Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nonlinear Kalman Filters for Model Calibration of Soil Parameters for Geomechanical Modeling in Mechanized Tunneling

AbstractThis work shows that nonlinear Kalman filters can be applied very effectively for the calibration of geomaterial parameters for geomechanical modeling in mechanized tunneling, using tunneling-induced settlements and horizontal displacements. The data curves measured along tunnel excavation steps, which exhibit a nonlinear relationship with respect to soil parameters and are prone to measurement inaccuracies, are utilized in combination with finite element modeling to estimate the underlying soil parameters, using a sequential inference framework: the nonlinear Kalman filtering. The paper shows the comparative performance of the two types of nonlinear Kalman filters that are effective for the identification of soil parameters in terms of convergence speed and accuracy: the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and the sigma-point Kalman filter (SPKF). The effectiveness of the two Kalman filters for inverse analysis is demonstrated through computer simulations for identifying a number of important constituti.
Design of Adaptive Cores of Sandwich Structures Using a Compliant Unit Cell Approach and Topology Optimization

This paper presents a new method in designing the core layer of adaptive sandwich structures. The proposed design,formulation treats the core layer as a compliant unit cell network while the unit cell network is synthesized by repeatedly linked identical compliant unit cells. Each unit cell is designed to possess shape adaptive functions independently and through the accumulation of the number of cells within the network, the global adaptive functions are accumulated also. Therefore, the network is capable of achieving large scale shape adaptations of complex profile with high fidelity. Topology optimization is used to design the compliant unit cell. Depending on the problem formulation, topology optimization can perform the simultaneous design of both the host material and the actuation material in the defined environment. This research includes a numerical case study to illustrate the technical aspects of this design philosophy. This is followed by the rapid prototyping of two scaled models and experimental validation.
Predictive factors of outcomes in patients with AL amyloidosis treated with daratumumab

Daratumumab as a single agent (sDARA) or in combination with chemotherapies (cDARA) leads to impressive hematologic and organ responses in AL amyloidosis. However, predictive factors associated with outcomes, and optimal duration of therapy remain unclear. We analyzed 107 patients with AL amyloidosis treated with daratumumab between 2017 and 2020. The median overall survival (OS) was not reached while the median major organ deterioration progression free survival (MOD‐PFS) was 36 months in the sDARA cohort and not reached in the cDARA cohort, respectively. Hematologic response > VGPR was achieved in 81% of patients receiving sDARA and 86% of patients treated with cDARA. Several predictive factors were identified on a univariate analysis, including NTproBNP >8500 pg/mL but only achievement of at least VGPR and presence of 1q21 gain were independently associated with MOD‐PFS and OS on a multivariate analysis. Finally, patients receiving > 12 cycles had significantly longer MOD‐PFS (30 vs.13 months; (p = .0018) and OS (NR vs. 15 months; p < .0001). NTproBNP > 8500 pg/mL, presence of 1q21 gain and shorter duration of therapy (≤ 12 cycles) are strong negative predictive factors for outcomes with daratumumab therapy in AL amyloidosis.
In vitro antibacterial activity of endodontic bioceramic materials against dual and multispecies aerobic-anaerobic biofilm models.

The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of calcium silicate repair cements and sealers against a dual-species planktonic aerobic model with different aging times and the ability to inhibit the formation of a mature 21-day-old multispecies anaerobic biofilm. The antibacterial activity of ProRoot MTA, MTA Angelus, Biodentine, BioRoot RCS and TotalFill BC sealer against a dual-species aerobic planktonic model, as well as measuring how materials were affected by aging, was evaluated using the Modified Direct Contact Test. Subsequently, the ability to inhibit the formation of a mature multispecies anaerobic biofilm was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy complemented with confocal laser scanning microscopy. Biodentine and BioRoot RCS had higher antibacterial action, and Biodentine was able to maintain its antibacterial action after a prolonged aging period in vitro. Calcium silicate repair cement MTA ProRoot and Biodentine had higher antibiofilm action.
Die neoadjuvante und adjuvante Therapie des resektablen Kolonkarzinoms: Aktuelle Standards und Entwicklungen

