Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Passing Process on Two-Lane Rural Highways in Spain with New Methodology Based on Video Data

Drivers need sufficient passing sight distance (PSD) to pass slower vehicles with safety. This distance can help to improve traffic operation on two-way, two-lane highways. Existing models propose different values of PSD because of different assumptions. In only some cases were these models based on field data of passing maneuvers. This research proposed the design of a methodology to observe passing maneuvers on existing highways with the help of six video cameras installed at a fixed point next to passing sections. The use of more cameras allows complete registration of trajectories along the entire passing zone, with uniform image resolution. The methodology was applied to register a sample of 234 maneuvers on four passing zones. Trajectories of 58 maneuvers were completely described and analyzed with specific restitution software. Results were compared with those from existing PSD models. The distances traveled proposed by the AASHTO model on the left lane were (a) similar to average observed distances when the passed vehicle was one truck and (b) between 50 and 100 m higher when one passenger car was passed. Higher differences, greater than 100 m, were found between measured data and the PSD model (published previously), especially at high design speeds. The observed average speed difference between passing and impeding vehicles was significantly higher than that in any model. Variables with the strongest influence on the time and distance traveled on the opposing lane were the type and speed of the passed vehicle and the length of the passing zone. Left-lane time and distance increase with this length.
Solving spin systems: the Babylonian way

Abstract. We show that spin systems with generic (ferroor paramagnetic, or random) interactions are ”completely integrable”. The approach is worked out, by way of example, for the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model: we derive an exact formula for the quenched free energy in finite volume which involves an integral over a Gaussian field with correlation structure given by the interaction matrix (with a twist).
Massive black hole evolution models confronting the n-Hz amplitude of the stochastic gravitational wave background

We estimate the amplitude of the nano-Hz stochastic gravitational wave background (GWB) resulting from an unresolved population of inspiralling massive black hole binaries (MBHBs). To this aim, we use the L-Galaxies semi-analytical model applied on top of the Millennium merger trees. The dynamical evolution of MBHBs includes dynamical friction, stellar and gas binary hardening, and gravitational wave feedback. At the frequencies proved by the Pulsar Timing Array experiments, our model predicts an amplitude of ∼1.2×10−15 at ∼3×10−8 Hz in agreement with current estimations. The contribution to the background comes primarily from equal mass binaries with chirp masses above 108 M . We then consider the recently detected common red noise in NANOGrav, PPTA and EPTA data, working under the hypothesis that it is indeed a stochastic GWB coming from MBHBs. By boosting the massive black hole growth via gas accretion, we show that our model can produce a signal with an amplitude A ≈ 2− 3×10−15. There are, however, difficulties in predicting this background level without mismatching key observational constraints such as the quasar bolometric luminosity functions or the local black hole mass function. This highlights how current and forthcoming gravitational wave observations can, for the first time, confront galaxy and black hole evolution models.
Printability verification for double-patterning technology

For keeping pace with Moore's Law of reducing the feature sizes on integrated circuits, the driving forces have been reductions in the exposure-tool wavelength, and increases in the lens numerical aperture (NA). With extreme ultra-violet (EUV) lithography and 3rd-generation immersion delayed for production use, these driving forces are now stalled at a wavelength of 193 nm and an NA of 1.35. Therefore, double-patterning technology (DPT) is needed for printing 22 nm device node features. With DPT, a 22 nm layout is split into two patterns. Each pattern is printed using 32 nm node lithography technology, and the original pattern is recovered by a logical summation (the Boolean OR operation) of these two separately exposed patterns. DPT presents several challenges for printability verification. First, the etch target can be very different from the resist target because significant biasing is used to improve the lithography process window. Second, overlaps between the two patterns produce new problems such as sharp-cornered pinching at pattern junctions, and bridging between patterns. Finally, there are additional process variations: misalignment between the two patterns, and twice as many dose and defocus dimensions. We present results from a full-chip DPT-verification tool that addresses these challenges. We also provide examples of lithography problems that are specific to DPT, and describe possible guidance for the resolution enhancement techniques (RET) and design tools.
Diversity of design knowledge for launch vehicle in view of fuels on hybrid rocket engine

