Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microstructure-Tailored Stainless Steels with High Mechanical Performance at Elevated Temperature

Stainless steels are widely used in chemical, structural and automotive applications due to their high room-temperature mechanical properties, toughness, corrosion resistance and low cost. However, tendency and rise in industrial demands for components to be used at high temperature with good mechanical performance and corrosion resistance limit their usage in many applications and narrow down their service criteria. Tailoring the micro- structure, tuning the chemistry, adjusting the phase composition and introducing a dense 3D network of dislocations can tailor and develop stainless steels with high performance for extreme conditions, such as elevated temperatures. In this chapter, the effect of the microstructure of additively manufactured and thermo-mechanically processed stainless steels on the high temperature mechanical performance is discussed and a comparison is made with conventional steels. Moreover, new mechanisms are introduced and discussed co-relating the microstructure and properties.
Tabu Search to Plan Schedules in a Multiskill Customer Contact Center

We have studied a realistic case of scheduling problem in a customer contact center, dealing with multiskill agents. Our model combines the last two steps of the standard approach by determining shifts and by assigning them to agents at the same time (scheduling and rostering). Moreover, we have considered realistic vacations, according to legal constraints and preferences of agents. We have envisioned entire weeks of work, with variable meal times and meal durations, without overtime. In this paper, we define the problem and describe a Tabu search based solution
Minimizing Faulty Executions of Distributed Systems

When troubleshooting buggy executions of distributed systems, developers typically start by manually separating out events that are responsible for triggering the bug (signal) from those that are extraneous (noise). We present DEMi, a tool for automatically performing this minimization. We apply DEMi to buggy executions of two very different distributed systems, Raft and Spark, and find that it produces minimized executions that are between 1X and 4.6X the size of optimal executions.
Giardiasis and other intestinal parasitic infections in relation to anthropometric indicators of malnutrition: a large, population-based survey of schoolchildren in Tehran

Abstract The morbidity of intestinal parasitic infections is greatest among children of school age and may have an adverse effect on growth. In the present, cross-sectional study, the association between previously undiagnosed intestinal parasitic infections and growth was assessed in 19,209 children attending elementary schools in Tehran. The physical growth of these children was investigated by recording body weights, heights and weight-for-age Z scores. Faecal samples were collected and each checked for intestinal parasites using four methods (the microscopical examination of a smear stained with Lugol's iodine, a smear prepared by formol–ether concentration, a wet smear in physiological normal saline, and a strip of adhesive tape that had been pressed against the subject's peri-anal region). The association between intestinal parasitic infection and growth was explored using multivariable models adjusted for the influence of age and polyparasitism. The prevalence of infection with any intestinal parasite was 18.4%. The prevalences of stunting (3.8% v. 2.8%), wasting (22.7% v. 20.4%) and the combination of stunting and wasting (3.7% v. 2.8%) were all significantly higher in the infected children than in the uninfected (P<0.01 for each). Although at least nine species of parasite were detected, only two, Giardia lamblia and Enterobius vermicularis, were each significantly associated with low height for age (stunting) and low weight for height (wasting). There were no such reductions with Ascaris lumbricodes, hookworm, Blastocystis hominis, Hymenolepis nana or Entamoeba coli infection. The data indicate fairly high prevalences of previously undiagnosed intestinal parasitic infections and highlight important interactions between nutrition and some of the parasites detected. School health programmes aimed at reducing the prevalences of parasitic infections (particularly giardiasis and enterobiasis) in schoolchildren, which may well have beneficial effects on growth and educational outcome, are clearly needed in Tehran.
Inorganic Arsenic and Human Prostate Cancer

Objective We critically evaluated the etiologic role of inorganic arsenic in human prostate cancer. Data sources We assessed data from relevant epidemiologic studies concerning environmental inorganic arsenic exposure. Whole animal studies were evaluated as were in vitro model systems of inorganic arsenic carcinogenesis in the prostate. Data synthesis Multiple studies in humans reveal an association between environmental inorganic arsenic exposure and prostate cancer mortality or incidence. Many of these human studies provide clear evidence of a dose–response relationship. Relevant whole animal models showing a relationship between inorganic arsenic and prostate cancer are not available. However, cellular model systems indicate arsenic can induce malignant transformation of human prostate epithelial cells in vitro. Arsenic also appears to impact prostate cancer cell progression by precipitating events leading to androgen independence in vitro. Conclusion Available evidence in human populations and human cells in vitro indicates that the prostate is a target for inorganic arsenic carcinogenesis. A role for this common environmental contaminant in human prostate cancer initiation and/or progression would be very important.
Reducing child witnesses' false reports of misinformation from parents.

