Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Laser metal deposition for powder metallurgy parts

By combining laser and powder processing, laser metal deposition (LMD) enables the manufacture of high precision near-net shape components from powders, so enhancing materials utilisation. Rapid prototyping, in situ repair and surfacing are among the capabilities of LMD; applications cover the medical, defence and aerospace sectors, with potential applications in oil and gas and other sectors. To take full advantage of the rapid fabrication of complex geometries and automated repair offered by LMD, there is a need to develop understanding of the process–microstructure–property relationships, particularly the effect of powder characteristics on process variables and on the metallurgy and resulting mechanical properties. A brief overview of LMD from a PM perspective is presented, with an emphasis on underlying mechanisms and attendant metallurgical issues. Recent developments in the state-of-the-art are discussed and potential applications combining PM and LMD are identified.
Automated Processing of Medical English

In this paper the development of a system for automated processing of medical English is investigated. The parsing algorithms for morphological, syntactic and semantic analysis of medical diagnoses are described. The immediate objective of this research is the automatic encoding of pathology data. The long-range goal of the system is its expansion and application to general medical text.
Regional Disparities and Efficient Transport Policies

This chapter addresses the economics of regional disparities and transport policies in the EuropeanUnion, offering an explanation for the uneven development of regions. We show that recent developments in spatial economics highlight the fact that trade is costly and location still matters. Since the drop in transport costs and the emergence of a knowledge-based economy, the proximity to natural resources has been replaced by new drivers of regional growth that rely on human capital and cognitive skills. Regions with a high market potential – those where demand is high and transport costs low – are likely to attract more firms and pay higher wages, which leads to sizable and lasting regional disparities. As a consequence, investments in interregional transport policies may not deliver their expected effects. In addition, new information and communication devices foster the fragmentation of the supply chain and the decentralization of activities.
The future of PrEP among transgender women: the critical role of gender affirmation in research and clinical practices

Globally, transgender (“trans”) women are one of the key populations most disproportionately impacted by HIV. Pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is the newest and most promising biomedical HIV prevention intervention to date. This paper reviews relevant literature to describe the current state of the science and describes the potential role of PrEP among trans women, including a discussion of unique considerations for maximizing the impact of PrEP for this vulnerable population.
Risk of subsequent cutaneous malignancy in patients with prior melanoma: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Melanoma patients are known to be at risk of developing multiple cutaneous (pre‐) malignancies, however, the exact dimensions of these risks are unknown. In this meta‐analysis, risks of developing a melanoma, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) or squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) after a melanoma were investigated. An extensive systematic literature search was conducted (last performed on 18 January 2012). Studies reporting risks, i.e. proportions, standardized incidence ratios (SIR) and cumulative risks (CRs) were included. Fifty, of 233 fully read articles, met selection criteria. Two independent reviewers extracted data on study characteristics and risks measurements. Random‐effects meta‐analyses were used to pool the risk estimates for the three tumour combinations. In melanoma patients, pooled proportions for a subsequent melanoma, BCC or SCC were respectively 3.8% (n = 47), 2.8% (n = 5) and 1.0% (n = 6). The pooled SIRs for a subsequent melanoma, BCC or SCC in melanoma patients were respectively 10.4 (n = 12), 4.6 (n = 2) and 2.8 (n = 2). Mean 20‐year CRs of a subsequent melanoma, BCC or SCC in melanoma patients were respectively 5.4% (n = 3), 14.0% (n = 1) and 4.0% (n = 1). Subgroup analyses showed substantial differences in reported risks between continents and study design. In conclusion, a history of a prior melanoma is a strong predictor for development of a subsequent melanoma (approximately 10‐fold increased risk) and to a lesser extent BCC or SCC. This information could serve as information for health care systems. Further, secondary prevention seems pivotal in this patient group.
Ergodic Secret Message Capacity of the Wiretap Channel with Finite-Rate Feedback