A single-stage launch vehicle with hybrid rocket engine, which uses solid fuel and liquid oxidizer, has been studied and developed as a next-generation rocket for scientific observation due to the advantages as low cost, safety, re-ignition, and reduced pollution. Thereupon, the knowledge regarding hybrid rocket system has been gained through the forepart of the conceptual design using design informatics. In the present study, the practical problem defined by using three objective functions and seven design variables for aurora observation is treated so as to contribute the real world using evolutionary computation and data mining for the field of aerospace engineering. The primary objective of the design in the present study is that the down range and the duration time in the lower thermosphere are sufficiently obtained for the aurora scientific observation, whereas the initial gross weight is held down. Investigated solid fuels are five, while liquid oxidizer is considered as liquid oxygen. A hybrid rocket uses one of five kinds of fuels. The condition of single-time ignition is assumed in flight sequence in order to quantitatively investigate the ascendancy of multi-time ignition. A hybrid evolutionary computation between the differential evolution and the genetic algorithm is employed for the multidisciplinary design optimization. A selforganizing map is used for the data mining technique in order to extract global design information. Consequently, the design information regarding the tradeoffs among the objective functions, the behaviors of the design variables in the design space to become the nondominated solutions, and the implication of the design variables for the objective functions have been obtained in order to quantitatively differentiate the advantage of hybrid rocket engine in view of the five fuels. Moreover, the next assignments were also revealed.
Ganga— a job management and optimising tool

Ganga, the job-management system (http://cern.ch/ganga), developed as an ATLAS- LHCb common project, offers a simple, efficient and consistent user experience in a variety of heterogeneous environments: from local clusters to global Grid systems. GANGA helps end-users to organise their analysis activities on the Grid by providing automatic persistency of the job's metadata. A user has full access to the job history including their configuration and input/output. It is however important that users can see a single environment for developing and testing algorithms locally and for running on large data samples on the Grid. The tool allows for some basic monitoring and a steadily increasing number of users of more than 300 users have been confirmed, both in HEP, as well as in non-HEP applications. The paper will introduce the GANGA philosophy, the GANGA architecture and current and future strategy.
The UK COVID-19 contact tracing app as both an emerging technology and public health intervention: The need to consider promissory discourses

The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) COVID-19 contact tracing app was announced to the British public on 12th April 2020. The UK government endorsed the app as a public health intervention that would improve public health, protect the NHS and ‘save lives’. On 5th May 2020 the technology was released for trial on the Isle of Wight. However, the trial was halted in June 2020, reportedly due to technological issues. The app was later remodelled and launched to the public in September 2020. The rapid development, trial and discontinuation of the app over a short period of a few months meant that the mobilisation and effect of the discourses associated with the app could be traced relatively easily. In this paper we aimed to explore how these discourses were constructed in the media, and their effect on actors – in particular, those who developed and those who trialled the app. Promissory discourses were prevalent, the trajectory of which aligned with theories developed in the sociology of expectations. We describe this trajectory, and then interpret its implications in terms of infectious disease public health practices and responsibilities.
Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+‐ATPase (SERCA2b) mediates oxidation‐induced endoplasmic reticulum stress to regulate neuropathic pain

Neuropathic pain is a widespread health problem with limited curative treatment. Decreased sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+‐ATPase (SERCA) expression has been reported in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) of animals suffering from neuropathic pain. We aimed to establish the relationship between SERCA expression and the pain responses and to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanism.
Increasing human motor skill acquisition by driving theta–gamma coupling

Skill learning is a fundamental adaptive process, but the mechanisms remain poorly understood. Some learning paradigms, particularly in the memory domain, are closely associated with gamma activity that is amplitude modulated by the phase of underlying theta activity, but whether such nested activity patterns also underpin skill learning is unknown. Here, we addressed this question by using transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) over sensorimotor cortex to modulate theta–gamma activity during motor skill acquisition, as an exemplar of a non-hippocampal-dependent task. We demonstrated, and then replicated, a significant improvement in skill acquisition with theta–gamma tACS, which outlasted the stimulation by an hour. Our results suggest that theta–gamma activity may be a common mechanism for learning across the brain and provides a putative novel intervention for optimizing functional improvements in response to training or therapy.
Código Sepsis: esquivando la mortalidad en un hospital terciario

Introducción En el hospital de La Princesa comienza el “Código Sepsis” (CSP) en el año 2015, como un grupo multidisciplinar que dota al personal sanitario de herramientas clínicas, analíticas y organizativas, con el objetivo de la detección y el tratamiento precoz del paciente con sepsis. El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar el impacto de la implantación de CSP en la mortalidad y determinar las variables asociadas con un aumento de la misma. Material y métodos Se realizó un estudio analítico retrospectivo de los pacientes con activación de la alerta CSP de 2015 a 2018. Se recogieron variables clínico-epidemiológicas, parámetros analíticos y factores de gravedad como el ingreso en Unidades de Cuidados Críticos (UCC) y la necesidad de aminas. La significación estadística se estableció en una p < 0,05. Resultados Se incluyeron 1.121 pacientes. La estancia media fue de 16 días y un 32% requirieron ingreso en UCC. La mortalidad mostró una tendencia lineal descendente estadísticamente significativa del 24% en 2015 hasta el 15% en 2018. Las variables predictivas de mortalidad con asociación estadísticamente significativa fueron el lactato > 2 mmol/L, la creatinina > 1,6 mg/dL y la necesidad de aminas. Conclusiones La implementación de Código Sepsis disminuye la mortalidad de los pacientes con sepsis y shock séptico. La presencia de una cifra de lactato > 2 mmol/L, los niveles de creatinina > 1,6 mg/dL y/o la necesidad de administrar aminas en las primeras 24 horas, se asocian con un aumento de la mortalidad en el paciente con sepsis.
Seroprevalence of coxsackievirus A21 neutralizing antibodies in Yamagata, Japan, between 1976 and 2019; coxsackievirus A21 has rarely affected young children

