Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SARS-CoV-2 Variants Associated with Vaccine Breakthrough in the Delaware Valley through Summer 2021

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is highly effective at reducing viral infection, hospitalization and death. However, vaccine breakthrough infections have been widely observed, raising the question of whether particular viral variants or viral mutations are associated with breakthrough. ABSTRACT The severe acute respiratory coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of the global outbreak of COVID-19. Evidence suggests that the virus is evolving to allow efficient spread through the human population, including vaccinated individuals. Here, we report a study of viral variants from surveillance of the Delaware Valley, including the city of Philadelphia, and variants infecting vaccinated subjects. We sequenced and analyzed complete viral genomes from 2621 surveillance samples from March 2020 to September 2021 and compared them to genome sequences from 159 vaccine breakthroughs. In the early spring of 2020, all detected variants were of the B.1 and closely related lineages. A mixture of lineages followed, notably including B.1. 243 followed by B.1. 1.7 (alpha), with other lineages present at lower levels. Later isolations were dominated by B.1. 617.2 (delta) and other delta lineages; delta was the exclusive variant present by the last time sampled. To investigate whether any variants appeared preferentially in vaccine breakthroughs, we devised a model based on Bayesian autoregressive moving average logistic multinomial regression to allow rigorous comparison. This revealed that B.1. 617.2 (delta) showed 3-fold enrichment in vaccine breakthrough cases (odds ratio of 3; 95% credible interval 0.89-11). Viral point substitutions could also be associated with vaccine breakthroughs, notably the N501Y substitution found in the alpha, beta and gamma variants (odds ratio 2.04; 95% credible interval of1.25–3.18). This study thus overviews viral evolution and vaccine breakthroughs in the Delaware Valley and introduces a rigorous statistical approach to interrogating enrichment of breakthrough variants against a changing background. IMPORTANCE SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is highly effective at reducing viral infection, hospitalization and death. However, vaccine breakthrough infections have been widely observed, raising the question of whether particular viral variants or viral mutations are associated with breakthrough. Here, we report analysis of 2621 surveillance isolates from people diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Delaware Valley in southeastern Pennsylvania, allowing rigorous comparison to 159 vaccine breakthrough case specimens. Our best estimate is a 3-fold enrichment for some lineages of delta among breakthroughs, and enrichment of a notable spike substitution, N501Y. We introduce statistical methods that should be widely useful for evaluating vaccine breakthroughs and other viral phenotypes.
Etude expérimentale et numérique de la dégradation cyclique des électrodes en CuCr1Zr lors du soudage par résistance par point

Le soudage par point est utilise par l'industrie automobile pour assembler des toles minces en acier. L'accumulation des points de soudage entraine une usure des faces actives des electrodes surtout dans le cas du soudage de toles galvanisees a haute limite d'elasticite. Cette etude, experimentale et numerique, porte sur la comprehension des mecanismes de degradation des electrodes en CuCr1Zr, avec une attention particuliere portee a l'influence de l'adoucissement lie a l'etat de precipitation du materiau. Le comportement thermomecanique de l'alliage et ses proprietes thermo-physiques ont ete caracterises dans differents etats microstructuraux. Des essais de soudage par point instrumentes, sur toles nues et revetues, ont permis d'etudier la cinetique de degradation des electrodes. Ces essais fournissent par ailleurs des donnees pour valider les simulations numeriques realisees avec le code SYSWELD®. Un modele couple electro-thermo-metallurgique permet une simulation correcte du champ de temperature dans les electrodes et d'evaluer la contribution respective des parametres de soudage et des conditions aux limites qui influencent l'adoucissement. Un second modele electro-thermo-metallurgique-mecanique, integrant une loi de comportement elastoviscoplastique avec une variable de vieillissement, permet de calculer la deformation de l'electrode au cours d'une dizaine de cycles de soudage. Bien que le nombre de points simules soit insuffisant, les premiers resultats sont satisfaisants en thermique et encourageants pour la mecanique.
Principals as Agents: Subjective Performance Measures in Education

