Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sintering of Co2MnO4 spinel for protective coatings in SOFC

Protective coatings are often deposited on SOFC interconnectors to avoid poisoning of cathode from chromium species that evaporate from stainless steel interconnects or supports. Co2MnO4 spinel compounds are usually considered as the main constituent of protection barriers. Nevertheless, such ceramic sinters at high temperatures (>1200°C) and this can be problematic for the properties of the stainless steel components. One of the major issues is, in fact, the creation of a compact and impermeable coating at relatively low temperature in order to preserve the metal substrate. In the present research work, Co2MnO4 spinel was synthesized by various methods (solid-state, gel-combustion, co-precipitation and reverse micelle) and the obtained specific surface area, structure and particle size were correlated with thermal behaviour, sintering temperature and achieved density. It was found that regardless the synthesis process the only obtained phase is Co2MnO4. Specific surface area from 0,8 to 65 m2g-1 was obtained, depending on the synthesis method. Sintering aids such as Nb2O5 and LiF were used to obtain dense microstructure at relatively low temperature. Considerable changes in sintering temperature were observed this being even 100-200oC lower than that necessary for the consolidation of pure spinel though microstructure with only close pores was achieved. A novel sintering method based on Field Assisted Techniques (FAST) that promoted flash-sintering phenomenon was finally applied to Co2MnO4. Small electric field (<7,5 V cm-1) applied to the spinel decreases the sintering temperature down to 600°C. The application of an electric field above 7,5 V cm-1 flash-sintering phenomenon takes place and sintering temperature drops to about 300°C, the sintering time being less than 1 second.
Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine Syzygium cumini Seed Extract Protects the Liver Against Lipid Peroxidation with Concurrent Amelioration of Hepatic Enzymes and Lipid Profile of Alcoholic Rats

The in vitro oxidative stress induced by ethanol/Fenton’s reaction in rat liver homogenates decreased significantly in the presence of Syzygium cumini seed extract, suggesting the protective effect of the seed extract against the oxidative stress in liver. To corroborate the in vitro effects by an in vivo experiment, 24 rats were divided into four groups: control, S. cumini seed-extractadministered (SE), 15% ethanol-fed (Alc) and Alc+SE rats. The oral administration of the extract (400 mg/kg BW.day) for 7 weeks significantly decreased the levels of liver LPO in the Alc+SE rats, suggesting that S. cumini seed not only obstructed the in vitro free radical production and subsequent oxidative stress, but also inhibited their in vivo formation. The oral administration of extract also reduced the enzyme activities of serum gammaglutamyl transferase, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase and glutamate pyruvate transaminase and the levels of serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, serum/liver triglycerides and total cholesterol of the alcoholic rats. The levels of fecal cholesterol were increased by the extract. Fatty degenerations in liver and kidney were absent with S. cumini seed extract treatment. The results suggest that S. cumini seed may be a potential therapy for alcoholics and related dysfunctions by restraining oxidative stress.
Zinc and platelet membrane microviscosity in Alzheimer's disease. The in vivo effect of zinc on platelet membranes and cognition.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the effects of oral zinc supplementation on: (i) plasma zinc concentrations; (ii) platelet membrane microviscosity in vivo; and (iii) cognitive function of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. DESIGN An open-labelled pilot study. SETTING University of Stellenbosch Medical School and Stikland Hospital. SUBJECTS Six volunteer AD patients. OUTCOME MEASURES Plasma zinc levels, platelet membrane microviscosity and cognition (MMSE and ADAS-cog tests). RESULTS Oral zinc supplementation (30 mg/day) did not increase plasma zinc levels significantly, but significantly increased platelet membrane microviscosity (P = 0.02; 6 patients). Four patients, who underwent 12 months of evaluation, showed modest cognitive improvement on psychometric testing (Mini-Mental State Examination and the cognitive portion of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment scale scores). CONCLUSIONS While earlier literature promoted the use of zinc in AD patients, a recent study has contradicted this and implicated zinc in the aetiology of Alzheimer's disease. On the basis of the above results, it may be premature to single out zinc as a causal agent in AD.
Specific binding of soluble fibrin to macrophages

