Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A novel approach of modeling precast concrete frame joint: modeling, numerical simulation and performance evaluation

A mathematical model capable of analyzing multistoried building frames incorporating semirigid beam-column connections has been developed. The model is linear type and iterative in nature developed for multistoried building frames with connections which are based on maximum end moment of frame. A mathematical relationship is developed and used for analysis and design of joints of a particular type. The linear moment-curvature ( ) θ − M relationship for this particular type of connection has been formulated by using elementary solid mechanics. Using this relationship investigations have been carried out to study the behavior of precast building frame such as connection flexibility and its effect on internal distribution of forces. A parametric study with the connection is also carried out. A comparison of overall behavior of frames with rigid and partially restrained joints is made. Finally a tentative recommendation regarding the use of the particular type of joint is made.
Comparing safety of proton‐pump inhibitors versus H2‐receptor antagonists in kidney transplant recipients: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Multiple studies have been conducted to compare the safety of proton‐pump inhibitors (PPIs) and H2‐receptor antagonists (H2RAs) as acid‐suppressive treatment in kidney transplant recipients with conflicting results. This systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to evaluate the risk of adverse effects in kidney transplant patients receiving PPIs compared to those treated with H2RAs.
Autonomic Nervous Pattern Recognition of Students’ Learning States in Real Classroom Situation

The current work applied machine learning methods to analyze students’ group and individual learning states in the real classroom environment. The purpose is to provide insights into the learning process for teachers and students, so that they can manage the learning process effectively. We extracted three couples of learning states in real classroom learning, i.e., information input/processing and retrieval/processing states, cognitive load matching and mismatching states, and mental fatigue and nonfatigue states. The recognition of the above three couples of learning states was regarded as five binary classification problems. We collected electrocardiogram (ECG) data from 45 college students during their classes of circuit analysis and calculated the peaks of two consecutive R waves (RR) interval series from the ECG data. For each binary classification problem, RR interval features and classifiers were compared to find the critical feature subsets and suitable classifiers for the recognition of learning states. The generalization accuracies of the machine learning models were in the range of 58.41%–82.35% on the validation sets independent of classifier training and feature selection. The results show that it is feasible to monitor students’ learning states through machine learning methods.
Assessment of Synergy Degree among Process
of Integrated Municipal Solid Waste Management
in Harbin, China

Integrated Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management is the foundation step for improving the efficiency of MSW management and satisfying the urban environment sustainability requirements. Therefore, this study aims to identity the weakness in the process of integrated MSW management, and support approaches to an effective integrated MSW management according to practice of the city governance. In this paper, the MSW management synergy system with four subsystems (MSW separation, MSW collection, MSW transportation, and MSW disposal) has been constructed in Harbin, China. Synergy degree model is used to calculate the order degrees of the subsystems and the synergy system from 2010 to 2019, and then study the synergistic development and orderly evolution trend of MSW management. The results indicate that the order degrees of the subsystems all develop to an ordered state, and the order degree of the MSW transportation subsystem of integrated MSW management synergy system in the study area improved continuously. Meanwhile, the order degree of the MSW separation subsystem developed slowly, staying at a relatively low level overall, indicating that MSW separation should be paid close attention to in Harbin.
Export Competitiveness of Agri-Food Sector during the EU Integration Process: Evidence from the Western Balkans

Trade agreements with the European Union (EU) and Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) significantly influenced the liberalisation of agri-food products in Western Balkan (WB) countries. In all Western Balkan countries, there has been an intensification of the trade of agri-food products and a partial change in the regional and commodity structures of trade. This paper aims to identify comparative advantages of agri-food sectors and consider its tendencies during the EU integration process. Additionally, this paper will discuss some opportunities for improvement of the export positions of agri-food products. In that context and based on the literature review, the indexes of revealed comparative advantages and its modified version will be used as a main method for analysis in this research. Results showed that all Western Balkan countries, except Albania, have comparative advantages in exporting agri-food products. It is evident that Serbia has the highest level of comparative advantages in this sector. Moreover, this paper suggests that all countries should aim to provide the best possible positions for their agri-food products during pre-accession negotiations for EU membership and take the necessary steps towards increasing the level of competitiveness in the common EU market.
Green revelations in a country of drought, flood and fire: a case study of Abrahamic faith communities and sustainability

