Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low Emission Combustion Turbine Experiments With Supercritical Fuels

Research conducted at the supercritical (SC) facility of MIT’s Energy Laboratory provided visual confirmation of a single phase, homogeneous water/fuel mixture near the critical temperature and pressure of water. This mixture was subsequently burned under atmospheric spray conditions with very low NOx , smoke, CO, and HC. Larger supercritical fuel systems were developed and tested in a 300 hp combustion turbine combustor simulator, and a 30 kW microturbine. Early results comparing combustion of this water/fuel mixture with standard #2 fuel operation in the 30 kW turbine generator were uniformly positive. At full load conditions, levels of under 2.5 parts per million (ppmv) of NOx were achieved, over 90% lower than the baseline emissions, with CO emissions under 5 ppmv. These emission levels were in fact lower than those recorded at full load with a similar model microturbine, fueled with natural gas. These low levels were achieved without the increase in CO that is typically observed with water injection. It is suspected that these results are caused not only by thermal effects of the steam but by altering reactions in the flame.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Wavelet-based method of removing strip interference from satellite remote sensing image

Affected by time difference, sensor and other unsure factors, there is often strip interfering appeared in bi-directional scanning satellite image. The usual method used to remove strip interfering is filtering in frequency field. According to the number of detecting units in detector, using properties of multi-scale and localization, a proper sub-image corresponding to strip noise is got by wavelet decomposition. By processing the sub-image, ideal result is obtained. As far as removing dragging-part and remaining information are concerned, this method is better than the one based on Fourier transform. Experiments with CBERS-1 images have shown that this method is very effective.
The Role of Innate Immune Cells in Tumor Invasion and Metastasis

Simple Summary Tumor invasion and metastasis are one of the main reasons patients succumb to cancer. In this review, we summarize recent studies which provide evidence on the involvement of cells of the innate immune system and their function in invasion and metastasis. Abstract Metastasis is considered one of the hallmarks of cancer and enhanced tumor invasion and metastasis is significantly associated with cancer mortality. Metastasis occurs via a series of integrated processes involving tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment. The innate immune components of the microenvironment have been shown to engage with tumor cells and not only regulate their proliferation and survival, but also modulate the surrounding environment to enable cancer progression. In the era of immune therapies, it is critical to understand how different innate immune cell populations are involved in this process. This review summarizes recent literature describing the roles of innate immune cells during the tumor metastatic cascade.
The Use of Thoracic Ultrasound to Predict Transudative and Exudative Pleural Effusion

Abstract Objectives: Pleural effusion is a common reason for hospital admission with thoracentesis often required to diagnose an underlying cause. This study aimed to determine if the imaging characteristics of TUS effectively differentiates between transudative and exudative pleural fluid. Methods: Patients undergoing TUS with pleural fluid analysis were retrospectively identified at a single center between July 2016 and March 2018. TUS images were interpreted and characterized by established criteria. We determined diagnostic performance characteristics of image criteria to distinguish transudative from exudative pleural effusions. Results: 166 patients underwent thoracentesis for fluid analysis of which 48% had a known malignancy. 74% of the pleural effusions were characterized as exudative by Light’s Criteria. TUS demonstrated anechoic effusions in 118 (71%) of samples. The presences of septations on TUS was highly specific in for exudative effusions (95.2%) with high positive predictive values (89.5%) and likelihood ratio (2.85). No TUS characteristics, even when adjusting for patient characteristics such as heart failure or malignancy, were sensitive for exudative effusions. Conclusions: Among our cohort, anechoic images did not allow reliable differentiation between transudative and exudative fluid. Presence of complex septated or complex homogenous appearance was high specific and predictive of exudative fluid.
Optical control of period doubling in a gain-switched Fabry–Perot laser diode and its application in all-optical clock division

Optical injection is shown to be an effective means to suppress or to enhance period doubling of a gain-switched laser diode. The role that the injection plays depends on whether the laser resonance frequency is larger or smaller than half the modulation frequency. Reversible control of period doubling has been demonstrated experimentally using a modulated injection source. An injection power as low as 0.03 mW has been used to control the output pulse repetition frequency of the slave laser. The response time is measured to be shorter than 100 ps. The phenomenon has been applied successfully for use in all-optical clock frequency division. Replacing the electrical modulation with an input clock signal at 19.6 GHz, a frequency-halved output clock with a remarkable low-level phase noise (−87.7 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset frequency) has been obtained. The change in the phase noise level is observed to be smaller than 1 dB over a frequency detuning range of 400 MHz.
Why It Is Difficult for Military Personnel to Quit Smoking: From the Perspective of Compensatory Health Beliefs

