Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hydrogen Effects on X80 Steel Mechanical Properties Measured by Tensile and Impact Testing

vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 CHAPTER 2: BEHAVIOR OF HYDROGEN IN METALS . 4 2.1 Diffusion and Permeation of Hydrogen Through Metal . 4 2.2 Hydrogen Flow Effects . 5 2.2.1 The Effect of Metal Thickness . 6 2.2.2 The Effect of Pressure . 7 2.2.3 The Effect of Composition . 7 2.2.4 The Effect of Tensile Stress . 8 2.2. 5 The Effect of Current Density . 8 2.3 Hydrogen Embrittlement . 8 2.3.1 Different Types of Hydrogen Embrittlement . 9 2.3.1.1 Irreversible Hydrogen Embrittlement . 9 2.3.1.2 Reversible Hydrogen Embrittlement . 10 2.3.2 Impact Factors of Hydrogen Embrittlement . 10 2.3.3 Prevention Techniques of Hydrogen Embrittlement . 11 2.4 Effects of Hydrogen on the Mechanical Properties of Steel . 11 2.4.1 Ductility . 12 2.4.2 Tensile Strength . 12 2.4. 3 Impact Test . 12 2.4. 4 Conclusion of Hydrogen Effect on Mechanical Properties . 13 CHAPTER 3: EFFECTS OF HYDROGEN ON THE TENSILE PROPERTIES OF THE X80 PIPELINE STEEL.14 3.1 Composition of X80 Steel . 14 3.2 Mechanical Properties of X80 Steel . 15 3.3 Hydrogen-charging Test . 16 3.4 Slow Strain Rate Test (SSRT) . 18 3.5 Results and Discussion . 21 3.5.1 Stress-strain Curves . 21 3.5.2 Relative Tensile Properties Loss . 24 ii 3.5. 3 Surface Morphology of X80 Steel After SSRT . 26 3.5. 4 Lateral Fracture Morphology . 28 CHAPTER 4: EFFECTS OF HYDROGEN ON THE CHARPY IMPACT TEST OF THE X80 PIPELINE STEEL.32 4.1 Experimental . 32 4.2 Results and Discussion . 35 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK . 38 5.1 Conclusions . 38 5.2 Future Work . 39 REFERENCES . 40 ABOUT THE AUTHOR . END PAGE
Late pregnancy – a clue to prolonging life?

Abstract The relation between fertility and longevity has always been a subject of study and controversy. Indeed, life expectancy extension is found to be tied to late births. This conclusion can be drawn from social-observational studies like the Long Life Family Study in New England and the New England Centenarian Study on which was found that women whose last birth was after 40 years of age are more likely to live longer. Recently, a group in Israel published a review on animal and human studies that shed some understanding on the cellular mechanisms behind the association between pregnancy and tissue regeneration and repair. These studies shed some understanding to draw biological plausibility on the association between late pregnancy and life expectancy.
The usefulness of electrodiagnostic studies in the diagnosis and management of neuromuscular disorders

Introduction: This study seeks to evaluate the usefulness of electrodiagnostic (EDX) studies in terms of the patient's diagnosis and subsequent management and to identify patient groups in which EDX is particularly useful. Methods: The records of new patients referred to a single tertiary hospital EDX laboratory during 1 calendar year were reviewed to determine whether results of EDX studies led to a changed diagnosis and/or management plan. Logistic regression was used to determine whether any factors were associated with changed diagnosis or management. Results: Results of EDX studies led to a change in diagnosis and a confirmation in diagnosis in 51.5% and 46.5% of the cases, respectively. Results of EDX studies led to a change in the management plan in 63.4% of all cases. The diagnosis and management plan were more likely to be changed in older patients and patients referred in hospital. Discussion: EDX studies seem useful for confirming or changing the diagnosis and in guiding management in patients with suspected neuromuscular disorders. Muscle Nerve 58: 191–196, 2018
A novel signal transduction protein: Combination of solute binding and tandem PAS‐like sensor domains in one polypeptide chain

