Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of local sewage sludge ash as a supplementary cementitious material - effects of incineration temperature and cooling rate of the ash

This paper reports on the possible use of sewage sludge ash as a pozzolanic supplementary cementitious material to Portland cement. Samples of sewage sludge were incinerated at 700°C, 800°C and 900°C and these were then cooled in the furnace (FISSA), in air (AISSA) or by quenching in water. The resulting ashes were ground to suitable fineness and used to prepare cement pastes and mortars in which the binder consisted of 30% ash and 70% Portland cement. The paste samples were used for microscopic and chemical assessment of the evolution of hydration products, while the mortars were used to assess the effects of the ashes on workability and compressive strength of laboratory-prepared samples using a water/binder ratio of 0.5. Fly ash was used as a reference pozzolanic material to assess the performance of sewage sludge ashes. Analysis of the sewage sludge ashes showed the presence of cementitious compounds and hydration products that suggest that this material can be used as a partial replacement of Portland cement. However, sewage sludge ash reduces the workability of the mortar. Compressive strength results indicate that the highest strength is obtained when the sewage sludge is incinerated at 900°C and then quenched in water.
Pedagogy for the new planner: Refining the qualitative toolbox

Planning researchers and practitioners are adapting to new and evolving planning cultures that require new skills and techniques. This paper examines the introduction of qualitative research methods, traditionally developed as part of anthropology, sociology, and psychology disciplines, to planning students. We present an analysis of qualitative research methods’ courses that were instructed to planning students. The paper portrays three principles of planning discipline that are in tension with a more constructive interpretation of the socio-spatial realities. We then offer several pedagogical inputs to qualitative methodology education for planners and how it could contribute to new and developing planning environments.
Impact of Simple Algorithmic Filtering Strategies on Polarization in Social Networks due to Filter Bubbles: Preliminary Results

Many of us hoped that the introduction of online social networks and their widespread adoption would result in an increased dissemination of diverse ideas and a growing convergence on a set of universally accepted good ideas. Unfortunately, studies have shown that social networks have instead contributed to the growing degree of polarization in society at large across a wide range of issues. By employing algorithmic filtering algorithms to prioritize opinions that social network users agree with, and is thus more likely to engage with, over opinions that users disagree with, social networks encourage users to form filter bubbles around themselves, creating echo chambers, and promote polarization. In this paper, we contribute to the growing body of work on studying the impact of such filter bubbles from the lens of empirical simulations. Specifically, we build upon an existing opinion dynamics model to incorporate both assimilation and boomerang effects, representing how opinions can either converge or diverge when two individuals interact, and empirically evaluate the polarization impact of several simple algorithmic filtering strategies through simulations. Ourresults show that (1) when prioritizing similar opinions to expose to individuals, polarization increases as the number of individuals affected by boomerang effects increases; (2) when prioritizing popularity of individuals, extreme polarization seldom occur; and (3) when prioritizing the neutrality of opinions (i.e., pre-ferring non-extreme opinions over extreme opinions), polarization is unsurprisingly minimized.
Two puzzles with agentive nominalizations 1

This paper discusses two puzzles with agentive nominalizations. The first one concerns certain restrictions in the formation of agentive nominalizations derived from change of state verbs in Greek. The second one relates to gradience: according to Baker & Vinokurova (2009), cross-linguistically we do not find an agent-denoting construction that has a mixture of verbal and nominal properties, while we do find event-denoting constructions that display such mixed properties. I will focus here on the first puzzle, which I will discuss in the context of what we know about the causative alternation. With respect to the second puzzle, building on the results of the discussion of the first one, I will show that there is indeed some variation and then explore the question why the individual/entity denoting nominalizations seem to behave differently from eventive ones.
Pulse Rate Variability Estimation Method Based on Sliding Window Iterative DFT and Hilbert Transform

