Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
INVESTIGATING THE VALIDITY OF PERFORMANCE AND OBJECTIVE WORKLOAD EVALUATION RESEARCH (POWER)

Abstract : Performance and Objective Workload Evaluation Research (POWER) software was developed to provide objective measures of ATC taskload and performance. POWER uses data extracted from National Airspace System (NAS) System Analysis Recording (SAR) files to compute a set of objective measures. A study was conducted to investigate the relationship of POWER measures with measures of sector complexity, controller workload, and performance. Sixteen instructors from the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, OK, watched eight traffic samples from four en route sectors in the Kansas City Center using the Systematic Air Traffic Operations Research Initiative (SATORI) system. POWER measures were computed using the same data. Participants made three estimates of the workload experienced by radar controllers and provided two types of assessments of their performance. Sector complexity was determined using information about sector characteristics and the traffic samples. Some POWER measures were related to sector complexity and controller workload, but the relationship with performance was less clear. While this exploratory study provides important information about the POWER measures, additional research is needed to better understand these relationships. When the properties and limitations of these measures are better understood, they may then be used to calculate baseline measures for the current National Airspace System.
A flexible MHC class I multimer loading system for large-scale detection of antigen-specific T cells

Adaptive immunity is initiated by T cell recognition of specific antigens presented by major histocompatibility complexes (MHCs). MHC multimer technology has been developed for the detection, isolation, and characterization of T cells in infection, autoimmunity, and cancer. Here, we present a simple, fast, flexible, and efficient method to generate many different MHC class I (MHC I) multimers in parallel using temperature-mediated peptide exchange. We designed conditional peptides for HLA-A*02:01 and H-2Kb that form stable peptide–MHC I complexes at low temperatures, but dissociate when exposed to a defined elevated temperature. The resulting conditional MHC I complexes, either alone or prepared as ready-to-use multimers, can swiftly be loaded with peptides of choice without additional handling and within a short time frame. We demonstrate the ease and flexibility of this approach by monitoring the antiviral immune constitution in an allogeneic stem cell transplant recipient and by analyzing CD8+ T cell responses to viral epitopes in mice infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus or cytomegalovirus.
Evaluation of the fusion partner cell line SPYMEG for obtaining human monoclonal antibodies against influenza B virus

Influenza B virus has been known to infect humans and other animals, including seals. Vaccination efficacy varies across seasons. Human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) can be useful for developing novel vaccines, guided by epitope analysis, and can be used therapeutically. Hybridoma technology has been used to make mAbs. Here we evaluated SPYMEG as a fusion partner cell line for human mAb generation specific to influenza B hemagglutinin (HA). SPYMEG is a human/murine myeloma partner cell line that has previously been used to generate human mAbs that recognize the HA of influenza A and B viruses. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained from 16 volunteers, previously vaccinated with the 2014–2015 trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine, and were fused with SPYMEG to yield hybridomas. The resulting hybridomas were screened for antigen-specific antibody secretion and cloned by limiting dilution. We obtained 32 stable clones secreting anti-influenza B HA human IgG, although most of these clones were obtained from one volunteer (SeaV-29) who had a robust immune response. We conclude that SPYMEG is a good fusion partner cell line, although cloning by limiting dilution may lead to significant loss of hybridomas.
A hybrid dynamical extension of averaging and its application to the analysis of legged gait stability

We extend a smooth dynamical systems averaging technique to a class of hybrid systems with a limit cycle that is particularly relevant to the synthesis of stable legged gaits. After introducing a definition of hybrid averageability sufficient to recover the classical result, we illustrate its applicability by analysis of first a one-legged and then a two-legged hopping model. These abstract systems prepare the ground for the analysis of a significantly more complicated two legged model: a new template for quadrupedal running to be analyzed and implemented on a physical robot in a companion paper. We conclude with some rather more speculative remarks concerning the prospects for further extension and generalization of these ideas.
Chemical energetics of slow- and fast-twitch muscles of the mouse

The energy utilization associated with contraction was measured in isolated slow- and fast-twitch muscles of the mouse at 20 degrees C. The extent of this utilization was estimated from either the extent of high-energy phosphate splitting occurring during contraction (the initial chemical change, delta approximately P init) or from the extent of recovery resynthesis calculated from the observed oxygen consumption and lactate production occurring during the recovery period (recovery chemical resynthesis, delta approximately P rec). For short tetani, the cost to maintain isometric tension in the fast-twitch extensor digitorum longus (EDL) was approximately threefold greater than that in the slow-twitch soleus. With prolonged stimulation, however, the energy cost in the EDL diminished so that after 12 s of stimulation, the energy cost in the EDL was only 50% greater than that of the soleus. For both the slow-twitch soleus and the fast-twitch EDL and for all tetanus durations (up to 15 s), the extent of the initial chemical change was identical with the amount of recovery chemical resynthesis, showing that a biochemical energy balance existed in these muscles.
T 1 relaxation time constants , influence of oxygen , and the oxygen transfer function of the human lung at 1 . 5 Tesla – a meta-analysis

