Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simulation of Instability Onset in a Gas Turbine

This is a design document for the next stage of the Gas'llirbnLab project_ The goal is to incrementally build a simulator of gas turbines that exhibits the onset of instability in the gas flow (stall). The simulator will have a minimal number (perhaps 16 to 48) of compressor blades in the compressor and one combustor. These physical components will be represented by computational agents in the simulation; perhaps 50 to 150 will be required. 1 OVERVIEW The goal is to have a gas turbine simulation that exhibits stall and that is as simple as practical. Since cylindrical symmetry precludes stall, there must be at least one row of rotor blades, one row of stators and a combustor. Currently, we can simulate combination of ODe rotor blade, one stator blade and a combustor. We will increase the number of blades incrementally until we have a. simulation that exhibits stall. There are three principal challenges in this project: (1) To develop interface conditions between blades in the same row and then to create mediator agents that handle them, (2) To develop ways to partition a combustor into multiple pieces each simulated independently by KIVA. This again involves developing interface conditions and associated mediators, and (3) To manage the computations efficiently on our parallel computers. The design is presented in two parts. First is the gas turbine configurations to be considered and the development of the interface conditions to be satisfied among the components. Second is the creation of the mediator agents and the management of the computation. This work is based on the designs and analysis in the references given at the end. 2 GAS TURBINE CONFIGURATION 2.1 Multiple Blades The physical layout or multiple blades is illustrated in Figure 1 for two rows rotors and two rows of sl;ators, each with three blades. These rows form a cylindrical band around the axis of "Department of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University.
Physical activity unveils the relationship between mitochondrial energetics, muscle quality, and physical function in older adults

Background The concept of mitochondrial dysfunction in aging muscle is highly controversial. In addition, emerging evidence suggests that reduced muscle oxidative capacity and efficiency underlie the etiology of mobility loss in older adults. Here, we hypothesized that studying well phenotyped older cohorts across a wide range of physical activity would unveil a range of mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle and in turn allow us to more clearly examine the impact of age per se on mitochondrial energetics. This also enabled us to more clearly define the relationships between mitochondrial energetics and muscle lipid content with clinically relevant assessments of muscle and physical function. Methods Thirty-nine volunteers were recruited to the following study groups; Young Active (YA, n=2F/8M, age=31.2±5.4 yrs.). Older Active (OA, n=2F/8M, age=67.5±2.7 yrs.) and Older Sedentary (OS, n=8F/11M, age=70.7±4.7 yrs.). Participants completed a graded exercise test to determine fitness (VO2peak), a submaximal exercise test to determine exercise efficiency, and daily physical activity (PA) was recorded using a tri-axial armband accelerometer. Mitochondrial energetics were determined by 1) 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy and 2) respirometry of fiber bundles from vastus lateralis biopsies. Quadriceps function was assessed by isokinetic dynamometry and physical function by the short physical performance battery (SPPB) and stair climb test. Results Daily PA energy expenditure was significantly lower in OS, compared to YA and OA groups. Despite fitness being higher in YA compared to OA and OS, mitochondrial respiration, ATPMax, P/O ratio and exercise efficiency were similar in YA and OA groups and were significantly lower in OS. P/O ratio was correlated with exercise efficiency. Time to complete the stair climb and repeated chair stand tests was significantly greater for OS. Interestingly, ATPMax was related to muscle contractile performance and physical function. Conclusions Older adults who maintain a high amount of physical activity have better mitochondrial capacity, similar to highly active younger adults, and this is related to their better muscle quality, exercise efficiency and physical performance. This suggests that mitochondria could be an important therapeutic target for sedentary aging associated conditions including sarcopenia, dynapenia and loss of physical function.
Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Promotes Frontal Compensatory Mechanisms in Healthy Elderly Subjects

Recent studies have demonstrated that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is potentially useful to improve working memory. In the present study, young and elderly subjects performed a working memory task (n-back task) during an electroencephalogram recording before and after receiving anodal, cathodal, and sham tDCS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). We investigated modulations of behavioral performance and electrophysiological correlates of working memory processes (frontal and parietal P300 event-related potentials). A strong tendency to modulated working memory performance was observed after the application of tDCS. In detail, young, but not elderly, subjects benefited from additional practice in the absence of real tDCS, as indicated by their more accurate responses after sham tDCS. The cathodal tDCS had no effect in any group of participants. Importantly, anodal tDCS improved accuracy in elderly. Moreover, increased accuracy after anodal tDCS was correlated with a larger frontal P300 amplitude. These findings suggest that, in elderly subjects, improved working memory after anodal tDCS applied over the left DLPFC may be related to the promotion of frontal compensatory mechanisms, which are related to attentional processes.
Mechanisms of reef coral resistance to future climate change

