Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Analytical Model of Spark Ignition Engine for Performance Prediction

The objective of this research is to develop mathematical model of spark ignition engine using cylinder-by-cylinder model approach in order to predict the performances; torque and power. The method is based on ideal Otto cycle and modified by equations which affect the performances. The model consists of set of tuning parameters such as engine physical geometries, ignition advanced, air/fuel ratio, etc. It is also developed under Matlab/Simulink. The results from simulation are verified with the data from commercial engines. Keyword: Spark ignition engine, Gasoline engine, Engine modeling, Cylinder-by-cylinder engine model, Engine simulation
Economic Uncertainty in the United States: Measurement and Trends

This paper uses data from the 1989–2007 U.S. Surveys of Consumer Finances to examine how different concepts and measures of economic vulnerability affect estimates of the prevalence of economic insecurity and the characteristics of households classified as “economically insecure. ” The household-level measures include indicators of: i) vulnerability to health, employment, or income shocks; ii) adequacy of household savings and income to offset adverse economic shocks; and iii) high current debt-payment burdens and other potential borrowing constraints. The measures offer little evidence of changes in households’ economic security since 1989. Economic security appears to increase with family income and the age of the household head; the relationship between education and economic security, however, may depend on the measure of economic security. Estimates of the share of families that are economically insecure vary widely and depend in large part on the number of criteria considered. * This paper represents the views of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Federal Reserve Board, its members, or its staff † Contact: brian.k. bucks@frb.gov
Characterisation of Quorum Sensing System and Its Role in Global Regulation in Hafnia alvei

Quorum sensing (QS) is a regulatory process achieved via cell-to-cell communication that involves release and detection of autoinducers (AIs), and which occurs in a wide range of bacteria. To date, QS has been associated with events of pathogenesis, biofilm formation, and antibiotic resistance in clinical, industrial, and agricultural contexts. The main objective of this study was to characterise the role of N-Acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) type QS in Hafnia alvei FB1, a bacterial strain isolated from frozen vacuum-packed fish paste meatballs, via identification of QS core genes using a genomic approach, followed by comparative transcriptomic profiling between QS-deficient mutants and wild-type strains. H. alvei FB1 is known to produce two types of AHLs, namely, N-(3-oxohexanoyl) homoserine lactone (3OC6-HSL) and N-(3-oxooctanoyl) homoserine lactone (3OC8-HSL). The complete genome sequence of strain FB1 was obtained and a single gene for AHL synthase (halI) and its cognate receptor (halR) were identified. QS-deficient mutants of FB1 were constructed via the λ-Red recombineering method. Removal of the QS genes in strain FB1 affected mainly mechanisms in cell division and nutrient uptake, as well as resistance to a number of antibiotics, which are crucial for survival, adaptation and colonisation of both food and the host gut environment. Impact statement Members of the genus Hafnia are known as opportunistic pathogens in both nosocomial and community-acquired infections. However, the involvement and mechanism of pathogenesis of Hafnia in infectious diseases remains uncertain. We investigatd the role of the signalling molecule group, N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs), in a Hafnia alvei strain, since AHLs play important roles in pathogenicity, survival or adaptation in other pathogens. The comparative transcriptomic study revealed that AHLs are involved in mechanisms in cell division and nutrient uptake, as well as resistance to a number of antibiotics, which are crucial for survival, adaptation and colonisation of both food and the host gut environment. These findings provide insight into possible strategies to combat this opportunistic pathogen. Data summary Genome sequence is deposited in NCBI GenBank under accession number CP009706. The transcriptomic data have been deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gds) under accession number GSE93000.
Fernandes-Rosa FL;Williams TA;Riester A;Steichen O;Beuschlein F;Boulkroun S;Strom TM;Monticone S;Amar L;Meatchi T;Mantero F;Cicala MV;Quinkler M;Fallo F;Allolio B;Bernini G;Maccario M;Giacchetti G;Jeunemaitre X;Mulatero P;Reincke M;Zennaro MC. Genetic spectrum and clinical correlates of somatic muta

