Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF REINFORCEMENT AND PRE-STRESSING FORCE ON ASR EXPANSION

iv ÖZ . vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . ix TABLE OF CONTENTS . x LIST OF TABLES . xiv LIST OF FIGURES . xv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . xviii CHAPTERS INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 General . 1 1.2 Objectives and Scope of the Investigation . 2 1. THEORY OF ALKALI – AGGREGATE REACTION . 4 2.1 General . 4 2.2 Types of Alkali-Aggregate Reaction . 4 2.2.1 Alkali – Carbonate Reaction . 5 2.2.2 Alkali – Silicate Reaction . 6 2.2.3 Alkali – Silica Reaction . 6 2.3 Factors That Affect Alkali-Silica Reaction Expansion . 9 2.3.1 Nature of Reactive Material . 9 2.3.2 Amount of Reactive Material . 11 2.3.4 Alkali Content in Concrete Mix. 13 2.3. 5 Moisture Effect . 15 2.3. 6 Temperature Effect . 17 xi 2.4 Deleterious Effects of Alkali – Silica Reaction . 18 2.4. 1 Cracks . 18 2.4. 2 Expansion. 22 2.4. 3 Gel Exudation and Color Change . 22 2.4. 4 Surface Spall or ‘Pop-out’ . 23 2.5 Test Methods for Determination of Alkali-Silica Reaction . 23 2.5. 1 Petrographic Examination of Aggregates . 23 2.5. 2 Chemical Methods Applied to Aggregates . 24 2.5. 3 Mortar Bar Methods. 24 2.5. 4 Concrete Prism Method . 25 2.5. 5 Autoclave Methods . 26 2.6 Prevention of Alkali-Silica Reaction . 27 2.6. 1 Avoidance of Reactive Aggregate . 27 2.6. 2 Limitation of Alkalis in Concrete . 27 2.6. 3 Avoidance of Moisture . 28 2.6. 4 Use of Supplementary Cementing Materials (SCMs) . 28 2.6. 5 Use of Chemical Additives . 29 2. THEORY OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE . 30 3.1 General . 30 3.2 Methods of Pre-stressing . 31 3.2.1 Pre-tensioning . 31 3.2.2 Post-tensioning. 31 3.3 Basic Concepts of Prestressing . 32 3.4 Partial Loss of Prestress . 35 3.4. 1 Initial Losses . 36
Classification learning method for PCB insertion holes based on shape context

With the increasing demand for Printed Circuit Board (PCB) in the field of modern industrial, it is a trend to use machines to plug in components automatically. In the process of inserting components, classification learning of insertion holes is an important part. Traditional classification learning is completed by means of manual marking, which is not only inefficient but also error-prone. In view of these problems, this paper proposes a classification learning method for PCB insertion holes based on shape context. The core of this method is traversing of the insertion hole contours without having to traverse the whole image. The type and position of insertion holes are determined by firstly extracting the contour points of PCB insertion holes and then matching computed shape context descriptors with template shape context descriptors. Experiments show that this method can accomplish the insertion hole classification learning accurately and efficiently. And this method meets the requirement of actual production.
Top-down Cross-Section Controlled III-Nitride Nanowire Lasers

III-nitride nanowire lasers have drawn significant attention as potential compact coherent light sources for a wide range of applications such as on-chip communication, optical sensing, and solid-state lighting. For practical applications, control over the lasing properties is needed. For example, a single mode lasing is beneficial for reducing the pulse broadening and the signal errors during the optical communications. An annular-
Real-time user-click recognition based on spark streaming

With the rapid development of internet, data produced by users tends to be larger. The web page structure is becoming more and more complex and contains more and more different types of embedded objects as well. How to identify the user click requests from a large number of data set, is the first step as well as one of the difficulty of analysis of user behavior. Based on the spark streaming algorithm and some other previous algorithms, this paper proposes a real-time user-click recognition algorithm. The experimental results show that our algorithm is with high accuracy and is suitable for large scale data processing.
Overview of the SPMRL 2013 Shared Task: A Cross-Framework Evaluation of Parsing Morphologically Rich Languages

