Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigation of flexural properties of hollow glass microsphere filled resin-matrix composites

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the preparation and the flexural property of hollow glass microspheres (HGMs) filled resin-matrix composites, which have been widely applied in deep-sea fields. Design/methodology/approach The composites with different contents of HGMs from 47 to 57 Wt. % were studied. The voids in syntactic foams and their flexural properties were investigated. Findings The results showed that the voids quantity increased because of the increment of HGM content, whereas the exural strength and the exural modulus decreased. The fracture mechanism of the composites was also investigated by scanning electron microscope, which indicated that the composites failed by the crack extending through the microspheres. Research limitations/implications The advantages of HGMs with similar hollow spheres will be further investigated in a future research. Practical implications Results demonstrated that the properties of the composite might be tailored for specific application conditions by changing the HGM volume fraction. Originality/value The HGM filled resin-matrix composite materials have their unique properties and significant application potential. In this work, the resin-HGM composites were synthesized by mechanically mixing defined quantities of HGMs into epoxy resin, by which a kind of syntactic foams with good flexural properties could be obtained.
Detection of the Baryon Acoustic Peak in the Large-Scale Correlation Function of SDSS Luminous Red Galaxies

We present the large-scale correlation function measured from a spectroscopic sample of 46,748 luminous red galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The survey region covers 0.72 h-3 Gpc3 over 3816 deg2 and 0.16 < z < 0.47, making it the best sample yet for the study of large-scale structure. We find a well-detected peak in the correlation function at 100 h-1 Mpc separation that is an excellent match to the predicted shape and location of the imprint of the recombination-epoch acoustic oscillations on the low-redshift clustering of matter. This detection demonstrates the linear growth of structure by gravitational instability between z ≈ 1000 and the present and confirms a firm prediction of the standard cosmological theory. The acoustic peak provides a standard ruler by which we can measure the ratio of the distances to z = 0.35 and z = 1089 to 4% fractional accuracy and the absolute distance to z = 0.35 to 5% accuracy. From the overall shape of the correlation function, we measure the matter density Ωmh2 to 8% and find agreement with the value from cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies. Independent of the constraints provided by the CMB acoustic scale, we find Ωm = 0.273 ± 0.025 + 0.123(1 + w0) + 0. 137ΩK. Including the CMB acoustic scale, we find that the spatial curvature is ΩK = -0.010 ± 0.009 if the dark energy is a cosmological constant. More generally, our results provide a measurement of cosmological distance, and hence an argument for dark energy, based on a geometric method with the same simple physics as the microwave background anisotropies. The standard cosmological model convincingly passes these new and robust tests of its fundamental properties.
Consumption of fermented milk product with probiotic modulates brain activity.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Changes in gut microbiota have been reported to alter signaling mechanisms, emotional behavior, and visceral nociceptive reflexes in rodents. However, alteration of the intestinal microbiota with antibiotics or probiotics has not been shown to produce these changes in humans. We investigated whether consumption of a fermented milk product with probiotic (FMPP) for 4 weeks by healthy women altered brain intrinsic connectivity or responses to emotional attention tasks. METHODS Healthy women with no gastrointestinal or psychiatric symptoms were randomly assigned to groups given FMPP (n = 12), a nonfermented milk product (n = 11, controls), or no intervention (n = 13) twice daily for 4 weeks. The FMPP contained Bifidobacterium animalis subsp Lactis, Streptococcus thermophiles, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and Lactococcus lactis subsp Lactis. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after the intervention to measure brain response to an emotional faces attention task and resting brain activity. Multivariate and region of interest analyses were performed. RESULTS FMPP intake was associated with reduced task-related response of a distributed functional network (49% cross-block covariance; P = .004) containing affective, viscerosensory, and somatosensory cortices. Alterations in intrinsic activity of resting brain indicated that ingestion of FMPP was associated with changes in midbrain connectivity, which could explain the observed differences in activity during the task. CONCLUSIONS Four-week intake of an FMPP by healthy women affected activity of brain regions that control central processing of emotion and sensation.
Sensitivity and performance time in MRI dephasing artifact reduction methods

