Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An improved integer coded genetic algorithm for security constrained unit commitment problem

This paper presents a novel approach to solve the security constrained unit commitment problem using decomposition technique. The method applies an improved integer coded genetic algorithm (ICGA) to schedule the commitment states of units. ICGA technique reduces the size of chromosomes and computation time significantly. Here, the proposed ICGA has been enhanced by using perturbation operator. Simulation results for six-bus test system exhibit the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
The Reconstruction of Tibial Metaphyseal Comminution Using Hybrid Frames in Severe Tibial Plafond Fractures

Objectives: To evaluate the treatment alternatives for the management of the metaphyseal tibial comminution in severe plafond fractures, and to investigate the role of the fibula fracture fixation. Design: Retrospective clinical study. Setting: Level-2 trauma hospital. Participants: Patients with highly comminuted tibial plafond fractures. Intervention: All patients were treated with open reduction and internal fixation of the articular surface and external fixation of the metaphyseal fracture. If metaphyseal comminution was minimal, bone graft was applied and the fibular was plated (group 1); if comminution was between 1 and 3 cm, acute shortening and distraction osteogenesis was performed (group 2); and if comminution was >3 cm, distraction osteogenesis without acute shortening was performed (group 3). Main Outcome Measurements: Radiographic union, AOFAS ankle score. Results: Of 30 fractures, 15 fractures (50%) had an anatomic reduction of the joint. Union occurred in all but 2 fractures. Group 1 fractures healed at an average of 19 weeks (16–22). Four fractures had associated malalignment problems. The mean AOFAS score was 72.5 (range 45–100). Group 2 fractures healed at an average of 18.3 weeks (16–21). One fracture healed with 5-degrees of angulation. Group 3 fractures healed at an average of 17.5 weeks (14–24). Two fractures healed with malalignment. When groups 2 and 3 were combined to evaluate the AOFAS outcome for fractures treated with distraction osteogenesis, a score of 75.83 was obtained (45–90). There was no difference between the Group 1 versus combined Groups 2/3 with regard to this latter score (P = 0.372). Additionally, when fibula fixation (Group 1) was compared with those fractures where it was not performed (groups 2/3), no difference was seen (P = 0.276). Conclusions: The reconstruction of severe tibial plafond fractures treated with small wire hybrid fixation may be achieved by different techniques leading to a satisfactory result. The fixation of the fibula fracture is dependent mainly on the treatment chosen for the management of the metaphyseal lesion. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Protein Transduction: Generation of Full‐Length Transducible Proteins Using the TAT System

This unit describes the technology that allows an investigator to transduce full‐length proteins by utilizing a minimal, eleven‐amino acid, HIV‐TAT transduction domain that can be fused to a protein of choice using the pTAT or pTAT‐HA protein expression plasmids. Bacterial expression, followed by solubilization of protein aggregates with a denaturing agent, affords high yields of transducible fusion protein. The fusion protein, once added to the culture medium, can cross the cell membrane and then be degraded or refolded by the cellular machinery. Correct targeting and function of the fusion protein can be easily examined by fluorescent microscopy or immunohistochemistry. This strategy was established and improved to its current state by the purification and transduction of a multitude of fusion proteins. Because the pool of fusion proteins spans many different functions, the protocols cover a wide variety of commonly used protein isolation and characterization methods.
An equilibrium multi-hop cluster hierarchy for wireless sensor networks

To overcome the inefficiency of the cluster structure construction in the existing wireless sensor networks, we propose an equilibrium multi-hop cluster hierarchy (EMCH). Both the remaining energy of cluster head nodes and the cluster distribution are considered during the cluster construction. According to the signal intensity of communication between sensor nodes, the cluster structure is formed in a reasonable distribution. The experiment shows EMCH can balance the energy consumption and prolong the lifetime of WSNs.
Intensive care unit morbidity and mortality from eclampsia: An evaluation of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score and the Glasgow Coma Scale score

