Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhancing biocompatibility of Co-Cr alloy implants via electrical discharge process

ABSTRACT With increasing popularity of Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) method upon part manufacturing precision with tailorable surface properties; the assessment of EDM process was therefore carried out concerning the surface alteration of medical grade Co-Cr alloy biomaterials. The samples surface were EDMed at different spark energy levels by varying current and On-time to investigate the surface characteristics, and it's biological responses. MTT assay and cytocompatibility test were conducted to examine the in-vitro biocompatibility confirming the higher competent cell viability and proficient RBC lysis for the surface treated with spark energy ranging from 960J–1500J. Here the experimental results revealed that application of low-current (5 A) and high On-time (200 µs) favors the synthesis of high-quality biocompatible substrates. Thus, surface modification of Co-Cr implants using EDM can be considered as a promising method for improving surface properties essential for biomedical applications.
Corruption and Economic Growth: The Case of EMCCA

This article analyzes the relationship between corruption and economic growth in the countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (EMCCA). To our knowledge, there are no works dealing with the direct relations between the two variables in such a framework. For this purpose, we use panel data econometrics to show that over the period 2005 to 2015, corruption has favored economic growth in the CEMAC member countries by “grazing” the administrative burdens that impede access basic public services (water, electricity, public hospitals and public schools), the creation and development of private enterprises.
Impact of slurry pH on material removal rate and surface quality of polished fused silica

We have selected and characterized 2 cerium oxide slurries. We have then modified their pH to polish fused silica samples. The material removal rate, roughness, surface defects density and morphology have been observed as a function of pH. We noticed that while roughness and surface defect density don’t seem to be very affected by slurry pH, the latter has an influence on material removal rate and width of the scratches generated during polishing.
Black-box Adversarial Attacks with Limited Queries and Information

Current neural network-based classifiers are susceptible to adversarial examples even in the black-box setting, where the attacker only has query access to the model. In practice, the threat model for real-world systems is often more restrictive than the typical black-box model where the adversary can observe the full output of the network on arbitrarily many chosen inputs. We define three realistic threat models that more accurately characterize many real-world classifiers: the query-limited setting, the partial-information setting, and the label-only setting. We develop new attacks that fool classifiers under these more restrictive threat models, where previous methods would be impractical or ineffective. We demonstrate that our methods are effective against an ImageNet classifier under our proposed threat models. We also demonstrate a targeted black-box attack against a commercial classifier, overcoming the challenges of limited query access, partial information, and other practical issues to break the Google Cloud Vision API.
Cantharidin-encapsulated thermal-sensitive liposomes coated with gold nanoparticles for enhanced photothermal therapy on A431 cells

Purpose Plasmonic nanostructure-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) is a promising alternative therapy for the treatment of skin cancer and other diseases. However, the insufficient efficiency of PTT at irradiation levels tolerable to tissues and the limited biodegradability of nanomaterials are still crucial challenges. In this study, a novel nanosystem for PTT based on liposome–nanoparticle assemblies (LNAs) was established. Materials and methods Thermal-sensitive liposomes (TSLs) encapsulating cantharidin (CTD) were coated with gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and used in near-infrared (NIR) illumination-triggered PTT and thermally induced disruption on A431 cells. Results The coated GNPs disintegrated into small particles of 5–6 nm after disruption of TSLs, allowing their clearance by the liver and kidneys. CTD encapsulated in the TSLs was released into cytoplasm after PTT. The released CTD increased the apoptosis of PTT-treated tumor cells by blocking the heat shock response (HSR) and inhibiting the expression of HSP70 and BAG3 inhibiting the expression of HSP70 and BAG3 with the synergistic enhancement of CTD, the new nanosystem CTD-encapsulated TSLs coated with GNPs (CTD-TSL@GNPs) had an efficient PTT effect using clinically acceptable irradiation power (200 mW//cm2) on A431 cells. Conclusion The developed CTD-TSL@GNPs may be a promising PTT agent for clinical skin cancer therapy.
The Effect of Reduced Hydraulic Conductance on Stomatal Conductance and Xylem Cavitation