Although shimming can improve static field inhomogeneity, local field imperfections induced by tissue susceptibility differences cannot be completely corrected and can cause substantial signal loss in gradient echo images through intravoxel dephasing. Dephasing increases with voxel size so that one simple method of reducing the effect is to use thin slices. Signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) can then be increased by averaging over the subslices to form the final, thick slice. We call this method subslice averaging or SSAVE. Alternatively, a range of different amplitude slice select rephase gradients can be used to compensate for different susceptibility induced gradient offsets. The final image can then be formed by combining individual images in a variety of ways: summation, summation of the squares of the images, forming the maximum intensity projection of the image set, and Fourier transformation followed by summation. We show here that, contrary to previous claims, the theoretical sensitivity (i.e., SNR divided by the square root of the imaging time) of all these alternative methods is very similar. However, performance time (i.e., minimum‐imaging time) of the simplest method, SSAVE, is much shorter than that of alternatives. This is confirmed experimentally on phantoms and anesthetized mice. Magn Reson Med 45:470–476, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sleep-Wake Regulation and Its Impact on Working Memory Performance: The Role of Adenosine

The sleep-wake cycle is regulated by a fine-tuned interplay between sleep-homeostatic and circadian mechanisms. Compelling evidence suggests that adenosine plays an important role in mediating the increase of homeostatic sleep pressure during time spent awake and its decrease during sleep. Here, we summarize evidence that adenosinergic mechanisms regulate not only the dynamic of sleep pressure, but are also implicated in the interaction of homeostatic and circadian processes. We review how this interaction becomes evident at several levels, including electrophysiological data, neuroimaging studies and behavioral observations. Regarding complex human behavior, we particularly focus on sleep-wake regulatory influences on working memory performance and underlying brain activity, with a specific emphasis on the role of adenosine in this interplay. We conclude that a change in adenosinergic mechanisms, whether exogenous or endogenous, does not only impact on sleep-homeostatic processes, but also interferes with the circadian timing system.
IccTA: Detecting Inter-Component Privacy Leaks in Android Apps

Shake Them All is a popular "Wallpaper" application exceeding millions of downloads on Google Play. At installation, this application is given permission to (1) access the Internet (for updating wallpapers) and (2) use the device microphone (to change background following noise changes). With these permissions, the application could silently record user conversations and upload them remotely. To give more confidence about how Shake Them All actually processes what it records, it is necessary to build a precise analysis tool that tracks the flow of any sensitive data from its source point to any sink, especially if those are in different components. Since Android applications may leak private data carelessly or maliciously, we propose IccTA, a static taint analyzer to detect privacy leaks among components in Android applications. IccTA goes beyond state-of-the-art approaches by supporting inter- component detection. By propagating context information among components, IccTA improves the precision of the analysis. IccTA outperforms existing tools on two benchmarks for ICC-leak detectors: DroidBench and ICC-Bench. Moreover, our approach detects 534 ICC leaks in 108 apps from MalGenome and 2,395 ICC leaks in 337 apps in a set of 15,000 Google Play apps.
Slidegate Dithering Effects on Transient Flow and Mold Level Fluctuations

Slidegate dithering has been implemented in the continuous casting of steel to improve the control of flowrate by oscillating the slidegate back and forth at a particular stroke and frequency. The continuous motion prevents sticking and may reduce clogging. However, slidegate dithering also causes transient variations in fluid flow inside the submerged entry nozzle (SEN) as well as in the mold region. 1 This has a direct impact on mold level fluctuations, which are crucial to the quality of the final products. Mold level fluctuations are one of the most significant mechanisms responsible for mold slag entrainment and the formation of surface defects and other quality problems in the final product, such as slivers. 2
Measuring stress level of dairy cows during milking using by geometric indices of heart rate variability