We study the secret message capacity of an ergodic block fading wiretap channel with partial channel state information at the transmitter and perfect channel state information at the receivers, under both a short term power constraint (STPC) and a long term power constraint (LTPC). We consider that in addition to the statistics of the main and the eavesdropper channel state information (CSI), the sender is provided by the legitimate receiver with a q-bit feedback, at the beginning of each coherence block, through an error-free public channel, with capacity q bits. We establish upper and lower bounds on the secrecy capacity. We show that the lower and the upper bounds coincide asymptotically as q → ∞. When applied to Rayleigh fading channels, we show that, a 4-bit feedback achieves about 90% of the secrecy capacity when perfect main CSI is available at the transmitter. Finally, asymptotic analysis at high and low Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) is presented. It is found that the capacity is bounded at high-SNR, whereas at asymptotically low-SNR, the lower bounds and the upper bound scale linearly with SNR under STPC. Furthermore, subject to LTPC, the capacity at low-SNR is equal to the capacity of the main channel without secrecy constraint and with perfect CSI at both the transmitter and the receiver, under a mild condition on the fading statistics. We also show that a positive secrecy rate is achievable even when the feedback is at the end of each coherence block and q=1.
Effect of surface topography of screw-shaped titanium implants in humans on clinical and radiographic parameters: a 12-year prospective study.

OBJECTIVES Although implants with a roughened surface are widely used today, little is known about the long-term effect of a roughened surface compared with the conventional machined surface on clinical and radiographic parameters. The purpose of this study is to investigate the long-term differences between moderately rough (tioblasted) titanium implants and minimally rough machined/turned surfaces with respect to marginal bone resorption and the peri-implant soft tissues in the same patient. MATERIAL AND METHODS In 20 fully edentulous patients, with severely resorbed mandibles, a total of 80 Astra Tech dental implants were placed in the mandible to support a bar construction with a full overdenture. In each patient two minimally rough-surfaced (turned) and two moderately rough-surfaced (tioblast) implants were placed alternately. Clinical evaluation was carried out at base line (prosthetic installation), 6 months, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 12 years. Radiographic evaluation using standardized individual filmholders was carried out at base line (prosthetic installation), 6 months, 1, 5 and 12 years. RESULTS In two patients, during the abutment surgery, one turned implant showed insufficient osseointegration and was replaced. One implant showed an abutment fracture after 9 years and was kept as a sleeper. From base line up to 12 years, no implant was lost. No significant differences were found between both implant surfaces concerning the clinical parameters such as plaque, calculus, bleeding and probing pocket depth. The mean (SD) marginal bone changes up to 12 years varied between -0.11 and +0.01 mm for the turned and -0.2 and +0.01 mm for the tioblast implants. No significant difference in marginal bone loss was found between both implant surfaces. CONCLUSION We conclude that after 12 years of follow-up, no differences could be found between the turned and the tioblasted implants, both for soft and for hard tissue parameters.
Thermal expansion of composites using Moire interferometry

An experimental technique for precise measurement of the thermal response of fiber-reinforced composite materials uses moire interferometry with fringe multiplication which yield a sensitivity of 833 nm (32.8 mu in.) per fringe. Results from the technique are compared with those obtained from electrical resistance strain gages, and also those predicted from classical lamination theory. Temperature dependent coefficients of thermal expansion for composite materials subjected to thermal cycling in the temperature range of 297 K (75 F) to 422 K (300 F) were determined for four laminate configurations (0, 90, 0/ + or - 45/90 sub s and 0/90/ + or - 45 sub s) of T300/5208 graphite epoxy, and ranged from -0.107 mu epsilon K/1 (-0.059 mu epsilon deg F/-) for the 0 laminate to 32.18 mu epsilon K/1 (17.88 mu epsilon F/1) for the 90 laminate. Moisture was found to greatly influence the thermal response of a quasi-isotropic laminate, resulting in hysteresis and residual compressive strain as the moisture content was reduced. Comparisons between moire and strain gage measurements were inconclusive with both techniques giving consistent but systematically different results. Differences of as much as 29% were observed.
Web-based CBT for the Treatment of Selective Mutism: Results from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial in Singapore