Objective: To determine the maternal morbidity and mortality in patients with eclampsia admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), and to establish the efficacy of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, the organ system failure score as defined by Knaus, and the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score in predicting outcome. Design: Retrospective analysis of a 3.5‐yr period. Setting: Surgical ICU in a university hospital. Patients: A total of 105 patients who were admitted with a diagnosis of eclampsia were studied. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: The data captured included the reason for admission, maternal age, gestational age, parity, number of seizures, duration of ICU stay, anticonvulsant therapy, drug therapy, GCS score, APACHE II score, and the occurrence of organ failure. Of the 126 patients with eclampsia who were admitted to the ICU, records of 105 patients (83%) were found. The overall mortality was 10.5% (n = 11). The mean age, gestation, parity, number of preadmission seizures, and duration of stay were similar in survivors and nonsurvivors. Although the APACHE II score was significantly higher in nonsurvivors, multiple logistic regression analysis suggested that the goodness‐of‐fit scores for GCS and APACHE II were similar (38.29 vs. 38.01). The GCS scores of survivors were significantly higher than those of nonsurvivors (10.61 vs. 5.0; p < .001). Respiratory failure was the most common organ failure in both groups. The mean number of organ failures was higher in nonsurvivors compared with survivors (2.9 vs. 1.3; p < .001). An occurrence of more than two organ failures that persisted for >48 hrs was invariably associated with a fatal outcome. Anticonvulsant therapy consisted of magnesium sulfate or phenytoin and a midazolam infusion. Only one patient (0.9%) had a seizure, and this occurred en route to the ICU. No seizures occurred after admission to the ICU. Conclusions: The organ system failure score and the GCS score are good predictors of outcome in eclampsia. Apart from the GCS score, other variables in the APACHE II score are not valuable for outcome prediction. The low GCS score in nonsurvivors suggests that closer attention to the neurologic management may be beneficial. A prospective study is indicated to validate these findings.
Perioperative Plasma Concentrations of Stable Nitric Oxide Products Are Predictive of Cognitive Dysfunction After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

In this study our objectives were to determine the incidence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) after laparoscopic cholecystectomy under sevoflurane anesthesia in patients aged >40 and <85 yr and to examine the associations between plasma concentrations of i) S-100&bgr; protein and ii) stable nitric oxide (NO) products and POCD in this clinical setting. Neuropsychological tests were performed on 42 ASA physical status I–II patients the day before, and 4 days and 6 wk after surgery. Patient spouses (n = 13) were studied as controls. Cognitive dysfunction was defined as deficit in one or more cognitive domain(s). Serial measurements of serum concentrations of S-100&bgr; protein and plasma concentrations of stable NO products (nitrate/nitrite, NOx) were performed perioperatively. Four days after surgery, new cognitive deficit was present in 16 (40%) patients and in 1 (7%) control subject (P = 0.01). Six weeks postoperatively, new cognitive deficit was present in 21 (53%) patients and 3 (23%) control subjects (P = 0.03). Compared with the “no deficit” group, patients who demonstrated a new cognitive deficit 4 days postoperatively had larger plasma NOx at each perioperative time point (P < 0.05 for each time point). Serum S-100&bgr; protein concentrations were similar in the 2 groups. In conclusion, preoperative (and postoperative) plasma concentrations of stable NO products (but not S-100&bgr;) are associated with early POCD. The former represents a potential biochemical predictor of POCD.
Unusual composition of the solar wind in the 2–3 May 1998 CME observed with SWICS on ACE

Elemental, isotopic and charge state abundances provide valuable information about the source and acceleration mechanism of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). Even though the kinetic properties of the plasma might be subject to changes because of dynamic effects occurring during the expansion of the CME, the composition of the solar wind remains unchanged after it leaves the low corona. Data from the Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS) on ACE are used to study the elemental and charge state composition of He, O, C, N, and Fe as well as the isotopic ratio of He during the very large CME of May 2–3, 1998. We find in this CME anomalously large enrichment of ³He++/4He++, He/O and Fe/O. During the 28 hour long cloud portion of the CME unusually cold material (4He+ and very low charge state heavy ions) was observed together with hot (high charge state ions) and normal solar wind plasma.
Optimization and characterization of RF MEMS inductors fabricated in PolyMUMPS technology