Reef corals are highly sensitive to heat, yet populations resistant to climate change have recently been identified. To determine the mechanisms of temperature tolerance, we reciprocally transplanted corals between reef sites experiencing distinct temperature regimes and tested subsequent physiological and gene expression profiles. Local acclimatization and fixed effects, such as adaptation, contributed about equally to heat tolerance and are reflected in patterns of gene expression. In less than 2 years, acclimatization achieves the same heat tolerance that we would expect from strong natural selection over many generations for these long-lived organisms. Our results show both short-term acclimatory and longer-term adaptive acquisition of climate resistance. Adding these adaptive abilities to ecosystem models is likely to slow predictions of demise for coral reef ecosystems. The coral Acropora hyacinthus is capable of rapid acclimation to high temperatures [Also see Perspective by Eakin] Hot and bothered corals can cope How well can corals adapt to temperature extremes? Better than anticipated, it turns out. Corals from reef pools with wide temperature fluctuations resist stress better than corals from less extreme pools. Nevertheless, corals transplanted into the hotter and more variable conditions soon acquired thermal tolerance. Palumbi et al. (see the Perspective by Eakin) found that the tougher specimens produced more of certain proteins, such as the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, which protected them from the effects of heat. Ramping up heat shock and transport proteins yielded heat tolerance far more rapidly than mutation and adaptation. Hopefully, this ability will allow some mitigation of climate change on coral reefs. Science, this issue p. 895; see also p. 798.
The Human Capital Cost of Radiation: Long-Run Evidence from Exposure Outside the Womb

This paper studies the long-term effect of radiation on cognitive skills. We use regional variation in nuclear fallout caused by the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, which led to a permanent increase in radiation levels in most of Europe. To identify a causal effect, we exploit the fact that the degree of soil contamination depended on rainfall within a critical ten-day window after the disaster. Based on unique geo-coded survey data from Germany, we show that people who lived in highlycontaminated areas in 1986 perform significantly worse in standardized cognitive tests 25 years later. This effect is driven by the older cohorts in our sample (born before 1976), whereas we find no effect for people who were first exposed during early childhood. These results are consistent with radiation accelerating cognitive decline during older ages. Moreover, they suggest that radiation has negative effects even when people are first exposed as adults, and point to significant external costs of man-made sources of radiation.
Antiretroviral therapy in HIV infection: are neurologically active drugs important?

BACKGROUND The effect on neuropsychological function of antiretroviral drugs that are able to penetrate into the brain in effective concentration (neuroactive drugs) remains unclear. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) containing neuroactive drugs is associated with better neuropsychological performance in patients with human immunodeficiency virus disease. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. SETTING Tertiary referral hospital outpatient clinics. PATIENTS The study population consisted of 97 individuals positive for human immunodeficiency virus (stage C3, 1993 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classification) whose condition had been stable on their current HAART regimen for a mean +/- SD of 18.5 +/- 16.5 months and who were aged 48.14 +/- 9.38 years. The patient groups were analyzed according to whether their regimen contained 3 or more neuroactive drugs (neuroHAART group; n = 41) or not (HAART group; n = 56). Thirty seronegative men matched for age and education were recruited as controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Neuropsychological performance on 7 cognitive domains. RESULTS The neuroHAART and HAART groups did not differ from one another on neuropsychological performance, but both patient groups were impaired compared with controls. Impaired patients in each treatment group were compared, and the neuroHAART group showed significantly better memory performance, unrelated to plasma viral load, than the HAART group. CONCLUSION No direct benefit of neuroactive HAART therapy was found in patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus infection. However, in neuropsychologically impaired patients, there was a benefit in memory function. This suggests that a threshold of neuropsychological impairment is required for the benefit of neuroactive HAART.
Skyline and Mapping Aware Query Evaluation Across Disparate Data Sources

Growing interests in multi-criteria decision support applications have resulted in a flurry of efficient skyline algorithms. In practice, real-world decision support applications require to access data from disparate sources. Existing techniques define the skyline operation to work on a single set, and therefore, treat skylines as an “add-on" on top of a traditional Select-Project-Join query plan. In many real world applications, the skyline dimensions can be anticorrelated (e.g., attribute pairs {price, mileage} for cars or {price, distance} for hotels). Anti-correlated data are skyline-unfriendly and thus ignored by existing techniques. In this work, we propose a robust execution framework called SKIN to evaluate skyline over joins. The salient features of SKIN are: (a) effective in reducing the two primary costs, namely the cost of generating the join results and the cost of dominance comparisons to compute the final skyline of join results, (b) shown to be robust for both skyline-friendly (independent and correlated) as well as skyline-unfriendly (anticorrelated) data distributions. SKIN is effective in exploiting the skyline knowledge in both local (individual data source), as well as across disparate sources – to significantly reduce the above mentioned two primary costs incurred during the evaluation of skyline over join. Our experimental study demonstrates the superiority of our proposed approach over state-of-the-art techniques to handle a wide variety of data distributions.
What's in a name? The challenge of describing interventions in systematic reviews: analysis of a random sample of reviews of non-pharmacological stroke interventions