An approach for deriving pulse rate variability (PRV) from photoplethysmography (PPG) signals is proposed. By combining sliding window iterative discrete Fourier transform (DFT) with the Hilbert transform algorithm, this method effectively reduces the influence of noise and sampling frequency compared with those of traditional methods. First, the fundamental component of the PPG signal is computed with the sliding window iterative DFT algorithm. Then, it is processed by an integer coefficient low-pass filter and the Hilbert transform to produce an instantaneous pulse rate (IPR). Finally, PRV is extracted from IPR in the frequency domain. PRV is also derived from the PPG signal in the time domain for comparison with that derived using the proposed method. Furthermore, PRV obtained from PPG signals at various sampling frequencies and with various noise levels is investigated. The results show that the proposed method can accurately derive PRV from PPG signals, even if the PPG signal has a low sampling frequency (4 Hz) and high noise (e.g., SNR is about 3.0). The experimental results indicate that the proposed method can be used to estimate PRV when the subjects are in different states (rest, sleeping, or visual fatigue). Moreover, the proposed method is efficient and thus suitable for detecting PRV in real time. It has potential for PRV assessment in various medical fields, such as home health and clinical and hospital environments.
Extended and integrated numerical form finding and patterning of membrane structures

Within this contribution, advanced methods for form finding and patterning of membrane structures are presented. They rely on a correct nonlinear continuum mechanical description, which allows for a highly detailed description of the underlying stress state. As one of the most general form finding methods, the Updated Reference Strategy is investigated, which is applicable for cables and membranes and for any kind of finite element discretization. The cutting pattern procedure is based on an "inverse" engineering approach: The yet unknown reference configuration ― the cutting pattern ― is modified in such a way, that the difference between the resulting stresses in the final assembled three-dimensional structure and the prescribed stress distribution is minimized. In addition to the individual description of these methods, an extended framework for a detailed analysis and design of membrane structures is presented, whose main focus is to include the influence of the cutting pattern already in the form finding process and structural analysis: Because spatially curved membrane structures are not developable, additional stresses arise in the membrane which have to be included in a detailed modelling of the structure, but have been neglected by conventional approaches.
Nutritional Intake and Training Load of Professional Female Football Players during a Mid-Season Microcycle

Football (soccer) is a high-intensity intermittent sport with large energy demands. In a repeated-measures design, we analysed the nutritional intake and training load of fourteen female football players (22.50 ± 4.38 y; 57.23 ± 8.61 kg; 164 ± 6.00 cm; 18.33 ± 2.48% of fat mass and 23.71 ± 2.51 kg of muscle mass) competing in the highest female Football Portuguese League across a typical mid-season microcycle. The microcycle had one match day (MD), one recovery session (two days after the MD, MD+2), three training sessions (MD-3, MD-2, MD-1) and two rest days (MD+1). Energy intake and CHO (g.kg.BW−1) intake were lower on the days before the competition (MD+2, MD-3, MD-2 and MD-1 vs. MD; p < 0.05; ES: 0.60–1.30). Total distance, distance covered at high-speed running (HSRD) and the high metabolic distance load (HMLD) were lower on MD+2, MD-3 and MD-1 compared with MD (p < 0.05; ES: <0.2–5.70). The internal training load was lower in all training sessions before the competition (MD+2, MD-3, MD-2 and MD-1 vs. MD; p ≤ 0.01; ES: 1.28–5.47). Despite the small sample size and a single assessment in time, the results suggest that caloric and CHO intake were below the recommendations and were not structured based on the physical requirements for training sessions or match days.
Studies on Flavor Compounds and Free Amino Acid Dynamic Characteristics of Fermented Pork Loin Ham with a Complex Starter