The present review focusses on perioperative diagnosis and treatment of resectable colon cancer. In UICC stages associated with a higher risk of recurrence, adjuvant chemotherapy after resection of the primary tumor is an established standard. While initial data also indicate the benefit of Neoadjuvant, pre-operative chemotherapy, a final evaluation is still pending. The main focus of molecular testing in the perioperative setting is the analysis of microsatellite instability, which should routinely be performed in defined subgroups. In UICC stage II without risk factors, adjuvant therapy has a limited benefit and therefore is not a preferred option. In UICC stage II with risk factors, adjuvant therapy can be performed. The approach here is based on the recommendations applicable to stage III. In UICC stage III with low risk, adjuvant chemotherapy with CAPOX for 3 months is preferentially recommended. In UICC stage III with high risk, adjuvant chemotherapy over 6 months is recommended, preferentially with FOLFOX. Microsatellite instability (MSI) is clearly associated with favorable prognosis in non-metastatic colon cancer. However, it cannot be considered a predictive factor for the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy. Specifically, recent data of the IDEA study have opened the arena for shared decision making between physicians and patients allowing to define individual treatment approaches based on common assessment of risks and benefits. After completion of perioperative treatment, structured follow-up is of great importance and should be carried out according to the recommendations of the S3 guideline.
Cell cycle checkpoint control in response to dna damage by environmental stresses.

Being sessile organisms, plants are ubiquitously exposed to stresses that can affect the DNA replication process or cause DNA damage. To cope with these problems, plants utilize DNA damage response (DDR) pathways, consisting of both highly conserved and plant-specific elements. As a part of this DDR, cell cycle checkpoint control mechanisms either pause the cell cycle, to allow DNA repair, or lead cells into differentiation or programmed cell death, to prevent the transmission of DNA errors in the organism through mitosis or its offspring via meiosis. The two major cell cycle checkpoints control either the replication process or the G2/M transition. The latter is largely overseen by the plant-specific SOG1 transcription factor that drives the activity of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors and MYB3R proteins that are rate-limiting for the G2/M transition. By contrast, the replication checkpoint is controlled by different players, including the conserved kinase WEE1, and likely the transcriptional repressor RBR1. These checkpoint mechanisms are called upon during developmental processes, in retrograde signaling pathways, as well as in response to biotic and abiotic stresses, including metal toxicity, cold, salinity and phosphate deficiency. Additionally, the recent expansion of research from Arabidopsis to other model plants has revealed species-specific aspects of the DDR. Overall, it is becoming evidently clear that the DNA damage checkpoint mechanisms represent an important aspect of the adaptation of plants to a changing environment, hence gaining more knowledge about this topic might be helpful to increase the resilience of plants to climate change.
New concepts for the pathogenesis and management of aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease

Purpose of review The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary of the current understanding of the pathogenesis of aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD), and an update on its management. Recent findings Elevated levels of 15-oxo-eicosatetraenoic acid (15-Oxo-ETE), a newly described metabolite of arachidonic acid, have been identified in nasal polyps of AERD patients. In nasal polyps, activated basophils, and interleukin-5 -receptor-α-positive IL-5Rα+ plasma cells are associated with more severe nasal polyposis in AERD. Alveolar monocyte-derived macrophages and their persistent proinflammatory activation were suggested as putative factors contributing to AERD. Although not AERD-specific, three biological agents are now available for the management of both nasal polyposis and asthma. Summary A newly downstream product of 15-lipoxygenase, 15-Oxo-ETE, was recently found to be significantly elevated in nasal polyps from AERD patients. This eicosanoid metabolite likely originates from an interplay between epithelial cells and mast cells. Nasal polyp basophils, IL-5Rα+ plasma cells, and alveolar macrophages were identified as important contributors to inflammation in AERD. Besides traditional aspirin desensitization and treatment for AERD management, several biologics for treatment of asthma are available, including three that have been approved for nasal polyposis. These biologic agents show variable rates of success in controlling AERD symptoms.
A quantified description of the coupling between the reaching direction and elbow axis direction

The human body continues to be an inspiration for the work of a myriad of different fields, both scientific and mathematic. In particular, robotics draws upon the motions and relationships of different human systems in order to reproduce similar mobility while performing different tasks. The human shoulder--arm--elbow complex has been one of the most difficult to exactly replicate. This paper examines the relationship between the motion of the shoulder while positioning the center of the wrist during voluntary arm movements and the resulting orientation of the arm, in particular the direction of the axis passing through the elbow joint. Experimental data is presented that was used to quantify this coupling between the reaching direction of the arm and the elbow axis direction. The results from this paper are two surface-fit equations that can be used to determine the elbow axis direction when given the location of the wrist center. These results are useful when considering the design and control of shoulder--arm--elbow complex models.
The effect of footwear torsional stiffness on lower extremity kinematics and kinetics during lateral cutting movements

