Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plastic deformation and grain refinement in surface layer induced by thermo-mechanical loads for hard milling process

Microstructure alteration of machined surface induced by the coupled thermal and mechanical loads in the hard milling process has great influence on surface integrity. Hence, it affects the performances of the workpiece. The hard milling experiments of AISI H13 steel with different cutting speeds and feed rates were carried out and the microstructure evolution of machined surface was investigated by means of some advanced characterization methods. The experimental result indicates that plastically deformed layer was evident with three distinguishable zones, that is, unaffected zone, plastic deformation zone, and white layer zone. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that no retained austenite is detected in the white layer. Numerous nano-sized equiaxed grains were induced by dynamic recrystallization (DRX), as a result of severe shear plastic deformation on the machined surface. As the cutting speed increases, the grain refinement becomes more obvious. However, the original cementite was greatly refined and well distributed compared with bulk material. A significant improvement in nano-hardness was witnessed in both for machined surface and subsurface. The grain refinement as well as well-dispersed cementite played a vital role in the improvement of nano-hardness. The varied depth of plastic deformation was observed with respect to change of cutting forces. It is the main source of mechanical load inducing plastic deformation with the assistance of material thermal softening. The present work can provide more visibility on the surface integrity along with the quality control of the workpiece.
[Study on high risk factors associated with positive margin of cervix conization in patient with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia].

OBJECTIVE To assess the high risk factors associated with the positive margin of conization in patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). METHODS From January 2000 to February 2008, 1699 consecutive patients with CIN undergoing conization was reviewed retrospectively in order to analyze the relationship between the positive margin of conization with clinical prognostic factors, such as patients age, disease grade, size of lesion, the procedure of excision and menopause. chi2 tests was used to compare the different frequencies of factors in groups of positive and negative margin conization, then seven factors with positive margin were processed into unconditional logistic regression analysis. RESULTS The rate of the positive margin in 1699 patients was 14.01% (238/1699). The mean age of patients with positive margins was (39+/-9) years old, while patients with negative margins was (39+/-8) years old, which didn't reach statistical difference (P>0.05). The rate of the positive margin was 8.63% in cold knife cone (CKC) and 18.66% in loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP), which showed significant difference (P<0.01). Among 1699 patients, 90 patients were with CINI, 339 patients were with CIN II, 1113 patients were with CIN III [including 972 with severe dysplasia and 141 with cancer in situ (CIS)], 87 patients were with cervical cancer stage Ia1, 70 patients were with stage Ia2 or advanced stages. The rate of positive margin was 1.11% (1/90), 3.83% (13/339), 10.70% (104/972), 26.24% (37/141), 35.63% (31/87) and 74.29% (52/70), respectively. There was statistic difference among them, except CINI and CINII. When combined CIN I with CIN II, then compared with CIN III, cervical cancer with Ia1 and Ia2, it also showed statistical difference (P<0.05). The rate of positive margin in postmenopausal women was 21.54% (28/130), which was significantly higher than 13.38% (210/1569) in premenopausal women (P=0.010). The logistic regression analysis showed that the procedure of excision, grade of disease, size of lesion, surface of cervix, and menopause were high risk factors associated with the positive margin, the risk ratio were 5.147, 3.048, 1.271, 1.905 and 1.860, respectively. CONCLUSIONS High grade, the extent of CIN disease, LEEP and postmenopausal age are high-risk factors associated with positive margin in patients treated by conization. It should be warranted in those patients when designing conization treatment.
Liver structure and function in cholelithiasis: Effect of chenodeoxycholic acid 1

Although, in suitable patients, oral chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) dissolves gallstones, the results of recent animal studies suggest that it might be hepatotoxic. Liver function was therefore studied in patients with gallstones before and during treatment with CDCA and liver biopsies were carried out both in patients with cholelithiasis given bile acid therapy and in those who had been given no medical treatment. In 25 patients treated with 0·5-1·5 g CDCA/day (7-20 mg kg body weight−1 day−1) there was no significant change in serum bilirubin, albumin, globulin, transaminase, isocitric dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase levels before and at monthly intervals during six months' treatment. The kinetics of bromsulphthalein (BSP) clearance and its apparent transport maximum were not significantly changed during CDCA therapy. The mean fasting serum bile acid concentrations of 18·0 ± SEM 1·2 μmoles/litre before and 20·0 ± 3·5 μmoles/litre during treatment were both significantly greater than control values. Liver histology was not appreciably different in 11 patients treated with CDCA from that in eight patients with untreated cholelithiasis and in three patients who had received CDCA three to four months before biopsy. These results suggest that in doses of 0·5 to 1·5 g/day CDCA is not hepatotoxic in man.
Ethical implications of HIV self-testing: the game is far from being over