Introduction: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approaches have shown promise for some children with Selective Mutism (SM), but to date there are limited published randomized controlled trials (RCT) of CBT interventions for SM. We present findings from a pilot RCT of the Meeky Mouse program, a 14-week web-based CBT program for children with SM. Method: A total of 21 children (6-12 years old) with a primary diagnosis of SM from a child psychiatric outpatient clinic were included in this study. They were randomly assigned to either 14 weeks of the Meeky Mouse program (n=10) or to a control condition in which they interacted with the therapist while playing computer games (n=11). Results: No significant group differences were found on anxiety symptoms. The control group showed significant improvements from pre- to post-treatment on total frequency of speech. Children in the Meeky Mouse group showed greater improvements in clinician-rated severity of mental illness and had higher clinician-rated improvement scores relative to those in the control group. Conclusions: Findings from our pilot RCT study suggest that the web-based CBT using anxiety management strategies may be no different from an intervention that involves regular monitoring of child’s engagement in socializing activities for improving SM symptoms. Further study is needed to determine optimal strategies for treating children with SM with the use of web-based applications.
An 850-nm InAlGaAs strained quantum-well vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser grown on GaAs (311)B substrate with high-polarization stability

The polarization stability of 850-nm InAlGaAs strained quantum-well (QW) vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) grown on GaAs (311)B substrate was investigated by comparing it with that of GaAs unstrained QW VCSEL grown on GaAs (311)B substrate. Photoluminescence measurement showed that strained QWs grown on GaAs (311)B substrate had larger anisotropy in optical gain than unstrained QWs. The VCSEL with strained QWs showed an orthogonal polarization suppression ratio (OPSR) as high as 21 dB under CW operation. Time-dependent OPSR measurement indicated that the strained QW VCSEL had higher polarization stability than the unstrained QW VCSEL under zero-bias modulation.
Cerebellar Plasticity and the Automation of First-Order Rules

Theories of corticocerebellar function propose roles for the cerebellum in automating motor control, a process thought to depend on plasticity in cerebellar circuits that exchange information with the motor cortex. Little is known, however, about automating behaviors beyond the motor domain. The present study tested the hypothesis that cerebellar plasticity also subserves the development of automaticity in behavior based on low-order rules. Human subjects were required to learn two sets of first-order rules in which visual stimuli of different shapes each arbitrarily instructed a particular finger movement. We used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to scan subjects while these response rules became increasingly automatic with practice, as assessed with a dual-task procedure. We found that the amplitude of the blood oxygenation level-dependent signal gradually decreased as a function of practice, as responses became increasingly automatic, and that this effect was greater for a set of rules that became automatic rapidly compared with a second set, which became automatic more slowly. These trial-by-trial activity changes occurred in Crus I of cerebellar cortical lobule HVIIA, in which neurons exchange information with the prefrontal cortex rather than the motor cortex. Activity in Crus I was time locked specifically to the processing of these rules, rather than to subsequent actions. The results support the hypothesis that decreases in cerebellar cortical activity underlie the automation of behavior, whether related to motor control and motor cortex or to response rules and prefrontal cortex.
LT-AF codes: LT codes with Alternating Feedback

LT codes are capacity achieving and flexible rateless codes that need a single-bit feedback to inform the encoder of the successful decoding. However, this weak feedback channel remains unused when the transmission is in progress. In addition, although LT codes are asymptotically capacity achieving, their performance significantly degrades for short block lengths. Consequently, we propose LT Codes with Alternating Feedback (LT-AF Codes) that considerably improve the performance of LT codes for short-block lengths when belief propagation decoder is in use. In our proposed scheme, the decoder alternatively issues two types of feedbacks based on the dependencies of the still undecoded received output symbols and the number of decoded input symbols. We propose two methods to form the latter type of feedback with a trade-off in their complexity and performance.
Arsenic Content in Tissues of Fish from the River Elbe

