Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seismic Reliability of Masonry-Infilled RC Frames

This study focuses on the probabilistic assessment of reinforced concrete (RC) frames infilled with clay brick walls and subjected to earthquake loading. The adopted methodology extends from that previously developed by the writers for bare RC frames by the introduction of additional random variables to account for the uncertainty in the masonry properties. Quantification of the latter is achieved through the use of experimental data describing the difference in force-displacement behavior between bare and infilled frames. The vulnerability and seismic reliability of two 10-story, three-bay infilled frames (a fully infilled one and one with a soft ground story) are derived and subsequently compared with values corresponding to the bare frame counterpart. It is found that failure probabilities, especially at the ultimate limit state, are highly sensitive to the structural stiffness; hence, bare frames benefit from lower spectral ordinates than infilled ones. Nonetheless, all structural systems studied appear to be exposed to a reasonably low seismic risk.
Efficacy of silver and gold nanoparticles obtained from vermiwash: In vitro study on antimicrobial and antidiabetic activities

Emerging nanobiotechnology has provided innovative techniques to synthesize nanoparticles through biological methods to explore the potentialities of biological sources like phytoextracts, microbes, animal secretions and excretion. This research studies the potential of vermiwash to synthesize the silver and gold nanoparticles and evaluate its in vitro effect of antimicrobial and antidiabetic activities. The characterization of the nanoparticles was analyzed through various techniques. Ultraviolet (UV)-Visible spectroscopy showed the maximum absorption spectrum at 413 nm for silver and 541 nm for gold nanoparticles. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed the reducing agent involved in nanoparticles synthesis. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images revealed the size of the silver and gold nanoparticles as 24 nm and 50 nm, respectively. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX) analysis revealed the elemental composition of the synthesized nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the crystalline nature of the nanoparticles that displayed the preferential orientation of the crystals toward the (111) plane. Antimicrobial activity was assessed using the resazurin assay method. A minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of less than 7.8 µg was observed in Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. In the antifungal activity, MIC at 250 µg was noted in Mucor sp. and Candida albicans. Antidiabetic activity was assessed by α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory assay. IC50 of α-amylase and α-glucosidase activity of the silver nanoparticles was noted as 218 and 221 µg/mL, respectively. IC 50 value for the enzymatic assay dose-dependently confirmed the effect. Conclusively biosynthesized nanoparticles from vermiwash showed potential efficiency of antibacterial, antifungal and antidiabetic activities.
Physical modeling of the reverse-short-channel effect for circuit simulation

The proposed threshold-voltage (V/sub th/) model for circuit simulation includes reverse-short-channel effects (RSCE) and short-channel effects (SCE) based on their respective physical origins. A linear vertical-impurity profile approximation for simplified RSCE-modeling already enables 8 mV average V/sub th/-accuracy (max<45 mV) under all bias conditions for source, drain, and bulk for L/sub gate/ down to 0.15 /spl mu/m. The complete V/sub th/-model needs only ten constant L/sub gate/-independent parameters.
Bearing Fault Diagnosis Using Multidomain Fusion-Based Vibration Imaging and Multitask Learning

Statistical features extraction from bearing fault signals requires a substantial level of knowledge and domain expertise. Furthermore, existing feature extraction techniques are mostly confined to selective feature extraction methods namely, time-domain, frequency-domain, or time-frequency domain statistical parameters. Vibration signals of bearing fault are highly non-linear and non-stationary making it cumbersome to extract relevant information for existing methodologies. This process even became more complicated when the bearing operates at variable speeds and load conditions. To address these challenges, this study develops an autonomous diagnostic system that combines signal-to-image transformation techniques for multi-domain information with convolutional neural network (CNN)-aided multitask learning (MTL). To address variable operating conditions, a composite color image is created by fusing information from multi-domains, such as the raw time-domain signal, the spectrum of the time-domain signal, and the envelope spectrum of the time-frequency analysis. This 2-D composite image, named multi-domain fusion-based vibration imaging (MDFVI), is highly effective in generating a unique pattern even with variable speeds and loads. Following that, these MDFVI images are fed to the proposed MTL-based CNN architecture to identify faults in variable speed and health conditions concurrently. The proposed method is tested on two benchmark datasets from the bearing experiment. The experimental results suggested that the proposed method outperformed state-of-the-arts in both datasets.
SMART CITY SECURITY ISSUES: THE MAIN ATTACKS AND COUNTERMEASURES

Abstract. A smart city is an urban area based on a variety of services that uses information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve operational efficiency and citizen's quality of life. It also leans towards meeting the economic, social, environmental, and cultural needs of dwellers. Technologies can add many benefits to smart city to facilitate communication and efficiently manage assets, resources, and services. However, technologies bring new security issues that need to be addressed to ensure data confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This paper provides an overview of the smart city concept by highlighting its main applications and services, presenting some susceptible attacks that can touch the security of applications, and some good practices to ensure the smart city security.
EMS-vision: knowledge representation for flexible automation of land vehicles

