Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of a Continuous Laser Ablation Coating Removal Device for Steel Bridges

One common method for removing deteriorated coatings from steel bridges is abrasive blast cleaning. Although effective, abrasive blast cleaning can be hazardous to operators and must be conducted using expensive containment. One innovative solution to the hazardous nature and high expense of blast cleaning is laser ablation coating removal (LACR). LACR uses a high-energy laser, rather than conventional blasting, to remove the coating and has the potential to minimize operator hazards and eliminate the need for containment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a continuous LACR system in relation to its coating removal effectiveness, industrial hygiene (IH), and effect on the steel substrate below the underlying coating. Coating removal and IH evaluation were performed on coated steel samples, including some with lead and other toxic metal coatings. LACR was also performed on bare steel, used to perform mechanical testing, such as tension, fatigue, hardness, and microstructural analysis to evaluate the effect of LACR on a steel substrate. In comparison to the pulsed LACR system evaluated in a previous study, the continuous LACR system was 2–27 times faster at removing most coatings, but it was unable to remove white coatings like the pulsed LACR system was able to do. IH evaluation showed that the continuous LACR system was likely to generate toxic metal fumes when ablating lead coatings, but this could possibly be minimized by designing an attached fume extraction system. Mechanical testing showed that the continuous LACR had no detrimental effects to the steel substrate.
Environmentally Tuning Asphalt Pavements Using Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials

Environmental conditions are considered an important factor influencing asphalt pavement performance. The addition of modifiers, both to the asphalt binder and the asphalt mixture, has attracted considerable attention in potentially alleviating environmentally induced pavement performance issues. Although many solutions have been developed, and some deployed, many asphalt pavements continue to fail prematurely because of environmental loading. The research reported here investigates the inclusion of microencapsulated phase change material (μPCM) in asphalt binders and mixtures to help reduce environmental damage to asphalt pavements. The μPCM particles are formulated to absorb and release thermal energy as the particles liquify and solidify, depending on pavement temperature. As a result, μPCM can provide asphalt pavements with thermal energy storage capacities to reduce the impacts of drastic ambient temperature scenarios and minimize the appearance of critical temperatures within the pavement structure. By modifying asphalt pavement materials with μPCM, it may be possible to “tune” the pavement to the environment. Through rheology, differential scanning calorimetry, thermal cycling, and dynamic modulus testing, this work attempts to capture the μPCM effect and link the behavior between μPCM modified asphalt binders and mixtures. This study identifies a novel approach to determine when the μPCM effect occurs using rheological measurements. Additionally, the thermal and mechanical performances of μPCM modified asphalt mixtures are evaluated. An asphalt mixture design method is demonstrated to systematically incorporate a substantial portion of μPCM particles in a reference mixture. The findings extend the thermomechanical understanding of μPCM modified asphalt binders and mixtures.
Effectiveness of Soy Methyl Ester-Polystyrene as a Concrete Protectant on Mitigating the Chemical Interaction between Cement Paste and Calcium Chloride

Concrete pavements and bridge decks suffer from severe deterioration caused by the application of chloride-based deicing salts (i.e., NaCl, CaCl2, and MgCl2) during winter. One of them is the formation of a destructive calcium oxychloride (CAOXY) phase caused by the chemical interaction between cement paste and CaCl2/MgCl2. By simulating the practical service conditions, this work investigated the formed CAOXY phase in cement paste exposed to CaCl2 solution and evaluated the performance of soy methyl ester-polystyrene (SME-PS) blend as a promising concrete protectant in mitigating the formation of CAOXY. With the surface treatment of SME-PS, cement paste showed less than 10% of the formed CAOXY phase in control cement paste after being exposed to CaCl2 solution for 28 days. In control cement paste, the amount of formed CAOXY at the exposed surface increased with the exposure time and some of the CAOXY phase formed in the cement paste exhibited a higher phase changing temperature. Moreover, a modified model based on Fick’s second Law was developed for predicting the CAOXY content in concrete with respect to the depth of the exposed surface. This model was verified by the comparison between the predicted values and the data obtained from a low-temperature differential scanning calorimetry (LT-DSC) test.
Departure Timing Preference during Extreme Weather Events: Evidence from Hurricane Evacuation Behavior