Abstract Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were investigated in cows (n=32, age: 3.86 years, milk production: 35±2.5 kg, DIM: 150±15) milked in a parallel milking parlour. Geometric parameters of HRV (SD1 and SD2) were calculated using Poincare graphs. HRV indices of resting 1 h after midday milking (reference period) were compared to those measured during the different phases of the evening milking (driving; in the holding pen; udder preparation; milking; after milking in the milking stall). There was no difference between the reference period and the different phases of milking in animal welfare terms. During the reference period SD2 (198.5 ms) was significantly higher (p<0.05) than every other measured period suggesting an increasing parasympathetic tone after milking. This parasympathetic predominance decreased with time of the day (1.5 h after milking). SD2 was significantly affected by parity, by the breeding bull (p<0.01) and by milk production (p<0.05). SD2 was notably higher (102.8 ms) in multiparous cows than in primiparous cows (p<0.017; α=0.005) during resting and milking. Results suggested that a conventional milking process is not really stressful for cows. Primiparous cows were more susceptible of milking process than multiparous ones. SD2 is a good marker of vagus activity and affected by several independent factors.
The extinct sloth lemurs of Madagascar

Paleontological expeditions to Madagascar over the past two decades have yielded large quantities of bones of extinct lemurs. These include abundant postcranial and cranial remains of new species belonging to a group of giant extinct lemurs that we have called sloth lemurs due to their remarkable postcranial convergence with arboreal sloths. New fossils have come from a variety of locations in Madagascar, including caves in the Northwest (Anjohibe) and the Ankarana Massif, located in the extreme north, as well as pits in the karstic plains near Toliara in southwestern Madagascar. The most spectacular of these is the extremely deep pit (>100 m) called Ankilitelo, the “place of the three kily trees. ” These new materials provide insights into the adaptive diversity and evolution of sloth lemurs. New carpal and pedal bones, as well as vertebrae and other portions of the axial skeletons, allow better reconstruction of the positional behavior of these animals. New analytical tools have begun to unlock the secrets of life‐history adaptations of the Palaeopropithecidae, making explicit exactly what they had in common with their relatives, the Indriidae. Paleoecological research has elucidated the contexts in which they lived and the likely causes of their disappearance.
Net Shortwave Fluxes over the Ocean

Abstract Net surface shortwave fluxes (Qsw) computed from National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Langley satellite data are compared with Qsw from reanalyses of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ERA) and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The mean and variability of Qsw is examined for the period 1983–91, with a focus on the tropical and summer hemisphere oceans during June, July, August (JJA) and December, January, February (DJF). Both reanalyses exhibit a positive bias, indicating too much sunlight is absorbed at the surface, in regions where low-level stratiform clouds are most common, but a negative bias in regions where cumuliform clouds are the dominant cloud type. The ERA has a greater intermonthly variability during JJA than the satellite data over most of the Pacific, especially north of 40°N and in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. The NCEP variability in JJA is also larger than the satellite estimates over the North Pacific and the e.
Alpha Oscillations Reduce Temporal Long-Range Dependence in Spontaneous Human Brain Activity

