Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improved goldschmidt algorithm for fast and energy-efficient fixed-point divider

This paper proposes an improvement in the original Goldschmidt algorithm to produce a fast and energy-efficient fixed-point divider. Most of the work that deals with Goldschmidt algorithm uses a look-up table to generate the near optimal divisor term, and the input values are limited to a narrow range of values between 1 and 2. Our architecture solution is based on the suitable choice of the optimum denominator value that adjusts the first iteration of the algorithm, what contributes for fast convergence, with only three iterations for the error analysis. Moreover, in the proposed algorithm, the input values are defined by the Q7.8 format, what guarantees a wide range of values between −127.99609375 and +127.99609375. The principal results show that the proposed improved Goldschmidt architecture features low power dissipation and it can achieve high processing rates when compared to the original structure.
Role of Hypoxia‐Inducible Factors in Epigenetic Regulation via Histone Demethylases

Eukaryotic chromatin is subject to multiple posttranslational histone modifications such as acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination. These various covalent modifications have been proposed to constitute a “histone code,” playing important roles in the establishment of global chromatin environments, transcription, DNA repair, and DNA replication. Among these modifications, histone methylation specifies regulatory marks that delineate transcriptionally active and inactive chromatin. These histone methyl marks were considered irreversible; however, recent identification of site‐specific histone demethylases demonstrates that histone methylation is dynamically regulated, which may allow cells to rapidly change chromatin conformation to adapt to environmental stresses or intrinsic stimuli. Of major interest is the observation that these histone demethylase enzymes, which are in the Jumonji gene family, require oxygen to function and, in some cases, are induced by hypoxia in an HIFα‐dependent manner. This provides a new mechanism for regulation of the response to hypoxia.
The globus pallidus pars interna in goal‐oriented and routine behaviors: Resolving a long‐standing paradox

There is an apparent contradiction between experimental data showing that the basal ganglia are involved in goal‐oriented and routine behaviors and clinical observations. Lesion or disruption by deep brain stimulation of the globus pallidus interna has been used for various therapeutic purposes ranging from the improvement of dystonia to the treatment of Tourette's syndrome. None of these approaches has reported any severe impairment in goal‐oriented or automatic movement.
Feasibility of friction stir welding steel

AbstractThe feasibility of friction stir welding (FSW) of steel is demonstrated. Tensile and bend testing have confirmed that the mechanical properties of friction stir welded 12% chromium alloy and low carbon steel joints compare favourably with the properties of the parent metal. Some initial feasibility studies of FSW of both 12% chromium alloy and low carbon steel are described. Although more development work is needed, particularly to improve tool materials, the prognosis for continued developments in FSW of steel is shown to be good.
Supermarket Service Modeling and Evaluation

Supermarkets face the problems of customer queuing and SCM optimizing. Even a series of supermarket service models are adopted currently; however, these issues still exist. This paper examines the framework of this popular service and proposes a quantitive supermarket service metric for evaluation. It introduces three existing supermarket service models and propounds a new hybrid model on the point of improvement which is an integration of e-supermarket and typical model, concentrating on self-service and automated service. The paper gives detailed analysis and comparisons based on Game Theory and simulated experiment by expressions separately for customer, supermarket and supplier and proves the superior feature of the hybrid model. It also suggests a feasible solution using RFID and explains the solution to the biggest challenge about backend bottleneck.
Aldosterone-to-renin ratio and nocturnal blood pressure decline assessed by self-measurement of blood pressure at home: the Ohasama Study

Abstract Based on ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring, the aldosterone-to-renin ratio (ARR) has been reported to be associated with a diminished nocturnal decline in BP, generally referred to as a “non-dipping” pattern. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between ARR and the non-dipping pattern based on home BP measurements. This study included 177 participants ≥55 years from the general population of Ohasama (mean age: 67.2 years; 74.6% women); no patient was receiving antihypertensive treatment. The median plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) and ARR were 0.8 ng/mL/h, 8.1 ng/dL and 9.7 ng/dL per ng/mL/h, respectively. Each 1 SD increase in log-transformed (ln) ARR was significantly associated with the prevalence of the non-dipping pattern after adjustments for possible confounding factors including home morning systolic BP (odds ratio, 1.45; p = 0.049). However, no significant associations of PRA or PAC with the non-dipping pattern were observed (p ≥ 0.2). When participants were divided into four groups according to median levels of home morning and night-time systolic BPs, the group with a higher home morning systolic BP (≥128.4 mmHg) with a higher home night-time systolic BP (≥114.4 mmHg) had the greatest ARR levels (ANCOVA p = 0.01). These results support the hypothesis that relative aldosterone excess may be related to a non-dipping pattern in a general population and suggest that a non-dipping pattern can be accurately observed by home BP measurements.
Towards multilingual user models for Personalized Multilingual Information Retrieval