This paper reports on the first shared task on statistical parsing of morphologically rich languages (MRLs). The task features data sets from nine languages, each available both in constituency and dependency annotation. We report on the preparation of the data sets, on the proposed parsing scenarios, and on the evaluation metrics for parsing MRLs given different representation types. We present and analyze parsing results obtained by the task participants, and then provide an analysis and comparison of the parsers across languages and frameworks, reported for gold input as well as more realistic parsing scenarios.
Fabrication and Application of Nanostructures Using Gas-Assisted Hot Embossing and Self-Assembled Nanospheres

We develop a simple and competitive fabrication of antireflective (AR) films with high-ordered nanostructure arrays on polycarbonate (PC) substrate by using gas-assisted hot embossing and a self-assembled technique. In this method, a self-assembled monolayer of polystyrene (PS) nanospheres is well-patterned on glass substrates as the first template. Subsequently, we use the plasma sputtering to deposit a conductive layer onto the surface of nanosphere (NS) patterned substrates, and then, electroforming is applied to fabricate a nickel mold with an inverse shape of nanospheres. In the last step, a unique glass transition is utilized to duplicate nanostructures on PC films via gas-assisted hot embossing. Not only in visible light but in near infrared, the optical properties of this AR film are similar or better than for other methods. This fabrication process also has great potential in industry, with its simplicity, large-area but low-cost.
Whole Day Mobility Planning with Electric Vehicles

We propose a novel and challenging variant of trip planning problems – Whole Day Mobility Planning with Electric Vehicles (WDMEV). WDMEV combines several concerns, which has been so far only considered separately, in order to realistically model the problem of planning mobility with electric vehicles (EVs). A key difference between trip planning for combustion engine cars and trip planning for EVs is the comparatively lower battery capacity and comparatively long charging times of EVs – which makes it important to carefully consider charging when planning travel. The key idea behind WDMEV is that the user can better optimize his/her mobility with EVs, if it considers the activities he/she needs to perform and the travel required to get to the locations of these activities for the whole day rather than planning for single trips only. In this paper, we formalize the WDMEV problem and propose a solution based on a label-setting heuristic search algorithm, including several speed-ups. We evaluate the proposed algorithm on a realistic set of benchmark problems, confirming that the whole day approach reduces the time required to complete one’s day travel with EVs and that it also makes it cheaper, compared to the traditional single-trip approach.
Seed Mass and the Evolution of Early‐Seedling Etiolation

The influence of seed mass on the evolution of seedling‐foraging strategies for light acquisition under deep shade was assessed in a comparative study of etiolation behavior. This was done across 50 Australian species varying in seed reserve mass by eight orders of magnitude during the first week after germination. Proportional increase in hypocotyl length in shade compared to light was similar across the range of seed reserve mass. Etiolation did not lead to increase in hypocotyl length per wet mass, in other words, etiolated hypocotyls were not thinner. However, hypocotyl length per dry mass did increase, more so in smaller‐seeded species. Thus, part of the hypocotyl elongation was because of increased water content, which would increase vulnerability to loss of turgor. There was also reallocation of dry matter from root to hypocotyl, again more so in smaller‐seeded species, which would decrease anchorage strength and increase vulnerability to soil drying. Results were very similar when considered as correlated evolutionary divergences, compared to the cross‐species patterns. The higher‐risk etiolation behavior of smaller‐seeded species can be understood through their having little to lose. Because they hold less reserve resource uncommitted and attempt a faster initial growth rate, their chances of sustained longevity in shade below the compensation point are very low.
Evaluating Multimodal Representations on Sentence Similarity: vSTS, Visual Semantic Textual Similarity Dataset

In this paper we introduce vSTS, a new dataset for measuring textual similarity of sentences using multimodal information. The dataset is comprised by images along with its respectively textual captions. We describe the dataset both quantitatively and qualitatively, and claim that it is a valid gold standard for measuring automatic multimodal textual similarity systems. We also describe the initial experiments combining the multimodal information.
Processing and properties of thermoplastic starch and its blends with sodium alginate

