Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sizing and power management strategies for battery storage integration into wind-diesel systems

Battery energy storage systems can be used in wind-diesel systems to offset diesel fuel and potentially reduce the cost of the energy served by limiting the amount of dumped energy. However, this problem is characterized by two components: energy storage sizing and its on-line operation. This paper presents a energy storage sizing approach, which is then adapted for on-line scheduling. The operating algorithm is presented with and without consideration being given to the batterypsilas state-of-charge over time. The results from the storage sizing and operation problems are compared and further considerations are highlighted.
Implementing a Continuum of Evidence-Based Psychosocial Interventions for People with Severe Mental Illness: Part 2—Review of Critical Implementation Issues

Objective: In North America and internationally, efforts have been made to reduce the gaps between knowledge of psychosocial evidence-based practices (EBPs) and the delivery of such services in routine mental health practice. Part 2 of this review identifies key issues for stakeholders to consider when implementing comprehensive psychosocial EBPs for people with severe mental illness (SMI). Method: A rapid review of the literature was conducted. Searches were carried out in MEDLINE and PsycINFO for reports published between 1990 and 2012 using key words related to SMI, and psychosocial practices and implementation. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was used to structure findings according to key domains and constructs known to influence the implementation process. Results: The CFIR allowed us to identify 17 issues reflecting more than 30 constructs of the framework that were viewed as influential to the process of implementing evidence-based psychosocial interventions for people with SMI. Issues arising at different levels of influence (intervention, individual, organizational, and system) and at all phases of the implementation process (planning, engagement, execution, and evaluation) were found to play important roles in implementation. Conclusion: The issues identified in this review should be taken into consideration by stakeholders when engaging in efforts to promote uptake of new psychosocial EBPs and to widen the range of effective psychosocial services available in routine mental health care.
Biomechanical Testing Simulation of a Cadaver Spine Specimen: Development and Evaluation Study

Study Design. This article describes a computer model of the cadaver cervical spine specimen and virtual biomechanical testing. Objectives. To develop a graphics-oriented, multibody model of a cadaver cervical spine and to build a virtual laboratory simulator for the biomechanical testing using physics-based dynamic simulation techniques. Summary of Background Data. Physics-based computer simulations apply the laws of physics to solid bodies with defined material properties. This technique can be used to create a virtual simulator for the biomechanical testing of a human cadaver spine. An accurate virtual model and simulation would complement tissue-based in vitro studies by providing a consistent test bed with minimal variability and by reducing cost. Method. The geometry of cervical vertebrae was created from computed tomography images. Joints linking adjacent vertebrae were modeled as a triple-joint complex, comprised of intervertebral disc joints in the anterior region, 2 facet joints in the posterior region, and the surrounding ligament structure. A virtual laboratory simulation of an in vitro testing protocol was performed to evaluate the model responses during flexion, extension, and lateral bending. Results. For kinematic evaluation, the rotation of motion segment unit, coupling behaviors, and 3-dimensional helical axes of motion were analyzed. The simulation results were in correlation with the findings of in vitro tests and published data. For kinetic evaluation, the forces of the intervertebral discs and facet joints of each segment were determined and visually animated. Conclusions. This methodology produced a realistic visualization of in vitro experiment, and allowed for the analyses of the kinematics and kinetics of the cadaver cervical spine. With graphical illustrations and animation features, this modeling technique has provided vivid and intuitive information.
Exploring asymmetrical information transmission processes in online auctions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore whether sellers can create extra profit through information premiums. Phenomena surrounding asymmetrical information transmission among buyers is also explored.Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses three experimental designs to manipulate asymmetrical information acquisition among buyers (including insiders and outsiders) by exploring the related effects in online auctions. Questionnaires are used to collect the final willing‐to‐pay auction prices for buyers in each situation. The analyses are performed with SPSS software, using paired t‐tests and ANCOVA analysis.Findings – Information premiums between insiders and outsiders are significantly different under diverse manipulative factors. ANCOVA shows a significant relationship in information traits, information acquisition costs, brand signals and information premiums among buyers.Research limitations/implications – The paper employs a highly‐involved design and only considers one product category.
Design and operation of the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs, 2005-2006.