Objective To assess, in a sample of systematic reviews of non-pharmacological interventions, the completeness of intervention reporting, identify the most frequently missing elements, and assess review authors’ use of and beliefs about providing intervention information. Design Analysis of a random sample of systematic reviews of non-pharmacological stroke interventions; online survey of review authors. Data sources and study selection The Cochrane Library and PubMed were searched for potentially eligible systematic reviews and a random sample of these assessed for eligibility until 60 (30 Cochrane, 30 non-Cochrane) eligible reviews were identified. Data collection In each review, the completeness of the intervention description in each eligible trial (n=568) was assessed by 2 independent raters using the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist. All review authors (n=46) were invited to complete a survey. Results Most reviews were missing intervention information for the majority of items. The most incompletely described items were: modifications, fidelity, materials, procedure and tailoring (missing from all interventions in 97%, 90%, 88%, 83% and 83% of reviews, respectively). Items that scored better, but were still incomplete for the majority of reviews, were: ‘when and how much’ (in 31% of reviews, adequate for all trials; in 57% of reviews, adequate for some trials); intervention mode (in 22% of reviews, adequate for all trials; in 38%, adequate for some trials); and location (in 19% of reviews, adequate for all trials). Of the 33 (71%) authors who responded, 58% reported having further intervention information but not including it, and 70% tried to obtain information. Conclusions Most focus on intervention reporting has been directed at trials. Poor intervention reporting in stroke systematic reviews is prevalent, compounded by poor trial reporting. Without adequate intervention descriptions, the conduct, usability and interpretation of reviews are restricted and therefore, require action by trialists, systematic reviewers, peer reviewers and editors.
Robust structure from motion under weak perspective

It is widely known that, for the affine camera model, both shape and motion data can be factorized directly from the measurement matrix constructed from 2D image points coordinates. However, classical algorithms for structure from motion (SfM) are not robust: measurement outliers, that is, incorrectly detected or matched feature points can destroy the result. A few methods to robustify SfM have already been proposed. Different outlier detection schemes have been used. We examine an efficient algorithm by Trajkovic et al. (1997) who use affine camera model and the least median of squares (LMedS) method to separate inliers from outliers. LMedS is only applicable when the ratio of inliers exceeds 50%. We show that the least trimmed squares (LTS) method is more efficient in robust SfM than LMedS. In particular, we demonstrate that LTS can handle inlier ratios below 50%. We also show that using the real (Euclidean) motion data results in a more precise SfM algorithm that using the affine camera model. Based on these observations, we propose a novel robust SfM algorithm and discuss its advantages and limits. The proposed method and the Trajkovic procedure are quantitatively compared on synthetic data in different simulated situations. The methods are also tested on synthesized and real video sequences.
The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha Leu162Val polymorphism influences the metabolic response to a dietary intervention altering fatty acid proportions in healthy men.

BACKGROUND Serum lipid responses to dietary modification are partly determined by genetic factors. OBJECTIVE We tested whether plasma lipoprotein and lipid responsiveness to a modification in the dietary ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids (P:S) is influenced by the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) Leu162Val polymorphism in healthy men. DESIGN Ten carriers of the V162 allele and 10 L162 homozygotes were matched according to age and body mass index (BMI). During the protocol, all subjects followed the National Cholesterol Education Program Step I diet, but intake of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids was adjusted to obtain a P:S of 0.3 for the first 4-wk period (low-P:S diet) and a P:S of 1.0 for the next 4-wk period (high-P:S diet). RESULTS At screening, the PPARalpha Leu162Val polymorphism was not associated with anthropometric indexes or plasma lipoprotein and lipid concentrations. After the high-P:S diet, a significant gene-by-diet interaction was observed for changes in plasma total cholesterol, apolipoprotein (apo) A-I, and cholesterol concentrations in small LDL particles (P <or= 0.05). Mean differences after the high-P:S diet were observed between genotype groups for plasma apo A-I concentrations (P<0.05). Changes in BMI, waist circumference, and concentrations of triacylglycerol, phospholipid, and apo B did not differ significantly between groups. CONCLUSION The PPARalpha Leu162Val polymorphism may contribute to interindividual variability in plasma lipoprotein and lipid response after modification of the dietary P:S ratio.
Pompe disease: clinical perspectives