Compensatory health beliefs are barriers to healthy behavior. In an effort to understand how the prevalence of these beliefs can be reduced in individuals, 376 valid questionnaires were collected from combat troops in Taiwan. The collected data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. It was found that positive attitudes towards smoking cessation had significant negative effects on compensatory health beliefs, while negative attitudes towards smoking cessation significantly enhanced the level of compensatory health beliefs. The motivation for smoking cessation was also found to reinforce the negative effect of positive attitudes towards compensatory health beliefs, while it did not have any significant effect on the relationship between negative attitudes and compensatory health beliefs. Three subconstructs of compensatory health beliefs (exercise, eating habits, and amount of smoking) were found to have simultaneous effects for military personnel. Finally, this study explored the causes of the above-mentioned phenomena, and measures that could reduce the prevalence of compensatory health beliefs were suggested.
Combined Type Self-Powered Active Vibration Control of Truck Cabins

A self-powered active suspension, which produces control force using energy regenerated by dampers, is applied to truck suspensions. Such systems do not require external energy to produce control force. To discuss its feasibility, the balance between the regenerated and the consumed energy is examined and active controllers that can achieve active control with regenerated energy are obtained. Control schemes for the self-powered system are presented, and their performances are examined through numerical simulations. The results show that the system achieves active vibration control without external energy, and has better suppression performance than passive or semi-active control systems. (A)
Determination of antioxidative enzyme activities in callus culture of the salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Mansf.) genotypes under salt stress

To investigate the antioxidant defense system, salt stress induced changes in antioxidant enzymes activities were examined in the callus of salt- tolerant (Diyarbakir and Midyat local genotype), and salt-sensitive (Golden Crown F1 and Crimson Sweet) watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) varieties. On the 6 th and 12 th days of salt stress, the callus weights were higher in Golden Crown F1 (GCF1) and Crimson Sweet (CRS) than Diyarbakir (DIB) and Midyat (MID) genotypes. When compared to control, salt treatment decreased significantly callus growth in salt-sensitive GCF1 and CRS, but did not in salt-tolerant DIB and MID. Salt treatment increased significantly SOD, CAT, GR and APX enzyme activities in all varieties compared to control treatment. On the other hand, the increases were higher in salt-tolerant DIB and MID than salt-sensitive GCF1 and CRS. These results possibly suggest that the antioxidant enzyme activities play an active role against stress, the tolerance levels against salt stress in callus culture can be utilized as effective criteria in the genotypes of watermelon. The salt-tolerant genotypes exhibited a better protection mechanism response of salt stress by maintaining a higher inherited and induced activity of antioxidant enzymes than the sensitive genotypes.
Right-Wing Populist Party Organisation Across Europe: The Survival of the Mass-Party? Conclusion to the Thematic Issue

This article provides a comparative conclusion to the thematic issue on the organisational characteristics of 12 right-wing populist parties (RWPPs) across Europe. We observe that many RWPPs—at least partially—adopt features of the mass party model. This finding illustrates the ideological aspects behind organisational choices: For populist parties, in particular, it is important to signal societal rootedness and “closeness to the people. ” It furthermore challenges the idea that there is a one-way teleological movement towards more lean, electoral-professional kinds of party organisation. At the same time, the case studies clearly illustrate that RWPP leaders and executives continue to exercise great power over their members, who are essentially offered “participation without power. ”
PPARα agonist relieves spinal cord injury in rats by activating Nrf2/HO-1 via the Raf-1/MEK/ERK pathway

Objective: To observe the inhibitory effects of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) agonist palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) on inflammatory responses and oxidative stress injury in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods: The SCI rat model was established using modified Allen's method and the changes in rats’ joint motion were observed by Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan locomotor rating scale (BBB scale) at 1, 3 and 7 days after modeling, HE Staining and Nissl Staining has been carried out to evaluate the pathological lesion of spinal cords in rats. Besides, Immunohistochemical (IHC) was performed to detect the reactive oxygen species (ROS), expression levels of acrylamide (ACR) and manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) in rat spinal cords, and Western Blotting was applied to measure protein expression levels of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), BCL-2 associated X (BAX), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (Akt), phosphorylated (p)-Akt, HO-1, Nrf2, trithorax-1 (TRX-1), Raf-1, MEK, ERK, p-MEK and p-ERK. Results: The PPARα agonist PEA could alleviate SCI in rats, inhibit inflammatory responses, mitigate oxidative stress injury, reduce the apoptotic rate and promote SCI rats motor function recovery. In addition, the PPARα agonist PEA was able to activate the phosphorylation of MEK and ERK, stimulate Nrf-2 translocation into the nucleus and up-regulate the expressions of HO-1 and TRX-1. Conclusion: PPARα agonist PEA can relieve SCI in rats by inhibiting inflammatory responses and oxidative stress, which may involve a mechanism associated with the activation of Nrf2/HO-1 via the Raf-1/MEK/ERK pathway.
The Internet and EFL Teaching: The Reactions of UAE Secondary School English Language Teachers