This paper reports research into the levels of awareness and engagement of Abrahamic communities regarding environmental sustainability in the State of Victoria, Australia. Seventeen faith groups were targeted for study at 22 locations throughout Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne; with 15 in-depth interviews completed. The study suggests that personal awareness does not always translate well into group action, resulting in conflicting positions within denominations on how to respond to environmental issues. Some denominations have funding and human resources to support environmental programs. Smaller groups struggle to maintain numbers, are trying to expand, or do not participate because of fundamentally different worldviews.
Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything

The knowledge, resources, and computing power of billions of people are self-organizing into a massive new collective force. Interconnected and orchestrated through blogs, wikis, chat rooms, peer-to-peer networks, and personal broadcasting, the Web is being reinvented to provide the first global platform for collaboration in history. "Wikinomics" is the definitive investigation into how small businesses can achieve success by using a dynamic ecosystem of partners to co-create and peer-produce value in this newly-emerging, networked economy. Encouraging consumers, employees, suppliers, partners and competitors alike to share information and ideas, mass collaboration marks a profound change in the way business is conducted and radically alters the future of corporate architecture, strategy and management.
Nonlinear vibration energy harvesting device integrating mechanical stoppers used as synchronous mechanical switches

Nonlinear energy extraction techniques for piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting usually require synchronized electronic switches in their electronic interface circuits. But the difficulty to self-power their complex switching control strategies limits their performances, especially in the presence of wideband ambient excitations. This technical note presents a nonlinear energy extraction interface achieved by synchronous mechanical switches. The complex switching control strategy is dodged by taking advantage of mechanical stoppers and the moving part of the piezoelectric oscillator, which is driven by the vibration itself. As a result, the added mechanical stoppers and the self-synchronized nonlinear energy extraction circuit also make the energy harvesting device system be particularly suited to wideband ambient vibrations.
Denoising Mapping Utilizing Constellation Symmetry in Denoise‐and‐Forward Two‐Way Relay Channels

The denoising mapping with the closest‐neighbor clustering (CNC) method in denoise‐and‐forward two‐way relay channels is studied. Specifically, the symmetry of the constellations in source terminals A and B is utilized to reduce the complexity of the CNC method. The specific case considered first to illustrate how the constellation symmetry works in the CNC method is the quadrature phase‐shift keying constellation in A and B and the single‐antenna deployment in all terminals. This case study shows that an enormous complexity reduction can be achieved. Next, the result is extended to multiple‐antenna scenarios and square quadrature amplitude modulations.
Personal therapeutic approach in Gestalt therapists working with clients suffering from medically unexplained psychosomatic symptoms

Treatment specificity and adherence to treatment manuals represent essential components of the medical model in psychotherapy. The model assumes that psychotherapists who work with the same type of clients and who identify with the same theoretical approach work very similarly. This study illustrates the shortcomings of that assumption and explores how therapists’ individuality forms and shapes their unique approaches that resonate with their own personalities, inclinations, and worldviews. Semi-structured interviews with eight Gestalt therapists working with clients who experienced medically unexplained physical symptoms were analysed using the grounded theory method. Considerable differences were found among the therapists within four domains of the personal therapeutic approach, namely Case Conceptualization, Therapeutic Task, Therapist’s Position, and Alternative Strategy. However, regardless of the differences, all the therapists endeavoured, either implicitly or explicitly, to convey to the clients what they considered to be healthy functioning. There is considerable diversity in the way therapists work even when they subscribe to the same psychotherapeutic approach and work with the same type of clients. The exploration of psychotherapists’ usual strategies, as well as the alternative strategies they use when their usual strategies do not work, appears helpful for capturing their personal therapeutic approaches.
Characterization of the chirp and intensity modulation properties of an SOA-MZI wavelength converter

