Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stochastic Response of Structures With Uncertain-but-Bounded Parameters

The uncertainty plays an important role in structural engineering. It is largely recognized that the uncertainty may affect both external excitations and structural parameters. However, while the numerous available data permit to model with good accuracy the excitations as stochastic processes, unfortunately the data about the structural parameters are quite limited. It follows that the probabilistic approach cannot be realistically applied to represent structural uncertainties; indeed, it requires a wealth of data, often unavailable, to define the probability distribution density of the fluctuating structural parameters. Non probabilistic approaches can be alternatively used to treat these uncertainties. In this framework, the interval model seems today the most suitable analytical tool. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the range of the random response of linear structural systems, with slight variation of the uncertain-but-bounded parameters, subjected to stochastic Gaussian excitations by applying the so-called interval perturbation method. © 2009 ASME
Dementia education and training for the general public: A scoping review

ABSTRACT The lack of public awareness and understanding of dementia affects the experiences of people living with dementia and their families. Dementia education and training for the general public have been gradually disseminated. We conducted a systematic scoping review guided by PRISMA-ScR to map existing evidence and identify dementia education and training available to the general public. From the four electronic databases, 41 articles were identified. Dementia education has three main purposes: dementia friendliness (n = 25), early diagnosis/help-seeking (n = 10), and prevention (n = 6). Education aimed at dementia friendliness was delivered in the community (n = 6), schools/universities (n =14), workplaces (n = 2), and online (n = 3). Interventions aimed at early diagnosis and prevention were often conducted in communities with middle-aged and older people or specific ethnic groups. Eleven dementia-friendliness studies reported on the interaction with people living with dementia to reduce stigma. Dementia knowledge, attitudes, and preventive behaviors were assessed as outcomes. Though randomized controlled trials were conducted in early diagnosis and prevention studies via e-learning, they were not performed in dementia-friendliness studies. Therefore, there is a need to further accumulate evidence of dementia education for each of these purposes.
Cytogenetic Studies on Goat Blood Lymphocytes:Cell Cycling

Peripheral blood lymphocytes from goats (local breed) were cultivated in RPMI-1640 medium containing 15µg/ml of BudR 20 µg/ml of PHA for different times (12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 and 96( hrs. to determination the cell cycle duration. Blastogenesis was appeared post first 12hr of cultivation followed by first mitoses post 24 hrs. of culture initiation. The second and third cell cycling lasted 22 and 21 hrs, respectively. Effects of 6-thioguanine, methotrexate , colchicine and tamoxifen on cell cycle progression were investigated. Goat cells were found to be resistant to tamoxifen and MTX and sensitive to 6 TG and colchicine, which could be use as genetic markers to chick cellular genome integrity. Priming of goat blood lymphocytes was achieved by treating the blood with PHA for 24hr. Such treatment increased the in vitro growing period of derived lymphoblasts with short cycling time. However, PHA was found to be a promoting factor for initiation of blastogenesis and cell divisions in goat blood lymphoblasts. These techniques: Genetic markers, cytogenetic analysis cell cycling and lymphoblast explantation are crucial processes for nuclear transplantation processes.
Optical Remote Sensing Indexes of Soil Moisture: Evaluation and Improvement Based on Aircraft Experiment Observations