This work presents an analysis of a RF MEMS inductor of 3 square spirals fabricated with PolyMUMPS technology, the final device is shown. The structure was released using wet-etching post-process in 10% TMAH at 40°C in order to optimize performance as a result of the reduced parasitic losses. The software Sonnet® was used as simulation tool and its results showed that the Q factor of the inductor on the substrate is 28.09 at 5.6 GHz. The next step is to take into account some other simulations at different etching distances to identify the ideal etching that increases the Q factor, obtaining that the optimal etch distance is 200 ¿m under the metal. The experiments demonstrate that etch rate for silicon is about 0.05 ¿m/min and for polysilicon is less than 1% compared with silicon.
Influence of curing time, overlay material and thickness on three light-curing composites used for luting indirect composite restorations.

PURPOSE To assess the microhardness of three resin composites employed in the adhesive luting of indirect composite restorations and examine the influence of the overlay material and thickness as well as the curing time on polymerization rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three commercially available resin composites were selected: Enamel Plus HRI (Micerium) (ENA), Saremco ELS (Saremco Dental) (SAR), Esthet-X HD (Dentsply/DeTrey) (EST-X). Post-polymerized cylinders of 6 different thicknesses were produced and used as overlays: 2 mm, 3 mm, 3.5 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, and 6 mm. Two-mm-thick disks were produced and employed as underlays. A standardized amount of composite paste was placed between the underlay and the overlay surfaces which were maintained at a fixed distance of 0.5 mm. Light curing of the luting composite layer was performed through the overlays for 40, 80, or 120 s. For each specimen, the composite to be cured, the cured overlay, and the underlay were made out of the same batch of resin composite. All specimens were assigned to three experimental groups on the basis of the resin composite used, and to subgroups on the basis of the overlay thickness and the curing time, resulting in 54 experimental subgroups (n = 5). Forty-five additional specimens, 15 for each material under investigation, were produced and subjected to 40, 80, or 120 s of light curing using a microscope glass as an overlay; they were assigned to 9 control subgroups (n = 5). Three Vicker's hardness (VH) indentations were performed on each specimen. Means and standard deviations were calculated. Data were statistically analyzed using 3-way ANOVA. Within the same material, VH values lower than 55% of control were not considered acceptable. RESULTS The used material, the overlay thickness, and the curing time significantly influenced VH values. In the ENA group, acceptable hardness values were achieved with 3.5-mm or thinner overlays after 120 or 80 s curing time (VH 41.75 and 39.32, respectively), and with 2-mm overlays after 40 s (VH 54.13). In the SAR group, acceptable hardness values were only achieved with 2-mm-thick overlays after 120 or 80 s curing time (VH 39.81 and 29.78, respectively). In the EST-X group, acceptable hardness values were only achieved with 3-mm or thinner overlays, after 120 or 80 s curing time (VH 36.20 and 36.03, respectively). CONCLUSION Curing time, restoration thickness, and overlay material significantly influenced the microhardness of the tested resin composites employed as luting agents. The clinician should carefully keep these factors under control.
Suitability of Excised Rabbit Ear Skin—Fresh and Frozen—for Evaluating Transdermal Permeation of Estradiol

Estradiol transdermal application still represents a relevant topic due to the recent controversies about hormon replacement therapy, its increasing potential in the treatment of skin aging and wound healing, and the new use of its derivatives in the transdermal contraceptive treatment. The aim of our work was to verify if fresh or frozen rabbit ear skin can be a suitable skin model to study in vitro estradiol transdermal absorption. Fresh rabbit ear skin demonstrated a reasonable model of human epidermis in the investigation of estradiol permeation starting from both solutions and commercial patches.
Creating user interfaces that entice people to manage better information