Purpose: Footwear torsional stiffness affects ankle kinematics during cutting movements. The influence of torsional stiffness on lower extremity kinetics has not been studied. It was hypothesised that footwear with high torsional stiffness increases the ankle eversion, knee abduction and internal rotation moments in cutting movements. Methods: Nineteen participants performed seven repetitions of a lateral jab and a shuffle cut in two shoes with different torsional stiffness. Markers placed on forefoot, rearfoot and shank of the right leg were used to determine the kinematics. Simultaneous recordings of the ground reaction forces allowed the calculation of ground reaction impulses and internal joint moments using an inverse dynamics approach. Results: Peak torsion angles (frontal plane rotation between fore- and rearfoot) were reduced in the torsional stiff shoe (shuffle cut: 22.0° vs. 18.5°, p < 0.001; lateral jab: 22.8° vs. 20.1°, p = 0.020 flexible vs. stiff shoe). For the shuffle cut, the peak ankle eversion moment (52.9 Nm vs. 63.0 Nm, p = 0.003) and inversion angle (25.9° vs. 28.5°, p < 0.001) were higher in the stiff shoe. For the lateral jab no differences between footwear were found for the ankle kinematics or kinetics. No differences between footwear were found for knee kinematics. The ground reaction impulses were not different between shoes. Conclusions: Increased footwear torsional stiffness causes higher ankle eversion moments which may increase the risk for ankle injuries. Knee moments were not affected by footwear torsional stiffness; therefore, footwear torsional stiffness seems to have no effect on the risk for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.
MS_CMAC Neural Network Learning Model in Structural Engineering

The present American Institute of Steel Construction specifications use the alignment charts and approximate formulas conveniently to determine some coefficients in design, such as moment gradient coefficient Cb for beams of I-shaped section and effective length factor K of columns. In these methods, the coefficients are unconservative when the boundary conditions are different from the development of specifications. The governing equations, numerical approaches, on the K and Cb coefficients provide more accurate results. The approaches, however, are not readily available for structural engineers to use in design. Applying neural network computing toward structural engineering problems has received increasing interest, with particular emphasis placed on supervised neural networks. The cerebellar model articulation controller (CMAC), one of the supervised neural network learning models, is mostly used in the domain of control. In this work, we use a newly developed Macro Structure CMAC (MS_CMAC) neural net.
Bandwidth enhancement of a quarter‐wavelength slot antenna by capacitive loading

In this article, a novel wideband slot antenna is proposed. The slot is quarter‐wavelength long and loaded with a capacitor to increase its bandwidth. The effect of the capacitor on the antenna radiation efficiency is also investigated. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 51: 2114–2116, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.24579
Mobile robot environment recognition using laser light and sonar

A sensor fusion scheme for mobile robot environment recognition that incorporates range data and contour data is proposed. Ultrasonic sensor provides coarse spatial description but guarantees open space (with no obstacle) within sonic cone with relatively high belief. Laser structured light system provides detailed contour description of environment but prone to light noise and is easily affected by surface reflectivity. We present a sensor fusion scheme that can compensate the disadvantages of both sensors. Line models from laser structured light system play a key role in environment description. Overall fusion process is composed of two stages: Noise elimination and belief updates. Dempster-Shafer's evidential reasoning is applied at each stage. Open space estimation from sonar range measurements brings elimination of noisy lines from laser sensor. Comparing actual sonar data to the simulated sonar data enables data of two disparate sensors be fused at the unified feature space. Experiments have been conducted to recognize a naturally cluttered indoor environment partially surrounded by window glasses. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Tunnels of terror

Responding effectively to emergency situations such as earthquakes, forest fires, terrorist attacks and chemical spills involves a complex interaction of engineering, technology and people. The objective of the architects, builders, operators and regulators of related systems is to ensure that they provide an acceptable level of safety for their users and staff. The level of safety depends upon well-designed, reliable equipment operated in accordance with effective procedures for tasks such as data gathering, analysis, detection, response and recovery. Advances in embedded computing systems have led to the emergence of devices that integrate sensing, computation, and wireless communication. Our particular focus is on the case of road tunnel fires, although the know-how and tools may be applied more broadly across the field of emergency response.
Manufacturing, properties and shelf life of labneh: a review

Labneh is a concentrated yogurt widely produced and consumed in the Middle Eastern countries and Balkans. This review focuses attention on the different manufacturing methods of labneh and its quality in terms of microbiology, rheology, sensory and nutrition. The shelf life of this healthy milk-derived product is also discussed in this review.
Compact dual-frequency linear antenna with partial ground plane