Viscosity measurements were carried out on corn starch (CS) and CS–sodium alginate (SA) suspensions at low levels of SA [1 to 10% (w/w)], as a function of temperature. The addition of SA caused the granular CS gelatinization process to occur at a lower onset temperature. CS and CS–SA mixtures were extruded in single- and twin-screw extruders, with 15% glycerol and different water contents. Processing of plasticized CS–SA mixtures required lower temperatures, which is consistent with the viscosity results. Homogeneous and flexible extrudates were obtained by processing in a twin-screw extruder. Samples in the composition range between 0 and 10% (w/w) SA were examined using tensile tests as a function of water content. Mechanical properties were dependent on the water content and on the SA composition. A significant increase in the Young's modulus value was observed for the blend containing 1% SA. Dynamic mechanical analysis was carried out for CS and CS–SA blends. Two transitions were detected in the temperature range –80 to 150°C. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the morphology of the extruded samples. The surfaces of the films were homogeneous, which demonstrated that the CS granules in all samples were characteristically destructured under the conditions used in processing. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 81: 412–420, 2001
Politecnico di Torino Porto Institutional Repository [ Proceeding ] Integrated battery charger for electric scooter

The paper deals with a battery charger integrated into the traction hardware of an electric scooter, for recharging the scooter batteries by means of a single-phase AC source. A mechanical switch and a rectifier bridge are the only additional components required to transform the electric scooter powetrain into a PFC battery charger, suitable for current-controlled or voltage-controlled recharge. The AC current is controlled at unitary power factor with no harmonic distortion. Switching harmonics are also drastically reduced by means of phase-interleaving. The battery charge is regulated according to the requests of the Battery Monitor System (BMS) that is embedded into the battery packs. The effectiveness of the integrated battery charger is demonstrated here on an electric scooter with high voltage Li-Ion battery (260V) and DC/DC/AC power conversion scheme. The integrated PFC charger concept is also valid for electric vehicles with AC traction drives based on a direct DC/AC conversion scheme, as demonstrated throughout the paper.
Optimization and implementation of industrial control system network intrusion detection by telemetry analysis

Industrial control systems (ICS) are related to all aspects of human life and have become the target of many cyber-attackers. Attacks on industrial control systems may not only cause monetary loss, but also damage equipment, the environment and hurt staff, such as the Stuxnet and the cyber attack on the Ukrainian power grid. So the intrusion detection of ICS has a great significance. This paper based on the intrusion detection by telemetry analysis, optimized the system model, captured the communication packets between different nodes in the system, then extracted features for machine learning to achieve malicious traffic detection, and the attack types are further distinguished. Telemetry means that it does not need to enter the industrial control system network, but by capturing data packets remotely to achieve intrusion detection.
An Evolutionary/Biochemical Connection between Promoter- and Primer-Dependent Polymerases Revealed by Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment

ABSTRACT DNA polymerases (DNAPs) recognize 3′ recessed termini on duplex DNA and carry out nucleotide catalysis. Unlike promoter-specific RNA polymerases (RNAPs), no sequence specificity is required for binding or initiation of catalysis. Despite this, previous results indicate that viral reverse transcriptases bind much more tightly to DNA primers that mimic the polypurine tract. In the current report, primer sequences that bind with high affinity to Taq and Klenow polymerases were identified using a modified systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) approach. Two Taq-specific primers that bound ∼10 (Taq1) and over 100 (Taq2) times more stably than controls to Taq were identified. TaqI contained 8 nucleotides (5′-CACTAAAG-3′) that matched the phage T3 RNAP “core” promoter. Both primers dramatically outcompeted primers with similar binding thermodynamics in PCRs. Similarly, exonuclease− Klenow polymerase also selected a high-affinity primer that contained a related core promoter sequence from phage T7 RNAP (5′-ACTATAG-3′). For both Taq and Klenow, even small modifications to the sequence resulted in large losses in binding affinity, suggesting that binding was highly sequence specific. The results are discussed in the context of possible effects on multiprimer (multiplex) PCR assays, molecular information theory, and the evolution of RNAPs and DNAPs. IMPORTANCE This work further demonstrates that primer-dependent DNA polymerases can have strong sequence biases leading to dramatically tighter binding to specific sequences. These may be related to biological function or be a consequence of the structural architecture of the enzyme. New sequence specificity for Taq and Klenow polymerases were uncovered, and among them were sequences that contained the core promoter elements from T3 and T7 phage RNA polymerase promoters. This suggests the intriguing possibility that phage RNA polymerases exploited intrinsic binding affinities of ancestral DNA polymerases to develop their promoters. Conversely, DNA polymerases could have evolved from related RNA polymerases and retained the intrinsic binding preference despite there being no clear function for such a preference in DNA biology.
Sequence Characterization and Phylogenetic analysis of TLR4 Gene in Vechur Cattle