OBJECTIVES This report presents the development, plan, and operation of the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN), a module of the State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. This survey was designed to produce national and state-specific prevalence estimates of CSHCN, describe the types of services that they need and use, and assess aspects of the system of care for CSHCN. Funding for this survey was provided by the Matemal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration. METHODS A random-digit-dial sample of households with children younger than 18 years of age was constructed for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. All children in each identified household were screened for special health care needs. If CSHCN were identified in the household, a detailed interview was conducted for one randomly selected child with special health care needs. Detailed interviews were also conducted for a separate national sample of children, to generate estimates for children without special health care needs, and permit comparisons with CSHCN on all study measures. The respondents were parents or guardians who knew about the children's health and health care. RESULTS A total of 192,083 household screening interviews were completed from April 2005 to February 2007. This resulted in 40,840 completed special-needs interviews and 6,113 completed interviews for children in the comparison (referent) sample. The weighted overall response rates were 56.1% for special-needs and 50.3% for referent-sample interviews.
Differences in Coping Among African American Women With Breast Cancer and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To determine differences in psychological distress, symptoms, coping capacity, and coping abilities among African American (AA) women with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and non-TNBC and to explore differences in relationships among these variables. DESIGN A prospective, descriptive, comparative, and correlational design. SETTING Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. SAMPLE 30 AA women with breast cancer. METHODS Patients completed questionnaires during chemotherapy. The Transactional Model of Stress and Coping was used to guide the research. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Psychological distress, symptoms, coping capacity, and coping ability. FINDINGS Patients with non-TNBC reported more intense present total pain, nausea and vomiting, better emotional functioning, lower cognitive functioning, use of significantly more prayer and hope, and more coping self-statements. A lower coping capacity score was associated with psychological distress in the TNBC group at midpoint and in both groups at completion of chemotherapy treatment. Patients in both groups used a higher level of positive religious coping. CONCLUSIONS AA women with TNBC and non-TNBC might benefit (reduced psychological distress and improved coping skills) from receiving a comprehensive psychological care program. The findings can be incorporated and tested in a comprehensive coping strategy program. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Nurses should work closely with AA women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy to help them identify and consciously use coping strategies associated with increased coping capacity.
Secrecy for bounded security protocols with freshness check is NEXPTIME-complete

The secrecy problem for security protocols is the problem to decide whether or not a given security protocol has leaky runs. In this paper, the (initial) secrecy problem for bounded protocols with freshness check is shown to be NEXPTIME-complete. Relating the formalism in this paper to the multiset rewriting (MSR) formalism we obtain that the initial secrecy problem for protocols in restricted form, with bounded length messages, bounded existentials, with or without disequality tests, and an intruder with no existentials, is NEXPTIME-complete. If existentials for the intruder are allowed but disequality tests are not allowed, the initial secrecy problem still is NEXPTIME-complete. However, if both existentials for the intruder and disequality tests are allowed and the protocols are not well-founded (and, therefore, not in restricted form), then the problem is undecidable. These results also correct some wrong statements in Durgin et al., JCS 12 (2004), 247-311.
Potassium Channels in the Human Myometrium

The contractility of the human uterus is under the fine control of a variety of interacting bioactive agents. During labour, the excitability of the uterus is drastically transformed in comparison with the non‐labour state and is manifest at the membrane level via the acivity of uterine ion channels. This article reviews the contribution of potassium (K+) channels to human uterine excitability.
Shunting for normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).

BACKGROUND Since the condition was first described in 1965, the syndrome of normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) has conventionally been managed by placement of a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt. OBJECTIVES To determine the effectiveness of shunting procedures in promoting stability or improvement in the neurological symptoms and signs of NPH. SEARCH STRATEGY The trials were identified from a search of the Specialized Register of the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group on 26 June 2001 using the terms 'shunt*' and 'normal pressure hydrocephalus'. SELECTION CRITERIA Studies included for analysis were those involving the placement of a CSF shunt for the treatment of NPH as part of a randomized controlled trial. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS No data matching the selection criteria were found. MAIN RESULTS No randomized controlled trials of shunt placement versus no shunt were found. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS There is no evidence to indicate whether placement of a shunt is effective in the management of NPH.
Determination of Work Functions in the $\hbox{Ta}_{1 - x}\hbox{Al}_{x}\hbox{N}_{y}/\hbox{HfO}_{2}$ Advanced Gate Stack Using Combinatorial Methodology

Combinatorial methodology enables the generation of comprehensive and consistent data sets, compared with the ldquoone-composition-at-a-timerdquo approach. We demonstrate, for the first time, the combinatorial methodology applied to the work function (Phi<sub>m</sub>) extraction for Ta<sub>1-x</sub>Al<sub>x</sub>N<sub>y</sub> alloys as metal gates on HfO<sub>2</sub>, for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor applications, by automated measurement of over 2000 capacitor devices. Scanning X-ray microdiffraction indicates that a solid solution exists for the Ta<sub>1-x</sub>Al<sub>x</sub>N<sub>y</sub> libraries for 0.05 les <i>x</i> les 0.50. The equivalent oxide thickness maps offer a snapshot of gate stack thermal stability, which show that Ta<sub>1-x</sub>Al<sub>x</sub>N<sub>y</sub> alloys are stable up to 950<sup>deg</sup>C . The Phi<sub>m</sub> of the Ta<sub>1-x</sub>Al<sub>x</sub>N<sub>y</sub> libraries can be tuned as a function of gate metal composition over a wide (0.05 les <i>x</i> les 0.50) composition range, as well as by annealing. We suggest that Ta<sub>0.9</sub>Al<sub>0.1</sub>N<sub>1.24</sub> gate metal electrodes may be useful for p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor applications.
AUTONOMOUS OVARIAN HYPERFUNCTION FOLLOWED BY GONADOTROPHIN‐DEPENDENT PUBERTY IN McCUNE‐ALBRIGHT SYNDROME