Hurricane evacuation has become an increasingly complicated activity in the U.S. as it involves moving many people who live along the Atlantic coast and Gulf coast within a very limited time. A good deal of research has been conducted on hurricane evacuation, but only a limited number of studies have looked into the timing aspect of evacuation. This paper intends to contribute to the literature on evacuation timing decisions by investigating what factors influence the time preference at the household level. Two hurricane survey data sets were used to analyze household evacuation behaviors across the Gulf coast as well as the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic coast in a comparative perspective. Using the Heckman selection model, we examined various factors identified in the literature on the two possible outcomes (evacuation and early evacuation). We found that the most important determinants of evacuation were prior evacuation experience, evacuation orders, and risk perceptions, while the most important determinants of early evacuation were prior evacuation experiences, days spent at the evacuation destination, and the cost of evacuation. Socioeconomic factors also influenced the two decisions but differently. These results provide implications for future hurricane evacuation planning and for improving emergency management practices.
Sublethal and transgenerational effects of a potential plant‐derived insecticide, β‐asarone, on population fitness of brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens

Many essential oils have excellent insecticidal activity and have the potential to be developed as alternatives to chemical insecticides for pest control. Previously, we showed that β‐asarone, a major constituent of the essential oil derived from Acorus calamus L. (Acoraceae), has strong pesticidal activity against brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), the most notorious rice pest in Asia. Here, we report the first evaluation of the sublethal and transgenerational effects of β‐asarone on N. lugens. β‐Asarone significantly decreased female longevity, male longevity, fecundity, and hatchability of F0 generation individuals exposed to the LD30 and LD45 of β‐asarone relative to the acetone control. Moreover, compared with acetone, exposure to LD30 and LD45 of β‐asarone significantly shortened the duration of the egg stage, developmental duration of first instars, and female longevity of F1 generation individuals. Furthermore, the intrinsic rate of increase (r), finite rate of increase (λ), and net reproductive rates (R0) of insects treated with LD30 and LD45 of β‐asarone were significantly lower than those of insects treated with acetone. Compared with acetone, the fecundity and hatchability of F1 generation individuals were significantly decreased after exposure to β‐asarone at LD30 and LD45. These findings indicate the negative effects of sublethal doses of β‐asarone on N. lugens and provide novel information on the potential use of β‐asarone as a substitute chemical pesticide.
Generation of inheritable A-to-G transitions using adenine base editing and NG-PAM Cas9 in Arabidopsis thaliana