We report the structural and biochemical characterization of a novel periplasmic ligand‐binding protein, Dret_0059, from Desulfohalobium retbaense DSM 5692, an organism isolated from Lake Retba, in Senegal. The structure of the protein consists of a unique combination of a periplasmic solute binding protein (SBP) domain at the N‐terminal and a tandem PAS‐like sensor domain at the C‐terminal region. SBP domains are found ubiquitously, and their best known function is in solute transport across membranes. PAS‐like sensor domains are commonly found in signal transduction proteins. These domains are widely observed as parts of many protein architectures and complexes but have not been observed previously within the same polypeptide chain. In the structure of Dret_0059, a ketoleucine moiety is bound to the SBP, whereas a cytosine molecule is bound in the distal PAS‐like domain of the tandem PAS‐like domain. Differential scanning flourimetry support the binding of ligands observed in the crystal structure. There is significant interaction between the SBP and tandem PAS‐like domains, and it is possible that the binding of one ligand could have an effect on the binding of the other. We uncovered three other proteins with this structural architecture in the non‐redundant sequence data base, and predict that they too bind the same substrates. The genomic context of this protein did not offer any clues for its function. We did not find any biological process in which the two observed ligands are coupled. The protein Dret_0059 could be involved in either signal transduction or solute transport.
Replication of Dobby Woven Fabric via Inkjet Textile Printing.

KNOX, JOHN A. Replication of Dobby Woven Fabric via Inkjet Textile Printing. (Under the direction of committee chair Dr. Lisa Parrillo-Chapman). This research explored the capability of inkjet digital printing to adequately represent dobby woven fabrics. The research objectives were [1] to conduct digital print trials to determine the optimal CAD process workflow, colorant, and substrate; [2] to develop a visual assessment instrument and protocol to evaluate the inkjet printed samples; [3] to validate the visual assessment instrument and protocol by pilot testing. Fifteen participants, active in the field of textile product development and color management, completed three visual assessment trials for the pilot test. A quantitative survey instrument was administered to measure participants’ perceived differences between the dobby woven and the inkjet printed fabrics. The aspects measured were perceived color difference, color appearance, scale, line quality, visual texture, and overall appearance. The positive correlation of results, over the three trials, indicated agreement between participants, and supports use of the assessment instrument to evaluate an inkjet printed textile. This research is significant because the replication of dobby fabrics via inkjet textile printing has the potential to save time and money during the product development process. In addition, this research provides the basis for the development of a standard method to assess inkjet textile prints. This effort supports a fundamental step toward developing an industry standard for this innovative emerging technology. © Copyright 2014 by John Alexander Knox All Rights Reserved Replication of Dobby Woven Fabric via Inkjet Textile Printing by John Alexander Knox A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science
Admixture Mapping of Subclinical Atherosclerosis and Subsequent Clinical Events Among African Americans in 2 Large Cohort Studies