A 5‐year‐old girl with the McCune‐Albright syndrome presented with precocious puberty secondary to autonomously functioning ovarian cysts, followed by true central puberty. Progression from gonadotrophin‐independent to gonadotrophin‐dependent precocious puberty may occur from elevated sex steroid levels leading to the early maturation of the hypothalamic‐pituitary axis.
Dose-Ranging Phase 1 Study of TMC120, a Promising Vaginal Microbicide, in HIV-Negative and HIV-Positive Female Volunteers

Objective:To evaluate the short-term safety, tolerability, and systemic exposure of a vaginal microbicide gel containing the nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor TMC120. Design:Randomized, controlled, double-blind, phase 1 trial of a gel containing 3 different concentrations of TMC120 versus placebo. Methods:Of the 48 HIV-negative and 16 HIV-positive women enrolled, 52 women received active product. Participants applied the gel twice daily for 7 days and were assessed on 6 occasions. Colposcopic evaluation was performed before and after first gel application and on day 8. Laboratory safety assessments were carried out on all visits except day 7. Plasma levels of TMC120 were measured on days 1 and 7. Results:All TMC120 concentrations were well tolerated, and there were no apparent differences in safety parameters. Four women (6%) had treatment-emergent mild cervical findings (petechiae in 3 women and erythema in 1 woman) of <5 mm. Plasma levels of TMC120 were quantifiable on day 1 in 7 (13%) participants and on day 7 in 39 (75%) participants using TMC120 gel. Conclusions:The TMC120 vaginal gel was well-tolerated in this short study by HIV-negative and HIV-positive women. The implications of the absorption of TMC120 should be studied further in expanded safety and effectiveness trials.
Effect of atrial natriuretic factor on renal cGMP production in rats with adriamycin-induced nephrotic syndrome.

Adriamycin-induced nephrotic syndrome in the rat is associated with a blunted natriuretic response to infusion of atrial natriuretic factor. To study the mechanism of renal hyporesponsiveness to the peptide in rats with experimental nephrosis, we evaluated the effects of the hormone on renal production of cGMP, the second messenger of the hormone. Baseline GFR and sodium excretion were lower in nephrotic as compared with normal controls. Infusion of synthetic rat atrial natriuretic factor (10 micrograms/kg/h) increased fractional sodium excretion by 7.3 +/- 2.4% in control rats but only by 1.4 +/- 0.5% in adriamycin-treated rats (P less than 0.05). However, the increments in urinary nucleotide excretion rate (UcGMP x V/GFR), in response to atrial natriuretic factor infusion, were comparable in control and nephrotic rats (control, 114.7 +/- 16.1 pmol/mL; adriamycin, 95.5 +/- 12.0 pmol/mL; P was not significant). The in vitro generation of cGMP in response to incremental doses of the hormone (10(-11) to 10(-6) M + 1 mM 3-isobutyl methyl xanthine) was of similar magnitude in isolated glomeruli derived from control (2.4 +/- 0.25 to 9.1 +/- 1.0 pmol/mg of protein) and nephrotic rats (2.9 +/- 0.2 to 10.3 +/- 1.0 pmol/mg of protein) and was not impaired in suspensions of medullary tissue derived from nephrotic rats (control, 8.4 +/- 0.6 to 14.2 +/- 1.2 pmol/mg of protein; adriamycin, 7.3 +/- 0.7 to 22.0 +/- 2.4 pmol/mg of protein). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Maternal mortality: An equity issue

There is an appreciable decline in MMR from 254 (2004–2006), 212 (2007–2009), 178 (2010–2012), to 167 (2011–2013). [2] The immediate cause of death is a biomedical event, but the contributory causes are diverse. Health system and social and developmental factors immensely contribute to it. It is an outcome of inequity – both in health and social sectors. Levels of per-capita income, social factors, and MMR are positively related. [3] Inequality in health as an outcome of social and economic inequality has been emphasized for long. [4] Although there is a decline in maternal mortality, there is considerable interstate and intrastate variation, ranging from 300 in Assam to 61 in Kerala. An empowered action group of states of the National Health Mission contributes to the maximum maternal deaths. Reduction in MMR over three periods 2001–2006, 2004–2009, and 2007–2012 was 47, 42, and 37 points, respectively. [3] Poor-performing states had rapid decline and better-performing states had relatively less decline. This rapid decline in a relatively short time is expected and is due to scaling up of health services and reforms within the health system through Reproductive and Child Health Programme and National Rural Health Mission. This difficult now as most maternal deaths in India are associated with social determinants such as poverty, poor education, low socioeconomic condition, and marginalized population. In India, many researchers have demonstrated the link between maternal death and social inequity. [5-10] Even within better performing states like Kerala, there is inter-district variation because of social constructs. [11] Maternal and Perinatal Death Review has yielded many insights into nonmedical determinants of maternal deaths. [12] Thus, vulnerable and disadvantaged groups must be identified for priority interventions to bring down maternal mortality.
LEAP for DEAF: A Sign Language To Speech Translator