CRISPR/Cas9 technology is an important tool for functional genomics and crop improvement. It can be used to generate mutations at precise positions in the genome. Base editors consist of deaminase components and Cas9 to specify the type of mutation, such as C-to-T (cytosine base editors) or A-to-G (adenine base editors) transition. Available adenine base editor vectors usually make use of canonical Cas9, which limits their use to 5’-NGG-3’ containing targets. We combined a relaxed variant of SpCas9 that uses 5’-NG-3’ containing targets with the adenine base editor containing TadA7.10 or TadA8e to make a set of vectors. By using a phenotype-based screen, we found that our vectors efficiently induce A-to-G somatic mutations in a 5’-NGG-3’ PAM context in Arabidopsis thaliana up to 81% efficiency. Such mutations are inheritable at the homozygous stage in T2. Among tested vectors, pECNUS4 (Addgene #184887), which carries TadA8e, showed highest efficiency at generating a stable A-to-G transition in a 5’-NGH-3’ PAM context in the gene DM3. Using this vector, we were able to recreate a naturally occurring allele of DM3 in two generations without the transgene. pECNUS4 is a new component of the CRISPR toolbox to be used for introducing desired adenine base transitions with an expanded target window for functional genomic research and trait improvement.
A Class IV Adenylate Cyclase, CyaB, Is Required for Capsule Polysaccharide Production and Biofilm Formation in Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Here, we characterized the roles of CRP and CyaA in V. parahaemolyticus, showing that cAMP-CRP is an activator of metabolism, motility, capsule production, and biofilm formation. These results are in contrast to cAMP-CRP in V. cholerae, which represses capsule and biofilm formation. ABSTRACT Cyclic AMP (cAMP) receptor protein (CRP), encoded by crp, is a global regulator that is activated by cAMP, a second messenger synthesized by a class I adenylate cyclase (AC-I) encoded by cyaA in Escherichia coli. cAMP-CRP is required for growth on nonpreferred carbon sources and is a global regulator. We constructed in-frame nonpolar deletions of the crp and cyaA homologs in Vibrio parahaemolyticus and found that the Δcrp mutant did not grow in minimal media supplemented with nonpreferred carbon sources, but the ΔcyaA mutant grew similarly to the wild type. Bioinformatics analysis of the V. parahaemolyticus genome identified a 181-amino-acid protein annotated as a class IV adenylate cyclase (AC-IV) named CyaB, a member of the CYTH protein superfamily. AC-IV phylogeny showed that CyaB was present in Gammaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria as well as Planctomycetes and Archaea. Only the bacterial CyaB proteins contained an N-terminal motif, HFxxxxExExK, indicative of adenylyl cyclase activity. Both V. parahaemolyticus cyaA and cyaB genes functionally complemented an E. coli ΔcyaA mutant. The Δcrp and ΔcyaB ΔcyaA mutants showed defects in growth on nonpreferred carbon sources and in swimming and swarming motility, indicating that cAMP-CRP is an activator. The ΔcyaA and ΔcyaB single mutants had no defects in these phenotypes, indicating that AC-IV complements AC-I. Capsule polysaccharide and biofilm production assays showed significant defects in the Δcrp, ΔcyaBΔcyaA, and ΔcyaB mutants, whereas the ΔcyaA strain behaved similarly to the wild type. This is consistent with a role of cAMP-CRP as an activator of these phenotypes and establishes a cellular role for AC-IV in capsule and biofilm formation, which to date has been unestablished. IMPORTANCE Here, we characterized the roles of CRP and CyaA in V. parahaemolyticus, showing that cAMP-CRP is an activator of metabolism, motility, capsule production, and biofilm formation. These results are in contrast to cAMP-CRP in V. cholerae, which represses capsule and biofilm formation. Previously, only an AC-I CyaA had been identified in Vibrio species. Our data showed that an AC-IV CyaB homolog is present in V. parahaemolyticus and is required for optimal growth. The data demonstrated that CyaB is essential for capsule production and biofilm formation, uncovering a physiological role of AC-IV in bacteria. The data showed that the cyaB gene was widespread among Vibrionaceae species and several other Gammaproteobacteria, but in general, its phylogenetic distribution was limited. Our phylogenetic analysis also demonstrated that in some species the cyaB gene was acquired by horizontal gene transfer.
Programmable Mixed-Signal Biocomputers in Mammalian Cells

Living cells perform sophisticated computations that guide them toward discrete states. Synthetic genetic circuits are powerful tools for programing these computations, where transcription-regulatory networks and DNA recombination are the two dominant paradigms for implementing these systems. While each strategy exhibits unique strengths and weaknesses, integrating both into one seamless design framework would enable advanced gene circuit designs intractable with either approach alone. Here, we present Computation via Recombinase Assisted Transcriptional Effectors (CREATE), which leverages site-specific recombination to perform robust logic on discreet computational layers and programmable transcription factors that connect these layers, allowing individual calculations to contribute toward larger operations. We demonstrate the functionality of CREATE by producing sophisticated circuits using a simple plug- and-play framework, including 189 2-input-3-output circuits, modular digital-to-analog signal converters, a 2-bit multiplier circuit, and a digital and analog mixed-signal generator. This work establishes CREATE as a versatile platform for programming complex signal processing systems capable of high-fidelity logic computation and tunable control over circuit output levels. One-Sentence Summary We present a minimal and robust genetic circuit platform for programming cells with sophisticated signal processing capabilities.
Qualitative Choice Logic For Modeling Experts Recommendations of Antibiotics

