Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of socio-demographic status and risk factors in mortality from external causes

Results. The risk of mortality from external causes among men was positively related to smoking habits and arterial hypertension and negatively related to education level and total serum cholesterol concentration, but there was no association with alcohol consumption. The risk of suicide mortality was associated to family status and occupation only. Trends in the mortality from all external causes showed no significant changes during 1971–2000. After adjusting for age and cohort effects, the period effect was found to be statistically significant. Conclusion. Prognosis of risk factors of the mortality from external causes and period effect on suicide mortality rates will form important parts of future research agendas.
Impedance method with interpolation applied to skin impedance modeling

A new approach based on the use of interpolation for the electric potential is proposed to increase the accuracy of field calculation using the impedance method. In each voxel of a three-dimensional grid, the electric field is calculated from the potential interpolation function and is used as a solution of the continuity equation. The system of node equations is then solved and the resulting potential distribution obtained allows making the calculation of the electric field and current in each voxel. In this work, the proposed method was used to estimate the sensitivity of a tetrapolar probe in detecting small regions of increased conductivity in a stratified model of human skin. The simulations indicated that inserting a tumor in the epidermis with area 1 mm2 and admittivity fourfold than the normal tissue the load impedance to the current source varies from about 1% while the transfer impedance shows much greater variation, about 8%. Additionally, it was found that the sensitivity of the transfer impedance shows a maximum for electrodes of 1 mm in diameter with spacing of 1.8 mm and for both impedances the sensitivity is independent of the frequency.
Comparison of antioxidant components and antioxidant capacity in different parts of nutmeg (Myristica fragrans)

This study aimed to determine and compare antioxidant components and antioxidant capacity in different parts (skin, pulp, mace and seed) of nutmeg. Freeze dried samples were extracted using 80% methanol, while Folin-Ciocalteu assay was employed to determine total phenolic content, aluminium chloride assay was applied to determine total flavonoid content and ascorbic acid was assessed by titrimetric method. Antioxidant activities were evaluated by ferric reducing antioxidant power and trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assays. Results revealed that nutmeg seed contained the highest TPC followed by mace, skin and pulp. Similar observation was also found for TFC. The highest ascorbic acid content was found in nutmeg mace, while the lowest was in its pulp. For antioxidant activity, nutmeg seed possessed the highest FRAP and TEAC values, while nutmeg pulp had the lowest as compared to other parts. Phenolic compounds in nutmeg samples have exhibited strong correlation with antioxidant capacity. Therefore, nutmeg is a potential functional food with high antioxidants, especially nutmeg seed. Phenolic compounds in nutmeg samples have exhibited strong correlation with antioxidant capacity. Therefore, nutmeg is a potential functional food with high antioxidants, especially nutmeg seed.
AIAA 2004-1262 Application of Object-Oriented Design Patterns to a CFD code with an Adaptive Mesh Refinement

Object-Oriented design patterns for a general CFD code were suggested, and were also applied to an Adaptive Mesh Refinement(AMR) using unstructured mesh. For a test computation, the shock tuble problem is solved. In addtion, a run-time speed between a procedural and OOP code is compared. The run-time speed of the C++ code is about 7 times as slow as the Fortran code. However, the flexibilty and reusability of the code are dramatically enhanced by OOP.
THE SHOUT OUT DYNAMIC 2 . 1 Choosing the Initial News

A useful approach for enabling computers to automatically create new content is utilizing the text, media, and information already present on the World Wide Web. The newly created content is known as "machine-generated content". For example, a machine-generated content system may create a multimedia news show with two animated anchors presenting a news story; one anchor reads the news story with text taken from an existing news article, and the other anchor regularly interrupts with his or her own opinion about the story. In this paper, we present such a system, and describe in detail its strategy for autonomously extracting and selecting the opinions given by the second anchor.
Institutional analysis of irrigation management in Uzbekistan using Qualitative Comparative Analysis: Case studies of water consumers associations in Bukhara region