Efficient knowledge representation is a prerequisite for autonomous land vehicles in order to react in real-time in a variety of complex situations. In this paper, the knowledge representation developed for flexible automation of land vehicles at UBM is discussed. Different categories are introduced to structure the complex knowledge necessary for autonomous driving: hierarchical knowledge representation and object-oriented knowledge representation.
Sorption, permeation and selective transport of moisture/VOCs through a CA membrane for total heat recovery

This article studies in detail the permeation properties of highly permeable and highly selective polymer membrane for water vapor/volatile organic compound (VOC). A dense cellulose acetate (CA) membrane is prepared by the dry method. The sorption and permeation properties of water vapor and VOCs (acetic acid, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, toluene and ethane) are experimentally investigated. Besides, the mass transfer coefficient of self-membrane can be separated from the total mass transfer coefficient. Using sorption and permeation data of gases, diffusion coefficient is calculated based on a solution–diffusion mechanism. The selectivity for water vapor/VOC is discussed and analyzed. The permeability selectivities of water vapor/VOC are all over 100. The result shows that the novel CA sense membrane is suitable for air dehumidification and total heat recovery. Copyright , Oxford University Press.
Comparison of 6 equations for estimating glomerular filtration rate in a Chinese benign hypertensive nephrosclerosis population

Abstract Equations to estimate glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) are useful for monitoring tje renal status of benign hypertensive nephrosclerosis (BHN). This study aimed to compare the applicability of 6 equations (Cockcroft-Gault [CG] adjusted for body surface area, original modification of diet in renal disease [MDRD], American abbreviated MDRD, Chinese modified MDRD, Chinese abbreviated MDRD, and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology [CKD-EPI]) to estimate GFR in a Chinese BHN population. A total of 179 patients diagnosed with BHN were enrolled. The GFR estimated by each equation was compared to the reference GFR (rGFR) measured using the dual plasma sampling technetium-labeled diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid method. The Chinese modified and Chinese abbreviated MDRD equations overestimated the rGFR, while the CG, CG adjusted for body surface area, original MDRD, American abbreviated MDRD, and CKD-EPI equations underestimated the rGFR. The difference in performance between estimated GFR (eGFR) based on the American abbreviated MDRD equation and the rGFR was not statistically significant (P = .191), while differences in the others were statistically significant (P < .05). Furthermore, the advantages in deviation, absolute deviation, deviation degree, precision, and accuracy were also significantly different from those of the other equations. Our findings suggest that eGFR based on the American abbreviated MDRD equation is suitable for the Chinese BHN population.
Geologica Macedonica

A b s t rae t: The latest field and laboratory investigations carried out on the occurrences of Fe mineralization in the vicinity of Curev Rid offered new understanding about this Paleozoic granitoid mineralization. Microscopic and electronic microprobes made possible a more complex understanding of the features of the major ore minerals. The investigations discovered the composition of the major minerals and obtained data about the contents of micro­ elements by monomineral tests on magnetites or their geochemical characteristics. The most important ore textures and composilions wcre determined for the first time making possible the determination of the sequence of ore miner­ alization as well as the genetic type of this ore occurrence.
New Pattern Recognition Method Based on Wavelet De-Noising and Kernel Principal Component Analysis

The background noise influences the face image recognition greatly. It is crucial to remove the noise signals prior to the face image recognition processing. For this purpose, the wavelet de-noising technology has combined with the kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) to identify face images in this paper. The wavelet de-noising technology was firstly used to remove the noise signals. Then the KPCA was employed to extract useful principal components for the face image recognition. By doing so, the dimensionality of the feature space can be reduced effectively and hence the performance of the face image recognition can be enhanced. Lastly, a support vector machine (SVM) classifier was used to recognize the face images. Experimental tests have been conducted to validate and evaluate the proposed method for the face image recognition. The analysis results have showed high performance of the newly proposed method for face image identification.
Confirmation and variability of the Allee effect in Dictyostelium discoideum cell populations, possible role of chemical signaling within cell clusters

In studies of the unicellular eukaryote Dictyostelium discoideum, many have anecdotally observed that cell dilution below a certain ‘threshold density’ causes cells to undergo a period of slow growth (lag). However, little is documented about the slow growth phase and the reason for different growth dynamics below and above this threshold density. In this paper, we extend and correct our earlier work to report an extensive set of experiments, including the use of new cell counting technology, that set this slow-to-fast growth transition on a much firmer biological basis. We show that dilution below a certain density (around 104 cells ml−1) causes cells to grow slower on average and exhibit a large degree of variability: sometimes a sample does not lag at all, while sometimes it takes many moderate density cell cycle times to recover back to fast growth. We perform conditioned media experiments to demonstrate that a chemical signal mediates this endogenous phenomenon. Finally, we argue that while simple models involving fluid transport of signal molecules or cluster-based signaling explain typical behavior, they do not capture the high degree of variability between samples but nevertheless favor an intra-cluster mechanism.
Dynamic programing of capacity expansion of municipal water treatment system