Primary aldosteronism is the most common form of secondary hypertension. Somatic mutations in KCNJ5, ATP1A1, ATP2B3, and CACNA1D have been described in aldosterone‐producing adenomas (APAs). Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of somatic mutations in these genes in unselected patients with APA (n=474), collected through the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumors. Correlations with clinical and biochemical parameters were first analyzed in a subset of 199 patients from a single center and then replicated in 2 additional centers. Somatic heterozygous KCNJ5 mutations were present in 38% (180/474) of APAs, whereas ATP1A1 mutations were found in 5.3% (25/474) and ATP2B3 mutations in 1.7% (8/474) of APAs. Previously reported somatic CACNA1D mutations as well as 10 novel CACNA1D mutations were identified in 44 of 474 (9.3%) APAs. There was no difference in the cellular composition of APAs or in CYP11B2, CYP11B1, KCNJ5, CACNA1D, or ATP1A1 gene expression in APAs across genotypes. Patients with KCNJ5 mutations were more frequently female, diagnosed younger, and with higher minimal plasma potassium concentrations compared with CACNA1D mutation carriers or noncarriers. CACNA1D mutations were associated with smaller adenomas. These associations were largely dependent on the population structure of the different centers. In conclusion, recurrent somatic mutations were identified in 54% of APAs. Young women with APAs are more likely to be KCNJ5 mutation carriers; identification of specific characteristics or surrogate biomarkers of mutation status may lead to targeted treatment options.
The influence of upper abdominal surgery on perioperative morbidity and mortality in patients with advanced ovarian cancer FIGO III and FIGO IV

Kuhn W, Florack G, Roder J, Schmalfeldt B, Pache L, Rust M, Ulm K, Spathe K, Janicke F, Siewert JR, Graeff H. The influence of upper abdominal surgery on peri-operative morbidity and mortality in patients with advanced ovarian cancer FIGO III and FIGO IV. Int J Gynecol Cancer 1998; 8: 56-63. Tumor debulking procedures are routinely performed in advanced ovarian cancer patients, however, data on perioperative morbidity and mOCtality due to specific organ-oriented procedures are few. In a retrospective analysis, peri-operative morbidity and mortality as well as overall survival were analyzed in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. 41 patients (group A) underwent upper abdominal surgery. In 66 patients (group B), standard debulking procedure without upper abdominal SUCgery was performed. All data of surgical and peri-operative intensive care therapy differed significantly in both groups (P 〈 0.01). The morbidity was also significantly different. In group A, serious complications (including mortality) were significantly more often seen in patients undergoing splenectomy, cholecystectomy and partial pancreatic resection (n = 23) than in patients requiring only resection of the diaphragmatiC peritoneum (n = 18) (P = 0.045). Tumor-free patients in both groups had a longer median survival time than patients with residual tumor (group A: 71 vs. 15 months; group B: 〉 60 vs. 17 months, P 〈 0.01). Resection of tumorous diaphragmatic peritoneum suggests that survival improves if complete tumor removal is feasible. Other forms of upper abdominal surgery, including splenectomy and partial pancreatic resection, have a high rate of morbidity and mortality and probably no benefit in terms of survival. Therefore the risk-benefit ratio of these latter procedures has to be evaluated separately in each case.
Frequent template switching in postreplication gaps: suppression of deleterious consequences by the Escherichia coli Uup and RadD proteins