The vulnerability of xylem conduits to cavitation theoretically determines the maximum flow rate of water through plants, and hence maximum transpiration (E), stomatal conductance (g s ), and leaf area (A 1 ). Field-grown Betula occidentalis with a favourable water supply exhibit midday xylem pressures (ψ px ) approaching the cavitation-inducing range (-1.42 to -2.2 MPa). We studied the ability of the stomata to prevent cavitation-inducing pressures when whole-plant hydraulic conductance per leaf area (k 1 ) was reduced by making overlapping transverse cuts in the main stem. Controls were intact, or had only the phloem cut in the same pattern
Vancomycin Tolerant, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Reveals the Effects of Vancomycin on Cell Wall Thickening

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important opportunistic pathogen that causes both healthcare- and community-acquired infections. An increase in the incidence of these infections may lead to a substantial change in the rate of vancomycin usage. Incidence of reduced susceptibility to vancomycin has been increasing worldwide for the last few years, conferring different levels of resistance to vancomycin as well as producing changes in the cell wall structure. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of vancomycin on cell wall thickening in clinical isolates of vancomycin-tolerant (VT) MRSA obtained from pediatric patients. From a collection of 100 MRSA clinical isolates from pediatric patients, 12% (12/100) were characterized as VT-MRSA, and from them, 41.66% (5/12) exhibited the heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (hVISA) phenotype. Multiplex-PCR assays revealed 66.66% (8/12), 25% (3/12), and 8.33% (1/12) of the VT-MRSA isolates were associated with agr group II, I, and III polymorphisms, respectively; the II-mec gene was amplified from 83.3% (10/12) of the isolates, and the mecIVa gene was amplified from 16.66% (2/12) of the isolates. Pulsed field electrophoresis (PFGE) fingerprint analysis showed 62% similarity among the VT-MRSA isolates. Thin transverse sections analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed an average increase of 24 nm (105.55%) in the cell wall thickness of VT-MRSA compared with untreated VT-MRSA isolates. In summary, these data revealed that the thickened cell walls of VT-MRSA clinical isolates with agr type II and SCCmec group II polymorphisms are associated with an adaptive resistance to vancomycin.
Relative Gains, Losses, and Reference Points in Probabilistic Choice in Rats

Theoretical reference points have been proposed to differentiate probabilistic gains from probabilistic losses in humans, but such a phenomenon in non-human animals has yet to be thoroughly elucidated. Three experiments evaluated the effect of reward magnitude on probabilistic choice in rats, seeking to determine reference point use by examining the effect of previous outcome magnitude(s) on subsequent choice behavior. Rats were trained to choose between an outcome that always delivered reward (low-uncertainty choice) and one that probabilistically delivered reward (high-uncertainty). The probability of high-uncertainty outcome receipt and the magnitudes of low-uncertainty and high-uncertainty outcomes were manipulated within and between experiments. Both the low- and high-uncertainty outcomes involved variable reward magnitudes, so that either a smaller or larger magnitude was probabilistically delivered, as well as reward omission following high-uncertainty choices. In Experiments 1 and 2, the between groups factor was the magnitude of the high-uncertainty-smaller (H-S) and high-uncertainty-larger (H-L) outcome, respectively. The H-S magnitude manipulation differentiated the groups, while the H-L magnitude manipulation did not. Experiment 3 showed that manipulating the probability of differential losses as well as the expected value of the low-uncertainty choice produced systematic effects on choice behavior. The results suggest that the reference point for probabilistic gains and losses was the expected value of the low-uncertainty choice. Current theories of probabilistic choice behavior have difficulty accounting for the present results, so an integrated theoretical framework is proposed. Overall, the present results have implications for understanding individual differences and corresponding underlying mechanisms of probabilistic choice behavior.
Interference effects of an adjacent tall building with various sizes on local wind forces acting on a tall building