In this paper, we compare subjective principal assessments of teachers to the traditional determinants of teacher compensation iV education and experience iV and another potential compensation mechanism -- value-added measures of teacher effectiveness based on student achievement gains. We find that subjective principal assessments of teachers predict future student achievement significantly better than teacher experience, education or actual compensation, though not as well as value-added teacher quality measures. In particular, principals appear quite good at identifying those teachers who produce the largest and smallest standardized achievement gains in their schools, but have far less ability to distinguish between teachers in the middle of this distribution and systematically discriminate against male and untenured faculty. Moreover, we find that a principali's overall rating of a teacher is a substantially better predictor of future parent requests for that teacher than either the teacheri's experience, education and current compensation or the teacheri's value-added achievement measure. These findings not only inform education policy, but also shed light on subjective performance assessment more generally.
Smart Proof Instructions

Purpose – To avoid (costly) con ﬂ ict, it is imperative to uncover when negotiators cooperate. The previous study has shown that negotiators ’ cooperative or competitive behavior is oftentimes guided by cues about their counterpart; information about his/her traits or behavior. Using regulatory focus theory, this paper aims to investigate when this is likely to happen. The authors hypothesize and test that because prevention focus (rather than promotion focus) is associated with concerns for safety and concrete surroundings, it strengthens theimpact ofcounterpartcues. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used two scenario studies and one behavioral negotiation study to test the general hypothesis. The authors measured or manipulated participants ’ regulatory focus, manipulated counterpart cues by varying the information negotiators received about their counterpart ’ s traits andbehavior,andmeasuredparticipants ’ cooperativeorcompetitiveconcessionmakingbehavior. Findings – Results from the studies con ﬁ rmed that under prevention focus, negotiators ’ cooperative behavior depended on whether they received cooperative versus competitive counterpart cues more than under promotion focus. Furthermore, results also showed that under prevention focus, negotiators ’ behavior was relativelyunaffected bytheir own social motivation – i.e. their personalgoalto obtainfavorable outcomes foroneself orfor both negotiationparties. Originality/value – By showing that regulatory focus determines when counterpart cues affect negotiation behavior, this paper furthers the understanding of when contextual factors affect negotiators ’ behavior. In addition,itcontributestotheunderstandingofthecomplexeffectsofpreventionfocusininterpersonalbehavior.
Quantitative structure-cytotoxicity relationship of 3-styrylchromones.

BACKGROUND Fifteen 3-styrylchromones were subjected to quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analysis based on their cytotoxicity, tumor selectivity and anti-HIV activity, in order to explore their biological activities. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cytotoxicity against four human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines and three human oral normal cells was determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method. Tumor-selectivity was evaluated by the ratio of the mean CC50 (50% cytotoxic concentration) against normal human oral cells to that against OSCC cell lines. Anti-HIV activity was evaluated by the ratio of CC50 to EC50 (50% cytoprotective concentration from HIV infection). Physicochemical, structural and quantum-chemical parameters were calculated based on the conformations optimized by the LowModeMD method followed by the density functional theory (DFT) method. RESULTS All 3-styrylchromone derivatives showed moderate-to-high tumor selectivity. Especially, compounds that have a methoxy group at 6-position of the chromone ring and hydroxyl group at 4'-position of phenyl group in styryl moiety [ 11: ] showed the highest tumor-selectivity. On the other hand, their cytotoxicity against normal cells showed good correlation to the descriptors that reflect hydrophobic interaction and molecular shapes. CONCLUSION Multivariate statistics with chemical descriptors for the location of substituted group, molecular shape and electrostatic interaction may be useful for designing the most favorable compound with higher tumor selectivity.
General Constraints on Sampling Wildlife on FIA Plots