Staphylococcus simulans and Lactobacillus plantarum screened from Guizhou specialty food were used to prepare fermented pork loin ham. The sensory qualities and flavor profiles of fermented pork loin hams from 0 to 42 days were investigated in order to reveal the dynamics of fermented pork loin ham. The results show that total free amino acids (TFAA) content reached the highest value on the 35th day, and the umami amino acids, including aspartic acid (ASP), glutamic acid (GLU), glycine (GLY), and alanine (ALA), were the main amino acids in all periods. Notably, the RV coefficient (0.875) indicates that free amino acids (FAA) are highly correlated with the sensory score of the E-tongue. In terms of the volatile compounds identified, the esters content gradually increased between 7 and 42 days, and ethyl octanoate was the most abundant compound during all periods. These esters imparted a characteristic aroma component to the fermented pork loin ham. The most important finding was that the increase in the content of esters represented by octanoic acid-ethyl ester might be related to the increase in the content of FAA with the increase in fermentation time. Both the E-nose and E-tongue showed good discrimination ability for fermented tenderloin ham with different fermentation times, which was crucial in cases with large clusters. In addition, the multiple factor analysis (MFA) indicated that the E-nose aroma value might be the key factor in distinguishing fermented pork loin ham with different fermentation times.
Methyltransferase like 7B is upregulated in sepsis and modulates lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory response and macrophage polarization

ABSTRACT Macrophages play a critical role in the regulation of the inflammatory responses in sepsis. Methyltransferase like 7B (METTL7B) has been implicated in several pathophysiological conditions. Nevertheless, the potential engagement of METTL7B in sepsis remains to be elucidated. In this study, we retrieved transcriptomic profile data of septic patients and healthy donors and compared the expression level of METTL7B between septic patients and healthy controls. We also collected septic patient samples to analyze METTL7B expression via RT-qPCR. Murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) were isolated and treated with incremental doses of LPS as an in vitro cell model. METTL7B was overexpressed or knocked down in BMDMs, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated inflammatory cytokines production and macrophage polarization were evaluated. We found that METTL7B was upregulated in the blood and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of septic patients, which also showed a significant diagnostic potential for sepsis. In BMDMs, METTL7B was induced in a time and dose-dependent manner by LPS. Modulating the expression level of METTL7B could regulate LPS-mediated inflammatory cytokines production and macrophage polarization. The functional role of METTL7B was also validated in a septic mouse model. Our findings indicate that METTL7B is implicated in the immunopathogenesis of sepsis through modulating macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses. METTL7B may serve as a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for sepsis. GRAPHIC ABSTRACT
Biochemical and antibacterial activity of Jojoba Oil ‘Simmondsia chinensis’ in rats

This study has evaluated the antibacterial effect of Jojoba oil (J.O) in vivo against Staphylococcus aureus. One hundred mature male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups, including the control groups and the groups treated with J.O. as part of the diet mixture (2.5% of total body weight). Our findings suggest a significant increase in body weight gain (94.0 ±5.404 g for J.O treated rats in comparison to 72.0 ±3.077 g for untreated rats), final body weight (232.0 ±7.277 g for J.O treated rats in comparison to 220.8 ±9.71 g for untreated rats), and internal organs (0.31±0.03 g, 0.802±0.017 g and 8888± 28162 g for spleen, kidney and liver respectively in J.O treated rats in comparison to 0.268±0.052 , and 3.708±0.125 g for spleen, kidney and liver respectively in untreated rats). On the other hand, rats infected with S. aureus and fed by ration mixed with J.O. showed insignificant increase in all studied parameters. Average body weight gain was 74.8±3.673 g and internal organs weight were 28886± 28288 , 288.8± 282. and 4.124±0.275 g for kidney, spleen and liver respectively. The positive control group showed acute septicemia. Blood samples were taken from diverse groups and were used for bacteriological tests and radial immune diffusion tests. Results have revealed that S. aureus was in pure form and identified biochemically8
CLEAR‐S: an integrated non‐nuclear test facility for China lead‐based research reactor