Background— Local ancestry may contribute to the disproportionate burden of subclinical and clinical cardiovascular disease among admixed African Americans compared with other populations, suggesting a rationale for admixture mapping. Methods and Results— We estimated local European ancestry (LEA) using Local Ancestry inference in adMixed Populations using Linkage Disequilibrium method (LAMP-LD) and evaluated the association with common carotid artery intima–media thickness (cCIMT) using multivariable linear regression analysis among 1554 African Americans from MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis). We conducted secondary analysis to examine the significant cCIMT–LEA associations with clinical cardiovascular disease events. We observed genome-wide significance in relation to cCIMT association with the SERGEF gene (secretion-regulating guanine nucleotide exchange factor; &bgr;=0.0137; P=2.98×10−4), also associated with higher odds of stroke (odds ratio=1.71; P=0.02). Several regions, in particular CADPS gene (Ca2+-dependent secretion activator 1) region identified in MESA, were also replicated in the ARIC cohort (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities). We observed other cCIMT–LEA regions associated with other clinical events, most notably the regions harboring CKMT2 gene (creatine kinase, mitochondrial 2) and RASGRF2 gene (Ras protein–specific guanine nucleotide–releasing factor 2) with all clinical events except stroke, the LRRC3B gene (leucine-rich repeat containing 3B) with myocardial infarction, the PRMT3 gene (protein arginine methyltransferase 3) with stroke, and the LHFPL2 gene (lipoma high mobility group protein I-C fusion partner-like 2) with hard and all coronary heart disease. Conclusions— We identified several novel LEA regions, in addition to previously identified genetic variations, associated with cCIMT and cardiovascular disease events among African Americans.
Effectiveness of an Extended Yoga Treatment for Women with Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract Background: Yoga has been found to be an effective posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment for a variety of trauma survivors, including females with chronic PTSD. Aim/Purpose: The current study builds on extant research by examining an extended trauma-sensitive yoga treatment for women with chronic PTSD. The study sought to optimize the results of a treatment protocol examined in a recent randomized controlled trial with a shorter duration and without assignment or monitoring of home practice. Materials and Methods: The authors examined a 20-week trauma-sensitive yoga treatment in a non-randomized single-group treatment feasibility study for women with chronic treatment-resistant PTSD (N = 9). The authors examined PTSD and dissociation symptom reduction over several assessment periods. Results: The results indicate that participants experienced significant reductions in PTSD and dissociative symptomatology above and beyond similar treatments of a shorter duration. Conclusions: The findings.
Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness and Characteristics Associated with Glaucoma in Community Living Older Adults: Prelude to a Screening Trial?

ABSTRACT Purpose: To examine the associations of nerve fiber layer (NFL) thickness with other ocular characteristics in older adults. Methods: Participants in the Beaver Dam Eye Study (2008–2010) underwent spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) scans of the optic nerve head, imaging of optic discs, frequency doubling technology (FDT) perimetry, measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP), and an interview concerning their history of glaucoma and use of drops to lower eye pressure. Self-reported histories of glaucoma and the use of drops to lower eye pressure were obtained at follow-up examinations (2014–2016). Results: NFL thickness measured on OCTs varied by location around the optic nerve. Age was associated with mean NFL thickness. Mean NFL was thinnest in eyes with larger cup/disc (C/D) ratios. Horizontal hemifield defects or other optic nerve-field defects were associated with thinner NFL. NFL in persons who reported taking eye drops for high intraocular pressure was thinner compared to those not taking drops. After accounting for the presence of high intraocular pressure, large C/D ratios or hemifield defects, eyes with thinner NFL in the arcades were more likely (OR = 2.3 for 30 micron thinner NFL, p = 0.04) to have incident glaucoma at examination 5 years later. Conclusion: Retinal NFL thickness was associated with a new history of self-reported glaucoma 5 years later. A trial testing the usefulness of NFL as part of a screening battery for predicting glaucoma in those previously undiagnosed might lead to improved case finding and, ultimately, to diminishing the risk of visual field loss.
The organisation of spatial and temporal relations in memory

ABSTRACT Episodic memories are comprised of details of “where” and “when”; spatial and temporal relations, respectively. However, evidence from behavioural, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging studies has provided mixed interpretations about how memories for spatial and temporal relations are organised—they may be hierarchical, fully interactive, or independent. In the current study, we examined the interaction of memory for spatial and temporal relations. Using explicit reports and eye-tracking, we assessed younger and older adults’ memory for spatial and temporal relations of objects that were presented singly across time in unique spatial locations. Explicit change detection of spatial relations was affected by a change in temporal relations, but explicit change detection of temporal relations was not affected by a change in spatial relations. Younger and older adults showed eye movement evidence of incidental memory for temporal relations, but only younger adults showed eye movement evidence of incidental memory for spatial relations. Together, these findings point towards a hierarchical organisation of relational memory. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of the neural mechanisms that may support such a hierarchical organisation of memory.
Endogenous RNAi Pathways Are Required in Neurons for Dauer Formation in Caenorhabditis elegans

