Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FMEA AND FTA ANALYSIS FOR APPLICATION OF THE RELIABILITY-CENTERED MAINTENANCE METHODOLOGY : CASE STUDY ON HYDRAULIC TURBINES

The general objective of this work is to evaluate the application impact of the RCM (Reliability-Centered Maintenance) methodology on a power generating system. The RCM warrants significant improvements in the maintenance-functions performance, and also an increase in reliability and availability of equipments. It permits the definition of a maintenance planning in a structured form. It was developed a case study on the oil circulation system of combined (guide and prop) bearing of a hydraulic Kaplan turbine used in the hydroelectric plant of Balbina – Amazonas ─ Brazil. This study was done making use of the magnitudes monitored by the plant supervision and control system. Were used the tools FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis) and FTA (Fault Tree Analysis) to support the study of failures. This work presents a comparative analysis of these two tools, showing the contribution of each one for the implementation of a structured predictive maintenance planning.
Attachment Narrative Therapy: Integrating Systemic, Narrative and Attachment Approaches

What are some of the central connections between narrative, systemic and attachment therapies? How do early emotional experiences in families shape our narratives about ourselves and our families? In what ways do family attachments shape our narrative abilities, such as being able to reflect on and integrate our experiences? This book sets out a framework for practice - Attachment Narrative Therapy - that provides a new approach to working with families, couples and individuals. This is not offered as a prescriptive model but as an aid and guide to practice that draws aspects of narrative and attachment therapy into systemic work. The synthesis of these ideas offers clinicians a new integrative way to approach their practice - one in which the three approaches are used to create a greater whole than their constituent parts. The book includes: Clinical examples Personal reflections Frameworks for clinical practice Therapeutic guides that include details of the application of core techniques Extensive reading guides that offer connections to related theory and practiceAttachment Narrative Therapy is essential reading for a wide variety of therapists and counsellors along with researchers and trainers in those fields. It also provides insight into good practice for health and social welfare professionals in the area of family and child welfare.
Authentication protocol for an ambient assisted living system

Recent advances in healthcare technologies along with improved medical care have led to a steady increase in life expectancy over the past few decades. As a result, we have been witnessing a significant growth in the number of elderly people around the world. Ensuring a comfortable living environment for elderly people has gained much attention in recent years. By leveraging information and communication technologies, the AAL system shows great promise in satisfying many requirements of elderly people and enables them to live safely, securely, healthily, and independently. Over the last few years various AAL systems, mostly based on Wireless Body Area Network technologies, have been proposed to improve the quality of life of elderly people. Since the information transmitted in AAL systems is very personal, the security and privacy of such data are becoming important issues that must be dealt with. We first discuss the overall system architecture of a typical AAL system and its associated security requirements. Next we propose an efficient authentication protocol for the AAL system and describe how it meets various security requirements. Finally we compare the performance of the proposed authentication protocol with two other recent authentication protocols and demonstrate its superior efficiency.
Incidence of Guillain—Barré Syndrome in Sweden 1996

We describe the incidence of Guillain‐Barré syndrome (GBS) in Sweden in 1996. Information of incident GBS patients was mainly collected by a multicentre network of 18 neurologists prospectively monitoring a general population with 4.48 million inhabitants across the country and complemented with data from the national hospital in‐patient registry. GBS diagnoses for all patients were validated by neurologists. While 53 patients with GBS were identified by the network neurologists from the study population, the other 20 GBS patients were recognized after carefully reviewing the registered data. There were 44 (60%) male patients and 29 (40%) female patients and the mean age at onset for all patients was 48.6 (SD 24.3) years. The GBS incidence, age‐adjusted to the European standard population, was 1.51 (95% CI 1.18–1.90) per 100 000 person‐years in 1996, higher in males and increased with age. When compared with selected studies, the GBS incidence in Sweden is moderately high, and the variation of GBS incidence in Europe seems to be small.
Identification of residual breast carcinoma following neoadjuvant chemotherapy: diffusion-weighted imaging--comparison with contrast-enhanced MR imaging and pathologic findings.