The use of combined Anti-Retroviral Therapy (cART) has been revolutionary in the history of the fight against HIV-AIDS, with remarkable reductions in HIV associated morbidity and mortality. Knowing one's HIV status early, not only increases chances of early initiation of effective, affordable and available treatment, but has lately been associated with an important potential to reduce disease transmission. A public health priority lately has been to lay emphasis on early and wide spread HIV screening. With many countries having already in the market over the counter self-testing kits, the ethical question whether self-testing in HIV with such kits is acceptable remains unanswered. Many Western authors have been firm on the fact that this approach enhances patient autonomy and is ethically grounded. We argue that the notion of patient autonomy as proposed by most ethicists assumes perfect understanding of information around HIV, neglects HIV associated stigma as well as proper identification of risky situations that warrant an HIV test. Putting traditional clinic based HIV screening practice into the shadows might be too early, especially for developing countries and potentially very dangerous. Encouraging self-testing as a measure to accompany clinic based testing in our opinion stands as main precondition for public health to invest in HIV self-testing. We agree with most authors that hard to reach risky groups like men and Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) are easily reached with the self-testing approach. However, linking self-testers to the medical services they need remains a key challenge, and an understudied indispensable obstacle in making this approach to obtain its desired goals.
NF-κB inhibition is associated with OPN/MMP-9 downregulation in cutaneous melanoma

The development of cutaneous melanoma is influenced by genetic factors, including BRAF mutations and environmental factors, such as ultraviolet exposure. Its progression has been also associated with the involvement of several tumour microenvironmental molecules. Among these, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) has been indicated as a key player of osteopontin (OPN) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) activation. However, whether NF-κB plays a role in the development and progression of melanoma in association with the OPN/MMP-9 axis according to the BRAFV600E mutation status has not been investigated in detail to date. Thus, in the present study, in order to shed light on this matter, 148 patients with melanoma and 53 healthy donors were recruited for the analysis of OPN, MMP-9 and NF-κB. Significantly higher circulating levels of OPN and MMP-9 were observed in the patients with melanoma when compared to the healthy donors. Similar data were obtained for NF-κB p65 activity. The OPN levels did not differ significantly between melanomas with or without BRAFV600E mutation. However, as regards NF-κB and MMP-9, significant differences were observed between the melanomas with or without BRAFV600E mutation. To determine whether NF-κB inhibition is associated with a decrease in the levels of OPN and MMP-9, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 29 patients with melanoma were treated with the NF-κB inhibitor, dehydroxymethylepoxyquinomycin (DHMEQ), with or without OPN. As expected, the inhibition of NF-κB induced a marked decrease in both the OPN and MMP-9 levels. Furthermore, the decrease in MMP-9 levels was higher among melanomas harbouring the BRAFV600E mutation. Overall, our data suggest that the activation of MMP-9 is associated with the BRAFV600E mutation status. Furthermore, such an activation is mediated by NF-κB, suggesting its role as therapeutic target in patients with melanoma.
Registered Nurses and Discharge Planning in a Taiwanese ED

Published research on discharge planning is written from the perspective of hospital wards and community services. Limited research focuses on discharge planning in the emergency department (ED). The objective of this study was to identify ED nurses’ perceptions of factors influencing the implementation of discharge planning. This qualitative study collected data from 25 ED nurses through in-depth interviews and a drawing task in which participants were asked to depict on paper the implementation of discharge planning in their practice. Factors influencing discharge planning were grouped into three categories: discharge planning as a neglected issue in the ED, heavy workload, and the negative attitudes of ED patients and their families. The study highlighted a need for effective discharge planning to be counted as an essential clinical competency for ED nurses and factored into their everyday workload. Nurses perceived that organizational culture, and parents’ and relatives’ attitudes were barriers to implementing discharge teaching in the ED.
Cilostazol increases patency and reduces adverse outcomes in percutaneous femoropopliteal revascularisation: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Background Cilostazol is an oral antiplatelet agent currently indicated for treatment of intermittent claudication. There is evidence that cilostazol may reduce femoropopliteal restenosis after percutaneous endovascular intervention. Methods We searched PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane databases from 1966 through September 2013 for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the addition of cilostazol to standard care in patients receiving femoropopliteal endovascular treatment. Restenosis, target lesion revascularisation and combined adverse outcomes (death, revascularisation and amputation) within 1–2 years postprocedure were evaluated. Results Of 205 articles, three RCTs were included in the analysis. The pooled data provided a total of 396 patients, 195 of whom received cilostazol. When compared to standard medical therapy alone, cilostazol significantly reduced the risk of restenosis (risk difference −0.20; 95% CI −0.29 to −0.11; p<0.0001; number needed to treat 5), target lesion revascularisation (risk difference −0.17; 95% CI −0.25 to −0.09; p<0.0001; number needed to treat 6). Death and amputation were not different in between groups. Conclusions and limitation Cilostazol significantly increases femoropopliteal patency and decreases adverse outcomes in percutaneous endovascular intervention. However, further RCTs are needed because of limited sample size; this meta-analysis represents the best current evidence.
On the Size of the Active Management Industry