Animals can adapt to unfavorable environments through changes in physiology or behavior. In the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, environmental conditions perceived early in development determine whether the animal enters either the reproductive cycle, or enters into an alternative diapause stage named dauer. Here, we show that endogenous RNAi pathways play a role in dauer formation in crowding (high pheromone), starvation, and high temperature conditions. Disruption of the Mutator proteins or the nuclear Argonaute CSR-1 result in differential dauer-deficient phenotypes that are dependent upon the experienced environmental stress. We provide evidence that the RNAi pathways function in chemosensory neurons for dauer formation, upstream of the TGF-β and insulin signaling pathways. In addition, we show that Mutator MUT-16 expression in a subset of individual pheromone-sensing neurons is sufficient for dauer formation in high pheromone conditions, but not in starvation or high temperature conditions. Furthermore, we also show that MUT-16 and CSR-1 are required for expression of a subset of G proteins with functions in the detection of pheromone components. Together, our data suggest a model where Mutator-amplified siRNAs that associate with the CSR-1 pathway promote expression of genes required for the detection and signaling of environmental conditions to regulate development and behavior in C. elegans. This study highlights a mechanism whereby RNAi pathways mediate the link between environmental stress and adaptive phenotypic plasticity in animals.
Translating the Elements of Health Governance for Integrated Care from Theory to Practice: A Case Study Approach

Introduction: Against a paucity of evidence, a model describing elements of health governance best suited to achieving integrated care internationally was developed. The aim of this study was to explore how health meso-level organisations used, or planned to use, the governance elements. Methods: A case study design was used to offer two contrasting contexts of health governance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants who held senior governance roles. Data were thematically analysed to identify if the elements of health governance were being used, or intended to be in the future. Results: While all participants agreed that the ten elements were essential to developing future integrated care, most were not used. Three major themes were identified: (1) organisational versus system focus, (2) leadership and culture, and, (3) community (dis)engagement. Discussion: Several barriers and enablers to the use of the elements were identified and would require addressing in order to make evidence-based changes. Conclusion: Despite a clear international policy direction in support of integrated care this study identified a number of significant barriers to its implementation. The study reconfirmed that a focus on all ten elements of health governance is essential to achieve integrated care.
Beyond attachment: Roles of DC‐SIGN in dengue virus infection

Dendritic cell‐specific intercellular adhesion molecule‐3‐grabbing non‐integrin (DC‐SIGN), a C‐type lectin expressed on the plasma membrane by human immature dendritic cells, is a receptor for numerous viruses including Ebola, SARS and dengue. A controversial question has been whether DC‐SIGN functions as a complete receptor for both binding and internalization of dengue virus (DENV) or whether it is solely a cell surface attachment factor, requiring either hand‐off to another receptor or a co‐receptor for internalization. To examine this question, we used 4 cell types: human immature dendritic cells and NIH3T3 cells expressing either wild‐type DC‐SIGN or 2 internalization‐deficient DC‐SIGN mutants, in which either the 3 cytoplasmic internalization motifs are silenced by alanine substitutions or the cytoplasmic region is truncated. Using confocal and super‐resolution imaging and high content single particle tracking, we investigated DENV binding, DC‐SIGN surface transport, endocytosis, as well as cell infectivity. DC‐SIGN was found colocalized with DENV inside cells suggesting hand‐off at the plasma membrane to another receptor did not occur. Moreover, all 3 DC‐SIGN molecules on NIH3T3 cells supported cell infection. These results imply the involvement of a co‐receptor because cells expressing the internalization‐deficient mutants could still be infected.
Deep long short-term memory adaptive beamforming networks for multichannel robust speech recognition