The majority of studies in Personalized Information Retrieval (PIR) literature have focused on monolingual IR, and only relatively little work has been done conceming multilingual IR. In this paper we propose a novel method to represent user models in a multilingual fashion. We argue that such representation would be more suitable for Personalized Multilingual Information Retrieval (PMIR). Furthermore, we outline two algorithms for query adaptation based on user information from the multilingual user model.
Tacrolimus Reverses UVB Irradiation-Induced Epidermal Langerhans Cell Reduction by Inhibiting TNF-α Secretion in Keratinocytes via Regulation of NF-κB/p65

Background: Topical calcineurin inhibitors including tacrolimus and pimecrolimus are used in the treatment of many inflammatory skin diseases mainly via blocking T-cell proliferation. Our previous studies found that pimecrolimus 1% cream could reverse high-dose ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation-induced epidermal Langerhans cell (LC) reduction via inhibition of LC migration. We conducted this study to investigate the effects of topical tacrolimus 0.03% ointment on high-dose UVB-irradiated human epidermal LCs. Methods: Twenty fresh human foreskin tissues were randomly divided into four groups as follows: Control, Tacrolimus (0.03%), UVB (180 mJ/cm2), and UVB (180 mJ/cm2) + Tacrolimus (0.03%). Four time points were set as follows: 0, 18, 24, and 48 h. We collected culture medium and tissues at each time point. The percentage of CD1a+ cells in the medium was detected by means of flow cytometry. Each tissue was prepared for immunohistochemistry, real-time quantitative PCR, and western blot. HaCaT cells were cultured and divided into four groups: Control, Tacrolimus (1 μg/ml), UVB (30 mJ/cm2), and UVB (30 mJ/cm2) + Tacrolimus (1 μg/ml). The cells were incubated for 24 h and prepared for real-time quantitative PCR and western blot. Results: Topical tacrolimus significantly reversed high-dose UVB irradiation-induced epidermal LC reduction and CD1a+ cell increment in culture medium. Tacrolimus significantly inhibited UVB irradiation-induced tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB)/p65 mRNA and protein expression in HaCaT cells. Tacrolimus also significantly inhibited high-dose UVB irradiation-induced TNF-α expression in cultured tissues. Finally, TNF-α antagonist (recombinant human TNF-α receptor II: IgG Fc fusion protein) could significantly reverse UVB irradiation-induced epidermal LC reduction. Conclusion: Topical tacrolimus 0.03% could reverse UVB irradiation-induced epidermal LC reduction by inhibiting TNF-α secretion in keratinocytes via regulation of NF-κB/p65.
Creep and physical aging of injection molded, fiber reinforced polypropylene

Tensile creep data have been obtained at 23°C as a function of physical age from test pieces of glass fiber reinforced polypropylene cut from injection molded square plaques in directions parallel and transverse to the flow direction. Smaller compliances were measured for loading parallel to the flow than for loading in the perpendicular direction, reflecting the preferential alignment of the fibers with the flow. Two creep functions have been used to model the creep behavior over both a limited timescale where the age of the test piece remains effectively constant and a wider timescale where significant further aging of the material occurs. The results of these analyses reveal significant differences between modeling injection molded polypropylene and compression molded material.
College completion predicts lower depression but higher metabolic syndrome among disadvantaged minorities in young adulthood

Significance College graduates enjoy healthier, longer lives compared with individuals who do not graduate from college. However, the health benefit of educational attainment is not as great for blacks as it is for whites. Moreover, college completion may not erase the detrimental effects of early-life disadvantage for blacks and Hispanics. We use nationally representative data on young adults to test whether American minorities experience differential returns to educational attainment. We find that college completion predicts lower rates of depression for all racial groups. It also predicts lower metabolic syndrome among whites. However, college completion predicts higher metabolic syndrome among black and Hispanic adults from disadvantaged backgrounds, suggesting upward mobility may come at a health cost to young minorities in America. Individuals with higher educational attainment live healthier and longer lives. However, not everyone benefits equally from higher education. In particular, the black–white gap in life expectancy is greater at higher levels of educational attainment. Furthermore, recent research suggests that disadvantaged African Americans in the rural Southeast who attend college have worse physical health than their similarly disadvantaged peers who do not attend college. The extent to which this pattern generalizes to a nationally representative, mixed-race sample is unknown. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we test whether the health benefits associated with college completion vary by level of childhood disadvantage for depression and metabolic syndrome in young adulthood, across race/ethnicity. We find uniform lower depression associated with college completion regardless of childhood disadvantage, and across non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic young adults. College completion is associated with lower metabolic syndrome for whites across all levels of childhood disadvantage. In contrast, college completion is associated with higher metabolic syndrome among black and Hispanic young adults from disadvantaged childhood environments. Our findings suggest that, for minorities from disadvantaged backgrounds, finishing college pays substantial dividends for mental health but simultaneously exacts costs with regard to physical health. This pattern contrasts starkly with whites and minorities from more privileged backgrounds, for whom college completion is associated with benefits to both mental and physical health. These results suggest that racial disparities in health may persist in part because the health of upwardly mobile minorities is compromised in young adulthood.
Preparation of Polypyrrole Nanocomposites with Organophilic and Hydrophilic Montmorillonite and Investigation of Their Corrosion Protection on Iron