Vechur cattle, an indigenous breed of Kerala are highly disease resistant. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) perform a vital role in disease resistance through their recognition of pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). In this study, the mRNA of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) gene of Vechur cattle was sequenced, characterized and compared with other species. Total RNA from milk somatic cells of Vechur cattle was isolated and converted into cDNA using reverse transcriptase kit. The cDNA of TLR4 gene was amplified with the designed primers and the product was sequenced by primer walking technique. The mRNA sequence of TLR4 spans 2766 bp with an open reading frame (ORF) of 2526 bp coding for 841 amino acids. TLR4 sequence of Vechur cattle with Bos taurus sequence showed 99 per cent homology and exposed 7 nucleotide variations (4 non-synonymous and 3 synonymous substitution). The ectodomain of Vechur TLR4 displayed 13 LRRs and change in amino acid at LRR5 domain was observed when compared to Bos taurus. Leucine (16.05 per cent) and serine (8.08 per cent) were found to be major amino acids contributing to primary structure of TLR4 protein. Secondary structure displayed portions of amino acid sequence contributing to formation of alpha helix (50.18 per cent), beta turn (17.60 per cent) and random coil (32.22 per cent). Tertiary structure of TLR4 protein revealed distinctive horseshoe fold, composed of repeated strand-turn-alpha helix structure. Phylogenetic tree of TLR4 gene showed that Vechur cattle closely related to Bos taurus. The observed structural variation in the mRNA sequence of TLR4 gene in Vechur cattle breed will provide an important basis for further study on the relationship between polymorphisms and host disease resistance.
Analysis of soluble components in coals and interpretations for the complex mass spectra.

RATIONALE The deduction of useful information from the mass spectra of a complex mixture like coals remains difficult, which limits the clean and efficient utilization of coals. It is necessary to explore the data interpretation methods for mass spectra and visualize the analytical data of coals for industrial utilization such as feedstock selection. METHODS Coal sample and methanol were mixed and heated to 310 °C and kept at that temperature for 2 h. The solvent was under supercritical state at 310 °C and the solubility for the solid mixture increased. Soluble products from thermal dissolution of two Chinese coals were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization orbitrap mass spectrometry. RESULTS The iso-abundance plot for molecules in coals was upgraded to display the distributions of isomers which are indicated as concentric circles or triangles with the same carbon number and value of double-bond equivalent. The concentration ratio was introduced from economics to describe the content inequality of organic species within the same class of coal molecules. CONCLUSIONS Interpretation methods for mass spectra visualize and simplify the understanding of complex components in coals for industrial utilization. Coals with a high concentration ratio for a specific class should take priority as a feedstock for chemicals and receive more attention. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Molecular Mechanism, Dynamics, and Energetics of Protein-Mediated Dinucleotide Flipping in a Mismatched DNA: A Computational Study of the RAD4-DNA Complex