PURPOSE To compare the capability of diffusion-weighted (DW) and contrast material-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to provide diagnostic information on residual breast cancers following neoadjuvant chemotherapy and to assess apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of the carcinoma prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy to determine if the method could help predict response to chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained. Three hundred ninety-eight patients underwent MR imaging of the breast, including DW MR (b values, 0 and 1500 sec/mm(2)) and contrast-enhanced MR imaging. Of these, the contralateral breast in 73 women was used as a control. Seventy-two patients with 73 lesions with malignant disease were treated by using neoadjuvant chemotherapy and were examined for residual disease following therapy. Three were excluded because of prolonged intervals between final MR imaging and surgery. Thus, 69 patients (70 lesions) with DW and contrast-enhanced MR imaging results were compared with postoperative histopathologic findings. The ADCs of the carcinoma prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy were calculated for each patient, and those with complete response and residual disease were compared. RESULTS The accuracy for depicting residual tumor was 96% for DW MR imaging, compared with an accuracy of 89% for contrast-enhanced MR imaging (P = .06). There was no significant difference in prechemotherapy ADCs between pathologic complete response cases and those with residual disease. CONCLUSION DW MR imaging had at least as good of accuracy as did contrast-enhanced MR imaging for monitoring neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The ADCs prior to chemotherapy did not predict response to chemotherapy. The use of DW imaging to visualize residual breast cancer without the need for contrast medium could be advantageous in women with impaired renal function.
Persuasive password security

Users of password-protected systems have to be persuaded to follow certain regulations to keep systems secure. This paper describes the results of a first study of the mental models, metaphors, attitudes and skills users hold with respect to password mechanisms. It shows that users are currently not motivated to adopt proper password practices. They do not believe that they ultimately can stop somebody from getting into the system, or that somebody getting in could cause them any serious personal harm. We recommend a novel approach to the design of training and online support, which is based on an appropriate use of fear appeals.
Susceptibility and order parameter for a superconductor with coupled magnetic impurities.

The influence of impurity pair interactions in superconductors is calculated in the spin-glass regime of 1--10 % magnetic-impurity concentrations. We use the s-d Hamiltonian to represent the exchange coupling J of an impurity spin to the conduction electrons; this term leads to the Ruderman-Kittel-Hasuya-Yosida (RRKY) coupling among impurities, and yields major modifications in the superconducting order parameter as well as the conduction-electron susceptibility. As the impurity concentration is increased, ferromagnetic RKKY coupling among impurities causes a reentrant form of the superconductivity order parameter and a corresponding large increase in the susceptibility. Antiferromagnetic RKKY interactions tend to counteract the isolated impurity suppression of the superconducting transition temperature and thus favor the persistence of superconductivity at higher impurity concentrations in contrast to the dilute-limit theory of Abrikosov and Gor'kov. In certain situations, the antiferromagnetic impurity coupling may in fact allow materials to be superconducting which would otherwise be expected to be normal metals. These results are applied to experiments on rare-earth compounds.
Document Spanners for Extracting Incomplete Information: Expressiveness and Complexity

Rule-based information extraction has lately received a fair amount of attention from the database community, with several languages appearing in the last few years. Although information extraction systems are intended to deal with semistructured data, all language proposals introduced so far are designed to output relations, thus making them incapable of handling incomplete information. To remedy the situation, we propose to extend information extraction languages with the ability to use mappings, thus allowing us to work with documents which have missing or optional parts. Using this approach, we simplify the semantics of regex formulas and extraction rules, two previously defined methods for extracting information. We extend them with the ability to handle incomplete data, and study how they compare in terms of expressive power. We also study computational properties of these languages, focusing on the query enumeration problem, as well as satisfiability and containment.
Exploring relationships with home and host countries

Purpose – To explore self‐directed expatriates' relationships with their home and host countries by drawing on an existing model of expatriate managers' allegiance to home and host organizations.Design/methodology/approach – Using a qualitative methodology and thematic analysis, the study draws on interviews with 30 expatriate academics in four countries. Specifically, the paper draws on Black and Gregersen's model of allegiance to home and host organizations to explore the different dimensions and the strength and weakness of those relationships.Findings – The findings suggest that, while the model of allegiance presents a useful starting‐point, further modifications are required in order to cater for the complexity and dynamism of relationships with home and host countries.Research limitations/implications – Whereas the paper focuses on UK expatriates, it may be that other nationals may experience different relationships with their home and host countries. Moreover, it may be useful to explore the relat.
Modeling a simple traveler salesman problem for improving energy efficiency in robots that execute computer numerical control machining