Wavelength converters based on cross-phase modulation in semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) in the arms of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) provide a key network element for reconfigurable optical networks that incorporate wavelength routing. For system design purposes, the properties of the intensity and phase (chirp) modulation of the wavelength-converted signal for an SOA-MZI wavelength converter are important. In this paper, the small-signal /spl alpha/ parameter, which characterizes the converter chirp, and the conversion frequency response are characterized experimentally for an integrated all-active SOA-MZI wavelength converter. For both co- and counterpropagating signals, the variation of the a parameter along the interference and conversion curves is considered in detail. Three optical modulators with quite different chirp properties are used to generate the modulated input signal to the wavelength converter. The results demonstrate that the chirp of the wavelength-converted signal is primarily determined by the device properties and the intensity of the modulated input signal. The a parameter of the wavelength-converted signal is negative for noninverting operation and positive for inverting operation. An important contribution of the paper is the detailed assessment of this key device characteristic. The experimental characterization of the wavelength converter is incorporated into a device model that can be used to obtain the pulse response. Calculated and measured results for the time dependence of the intensity and chirp of the wavelength-converted signal are in good agreement. The conversion frequency response for the intensity modulation is also measured along the conversion curve. The 3-dB bandwidth is found to be generally about 8-10 GHz.
Foundations of Software and System Performance Engineering: Process, Performance Modeling, Requirements, Testing, Scalability, and Practice

If this book had been available to Healthcare.govs contractors, and they read and followed its life cycle performance processes, there would not have been the enormous problems apparent in that application. In my 40+ years of experience in building leading-edge products, poor performance is the single most frequent cause of the failure or cancellation of software-intensive projects. This book provides techniques and skills necessary to implement performance engineering at the beginning of a project and manage it throughout the products life cycle. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Don Shafer, CSDP, Technical Fellow, Athens Group, LLC Poor performance is a frequent cause of software project failure. Performance engineering can be extremely challenging. In Foundations of Software and System Performance Engineering, leading software performance expert Dr. Andr Bondi helps you create effective performance requirements up front, and then architect, develop, test, and deliver systems that meet them. Drawing on many years of experience at Siemens, ATT plan for diverse workloads; evaluate scalability, capacity, and responsiveness; and test both individual components and entire systems. Throughout, Bondi helps you link performance engineering with everything else you do in the software life cycle, so you can achieve the right performancenow and in the futureat lower cost and with less pain. This guide will help you Mitigate the business and engineering risk associated with poor system performance Specify system performance requirements in business and engineering terms Identify metrics for comparing performance requirements with actual performance Verify the accuracy of measurements Use simple mathematical models to make predictions, plan performance tests, and anticipate the impact of changes to the system or the load placed upon it Avoid common performance and scalability mistakes Clarify business and engineering needs to be satisfied by given levels of throughput and response time Incorporate performance engineering into agile processes Help stakeholders of a system make better performance-related decisions Manage stakeholders expectations about system performance throughout the software life cycle, and deliver a software product with quality performance Andr B. Bondi is a senior staff engineer at Siemens Corp., Corporate Technologies in Princeton, New Jersey. His specialties include performance requirements, performance analysis, modeling, simulation, and testing. Bondi has applied his industrial and academic experience to the solution of performance issues in many problem domains. In addition to holding a doctorate in computer science and a masters in statistics, he is a Certified Scrum Master.
Decellularized Extracellular Matrix Powder Accelerates Metabolic Maturation at Early Stages of Cardiac Differentiation in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes

During fetal development, cardiomyocytes switch from glycolysis to oxidative metabolism to sustain the energy requirements of functional cells. State-of-the-art cardiac differentiation protocols yield phenotypically immature cardiomyocytes, and common methods to improve metabolic maturation require multistep protocols to induce maturation only after cardiac specification is completed. Here, we describe a maturation method using ventricle-derived decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) that promoted early-stage metabolic maturation of cardiomyocytes differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). Chemically and architecturally preserved particles (45–500 μm) of pig ventricular dECM were added to hiPSCs at the start of differentiation. At the end of our maturation protocol (day 15 of cardiac differentiation), we observed an intimate interaction between cardiomyocytes and dECM particles without impairment of cardiac differentiation efficiency (approx. 70% of cTNT+). Compared with control cells (those cultured without pig dECM), 15-day-old dECM-treated cardiomyocytes demonstrated increased expression of markers related to cardiac metabolic maturation, MAPK1, FOXO1, and FOXO3, and a switch from ITGA6 (the immature integrin isoform) to ITGA3 and ITGA7 (those present in adult cardiomyocytes). Electrical parameters and responsiveness to dobutamine also improved in pig ventricular dECM-treated cells. Extending the culture time to 30 days, we observed a switch from glucose to fatty acid metabolism, indicated by decreased glucose uptake and increased fatty acid consumption in cells cultured with dECM. Together, these data suggest that dECM contains endogenous cues that enable metabolic maturation of hiPSC-CMs at early stages of cardiac differentiation.
An Individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy App for People with Dementia and Carers: Results from a Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)