The multistage capacity expansion of a municipal water treatment system is investigated to determine the sizes of new treatment plants and the times at which these new plants are added to the system. The capital and operating costs of these plants are given by concave functions reflecting economies of scale available with an increase in capacity. To determine the optimum sizes and installation times of the new plants, this expansion problem is formulated as a dynamic programing model.
Supplemental Material for Prospective Associations Between Emotion Regulation and Depressive Symptoms Among Mexican-Origin Adolescents

Reappraisal (reconstruing emotional experiences to alter their impact) and suppression (inhibiting emotionally expressive behavior) are emotion-regulation strategies with important implications for depression. While reappraisal generally predicts lower depressive symptoms, suppression generally predicts higher depressive symptoms. Because cultural factors can in ﬂ uence the processes involved in these links and because adolescence — especially for ethnic minority youth — brings particular emotional challenges, it ’ s critical to investigate these links among Mexican-origin adolescents. However, research examining emotion regulation among Mexican-origin individuals is scarce and generally limited to cross-sectional designs. Thus, we examined prospective associations between reappraisal and suppression (assessed at age 17) and 2 facets of depressive symptoms (anhedonia and general distress) over 3 years (assessed at ages 16, 18, and 19) among 228 Mexican-origin adolescents. Latent growth curve models indicated that reappraisal was associated with lower anhedonia at baseline (age 16) and lower anhedonia over time, whereas suppression predicted greater anhedo- nia at baseline but not change over time. Consistent with the Mexican cultural value of simpatía , which emphasizes expressing positive emotions and inhibiting negative emotions, suppression of positive emotions was associated with greater anhedonia over time whereas suppression of negative emotions was associated with lower anhedonia over time. However, neither associated with anhedonia at baseline. Reappraisal and suppression were not associated with distress symptoms, and no effects were moderated by familism, house- hold income, gender, or child nativity. The anhedonia results suggest that the bene ﬁ ts of reappraisal extend to Mexican-origin adolescents, but the effects of suppression may depend upon emotional valence in this group.
Assessment of patients' understanding of inflammatory bowel diseases: Development and validation of a questionnaire

Abstract Background Educating patients regarding thier inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is important for their empowerment and disease management. We aimed to develop a questionnaire to evaluate patient understanding and knowledge of IBD. Methods We have developed the Understanding IBD Questionnaires (U‐IBDQ), consisting of multiple‐choice questions in two versions [for Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)]. The questionnaires were tested for content and face validity, readability, responsiveness and reliability. Convergent validity was assessed by correlating the U‐IBDQ score with physician's subjective assessment scores. Discriminant validity was assessed by comparison to healthy controls (HC), patients with chronic gastrointestinal (GI) conditions other than IBD, and to GI nurses. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine factors associated with a high level of disease understanding. Results The study population consisted of IBD patients (n = 106), HC (n = 35), chronic GI disease patients (n = 38) and GI nurses (n = 19). Mean U‐IBDQ score among IBD patients was 56.5 ± 21.9, similar for CD and UC patients (P = 0.941), but significantly higher than that of HC and chronic GI disease patients and lower than that of GI nurses (P < 0.001), supporting its discriminant validity. The U‐IBDQ score correlated with physician's subjective score (r = 0.747, P < 0.001) and was found to be reliable (intra‐class correlation coefficient = 0.867 P < 0.001). Independent factors associated with high U‐IBDQ scores included academic education (OR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.10–1.33, P < 0.001), biologic therapy experience (OR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.01–1.53, P = 0.046), and IBD diagnosis at <21 years of age (OR = 2.97, 95% CI 1.05–8.87, P = 0.050). Conclusions The U‐IBDQ is a validated, reliable and short, self‐reported questionnaire that can be used for assessing understanding of disease pathophysiology and treatment by IBD patients.
Predicting and Mitigating Dredging DispersionImpact: A Case of Phuket Port, Thailand

Dredging activities inevitably cause sediment dispersion. In certain locations, where there are important ecological areas such as mangroves or coral reefs, carefully planning the dredging can significantly reduce negative impacts. This article utilizes the dredging at Phuket port, Thailand, as a case study to demonstrate how computer simulations can be helpful to protect existing coral reefs. A software package named MIKE21 was applied. Necessary information required by the simulations was gathered. After calibrating and verifying the model, various dredging scenario were simulated to predict spoil movement. The simulation results were used as guidance to setting up an environmental measure. Finally, the recommendation to dredge during flood tide with silt curtains installed was made. Keywords—Coastal simulation, Dredging, Environmental protection, Port. Coastal engineering, Thailand
Difficulty in identification of patients with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis by clinical classification tools

The transition from relapsing–remitting to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) is not well defined. Different definitions and tools to identify SPMS have been proposed. Meanwhile, early diagnosis of “active” SPMS is getting progressively more important as pharmaceutical treatment options are developed. In this study, we compared different classification methods regarding their accuracy to reliably identify “active SPMS. ”
De novo arginine synthesis is required for full virulence of Xanthomonas arboricola pv. juglandis during Walnut Bacterial Blight Disease.