This paper reviews the constraints to sampling wildlife populations at FIA points. Wildlife sampling programs must have well-defined goals and provide information adequate to meet those goals. Investigators should choose a State variable based on information needs and the spatial sampling scale. We discuss estimation-based methods for three State variables: species richness, abundance, and patch occupancy. All methods incorporate two essential sources of variation: detectability estimation and spatial variation. FIA sampling imposes specific space and time criteria that may need to be adjusted to meet local wildlife objectives.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INFORMATION ASYMMETRY : Theory and Evidence from the University of California

Why do inventors found firms? I address this question by examining start-ups founded by University of California faculty and graduate students. I first present a theoretical framework to capture the contracting relationship between an inventor and a potential licensee. I propose that information asymmetry between an inventor and an outside firm raises the cost of licensing for the firm. This contracting problem leads inventors to found firms to further develop their inventions and reduce problems of information asymmetry. I empirically test two sources of information asymmetry, technological uncertainty and tacit knowledge, and find that these characteristics influence the probability that a given university invention is licensed to an inventor-founded firm. This study has implications for research on entrepreneurship, the economics of information, and the impact of universities in national innovation systems. ∗This research was funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the Center for Studies in Higher Education, and the Industry University Cooperative Research Program. I am grateful to David Mowery, Severin Borenstein, Rui deFigueiredo, Paul Gertler, Bronwyn Hall, David Teece, Catherine Wolfram, and Brian Wright for their helpful comments and advice. Special thanks to Suzanne Quick and others at the University of California Office of Technology Transfer for their assistance in compiling and interpreting the licensing data.
SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF AN ANTIMALARIAL DRUG PRIMAQUINE IN BULK AND PHARMACEUTICAL FORMULATIONS

A simple, sensitive and accurate spectrophotometric method have been developed for the determination of primaquine in pure and dosage forms. Method is based on oxidation of the drug with 1, 10 phenanthroline producing orange colored chromogen which is measured at 520 nm. Beer’s law is obeyed in the concentration range of 10-200 μg/mL for the developed method. The molar absorptivity and sandell sensitivity are found to be 22914 L mol -1 cm -1 and 0. 011μg/cm 2 respectively. The regression equation for primaquine was found to be y = 0.0041X + 0.0223and the correlation coefficient for the regression line was 0.999. Different experimental parameters affecting the color development and stability of colored product are carefully studied and optimized. The developed method could be successfully applied to pharmaceutical formulations. The results obtained are in good agreement with those obtained using standard method.
Surviving Urbanisation: Maintaining Bird Species Diversity in Urban Melbourne

The relationships between vegetation and bird communities within an urban landscape are synthetised, based on a series of studies we conducted. Our studies indicate that streetscape vegetation plays an important role in influencing urban bird communities, with streetscapes dominated by native plants supporting communities with high native species richness and abundance, while exotic and newly-developed streetscapes support more introduced bird species and fewer native bird species. Native streetscapes can also provide important resources for certain groups of birds, such as nectarivores. Our research has also revealed that urban remnants are likely to support more native bird species if they are larger and if they contain components of riparian vegetation. Vegetation structure and quality does not appear to be as important a driver as remnant size in determining the richness of native bird communities. Introduced birds were shown to occur in remnants at low densities, irrespective of remnant size, when compared to densities found in streetscapes dominated by exotic vegetation. We discuss our results in terms of practical planning and management options to increase and maintain urban avian diversity and conclude by offering suggestions for future fields of research in terms of urban bird communities.
New machine learning prediction models for compressive strength of concrete modified with glass cullet