This study investigates the current status of using the Internet in UAE secondary schools, the English language teachers’ beliefs of the benefits of the Internet in EFL teaching, their willingness to integrate this technology in foreign language (FL) teaching and the concerns they might have due to classroom Internet integration. The study seeks answers to the following questions. 1) To what extent are UAE secondary school English language teachers familiar with the Internet? 2) What is the status of using the Internet in EFL teaching? 3) Are UAE secondary school English language teachers aware of the benefits of using the Internet in EFL classrooms? 4) To what extent are they willing to use the Internet in EFL classrooms? And 5) what kinds of concerns do they have regarding using the Internet in EFL classrooms? A questionnaire was sent to 250 English language secondary school teachers in six main cities. The results showed that teachers are familiar with modern technologies, willing to integrate the Internet in teaching despite some of the concerns they have. However, it was very surprising to find out that the majority of the teachers are not currently using the Internet technology in their EFL teaching.
A narrative review of liver regeneration—from models to molecular basis

Objective To elucidate the characteristics of different liver regeneration animal models, understand the activation signals and mechanisms related to liver regeneration, and obtain a more comprehensive conception of the entire liver regeneration process. Background Liver regeneration is one of the most enigmatic and fascinating phenomena of the human organism. Despite suffering significant injuries, the liver still can continue to perform its complex functions through the regeneration system. Although advanced topics on liver regeneration have been proposed; unfortunately, complete regeneration of the liver has not been achieved until now. Therefore, increasing understanding of the liver regenerative process can help improve our treatment of liver failure. It will provide a new sight for the treatment of patients with liver injury in the clinic. Methods Literatures on liver regeneration animal models and involved basic research on molecular mechanisms were retrieved to analyze the characteristics of different models and those related to molecular basis. Conclusions The process of liver regeneration is complex and intricate, consisting of various and interactive pathways. There is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that liver regeneration is similar between humans and rodents. At the same time, many of the same cytokines, growth factors, and signaling pathways are relevant. There are many gaps in our current knowledge. Understanding of this knowledge will provide more supportive clinical treatment strategies, including small-scale liver transplantation and high-quality regenerative process after surgical resection, and offer possible targets to treat the dysregulation of regeneration that occurs in chronic hepatic diseases and tumors. Current research work, such as the use of animal models as in vivo vectors for high-quality human hepatocytes, represents a unique and significant cutting edge in the field of liver regeneration.
Glucocorticoid-induced Changes in the Transcriptional Activity of Genes of the Innate and Adaptive Immune System in the Blood of Patients with Acute Urticaria

Background: A number of the main effects of glucocorticoids (GCs) are their direct action on T cells, mainly through the transcriptional regulation: elevated expression of immune-regulatory proteins, inhibitory receptors, and reduced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, co-stimulatory molecules, and cell cycle mediators. But controversies arise due to the clinical effectiveness of GCs in the treatment of acute urticaria. Methods: In our research, we applied a pathway-specific PCR array (Human Innate & Adaptive Immune Responses RT2 Profiler PCR Array, QIAGEN, Germany) to detect and verify innate & adaptive immune responses pathway-focused genes expression in the blood of patients with acute urticaria who received treatment with glucocorticoids in addition to standard therapy. Results: Adding glucocorticoids to standard therapy did not notably affect the nature of the clinical presentation of acute urticaria, which was assessed according to the UAS scale (urticaria activity score). Analysis of the transcriptional profile of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with acute urticaria against the background of glucocorticoid therapy showed the induction expression of the FOXP3 and IL10 genes against the background of repression of the transcriptional activity of the genes for chemokines and cytokines CCL5, CXCL8, IFNG, IL2, IL5, IL17A, IL1B, and TNF. Glucocorticoid-induced changes in the transcriptome also manifested by pronounced repression in genes of CD40 and CD80 (B7-1) co-stimulatory molecules, transcriptional regulators of Th1-cells differentiation - TBX21 and STAT1, Th17 cells - RORC, NLRP3-inflammasome genes, and the transcription factor NFKB1 compared with the control group. Conclusions: Adding glucocorticoids to the standard therapy of acute urticaria has a pronounced immunosuppressive potential at the transcriptome level of immune response genes in the blood; however, it does not have any noticeable clinical effect.
Utilizing Chemical Treatment in Improving Bearing Capacity of Highly Expansive Clays

