Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A 3-D COMPUTER MODEL TO SIMULATE THE SINTERING OF A RANDOMLY PACKED GREEN COMPACT IN ORDER TO INVESTIGATE THE EVOLUTION OF THE MICROSTRUCTURE

The objective of this research project was to develop a three-dimensional computer model to simulate the sintering of a randomly packed green compact in order to investigate the evolution of the microstructure as densification progresses. The model randomly generates a population of spheres to simulate the particle size distributions present in commercial alumina powders. The spheres were packed into a cubic volume to construct a Representative Volume Element (RVE) with properties statistically comparable to the properties measured in real sintered materials. Sintering was modeled as uniform flattening of the contact between spheres. The sintering process was assumed to be isotropic and homogenous. The simulation of the sintering process was later expanded to include Local Particle Rearrangement (LPR). The model was compared to experimental data obtained from measurements on sintered alumina samples using two techniques: the stereological parameters for the RVE determined by the simulation, and additional measurable quantities obtained from applying tessellation to cross sections taken from the RVE to further describe the characteristics of the microstructure. Based on the measured stereological parameters and the properties of the tessellated cells, the simulation reproduced behavioral trends in the microstructure similar to those observed in the measurement of the experimental samples thus demonstrating the feasibility of employing this type of model to explore the microstructure. The results also indicate that the generation of agglomerated particle packing arrangements may be useful in simulating the microstructural evolution of sintering since the presence of the large voids used to simulate agglomeration had a significant effect on the results. The use of LPR in the simulation did not appear to affect the results for a particle arrangement with no agglomerations, but it did influence the results for the particle arrangement with agglomeration. The results for the LPR simulations suggest that the ability of the particles to slide past each other, modeled in the simulation by the tangential viscosity, may influence the rate at which small pores are formed and/or eliminated in the RVE. However, the LPR simulations indicate that more particles are needed to effectively model the influence of agglomeration in the particle arrangement.
Replicating software engineering experiments: addressing the tacit knowledge problem

Recently the awareness of the importance of replicating studies has been growing in the empirical software engineering community. The results of any one study cannot simply be extrapolated to all environments because there are many uncontrollable sources of variation between different environments. In our work, we have reasoned that the availability of laboratory packages for experiments can encourage better replications and complementary studies. However, even with effectively specified laboratory packages, transfer of experimental know-how can still be difficult. A cooperation between Brazilian and American researchers addressing effective running of replications was formed in 1999. One of the specific issues being addressed is the problem of transferring tacit knowledge. We discuss what we learned about the tacit knowledge transfer problem and the evolution of laboratory packages in the description of a replication performed in Brazil using a PBR (Perspective Based Reading) laboratory package; also how further issues are addressed.
Overexpression of A3 adenosine receptor in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in rheumatoid arthritis: involvement of nuclear factor-kappaB in mediating receptor level.

OBJECTIVE A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR) upregulation has been found in cells of synovial tissue and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of rats with adjuvant-induced arthritis. We investigated A3AR levels in PBMC of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in mitogen-activated PBMC from healthy subjects. We examined the role of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), a transcription factor present in the A3AR promoter, in mediating receptor upregulation. METHODS A3AR and NF-kappaB protein levels were evaluated in PBMC of RA patients (n = 23) and healthy subjects by Western blot. A3AR and NF-kappaB levels were also analyzed in phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated PBMC in the presence and absence of antibodies against interleukin 2 (IL-2) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was performed in PHA-stimulated PBMC of healthy subjects to determine A3AR expression. RESULTS A3AR was overexpressed in PBMC of RA patients compared to healthy subjects and was directly correlated to an increase in NF-kappaB. Similar findings were observed in PHA and LPS-stimulated PBMC from healthy subjects. Antibodies against IL-2 or TNF-alpha prevented the increase in A3AR and NF-kappaB expression. CONCLUSION Overexpression of A3AR was found in PBMC of RA patients. Receptor upregulation was induced by inflammatory cytokines controlling the expression of the A3AR transcription factor NF-kappaB.
Chirp stimulation: H-response short and dynamic