PurposeRecycled waste glasses have been widely used in Portland cement and concrete as aggregate or supplementary cementitious material. Compressive strength is one of the most important properties of concrete containing waste glasses, providing information about the loading capacity, pozzolanic reaction and porosity of the mixture. This study aims to propose highly nonlinear models to predict the compressive strength of concrete containing finely ground glass particles.Design/methodology/approachA robust machine leaning method called genetic programming is used the build the compressive strength prediction models. The models are developed using a number of test results on 50-mm mortar cubes containing glass powder according to ASTM C109. Parametric and sensitivity analyses are conducted to evaluate the effect of the predictor variables on the compressive strength. Furthermore, a comparative study is performed to benchmark the proposed models against classical regression models.FindingsThe derived design equations accurately characterize the compressive strength of concrete with ground glass fillers and remarkably outperform the regression models. A key feature of the proposed models as compared to the previous studies is that they include the simultaneous effect of various parameters such as glass compositions, size distributions, curing age and isothermal temperatures. Parametric and sensitivity analyses indicate that compressive strength is very sensitive to the curing age, curing temperature and particle surface area.Originality/valueThis study presents accurate machine learning models for the prediction of one of the most important mechanical properties of cementitious mixtures modified by waste glass, i.e. compressive strength. In addition, it provides an insight into the effect of several parameters influencing the compressive strength. From a computing perspective, a robust machine learning technique that overcomes the shortcomings of existing soft computing methods is introduced.
A comparison of the effect on gastric emptying of propofol or dexmedetomidine in critically ill patients: preliminary study

Background: Propofol and dexmedetomidine are widely used for sedation in the intensive care unit yet there are limited data on its effects on gastric motility. In our preliminary study, we examined whether or not any effect of propofol and dexmedetomidine on gastric emptying is preserved in critically ill patients. Methods: Twenty‐four critically ill, enterally fed adult patients each received enteral feeding via a nasogastric tube at 50 mL h−1 throughout the 5‐h study period. Either propofol 2 mg kg−1 h−1 (n = 12, Group P) or dexmedetomidine 0.2 μg kg−1 h− (n = 12, Group D) was given intravenously over 5 h. Gastric motility was measured indirectly by analysis of the absorption over time of 1.5 g of paracetamol administered into the stomach at the start of the study period. At the beginning and end of the study, residual gastric volume and pH of residual gastric fluid were measured. Results: Gastric residual volume measured at the end of propofol infusion (19.33 ± 11.33) was found to be higher when compared with the volume measured before infusion (11.33 ± 4.84) and after dexmedetomidine infusion (9.17 ± 4.54). But, there was no difference between groups in gastric emptying time (AUC120 894.53 ± 499.39 vs. 1113.46 ± 598.09 propofol and dexmedetomidine groups, respectively). Conclusion: In our study, gastric residual volume measured at the end of propofol infusion was found to be higher when compared with the volume measured before infusion and after dexmedetomidine infusion. There was no difference between groups in gastric emptying time.
Flood plain contribution to open channel flow structure

Enhanced understanding of the role of flood plains in dictating open-channel flow is essential for environmental and ecological management of fluvial systems. This paper presents the field measurements and primary analysis of flood flow across a compound channel in the River Severn, England. A three-dimensional acoustic Doppler velocimeter in combination with a directional current meter is deployed to measure the velocity. The statistical flow structure is compared with existing analytical formulations derived for single channel flows. The existence of a vertically double-layer structure around the interface between the main channel and the flood plain is demonstrated, indicating (a) a vertical shear-dominated flow zone near the bed; and (b) away from the bed a transverse shear-dominated flow zone with enhanced turbulent mixing. This feature necessitates concurrent consideration of both the transverse and the vertical resolution in mathematical modelling. The measured data can be utilized to assess the performance of mathematical river models.
Statistical estimation of jump rates for a specific class of Piecewise Deterministic Markov Processes.