This study explored whether a source-monitoring training (SMT) procedure, in which children distinguished between events they recently witnessed versus events they only heard described, would help 3- to 8-year-olds to report only experienced events during a target interview. Children (N = 132) who witnessed science demonstrations and subsequently heard their parents describe nonexperienced events received SMT before or after a forensic-style interview. SMT reduced the number of false reports that 7- and 8-year-old children reported in response to direct questions but had no impact on the performance of younger children. Combined with earlier results, these data suggest a transition between 3 and 8 years of age in the strategic use of source-monitoring information to support verbal reports, such that only 7- and 8-year-olds generalize training to a difficult memory task that does not include mention of specific alternative sources.
Sequence acquisition of DS-CDMA systems employing Gold sequences

This paper considers sequence acquisition in direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DS/SS) systems that use Gold sequences as the multiple access pseudonoise (PN) sequence. When long PN sequences are used, the design of an acquisition scheme requires the characteristics of partial correlation of PN sequences. For ease of analytic design, the partial correlation of Gold sequences is approximated using a piecewise linearized upper bound model. Since the acquisition of PN sequence in direct-sequence code-division multiple access (DS-CDMA) systems can be formulated as testing two simple hypotheses, we apply fixed sample size (FSS) and sequential tests to the detection of phase alignment. When a sliding correlator-type structure is employed for the acquisition scheme, the acquisition performance of Gold-sequence-based DS-CDMA systems is analyzed and compared to that of m-sequence-based systems. Analytical results show that the use of Gold sequences requires a mean acquisition time quite comparable to the use of m-sequences. Finally, analytical results are verified by computer simulation.
Optimal sensor density for remote estimation over Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) enable a wealth of new applications where remote estimation is essential. Individual sensors simultaneously sense, process and transmit measured information over a lossy wireless network to a central base station, which processes the data and produces an optimal estimate of the state. In order to provide a quantitative design principles on the density of sensor required, we investigate the tradeoff between the estimation performance and the number of communicating nodes with respect to the major MAC protocols used in WSNs. The correlation between packet reception probability and the number of communicating nodes can be studied by selecting a Markov model for the communication protocol. A multi-sensor measurement fusion model is then used to feed a multi-sensor Kalman filtering algorithm to assess the impact of MAC protocols on estimation performance. The proposed approach is placed in the framework of convex optimization problems. A target tracking example illustrates the proposed approach.
Distributed nonlinear programming methods for optimization problems with inequality constraints

In this paper we consider a distributed optimization problem, where a set of agents interacting and cooperating locally have as common goal the minimization of a function expressed as a sum of (possibly non-convex) differentiable functions. Each function in the sum is associated with an agent and each agent has assigned an inequality constraint, therefore generating an optimization problem with inequality constraints. In this paper we present a distributed algorithm for solving such a problem, and give local convergence results. Our approach is based on solving (in a centralized manner) an equivalent augmented optimization problem with mixed constraints. The structure of this augmented problem ensures that the resulting algorithm is distributed. The main challenge in proving the convergence results comes from the fact that the local minimizers are no longer regular due to the distributed formulation. We present also an extension of this algorithm that solves a constrained optimization problem, where each agent has both equality and inequality constraints.
AN ANALYSIS OF MULTIOBJECTIVE EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHMS FOR OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS WITH TIME CONSTRAINTS

Many multiobjective optimization problems in the engineering field are required to be solved within more or less severe time restrictions. Because the optimization criteria, the parameters, and/or constraints might change with time, the optimization solutions must be recalculated when a change takes place. The time required by the optimization procedure to arrive at the new solutions should be bounded accordingly with the rate of change observed in these dynamic problems. This way, the faster the optimization algorithm is to obtain solutions, the wider is the set of dynamic problems to which that algorithm can be applied. Here, we analyze the performance of the nondominated sorting algorithm (NSGA-II), strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm (SPEA2), and single front genetic algorithms (SFGA, and SFGA2) on two different multiobjective optimization problems, with two and three objectives, respectively. For these two studied problems, the single front genetic algorithms have obtained adequate quality in the solutions in very little time. Moreover, for the second and more complex problem approached, SFGA2 and NSGA-II obtain the best hypervolume in the found set of nondominated solutions, but SFGA2 employs much less time than NSGA-II. These results may suggest that single front genetic algorithms, especially SFGA2, could be appropiate to deal with optimization problems with high rates of change, and thus stronger time constraints.
Self-employment duration in urban and rural locations