Qualitative Choice Logic (QCL) is a logic-based formalism for preference handling. The logic adds to classical propositional logic a new connective called ordered disjunction (~). x~y intuitively means: if possible x, but if x is not possible then at least y. The aim of this paper is to explore QCL in healthcare domain, particularly for modeling experts reasoning for providing recommendations of antibiotics. We show that QCL is fully adapted for modeling this problem.
Efficient Memory Management for Modelica Simulations

The ever increasing usage of simulations in order to produce digital twins of physical systems led to the creation of specialized equation-based modeling languages such as Modelica. However, compilers of such languages often generate code that exploits the garbage collection memory management paradigm, which introduces significant runtime overhead. In this paper we explain how to improve the memory management approach of the automatically generated simulation code. This is achieved by addressing two different aspects. One regards the reduction of the heap memory usage, which is obtained by modifying functions whose resulting arrays could instead be allocated on the stack by the caller. The other aspect regards the possibility of avoiding garbage collection altogether by performing all memory lifetime tracking statically. We implement our approach in a prototype Modelica compiler, achieving an improvement of the memory management overhead of over 10 times compared to a garbage collected solution, and an improvement of 56 times compared to the production-grade compiler OpenModelica. 2012 ACM Subject Classification Software and its engineering → Compilers; Computing methodologies → Modeling and simulation
Attribute Speci(cid:133)c Impacts of Stated Non-Attendance in Choice Experiments

In this paper, we generalize existing approaches to the treatment of stated attribute non-attendance data in discrete choice experiments by allowing attribute speci(cid:133)c impacts. We implement this approach by employing an extended hierarchical Bayes logit model speci(cid:133)cation. To illustrate this approach, we consider data collected to examine Indian consumers(cid:146) preferences for traditional aromatic rice varieties. Our results regarding stated attribute non-attendance reveal that, our new approach shrinks marginal utilities of non-attenders substantially compared to stated attenders, with signi(cid:133)cant di⁄erences in the shrinkage between some of the attributes. In addition, our results reveal the way in which non-attendance of attributes interact with each other and the impact that this has on the distribution of willingness to pay estimates.
Thermal expansivity of Ge1-y sny alloys

The temperature dependence of the lattice parameter of Ge{sub 1-y}Sn{sub y} alloys deposited on Si substrates has been determined from an analysis of their x-ray reciprocal-space maps. It is found that over the range 0<y<0.03 the alloy thermal expansivity increases by up to 20% as a function of y. This implies a strong deviation from a linear interpolation between the end compounds since the thermal expansivities of pure Ge and {alpha}-Sn are nearly the same. Alternative interpolation formulas based on a Debye model and a mixed Debye-Einstein model of the phonon structure are tested and it is found that they also fail to explain the observed increase in thermal expansivity.
Nursing Home COVID-19 Impact Analysis Dashboard: A Prototype Nursing Home COVID-19 Impact Analysis Dashboard: A Prototype

Since the World Health Organization identified the novel coronavirus as a Public Health Emergency in Jan 2020, the surge of the global pandemic COVID 19 in the United States has crossed 42 million cases and 680 thousand deaths as per the data provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) (CDC, 2021). COVID-19 impacts existing health disparities rooted in structural determinants like closed community and long-term health care facilities such as nursing homes presenting significant risks for COVID-19 cases and deaths. As per the data provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), there were 681 thousand total residents confirmed cases and One hundred thirty-four thousand total residents’ deaths. It clearly shows that COVID-19 has negatively impacted nursing homes across the nation. Many potential factors impact the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes. One of the significant factors is the increased susceptibility of nursing home patients. They commonly have underlying medical conditions that put them at greater risk than the general population. The research investigates different factors affecting the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes through existing knowledge of health care practices combined with additional analysis of nursing home characteristics, personal protective equipment (PPE), community-level factors, and other socioeconomic factors. It is imperative to understand nursing home characteristics that will allow stakeholders to manage the spread of the virus and reduce the case and death count. Variables such as occupancy rates, infection rates amongst staff members, access to sufficient PPE (personal protective equipment), location of the facilities, staffing levels, county-level cases/deaths
Predicting Human Body Dimensions from Single Images: a first step in automatic malnutrition detection

Malnutrition in children accounts for 45% of child deaths globally. Automatic mal-nutrition detection from digital photos serves as a decision support tool for early detection of malnutrition in rural areas. We study the feasibility of estimating body-shape characteristics from images of human body shapes as a ﬁrst step in automatic malnutrition d etection. We generate multi-view images of male and female bodies from rendered digital 3D scans of human bodies. Using convolutional neural networks (CNNs), we estimated waist circumference and body height with a mean absolute error of 59 mm and 9 mm, respectively. The estimation error of waist circumference depends on viewpoint. We conclude that automatic malnutrition detection from single images seems feasible, provided one or more suitable viewpoints are used.
A NOVEL SPACETIME MAP OF THE UNIVERSE

A new cosmological model is proposed, which is based on two important intuitions of Albert Einstein. The model is built using the values currently considered correct for the most important system parameters (mass budget, Hubble constant, universe age). Universe dimensions, expansion velocity and total mass are computed. The highly questioned inflation hypothesis is abandoned, and the matter-antimatter unbalance strongly reduced. As a consequence, the dark side of the cosmos assumes new, much smaller, dimensions. The first part of the paper shortly reviews the current situation of cosmology. In the second part the new model is discussed and evaluated from a quantitative viewpoint. The third part describes the novel spacetime map, including the derivation of luminosity distances from measured redshifts, and the discussion of the horizon problem.
Fairness preferences as a cause of inefficient war

Social psychologists, behavioral economists and biologists have long documented how fairness concerns motivate behavior, but workhorse bargaining models of war ignore this. I present a simple model in which a nation is challenged by an enemy (e.g., a terrorist attack). The nation’s political leader must decide between a peaceful solution (i.e., buying the enemy off) or war (i.e., hunt the enemy down). The leader, who has re-election incentives, knows that a fraction of voters has fairness preferences – they strongly feel that the enemy should be hunted down (i.e., “punished”) rather than bought off (i.e., “rewarded”). The model illustrates that fairness preferences can trigger war even if a peaceful solution is ten times cheaper.
OF THE IN ICE

- The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of weeds in flooded rice areas, as a function of planting system and herbicide programmes in the previous cropping year. The experiment was installed in field conditions, in randomized complete blocks design, arranged in factorial scheme 3 x 2, with eight replications. In factor A, treatments consisted on conventional tillage, minimum tillage and no till cropping systems, coupled to the application (traditional control) or not (semi-ecological system) of herbicides (Factor B). One year after rice cultivation, preceding the planting of the next cropping season, phytosociological evaluations of the weed communities present in the treatments were carried out. We assessed the overall infestation level and weed species composition, which were classified by their respective density, frequency and dominance abilities. We also estimated the diversity coefficients of Simpson and Shannon Weiner, and the sustainability coefficient of Shannon; treatments were also grouped by similarity in weed species composition. Rice growing systems (traditional or semi-ecological) promote remarkable differences in weed occurrence. Herbicide-based crops select specific companion weed species, but crop rotation or winter cover crops are not a sine qua non condition for success since a good herbicide programme is planned. For the Semi ecological system, crop rotation, thick winter soil mulching and association with animal presence and grazing are essential for the short, medium and long-term inhibition of weeds.