Guinea pig peritoneal macrophages were demonstrated to bind selectively soluble 125I-fibrin and fibrin/fibrinogen complexes as compared with fibrinogen, fibrinogen degradation products, and fibrin degradation products. Cellular uptake was considered to be surface receptor binding on the basis of removal of bound 125I-fibrin by trypsin and because uptake occurred in the presence of metabolic inhibitors. 125I-fibrin uptake could be blocked by nonradioactive fibrin but not by IgG or immune complexes. Binding was uneffected by prior treatment with plasmin or trypsin but was calcium dependent. Only limited reversibility of binding could be demonstrated after prolonged incubation. Scatchard plots permitted an estimate of the number of bound molecules. At saturation 6.92 X 10(6) 125I-fibrin molecules were bound per cell. Similar binding of fibrin was noted in polymorphonuclear leukocytes, but not lymphocytes or fibroblasts. Soluble fibrin binding may be a host defense mechanism whereby the reticuloendothelial system can remove fibrin from the blood before the development of microthrombi.
Statistical Shape Analysis of Neuroanatomical Structures via Level-Set-based Shape Morphing

Groupwise statistical analysis of the morphometry of brain structures plays an important role in neuroimaging studies. Nevertheless, most morphometric measurements are often limited to volume and surface area, as further morphological characterization of anatomical structures poses a significant challenge. In this paper, we present a method that allows the detection, localization, and quantification of statistically significant morphological differences in complex brain structures between populations. This is accomplished by a novel level-set framework for shape morphing and a multishape dissimilarity-measure derived by a modified version of the Hausdorff distance. The proposed method does not require explicit one-to-one point correspondences and is fast, robust, and easy to implement regardless of the topological complexity of the anatomical surface under study. The proposed model has been applied to well-defined regions of interest using both synthetic and real data sets. This includes the corpus callos.
Silicon Odometer: An On-Chip Reliability Monitor for Measuring Frequency Degradation of Digital Circuits

A fully-digital reliability monitor is presented for high resolution frequency degradation measurements of digital circuits. The proposed scheme measures the beat frequency of two ring oscillators, one which is stressed and the other which is unstressed, to achieve 50X higher delay sensing resolution compared to prior techniques. A reliability monitor test chip has been fabricated in a 1.2 V, 130 nm CMOS technology.
The Fisher Kernel Coding Framework for High Spatial Resolution Scene Classification

High spatial resolution (HSR) image scene classification is aimed at bridging the semantic gap between low-level features and high-level semantic concepts, which is a challenging task due to the complex distribution of ground objects in HSR images. Scene classification based on the bag-of-visual-words (BOVW) model is one of the most successful ways to acquire the high-level semantic concepts. However, the BOVW model assigns local low-level features to their closest visual words in the “visual vocabulary” (the codebook obtained by k-means clustering), which discards too many useful details of the low-level features in HSR images. In this paper, a feature coding method under the Fisher kernel (FK) coding framework is introduced to extend the BOVW model by characterizing the low-level features with a gradient vector instead of the count statistics in the BOVW model, which results in a significant decrease in the codebook size and an acceleration of the codebook learning process. By considering the differences in the distributions of the ground objects in different regions of the images, local FK (LFK) is proposed for the HSR image scene classification method. The experimental results show that the proposed scene classification methods under the FK coding framework can greatly reduce the computational cost, and can obtain a better scene classification accuracy than the methods based on the traditional BOVW model.
Serial Assessment of Acute Stroke Using the NIH Stroke Scale