Optical remote sensing (about 0.4~2.0 μm) indexes of soil moisture (SM) are valuable for some specific applications such as monitoring agricultural drought and downscaling microwave SM, due to their abundant data sources, higher spatial resolution, and easy-to-use features, etc. In this study, we evaluated thirteen typical optical SM indexes with aircraft and in situ observed SM from two field campaigns, the Soil Moisture Active Passive Validation Experiment 2012 (SMAPVEX12) and 2016 (SMAPVEX16) conducted in Manitoba, Canada. MODIS surface reflectance products (MOD09A1) and Sentinel-2 multispectral imager Level-1C data were utilized to calculate the optical SM indexes. The evaluation results demonstrated that (1) the Visible and Shortwave Infrared Drought Index (VSDI) and Optical TRApezoid Model (OPTRAM) outperform the other eleven optical SM indexes as compared with aircraft and in situ observed SM. They also presented well consistence in temporal variation with the in situ observed SM. (2) The VSDI achieved comparable performance with the OPTRAM while the former has very simple calculation expression and the latter requires complex process to determine the dry and wet boundaries. (3) Both the VSDI and OPTRAM utilize two sensitive bands of soil and vegetation moisture, i.e., Red and SWIR bands, whereas the other eleven SM indexes only employ one sensitive band. This may be the main reason of the evaluation results. (4) Based on this recognition, improvements of the VSDI and OPTRAM were created and validated in this study through adding more sensitive band to VSDI and combining NDVI and modified VSDI into a new feature space for calculating the optical SM index as with OPTRAM. The results are conducive to selecting and utilizing the current numerous optical SM indexes for SM and drought monitoring.
Working memory and attention in choice

We study the role of attention and working memory in choices where options are presented sequentially rather than simultaneously. We build a model where a costly attention effort is chosen, which can vary over time. Evidence is accumulated proportionally to this effort and the utility of the reward. Crucially, the evidence accumulated decays over time. Optimal attention allocation maximizes expected utility from final choice; the optimal solution takes the decay into account, so attention is preferentially devoted to later times; but convexity of the flow attention cost prevents it from being concentrated near the end. We test this model with a choice experiment where participants observe sequentially two options. In our data the option presented first is, everything else being equal, significantly less likely to be chosen. This recency effect has a natural explanation with appropriate parameter values in our model of leaky evidence accumulation, where the decline is stronger for the option observed first. Analysis of choice, response time and brain imaging data provide support for the model. Working memory plays an essential role. The recency bias is stronger for participants with weaker performance in working memory tasks. Also activity in parietal areas, coding the stored value in working, declines over time as predicted.
Pterostilbene Inhibits the Melanogenesis Activity in UVB-Irradiated B164A5 Cells

Pterostilbene is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. However, its chemopreventive effects via anti-tyrosinase activity and inhibitory effects on melanin content have not been reported previously. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the anti-melanogenic activity of pterostilbene on UVB-irradiated B164A5 mouse melanoma cells. The effects of pterostilbene and resveratrol on cell viability were determined by MTT assay, whereas melanin content and tyrosinase assay were employed to assess melanogenesis activity. Western blot analysis was performed to determine the tyrosinase expression. Based on the MTT assay, the IC50 value of pterostilbene on UVB-irradiated B164A5 cells was 34.0 ± 3.43 μM, in comparison to resveratrol (>100 μM). Next, 5 and 10 μM pterostilbene showed a significant dose-dependent inhibition (P < .01) of tyrosinase activity in UVB-irradiated B164A5 cells at 37.14 ± 2.71% and 58.36 ± 6.8%, respectively. The findings from the tyrosinase assay also confirmed the downregulation of tyrosinase expression in UVB-irradiated B164A5 cells as measured by Western blot analysis. Finally, 10 μM pterostilbene showed a significantly decreased melanin content (P < .01) in UVB-irradiated B164A5 cells, at 27.34 ± . 98 μg/mL. In conclusion, pterostilbene showed anti-melanogenic activity that was 10 times more potent than resveratrol in the UVB-irradiated B164A5 cell.
Decision support tool for lean product and process development

Lean and concurrent engineering (CE) are widely acknowledged business process improvement strategies. These strategies can improve processes, reduce costs, and cut waste enabling organisations to remain competitive. Lean manufacturing offers an enterprise-wide methodology that improves reliability and flexibility while reducing lead-times and inventory carrying costs. Companies in manufacturing and service sectors are focusing on integrating lean manufacturing methodology with other applications, so that, all their systems and processes are aligned. This article proposes a CE framework based on application of information technology and object-oriented methodology for lean manufacturing. This approach expected to give manufacturing companies an extra edge in today's competitive market. A case study is presented in this article to demonstrate the effectiveness of CE framework in a machine tool manufacturing company. CE practice was adopted for new products, to align the systems and processes of the company. Product development lead-time was found to decrease by more than 50% compared to similar development projects carried out by the company. The need for rework was found to be negligible and the development cost was reduced considerably.
Coding for Life: Designing a Platform for Projecting and Protecting Global Biodiversity