Much research in information management begins by asking how to manage a given information corpus. But information management systems can only be as good as the information they manage. They struggle and often fail to correctly infer meaning from large blobs of text and the mysterious actions and demands of users. And they are useless for managing information that is never captured. Instead of accepting the existing information as an immutable condition, I will argue that there are significant opportunities to help and motivate people to improve the quality and quantity of information their tools manage, and to exploit that better information to benefit its users. The greatest challenge in doing so is developing systems, and particularly user interfaces, that overcome humans' perverse reluctance to invest small present-moment effort for large future payoffs. Effective systems must minimize the effort needed to record high-quality information and maximize the perceived future benefits of that information investment. I will support these ideas with examples covering structured data management and presentation, notetaking, collaborative filtering, and social media.
Biogenesis and function of endogenous and exogenous siRNAs

RNA interference (RNAi) is a sequence‐specific gene silencing, or ‘knockdown’, mechanism facilitated by short duplex strands of RNA with sequence complementarity to target mRNAs. RNAi has many different forms, including posttranscriptional gene silencing (PTGS), and transcriptional gene silencing (TGS). Here, we review the biogenesis and function of an endogenous set of small RNA gene regulators, called microRNAs, as well as the mechanism of exogenously delivered small interfering RNAs. The potential applications of RNAi‐based therapeutics are also highlighted. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Specific Inhibition of Nitrite Oxidation by Chlorate and Its Use in Assessing Nitrification in Soils and Sediments

A method was developed to determine the ammonium oxidation rate (potential) of unenriched natural samples by measuring the nitrite produced in shaken slurries. Addition of chlorate to the samples prevented nitrite from being oxidized to nitrate. The effectiveness and specificity of chlorate were tested with pure cultures of nitrite and ammonium oxidizers, as well as in soil and sediment slurries. It was concluded that chlorate had relatively little inhibitory effect on ammonium oxidation. However, under some conditions chlorate was not completely effective in blocking nitrite oxidation, and the causes of this were investigated. The technique was designed to check for incomplete blockage.
Port site tuberculosis following laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Port site metastasis is being increasingly reported as a complication following laparoscopic surgery for malignant disorders. Various factors have been reported to be responsible and most are associated with either a high intra-peritoneal pressure due to pneumoperitoneum or the ‘chimney effect’ following sudden decompression of the abdomen. Direct implantation of the offending cells at the raw surface at the port has also been implicated and the use of retrieval bags is therefore recommended. We report on a rare case of port site seeding of tuberculosis in a 65-year-old woman following laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Thermodynamics Binding of Tetrakis (2,3,5,6-Tetrafluoro-N,N',Nʺ-Trimethyl Ammonium Phenyl) Porphyrin Nickel(II) With Calf Thymus DNA

In this study, aggregation behavior of a water soluble cationic metalloporphyrin, meso-tetrakis (2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-N,N´,N´´-trimethyl ammonium phenyl) porphyrin nickel(II) [Ni(II)(TF4TMAPP)]4+ is investigated in 5 mM aqueous phosphate buffer of pH 7.0 at 25.0 °C and various ionic strengths using optical absorption and resonance light scattering spectroscopic methods. The results suggest that [Ni(II)(TF4TMAPP)]4+ do not aggregate in the experimental concentration range. Also, the interaction of cationic metalloporphyrin, [Ni(II)(TF4TMAPP)]4+ with calf thymus DNA (ct-DNA) is studied in 5 mM aqueous phosphate buffer of pH 7.0 by optical absorption, resonance light scattering (RLS), fluorescence spectroscopy and thermal denaturation measurements. The binding constants are determined by analysis of the optical absorption spectra of the [Ni(II)(TF4TMAPP)]4+ at various temperatures using SQUAD software. The thermodynamic parameters are also calculated by van't Hoff equation. The results indicate that the process is entropy-driven and suggest that the main driving forces are the outside binding mode.
An approximate search engine for structural databases