Background There is a lack of digital resources that support the cognition and quality of life (QoL) of people with dementia. The individual cognitive stimulation therapy application (iCST app) aims to provide cognitive stimulation and social interaction to people with dementia and carers through interactive touch-screen technology. This study set out to determine the feasibility of conducting a full-scale, randomized controlled trial (RCT) with the iCST app. Methods This was a single blind, feasibility RCT including people with mild to moderate dementia and their carers. Multiple trial components were assessed including recruitment and retention rates, intervention fidelity and usability, and acceptability of the outcome assessments which included measures of cognition and QoL. A sample of the intervention group was invited to a semi-structured post-trial interview to examine the experience of using the iCST app. Results Sixty-one dyads were randomised to the iCST app (n = 31) or treatment-as-usual (TAU) control group (n = 30) for 11 weeks. In the iCST app group, 77% used the intervention for 20 minutes or more each week. Carers using the iCST app rated their QoL better at follow-up 2 compared to the TAU control group (EQ-5D, MD = 7.69, 95% CI = 2.32–13.06, p = 0.006). No significant differences were found on the other outcome measures. Conclusion The iCST app was deemed usable and enjoyable. Most participants completed the activities more quickly than anticipated and did not have enough activities to continue using the app frequently. Expansion of the iCST app is needed to maintain engagement for longer. Findings indicate that computerised cognitive stimulation can be beneficial, and a large-scale RCT is feasible with modifications to trial components. The results are relevant to researchers, software developers, policy-makers, people with dementia and carers who are looking to be involved in such interventions. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03282877. Registered on 19 July 2017.
Comparison of Different Post-Processing Algorithms for Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast Perfusion Imaging of Multiple Sclerosis Lesions: A Time to Peak Analysis

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate, in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions, the diagnostic performance of two different commercial post-processing MR perfusion software. These two different algorithms for processing Dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) perfusion images have been used to differentiate perfusion values among white matter (WM) lesions, normal appearing white matter (NAWM), and grey matter (GM) in MS. The diagnostic performance for diff erentiating among lesions and normal tissue has been measured with respect to the Time to Peak (TTP). Methods and analysis: Analysing DSC perfusion imaging, a retrospective study has been performed on 74 MS patients and 15 normal subjects, by using 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner. TTP maps were generated by using 2 different commercially available algorithms (A;B). Analysis was conducted for the evaluation of diagnostic performance of different algorithms for differentiating between lesions and normal appearing WM and GM. Results: A statistically significant difference between the two algorithms was demonstrated by comparing TTP values among recent, stable lesions and NAWM. TTP values have been used to discriminate among recent, stable lesions and NAWM by using two different software packages. Conclusion: The optimal software should be that which increases the temporal resolution and be not operator dependent. TTP has been able to 1) examine the variability in the quantitative results of DSC MR perfusion imaging generated from identical source data of MS patients, 2) to identify the variables between two commercial post-processing algorithm and 3) to focus on the crucial role of post-processing inter-vendor differences.
Assessment of systemic joint laxity in the clinical context: Relevance and replicability of the Beighton score in chronic fatigue

BACKGROUND: Persistent symptoms in patients with systemic joint laxity (SJL) are often equivalent with complications. Screening for SJL is an important part of the assessment of musculoskeletal phenotype. The common measuring tool, the Beighton score (BS), still has unclear evidence. OBJECTIVE: To assess the Beighton score in a clinical context for (1) ability to classify SJL as absent or present (criterion validity), and (2) interrater reliability (physician-physiotherapist), for a dichotomous cut-off (yes/no), as well as for interpretation in categories (no, some, clear SJL). METHODS: This real-world observational study included 149 consecutive patients seeking secondary care for investigation of possible myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Assessment was done during a routine examination. Data were evaluated with Cohen’s kappa and Spearman’s rho. RESULTS: BS criterion validity showed poor agreement with the assessment of SJL: percentage agreement was 74 % and kappa 0.39 (3-cut level), 73 % and kappa 0.39/0.45 (4-/5-cut level). The best interrater reliability was moderate (rho 0.66) for interpretation in categories. CONCLUSIONS: The BS alone was not a reliable proxy for SJL and should be supplemented with a targeted history. Nevertheless, its interrater reliability was acceptable, and the categorised score appears to have greater clinical relevance than the dichotomous score.