Purpose: To pool and summarize published data from magnetic resonance longitudinal relaxation measurements of the human lung at 1.5 Tesla to provide a reliable basis of T1 relaxation time constants of healthy lung tissue both under respiration of room air and of pure oxygen. In particular, the oxygen-induced shortening of T1 was evaluated. Materials and Methods: The PubMed database was comprehensively searched up to June 2016 for original publications in English containing quantitative T1 data (at least mean values and standard deviations) of the lung parenchyma of healthy subjects (minimum subject number: 3) at 1.5 Tesla. From all included publications, T1 values of the lung of healthy subjects were extracted (inhaling room air and, if available, inhaling pure oxygen). Weighted mean values and standard deviations of all extracted data and the oxygen transfer function (OTF) were calculated. Results: 22 publications were included with a total number of 188 examined healthy subjects. 103 of these subjects (from 13 studies) were examined while breathing pure oxygen and room air; 85 subjects were examined only under room-air conditions. The weighted mean value (weighted sample standard deviation) of the room-air T1 values over all 22 studies was 1196 ms (152 ms). Based on studies with room-air and oxygen results, the mean T1 value at room-air conditions was 1172 ms (161 ms); breathing pure oxygen, the mean T1 value was reduced to 1054 ms (138 ms). This corresponds to a mean T1 reduction by 118 ms (35 ms) or 10.0 % (2.3 %) and to a mean OTF value of 1.22 (0.32) × 10 s/(%O2). Conclusion: This meta-analysis with data from 188 subjects indicates that the average T1 relaxation time constant of healthy lung tissue at 1.5 Tesla is distributed around 1200 ms with a standard deviation of about 150 ms; breathing pure oxygen reduces this value significantly by 10 % to about 1050 ms.
‘Follow the closing of the campaign on streaming’: The use of Twitter by Spanish political parties during the 2014 European elections

The results of the elections to the European Parliament of 25 May 2014 marked a before and an after for Spanish politics. This influential European campaign took place at a moment when Internet use was well established as a tool, with political parties and candidates actively using social media. This article aims to research whether Spanish parties are using Twitter to develop interactive communication, or simply for broadcasting messages. Thus, the Twitter activity of various political parties during the 2014 European campaign is content-analysed. Results indicate that activity seems to depend on ideology, that parties are revealed to be committed to unidirectional communication/broadcasting, and that debate on Twitter is fundamentally between the politicians themselves. On a theoretical level, our data are in line with the idea that the normalisation hypothesis tends to prevail.
Development of a Plasma Spray Process Monitoring System through Aeroacoustic Signal Analysis

Plasma spray coatings are vital to the capabilities of jet engines. They allow engines to operate at combustion temperatures that would otherwise melt the superalloy components. Coatings tighten clearance between rotating components, increasing engine compression. They prevent chemical attack and physical erosion. Plasma spray coatings are imperative to the durability and efficient operation of the modern jet engine. In this application coating material property variation has a significant cost. In addition to the variation inherent in the process, some of the biggest contributors to coating property variation have been traced to spray gun nozzle wear and powder feed variation[1, 2]. Presented here are multiple methods utilizing flow induced acoustic signals to quantify noise parameters, measure component wear, diagnose the plasma spray process and detect coating property deviation. Methods have been developed for offline and online analysis of components in addition to online process analysis. These include characterization of nozzle wear by throat roughness measurements and nozzle casting, offline detection of nozzle wear by attenuation of discrete tone generation and broadband signal variation, and offline measurement of powder port wear by jet screech frequency variation. Online methods include pre-ignition nozzle degree of wear measurement by discrete frequency changes; online parameter change detection, process deviation detection with potential source identification, as well as variation in coating property detection by broadband acoustic signal changes. Offline methods allow for 100% accurate new nozzle manufacturer identification. By the same test nozzle wear state can be predicted with over 95% accuracy with the potential for a degree of wear determination. Internal diameter changes of less than 10 microns can similarly be detected. Analysis of online plasma spray acoustic signals as described here can distinguish nozzle state and powder feed variation with over 90% accuracy. The capabilities developed here will aid in plasma spray process variation detection and contribute to identifying the source of this variation. This will improve coating quality and consistency, reduce failures, lower operational costs and ultimately make jet engines more economical, safer, and more fuel efficient with significant environmental and financial cost reduction.
Role of exterior statistics-based boundary conditions for property-based statistically equivalent representative volume elements of polydispersed elastic composites