âelechovska O. , Z. Svobodova, T. Randak: Arsenic Content in Tissues of Fish from the River Elbe. Acta Vet. Brno 2005, 74: 419-425. The aim of the study was to evaluate arsenic content in tissues (muscle, liver, kidneys, gonads) of fish caught in selected localities along the River Elbe and its tributary the Vltava in 1999, 2002 and 2003, and in pools of the River Elbe in 2000. A total of 118 bream and 151 perch were examined by AAS. The highest muscle tissue arsenic concentrations were found in Zelain in bream in 2003 (0.17 ± 0.08 mg·kg -1 ) and in perch in 2002 (0.084 ± 0.012 mg·kg -1 ). The highest arsenic concentrations in perch were found in the kidneys, followed by the liver, milt, muscle tissue and eggs. An increase (P < 0.01) in arsenic concentrations in 2003 (after floods) compared with 2002 was found in bream muscle tissues in Zelain and in perch muscle tissues in Podoli; a decrease in arsenic concentrations was demonstrated in perch musculature in Verdek, Numaice, Hfiensko (P < 0.01) and in bream musculature in Hfiensko (P < 0.05). Arsenic contamination in the localities under study does not pose a major environmental or health risk.
The importance of being relevant: modulation of magnitude representations

The current study aims to answer two main questions. First, is there a difference between the representations of the numerical and the physical properties of visually presented numbers? Second, can the relevancy of the dimension change its representation? In a numerical Stroop task, participants were asked to indicate either the physically or the numerically larger value of two digits. The ratio between the physical sizes and the numerical values changed orthogonally from 0.1 (the largest difference) to 0.8. Reaction times (RT) were plotted as a function of both physical and numerical ratios. Trend analysis revealed that while the numerical dimension followed Weber's law regardless of task demands, the physical ratio deviated from linearity. Our results suggest that discrete and continuous magnitudes are represented by different yet interactive systems rather than by a shared representation.
Haldane Quantum Hall Effect for Light in a Dynamically Modulated Array of Resonators

Topological insulators have attracted abundant attention for a variety of reasons -- notably, the possibility for lossless energy transport through edge states `protected' against disorder. Topological effects like the Quantum Hall state can be induced through a gauge field, which is however hard to create in practice, especially for charge-neutral particles. One way to induce an effective gauge potential is through a dynamic, time-periodic modulation of the lattice confining such particles. In this way, the Haldane Quantum Hall effect was recently observed in a cold atom system. Here, we show how this same effect can be induced for light confined to a lattice of identical optical resonators, using an on-site modulation of the resonant frequencies. We further demonstrate the existence of one-directional edge states immune to back-scattering losses, and discuss the possibilities for a practical implementation, which would enable slow-light devices of unprecedented quality.
Differential control of Bradyrhizobium japonicum iron stimulon genes through variable affinity of the iron response regulator (Irr) for target gene promoters and selective loss of activator function

Bradyrhizobium japonicum Irr is a conditionally stable transcriptional activator and repressor that accumulates in cells under iron‐limited, manganese‐replete conditions, but degrades in a haem‐dependent manner under high iron conditions, manganese limitation or upon exposure to H2O2. Here, we identified Irr‐regulated genes that were relatively unresponsive to factors that promote Irr degradation. The promoters of those genes bound Irr with at least 200‐fold greater affinity than promoters of the responsive genes, resulting in maintenance of promoter occupancy over a wide cellular Irr concentration range. For Irr‐repressible genes, promoter occupancy correlated with transcriptional repression, resulting in differential levels of expression based on Irr affinity for target promoters. However, inactivation of positively controlled genes required neither promoter vacancy nor loss of DNA‐binding activity by Irr. Thus, activation and repression functions of Irr may be uncoupled from each other under certain conditions. Abrogation of Irr activation function was haem‐dependent, thus haem has two functionally separable roles in modulating Irr activity. The findings imply a greater complexity of control by Irr than can be achieved by conditional stability alone. We suggest that these regulatory mechanisms accommodate the differing needs for Irr regulon genes in response to the prevailing metabolic state of the cell.
Comparative study of integrated radial-axial flux rotor motor using ferrite magnet