Time is running out to limit further devastating losses of biodiversity and nature’s contributions to humans. Addressing this crisis requires accurate predictions about which species and ecosystems are most at risk to ensure efficient use of limited conservation and management resources. We review existing biodiversity projection models and discover problematic gaps. Current models usually cannot easily be reconfigured for other species or systems, omit key biological processes, and cannot accommodate feedbacks with Earth system dynamics. To fill these gaps, we envision an adaptable, accessible, and universal biodiversity modeling platform that can project essential biodiversity variables, explore the implications of divergent socioeconomic scenarios, and compare conservation and management strategies. We design a roadmap for implementing this vision and demonstrate that building this biodiversity forecasting platform is possible and practical.
Distributed Observer Design for Linear Systems to Achieve Omniscience Asymptotically Under Jointly Connected Switching Networks

The distributed observer problem is motivated by the case where the output information of the system is decentralized in different subsystems. In this scene, all the subsystems form an observer network, and each of them has access to only a part of output information and the information exchanged via the given communication networks. Due to the limitation of communication conditions among subsystems, the communication network is often time varying and disconnected. However, the existing research about the aforementioned scene is still not enough to solve this problem. To this end, this article is concerned with the challenge of the distributed observer design for linear systems under time-variant disconnected communication networks. The design method is successfully established by fixing both completely decentralized output information and incompletely decentralized output information into account. Our work overcomes the limitation of the existing results that the distributed observer can only reconstruct the full states of the underlying systems by means of fast switching. In the case of completely decentralized output information, a group of sufficient conditions is put forward for the system matrix, and it is proved that the asymptotical omniscience of the distributed observer could be achieved as long as anyone of the developed conditions is satisfied. Furthermore, unlike similar problems in multiagent systems, the systems that can meet the proposed conditions are not only stable and marginally stable systems but also some unstable systems. As for the case where the output information is not completely decentralized, the results show with the observable decomposition and states reorganization technology that the distributed observer could achieve omniscience asymptotically without any constraints on the system matrix. The validity of the proposed design method is emphasized in two numerical simulations.
Aspects of Women’s Leadership in the Organisation: Systematic Literature Review