Abstract When replication forks encounter template DNA lesions, the lesion is simply skipped in some cases. The resulting lesion-containing gap must be converted to duplex DNA to permit repair. Some gap filling occurs via template switching, a process that generates recombination-like branched DNA intermediates. The Escherichia coli Uup and RadD proteins function in different pathways to process the branched intermediates. Uup is a UvrA-like ABC family ATPase. RadD is a RecQ-like SF2 family ATPase. Loss of both functions uncovers frequent and RecA-independent deletion events in a plasmid-based assay. Elevated levels of crossing over and repeat expansions accompany these deletion events, indicating that many, if not most, of these events are associated with template switching in postreplication gaps as opposed to simple replication slippage. The deletion data underpin simulations indicating that multiple postreplication gaps may be generated per replication cycle. Both Uup and RadD bind to branched DNAs in vitro. RadD protein suppresses crossovers and Uup prevents nucleoid mis-segregation. Loss of Uup and RadD function increases sensitivity to ciprofloxacin. We present Uup and RadD as genomic guardians. These proteins govern two pathways for resolution of branched DNA intermediates such that potentially deleterious genome rearrangements arising from frequent template switching are averted.
A Fog Computing Enabled Virtual Power Plant Model for Delivery of Frequency Restoration Reserve Services

Nowadays, centralized energy grid systems are transitioning towards more decentralized systems driven by the need for efficient local integration of new deployed small scale renewable energy sources. The high limits for accessing the energy markets and also for the delivery of ancillary services act as a barrier for small scale prosumers participation forcing the implementation of new cooperative business models at the local level. This paper is proposing a fog computing infrastructure for the local management of energy systems and the creation of coalitions of prosumers able to provide ancillary services to the grid. It features an edge devices layer for energy monitoring of individual prosumers, a fog layer providing Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) techniques for managing local energy systems by implementing cooperative models, and a cloud layer where the service specific technical requirements are defined. On top, a model has been defined allowing the dynamical construction of coalitions of prosumers as Virtual Power Plants at the fog layer for the provisioning of frequency restoration reserve services while considering both the prosumers’ local constraints and the service ones as well as the constituents’ profit maximization. Simulation results show our solution effectiveness in selecting the optimal coalition of prosumers to reliably deliver the service meeting the technical constraints while featuring a low time and computation overhead being feasible to be run closer to the edge.
The influence of traumatic brain injury on the allocation of vertical spatial attention

ABSTRACT Objective: Research on impairments of spatial attention has primarily investigated hemispatial neglect in brain-lesioned patients, revealing decrements in the allocation of attention to right versus left egocentric or allocentric hemispace. Whereas head trauma might injure those parts of the brain that allocate vertical attention, little is known about the influence of trauma on the allocation of visuospatial attention in vertical space. Thus, the goal of this study was to learn if chronic moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (m/sTBI) alters the allocation of vertical visuospatial attention as assessed by the Attention Network Task (ANT). The ANT assesses the influence of Posner-type spatial cues and distractors using an Eriksen flanker task. Methods: 12 chronic m/sTBI patients and 12 demographically-matched neurologically-healthy controls (HCs) completed a version of the ANT wherein trials were coded for cue and target locations above and below central visual fixation. Trial-wise reaction times (RT) and accuracy were subjected to mixed-model ANOVAs and planned contrasts. Results: These data were subject to secondary analyses, which revealed that across groups, median RTs were significantly faster when targets occurred above than below the central visual fixation (p < .01); however, only HCs’ error rates differed as a function of target altitude. Unlike controls, m/sTBI survivors did not exhibit the anticipated upward error-rate attentional bias. Conclusions: As alteration of spatial attention can be a major cause of disability, present findings suggest that m/sTBI survivors exhibit this loss of normal upward attentional bias. Future studies are need to learn if these patients might benefit from treatment.
Integrating a gait analysis test in hospital rehabilitation: A service design approach