We have previously proposed an integrated radial-axial flux rotor permanent magnet synchronous motor for EV traction motor, and confirmed that the motor had almost the same performance as an IPMSM, which uses sintered NdFeB magnet, based on a computer simulation. Our next target is general industrial-use motors, whose design policy is different from EV traction motors with a requisite forced cooling system. This paper describes a comparative study based on computer simulation using FEA and the experimental results in a compared motor, which is the comparison between our IRAF-PMSM and an IPMSM for general industrial-use.
Dynamic Potassium Channel Distributions during Axonal Development Prevent Aberrant Firing Patterns

The distribution and function of Shaker-related K+ channels were studied with immunofluorescence and electrophysiology in sciatic nerves of developing rats. At nodes of Ranvier, Na+ channel clustering occurred very early (postnatal days 1–3). Although K+ channels were not yet segregated at most of these sites, they were directly involved in action potential generation, reducing duration, and the refractory period. At ∼1 week, K+ channel clusters were first seen but were within the nodal gap and in paranodes, and only later (weeks 2–4) were they shifted to juxtaparanodal regions. K+ channel function was most dramatic during this transition period, with block producing repetitive firing in response to single stimuli. As K+ channels were increasingly sequestered in juxtaparanodes, conduction became progressively insensitive to K+ channel block. Over the first 3 weeks, K+ channel clustering was often asymmetric, with channels exclusively in the distal paranode in ∼40% of cases. A computational model suggested a mechanism for the firing patterns observed, and the results provide a role for K+channels in the prevention of aberrant excitation as myelination proceeds during development.
Inter-laboratory comparison of numerical dosimetry for human exposure to 60 Hz electric and magnetic fields.

In recent years, with the availability of high resolution models of the human body, numerical computations of induced electric fields and currents have been made in more than one laboratory for various exposure conditions. Despite the verification of computational methods, questions are often asked about the reliability of these data. In this paper, computational results from two laboratories that presented data in compatible formats are compared, supplemented with additional data from the third laboratory. Two exposures to uniform fields at 60 Hz are evaluated. The human body models used in the computations are different and so are the computation al methods and codes. There are some differences in the conductivity values used for some of the tissues, as well. The results of the comparison confirm that these data are reliable, as the overall agreement is reasonably good and the differences can be rationally explained. This comparison also underscores the importance of accurate data on the dielectric properties of tissues.
Cell-Type Dependent Effect of Surface-Patterned Microdot Arrays on Neuronal Growth

Surface micropatterns have been widely used as chemical cues to control the microenvironment of cultured neurons, particularly for neurobiological assays and neurochip designs. However, the cell-type dependency on the interactions between neurons and underlying micropatterns has been rarely investigated despite the inherent differences in the morphology of neuronal types. In this study, we used surface-printed microdot arrays to investigate the effect of the same micropatterns on the growth of mouse spinal interneuron, mouse hippocampal neurons, and rat hippocampal neurons. While mouse hippocampal neurons showed no significantly different growth on control and patterned substrates, we found the microdot arrays had different effects on early neuronal growth depending on the cell type; spinal interneurons tended to grow faster in length, whereas hippocampal neurons tended to form more axon collateral branches in response to the microdot arrays. Although there was a similar trend in the neurite length and branch number of both neurons changed across the microdot arrays with the expanded range of size and spacing, the dominant responses of each neuron, neurite elongation of mouse spinal interneurons and branching augmentation of rat hippocampal neurons were still preserved. Therefore, our results demonstrate that the same design of micropatterns could cause different neuronal growth results, raising an intriguing issue of considering cell types in neural interface designs.