This article focuses on variations of local wind forces along height levels of a tall building due to an adjacent tall building with various height and breadth ratios through huge wind tunnel experiments. It deals with the characteristics of local wind forces including root mean square local wind force coefficients, non-dimensional power spectra, and root coherences along height levels of a tall building with an adjacent tall building in critical locations. It is shown that increases of over 20% in interference factors (MIFMD, RIFMD, and RIFML) for maximum mean and root mean square base overturning moment coefficients in along- and across-wind directions occur when the adjacent building is close to the principal building. Higher and wider adjacent buildings can cause not only higher mean wind loads but also higher dynamic wind loads in along- and across-wind directions, but the critical locations of an adjacent building with various height and breadth ratios are somewhat different. However, most critical locations of an adjacent building for wind-induced wind loads are within the region (X/B, Y/B) = (1.5, 0–1.5).
Identification of Modulators of the Nuclear Receptor Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor α (PPARα) in a Mouse Liver Gene Expression Compendium

The nuclear receptor family member peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) is activated by therapeutic hypolipidemic drugs and environmentally-relevant chemicals to regulate genes involved in lipid transport and catabolism. Chronic activation of PPARα in rodents increases liver cancer incidence, whereas suppression of PPARα activity leads to hepatocellular steatosis. Analytical approaches were developed to identify biosets (i.e., gene expression differences between two conditions) in a genomic database in which PPARα activity was altered. A gene expression signature of 131 PPARα-dependent genes was built using microarray profiles from the livers of wild-type and PPARα-null mice after exposure to three structurally diverse PPARα activators (WY-14,643, fenofibrate and perfluorohexane sulfonate). A fold-change rank-based test (Running Fisher’s test (p-value ≤ 10-4)) was used to evaluate the similarity between the PPARα signature and a test set of 48 and 31 biosets positive or negative, respectively for PPARα activation; the test resulted in a balanced accuracy of 98%. The signature was then used to identify factors that activate or suppress PPARα in an annotated mouse liver/primary hepatocyte gene expression compendium of ~1850 biosets. In addition to the expected activation of PPARα by fibrate drugs, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, and perfluorinated compounds, PPARα was activated by benzofuran, galactosamine, and TCDD and suppressed by hepatotoxins acetaminophen, lipopolysaccharide, silicon dioxide nanoparticles, and trovafloxacin. Additional factors that activate (fasting, caloric restriction) or suppress (infections) PPARα were also identified. This study 1) developed methods useful for future screening of environmental chemicals, 2) identified chemicals that activate or suppress PPARα, and 3) identified factors including diets and infections that modulate PPARα activity and would be hypothesized to affect chemical-induced PPARα activity.
Design Patterns for Data Comics

Data comics for data-driven storytelling are inspired by the visual language of comics and aim to communicate insights in data through visualizations. While comics are widely known, few examples of data comics exist and there has not been any structured analysis nor guidance for their creation. We introduce data-comic design-patterns, each describing a set of panels with a specific narrative purpose, that allow for rapid storyboarding of data comics while showcasing their expressive potential. Our patterns are derived from i) analyzing common patterns in infographics, datavideos, and existing data comics, ii) our experiences creating data comics for different scenarios. Our patterns demonstrate how data comics allow an author to combine the best of both worlds: spatial layout and overview from infographics as well as linearity and narration from videos and presentations.
Optothermal Raman Studies of Thermal Properties of Graphene Based Films

