leading to a crossing of the I–V curves at different temperatures.
Post-CMP Cleaners for Tungsten Advanced Nodes: 10nm and 7nm

Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) is a key process for IC manufacturers. Tungsten (W) is an important material for connecting logic elements and for connecting memory elements, thanks to its excellent planarization, filling, mechanical and electromigration properties. W slurries are developed to remove high amounts of W via an abrasive, in conjunction with an oxidizer. After the polishing process, the planarized surface is contaminated with abrasive particles, organic residue, pad debris and metal cations through covalent or hydrogen-bonding, electrostatic and Van der Waals attractions. Post-CMP cleaning is required to remove all these contaminants while exhibiting low galvanic and chemical corrosion. Formulated cleans are needed to meet all these requirements. The performance of formulated W/TiN post-CMP cleaners for N10 and N7 has been evaluated. The newly developed formulations show a factor 4 reduction in metal surface contamination (from ~2 x 1012 atoms/cm2 to ~ 5 x 1011 atoms/cm2), which is important to prevent dielectric breakdown. Very low particulate and organic residue defectivity was additionally confirmed by different surface characterization techniques: XPS, FTIR, contact angle/surface energy.
Streptococcus pneumoniae contains 3 rlrA pilus variants that are clonally related.

BACKGROUND Pilus components of Streptococcus pneumoniae encoded by rlrA were recently shown to elicit protection in an animal model of infection. Limited data are available on the prevalence of the rlrA operon in pneumococci; therefore, we investigated its distribution and its antigenic variation among disease-causing strains. METHODS The prevalence of rlrA and its association with serotype and genotype were evaluated in a global panel of 424 pneumococci isolates (including the 26 drug-resistant clones described by the Pneumococcal Molecular Epidemiology Network). RESULTS The rlrA islet was found in 130 isolates (30.6%) of the defined collection. Sequence alignment of 15 rlrA islets defined the presence of 3 clade types, with an overall homology of 88%-92%. The presence or absence of a pilus-encoding operon correlated with S. pneumoniae genotype (P < .001), as determined by multilocus sequence typing, and not with serotype. Further investigation identified a positive trend of rlrA occurrence among antimicrobial-resistant pneumococci. CONCLUSIONS On the basis of S. pneumoniae genotype, it is possible to predict the incidence of the rlrA pilus operon in a collection of pneumococcal isolates. This will facilitate the development of a protein vaccine.
A Statistical Model of Information Evaporation of Perfectly Reflecting Black Holes

We provide a statistical communication model for the phenomenon of quantum information evaporation from black holes. A black hole behaves as a reflecting quantum channel in a very special regime, which allows for a receiver to perfectly recover the absorbed quantum information. The quantum channel of a perfectly reflecting (PR) black hole is the probabilistically weighted sum of infinitely many qubit cloning channels. In this work, we reveal the statistical communication background of the information evaporation process of PR black holes. We show that the density of the cloned quantum particles in function of the PR black hole's mass approximates a Chi-square distribution, while the stimulated emission process is characterized by zero-mean, circular symmetric complex Gaussian random variables. The results lead to the existence of Rayleigh random distributed coefficients in the probability density evolution, which confirms the presence of Rayleigh fading (a special type of random fluctuation) in the statistical communication model of black hole information evaporation.
Induction of Oblique Decision Trees

This paper introduces a randomized technique for partitioning examples using oblique hyperplanes. Standard decision tree techniques , such as ID3 and its descendants, partition a set of points with axis-parallel hyper-planes. Our method, by contrast, attempts to nd hyperplanes at any orientation. The purpose of this more general technique is to nd smaller but equally accurate decision trees than those created by other methods. We have tested our algorithmon both real and simulated data, and found that in some cases it produces surprisingly small trees without losing predic-tive accuracy. Small trees allow us, in turn, to obtain simple qualitative descriptions of each problem domain.
Exploring The Parameter Space Of A Genetic Algorithm For Training An Analog Neural Network

This paper presents experimental results obtained during the training of an analog hardware neural network. A simple genetic algorithm is used to optimize the synaptic weights. The parameter space of this algorithm has been intensively scanned for two learning tasks (4 and 5 bit parity). The results provide a quantitative insight into the interdependencies of the evolution parameters and how the optimal settings are predetermined by the learning problem. It is observed that population sizes in the order of 15 in connection with mutation rates of about 1% yield the best performance of the training when using moderate selection. The optimal population size is found to be independent of the learning task. A significant improvement of the training success can be achieved, when the role of crossover is reduced and higher mutation rates combined with stronger selection are applied. The observations are shown to be essentially independent of the signal to noise ratio within the analog hardware.
An unsplit convolutional perfectly matched layer improved at grazing incidence for seismic wave propagation in poroelastic media

The perfectly matched layer (PML) absorbing technique has become popular in numerical modeling in elastic or poroelastic media because of its efficiency in absorbing waves at nongrazing incidence. However, after numerical discretization, at grazing incidence, large spurious oscillations are sent back from the PML into the main domain. The PML then becomes less efficient when sources are located close to the edge of the truncated physical domain under study, for thin slices or for receivers located at a large offset. We develop a PML improved at grazing incidence for the poroelastic wave equation based on an unsplit convolutional formulation of the equation as a first-order system in velocity and stress. We show its efficiency for both nondissipative and dissipative Biot porous models based on a fourth-order staggered finite-difference method used in a thin mesh slice. The results obtained are improved significantly compared with those obtained with the classical PML.