We argue that active management’s popularity is not puzzling despite the industry’s poor track record. Our explanation features decreasing returns to scale: As the industry’s size increases, every manager’s ability to outperform passive benchmarks declines. The poor track record occurred before the growth of indexing modestly reduced the share of active management to its current size. At this size, better performance is expected by investors who believe in decreasing returns to scale. Such beliefs persist because persistence in industry size causes learning about returns to scale to be slow. The industry should shrink only moderately if its underperformance continues.
Methadone-Induced Toxic Leukoencephalopathy: MR Imaging and MR Proton Spectroscopy Findings

SUMMARY: We report the clinical, MR imaging, and proton MR spectroscopy findings in a middle-aged woman with proved methadone-induced toxic leukoencephalopathy. The imaging characteristics of this unusual condition have been reported only rarely in the medical literature. We show that the imaging findings in methadone-induced toxic leukoencephalopathy are similar, though not identical, to previously reported cases of neurologic deterioration due to heroin inhalation.
Comparison of three cell fixation methods for high content analysis assays utilizing quantum dots

Semiconductor nanoparticles or quantum dots are being increasingly utilized as fluorescent probes in cell biology both in live and fixed cell assays. Quantum dots possess an immense potential for use in multiplexing assays that can be run on high content screening analysers. Depending on the nature of the biological target under investigation, experiments are frequently required on cells retaining an intact cell membrane or also on those that have been fixed and permeabilized to expose intracellular antigens. Fixation of cell lines before or after the addition of quantum dots may affect their localization, emission properties and stability. Using a high content analysis platform we perform a quantitative comparative analysis of three common fixation techniques in two different cell lines exposed to carboxylic acid stabilized CdTe quantum dots.
Role of chlorophyllase in chlorophyll homeostasis and post-harvest breakdown in Piper betle L. leaf.

Piper betle L. , a dioecious shade-loving perennial climber is one of the important Pan-Asiatic plants. More than hundred landraces having marked variation in leaf chlorophyll (Chl) content are in cultivation in India. In this study, role of chlorophyllase (Chlase) in Chl homeostasis and post-harvest breakdown was investigated in two contrasting P. betle landraces Kapoori Vellaikodi (KV) with light green and Khasi Shillong (KS) with dark green leaves. The two landraces showed negative correlation between Chl content and Chlase activity in fresh as well as stored leaves. Accumulation of chlorophyllide a (Chlid a) was correlated with the level of Chlase activity, which was higher in KV than KS. The overall response of abscisic acid (ABA) and benzylaminopurine (BAP) was similar in KV and KS, however, the time-course was different. ABA-induced Chl loss was accompanied by rise in Chlase activity in KV and KS and the delay in Chl loss by BAP was accompanied by reduction in Chlase activity. While there were significant differences in Chlase activity in KV and KS, only minor differences were observed in the enzyme properties like pH and temperature optima, Km and Vmax. No landrace-related differences were observed on the effect of metal ions and functional group reagents/amino acid effectors on Chlase activity. These results showed that despite significant differences in Chl content and Chlase activity between landraces KV and KS, the properties of Chlase were similar. The findings show that in P. betle Chlase is involved in Chl homeostasis and also in Chl degradation during post-harvest storage and responds to hormonal regulations. These findings might be useful in predicting the stability of Chl during post-harvest storage and also the shelf-life in other P. betle landraces.
Improving the Efficiency and Efficacy of Stochastic Trust-Region Response-Surface Method for Simulation Optimization