Ongoing neural dynamics comprise both frequency-specific oscillations and broadband-features, such as long-range dependence (LRD). Despite both being behaviorally relevant, little is known about their potential interactions. In humans, 8–12 Hz α oscillations constitute the strongest deviation from 1/f power-law scaling, the signature of LRD. We postulated that α oscillations, believed to exert active inhibitory gating, downmodulate the temporal width of LRD in slower ongoing brain activity. In two independent “resting-state” datasets (electroencephalography surface recordings and magnetoencephalography source reconstructions), both across space and dynamically over time, power of α activity covaried with the power slope <5 Hz (i.e., greater α activity shortened LRD). Causality of α activity dynamics was implied by its temporal precedence over changes of slope. A model where power-law fluctuations of the α envelope inhibit baseline activity closely replicated our results. Thus, α oscillations may provide an active control mechanism to adaptively regulate LRD of brain activity at slow temporal scales, thereby shaping internal states and cognitive processes. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The two prominent features of ongoing brain activity are oscillations and temporal long-range dependence. Both shape behavioral performance, but little is known about their interaction. Here, we demonstrate such an interaction in EEG and MEG recordings of task-free human brain activity. Specifically, we show that spontaneous dynamics in alpha activity explain ensuing variations of dependence in the low and ultra-low-frequency range. In modeling, two features of alpha oscillations are critical to account for the observed effects on long-range dependence, scale-free properties of alpha oscillations themselves, and a modulation of baseline levels, presumably inhibitory. Both these properties have been observed empirically, and our study hence establishes alpha oscillations as a regulatory mechanism governing long-range dependence or “memory” in slow ongoing brain activity.
ResponseofGardnerellavaginalis bio ¢ lm to 5 daysofmoxi £ oxacin treatment

ResponseofGardnerellavaginalis bio¢lm to5daysofmoxi£oxacin treatment Alexander Swidsinski, Yvonne Dörffel, Vera Loening-Baucke, Johannes Schilling & Werner Mendling Laboratory for Molecular Genetics, Polymicrobial Infections and Bacterial Biofilms, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Outpatient Clinic, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; and Vivantes Clinics for Gynecology and Obstetrics Urban and Friedrichshain, Berlin, Germany
Response Rates for Patient-Reported Outcomes Using Web-Based Versus Paper Questionnaires: Comparison of Two Invitational Methods in Older Colorectal Cancer Patients

Background Improving questionnaire response rates is an everlasting issue for research. Today, the Internet can easily be used to collect data quickly. However, collecting data on the Internet can lead to biased samples because not everyone is able to access or use the Internet. The older population, for example, is much less likely to use the Internet. The Patient-Reported Outcomes Following Initial Treatment and Long-Term Evaluation of Survivorship (PROFILES) registry offers a platform to collect Web-based and paper questionnaires and to try different measures to improve response rates. Objective In this study, our aim was to study the influence of two methods of invitation on the response rate. Our second aim was to examine the preference of questionnaire mode of administration (paper or Web-based) for the older patient in particular. Methods To test these two invitational methods, 3406 colorectal cancer patients between ages 18 and 85 years received an invitation containing an access code for the Web-based questionnaire. They could also request a paper questionnaire with an included reply card (paper-optional group). In contrast, 179 randomly selected colorectal cancer patients received a paper questionnaire with the invitation (paper-included group). They could also choose to fill out the Web-based questionnaire with the included access code. Results Response rates did not differ between the paper-optional and the paper-included groups (73.14%, 2491/3406 and 74.9%, 134/179, P=.57). In the paper-optional group, online response was significantly higher when compared to the paper-included group (41.23%, 1027/2491 vs 12.7%, 17/134, P<.001). The majority of online respondents responded after the first invitation (95.33%, 979/1027), which was significantly higher than the paper respondents (52.19%, 764/1464, P<.001). Respondents aged 70 years and older chose to fill out a paper questionnaire more often (71.0%, 677/954). In the oldest age group (≥80 years), 18.2% (61/336) of the respondents filled out a Web-based questionnaire. Conclusions The lack of difference in response rates between invitation modes implies that researchers can leave out a paper questionnaire at invitation without lowering response rates. It may be preferable not to include a paper questionnaire because more respondents then will fill out a Web-based questionnaire, which will lead to faster available data. However, due to respondent preference, it is not likely that paper questionnaires can be left out completely in the near future.
Jail, an unappreciated medical home: Assessing the feasibility of a strengths-based case management intervention to improve the care retention of HIV-infected persons once released from jail