Given the fact that water consumers associations (WCAs) in Uzbekistan were established about a decade ago in a top-down fashion to maintain on-farm water facilities, using fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis tool this paper attempted at determining sets of conditions that are necessary and sufficient to achieve an outcome. The study followed the logic of abductive approach, where sets of theories were adjusted based on the empirical field stint. Institutional economics perspective was applied to identify rural farmers’ behavior in the management of common pool resources (CPRs). The study took place in Bukhara region – southwestern part of Uzbekistan – and involved focus group discussions with members of fifteen WCAs using semi-structured interview format. Three sets of conditions (appropriate chairmanship skills [ACS], proper water allocation [PWA], and effective participatory governance [EPG]) were found to be important for explaining the outcome (improved maintenance of irrigation canals [IMC]). The analysis of necessary conditions indicated that neither condition ACS nor PWA nor EPG is necessary for IMC on its own. The same finding was apparent for the complements of the three conditions, ~ACS, ~PWA, ~EPG. In the meantime, the analysis of necessary conditions for unions of conditions (logical OR) revealed that the terms of PWA OR EPG (i.e. PWA+EPG) is necessary to achieve the outcome. However, their presence is not sufficient. The result for sufficiency analysis highlighted that no single condition alone is sufficient to achieve IMC. The results for combinations of conditions showed that the presence of ACS AND PWA AND EPG (i.e. ACS*PWA*EPG) is sufficient for achieving the outcome, IMC. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that when these conditions are present simultaneously, there is a great chance of improving CPR use within WCA territories.
Analysis on oil whirl of gas turbine rotor-bearing system

An unbalanced dual-disks rotor-bearing model was built to study the dynamic behaviors of the rotor of a real gas turbine generator.Parameters were carefully set based on the running conditions and structure characteristics of the generator.A systematic numerical analysis was done and the results clearly show that the whirl development of the rotor can be divided into three stages as speed rises:(1) stable synchronous inertia whirl stage;(2) self-excited oil whirl and accumulation stage,at which the vibration energy transfers from inertia whirl to oil whirl;(3) instable oil whip stage.The characteristics of each stage were discussed comprehensively.Special effort was done to study the influence of unbalance on the whirl progress,amplitude spectrum and stability of the system.The results were verified by several experimental studies.It shows that the model in the paper can be used to analyze the integrated dynamic behaviors of gas turbine rotor.
Key issues in the analysis of piles in liquefying soils

Two methods for analysis of piles in liquefying soils are discussed in this paper: an advanced method for dynamic analysis based on the effective stress principle and a simplified analysis based on the pseudo-static approach. The former method aims at an accurate simulation of the complex liquefaction process and soil-pile interaction while the latter is a design-oriented approach that uses conventional engineering parameters and modelling for estimation of the maximum pile response. This paper discusses some key issues in the implementation of these analysis methods with reference to the assumptions used in modelling the soil-pile interaction in liquefying soils.
E-business, organizational innovation and firm performance in manufacturing SMEs: an empirical study in Spain

AbstractThis paper extends previous studies on the organizational impact of Internet technologies by analyzing factors affecting e-business use and its effect on organizational innovation in manufacturing Small and Medium-Size Enterprises (SMEs). In addition, the mediating effect of organizational innovation on the relationship between e-business and firm performance is analyzed. Grounded in the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) theory and the Knowledge-Based View (KBV), this paper develops an integrative research model which analyzes those relations using partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling on a dataset of 175 Spanish manufacturing SMEs. Results suggest that e-business use emerges from technological and internal organizational resources rather than from external pressure. In addition, results show that e-business use contributes positively to firm performance through organizational innovation.
Cytokines Expressed in the Granulomatous Lesions in Experimental Paracoccidioidomycosis: Role in Host Protective Immunity and as Fungal Virulence Factor

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a systemic granulomatous disease caused by the fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb). In the murine model of PCM, susceptible (S) mice develop disseminated disease with loose granulomas containing several viable fungi whereas resistant (R) mice show low fungal dissemination and encapsulated granulomas with few numbers of degenerated fungal cells. Here, we report the results of the expression of mRNA of these cytokines, as well as their distribution in the paracoccidioidomycotic granulomatous lesions and a semi quantitative score, that was correlated with the histological and biological data. Overall, our data show that the total area of granulomatous lesions and the relative areas of lesions containing Pb were, respectively, 1.2x and 1.9x more extensive in S than in the R mice. Also, the expression of IFN-γ and TNF-α mRNA was, respectively, 8x and 11x higher R mice and immunohistochemistry showed that the number of IFN-γ cells was 2.5x higher in R than in S mice. However, TNF-positivity was similar in the granulomas from S and R mice. In contrast, TGF-β mRNAs was 1.2x more expressed in S mice and this inhibitory cytokine was detected in higher concentration in the omental tissue from S mice. We hypothesize that the infection of R mice by Pb leads to the preferential synthesis of TNF-α and IFN-γ that promote macrophage activation, probably enhancing Pb killing and control of fungal dissemination, in parallel with the development of compact granulomatous lesions containing few fungi. On the other hand, the infection of S mice elicits preferential synthesis of TGF-β that deactivates macrophages and may inhibit Pb killing by macrophages, favoring fungal dissemination and formation of loose granulomatous lesions. The positivity to TGF-β in Pb yeast cells may consist in a virulence factor of Pb, inducing the suppressive milieu that favors fungal dissemination.
Seismic Performance of Steel Plate Shear Walls Considering Two Different Design Philosophies of Infill Plates. II: Assessment of Collapse Potential