Previous research has shown that the local environment is important for self-employment. The dynamics of self-employment varies between areas characterized by different labour market conditions, entrepreneurial traditions and other structural factors. This article analyses self-employment spells in Finland with a large register-based data set from the period 1987 to 2002. The main aim is to investigate the role of region-specific factors as compared with individual-specific and other factors on the duration of self-employment spells. First, the descriptive analysis shows that the exit rates from self-employment and the length of self-employment spells depend upon location (urban versus rural area) and the cyclical trends in the economy. Second, self-employment duration is modelled using discrete time survival analysis. It is found that rural areas have significantly lower exit rates in the first years of self-employment than urban areas.
An Update on the Genetics of Comitant Strabismus

Abstract Genetics play a significant role in the development of comitant strabismus and elucidating the relevant mechanisms that cause it may lead to the development of new therapeutic options. The genetics of strabismus are complex and involve the interactions of multiple genes. This article reviews the progress that has been made in the understanding of the genetic causes of comitant strabismus including linkage studies that have identified a variety of candidate sites, RNA and protein studies that have identified genes with altered regulation, and a study that establishes a role for genetic imprinting in comitant strabismus.
Coronary artery disease and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Objective Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome and is associated with cardiovascular risk. The aim of this study was to determine the role of fatty liver in predicting coronary artery disease and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing coronary angiogram. Methods This was a prospective cohort study carried out in a University hospital. Consecutive patients who underwent coronary angiogram had ultrasound screening for fatty liver. Significant cardiovascular disease was defined as ≥50% stenosis in at least one coronary artery. The primary outcome was a composite end point comprising cardiovascular deaths, non-fatal myocardial infarction and the need for further coronary intervention during prospective follow-up. Results Among 612 recruited patients, 356 (58.2%) had fatty liver by ultrasonography, 318 (52.0%) had elevated serum alanine aminotransferase and 465 (76.0%) had significant coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease occurred in 84.6% of patients with fatty liver and 64.1% of those without fatty liver (p<0.001). After adjusting for demographic and metabolic factors, fatty liver (adjusted OR 2.31; 95% CI 1.46 to 3.64) and alanine aminotransferase level (adjusted OR 1.01; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.02) remained independently associated with coronary artery disease. At a mean follow-up of 87±22 weeks, 30 (10.0%) patients with fatty liver and 18 (11.0%) patients without fatty liver reached the composite clinical end point (p=0.79). Conclusions In patients with clinical indications for coronary angiogram, fatty liver is associated with coronary artery disease independently of other metabolic factors. However, fatty liver cannot predict cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in patients with established coronary artery disease.
Tree pattern matching and subset matching in deterministic O(n log3 n)-time

The main goal of this paper is to give an O(nlog3 n) time deterministic algorithm for the the Subset Matching problem. This immediately yields an algorithm of the same efficiency for the Tree Pattern Matching problem. We also give an O(n log3 n/ log log n) time randomized algorithm for these problems. Finally, we give a O(nlog n(z + logn)) time deterministic algorithm for a useful specialization of the Subset Matching problem in which all sets are intervals of a given length Z.
Exact roots for a real-time garbage collector

Garbage collection is traditionally not used in real-time systems due to the unpredictable temporal behavior of current implementations of a garbage collector. However, without garbage collection the programming model is very different from standard Java. It is the opinion of the authors that garbage collection algorithms can be adapted to meet even the requirements for hard real-time systems.One important property of a real-time garbage collector is to identify only the real roots on the root scan. Misinterpreting primitive values as false root pointers can result in an unpredictable worst case memory consumption. In this paper we propose a method to add information on the stack layout to the runtime data structure in order to find the roots exactly. Furthermore, interpreting this information during the collection process is implemented to be worst-case execution time analyzable.
Improving Web Search Ranking by Incorporating Structured Annotation of Queries

Web users are increasingly looking for structured data, such as lyrics, job, or recipes, using unstructured queries on the web. However, retrieving relevant results from such data is a challenging problem due to the unstructured language of the web queries. In this paper, we propose a method to improve web search ranking by detecting Structured Annotation of queries based on top search results. In a structured annotation, the original query is split into different units that are associated with semantic attributes in the corresponding domain. We evaluate our techniques using real world queries and achieve significant improvement.
Seizures following head trauma in dogs: 259 cases (1999-2009).