Background and Purpose The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Stroke Scale has been used in clinical trials to assess neurological outcome after investigational therapy for acute stroke. We used the NIH Stroke Scale to study the degree and time course of recovery in patients with acute stroke who were treated with conventional therapy. Methods We serially assessed 50 patients with ischemic stroke who presented within 24 hours of onset of symptoms. Patients were grouped by stroke subtype. Major neurological improvement was defined as a decrease in the stroke score by 4 points or more. Results The mean NIH stroke score for all patients improved significantly by 7 to 10 days and at last follow-up (average, 44 days). Major neurological improvement was seen in 5 of 41 patients (12%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2% to 22%) by 24 hours, 11 of 40 patients (28%; 95% CI, 14% to 41%) by 48 hours, and 19 of 37 patients (51%; 95% CI, 35% to 67%) by follow-up. The subgroup of patients with middle cerebral artery territory embolism showed a similar pattern of improvement; in contrast, patients with lacunar infarcts did not show significant change in scores during the study period. The score on admission did not correlate with the degree of subsequent improvement or deterioration. Conclusions A significant percentage of patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with conventional therapy show early improvement as assessed by the NIH Stroke Scale. The degree and time course of recovery may be influenced by stroke type. (Stroke. 1994;25:362-365.)
Eye gaze tracking for human computer interaction

With a growing number of computer devices around us, and the increasing time we spend for interacting with such devices, we are strongly interested in finding new interaction methods which ease the use of computers or increase interaction efficiency. Eye tracking seems to be a promising technology to achieve this goal. This thesis researches interaction methods based on eye-tracking technology. After a discussion of the limitations of the eyes regarding accuracy and speed, including a general discussion on Fitts’ law, the thesis follows three different approaches on how to utilize eye tracking for computer input. The first approach researches eye gaze as pointing device in combination with a touch sensor for multimodal input and presents a method using a touch sensitive mouse. The second approach examines people’s ability to perform gestures with the eyes for computer input and the separation of gaze gestures from natural eye movements. The third approach deals with the information inherent in the movement of the eyes and its application to assist the user. The thesis presents a usability tool for recording of interaction and gaze activity. It also describes algorithms for reading detection. All approaches present results based on user studies conducted with prototypes developed for the purpose.
Systematic comparison of the early outcome of angioplasty and endarterectomy for symptomatic carotid artery disease.

Background and Purpose —Endoluminal treatment is being increasingly used for carotid artery disease. The aim of this study was to compare the stroke and death risk within 30 days of endovascular treatment or endarterectomy for symptomatic carotid artery disease. Methods —A systematic comparison of the 30-day outcome of angioplasty with or without stenting and endarterectomy for symptomatic carotid artery disease reported in single-center studies, published since 1990, was performed. Results —Thirty-three studies (13 angioplasty and 20 carotid endarterectomy) were included in this analysis. Carotid stents were deployed in 44% of angioplasty patients. Mortality within 30 days of angioplasty was 0.8% compared with 1.2% after endarterectomy (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.43 to 1.05; P =0.6). The stroke rate was 7.1% for angioplasty and 3.3% for endarterectomy (OR 2.22, CI 1.62 to 3.04; P <0.001), while the risk of fatal or disabling stroke was 3.2% and 1.6%, respectively (OR 2.09, CI 1.3 to 3.33; P <0.01). The risk of stroke or death was 7.8% for angioplasty and 4% for endarterectomy (OR 2.02, CI 1.49 to 2.75; P <0.001), while disabling stroke or death was 3.9% after angioplasty and 2.2% after endarterectomy (OR 1.86, CI 1.22 to 2.84; P <0.01). Conclusions —In the treatment of symptomatic carotid artery disease, the risk of stroke is significantly greater with angioplasty than carotid endarterectomy. At present, carotid angioplasty is not recommended for the majority of patients with symptomatic carotid artery disease.
Stromal haze after combined riboflavin‐UVA corneal collagen cross‐linking in keratoconus: in vivo confocal microscopic evaluation