A project to develop the Accelerator Driven System (ADS) for nuclear waste transmutation has been launched by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) since 2011 through three stages. China LEAd‐based Reactor (CLEAR) was selected as the reference reactor for CASADS project, which means lead or lead‐bismuth will be used as the primary coolant for reactor. Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology (INEST), CAS, is one of the leading teams being involved in ADS project, and taking charge of the design and R&D activities of CLEAR series reactors. According to the research and development roadmap of CLEAR, a 10MWth lead‐bismuth cooled pool‐type research reactor named CLEAR‐I coupled with a proton accelerator will be constructed at the first stage. In the second stage, China LEAd‐based Engineering Demonstration Reactor (CLEAR‐II) with 100MWth will be constructed. In the third stage, China LEAd‐based Commercial Prototype Reactor (CLEAR‐III) with 1000MWth will be constructed. In order to verify the key components and investigate the thermal‐hydraulics phenomena for CLEAR‐I and even for pool type lead‐based reactor, an integrated multifunctional non‐nuclear test facility named CLEAR‐S will be built and commissioning before the end of 2016. Note that CLEAR‐S will be used to test the 1:1 prototype components for CLEAR‐I, such as primary pump, heat exchanger, control rod driven system and in‐vessel refueling system, and to verify the design and safety analysis codes. In this paper, the design description and latest progress have been presented for CLEAR‐S. © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Energy Research Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Effectiveness of High Power Laser Therapy on Pain and Isokinetic Peak Torque in Athletes with Proximal Hamstring Tendinopathy: A Randomized Trial

Athletes such as long-distance runners, sprinters, hockey, and/or football players may have proximal hamstring tendinopathy (PHT). Laser therapy has been shown to be effective in tendinopathies. High power laser therapy (HPLT) is used for the treatment of several musculoskeletal conditions; however, its efficacy on PHT has not been investigated. This study is aimed at examining the effects of HPLT on pain and isokinetic peak torque (IPT) in athletes with PHT. The two-arm comparative pretest-posttest experimental design was used with random allocation of 36 athletes aged 18-35 years into two groups (experimental and conventional group). The experimental group included the application of HPLT for 3 weeks. The conventional group included treatment with a conventional physiotherapy program including ultrasound therapy, moist heat pack, and home exercises for a total of 3 weeks. Pain and IPT of the hamstring muscle were measured before and after the application of the intervention. Pain score decreased, and IPT increased significantly (p < 0.05) after application of HPLT, by 61.26% and 13.18%, respectively. In the conventional group, a significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed in pain scores only, which decreased by 41.14%. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed in IPT in the conventional group. When HPLT was compared with conventional physiotherapy, a significant difference was found in pain scores only. HPLT for 3 weeks was found to be effective in improving pain in athletes with PHT. However, no significant difference was found between HPLT and conventional physiotherapy (US, moist heat, and home exercises) in improving the IPT of the hamstring muscle.
Cross Deep Learning Method for Effectively Detecting the Propagation of IoT Botnet

In recent times, organisations in a variety of businesses, such as healthcare, education, and others, have been using the Internet of Things (IoT) to produce more competent and improved services. The widespread use of IoT devices makes our lives easier. On the other hand, the IoT devices that we use suffer vulnerabilities that may impact our lives. These unsafe devices accelerate and ease cybersecurity attacks, specifically when using a botnet. Moreover, restrictions on IoT device resources, such as limitations in power consumption and the central processing unit and memory, intensify this issue because they limit the security techniques that can be used to protect IoT devices. Fortunately, botnets go through different stages before they can start attacks, and they can be detected in the early stage. This research paper proposes a framework focusing on detecting an IoT botnet in the early stage. An empirical experiment was conducted to investigate the behaviour of the early stage of the botnet, and then a baseline machine learning model was implemented for early detection. Furthermore, the authors developed an effective detection method, namely, Cross CNN_LSTM, to detect the IoT botnet based on using fusion deep learning models of a convolutional neural network (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM). According to the conducted experiments, the results show that the suggested model is accurate and outperforms some of the state-of-the-art methods, and it achieves 99.7 accuracy. Finally, the authors developed a kill chain model to prevent IoT botnet attacks in the early stage.
A Novel, Variable Stiffness Robotic Gripper Based on Integrated Soft Actuating and Particle Jamming