The property-based statistically equivalent RVE or P-SERVE has been introduced in the literature as the smallest microstructural volume element in non-uniform microstructures that has effective material properties equivalent to those of the entire microstructure. An important consideration is the application of appropriate boundary conditions for optimal property-based statistically equivalent representative volume element domains. The exterior statistics-based boundary conditions have been developed, accounting for the statistics of fiber distributions and interactions in the domain exterior to the property-based statistically equivalent representative volume element. This paper is intended to validate the efficacy of the exterior statistics-based boundary condition-based property-based statistically equivalent representative volume elements for evaluating homogenized stiffnesses of a unidirectional polymer matrix composite with a polydispersed microstructure characterized by nonuniform dispersion of carbon fibers of varying sizes in an epoxy matrix. Experimental tests and microstructural characterization of the polymer matrix composite are conducted for calibration and validation of the model. Statistically equivalent microstructural volume elements are constructed from experimental micrographs for direct numerical simulations. The performance of the property-based statistically equivalent representative volume element with exterior statistics-based boundary conditions is compared with other boundary conditions, as well as with the statistical volume elements. The tests clearly show the significant advantages of the exterior statistics-based boundary conditions in terms of accuracy of the homogenized stiffness and efficiency.
Subclinical cardiovascular disease parameters after one year in new users of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate compared to copper-IUD

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate markers of cardiovascular disease in women with normal insulin sensitivity who had recently initiated use of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) as a contraceptive. Materials and methods: A prospective, non-randomised, comparative study. Data of 30 women of 18–40 years of age, with normal hyperinsulinaemic–euglycaemic clamp at baseline and body mass index (BMI) < 30, who opted to use DMPA or a copper intrauterine device (IUD) as a contraceptive, were analysed. Serum samples were collected for evaluation of the lipid and hepatic profile, C-reactive protein, TNF-α, interleukin-6, leptin/adiponectin ratio and free fatty acids; body composition was evaluated using DXA, blood pressure and carotid intima-media thickness were measured. Evaluations were performed at baseline and 12 months later. The groups were compared using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Significance level was 5%. Results: The mean age of the women in the DMPA and IUD group was 28.7 ± 6.5 and 28.3 ± 5.8 years, respectively; the BMI was 23.0 ± 3.4 and 24.3 ± 2.7 kg/m2, respectively, in the same groups. At 12 months, triglyceride levels were higher in the DMPA group compared to the IUD group and there was an increase in apolipoprotein B-100 in relation to baseline in DMPA group; there were no other difference between the groups. Conclusions: No clinical cardiovascular effect was found but deterioration in CV markers was observed in the first year of use of DMPA.
Architecture for gathering and integrating collaborative information for decision support in emergency situations

The involvement of citizens in supporting crisis situations is no longer a new phenomenon. In the past, the lack of data was one of the main barriers faced by public managers in the decision-making process. Today the situation has been reversed, such that the challenge faced is managing an excessive mass of data, which is totally dynamic and originating from different sources such as remote environmental sensors, social networks, response teams in the field. During an emergency response, the concern is no longer being able to collect data for a better understanding of the affected environment, but in knowing how to organise, aggregate and separate what is actually useful for crisis managers. This research proposes a collaborative information architecture that considers aspects from environmental complexity in the context of emergency scenarios, in order to support response teams with decision making, through gathering and integrating information that has originated from different media resources and, hence, enriching a decision team's 'current contextual knowledge' base.
UV LED-based lightweight fixed-wavelength detector: for the development of a miniaturized high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system (Erratum)

Publisher’s Note: This paper, originally published on 14 February, 2018, was replaced with a corrected/revised version on 30 March, 2018. If you downloaded the original PDF but are unable to access the revision, please contact SPIE Digital Library Customer Service for assistance. General discussion on the development of portable and miniaturized instrumentation for High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is given, specifically the design of UV absorbance detector for field applications. UV/Vis absorption detectors are the most commonly used detector in HPLC for the identification of organic compounds, detection of peptides, proteins and nucleic acids. Opportunities for miniaturization arise from trends which focus on ease of use, portability, and application-specific instruments for example in environmental applications - detection of phenols (water pollutant) and contaminants. Further usage is such as detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and carcinogens in edible oils and growth promoter residues in meat. Significant improvement in size and complexity were realized using a simplified optical configuration, efficient low-power LED driver circuit and detector electronics. Firstly, the detector’s optical configuration is discussed as an essential part of the miniature fixed-wavelength design. UV-LED with different wavelengths can be installed interchangeably without the need for complicated assembly and precise alignment process. In the second part, each functional block of the detector hardware design are also discussed. The electronics consist of mainly sample photodiode and reference photodiode, Log-ratio amplifier and signal conditioning electronics built with precision analog design techniques and low-noise electronic components. Finally, baseline noise and drift measurements and chromatography performance are presented and the results are compared with conventional detector under identical conditions as benchmark. The advantages of miniaturized HPLC system are portability for onsite analysis, increased efficiency, lower solvent requirements and fully integrated separation and detection system.
The neural determinants of age-related changes in fluid intelligence: a pre-registered, longitudinal analysis in UK Biobank