Background Migraine patients have an increased photic-driving response. This ‘H-response’ (HR) has potential diagnostic value but it is time consuming. Aim The aim of the study was to establish a fast and standardized test for the study of migraine biology and treatment. Methods We studied 11 migraine patients and 11 matched control participants. We used stroboscope flashes with a ‘chirp’-like linear frequency-increase from 10 to 40 Hz. EEG was recorded from occipital electrodes. Power spectral density was calculated for the stimulus response and corrected for baseline. An HR-estimator was calculated as the average power between 18 and 26 Hz in the stimulation-frequency window. Results There was a significant difference for single (p < 0.05) and for 10 averaged recordings (p < 0.01) between migraineurs and controls, and a high inter-test reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.94). Conclusion Chirp-like stimulation to study the H-response is reliable and efficient and might therefore have a potential for acute interventional studies in migraine research.
In Defense of the Triplet Loss for Person Re-Identification

In the past few years, the field of computer vision has gone through a revolution fueled mainly by the advent of large datasets and the adoption of deep convolutional neural networks for end-to-end learning. The person re-identification subfield is no exception to this. Unfortunately, a prevailing belief in the community seems to be that the triplet loss is inferior to using surrogate losses (classification, verification) followed by a separate metric learning step. We show that, for models trained from scratch as well as pretrained ones, using a variant of the triplet loss to perform end-to-end deep metric learning outperforms most other published methods by a large margin.
Neurocognitive functioning as intermediary phenotype and predictor of psychosocial functioning across the psychosis continuum: studies in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE Neurocognitive functioning may represent an indicator of genetic risk and poor outcome in both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In this study, shared and nonshared characteristics in the cognitive domain in both disorders were analyzed to determine to what degree neurocognitive functioning may represent a predictor of the familial vulnerability and poor functioning that schizophrenia spectrum disorders and bipolar disorder share. METHOD Neurocognition, psychopathology, and psychosocial functioning were assessed in samples of patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (n = 345) and bipolar disorder (n = 76) meeting DSM-IV criteria, first-degree relatives of both patient groups (n = 331 and n = 37, respectively), and healthy controls (n = 260 and n = 61, respectively). Multiple regression models were used to investigate the effect of group status on neurocognition and to explore associations between cognition, symptoms, and psychosocial functioning in the 2 groups. The schizophrenia spectrum study sample was recruited between September 2004 and January 2008, and the bipolar study sample was recruited between June 2004 and July 2007. RESULTS Cognitive deficits were more severe and more generalized in patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder compared to patients with bipolar disorder; cognitive alterations were present in relatives of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders but not in relatives of bipolar patients. The association between neurocognitive dysfunction and psychosocial functioning was more generalized in schizophrenia spectrum disorders than in bipolar disorder; for both disorders, associations were only partly mediated by symptoms. CONCLUSIONS The evidence for cognitive dysfunction as a marker of familial vulnerability is stronger for schizophrenia than for bipolar disorder. Although the presence of multiple cognitive deficits is shared by the 2 groups, the severity of cognitive deficits and its consequences appear to partly differ between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which is in line with a model that implies the specific presence of a neurodevelopmental impairment in the former but not in the latter.
Growth of uterine leiomyomata among premenopausal black and white women

Uterine leiomyomata (fibroids) are the leading cause of hysterectomy in the United States. Black women have a greater fibroid burden than whites, yet no study has systematically evaluated the growth of fibroids in blacks and whites. We prospectively tracked growth for 262 fibroids (size range: 1–13 cm in diameter) from 72 premenopausal participants (38 blacks and 34 whites). Fibroid volume was measured by computerized analysis of up to four MRI scans over 12 months. We used mixed effects models to identify factors that are associated with growth, and results were converted to percent change per 6 months for clinical relevance. The median growth rate was 9% (range: −89% to +138%). Seven percent of fibroids regressed (>20% shrinkage). Tumors from the same woman grew at different rates (within-woman component of variation was twice the component among women; both were significant, P < 0.001). Black and white women less than 35 years of age had similar fibroid growth rates. However, growth rates declined with age for whites but not for blacks (P = 0.05). The odds of a tumor growing more than 20% in 6 months also decreased with age for whites but not for blacks (P < 0.01). Growth rates were not influenced by tumor size, location, body mass index, or parity. We conclude that (i) spontaneous regression of fibroids occurs; (ii) fibroids from the same woman grow at different rates, despite a uniform hormonal milieu; (iii) fibroid size does not predict growth rate; and (iv) age-related differences in fibroid growth between blacks and whites may contribute to the higher symptom burden for black women.
The effects of sevoflurane and nitrous oxide on middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity and transient hyperemic response.