: Pompe disease (acid alpha-glucosidase deficiency, OMIM 232300) is a rare lysosomal storage disorder due to autosomal recessive mutations in the GAA gene. It has also been called acid maltase deficiency and glycogen storage disease type II. There is a broad clinical presentation: the most severe form that presents in the first few months of life with cardiomyopathy and generalized muscle weakness that rapidly progresses to death from cardio-respiratory failure in the first year of life (infant-onset Pompe disease). A more slowly progressive disease, with little or no cardiac involvement, presents with proximal myopathy and/or pulmonary insufficiency, from the second year of life to late adulthood (late-onset Pompe disease). The recent development and introduction of enzyme replacement therapy with intravenous infusion of recombinant human acid alpha-glucosidase have made a major improvement in the morbidity and mortality of this disease. New therapies are also in development. With the availability of treatment, diagnostic methods have also improved, allowing for earlier recognition and potential early therapeutic intervention. The advent of newborn screening for Pompe disease may identify patients who can be treated before significant irreversible disease has occurred.
Looking Inside the Magic 8 Ball: An Analysis of Sales Forecasts Using Italian Firm-Level Data

This paper explores firm forecasting strategies. Using Italian data, we focus on two aspects of the forecasting process: how firms forecast sales and how accurate their predictions are. We relate both outcomes to current conditions, firm experience, global factors, and other firm characteristics. We find that current conditions tend to explain most of the variability in the sales forecast. While past projection errors tend to account for cross-firm differences in models of expectation formation, they are a key explanatory variable in models of forecast accuracy. Among other controls, firm size, experience, and global conditions--through the effect of price changes that the firm anticipates--shape firm expectations and influence the projection errors. Our findings suggest that models of sales expectations should take firm characteristics and market heterogeneity into account.
Rapid perfusion system for inhibition investigation of membrane proteins in planar lipid bilayer

This paper describes measurement system of membrane proteins with a rapid perfusion capability using microfluidic channels. In the previous report, we successfully recorded channel conductance of alpha-hemolysine (HL) in bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) using droplets contacting method with PDWC (parylene double well chip). This method is one of the easiest ways for preparing the BLMs, just pipetting droplets of the solution. The drawback of the droplet-based systems is the incapability of exchanging solution. To efficiently test the effect of inhibitors and promoters of membrane proteins in drug discovery, the solution exchange is mandatory. In this study, we proposed the concept of solution exchange in the system using microfluidic channel. We demonstrated rapid perfusion that is capable of exchanging the solution within 20 s in this droplets contacting system. We experimentally evaluated the system in terms of the flow rate and the BLM stability and demonstrated the binding assay of a membrane protein using its blockers. We believe that this method is necessary for efficient drug screening in our droplet-based system.
A community-based randomized controlled trial of iron and zinc supplementation in Indonesian infants: interactions between iron and zinc.

BACKGROUND Combined supplementation with iron and zinc during infancy may be effective in preventing deficiencies of these micronutrients, but knowledge of their potential interactions when given together is insufficient. OBJECTIVE The goal was to compare the effect in infants of combined supplementation with iron and zinc and of supplementation with single micronutrients on iron and zinc status. DESIGN Indonesian infants (n = 680) were randomly assigned to daily supplementation with 10 mg Fe (Fe group), 10 mg Zn (Zn group), 10 mg Fe + 10 mg Zn (Fe+Zn group), or placebo from 6 to 12 mo of age. Venous blood samples were collected at the start and end of the study. Five hundred forty-nine infants completed the supplementation and had both baseline and follow-up blood samples available for analysis. RESULTS Baseline prevalences of anemia, iron deficiency anemia (anemia and low serum ferritin), and low serum zinc (< 10.7 micromol/L) were 41%, 8%, and 78%, respectively. After supplementation, the Fe group had higher hemoglobin (119.4 compared with 115.3 g/L; P < 0.05) and serum ferritin (46.5 compared with 32.3 microg/L; P < 0.05) values than did the Fe+Zn group, indicating an effect of zinc on iron absorption. The Zn group had higher serum zinc (11.58 compared with 9.06 micromol/L; P < 0.05) than did the placebo group. There was a dose effect on serum ferritin in the Fe and Fe+Zn groups, but at different levels. There was a significant dose effect on serum zinc in the Zn group, whereas no dose effect was found in the Fe+Zn group beyond 7 mg Zn/d. CONCLUSION Supplementation with iron and zinc was less efficacious than were single supplements in improving iron and zinc status, with evidence of an interaction between iron and zinc when the combined supplement was given.
Accurate Computation of Longest Sensitizable Paths using Answer Set Programming

Precise knowledge of the longest sensitizable paths in a circuit is crucial for various tasks in computer-aided design, including timing analysis, performance optimization, delay testing, and speed binning. As delays in today’s nanoscale technologies are increasingly affected by statistical parameter variations, there is significant interest in obtaining sets of paths that are within a length range. We present an ASP-based method for computing well-defined sets of sensitizable paths within a length range. Unlike previous approaches, the method is accurate and does not rely on a priori relaxations. Experimental results demonstrate the applicability and scalability of our method.