Energy efficiency is a permanent concern in all types of production processes. The automation of machine tools using Computer Numerical Control (CNC) and the increasing introduction of manipulator robots mean a significant improvement in the efficient use of energy versus manual production methods, but there is still scope for improving efficiency and productivity. One of the methods to improve efficiency is the definition of optimal trajectories in the execution of automated tasks. In small and medium-scale flexible manufacturing systems, the tasks assigned to CNC machines are usually given in standardized formats, such as G-code, where the paths defined from the design software do not necessarily take into account the efficient use of the energy for a given machine. This problem is addressed in this paper from the need to optimize the use of energy in an articulated robot that performs a drilling task originally designed to be executed in a CNC drill. We propose a simple method to model the energy consumption of the robot as an optimization problem in the well-known form of a Traveler Salesman Problem (TSP), with which it is possible to use common software packages for its resolution. The proposed solution simplifies the approach of the optimization problem in relation to other proposals in the literature and is generalizable to other machining tasks and machining systems.
Energy-Efficient D2D Discovery for Energy-Harvesting Proximal IoT Devices

Device-to-Device (D2D) communication is a promising concept used to improve user experience and enhance resource utilization in cellular networks, enabling two close-by D2D devices to establish a direct local link and bypass a base station. The proximity of two D2D devices allows for high data rate, low latency, and low energy consumption. D2D communication for proximity-based services (ProSe) is one of the most popular issues discussed in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). D2D devices require to discover each other (i.e. D2D discovery) before D2D communication. It can be applied to various important fields such as the environment and habitat monitoring, disaster management, and emergency response. In this work, we consider D2D communication is adopted for Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices for local operation. These devices may be randomly deployed and expose to uncontrolled, harsh and hostile environments. Thus, energy-harvesting technology is considered to enable devices to gather energy from the ambient sources and recharge their batteries. We investigate the constraints of an LTE-A system to serve energy-harvesting D2D devices. We develop a low complexity algorithm for D2D discovery resource allocation. Moreover, Sleep-Coordinative Mechanism (SCM) and Saving-before-Activity Mechanism (SBA) are proposed to realize energy-harvesting D2D discovery under the resource and energy constraints. Simulation results show that the combination of SCM and SBA effectively achieves almost 100% discovery rate with fewer time slots and lower energy consumption.
Examining Checkpoint and Storage Schemes for Fault Tolerance in Computing Clusters

This paper presents several methods used in the storage of checkpointing images adopted by fault tolerant systems. Some problematic issues associated with many of these methods are also indicated. Not only clusters but any computing system suffers from unexpected failures which can cause the loss of valuable computations results and data. Periodic checkpoints of both computations and data and their safeguard in reliable storage provide an easy way to provide fault tolerance. However each method brings challenges and drawbacks that depend not only on the application but also on the underlying hardware. By exploring the major methods, this paper provides a light characterization of the most important checkpoint and storage schemes available. From this characterization we conclude that for clusters of workstations the best checkpoint/storage choice is a group-based non-blocking checkpoint and a hybrid storage scheme.
Alzheimer Special Care Units Compared With Traditional Nursing Home for Dementia Care: Are There Differences at Admission and in Clinical Outcomes?

BackgroundStudies comparing Alzheimer Special Care Units (ASCUs) with traditional nursing homes (NHs) have reported conflicting results. ObjectivesTo compare the characteristics and the effects on mortality, hospitalization, use of physical restraints, falls, and antipsychotics among patients admitted to ASCUs or to NHs. MethodsA sequential cohort of patients with dementia was recruited and followed for 18 months in a sample of randomly selected ASCUs and NHs. Data on socio-demographic, cognitive, functional, behavioral, and clinical characteristics, and drug exposure were collected at baseline and at 6-month intervals up to 18 months. ResultsA total of 349 patients were enrolled in 35 ASCUs and 81 in 9 NHs. Patients admitted to ASCUs were younger, cognitively and functionally less impaired, but had more behavioral disturbances than those in NH. During follow-up, ASCU patients had a lower risk of hospitalization (odds ratio: 0.67; 95% confidence interval: 0.46-0.99; P=0.04), and use of physical restraints (odds ratio: 0.66; 95% confidence interval: 0.51-0.86; P=0.003), and showed a higher rate of withdrawal of antipsychotics (P=0.003). No difference was found in mortality and falls. Propensity score analysis gives similar results. ConclusionsThis study found that patients with dementia in ASCUs had different baseline clinical and functional characteristics from those in NHs. They had a lower rate of hospitalization and use of physical restraints at 6-month follow-up, and a higher probability of having antipsychotic agents withdrawn.
Sequential Discrete Kalman Filter for Real-Time State Estimation in Power Distribution Systems: Theory and Implementation