Far-field speech recognition in noisy and reverberant conditions remains a challenging problem despite recent deep learning breakthroughs. This problem is commonly addressed by acquiring a speech signal from multiple microphones and performing beamforming over them. In this paper, we propose to use a recurrent neural network with long short-term memory (LSTM) architecture to adaptively estimate real-time beamforming filter coefficients to cope with non-stationary environmental noise and dynamic nature of source and microphones positions which results in a set of timevarying room impulse responses. The LSTM adaptive beamformer is jointly trained with a deep LSTM acoustic model to predict senone labels. Further, we use hidden units in the deep LSTM acoustic model to assist in predicting the beamforming filter coefficients. The proposed system achieves 7.97% absolute gain over baseline systems with no beamforming on CHiME-3 real evaluation set.
Quality assurance for a six degrees‐of‐freedom table using a 3D printed phantom

Abstract Purpose To establish a streamlined end‐to‐end test of a 6 degrees‐of‐freedom (6DoF) robotic table using a 3D printed phantom for periodic quality assurance. Methods A 3D printed phantom was fabricated with translational and rotational offsets and an imbedded central ball‐bearing (BB). The phantom underwent each step of the radiation therapy process: CT simulation in a straight orientation, plan generation using the treatment planning software, setup to offset marks at the linac, registration and corrected 6DoF table adjustments via hidden target test, delivery of a Winston‐Lutz test to the BB, and verification of table positioning via field and laser lights. The registration values, maximum total displacement of the combined Winston‐Lutz fields, and a pass or fail criterion of the laser and field lights were recorded. The quality assurance process for each of the three linacs were performed for the first 30 days. Results Within a 95% confidence interval, the overall uncertainty values for both translation and rotation were below 1.0 mm and 0.5° for each linac respectively. When combining the registration values and other uncertainties for all three linacs, the average deviations were within 2.0 mm and 1.0° of the designed translation and rotation offsets of the 3D print respectively. For all three linacs, the maximum total deviation for the Winston‐Lutz test did not exceed 1.0 mm. Laser and light field verification was within tolerance every day for all three linacs given the latest guidance documentation for table repositioning. Conclusion The 3D printer is capable of accurately fabricating a quality assurance phantom for 6DoF positioning verification. The end‐to‐end workflow allows for a more efficient test of the 6DoF mechanics while including other important tests needed for routine quality assurance.
Neutralization of Diverse Human Cytomegalovirus Strains Conferred by Antibodies Targeting Viral gH/gL/pUL128-131 Pentameric Complex

ABSTRACT Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the leading cause of congenital viral infection, and developing a prophylactic vaccine is of high priority to public health. We recently reported a replication-defective human cytomegalovirus with restored pentameric complex glycoprotein H (gH)/gL/pUL128-131 for prevention of congenital HCMV infection. While the quantity of vaccine-induced antibody responses can be measured in a viral neutralization assay, assessing the quality of such responses, including the ability of vaccine-induced antibodies to cross-neutralize the field strains of HCMV, remains a challenge. In this study, with a panel of neutralizing antibodies from three healthy human donors with natural HCMV infection or a vaccinated animal, we mapped eight sites on the dominant virus-neutralizing antigen—the pentameric complex of glycoprotein H (gH), gL, and pUL128, pUL130, and pUL131. By evaluating the site-specific antibodies in vaccine immune sera, we demonstrated that vaccination elicited functional antiviral antibodies to multiple neutralizing sites in rhesus macaques, with quality attributes comparable to those of CMV hyperimmune globulin. Furthermore, these immune sera showed antiviral activities against a panel of genetically distinct HCMV clinical isolates. These results highlighted the importance of understanding the quality of vaccine-induced antibody responses, which includes not only the neutralizing potency in key cell types but also the ability to protect against the genetically diverse field strains. IMPORTANCE HCMV is the leading cause of congenital viral infection, and development of a preventive vaccine is a high public health priority. To understand the strain coverage of vaccine-induced immune responses in comparison with natural immunity, we used a panel of broadly neutralizing antibodies to identify the immunogenic sites of a dominant viral antigen—the pentameric complex. We further demonstrated that following vaccination of a replication-defective virus with the restored pentameric complex, rhesus macaques can develop broadly neutralizing antibodies targeting multiple immunogenic sites of the pentameric complex. Such analyses of site-specific antibody responses are imperative to our assessment of the quality of vaccine-induced immunity in clinical studies.