Background Linkage to and retention in care for US persons living with HIV (PLWH) after release from jail usually declines. We know of no rigorously evaluated behavioral interventions that can improve this. We hypothesized that a strengths-based case management intervention that we developed for PLWH leaving jail would increase linkage/retention in care (indicated by receipt of laboratory draws) and a suppressed HIV viral load (VL) in the year following release. Methods and findings We conducted a quasi-experimental feasibility study of our intervention for PLWH jailed in Atlanta. We recruited 113 PLWH in jail starting in 2014. “SUCCESS” (Sustained, Unbroken Connection to Care, Entry Services, and Suppression) began in jail and continued post-release. Subjects who started the intervention but subsequently began long-term incarcerations were excluded from further analysis. Persons who were retained in the intervention group were compared to contemporaneously incarcerated PLWH who did not receive the intervention. Identities were submitted to an enhanced HIV/AIDS reporting system (eHARS) at the state health department to capture all laboratories drawn. Both community engagement and care upon jail return were assessed equally. For 44 intervention participants released to Atlanta, 50% of care occurred on subsequent jail stays, as documented with EventFlow software. Forty-five receiving usual services only were recruited for comparison. By examining records of jail reentries, half of participants and 60% of controls recidivated (range: 1–8 returns). All but 6 participants in the intervention and 9 subjects in the comparison arm had ≥1 laboratory recorded in eHARS post-release. Among the intervention group, 52% were retained in care (i.e., had two laboratory studies, > = 3 months apart), versus 40% among the comparison group (OR = 1.60, 95% CI (0.71, 3.81)). Both arms showed improved viral load suppression. Conclusions There was a trend towards increased retention for PLWH released from jail after SUCCESS, compared to usual services. Measuring linkage at all venues, including jail-based clinics, fully captured engagement for this frequently recidivating population. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02185742
Polarization insensitive broadband transparent DCF module

A polarization insensitive broadband transparent DCF module with faraday rotator mirror, Raman-amplified by single polarization laser-diodes pumping, was fabricated. Though Raman amplification is polarization dependent process, influence of polarization caused by single polarization Laser-diodes is almost suppressed. The DCF module compensates dispersion and dispersion slope over wide wavelength range without loss increase. The total dispersion and dispersion slope of the DCF module and 40km SMF between 1530nm and 1620nm were less than 2ps/nm and less than 0.03ps/nm2 for 1km SMF transmission line, respectively.
Targeted Interventions in Critically Ill Children with Severe Dengue

Background: The World Health Organization guidelines provide suggestions on early recognition and treatment of severe dengue (SD); however, mortality in this group can be high and is related both to disease severity and the treatment complications. Subjects and Methods: In this prospective observational study, we report our results where standard therapy (ST) was enhanced by Intensive Care Unit (ICU) supportive measures that have proven beneficial in other conditions that share similar pathophysiology of capillary leak and fluid overload. These include early albumin for crystalloid-refractory shock, proactive monitoring for symptomatic abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS), application of a high-risk intubation management protocol, and other therapies. We compared outcomes in a matched retrospective cohort who received ST. Results: We found improved outcomes using these interventions in patients with the most devastating forms of dengue (ST+ group). We could demonstrate decreased positive fluid balance on days 1–3 and less symptomatic ACS that necessitated invasive percutaneous drainage (7.7% in ST+ group vs. 30% in ST group, P = 0.025). Other benefits in ST+ group included lower intubation and positive pressure ventilation requirements (18.4% in ST+ vs. 53.3% in ST, P = 0.003), lower incidence of major hemorrhage and acute kidney injury, and reduced pediatric ICU stays and mortality (2.6% in ST+ group vs. 26% in ST group, P = 0.004). Conclusion: Children with SD with refractory shock are at extremely high mortality risk. We describe the proactive application of several targeted ICU supportive interventions in addition to ST and could show that these interventions resulted in decreased resuscitation morbidity and improved outcomes in SD.