BACKGROUND Gait analysis with motion capture (MoCap) during rehabilitation can provide objective information to facilitate treatment decision making. However, designing a test to be integrated into healthcare services requires considering multiple design factors. The difficulty of integrating a 'micro-service' (gait test) within a 'macro-service' (healthcare service) has received little attention in the gait analysis literature. It is a challenge that goes beyond the gait analysis case study because service design methods commonly focus on the entire service design (macro-level). OBJECTIVE This study aims to extract design considerations and generate guidelines to integrate MoCap technology for gait analysis in the hospital rehabilitation setting. Specifically, the aim is to design a gait test to assess the response of the applied treatments through pre- and post-measurement sessions. METHODS We focused on patients with spasticity who received botulinum toxin treatment. A qualitative research design was used to investigate the integration of a gait analysis system based on inertial measurement units in a rehabilitation service at a reference hospital. The methodological approach was based on contrasted methodologies from the service design field, which materialise through observation techniques (during system use), semi-structured interviews, and workshops with healthcare professionals (13 patients, 10 'proxies', and 6 doctors). RESULTS The analysis resulted in six themes: (1) patients' understanding, (2) guiding the gait tests, (3) which professionals guide the gait tests, (4) gait test reports, (5) requesting gait tests (doctors and test guide communication), and the (6) conceptual design of the service with the gait test. CONCLUSIONS The extracted design considerations and guidelines increase the applicability and usefulness of the gait analysis technology, improving the link between technologists and healthcare professionals. The proposed methodological approach can also be useful for service design teams that deal with the integration of one service into another.
Noncardiac co – morbidities in elderly patients with heart failure

Background: The population of elderly persons with heart failure (HF) is on the increase, and HF is associated with multiple morbidities, but the common noncard'iac comorbidities have not been established. Objective: The objective of the study is to determine the common noncard'iac comorbidities in elderly patients with HF. Materials and Methods: The following data were retrieved from the HF register demographics: cause of HF, type of HF (reduced or preserved ejection fraction), and comorbidities. The comorbidities were: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), renal dysfunction, osteoarthritis, and cerebrovascular accident (CVA). The others were: diabetes mellitus (DM), anemia, obesity, and cancer. The frequencies of these comorbidities were determined. Student's t-test and Chi-square tests were applied as appropriate. Results: There were 204 cases; the mean age was 74.73 ± 7.34 years. The frequencies of comorbidities were: DM 68 (33.3%), renal dysfunction 53 (26%), osteoarthritis 44 (21.6%), and COPD 29 (14.2%). The others were: anemia 26 (12.7%), CVA 18 (8.8%), obesity 8 (3.9%), and cancer 3 (1.5%). The prevalence of HF with reduced and preserved ejection fraction was 88 (43.1%) and 116 (56.9%), respectively. The association between the number of comorbidities and the type of HF (HF with reduced ejection fraction or HF with preserved ejection fraction) yielded a P = 0.068. Conclusion: The common noncardiac comorbidities in elderly HF patients are DM, renal dysfunction, and osteoarthritis. These conditions should be actively sought for in every elderly patient with HF for more holistic management and better prognosis.
Supplementation of kaempferol to in vitro maturation medium regulates oxidative stress and enhances subsequent embryonic development in vitro

Summary Kaempferol (KAE) is one of the most common dietary flavonols possessing biological activities such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Although previous studies have reported the biological activity of KAE on a variety of cells, it is not clear whether KAE plays a similar role in oocyte and embryo in vitro culture systems. This study investigated the effect of KAE addition to in vitro maturation on the antioxidant capacity of embryos in porcine oocytes after parthenogenetic activation. The effects of kaempferol on oocyte quality in porcine oocytes were studied based on the expression of related genes, reactive oxygen species, glutathione and mitochondrial membrane potential as criteria. The rate of blastocyst formation was significantly higher in oocytes treated with 0.1 µm KAE than in control oocytes. The mRNA level of the apoptosis-related gene Caspase-3 was significantly lower in the blastocysts derived from KAE-treated oocytes than in the control group and the mRNA expression of the embryo development-related genes COX2 and SOX2 was significantly increased in the KAE-treated group compared with that in the control group. Furthermore, the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species was significantly decreased and that of glutathione was significantly increased after KAE treatment. Mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) was increased and the activity of Caspase-3 was significantly decreased in the KAE-treated group compared with that in the control group. Taken together, these results suggested that KAE is beneficial for the improvement of embryo development by inhibiting oxidative stress in porcine oocytes.
Ethnically diverse urban transmission networks of Neisseria gonorrhoeae without evidence of HIV serosorting