UNLABELLED We studied the effects of sevoflurane, with and without nitrous oxide, on the indices of cerebral autoregulation (transient hyperemic response ratio and the strength of autoregulation) derived from the transient hyperemic response (THR) test. Twelve patients (ASA physical status I or II) aged 18-40 yr presenting for routine non-neurosurgical procedures were recruited. The middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity was continuously recorded using transcranial Doppler ultrasonography. Preinduction THR tests were performed before the patients were anesthetized with alfentanil, propofol, and vecuronium. End-tidal carbon dioxide concentration and mean arterial pressure (to within 10% with a phenylephrine infusion) were maintained at their preinduction values. THR tests were performed sequentially at the following end-tidal sevoflurane concentrations: 2.2% in oxygen, 3.4% in oxygen, 3.4% with 50% nitrous oxide in oxygen, and 2.2% with 50% nitrous oxide in oxygen. Neither 2.2% nor 3.4% sevoflurane significantly affected cerebral autoregulation. The addition of 50% nitrous oxide to the 2.2%, but not the 3.4%, concentration of sevoflurane increased middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity and decreased autoregulatory indices significantly. IMPLICATIONS Transient hyperemic response is preserved during sevoflurane anesthesia but is significantly impaired when nitrous oxide is added to the lower concentration of sevoflurane (2.2%). These findings have implications for neurosurgical patients undergoing general anesthesia.
Comparability of cancer identification among Death Registry, Cancer Registry and Hospital Discharge Registry

Registry‐based cancer incidence and mortality data are widely used for etiologic research, cancer control and health care monitoring and planning. The complete coverage of all cases is the key criteria of data quality but it is difficult to assess because the alternative sources of data may be flawed. The aim of our study was to examine, at a nationwide level, the completeness of the Swedish Cancer Registry (CR) regarding persons who died of cancer, based on the Cause of Death Registry (DR), and using the Hospital Discharge Registry (HDR) as an additional source of data. Individuals who died of cancer from years 1999 through 2008 recorded in DR were linked to CR and HDR. A total of 190,692 individuals were identified from DR with cancer as the underlying cause of death; the mean identification rate of concordant cancer in CR was 79.8%, depending on tumor site and age at death. Breast, bladder and prostate cancers showed the highest rate of identification, whereas bone, liver and pancreatic cancers showed the lowest rate of identification. CR had no records on 10.6% of cancer cases recorded in DR. Similarly, the identification rate in HDR was 84.5% for concordant cancer and with 9.6% of cases missing. Neither source reported cancers for 3.4% of cancer cases recorded in DR. In conclusion, some 10% of cancer deaths had no cancer records in CR or in HDR, and 3.4% were missing in both sources. The identification rate depended on tumor site, age at death and, to some extent, death outside hospital.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS ON SHELL-RICH FACIES IN TROPICAL LACUSTRINE RIFTS: A VIEW FROM LAKE TANGANYIKA'S LITTORAL