Abstract This article presents the design principle and fabrication of a variable stiffness soft robotic gripper for adaptive grasping and robust holding. The proposed robotic gripper is based on a finger design that combines a fiber-reinforced soft actuator and a particle pack. The soft actuator is responsible for the bending motion of the finger, and the particle pack acts as a stiffness-changeable interface between the finger and the object. In the natural state, the particle pack is soft and adaptive to part geometry. It can rapidly stiffen (through vacuum) to resist external load or to freeze the currently bent contour of the finger. Experimental studies have shown that more than a 10-fold stiffness enhancement is achievable. Therefore, the proposed gripper is capable of handling objects with different shapes, weights, and rigidities, which have been a great challenge for robotic grasping. For more effective grasping, a grasping strategy is designed for the proposed soft gripper with simultaneous con.
Objective forecast of thundery and non-thundery days using conventional indices over Bangalore during pre-monsoon season

Prediction of thunderstorms is a challenging task for a forecaster as their spatial scale is small and lifespan is short. This study aims at evaluating the skill of stability indices with specific thresholds in relation to forecasting thundery and non-thundery days over Bangalore. A total of nine indices derived from radiosonde/radiowind data of Bangalore during 1991-2003 are treated as predictors and their statistical parameters were computed. The Z test (Zxy) was applied to find out significant predictors and the skill score method was used for finding the threshold value amongst the significant predictors. The threshold value of selected predictors is obtained by maximising normalised skill score. The results show that significant indices K (> 33 oC) and SHIm (< 3 oC) are most efficient predictors for 0000 UTC while SLI (< - 4 oC) and DCI (> 44 oC) are most efficient predictors for 1200UTC. These results were verified for pre-monsoon period of 2004-2006 over Bangalore.
The Application of Kalman Filtering to Predict Vertical Rail Axis Displacements of the Overhead Crane Being a Component of Seaport Transport Structure

Abstract As the devices designed to transport materials, the overhead cranes should meet certain geometric requirements for their operation to be safe. The presently available geodetic equipment, in particular total stations, provides opportunities for precise 3D measurements of coordinates of the controlled points. These coordinates make a basis for correcting the height of crane runway axes. The paper presents a method to calculate position corrections for the crane rail axes in both vertical and horizontal direction, and indicates that these results can find much wider application. Among other goals, the observations of this type, along with the Kalman filtration method, can be used to predict vertical displacements of the crane rail axes. The object of practical considerations in the paper is a crane working in the area with unfavourable geotechnical conditions and the settling limits attributed to this crane and location area in the technical design. The sample practical application has confirmed the validity of the use of the proposed solution for evaluating the operational safety of the crane. Although the tests were performed for the gantry crane, the proposed solution is believed to be applicable for other types of overhead cranes.
Opportunities for Smartphone Sensing in E-Health Research: A Narrative Review

Recent years have seen significant advances in the sensing capabilities of smartphones, enabling them to collect rich contextual information such as location, device usage, and human activity at a given point in time. Combined with widespread user adoption and the ability to gather user data remotely, smartphone-based sensing has become an appealing choice for health research. Numerous studies over the years have demonstrated the promise of using smartphone-based sensing to monitor a range of health conditions, particularly mental health conditions. However, as research is progressing to develop the predictive capabilities of smartphones, it becomes even more crucial to fully understand the capabilities and limitations of using this technology, given its potential impact on human health. To this end, this paper presents a narrative review of smartphone-sensing literature from the past 5 years, to highlight the opportunities and challenges of this approach in healthcare. It provides an overview of the type of health conditions studied, the types of data collected, tools used, and the challenges encountered in using smartphones for healthcare studies, which aims to serve as a guide for researchers wishing to embark on similar research in the future. Our findings highlight the predominance of mental health studies, discuss the opportunities of using standardized sensing approaches and machine-learning advancements, and present the trends of smartphone sensing in healthcare over the years.