Although coxsackievirus A21 (CV‐A21) has been associated with an acute respiratory infection (ARI) as well as poliomyelitis‐like paralysis, reports of CV‐A21 detection have been quite limited both globally and in Japan. CV‐A21 strains were isolated from five sporadic pediatric cases with ARI in 2019 in Yamagata, Japan. Neutralizing antibodies (NT Abs) were then measured against CV‐A21 using sera collected in 1976, 1985, 1999, 2009, and 2019 in Yamagata, to clarify the longitudinal epidemiology of CV‐A21. The total Ab‐positive rate in each year was 15.2% (35/233), 10.7% (30/281), 14.3% (28/196), 3.1% (7/236), and 1.3% (3/226), respectively. Ab‐positive rates generally increased with age, especially between 1976 and 1999. Among the total Ab‐positive cases, the Ab titers were relatively low; 50 cases belonged to the 1:8–1:16, 40 to 1:32–1:64, 12 to 1:128–1:256, and 1 to 1:1024< groups, respectively. No Ab‐positive cases under the age of 10 were observed in any of the years analyzed. In conclusion, this study and previous works suggested that CV‐A21 is a unique enterovirus, which is not transmitted readily among young children but causes sporadic ARI cases mainly among those ≥15 years of age in the community.
London 2012: changing delivery patterns in response to the impact of the Games on traffic flows

The paper addresses road freight transport operations during the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. It presents work carried out prior to the Games to understand pre-Games patterns of freight deliveries in London (for both light and heavy goods vehicles) and the results of modelling work carried out to assess the likely impacts of the Games road restrictions on freight operations. The modelling results indicated that increases in total hours travelled carrying out collection and delivery work would range from 1.4% to 11.4% in the six sectors considered. The results suggested increases in hours travelled in excess of 3.5% in four of the six sectors modelled. The possible actions that could be taken by organizations to reduce these negative impacts were also modelled and the results indicated that such actions would help to mitigate the impact of the road restrictions imposed on operators during the Games. The actual impacts of the 2012 Games on transport both in general terms and specifically in terms of freight transport are also discussed, together with the success of the actions taken by Transport for London (TfL) to help the road freight industry. The potential freight transport legacy of the London 2012 Games in terms of achieving more sustainable urban freight transport is considered and the steps being taken by TfL to help ensure that such a legacy can be realized are discussed. Such steps include policy-makers continuing to collaborate closely with the freight industry through the ‘London Freight Forum’, and TfL's efforts to encourage and support companies revising their delivery and collection times to the off-peak; improving freight planning in the design and management of TfL-funded road schemes; electronic provision of traffic information by TfL to the freight industry, and the further development of freight journey planning tools.
Kinematics and Dynamics of a Self-Stressed Cartesian Cable-Driven Mechanism

A novel hybrid cable-driven mechanism with Cartesian motion is introduced. It consists of a rigid-link Cartesian mechanism and a cable drive system with stationary actuators to provide the motion. The cable drive system is self-stressed meaning that the tension in the cables required to keep them taut is provided internally and hence does not depend on either actuation redundancy or external sources such as gravity. This keeps the number of actuators at minimum and also eliminates the static loading of actuators as well as redundant work. The kinematic analysis of the mechanism is presented. The forward and inverse kinematic solutions are found and shown to be linear and pose independent. Also the stiffness of the mechanism induced by the compliance of the cable is analyzed to find the weakest stiffness. For this purpose, a parameter called "compliance length" is defined and used. Compliance length presents the stiffness of the mechanism by the length of the cable with the same stiffness. It makes the analysis independent from the design and the properties of the cable and can be quite useful in the design process. Finally, two dynamic models are given for the mechanism depending on whether or not the cable is stretchable and the properties of each model are discussed.
Objective assessment of fast bowling delivery intensity in amateur male cricketers