Stochastic Trust-Region Response-Surface method (STRONG) is a new response-surface-based framework for simulation optimization. The appeal of STRONG lies in that it preserves the advantages, yet eliminates the disadvantages, of traditional response surface methodology (RSM) that has been used for more than 50 years. Specifically, STRONG does not require human involvement in the search process and can guarantee to converge to the true optimum with probability one (w.p.1). In this paper, we propose an improved framework, called STRONG-X, that enhances the efficiency and efficacy of STRONG to widen its applicability to more practical problems. For efficiency improvement, STRONG-X includes a newly-developed experimental scheme that consists of construction of optimal simulation designs and an assignment strategy for random number streams to obtain computational gains. For efficacy improvement, a new variant, called STRONG-XG, is developed to achieve convergence under generally-distributed responses, as opposed to STRONG and STRONG-X where convergence is guaranteed only when the response is normal. An extensive numerical study is conducted to evaluate the efficiency and efficacy of STRONG-X and STRONG-XG. Moreover, two illustrative examples are provided to show the viability of STRONG-X and STRONG-XG in practical settings.
NASA: A generic infrastructure for system-level MP-SoC design space exploration

System-level simulation and design space exploration (DSE) are key ingredients for the design of multiprocessor system-on-chip (MP-SoC) based embedded systems. The efforts in this area, however, typically use ad-hoc software infrastructures to facilitate and support the system-level DSE experiments. In this paper, we present a new, generic system-level MP-SoC DSE infrastructure, called NASA (Non Ad-hoc Search Algorithm). This highly modular framework uses well-defined interfaces to easily integrate different system-level simulation tools as well as different combinations of search strategies in a simple plug-and-play fashion. Moreover, NASA deploys a so-called dimension-oriented DSE approach, allowing designers to configure the appropriate number of, possibly different, search algorithms to simultaneously co-explore the various design space dimensions. As a result, NASA provides a flexible and re-usable framework for the systematic exploration of the multi-dimensional MP-SoC design space, starting from a set of relatively simple user specifications. To demonstrate the distinct aspects of NASA, we also present several DSE experiments in which we, e.g., compare NASA configurations using a single search algorithm for all design space dimensions to configurations using a separate search algorithm per dimension. These experiments indicate that the latter multi-dimensional co-exploration can find better design points and evaluates a higher diversity of design alternatives as compared to the more traditional approach of using a single search algorithm for all dimensions.
Neointima reduction with IVUS and rapamycin microbubbles: In Vivo swine model results

An intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) catheter, optimized for microbubble-enhanced drug delivery, was used to reduce neointima formation in a swine model of balloon injury. In order to minimize neointima formation following balloon injury, rapamycin-loaded microbubbles were infused into the region of injury. During microbubble infusion, arteries were treated with, or without, IVUS catheter insonation. Twenty eight days after treatment, injured arteries were excised, sectioned, and imaged. A reduction in neointima formation of 65% was measured in arteries treated with IVUS and rapamycin-loaded microbubbles as compared to arteries treated with rapamycin-loaded microbubbles alone (no ultrasound). These results indicate that IVUS, paired with drug-loaded microbubbles, may be a viable approach for achieving localized delivery of intravascular antiproliferative therapies.
==================================================================== the Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-human Era

(c) 1993 by Vernor Vinge (Verbatim copying/translation and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.) It is also retrievable from the NASA technical reports server as part of NASA CP-10129. A slightly changed version appeared in the Winter 1993 issue of _Whole Earth Review_. Abstract Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended. Is such progress avoidable? If not to be avoided, can events be guided so that we may survive? These questions are investigated. Some possible answers (and some further dangers) are presented. _What is The Singularity? _ The acceleration of technological progress has been the central feature of this century. I argue in this paper that we are on the edge of change comparable to the rise of human life on Earth. The precise cause of this change is the imminent creation by technology of entities with greater than human intelligence. There are several means by which science may achieve this breakthrough (and this is another reason for having confidence that the event will occur): o The development of computers that are "awake" and superhumanly intelligent. (To date, most controversy in the area of AI relates to whether we can create human equivalence in a machine. But if the answer is "yes, we can", then there is little doubt that beings more intelligent can be constructed shortly thereafter. o Large computer networks (and their associated users) may "wake up" as a superhumanly intelligent entity. o Computer/human interfaces may become so intimate that users may reasonably be considered superhumanly intelligent. o Biological science may find ways to improve upon the natural human intellect. The first three possibilities depend in large part on improvements in computer hardware. Progress in computer hardware has followed an amazingly steady curve in the last few decades [16]. Based largely on this trend, I believe that the creation of greater than human intelligence will occur during the next thirty years. (Charles