This paper demonstrates the feasibility of implementing real-time state estimators for active distribution networks in field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) by presenting an operational prototype. The prototype is based on a linear state estimator that uses synchrophasor measurements from phasor measurement units. The underlying algorithm is the sequential discrete Kalman filter (SDKF), an equivalent formulation of the DKF for the case of uncorrelated measurement noise. In this regard, this paper formally proves the equivalence of SDKF and the DKF, and highlights the suitability of the SDKF for an FPGA implementation by means of a computational complexity analysis. The developed prototype is validated using a case study adapted from the IEEE 34-node distribution test feeder.
Atrial Fibrillation: What Have Recent Trials Taught Us Regarding Pharmacologic Management of Rate and Rhythm Control?

The management of atrial fibrillation (AF) focuses on control of heart rate, correction of rhythm disturbance, prophylaxis of thromboembolism, treatment of underlying disorders, and pathophysiologic mechanisms, and more recently on costs, hospitalizations, and other AF consequences. The goals of therapy are to reduce morbidity and mortality and improve quality of life (QOL). Several large studies have examined the relative efficacy of rhythm‐ versus rate‐control strategies with respect to these outcomes, and have largely failed to demonstrate a survival advantage with either approach by intention‐to‐treat analysis—both in patients with and without heart failure (HF). However, the results do not support the hypothesis that rate control is preferable as first‐line therapy for AF with respect to survival and do not disprove the hypothesis that maintenance of sinus rhythm is preferable to the continuation of AF, particularly if rate control fails to restore adequate QOL or if selective approaches are employed. Many post hoc analyses and substudies have assessed QOL, functional status, and exercise tolerance, with the majority demonstrating important benefits associated with achievement of rhythm control. Moreover, some subanalyses and additional trials have suggested that sinus rhythm can be associated with longer survival, including in patients with HF. In addition, ATHENA demonstrated that a drug, dronedarone, could improve the composite endpoint of cardiovascular hospitalizations and all‐cause mortality in a carefully selected, high‐risk, nonpermanent AF population, in addition to its recognized reduction in AF. This review examines the clinical outcomes of several important AF trials, discusses the limitations in applying the major morbidity/mortality findings to everyday clinical practice, and summarizes the lessons learned. (PACE 2011; 34:247–259)
Proposed new features to improve Android malware detection

In recent years, Android has become most popular and largest installed operating systems in smartphones. The openness capability of android applications let the users to easily download many applications from markets. Accordingly, a large number of malicious applications may be received carelessly. Developers publish their applications in a market place without regard to special considerations. On the other hand, low knowledge of the users in analyzing the risk of these applications, create further exploits on information and privacy. These malicious applications can perform unauthorized activities such as gaining access to user's sensitive information, camera, SMS, phone calls, etc.
Detection of weak s-boxes in block-ciphers by means of statistical testing

Employment of non-linear permutations (s-Boxes) is central to the security of block ciphers. On the other hand, statistical testing (for randomness) is an essential tool for the evaluation of ciphers, included in all recognized batteries-of-tests. Statistical tests however examine ciphers as a “whole”; consequently, the contributions of individual building blocks of the cipher in the overall performance are difficult to trace back to their “origins”. In particular, it is an open question, whether the existence of redundant s-Boxes i.e. the ones with negligible contribution to the performance of the cipher, can be detected by means of statistical testing all alone. The aim of our work is to estimate the confidence that redundant s-Boxes will be detected, when exclusive use of statistical tests is made. More specifically, we applied the so-called “Crypt-X'98” suite on a suitably modified version of the “Serpent” cipher (finalist, AES). Our modifications on “Serpent” were limited to the choice of s-Boxes and the count of encryption-rounds. We took into consideration the four most important randomness-criteria and three encryption-modes. We prove that the security of a cipher cannot be fully characterized by means of randomness-testing.