— Sign language is vital for facilitating communication between hearing impaired and the rest of society. Researchers in Sign language recognition had tailored completely different sensors to capture hand signs. Gloves, digital cameras, depth cameras and Kinect were used instead in most systems. Owing to signs closeness ,input accuracy is a terribly essential constraint to achieve a high recognition accuracy. Our aim is to design a Sign Language to Speech Translation system for ISL(i.e. Indian Sign Language) based on a brand new digital 3D motion detector referred to as Leap Motion, that consists of two inbuilt cameras and three infrared sensors that capture 3-D dynamic hand gestures. The palm-sized Leap Motion sensor provides far more portable and economical solution than Cyber glove or Microsoft Kinect employed in existing studies . This sensor tackles the major issues in vision-based systems like skin color, lighting etc. The planned system will make use of DTW algorithm as a classifier for converting hand gestures into an appropriate text as well as an audible speech.
Board Level Characterization of Pb-free Sn-3.5Ag Versus Eutectic Pb-Sn BGA Solder Joint Reliability

The need to transition to the use of Pb-free solders in the microelectronics industry has resulted in a vast amount of research and development work to identify suitable replacements for eutectic Pb-Sn. Although the near-eutectic ternary Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) alloys have gained widespread acceptance, they have been found to exhibit poor component and board-level performance in certain applications, such as prolonged high temperature exposure, impact testing, and temperature cycling. Another Pb-free alternative, eutectic Sn-Ag (Sn-3.5Ag), is gaining increasing recognition as an alloy which provides superior component and board-level performance, while not showing the metallurgical deficiencies observed in the SAC materials. As a follow-up to previous work which addressed the comparative component-level performance of the Pb-Sn versus SAC versus Sn-Ag alloys [4,5], this study characterized the board-level temperature cycling performance of the eutectic Sn-Ag (Sn-3.5Ag) solder versus eutectic Pb-Sn (63Sn-37Pb). Test boards were fabricated to analyze the performance of both electroless Ni/immersion Au (ENIG) and copper organic solderability preservative (Cu-OSP) pad surface finishes. Samples were characterized for thermal, electrical, and mechanical response to the test conditions, including both static and dynamic Moire interferometry, and metallographic cross sectioning at several read points. It was found that the Pb-free Sn-3.5Ag BGA alloy exhibited superior performance throughout the entire range of testing.
Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 Promotes Primitive Endoderm Development in Bovine Blastocyst Outgrowths1

Primitive endoderm (PE) is the second extraembryonic tissue to form during embryogenesis in mammals. The PE develops from pluripotent cells of the blastocyst inner cell mass. Experimental results described herein provide evidence that FGF2 stimulates PE development during bovine blastocyst development in vitro. Bovine blastocysts were cultured individually on a feeder layer-free, Matrigel-coated surface in the presence or absence of FGF2. A majority of blastocysts cultures formed outgrowths (76.8%) and the rate of outgrowth formation was not affected by FGF2 supplementation. However, supplementation with FGF2 increased the incidence of PE outgrowths on Days 13 and 15 after in vitro fertilization. Presumptive PE cultures contained cells with a phenotype distinct from trophectoderm (TE). Cell identity was validated by expression of GATA4 and GATA6 mRNA and transferrin protein, all markers of the PE lineage. Expression of GATA4 occurred coincident with blastocyst expansion and hatching. These cells did not express IFNT and CDX2 (TE lineage markers). Profiles of FGF receptor (FGFR) isoforms were distinct between PE and TE cultures. Specifically, FGFR1b and FGFR1c were the predominant FGFR transcripts in PE whereas FGFR2b transcripts were abundant in TE. Supplementation with FGF2 increased the mitotic index of PE but not TE. Moreover, FGF signaling appears important for initiation of PE formation in blastocysts, presumably by lineage committal from NANOG-positive epiblast cells, because chemical disruption of FGFR kinase activity with PD173074 reduces GATA4 expression and increases NANOG expression. Collectively, these results indicate that FGF2 and potentially other FGFs specify PE formation and mediate PE proliferation during early pregnancy in cattle.