The technique of corneal collagen cross‐linking consists of photopolymerization of stromal fibres by the combined action of a photosensitizing substance (riboflavin or vitamin B2) and ultraviolet light from a solid state UVA source. Photopolymerization increases the rigidity of corneal collagen and its resistance to keratectasia. In this report we present two cases, studied through in vivo confocal microscopy, with stage III keratoconus that developed stromal haze after the cross‐linking treatment.
Different Dynamics of CD4+ and CD8+ T Cell Responses During and After Acute Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus Infection 1

We fit a mathematical model to data characterizing the primary cellular immune response to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. The data enumerate the specific CD8+ T cell response to six MHC class I-restricted epitopes and the specific CD4+ T cell responses to two MHC class II-restricted epitopes. The peak of the response occurs around day 8 for CD8+ T cells and around day 9 for CD4+ T cells. By fitting a model to the data, we characterize the kinetic differences between CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses and among the immunodominant and subdominant responses to the various epitopes. CD8+ T cell responses have faster kinetics in almost every aspect of the response. For CD8+ and CD4+ T cells, the doubling time during the initial expansion phase is 8 and 11 h, respectively. The half-life during the contraction phase following the peak of the response is 41 h and 3 days, respectively. CD4+ responses are even slower because their contraction phase appears to be biphasic, approaching a 35-day half-life 8 days after the peak of the response. The half-life during the memory phase is 500 days for the CD4+ T cell responses and appears to be lifelong for the six CD8+ T cell responses. Comparing the responses between the various epitopes, we find that immunodominant responses have an earlier and/or larger recruitment of precursors cells before the expansion phase and/or have a faster proliferation rate during the expansion phase.
Quinolone, fluoroquinolone and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole resistance in relation to virulence determinants and phylogenetic background among uropathogenic Escherichia coli.

INTRODUCTION The goal of this study was to assess how resistance to quinolones, fluoroquinolones and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole relates to the virulence potential and phylogenetic background of clinical Escherichia coli isolates. METHODS Among 150 uropathogens (21% resistant to quinolones, 12% resistant to fluoroquinolones and 29.3% resistant to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole), E. coli phylogenetic group, 15 virulence-associated genes and 7 O antigens were analysed. Clonal group A (CGA) and genomic PCR profiles were studied among trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole-resistant isolates. RESULTS Isolates susceptible to the three antimicrobial agents were significantly associated with phylogenetic group B2, whereas resistant isolates exhibited shifts to non-B2 groups (quinolone and fluoroquinolone-resistant isolates to group A; trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole-resistant isolates to group D). Diverse virulence traits, including UTI-associated O antigens, were significantly less frequent among resistant isolates, particularly those resistant to fluoroquinolones (median score, 3.9 virulence factors/strain) and also to quinolones (5.2) or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (6.4), as compared with the corresponding drug-susceptible isolates (median scores of 7.9, 8.6 and 7.9, respectively). Among 44 trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole-resistant isolates, 3 (6.8%) belonged to CGA. All these 3 CGA strains caused pyelonephritis (P=0.02) and exhibited the consensus virulence profile of previously described CGA strains from abroad. CONCLUSIONS E. coli isolates resistant to quinolones, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and especially fluoroquinolones were associated with reductions in virulence traits and shifts to non-B2 phylogenetic groups. Moreover, fluoroquinolone resistance usually occurred in low-virulence E. coli group A isolates rather than in isolates from groups B2 and D which had lost virulence traits. CGA accounted for 23% of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole-resistant E. coli producing pyelonephritis.
Haptic rendering of complex deformations through handle-space force linearization

The force-update-rate requirements of transparent rendering of virtual environments are in conflict with the computational cost required for computing complex interactions between deforming objects. In this paper we introduce a novel method for satisfying high force update rates with deformable objects, yet retaining the visual quality of complex deformations and interactions. The objects that are haptically manipulated may have many degrees of freedom, but haptic interaction is often implemented in practice through low-dimensional force-feedback devices. We exploit the low-dimensional domain of the interaction for devising a novel linear approximation of interaction forces that can be efficiently evaluated at force-update rates. Moreover, our linearized force model is time-implicit, which implies that it accounts for contact constraints and the internal dynamics of deforming objects. In this paper we show examples of haptic interaction in complex situations such as large deformations, collision between deformable objects (with friction), or even self-collision.
A Model-Driven Development Approach for Service-Oriented Integration Scenarios