AbstractAssessment of collapse potential and seismic performance was conducted for steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) having infill plates designed per two different philosophies. This assessment was first conducted on SPSWs that were designed neglecting the contribution of their boundary moment resisting frames to resist story shear forces. This assessment of collapse potential was repeated for SPSWs that were designed considering the sharing of story shear forces between the boundary frames and infill plates. Based on these assessments, seismic performance factors [i.e., response modification coefficient (R-factor), system overstrength Ω0 factor, and deflection amplification Cd factor] for both types of SPSWs were identified and compared. Adjustments to improve collapse performance and factors that affect collapse potential were presented. Collapse fragility curves for archetypes with various structural configurations (i.e., panel aspect ratio, intensity level of seismic weight, and number of stories) were.
Technological Determinants of Compelling Consumer Information-Seeking Experiences in the Online Medium

Experiences as purposefully designed commercial settings provide consumers a way to engage physically, mentally, socially and spiritually in the consumption of a product or service, which in turn ensure value-added to those product and services. The present paper discusses the prerequisites of creating extraordinary information-seeking experiences both for consumers preparing to make buying decisions and for those looking for information gathering as a source of entertainment. We propose an in-depth analysis of the online navigation systems’ design features and their influence on consumers’ emotional and cognitive involvement in information-seeking tasks, as they have been previously conceptualized and empirically tested by online flow research.
Comment on "Reduced efficacy of marine cloud brightening geoengineering due to in-plume aerosol coagulation: parameterization and global implications"

We examine the parameterized model of Stuart et al. (2013) vis-à-vis a diffusion-based model proposed by us earlier (Anand and Mayya, 2011) to estimate the fraction of aerosol particles surviving coagulation in a dispersing plume. While the Stuart et al. approach is based on the solutions to the coagulation problem in an expanding plume model, the diffusion-based approach solves the diffusion–coagulation equation for a steady-state standing plume to arrive at the survival fraction correlations. We discuss the differences in the functional forms of the survival fraction expressions obtained in the two approaches and compare the results for the case studies presented in Stuart et al. (2013) involving different particle emission rates and atmospheric stability categories. There appears to be a better agreement between the two models at higher survival fractions as compared to lower survival fractions; on the whole, the two models agree with each other within a difference of 10 %. The diffusion-based expression involves a single exponent fit to a theoretically generated similarity variable combining the parameters of the problem with inbuilt exponents and hence avoids the multi-exponent parameterization exercise. It also possesses a wider range of applicability in respect of the source and atmospheric parameters as compared to that based on parameterization. However, in the diffusion model, the choice of a representative value for the coagulation coefficient is more prescriptive than rigorous, which has been addressed in a more satisfactory manner by the parameterization method. The present comparative exercise, although limited in scope, confirms the importance of aerosol microphysical processes envisaged by Stuart et al. for cloud brightening applications. In a larger context, it seems to suggest that either of the two forms of expressions might be suitable for incorporation into global-/regional-scale air pollution models for predicting the contribution of localized sources to the particle number loading in the atmosphere.
Identification of selection signatures in South African sheep populations using HAPFLK and Bayesian Fst approaches

Department of Animal Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa Directorate Animal Sciences: Elsenburg, Private Bag X1, Elsenburg, 7607, South Africa Division of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA Informatics Institute, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA Annelind@sun.ac. za (Corresponding Author) Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, 7602
Spot blotch resistance in derivatives of European winter wheat