Walnut blight (WB) disease caused by Xanthomonas arboricola pv. juglandis (Xaj) threatens orchards worldwide. Nitrogen metabolism in this bacterial pathogen is dependent on arginine, a nitrogen enriched amino acid that can either be synthesized or provided by the plant host. The arginine biosynthetic pathway uses argininosuccinate synthase (argG), associated with increased bacterial virulence. We examined the effects of bacterial arginine and nitrogen metabolism on the plant response during WB by proteomic analysis of the mutant strain Xaj argG-. Phenotypically, the mutant strain produced 42% fewer symptoms and survived in the plant tissue with 2.5-fold reduced growth compared to wild-type (WT) while auxotrophic for arginine in vitro. Proteomic analysis of infected tissue enabled the profiling of 676 Xaj proteins and 3,296 walnut proteins using isobaric labeling in a data-dependent acquisition approach. Comparative analysis of differentially expressed proteins revealed distinct plant responses. Xaj WT triggered processes of catabolism and oxidative stress in the host under observed disease symptoms, while most host's biosynthetic processes triggered by Xaj WT were inhibited during Xaj argG- infection. Overall, the Xaj proteins revealed a drastic shift in carbon and energy management induced by disruption of nitrogen metabolism while the top differentially expressed proteins included a Fis transcriptional regulator and a peptidyl-prolyl isomerase. Our results show the critical role of de novo arginine biosynthesis to sustain virulence and minimal growth during WB. This study is timely and critical as current copper-based control methods are losing their effectiveness, and new sustainable methods are urgently needed in orchard environments.
Power System Concepts for the Lunar Outpost: A Review of the Power Generation, Energy Storage, Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) System Requirements and Potential Technologies for Development of the Lunar Outpost

This paper will review potential power system concepts for the development of the lunar outpost including power generation, energy storage and power management and distribution (PMAD). In particular, the requirements of the initial robotic missions will be discussed and the technologies considered will include cryogenics and regenerative fuel cells (RFC), AC and DC transmission line technology, high voltage and low voltage power transmission, conductor materials of construction and power beaming concepts for transmitting power to difficult to access locations such as at the bottom of craters. Operating conditions, component characteristics, reliability, maintainability, constructability, system safety, technology gaps / risk and adaptability for future lunar missions will be discussed for the technologies considered.
Project management maturity in Pakistan: An empirical investigation

This research assesses the current level of PMM in Pakistan, evaluates the gaps in the prevalent project management practices and formulates a framework to improve PMM level in Pakistan. 123 Pakistani organizations were assessed for their levels of PMM and project performance using standard project management maturity models. The average PMM level in Pakistan was found to be 2.32 (on the scale of 1 to 5) and only 24% of the projects carried out were found to be successful. This means that the prevalent project management practices are not yet fully institutionalized. Furthermore, project management training, use of project management software and establishment of PMO were also found to be positively influencing project performance and PMM level. The findings of this research can be useful to all stakeholders of projects being carried out in Pakistan especially under foreign direct investments. Global PMM level can be improved, if more similar studies are conducted with customized recommendations to improve the PMM level.
Finite element analysis to develop a new accelerating test method for board level solder joints for high temperature electronics

Ahstract New test methods for high temperature electronics in automotive indust? have to be developed due to the reached temperature limits of the materials. A possible new way for a test method for fatigue failures of board le\'el solder joints is to combine tbennal and mechanical loadings. Different mechanical loads were simulated with the Finite Element Method and application limits of additional bending loads were developed out of the simulation results. Simulations showed. that there is a possibility to support the strain development in an appropriate manner with additional mechanical loadings and to rcach an acceleration in comparison to a pure tempemtun: cycling stress.
Least squares pattern synthesis for conformal arrays

The problem of synthesising low sidelobe beams from conformal arrays consisting of few elements and large radius of curvature is addressed. Experimental resufts are presented for a 12 element array of linearly polarised elements forming a faceted array with radius of curvature 1.5 m. It is shown that by calculation of an aperture correcting matrix sidelobe levels of 40 dB can be obtained from the array by application of conventional linear array Taylor weights. Beam steering is achieved by aperture phase tapering while low sidelobe levels are maintained.