When a person interested in a topic enters a keyword into a Web search engine, the response is nearly instantaneous (and sometimes overwhelming). The impressive speed is due to clever inverted index structures, caching, and a domain-independent knowledge of strings. Our project seeks to construct algorithms, data structures, and software that approach the speed of keyword-based search engines for queries on structural databases. A structural database is one whose data objects include trees, graphs, or a set of interrelated labeled points in two, three, or higher dimensional space. Examples include databases holding (i) protein secondary and tertiary structure, (ii) phylogenetic trees, (iii) neuroanatomical networks, (iv) parse trees, (v) molecular diagrams, and (vi) XML documents. Comparison queries on such databases require solving variants of the graph isomorphism or subisomorphism problems (for which all known algorithms are exponential), so we have explored a large heuristic space.
A numerical study of Isogeometric Analysis for cavity flow and flow around a cylindrical obstacle

This paper presents our numerical results for the application of the Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) to the velocity-pressure formulation of the steady state as well as the unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. For the approximation of the velocity and pressure fields, LBB compatible spline spaces are used which can be regarded as generalizations of Taylor-Hood pairs of finite element spaces. The single-step θ-scheme is used for the discretization in time. The lid-driven cavity flow in addition to its regularized version and flow around cylinder are considered in two dimensions as model problems in order to investigate the numerical properties of the scheme with respect to accuracy.
Detection and characterization of Tn2501, a transposon included within the lactose transposon Tn951

The DNA sequence spanning coordinates 9.9 to 16.4 kilobases of the lactose transposon Tn951 ( Cornelis et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 160:215-224, 1978) constitutes a transposable element by itself. Unlike Tn951 ( Cornelis et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 184:241-248, 1981), this element, called Tn2501 , transposes in the absence of any other transposon. Transposition of Tn2501 proceeds through transient cointegration and duplicates 5 base pairs of host DNA. Tn2501 is flanked by nearly perfect inverted repeats (44 of 48), related to the inverted repeats of Tn21 ( Zheng et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 9:6265-6278, 1982). Unlike Tn21 , Tn2501 does not confer mercury resistance.
An Alternative Algorithm for Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows for Daily Deliveries

This study attempts to solve vehicle routing problem with time window (VRPTW). The study first identifies the real problems and suggests some recommendations on the issues. The technique used in this study is Genetic Algorithm (GA) and initialization applied is random population method. The objective of the study is to assign a number of vehicles to routes that connect customers and depot such that the overall distance travelled is minimized and the delivery operations are completed within the time windows requested by the customers. The analysis reveals that the problems experienced in vehicle routing with time window can be solved by GA and retrieved for optimal solutions. After a thorough study on VRPTW, it is highly recommended that a company should implement the optimal routes derived from the study to increase the efficiency and accuracy of delivery with time insertion.
Identification of human cell responses to hexavalent chromium

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a recognized environmental toxin with ubiquitous distribution in industrialized societies. Its concentration in ambient air derives from several sources including but not limited to chemical processes, the burning of fossil fuels and the production of cement. It is a food contaminant because of its deposition into bodies of water. The majority of published studies on the effects of Cr(VI) concern animal models and these studies have shown that it can induce a variety of cytotoxic and genotoxic reactions that affect the immune system. In order to identify the specific cellular impact of Cr(VI) on humans, we studied its effect on protein production and gene expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from both men and women of each major ethnic group including Caucasians, Hispanics, Asians and African‐Americans. High‐throughput protein profiling using bead‐based protein arrays showed a concentration‐dependent biphasic effect of Cr(VI) on the expression of many cytokines and chemokines by activated PBMC. High‐density oligonucleotide microarray analysis identified several functional families of genes including those involved in immune response, intracellular signaling, cell cycle, apoptosis, RNA transport and binding, organelle organization and biogenesis that were strongly affected by Cr(VI). Cr(VI) suppressed many cellular receptor genes involved in immune response and activated many cell cycle‐related and proapoptotic genes. These results defined responses that were unique to Cr(VI). This methodology defined an effective manner for identifying injurious/toxic human exposures to Cr(VI) at the cellular level that may facilitate the identification and monitoring of efficacious treatments for Cr(VI)‐related maladies. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. , 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.