We consider the class of Piecewise Deterministic Markov Processes (PDMP), whose state space is $\R_{+}^{*}$, that possess an increasing deterministic motion and that shrink deterministically when they jump. Well known examples for this class of processes are Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) window size process and the processes modeling the size of a "marked" {\it Escherichia coli} cell. Having observed the PDMP until its $n$th jump, we construct a nonparametric estimator of the jump rate $\lambda$. Our main result is that for $D$ a compact subset of $\R_{+}^{*}$, if $\lambda$ is in the H{\"{o}}lder space ${\mathcal H}^s({\mathcal D})$, the squared-loss error of the estimator is asymptotically close to the rate of $n^{-s/(2s+1)}$. Simulations illustrate the behavior of our estimator.
Analysis of Tensile Strength and Water Absorption Properties of Glass-Ramie Hybrid Laminated Composite

Hybrid layered composites (HLC), combining natural and synthetic fibers, are mainly used in the automotive composite industry. The factor determining the inter-mechanical bond between layers impacts the mechanical strength. Ramie fibers were immersed in a 5 wt. % NaOH solution for 2 hours to remove lignin and hemicellulose content in the fiber surface. Alkali treatment increases the adhesion bond between cellulose and the polyester matrix. The treated ramie fibers to be weaved by traditional machine to produce the woven ramie. The three-layer fibers are manufactured by press mold with a 2-bar pressure. The characterization of HLC for tensile strength according to ASTM D638 and water absorption refers to ASTM D570. The excellent tensile strength and elastic modulus of HLC have a stacking sequence of woven ramie-unidirectional glass-woven ramie (WR-UG-WR) by 150 MPa and 24.1 GPa, respectively, and its lowest water absorption by 3.31%.
Caracterização morfológica de acessos de batata-doce

To characterize morphologically accesses of sweet potato from the germplasm collection of the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense (UENF) Brazil, as a way to optimize the utilization of important genomes for plant breeding, two experiments were carried out in field conditions, both in a randomized blocks design with three replications. The experiments were done in November at UENF and December in Campos. For such experiment, fourteen sweet potato accesses were evaluated for different traits related to aerial parts, and root descriptors, in a total of twenty characteristics. Genetic variability between accesses was observed, mainly due to characteristics of pubescence of the stem apex, pigmentation of the inferior veins of leaves and shape of roots. The accesses, Amarelinha, Roxinha, WON-B and Campina 3 presented interesting characteristics for the market of north-fluminense region.
Heat generation of plasmonic nanoparticles

In this paper we use layer potentials and asymptotic analysis techniques to analyze the heat generation due to nanoparticles when illuminated at their plasmonic resonance. We consider arbitrary-shaped particles and the cases of both a single and multiple particles. We clarify the strong dependency of the heat generation on the geometry of the particles as it depends on the eigenvalues of the associated Neumann–Poincar´e operator. For close-to-touching nanoparticles, we show that the temperature ﬁeld deviates signiﬁcantly from the one generated by two single nanoparticles. The results of this paper formally explain experimental results reported in the nanomedical literature. They open a door for solving the challenging problems of detecting plasmonic nanoparticles in biological media and monitoring temperature elevation in tissue generated by nanoparticle heating.
Bearing assembly with integrated sensor system

An integrated sensor system (1) of the bearing assembly comprising: a hub (4), which defines a shaft (41) of the coupling hole (40); a housing (2); and at least one row of rolling elements (8 ) positioned in the hub (4) and the housing to permit rotational movement therebetween (2) while the hub (4) axially and radially limited) within the housing (2. The bearing assembly further comprises at least one strain sensor element (90) which is attached to the hub (4), for measuring a force applied to the shaft (41), the strain sensor element is electrically connected to a power source (89) for receiving from the strain sensor element (90) a signal processor (91).
On-line models for set-covering: the power of greediness

We study an on-line model for set-covering implying that elements of the ground set of size n arrive one-by-one and with any such element i, arrive also the names of the sets containing it in the nal instance. Any new element has to be processed irrevocably before the arrival of the next element. We study limits on the competitiveness of several greedy rules solving several alternatives of this basic model. For any of them we give lower and upper bounds for the competitive ratio achieved. We nally deal with the maximum budget saving problem. Here, an initial budget is allotted that is destined to cover the cost of an algorithm for solving set-covering and the objective is to maximize the savings on the initial budget.