ABSTRACT Wearable microtechnology is effective in detecting fast deliveries in cricket, however methods to quantify delivery intensity have not been established. This study aimed to investigate the utility of wearable sensors in quantifying cricket fast bowling intensity. Fifteen sub-elite male fast bowlers performed deliveries at warm-up, match, and maximal intensities. A principal component analysis resulted in the selection of perceived exertion and seven variables of bowling exertion derived from trunk- (PlayerLoad™, trunk flexion velocity, trunk forward rotation velocity) and tibia-mounted (tibial acceleration at back foot contact, front foot contact, back foot re-contact and front foot re-contact) inertial measurement units for further analysis. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to investigate the effect of intensity on outcome variables. Significant main effects of intensity and large effect sizes were identified for all variables (p < .05, np 2 > 0.14). Measures from the match and maximal conditions were significantly larger compared with the warm-up condition (Pholm < .05). No differences were observed between the match and maximal conditions (p > .05). Inertial measurement metrics can distinguish between a warm-up effort and both match and maximal fast bowling delivery intensity. These devices provide a unique, time-efficient approach to cricket fast bowling exertion quantification.
Dysmetabolism, Diabetes and Clinical Outcomes in Patients Cured of Chronic Hepatitis C: A Real‐Life Cohort Study

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of features of dysmetabolism on liver disease severity, evolution, and clinical outcomes in a real‐life cohort of patients treated with direct acting antivirals for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. To this end, we considered 7,007 patients treated between 2014 and 2018, 65.3% with advanced fibrosis, of whom 97.7% achieved viral eradication (NAVIGATORE‐Lombardia registry). In a subset (n = 748), liver stiffness measurement (LSM) was available at baseline and follow‐up. Higher body mass index (BMI; odds ratio [OR] 1.06 per kg/m2, 1.03‐1.09) and diabetes (OR 2.01 [1.65‐2.46]) were independently associated with advanced fibrosis at baseline, whereas statin use was protective (OR 0.46 [0.35‐0.60]; P < 0.0001 for all). The impact of BMI was greater in those without diabetes (P = 0.003). Diabetes was independently associated with less pronounced LSM improvement after viral eradication (P = 0.001) and in patients with advanced fibrosis was an independent predictor of the most frequent clinical events, namely de novo hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; hazard ratio [HR] 2.09 [1.20‐3.63]; P = 0.009) and cardiovascular events (HR 2.73 [1.16‐6.43]; P = 0.021). Metformin showed a protective association against HCC (HR 0.32 [0.11‐0.96]; P = 0.043), which was confirmed after adjustment for propensity score (P = 0.038). Diabetes diagnosis further refined HCC prediction in patients with compensated advanced chronic liver disease at high baseline risk (P = 0.024). Conclusion: Metabolic comorbidities were associated with advanced liver fibrosis at baseline, whereas statins were protective. In patients with advanced fibrosis, diabetes increased the risk of de novo HCC and of cardiovascular events. Optimization of metabolic comorbidities treatment by a multi‐disciplinary management approach may improve cardiovascular and possibly liver‐related outcomes.
Association of serum Vitamin D and salivary calcium and phosphorus levels in 3-11-year-old schoolchildren with dental caries

Background: Vitamin D plays an essential role in the formation of healthy teeth, protection against dental caries, and the appropriate secretion of salivary calcium. Salivary calcium and phosphate help in maintaining equilibrium between demineralization and remineralization of teeth. If we know the association between serum Vitamin D and salivary calcium and phosphorus, we may get a clue regarding serum Vitamin D levels which in turn is essential for good oral health. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the association of serum Vitamin D levels and salivary calcium and phosphorus levels in children with dental caries. Settings and Design: This was a comparative cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: One hundred children of age 6–11 years, 50 with Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) ≥5 (test group) and 50 with DMFT = 0 (control group), were included in the study. Oral examination was carried out and DMFT/deft scores were recorded. Serum 25-hydroxy Vitamin D levels and salivary calcium and phosphorous levels were measured. Statistical Analysis: Independent sample t-test, linear regression analysis, and Pearson correlation test were used for statistical analysis. Results: Children with dental caries have shown lesser mean serum Vitamin D levels (15.37 ± 3.53) than caries-free children (17.26 ± 3.16). Children with decayed teeth have exhibited lower salivary calcium levels (3.92 ± 0.99) than those without caries (4.42 ± 1.37). Conversely, children with dental caries have shown higher mean salivary phosphate levels (6.27 ± 1.74) than caries-free children (5.18 ± 1.47). There is a significant decrease in salivary calcium (P = 0.018) and serum Vitamin D (P = 0.004) with a significant increase in number of decayed teeth. The greater the Vitamin D deficiency, the lesser are the salivary calcium levels observed (P = 0.001). Conclusions: Children with Vitamin D deficiency have lower salivary calcium levels. Vitamin D deficiency and lower salivary calcium levels can be the potential risk factors for the occurrence of dental caries.