Abstract Lake Tanganyika, the world's largest tropical rift lake, is unique among its counterparts in East Africa for the remarkable diversity of mollusk-rich sediments in its littoral zone. Molluscan shell beds are, however, a common feature of ancient lacustrine rift deposits and thus a better understanding of their spatial and temporal development is important. Targeted surveys across the littoral region of the Kigoma Basin reveal three surficial shell-rich facies that differ widely in depositional style and geometry. A unifying characteristic of these deposits is the volume of shells of Neothauma tanganyicense, a large, viviparous gastropod endemic to the lake. Reservoir-corrected radiocarbon dating indicates that Neothauma deposits in these surficial sediments are time averaged over at least the last ∼1600 calendar years BP. Preservation of fossil Neothauma shells in the littoral zone depends on both environmental conditions and on post-mortem shell modifications. Interaction between shells and mobile siliciclastic grains, facilitated by wave action and storms, represents a particularly destructive taphonomic process in the study area. Rank scoring of damage to Neothauma suggests that stromatolitic encrustations or early calcite coatings may help mitigate shell destruction caused by hydraulic fragmentation and abrasion. Persistence of Neothauma in littoral beds has important implications for the structuring of specialized communities of shallow-water benthos, as well as for improving analog models for hydrocarbon reservoirs in lacustrine carbonates.
Pamidronate-induced remission of pain associated with hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy in chemoendocrine therapy-refractory inoperable metastatic breast carcinoma

We describe an extremely rare case of a woman with pulmonary metastatic disease from breast cancer, who presented with features of hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy (HPOA). Pain associated with HPOA may be extremely disabling and resistant to treatment. Treatment with pamidronate, an inhibitor of osteoclastic bone resorption, given every 2 weeks by i.v. drip infusion, led to rapid disappearance of uncontrolled pain caused by HPOA.
Benzodiazepines and Workplace Safety: An Examination of Postaccident Urine Drug Tests

Background:Benzodiazepines were introduced for clinical use since the 1960s and rapidly became the sedative-hypnotic of choice. The purpose of this study was to determine whether benzodiazepine use as measured by drug tests is higher in postaccident drug tests than in random tests. Methods:This is a case–control study comparing the proportion of benzodiazepine laboratory positive urine specimens for random versus postaccident samples. Any sample that tested positive for 1 or more substances other than benzodiazepines was eliminated from the study to correct for the confounding effect of other potentially impairing substances. The group prevalence of benzodiazepine positive samples was compared via the odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals and the P-values. Results:The study began with 4756 urine samples with 2161 postaccident specimens and 2595 random specimens. A total of 243 of the samples were confirmed positive for drugs other than benzodiazepines. The study was left with 2016 postaccident and 2497 random samples. In the controlled postaccident group, there were 57 positive screens and 17 (29.8%) were confirmed as positive for either a benzodiazepine or benzodiazepine metabolites. In the controlled random group, there were 48 positive screens and 10 (20.8%) were confirmed as positive for either a benzodiazepine or benzodiazepine metabolites. The OR comparing the total confirmed laboratory positive benzodiazepine specimens after controlling for other substances was 2.1150 (0.9663-4.6292) with a P-value of 0.0609. Conclusions:The results for comparing the total confirmed laboratory positive benzodiazepine tests controlled for other substances, although suggestive of an association, did not achieve statistical significance.
Vaccinia Virus K1L and C7L Inhibit Antiviral Activities Induced by Type I Interferons

ABSTRACT Cellular tropism of vaccinia virus (VACV) is regulated by host range genes, including K1L, C7L, and E3L. While E3L is known to support viral replication by antagonizing interferon (IFN) effectors, including PKR, the exact functions of K1L and C7L are unclear. Here, we show that K1L and C7L can also inhibit antiviral effectors induced by type I IFN. In human Huh7 and MCF-7 cells, a VACV mutant lacking both K1L and C7L (vK1L−C7L−) replicated as efficiently as wild-type (WT) VACV, even in the presence of IFN. However, pretreating the cells with type I IFN, while having very little effect on WT VACV, blocked the replication of vK1L−C7L− at the step of intermediate viral gene translation. Restoring either K1L or C7L to vK1L−C7L− fully restored the IFN resistance phenotype. The deletion of K1L and C7L from VACV did not affect the ability of the virus to inhibit IFN signaling or its ability to inhibit the phosphorylation of PKR and the α subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2, indicating that K1L and C7L function by antagonizing an IFN effector(s) but with a mechanism that is different from those of IFN antagonists previously identified for VACV. Mutations of K1L that inactivate the host range function also rendered K1L unable to antagonize IFN, suggesting that K1L supports VACV replication in mammalian cells by antagonizing the same antiviral factor(s) that is induced by IFN in Huh7 cells.
Rapid detection of organophosphates in aqueous solution using a hybrid organic/inorganic coating on SH-SAW devices