The effects of inoculum concentrations and the aggressiveness of spot blotch (Bipolaris sorokiniana (Sacc.) Shoemaker) isolates were evaluated on the resistance of 123 winter wheat advanced breeding lines developed from European winter wheat as well as on 3 control cultivars, BR8, BH1146, and Zentos. The test was conducted under laboratory conditions using a detached leaf technique. A total of 3 inoculum concentrations were used: 0.5 × 103, 1 × 103, and 5 × 103 spores mL-1. The results of the study revealed low resistance of the tested material when accessions were compared by the percentage of disease severity (DS), but considerably higher variability of resistance was determined when the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) was used for comparison. The correlations between DS and AUDPC across inoculum concentrations varied from medium to high (r = 0.559*-0.909**; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01) for isolates with higher aggressiveness, whereas it was high (r = 0.785**-0.939**) for those with lower aggressiveness. The correlations between DS and AUDPC across isolates were high (r = 0.769**-0.939**) for lower inoculum concentrations of 0.5 × 103 and 1 × 103, whereas they varied from medium to high (r = 0.559*-0.785**) for the highest spore concentration, 5 × 103. All of the concentrations can be successfully used for the evaluation of resistance considering DS development and the subsequent differentiation of accessions. However, the lower inoculum concentrations provided a higher differentiation of the accessions tested. Cultivar BR8, described in the literature as being resistant, exhibited the highest resistance among the accessions tested for AUDPC and DS, with results of 77.5 and 30.5%, respectively. Cultivar BH1146, referred to in the literature as having medium resistance, was evaluated by DS at 44.2% and by AUDPC at 146.4. About 23% of the accessions tested possessed the same resistance level as BH1146, or higher. Cultivars Dream, Aspirant, and Biscay were the most common among the ancestry of the most resistant lines. This suggests that it may be possible to select modern European winter wheat cultivars with sufficient spot blotch resistance when large numbers of accessions are screened.
Study on Long-Lifetime Evaluation Technique for Highly Reliable DC-DC Hybrid Power Supply

With the improvement of design and manufacture technologies,DC-DC hybrid power supply products with high reliability and long lifetime are widely used in various fields,and so it is of great significance to predict their lifetime.In this paper,reliability assessment and lifetime estimation were made on a high reliability DC-DC hybrid power supply using accelerated degradation testing.This work is significant for quality assurance and lifetime prediction of high-reliability and long-lifetime power supply products.
An investigation of the growth of bismuth whiskers and nanowires during physical vapour deposition

Bismuth thin films of thickness in the region of 500 nm have been prepared by planar magnetron sputtering onto glass, silicon and GaAs substrates. Electron microscopy of these films reveals that bismuth whiskers grow spontaneously when the substrate is heated to temperatures between 110ºC and 140ºC during deposition and the optimum temperature for such growth is largely independent of substrate. Depositing films under similar conditions using thermal evaporation does not, however, produce the whisker growth. X-ray diffraction has been employed to investigate film texture with temperature and it has been shown that the film crystallites are predominantly [110] and [111] oriented. The [110] orientation of the crystallites dominates at deposition temperatures above 110ºC for sputter deposition and the [111] at lower temperatures. The optimum temperature for whisker growth coincides with the temperature for the change between predominant orientations. While sputter deposition appears to favour films with crystallite orientation of [110], thermal evaporation favours [111] and has a higher change-over temperature. The whiskers that grow from the film emerge at off-normal angles between 43. 3º and 69. 2º with a mean of 54±3º. The projected length of whiskers on a 500 nm film on a GaAs substrate shows a wide distribution to a maximum of more than 100 µm. The mean projected length for this sample was 16±1
Improved Teaching-Learning-Based Optimization Algorithm for Modeling NOX Emissions of a Boiler

An improved teaching-learning-based optimization (I-TLBO) algorithm is proposed to adjust the parameters of extreme learning machine with parallel layer perception (PELM), and a well-generalized I-TLBO-PELM model is obtained to build the model of NOX emissions of a boiler. In the I-TLBO algorithm, there are four major highlights. Firstly, a quantum initialized population by using the qubits on Bloch sphere replaces a randomly initialized population. Secondly, two kinds of angles in Bloch sphere are generated by using cube chaos mapping. Thirdly, an adaptive control parameter is added into the teacher phase to speed up the convergent speed. And then, according to actual teaching-learning phenomenon of a classroom, students learn some knowledge not only by their teacher and classmates, but also by themselves. Therefore, a self-study strategy by using Gauss mutation is introduced after the learning phase to improve the exploration ability. Finally, we test the performance of the I-TLBO-PELM model. The experiment results show that the proposed model has better regression precision and generalization ability than eight other models.