Efficient thermal management is becoming a critical issue for development of the next generation of electronics. As the size of electronic devices shrinks, the dissipated power density increases, demanding a better heat removal. The discovery of graphene’s unique electrical and thermal properties stimulated interest of electronic industry to development of graphene based technologies. In this dissertation, I report the results of my investigation of thermal properties of graphene derivatives and their applications in thermal management. The dissertation consists of three parts. In the first part, I investigated thermal conductivity of graphene laminate films deposited on thermally insulating polyethylene terephthalate substrates. Graphene laminate is made of chemically derived graphene and few layer graphene flakes packed in overlapping structure. Two types of graphene laminate were studied: as deposited and compressed. The thermal conductivity of the laminate was found to be in the range from 40 W/mK to 90 W/mK at room temperature. It was established that the average size and the alignment of graphene flakes are parameters dominating the heat conduction. In the second part of this dissertation, I investigated thermal conductivity of chemically reduced freestanding graphene oxide films. It was found that the in-plane thermal conductivity of graphene oxide can be increased significantly using chemical reduction and temperature treatment. Finally, I studied the effect of defects on thermal conductivity of suspended graphene. The knowledge of the thermal conductivity dependence on the concentration of defects can shed light on the strength of the phonon - point defect scattering in two-dimensional materials. The defects were introduced to graphene in a controllable way using the low-energy electron beam irradiation. It was determined that as the defect density increases the thermal conductivity decreases down to about 400 W/mK, and then reveal saturation type behavior. The thermal conductivity dependence on the defect density was analyzed using the Boltzmann transport equation and molecular dynamics simulations. The obtained results are important for understanding phonon transport in two-dimensional systems and for practical applications of graphene in thermal management.
Characterisation of imperfections in hollow core photonic bandgap fibres

Over the past decades, the performance of standard single-mode fibre (SSMF) has improved to the point that limited scope now exists for significant further reductions in loss and nonlinearity, which determine the fibre’s transmission capacity. Given the current 40% per annum growth in data traffic, and the fact that state-of-the-art data transmission experiments are operating close to the fundamental information-carrying limit of SSMF, there is strong interest in developing radically new fibres capable of much higher data carrying capacity. Recently, a potentially disruptive new type of fibre, the hollow-core (HC) photonic bandgap fibre (PBGF), has emerged as a credible candidate. It guides light predominantly (i.e. ~99%) in air, providing a unique set of optical properties such as ultralow nonlinearity, ultimate low signal latency, and the potential for lower loss compared to SSMF. However, to enable the application of HC-PBGFs for data transmission, the fabrication of long lengths of uniform, low-loss HC-PBGFs is essential, which had not been possible until recently. Despite empirical observations of high loss section along HCPBGFs and of more frequent fibre breaks than in conventional fibres were known, very little was known about the root cause of these issues at the start of this PhD project. The investigation of the problems preventing the fabrication of long length of uniform, defect free HC-PBGF is the topic of this thesis. I developed and/or applied a suite of characterisation methods, such as IR side-scatter imaging, X-ray tomographic analysis and optical side scattering radiometry, aimed at identifying defects and imperfections that arise in HC-PBGFs. Through these techniques, I studied the morphology and longitudinal evolution (e.g. formation, stabilisation and decay) of such defects, the first systematic study of this kind for HC-PBGFs. Furthermore I could backtrack their origin to well defined stages in the fabrication (e.g. preforms and canes). My observations suggest that all or at least most defects arise due to contamination or stacking errors, which are unintentionally introduced when the HC-PBGF preforms are assembled from arrays of glass capillaries. Ultimately, the methods I have developed and the findings described in this PhD Thesis helped develop ways to greatly reduce (and hopefully, in future, completely eliminate) these defects, which resulted in several breakthroughs including the achievement of the current record length of low loss HC-PBGF, i.e., a 11km long fibre with a uniform 5.2dB/km loss and more than 200nm transmission bandwidth, a factor of 10 longer length than what had been reported before the start of this project.
How Watching Pinocchio Movies Changes Our Subjective Experience of Extrapersonal Space