In most organisations, women are underrepresented in top positions. Many aspects of Women’s Leadership are studied in the literature for underrepresentation of women leaders. This study aims to analyse and consolidate the insights about those aspects of Women’s Leadership, which gives them a stable and secure position in the organisation, beyond the unseen walls of gender discrimination. These aspects are barriers, enablers, strengths and weaknesses of Women’s Leadership. The research method used for the study is a systematic literature review method. Peer-reviewed, scholarly journal articles and book references between 1990 and 2021 identified from the Scopus and Web of Sciences databases are considered for the study. The result showed much uniformity in the ‘Women’s Leadership’ phenomenon, globally. This research found that Women’s Leadership studies are mostly conducted in areas such as social sciences, business and management, medicine, education, etc. It also found that most women-leadership-related studies are conducted in developed countries where the percentage of women leaders is comparatively higher than in other industries. Still, women leaders in both developed and developing countries face similar barriers during their careers. The gender gap and the glass ceiling they have to break are some of the issues experienced by women in any organisation. Organisational bias, lack of assertiveness and poor networking also pose barriers to Women’s Leadership. Yet, there are some enablers for Women’s Leadership, such as mentoring, good training programmes and workplace culture. However, maintaining a work–life balance, working under pressure and excluding informal communication are considered as limitations for Women’s Leadership. Strengths, such as high emotional intelligence, empathy, democratic leadership style, sincerity and ability to make decisions under critical circumstances benefit the organisation. This study will help to get an integrated and consolidated theoretical review of different aspects of Women’s Leadership in the organisation. Moreover, the study can help to implement various organisational policies to increase the percentage of women in leadership roles.
The Pleiotropic Potential of BDNF beyond Neurons: Implication for a Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) represents one of the most widely studied neurotrophins because of the many mechanisms in which it is involved. Among these, a growing body of evidence indicates BDNF as a pleiotropic signaling molecule and unveils non-negligible implications in the regulation of energy balance. BDNF and its receptor are extensively expressed in the hypothalamus, regions where peripheral signals, associated with feeding control and metabolism activation, and are integrated to elaborate anorexigenic and orexigenic effects. Thus, BDNF coordinates adaptive responses to fluctuations in energy intake and expenditure, connecting the central nervous system with peripheral tissues, including muscle, liver, and the adipose tissue in a complex operational network. This review discusses the latest literature dealing with the involvement of BDNF in the maintenance of energy balance. We have focused on the physiological and molecular mechanisms by which BDNF: (I) controls the mitochondrial function and dynamics; (II) influences thermogenesis and tissue differentiation; (III) mediates the effects of exercise on cognitive functions; and (IV) modulates insulin sensitivity and glucose transport at the cellular level. Deepening the understanding of the mechanisms exploited to maintain energy homeostasis will lay the groundwork for the development of novel therapeutical approaches to help people to maintain a healthy mind in a healthy body.
A Case Study on Mobile Web and Social Network Service in Digital Music Market : The New Management of NeowizBugs

오늘날, 음악 서비스의 새로운 환경이 디지털 음악산업에 변화를 가져왔고. 다양한 형태의 음악 콘텐츠가 제공되고 있다. 따라서, 다양한 콘텐츠 확보가 독점적 경쟁 음악 시장에서 중요하다. 이러한 상황하에서, 웹 2.0은 다양한 소셜네트워크 환경을 제공하고, 소셜네트워크서비스는 기존의 정보중심 인터넷서비스와는 다른 인적관계를 중시한다. 모바일 소셜네트워크서비스는 모바일 기기사용이 증가함에 따라 사회적으로 이슈화 되고 있다. 네오위즈벅스는 음악 특성화된 소셜네트워크서비스인 세이클럽을 운영하는 네오위즈인터넷과 합병했다. 그리고 에스엠 엔터테인먼트와 콘텐츠관련 협약을 체결했다. 따라서, 통합법인은 확보된 디지털 콘텐츠와 소셜네트워크서비스를 연동시키는 비즈니스 모델을 확보, 운용하고 있다. 일반적으로 음악특화 소셜네트워크서비스는 광고기반 비즈니스 모델과 음악추천 시스템을 활용한다. 본 연구는 네오위즈벅스 사례를 소개함으로써, 웹 2.0, 모바일 소셜네트워크서비스, 스마트폰 등을 포함하는 유비쿼터스 환경에 알맞은 음악 유통사의 성공전략을 알아보고자 한다.
Genome-Wide Investigation and Analysis of Microsatellites and Compound Microsatellites in Leptolyngbya-like Species, Cyanobacteria

Microsatellites (simple sequence repeats, SSRs) are ubiquitously distributed in almost all known genomes. Here, the first investigation was designed to examine the SSRs and compound microsatellites (CSSRs) in genomes of Leptolyngbya-like strains. The results disclosed diversified patterns of distribution, abundance, density, and diversity of SSRs and CSSRs in genomes, indicating that they may be subject to rapid evolutionary change. The numbers of SSRs and CSSRs were extremely unevenly distributed among genomes, ranging from 11,086 to 24,000 and from 580 to 1865, respectively. Dinucleotide SSRs were the most abundant category in 31 genomes, while the other 15 genomes followed the pattern: mono- > di- > trinucleotide SSRs. The patterns related to SSRs and CSSRs showed differences among phylogenetic groups. Both SSRs and CSSRs were overwhelmingly distributed in coding regions. The numbers of SSRs and CSSRs were significantly positively correlated with genome size (p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with GC content (p < 0.05). Moreover, the motif (A/C)n and (AG)n was predominant in mononucleotide and dinucleotide SSRs, and unique motifs of CSSRs were identified in 39 genomes. This study provides the first insight into SSRs and CSSRs in genomes of Leptolyngbya-like strains and will be useful to understanding their distribution, predicting their function, and tracking their evolution. Additionally, the identified SSRs may provide an evolutionary advantage of fast adaptation to environmental changes and may play an important role in the cosmopolitan distribution of Leptolyngbya strains to globally diverse niches.
Moving Towards Sustainable and Resilient Smart Water Grids: Networked Sensing and Control Devices in the Urban Water System