DNA damage alters genetic information and adversely affects gene expression pathways leading to various complex genetic disorders and cancers. DNA repair proteins recognize and rectify DNA damage and mismatches with high fidelity. A critical molecular event that occurs during most protein-mediated DNA repair processes is the extrusion of orphaned bases at the damaged site facilitated by specific repairing enzymes. The molecular-level understanding of the mechanism, dynamics, and energetics of base extrusion is necessary to elucidate the molecular basis of protein-mediated DNA damage repair. The present article investigates the molecular mechanism of dinucleotide extrusion in a mismatched DNA (containing a stretch of three contiguous thymidine-thymidine base pairs) facilitated by Radiation sensitive 4 (RAD4), a key DNA repair protein, on an atom-by-atom basis using molecular dynamics (MD) and umbrella-sampling (US) simulations. Using atomistic models of RAD4-free and RAD4-bound mismatched DNA, the free energy profiles associated with extrusion of mismatched partner bases are determined for both systems. The mismatched bases adopted the most stable intrahelical conformation, and their extrusion was unfavorable in RAD4-free mismatched DNA due to the presence of prohibitively high barriers (>12.0 kcal/mol) along the extrusion pathways. Upon binding of RAD4 to the DNA, the global free energy minimum is shifted to the extrahelical state indicating the key role of RAD4-DNA interactions in catalyzing the dinucleotide base extrusion in the DNA-RAD4 complex. The critical residues of RAD4 contributing to the conformational stability of the mismatched bases are identified, and the energetics of insertion of a β-hairpin of RAD4 into the DNA duplex is examined. The conformational energy landscape-based mechanistic insight into RAD4-mediated base extrusion provided here may serve as a useful baseline to understand the molecular basis of xeroderma pigmentosum C (XPC)-mediated DNA damage repair in humans.
The hBracelet: A Wearable Haptic Device for the Distributed Mechanotactile Stimulation of the Upper Limb

Haptic interfaces are mechatronic devices designed to render tactile sensations; although they are typically based on robotic manipulators external to the human body, recently, interesting wearable solutions have been presented. Toward a more realistic feeling of virtual and remote environment interactions, we propose a novel wearable skin stretch device for the upper limb called “hBracelet. ” It consists of two main parts coupled with a linear actuator. Each part contains two servo actuators that move a belt. The device is capable of providing distributed mechanotactile stimulation on the arm by controlling the tension and the distance of the two belts in contact with the skin. When the motors spin in opposite directions, the belt presses into the user's arm, while when they spin in the same direction, the belt applies a shear force to the skin. Moreover, the linear actuator exerts longitudinal cues on the arm by moving the two parts of the device. In this letter, we illustrate the mechanical structure, working principle, and control strategies of the proposed wearable haptic display. We also present a qualitative experiment in a teleoperation scenario as a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed haptic interface and to show how a human can take advantage of multiple haptic stimuli provided at the same time and on the same body area. The results show that the device is capable of successfully providing information about forces acting at the remote site, thus, improving telepresence.
Novel organometallic chloroquine derivative inhibits tumor growth

Autophagy has emerged as a mechanism critical to both tumorigenesis and development of resistance to multiple lines of anti‐cancer therapy. Therefore, targeting autophagy and alternative cell death pathways has arisen as a viable strategy for refractory tumors. The anti‐malarial 4‐aminoquinoline compounds chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are currently being considered for re‐purposing as anti‐cancer therapies intended to sensitize different tumors by targeting the lysosomal cell death pathway. Here, we describe a novel organometallic chloroquine derivative, cymanquine, that exhibits enhanced bioactivity compared to chloroquine in both normal, and reduced pH tumor microenvironments, thus overcoming a defined limitation of traditional 4‐aminoquinolines. In vitro, cymanquine exhibits greater potency than CQ in a diverse panel of human cancer cell lines, including melanoma, in both normal pH and in reduced pH conditions that mimic the tumor microenvironment. Cymanquine treatment results in greater lysosomal accumulation than chloroquine and induces lysosomal dysfunction leading to autophagy blockade. Using a mouse model of vemurafenib‐resistant melanoma, cymanquine slowed tumor growth greater than hydroxychloroquine, and when used in combination with vemurafenib, cymanquine partially restored sensitivity to vemurafenib. Overall, we show that cymanquine exhibits superior lysosomal accumulation and autophagy blockade than either chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine in vitro; and in addition to its high level of tolerability in mice, exhibits superior in vivo efficacy in a model of human melanoma.