Objective We aimed to characterise gonorrhoea transmission patterns in a diverse urban population by linking genomic, epidemiological and antimicrobial susceptibility data. Methods Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates from patients attending sexual health clinics at Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK, during an 11-month period underwent whole-genome sequencing and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. We combined laboratory and patient data to investigate the transmission network structure. Results One hundred and fifty-eight isolates from 158 patients were available with associated descriptive data. One hundred and twenty-nine (82%) patients identified as male and 25 (16%) as female; four (3%) records lacked gender information. Self-described ethnicities were: 51 (32%) English/Welsh/Scottish; 33 (21%) white, other; 23 (15%) black British/black African/black, other; 12 (8%) Caribbean; 9 (6%) South Asian; 6 (4%) mixed ethnicity; and 10 (6%) other; data were missing for 14 (9%). Self-reported sexual orientations were 82 (52%) men who have sex with men (MSM); 49 (31%) heterosexual; 2 (1%) bisexual; data were missing for 25 individuals. Twenty-two (14%) patients were HIV positive. Whole-genome sequence data were generated for 151 isolates, which linked 75 (50%) patients to at least one other case. Using sequencing data, we found no evidence of transmission networks related to specific ethnic groups (p=0.64) or of HIV serosorting (p=0.35). Of 82 MSM/bisexual patients with sequencing data, 45 (55%) belonged to clusters of ≥2 cases, compared with 16/44 (36%) heterosexuals with sequencing data (p=0.06). Conclusion We demonstrate links between 50% of patients in transmission networks using a relatively small sample in a large cosmopolitan city. We found no evidence of HIV serosorting. Our results do not support assortative selectivity as an explanation for differences in gonorrhoea incidence between ethnic groups.
Multiple Sessions of High-Frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as a Potential Treatment for Gambling Addiction: A 3-Month, Feasibility Study

Gambling disorder (GD) is a behavioral addiction, in which dysfunctions in prefrontal activity have been proposed as relevant pathophysiological correlates. The aim of the present study was to preliminarily investigate the feasibility of a noninvasive neuromodulation intervention targeting the prefrontal cortex to treat GD in an open-label setting. We included 8 treatment-seeking patients with GD (7 males; 1 female; mean age: 40.6 ± 11.2). The study consisted of 3 phases: (1) outpatient screening phase, (2) 2-week intensive repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment phase (twice daily, 5 days/week for 2 weeks); and (3) 3-month maintenance follow-up phase (twice daily, once a week). Each high-frequency (15 Hz) rTMS session was delivered targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. GD severity and treatment response were assessed at the baseline and during the follow-up. No relevant side effect was reported. We found a 71.2% Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale mean score reduction after 2 weeks of rTMS treatment; the days spent gambling decreased from 19.63 ± 7.96 to 0.13 ± 0.35 days. Clinical improvements were maintained throughout the study period. The lack of a control group limits the interpretation of these results. In conclusion, these results consolidate the rationale that rTMS interventions deserve further investigation as a potential treatment for GD. These protocols should be tested in larger randomized controlled studies, to determine the real benefits of neuromodulation in the clinical course of patients with GD. Registration Number: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03336879.
Through-Wall Acoustically Linked Temperature Sensor

In this paper we demonstrate the possibility of “through-wall” temperature measurement via the acoustically coupled PZT transducers operated at the frequency of 12 MHz. Temperature measurement was done by thermistor attached to hotplate and electrically connected via the matching network to the PZT transducer. Temperature dependent electrical impedance variation of PZT on the one side of the wall leads to changing of the reflection coefficient S11 on the PZT transduce from other side of the metal wall and can be easily detected by the network analyzer.