Rapid detection of organophosphates pesticides (OPs) in groundwater is necessary to allow for real-time monitoring and cleanup. Detection of OPs in the liquid phase has already been demonstrated using poly(epichlorohydrin) [PECH] and polyurethane as the sensing layer. However, the response times are relatively long, on the order of hours. In this work, a hybrid organic/inorganic chemically sensitive layer [bisphenol A-hexamethyltrisiloxane (BPA-HMTS)] is synthesized and investigated for the rapid detection and analysis of organophosphate pesticides. Direct chemical sensing in aqueous solutions is performed using the guided shear horizontal surface acoustic wave sensor platform on 36° rotated Y-cut LiTaO3. It is shown that, for the same coating thickness, a 60% reduction in sensor response time is achieved without a significant reduction in sensitivity when compared with PECH. Considering the glass transition temperature, Tg, for the polymers, it is seen that the faster sensor response exhibited by the BPA-HMTS coating is due to the porous siloxane backbone, HMTS. Furthermore, sensor signal analysis in the form of the extended Kalman filter (EKF) is employed on-line during the detection process. This allows for the steady-state sensor response and absorption time constant to be extracted on-line well before equilibrium, thus further reducing the time required for analyte identification and quantification. 500 µg/L of parathion has been detected and a limit of detection of 20 µg/L (ppb) for parathion and 100 µg/L (ppb) of paraoxon is reported for the present non-optimized sensor.
Fracture behaviour of an Al2O3-ZrO2 multi-layered ceramic with residual stresses due to phase transformations

The fracture behaviour of a ceramic multi-layer designed with thin internal compressive layers and obtained by slip casting is studied. It consists of nine alternated Al 2 O 3 -5vol%tZrO 2 and Al 2 O 3 -30vol%mZrO 2 layers of530 μm and 100 μm thickness, respectively. Mechanical characterization includes evaluation of Vickers Hardness, Young's modulus and fracture strength under four-point bending. In addition, the residual stress magnitude and distribution in the laminate is determined both analytically, from calculations using the differential strain between layers and the elastic properties, and experimentally, using indentation techniques. The experimental findings in terms of mechanical strength and fractography show a subcritical growth of the natural flaws in the laminate before catastrophic failure occurs, owing to the relevant role of the thin Al 2 O 3 -30vol%mZrO 2 layers with compressive stresses inherent to the zirconia phase transformation. These layers are also responsible for the increase in toughness to levels of at least three times that of the reference Al 2 O 3 -5vol%tZrO 2 monolith.
Glucosinolate-Derived Isothiocyanates Inhibit Arabidopsis Growth and the Potency Depends on Their Side Chain Structure

Isothiocyanates (ITCs), the biologically important glucosinolate breakdown products, can present health-promoting effects, play an important role in plant defense and affect plant cellular mechanisms. Here, we evaluated the biological effects of ITCs on Arabidopsis thaliana by assessing growth parameters after long-term exposure to low concentrations of aliphatic and aromatic ITCs, ranging from 1 to 1000 µM. Treatment with the aliphatic allylisothiocyanate (allyl-ITC) led to a significant reduction of root length and fresh weight in a dose-dependent manner and affected the formation of lateral roots. To assess the importance of a hormonal crosstalk in the allyl-ITC-mediated growth reduction, the response of auxin and ethylene mutants was investigated, but our results did not allow us to confirm a role for these hormones. Aromatic ITCs generally led to a more severe growth inhibition than the aliphatic allyl-ITC. Interestingly, we observed a correlation between the length of their side chain and the effect these aromatic ITCs caused on Arabidopsis thaliana, with the greatest inhibitory effect seen for 2-phenylethyl-ITC. Root growth recovered when seedlings were removed from exposure to ITCs.