The way we experience the space around us is highly subjective. It has been shown that motion potentialities that are intrinsic to our body influence our space categorization. Furthermore, we have recently demonstrated that in the extrapersonal space, our categorization also depends on the movement potential of other agents. When we have to categorize the space as “Near” or “Far” between a reference and a target, the space categorized as “Near” is wider if the reference corresponds to a biological agent that has the potential to walk, instead of a biological and non-biological agent that cannot walk. But what exactly drives this “Near space extension”? In the present paper, we tested whether abstract beliefs about the biological nature of an agent determine how we categorize the space between the agent and an object. Participants were asked to first read a Pinocchio story and watch a correspondent video in which Pinocchio acts like a real human, in order to become more transported into the initial story. Then they had to categorize the location ("Near" or "Far") of a target object located at progressively increasing or decreasing distances from a non-biological agent (i.e., a wooden dummy) and from a biological agent (i.e., a human-like avatar). The results indicate that being transported into the Pinocchio story, induces an equal “Near” space threshold with both the avatar and the wooden dummy as reference frames.
Comparison of Treatment Safety and Patient Survival in Elderly versus Nonelderly Patients with Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma Receiving Sorafenib Combined with Transarterial Chemoembolization: A Propensity Score Matching Study

Aims This retrospective study was carried out to compare the outcomes between elderly (≥70 years of age) and nonelderly patients (<70 years of age) with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who received sorafenib combined with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Methods 88 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of advanced HCC were enrolled in this study. Of these, 24 elderly patients were matched with 48 nonelderly patients at a 1:2 ratio using propensity score matching to minimize selection bias. The related adverse events and survival benefits were compared between the two groups. Results Sorafenib combined with TACE was equally well tolerated in both age groups, and grade 3 or 4 adverse events were similarly observed in 54.2% of elderly and 50.0% of nonelderly patients (P = 0.739). There were no significant differences in survival time between the elderly and nonelderly patients (P = 0.876). Significant prognostic factors for overall survival as identified by multivariate analysis were the Child–Pugh score and portal vein invasion. Conclusions Sorafenib combined with TACE may be well tolerated and effective in elderly patients with advanced HCC. Age alone is not a parameter for the treatment of advanced HCC patients.
Cholesteatoma surgery with the canal wall up technique combined with mastoid obliteration: results from primary surgery in 230 consecutive cases

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the canal wall up (CWU) technique combined with mastoid obliteration used in cholesteatoma surgery from the aspects of safety and function. Study design: Retrospective chart review. Information was extracted from a medical database and complementary data from patient files and audiograms were collected and recorded retrospectively. Setting: A tertiary-stage hospital and a secondary-stage hospital. Surgeons of various levels of experience. Method: Data from a consecutive group of 230 primary operations for cholesteatoma surgery using CWU with obliteration employing the combined approach tympanoplasty (CAT) technique, from January 1994 to December 2009 were analyzed. Results: In 90% of the ears, the anatomy was normalized with an intact ear drum. The frequency of residual cholesteatoma was 1% and the frequency of recurrent cholesteatoma 8%. Hearing was improved one year postoperatively and remained improved three years postoperatively. No patient suffered a total hearing loss. Conclusions: CWU procedure comprising CAT with obliteration of the mastoid is a safe surgical method with a low frequency of residual and recurrent disease and a good hearing preservation.
Anatomical variations of the sphenoid sinus - a study of 200 cases -

Abstract Our study on the anatomical variation of pneumatisation of the sphenoid sinuses was performed on 200 tomographical studies, evaluating the anatomical variations of the sphenoid sinuses and the Onodi cells, the types of pneumatisation according with the types described by Hammer and Radberg, as well as the extensions of pneumatisation towards the anterior clinoid processes, pterygoid processes and sphenoidal wings; the frequency of intrasphenoidal protrusions and dehiscences of internal carotid artery, optic nerve, Vidian canal and foramen rotundum and the presence of primary and secondary septa attached to their canals.