In order to meet the need of multiband and antenna-in-package (AiP), a compact dual-frequency antenna with a partial ground and linear structure is proposed, optimised and realised. The proposed antenna was designed at 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz bands for WLAN applications. The total size of the antenna is 20 mm × 20 mm, equals to 0.27 λg1 × 0.27 λg1 and 0.65 λg2 × 0.65 λg2 (λg1, λg2 are the microstrip (with ground) guiding wavelengths at 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz) or 0.15 λ01 × 0.15 λ01 and 0.38 λ02 × 0.38 λ02 (λ01, λ02 are the wavelengths in the atmosphere at 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz). Also, omnidirectional radiation characteristics in the desired bands can be obtained.
Influence of air entrainment on rock scour development and block stability in plunge pools

Rock scour occurring near dam foundations due to high-velocity jets of spillways impinging into the plunge pool is a major concern regarding dam safety. Scour in fractured rock resulting from high-velocity jet impact is a complex phenomenon, which involves the three phases: water, air and rock. Since 1998, the Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions (LCH) of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) is conducting research in order to better understand the physical processes that contribute to rock scour. An innovative experimental facility, which can reproduce prototype jet velocities, was built and continuously improved. With the help of this experimental set-up, a new, completely physically based engineering model has been developed for the prediction of the ultimate scour depth of jointed rock, called Comprehensive Scour Method (CSM). The impact of high-velocity plunging jets produce highly dynamic pressures at the pool bottom, which are transferred into rock joints by transient flow governed by the propagation of pressure waves. The latter is strongly influenced by the air content in the plunge pool and the underlying rock fissures. Dr. Rafael Duarte studied for the first time the effect of active jet aeration on the scour process in fractured rock. Systematic experiments allowed assessing the response of a block in a plunge pool impacted by high-velocity jets having different amount of active aeration. He could show that the air entrained by the jet influences the pressures on the bottom by two opposed effects. On one hand, the air-water mixture reduces the apparent density of the jet and thus its momentum. The kinetic energy per unit volume reaching the pool bottom is lower and consequently the pressures are also lower compared to similar clear-water jet. On the other hand, the air bubbles reduce the shear stress of the diffusing jet in the plunge pool. The velocity decay of aerated jets is therefore less resulting in higher velocities reaching the bottom, and thus higher pressures. Which of the two effects will be stronger depends above all on the pool depth. Based on the experimental study and a comprehensive analysis of the results Dr. Duarte could enhance the Comprehensive Scour Method CSM in order to include active air entrainment at jet issuance.
Concurrency Mapping to FPGAs with OpenCL: A Case Study with a Shallow Water Kernel Concurrency Mapping to FPGAs with OpenCL: A Case Study with a Shallow Water Kernel

FPGAs have been around for over 30 years and are a vi-able accelerator for compute-intensive workloads on HPC systems. The adoption of FPGAs for scientiﬁc applications has been stimulated re-cently by the emergence of better programming environments such as High-Level Synthesis (HLS) and OpenCL available through the Xilinx SDSoC design tool. The mapping of the multi-level concurrency available within applications onto HPC systems with FPGAs is a challenge. OpenCL and HLS provide diﬀerent mechanisms for exploiting concurrency within a node leading to a concurrency mapping design problem. In addition to considering the performance of diﬀerent mappings, there are also questions of resource usage, programmability (development ef-fort), ease-of-use and robustness. This paper examines the concurrency levels available in a case study kernel from a shallow water model and explores the programming options available in OpenCL and HLS. We conclude that the use of SDSoC Dataﬂow over functions mechanism, targeting functional parallelism in the kernel, provides the best performance in terms of both Latency and execution time, with a speedup of 314x over the naive reference implementation.
Opinion mining for software development

BIN LIN, Software Institute Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland NATHAN CASSEE, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands ALEXANDER SEREBRENIK, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands GABRIELE BAVOTA, Software Institute Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland NICOLE NOVIELLI, University of Bari, Italy MICHELE LANZA, Software Institute Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland
Anxiety, Stress and Depression among job seekers in COVID-19 Pandemic Circumstances at Kolkata

Almost everyone is aware of the threats of the Corona Virus nowadays, which has affected people at all levels of the world in one way or another, be it psychologically or physiologically. Significant effects have been observed on the mental and physical health of individuals working on the frontline and their families in a big number of cases. Researchers in different parts of the world have been studying up on the mental health of front liners and their families and upon students and trying to figure out the ways to support mental health and well-being in this situation. The current study focused on the mental state of job seekers in these circumstances and the main aim of the study was to find out the current status of anxiety, stress, and depression among job seekers in this lockdown period. A cross-sectional survey technique was adopted with the help of a snowball sampling technique among 175 sample units. The findings of the study revealed that job seekers had much concern about their future, and it had a bad effect on their mental health. Significant differences were found in gender and caste variations on Anxiety and depression at 0.05 and 0.01 level statistically.