The foundations placed on near ground surfaces exert maximum contact pressures within immediate vicinity of the soil-foundation contact line. The subsurface soil at this level and down to half the width of the foundation or beyond is considered within the strain influence zone responsible for most of the settlement of foundations. Stabilization using cement and lime is thought as a measure to improve the bearing capacity of Al-Qatif expansive soil in Saudi Arabia. The geotechnical engineers frequently recommend foundations to exert downward loads greater than the swelling pressure. This requires the supporting ground not to fail under bearing pressures and excessive settlement. Untreated Al Qatif soils were tested for unconfined compressive strength. Their respective bearing values were estimated using Terzaghi approach and Hoek-Brown failure criterion. Different dosages of lime and cement were added at different moisture conditions and curing periods. Improvement as calculated using Terzaghi and Hoek-Brown criterion were demonstrated for different types of treatment. This approach can be utilized to adopt higher bearing capacity values often needed in typical expansive soils.
The Performance of Eye Diagrams and Bit Error Rates of Optical Fiber Communication System

In order to better understanding of the process of optical fiber transmission, a software package which called VPI will be developed to help to investigate the characteristics of the individual communications system components. The system includes source, transmitter, fiber, attenuator, amplifier and receiver that examine and interpret the whole system performance imposed by attenuation and dispersion, conduct the system design and performance analysis at the end. To further reinforce the analysis of experimental process in the fiber optic communications, the bit error rate (BER) will be introduced that enables to evaluate the signal quality performance by examining eye diagram, and explore the bit-rate value imposed on communication systems by noise, attenuation and dispersion. This paper will discuss the design procedure and experimental results associated with particular emphasis on BER.
A 134 DB Dynamic Range Noise Shaping Slope Light-to-Digital Converter for Wearable Chest PPG Applications

This paper presents a low power, high dynamic range (DR), light-to-digital converter (LDC) for wearable chest photoplethysmogram (PPG) applications. The proposed LDC utilizes a novel 2nd-order noise-shaping slope architecture, directly converting the photocurrent to a digital code. This LDC applies a high-resolution dual-slope quantizer for data conversion. An auxiliary noise shaping loop is used to shape the residual quantization noise. Moreover, a DC compensation loop is implemented to cancel the PPG signal's DC component, thus further boosting the DR. The prototype is fabricated with 0.18 μm standard CMOS and characterized experimentally. The LDC consumes 28 μW per readout channel while achieving a maximum 134 dB DR. The LDC is also validated with on-body chest PPG measurement.
3-D mapping of sea floor scenes by stereo imaging

We investigate the recovery of 3D motion and structure from the stereo images of a stationary environment. A Kalman filter-based framework is proposed for the reconstruction of 3D structure from multiple visual cues, through the integration of image motion and stereo disparity with the shading flow that is induced by the rotational motion of the source. This allows the exploitation of available visual cues in the common scenario involving the coupled motion of artificial source(s) and stereo cameras that are installed on mobile submersible vehicles. Utilizing shading flow with the image motion leads to devising a more robust 3D motion estimation algorithm, in addition to the critical role in depth recovery/refinement by constraining the local surface gradients. Collectively, use of multiple cues enhances robustness with respect to perturbation in any of the cues. Results of experiments with real imagery are presented to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm.
Analysis of Medical Consultation Patterns in Medical and Surgical Intensive Care Units: Changes in the Pattern of Consultation after the Implementation of Intensivist-Directed Care

Purpose: Critically ill patients often require multidisciplinary treatment for both acute illnesses and pre-existing medical conditions. Since different medical conditions are managed in the intensive care unit (ICU), consultation is often required. This study aimed to identify the frequency and type of consultation required and analyze changes in consultation patterns after the introduction of intensivist-directed care in the surgical ICU (SICU). Methods: Between June 2006 and December 2013, a retrospective cohort study was conducted to identify the frequency and type of consultation at 3 different ICUs. Consultations for patients who were admitted to the ICUs for more than 48 consecutive hours were included. The pattern of consultations in each ICU was investigated. In addition, the pattern of consultations before and after the implementation of intensivist-directed care in the SICU was compared.Results: During the study, 11,053 consultations were requested for 7,774 critically ill patients in a total of 3 ICUs. Consultations with the Departments of Cardiology, Infectious Diseases, and Pulmonology were requested most frequently in the SICU. However, after the implementation of the intensivist-directed care approach, there was an increase in the frequency of consultation requests to the Department of Neurology, followed by the Departments of Cardiology, and Infectious Diseases.Conclusion: Analysis of consultation patterns is an important method of assessing the complexity and severity of illnesses, and of evaluating the needs of available health system resources. Based on our findings, we suggest the development of an appropriate protocol for frequently consulted services.