The establishment of IT-supported processes within organizations requires the integration of existing distributed legacy applications. Therefore, Web services can be generated as wrappers to flexibly integrate existing distributed legacy applications using a standardized interface. Existing approaches mostly focus on the technical issues of the integration using Web services and do not support the developer during the description of an integration processes. Thus, in this paper we introduce a development approach that supports the developer in describing an integration process and finally allows a model-driven transformation of the prior defined integration process into Web service interfaces and XML schema definitions. Our approach is exemplified by a scenario at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) that implements a process to visualize the study progress of a student.
Potential significance of physiological and pharmacological glucocorticoids in early pregnancy.

BACKGROUND Despite extensive studies of the developmental consequences of increased glucocorticoid exposure in mid- to late pregnancy, relatively little is known regarding the significance of glucocorticoids in early pregnancy. The objective of this review was to consider potential roles for this family of corticosteroids that might relate to early pregnancy. METHODS Although this is a narrative review, 249 source articles addressing potential effects of glucocorticoids on aspects of early pregnancy and development (published between 1997 and 2007) were identified using a systematic literature search. Additional articles (115) were identified if cited by the primary reference articles identified in the systematic phase of the review. RESULTS Much of the evidence to implicate glucocorticoids in early pregnancy comes from studies of steroid receptors and the 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzymes, which modulate cortisol action in the endometrium/decidua, trophoblast, placenta and embryo/fetus. The evidence reviewed suggests that in early pregnancy the actions of glucocorticoids are balanced between positive effects that would promote pregnancy (e.g. stimulation of hCG secretion, suppression of uterine natural killer cells, and promotion of trophoblast growth/invasion) versus adverse effects that would be expected to compromise the pregnancy (e.g. inhibition of cytokine-prostaglandin signalling, restriction of trophoblast invasion following up-regulation of plasminogen activation inhibitor-1, induction of apoptosis, and inhibition of embryonic and placental growth). CONCLUSIONS Glucocorticoids exert many actions that could impact both negatively and positively on key aspects of early pregnancy. These steroids may also be implicated in obstetric complications, including intra-uterine growth restriction, pre-term labour, pre-eclampsia and chorio-aminionitis.
Describing differences in weight and length growth trajectories between white and Pakistani infants in the UK: analysis of the Born in Bradford birth cohort study using multilevel linear spline models

Objective To describe the growth pattern from birth to 2 years of UK-born white British and Pakistani infants. Design Birth cohort. Setting Bradford, UK. Participants 314 white British boys, 383 Pakistani boys, 328 white British girls and 409 Pakistani girls. Main outcome measures Weight and length trajectories based on repeat measurements from birth to 2 years. Results Linear spline multilevel models for weight and length with knot points at 4 and 9 months fitted the data well. At birth Pakistani boys were 210 g lighter (95% CI −290 to −120) and 0.5 cm shorter (−1.04 to 0.02) and Pakistani girls were 180 g lighter (−260 to −100) and 0.5 cm shorter (−0.91 to −0.03) than white British boys and girls, respectively. Pakistani infants gained length faster than white British infants between 0 and 4 months (+0.3 cm/month (0.1 to 0.5) for boys and +0.4 cm/month (0.2 to 0.6) for girls) and gained more weight per month between 9 and 24 months (+10 g/month (0 to 30) for boys and +30 g/month (20 to 40) for girls). Adjustment for maternal height attenuated ethnic differences in weight and length at birth, but not in postnatal growth. Adjustment for other confounders did not explain differences in any outcomes. Conclusions Pakistani infants were lighter and had shorter predicted mean length at birth than white British infants, but gained weight and length quicker in infancy. By age 2 years both ethnic groups had similar weight, but Pakistani infants were on average taller than white British infants.