Background: Fluid intelligence declines with advancing age, starting in early adulthood. Within-subject declines in fluid intelligence are highly correlated with contemporaneous declines in the ability to live and function independently. To support healthy aging, the mechanisms underlying these declines need to be better understood. Methods: In this pre-registered analysis, we applied latent growth curve modelling to investigate the neural determinants of longitudinal changes in fluid intelligence across three time points in 185,317 individuals (N=9,719 two waves, N=870 three waves) from the UK Biobank (age range: 39-73 years). Results: We found a weak but significant effect of cross-sectional age on the mean fluid intelligence score, such that older individuals scored slightly lower. However, the mean longitudinal slope was positive, rather than negative, suggesting improvement across testing occasions. Despite the considerable sample size, the slope variance was non-significant, suggesting no reliable individual differences in change over time. This null-result is likely due to the nature of the cognitive test used. In a subset of individuals, we found that white matter microstructure (N=8839, as indexed by fractional anisotropy) and grey-matter volume (N=9931) in pre-defined regions-of-interest accounted for complementary and unique variance in mean fluid intelligence scores. The strongest effects were such that higher grey matter volume in the frontal pole and greater white matter microstructure in the posterior thalamic radiations were associated with higher fluid intelligence scores. Conclusions: In a large preregistered analysis, we demonstrate a weak but significant negative association between age and fluid intelligence. However, we did not observe plausible longitudinal patterns, instead observing a weak increase across testing occasions, and no significant individual differences in rates of change, likely due to the suboptimal task design. Finally, we find support for our preregistered expectation that white- and grey matter make separate contributions to individual differences in fluid intelligence beyond age.
Echinococcus multilocularis infections of rural, residential and urban foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in the canton of Geneva, Switzerland

We examined 267 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from the canton of Geneva, Switzerland, for intestinal infections with Echinococcus multilocularis. This region is situated in the core area of the endemic range of this zoonotic cestode in Central Europe. Several factors were taken into account and urbanisation level appeared to be the most explicative to describe observed differences. The prevalence decreased significantly from rural and residential areas (prevalence of 52%, CI 43-62%, and 49%, CI 38-59 %, respectively) to the urban area (prevalence of 31%, CI 19-42%). A few juvenile foxes harboured very high burdens up to more than 120,000 worms and were significantly more heavily infected than adults. The intensity of infection decreased from rural and residential areas to the city, suggesting a lower contamination of the urban environment.
A Study on the Analytical Sensitivity of 6 BSE Tests Used by the Canadian BSE Reference Laboratory

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance programs have been employed in numerous countries to monitor BSE prevalence and to protect animal and human health. Since 1999, the European Commission (EC) authorized the evaluation and approval of 20 molecular based tests for the rapid detection of the pathological prion protein (PrPsc) in BSE infection. The diagnostic sensitivity, convenience, and speed of these tests have made molecular diagnostics the preferred method for BSE surveillance. The aim of this study was to determine the analytical sensitivity of 4 commercially available BSE rapid-test kits, including the Prionics®-Check WESTERN, the Prionics® Check-PrioSTRIP™, the BioRad® TeSeE™ ELISA, and the IDEXX® HerdChek™ EIA. Performances of these tests were then compared to 2 confirmatory tests, including the BioRad® TeSeE™ Western Blot and the modified Scrapie Associated Fibrils (SAF)/OIE Immunoblot. One 50% w/v homogenate was made from experimentally generated C-type BSE brain tissues in ddH2O. Homogenates were diluted through a background of BSE-negative brainstem homogenate. Masses of both positive and negative tissues in each dilution were calculated to maintain the appropriate tissue amounts for each test platform. Specific concentrated homogenization buffer was added accordingly to maintain the correct buffer condition for each test. ELISA-based tests were evaluated using their respective software/detection platforms. Blot-protocols were evaluated by manual measurements of blot signal density. Detection limitations were determined by fitted curves intersecting the manufacturers' positive/negative criteria. The confirmatory SAF Immunoblot displayed the highest analytical sensitivity, followed by the IDEXX® HerdChek™ EIA, Bio-Rad® TeSeE™ Western Blot, the Bio-Rad® TeSeE™ ELISA, Prionics®-Check PrioSTRIP™, and Prionics®-Check WESTERN™, respectively. Although the tests performed at different levels of sensitivity, the most sensitive and least sensitive of the rapid tests were separated by 2 logs in analytical sensitivity, meeting European performance requirements. All rapid tests appear suitable for targeted BSE surveillance programs, as implemented in Canada.