The nanocomposite of polypyrrole with organonophilic montmorillonite and hydrophilic montmorillonite clays was prepared by in situ polymerization of pyrrole monomer in the presence of montmorillonite nanoclays. FTIR spectroscopy studies and X-ray diffraction pattern were used to confirm the formation of a polypyrrole/montmorillonite nanocomposite. The scanning electron microscopy image of the nanocomposite showed the homogeneous and continuous structure of the nanocomposite. Also cyclic voltammetry studies revealed that the synthesized nanocomposites were electroactive. The anticorrosive properties of nanocomposite coatings on iron coupons were evaluated and compared with pure polypyrrole coating. According to the results in corrosive environments, the polypyrrole/organonophilic montmorillonite nanocomposite has enhanced corrosion protection effect in comparison to pure polypyrrole and polypyrrole/hydrophilic montmorillonite coating. It was concluded that the better corrosion protection effect was due to the better dispersion of organophilic montmorillonite nanoclays in the polymer matrix, which results in a decrease in the corrosion current and corrosion rate. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Technol 2013, 32, 21337; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/adv.21337
Perceiving nested affordances for another person’s actions

Affordances are available behaviors that emerge out of relations between properties of animals and properties of their environment. Affordances are nested within one another. One way to conceptualize this nesting is through a mean-ends hierarchy. Previous research has shown that perceivers are sensitive to hierarchical means-ends relationships when perceiving affordances for their own actions. Affordances are also nested in a social context. We investigated perception of hierarchical mean-ends nesting of affordances for another person’s actions. We asked participants to judge the maximum reaching height of another person (the "actor"). Judgments of the actor’s maximum reaching height reflected manipulated constraints on the reaching task, suggesting that participants were sensitive (prospectively) to hierarchical relations between lower order affordances and higher order affordances. In addition, the results revealed that judgments scaled to the reaching ability of the actor and not that of the perceiver. We argue that perceivers were sensitive to hierarchical means-ends nesting of affordances for another person across two-levels of this hierarchy, and that perceivers’ judgments were based upon perceptual information about the actor’s action capabilities, rather than being based upon simulation of perceivers’ own abilities.
Late chronotypes are associated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in women with breast cancer

ABSTRACT Neoadjuvant chemotherapy, that is, the administration of chemotherapy before surgery, has been commonly used for locally advanced breast cancer to improve the surgical outcomes and increase the opportunity for breast-conserving therapy. Women with breast cancer often receive an anthracycline-based regimen as the neoadjuvant chemotherapy, which is associated with a high risk of emesis. Despite the development of novel antiemetics, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) has been commonly reported as a major adverse effect, affecting the quality of life of the patients. However, the factors predicting CINV in women with breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy remain unclear. In this single-institution, prospective, observational study conducted at an outpatient cancer centre in the Republic of Korea from November 2013 to March 2016, we analysed women with breast cancer who planned to be treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery. Candidate factors associated with CINV were assessed before neoadjuvant chemotherapy using the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. CINV was assessed after chemotherapy by using the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer Antiemesis Tool. Of a total of 143 participants, 7 patients were lost to follow-up and 2 patients were excluded due to changes in their treatment plan; thus, 134 patients were finally included in the analyses. Overall, 48.5% of the participants experienced CINV, with delayed CINV prevalence (42.5%) being more common than acute (39.6%). In the univariate analyses, overall CINV was significantly associated with late chronotypes (odds ratio [OR], 3.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.37–8.87; p = 0.009), a history of nausea/vomiting (OR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.10–4.37; p = 0.026) and anxiety (OR, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.05–4.81; p = 0.036). In the multivariate analyses, late chronotypes (OR, 3.53; 95% CI, 1.27–9.79; p = 0.015) and a history of nausea/vomiting (OR, 2.83; 95% CI, 1.31–6.13; p = 0.008) remained significantly associated with CINV. In conclusion, in women with breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery, late chronotypes were found to have an increased risk of CINV; these data suggest that clinicians need to assess and consider the chronotype in the management of CINV.
Low-Complexity Massive MIMO Subspace Estimation and Tracking From Low-Dimensional Projections