OBJECTIVE To determine whether dogs with head trauma have a greater incidence of seizures than the general canine patient population. DESIGN Retrospective case series. ANIMALS 259 client-owned dogs. PROCEDURES Medical records of dogs evaluated for head trauma at The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center from 1999 to 2009 were reviewed. Data were collected regarding the cause of the head trauma, physical examination and neurologic examination findings, comorbidities, and the development of seizures during hospitalization. A telephone survey was conducted to question owners regarding the development of seizures after discharge. Relationships between the nature of the head trauma and the development of seizures were then examined. RESULTS 3.5% of dogs with head trauma developed in-hospital seizures, and 6.8% of dogs with head trauma for which follow-up information was available developed seizures after hospital discharge, compared with an epilepsy rate of 1.4% in our hospital. Dogs that developed in-hospital seizures were significantly more likely to have been hit by a car or experienced acceleration-deceleration injury. Additionally, 10% of dogs with traumatic brain injury had in-hospital seizures. No visit or patient characteristics were significantly associated with the development of out-of-hospital seizures. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Dogs with head trauma may develop seizures at a greater rate than dogs in the general canine patient population. Particularly in the immediate to early posttraumatic period, clinicians should remain vigilant for the development of posttraumatic seizures and treat patients accordingly.
On the performance of closed-loop transmit diversity with non-ideal feedback

A closed-loop transmit diversity system is evaluated, taking several major feedback non-idealities into account both separately and in combination, contrasting most previous work in the field. The focus of the study is on the trade-off between quantization errors and feedback periodicity (i.e., a trade-off data). Different number of transmit antennas, transmission rates and receiver velocities are investigated. In addition, we also study the impact of feedback delay. Some main results are as follows: for each receiver velocity and feedback channel rate, there exists an optimal choice of quantization resolution, and hence an optimal choice of feedback period. Furthermore, there is an optimum choice of the number of transmit antennas to employ for a given degree of Doppler and a given feedback rate. Finally, the bit error performance for a fixed feedback rate and a given receiver velocity is practically independent of the transmission rate.
Neural models of schizophrenia

Hallucinations and delusions - two diagnostic features of psychosis shared across the spectrum of heterogeneous schizophrenia constructs - can be described in terms of the pathophysiology of sensory information processing: hallucination is the impaired ability to classify representations as internally or externally generated, while delusion is the immutable linking of representations with each other in the absence of external dependency. The key anatomical systems in higher-order information processing are the cortex, thalamus, basal ganglia, and medial temporal lobe, each of which is modulated by neurotransmitter projection systems. Preliminary evidence, concentrating to date on the dorsolateral prefontal cortex, thalamus, and hippocampal region of the medial temporal lobe, points to neural circuitry dysfunction within and between each system in psychosis. This may account for specific symptoms and associated cognitive deficits such as memory impairment, attention deficit, and language disturbance.
Glucocorticoid regulation of insulin receptor and substrate IRS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation in rat skeletal muscle in vivo.

To test the hypothesis that glucocorticoid-induced insulin resistance might originate from abnormalities in insulin receptor signaling, we investigated the effects of glucocorticoids on in vivo tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor and the insulin receptor substrate IRS-1 in rat skeletal muscle. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with cortisone (100 mg/kg for 5 d) and compared to pair-fed controls. Cortisone treatment of rats resulted in both hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia. Anesthetized animals were injected with 10 U/kg insulin via cardiac puncture and, after 2 min, hindlimb muscles were removed, snap-frozen, and homogenized in SDS. Protein tyrosine phosphorylation was studied by immunoblotting with phosphotyrosine antibody. Insulin receptors and substrate IRS-1 were identified and quantified with specific antibodies. Cortisone treatment increased the amount of insulin receptor protein by 36%, but decreased the total level of receptor tyrosine phosphorylation (69 +/- 4% of control, P < 0.05). The decreased level of receptor phosphorylation was explained by a reduced number of receptors containing phosphorylated tyrosine residues (64.6 +/- 5% of control, P < 0.05). Glucocorticoid excess decreased skeletal muscle IRS-1 content by 50%, but did not significantly alter the total level of IRS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation. The apparent M(r) of IRS-1 was reduced by approximately 10 kD. Treatment with protein phosphatase-2A reduced IRS-1 M(r) in control but not in glucocorticoid-treated muscle indicating that the lower M(r) likely results from lower phosphoserine and/or phosphothreonine content. To investigate the role of hyperinsulinemia in the glucocorticoid response, rats were made insulin-deficient with streptozotocin (100 mg/kg, i.p.). Subsequent treatment with cortisone for 5 d had no effects on insulin levels, tyrosine phosphorylation of insulin receptors or IRS-1, or the M(r) of IRS-1. In conclusion, glucocorticoid-treated skeletal muscle is characterized by: (a) decreased total tyrosine phosphorylation of insulin receptors as a result of a reduction in the pool of receptors undergoing tyrosine phosphorylation; (b) decreased IRS-1 content and reduced serine and/or threonine phosphorylation of IRS-1. Glucocorticoid-induced hyperinsulinemia appears to be essential for the development of these alterations.