Urban water systems face sustainability and resiliency challenges including water leaks, over-use, quality issues, and response to drought and natural disasters. Information and communications technology (ICT) could help address these challenges through the development of smart water grids that network and automate monitoring and control devices. While progress is being made on technology elements, as a system, the smart water grid has received scant attention. This article aims to raise awareness of the systems-level idea of smart water grids by reviewing the technology elements and their integration into smart water systems, discussing potential sustainability and resiliency benefits, and challenges relating to the adoption of smart water grids. Water losses and inefficient use stand out as promising areas for applications of smart water grids. Potential barriers to the adoption of smart water grids include lack of funding for research and development, economic disincentives as well as institutional and political structures that favor the current system. It is our hope that future work can clarify the benefits of smart water grids and address challenges to their further development.
Virus Infection, Genetic Mutations, and Prion Infection in Prion Protein Conversion

Conformational conversion of the cellular isoform of prion protein, PrPC, into the abnormally folded, amyloidogenic isoform, PrPSc, is an underlying pathogenic mechanism in prion diseases. The diseases manifest as sporadic, hereditary, and acquired disorders. Etiological mechanisms driving the conversion of PrPC into PrPSc are unknown in sporadic prion diseases, while prion infection and specific mutations in the PrP gene are known to cause the conversion of PrPC into PrPSc in acquired and hereditary prion diseases, respectively. We recently reported that a neurotropic strain of influenza A virus (IAV) induced the conversion of PrPC into PrPSc as well as formation of infectious prions in mouse neuroblastoma cells after infection, suggesting the causative role of the neuronal infection of IAV in sporadic prion diseases. Here, we discuss the conversion mechanism of PrPC into PrPSc in different types of prion diseases, by presenting our findings of the IAV infection-induced conversion of PrPC into PrPSc and by reviewing the so far reported transgenic animal models of hereditary prion diseases and the reverse genetic studies, which have revealed the structure-function relationship for PrPC to convert into PrPSc after prion infection.
The Role of Vitamin E in Slowing Down Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Narrative Review

With the aging population, dementia emerges as a public health concern. In 2012, the Health and Retirement Study found that 8.8% of adults over 65 years suffered from dementia. The etiopathogenesis and treatment of dementia are not well understood. Antioxidant properties of Vitamin E and its major elements tocopherols and tocotrienols have been reported to be effective in slowing down the progression of dementia from its initial stage of Mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Therefore, the current review aims to explore the role of vitamin E on MCI. A literature search using the key words “Vitamin E, tocopherols, tocotrienols, and mild cognitive impairment” was conducted in MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL, and Google Scholar. The inclusion criteria were: (1) articles published in the past ten years; (2) published in English language; (3) published in peer-reviewed journals; and (4) descriptive and epidemiological or evaluation studies. Articles published prior to 2010, focused on other forms of dementia than MCI, grey literature and non-peer-reviewed articles were excluded. A total of 22 studies were included in the narrative synthesis. The results were equivocal. Eleven studies showed some level of the neuroprotective effect of Vitamin E, tocopherols and tocotrienols on the progression of MCI. The mixed results of this review suggest further exploration of the possible protective effects of Vitamin E on the development of dementia. Future studies can be conducted to decipher antioxidant properties of vitamin E and its association with slowing down the cognitive decline.