Massive MIMO is a variant of multiuser MIMO, in which the number of antennas $M$ at the base-station is very large. It has been observed that in many realistic propagation scenarios, although the user channel vectors have a very high-dim $M$, they lie on low-dim subspaces because of their limited angular spread (spatial correlation). This low-dim subspace structure remains stable across several coherence blocks and can be exploited to improve the system performance. In a recent work, we addressed this problem and proposed a very effective novel algorithm referred to as Approximate Maximum-Likelihood (AML), which was formulated as a semi-definite program (SDP). In this paper, we address two problems left open in our previous work, namely, computational complexity and tracking. We propose a new algorithm that is reminiscent of Multiple Measurement Vectors (MMV) problem in Compressed Sensing and prove that it is equivalent to the AML Algorithm for sufficiently dense angular grids. It has also a very low computational complexity and is able to track the sharp transitions in the channel statistics very quickly. We provide numerical simulations to assess the estimation/tracking performance of our proposed algorithm, with a particular emphasis on situations where a direct implementation of the SDP is infeasible in real-time. Our proposed algorithm is of independent interest in applications other than massive MIMO. We provide numerical simulations to compare the performance of our algorithm with that of other related subspace estimation algorithms in the literature.
Atomistic characterization of stress-driven configurational instability and its activation mechanisms

Cleavage decohesion and shear dislocation nucleation are two basic modes of localized deformation in crystal lattices, which normally result from instability of the atomic configuration driven by mechanical forces. The critical state of instability and its thermal activation mechanisms can be quantitatively determined by analyzing the energetics of the lattice system. In this thesis, the unit processes of configurational instability of crystal lattices under various non-uniform structural and/or chemical environments are characterized by systematically probing the atomistic potential energy landscape of each system using the state of the art configurational space sampling schemes. The problems studied are homogeneous dislocation nucleation in a perfect crystal by nanoindentation, dislocation emission and cleavage decohesion at atomically sharp crack tips, and chemically-enhanced bond breaking in a wet silica nanorod. These processes are studied in a unified manner such that two important types of properties are determined: one is the athermal load at which the instability takes place instantaneously without the aid of thermal fluctuations, and the other is the stress-dependent activation energy used for an estimate of the kinetic rate of transition. Along the way, important aspects concerning the atomistic characterization of configurational instability are revealed. Of particular note is extending the continuum instability criterion to detect atomic defect nucleation. We demonstrate that a local instability criterion can be applied to identify dislocation nucleation in the case of indentation, considering that the relatively small strain gradient beneath the indenter will lead to a mode of long wavelength phonon instability suitable for a study by the local continuum approach. In addition, the chemical effect on stress-driven lattice instability is revealed via the study on reactivity of a silica nanorod with water. We identify distinct competing mechanisms of hydrolysis which are rate-controlling at different load regimes. The ensuing stress-mediated switch of rate-limiting steps of hydrolysis quantitatively demonstrates the impact of finding the detailed molecular mechanisms on a realistic estimate of the activation rate when configurational instability occurs within a chemically reactive environment. Implications regarding the analysis of chemically-assisted brittle fracture are also discussed. Thesis Supervisor: Sidney Yip Title: Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Pretend play, social competence and involvement in children aged 5-7 years: the concurrent validity of the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between pretend play, social competence and involvement in school-based activities in children aged 5-7 years and to determine whether children's social competence and level of involvement could be inferred from their scores on the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment. PROCEDURE The pretend play skills of 41 primary school-aged children aged 5-7 years were assessed on a one-on-one basis. Classroom teachers of the children assessed the children's social competence using the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale and their involvement in school based activities using the Leuven Involvement Scale for Young Children. MAIN FINDINGS Significant positive relationships were found between elaborate pretend play and object substitution scores, involvement scores and peer play interaction scores (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). A significant negative relationship was found between elaborate pretend play scores, and social disconnection and social disruption scores (P < 0.05). Play deficit indicators were significantly negatively related to involvement scores (P < 0.01). This suggests that children with proficient pretend play skills are socially competent with peers and are able to engage in classroom activity. Children who scored poorly on the play assessment were more likely to have difficulty interacting with their peers and engaging in school activities. CONCLUSION Social competence and involvement skills are related to a child's ability to engage in pretend play. A child's social skills and ability to engage in school activities as assessed by teachers can be inferred from their scores on the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment.