Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
2D longitudinal modeling of heat transfer and fluid flow during multilayered direct laser metal deposition process

Derived from laser cladding, the direct laser metal deposition (DLMD) process is based upon a laser beam–powder–melt pool interaction and enables the manufacturing of complex 3D shapes much faster than conventional processes. However, the surface finish remains critical, and DLMD parts usually necessitate postmachining steps. Within this context, the focus of our work is to improve the understanding of the phenomena responsible for deleterious surface finish by using numerical simulation. Mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations are solved using comsol multiphysics® in a 2D transient model including filler material with surface tension and thermocapillary effects at the free surface. The dynamic shape of the molten zone is explicitly described by a moving mesh based on an arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method (ALE). This model is used to analyze the influence of the process parameters, such as laser power, scanning speed, and powder feed rate on the melt pool behavior. The simulations of a single layer and multilayer claddings are presented. The numerical results are compared with experimental data, in terms of layer height, melt pool length, and depth of penetration, obtained from high speed camera. The experiments are carried out on a widely used aeronautical alloy (Ti–6Al–4 V) using a Nd:YAG laser. The results show that the dilution ratio increases with increasing the laser power and the scanning velocity or with decreasing the powder feed rate. The final surface finish is then improved.
Ovarian cancer: diagnosis and treatment.

BACKGROUND Patients with ovarian cancer usually present to a family physician with nonspecific symptoms, most often abdominal pain. The outcome depends above all on the stage of the disease when it is diagnosed and on the quality of treatment. METHODS This article is based on a review of selected publications from 2000 to 2010 that were retrieved by an automated search in Medline on the terms "ovarian cancer," "screening," "diagnosis," "treatment," and "prognosis," as well as the interdisciplinary S2k guideline Diagnostik und Therapie maligner Ovarialtumoren (the diagnosis and treatment of malignant ovarian tumors) issued in 2007 by the Ovarian Tumor Committee of the German Consortium of Gynecologic Oncology (AGO) and the Committee's updated recommendations of 2009. RESULTS The proper treatment of early ovarian cancer involves resection of the primary tumor and all macroscopically visible tumor mass as well as meticulous inspection of the entire abdominal cavity for staging. Platinum-based chemotherapy is indicated for women with ovarian cancer in FIGO stage I to IIA (except stage IA, G1). For women with advanced ovarian cancer, the prognosis largely depends on the extent of tumor mass reduction on initial surgery. Complete resection confers significantly longer survival (median 5 years) than incomplete resection. After surgery, the standard adjuvant chemotherapy consists of a combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel. Treatment that conforms to published guidelines significantly improves survival (60% versus 25% at 3 years). CONCLUSION The possibility of ovarian cancer must be considered for any woman who presents with new, persistent, nonspecific abdominal pain. Ovarian cancer should always be treated in accordance with published guidelines.
On the development of a method to measure the surface temperature of ultrasonic diagnostic transducers

A project to develop improved and practical procedures to measure the surface temperature of diagnostic ultrasound transducers under normal use conditions has been carried out. The approach taken in the project was first to produce tissue mimicking material and an experimental measurement set-up that could lead to reasonably accurate and reproducible values of surface temperature rise. The relative influence of different tissue layers close to the surface has been modelled. Measurement results obtained using different types of thermocouples and using an infrared camera system were compared. Typical transducer surface temperature rises on a layered physical model were compared to those obtained on human skin (forearm). The difference between the average temperature rises on a 1.5 mm silicone layer on a soft tissue mimic and on the human forearm was not more than 7%. However, the variation between transducers introduces an uncertainty around 23% (95% confidence) of the temperature rise ratio. If the output beam dimension is accounted for as a (weak) factor of influence, the uncertainty is reduced to 19%. For endocavity transducers there does not seem to be a strong argument for potting the transducer in a tissue model. An example set-up for the measurement of externally used transducers has been implemented in the IEC 60601-2-37 1st Amendment. The material developed can be ordered from TNO.
Induction of Gentiana cruciata hairy roots and their secondary metabolites

Gentiana cruciata L. (cross gentian) is a medicinal and ornamental plant. The root extracts of this species are known to exhibit many curative properties. The natural Gentiana populations are exposed to great danger because of their uncontrolled usage. In this study, hairy roots from Gentiana cruciata L. stem and leaf explants belonging to three different clones were induced by inoculation with four different Agrobacterium rhizogenes wild strains namely A4, 15834, 8196 and R1000. Induction of the root transformation was significantly dependent on the explant type used. On the other hand, the genotype and bacterial strain had no significant effect on hairy root formation. Hairy root formation percentages of the explants varied between 5.6–33.3% in the stem explants, and between 0.0–6.7% in the leaf explants. Transformations of the hairy roots were confirmed by PCR using rolC specific primers, and revealed the absence of contaminating A. rhizogenes with virC primers. Total of twelve hairy root clones were obtained, and their secondary metabolite content was also analyzed by HPLC. Quantitative results exhibited that gentiopicroside was the most abundant compound in all root samples. Furthermore, metabolites such as loganic acid, swertiamarin, and sweroside were also identified and quantified in the samples.
Smaller stress-sensitive hippocampal subfields in women with borderline personality disorder without posttraumatic stress disorder.

BACKGROUND Animal and human studies have suggested that hippocampal subfields are differentially vulnerable to stress, but subfield volume has not been investigated in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Based on the putative role of stressful life events as vulnerability factors for BPD, we hypothesized that patients with BPD would exhibit reduced volumes for the stress-sensitive dentate gyrus (DG) and the cornu ammonis (CA) 3 subfields volumes, and that these volumes would be associated with traumatic childhood experiences. METHODS All participants underwent 3 T magnetic resonance imaging. Hippocampal subfield volumes were estimated using an automated and validated segmentation algorithm implemented in FreeSurfer. Age and total subcortical grey matter volume were covariates. We assessed traumatic childhood experiences using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). RESULTS A total of 18 women with BPD and 21 healthy control women were included in the study. Only 1 patient had comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The volumes of the left (p = 0.005) and right (p = 0.011) DG-CA4 and left (p = 0.007) and right (p = 0.005) CA2-3 subfields were significantly reduced in patients compared with controls. We also found significant group differences for the left (p = 0.032) and right (p = 0.028) CA1, but not for other hippocampal subfields. No associations were found between CTQ scores and subfield volumes. LIMITATIONS The self-reported CTQ might be inferior to more comprehensive assessments of traumatic experiences. The sample size was moderate. CONCLUSION The volumes of stress-sensitive hippocampal subfields are reduced in women with BPD without PTSD. However, the degree to which childhood trauma is responsible for these changes is unclear.
Methodology and steps towards the construction of EPEC, a corpus of written Basque tagged at morphological and syntactic levels for the automatic processing

This article describes the different steps in the construction of EPEC (Reference Corpus for the Processing of Basque). EPEC is a corpus of standard written Basque that has been manually tagged at different levels (morphology, surface syntax, phrases) and is currently being hand tagged at deep syntax level following the Dependency Structure-based Scheme. It is aimed to be a "reference" corpus for the development and improvement of several NLP tools for Basque. This corpus has already been used for the construction of some tools such as a morphological analyser, a lemmatiser, or a shallow syntactic analyser.
The development of pathogen resistance in Daphnia magna: implications for disease spread in age-structured populations

Immunity in vertebrates is well established to develop with time, but the ontogeny of defence in invertebrates is markedly less studied. Yet, age-specific capacity for defence against pathogens, coupled with age structure in populations, has widespread implications for disease spread. Thus, we sought to determine the susceptibility of hosts of different ages in an experimental invertebrate host–pathogen system. In a series of experiments, we show that the ability of Daphnia magna to resist its natural bacterial pathogen Pasteuria ramosa changes with host age. Clonal differences make it difficult to draw general conclusions, but the majority of observations indicate that resistance increases early in the life of D. magna, consistent with the idea that the defence system develops with time. Immediately following this, at about the time when a daphnid would be most heavily investing in reproduction, resistance tends to decline. Because many ecological factors influence the age structure of Daphnia populations, our results highlight a broad mechanism by which ecological context can affect disease epidemiology. We also show that a previously observed protective effect of restricted maternal food persists throughout the entire juvenile period, and that the protective effect of prior treatment with a small dose of the pathogen (‘priming’) persists for 7 days, observations that reinforce the idea that immunity in D. magna can change over time. Together, our experiments lead us to conclude that invertebrate defence capabilities have an ontogeny that merits consideration with respect to both their immune systems and the epidemic spread of infection.
Modulating Central Gain in Tinnitus: Changes in Nitric Oxide Synthase in the Ventral Cochlear Nucleus

A significant challenge in tinnitus research lies in explaining how acoustic insult leads to tinnitus in some individuals, but not others. One possibility is genetic variability in the expression and function of neuromodulators – components of neural signaling that alter the balance of excitation and inhibition in neural circuits. An example is nitric oxide (NO) – a free radical and potent neuromodulator in the mammalian brain – that regulates plasticity via both pre-synaptic and postsynaptic mechanisms. Changes in NO have previously been implicated in tinnitus generation, specifically in the ventral cochlear nucleus (VCN). Here, we examined nitric oxide synthase (NOS) – the enzyme responsible for NO production – in the guinea pig VCN following acoustic trauma. NOS was present in most cell types – including spherical and globular bushy cells, small, medium, and large multipolar cells, and octopus cells – spanning the entire extent of the VCN. The staining pattern was symmetrical in control animals. Unilateral acoustic over-exposure (AOE) resulted in marked asymmetries between ipsilateral and contralateral sides of the VCN in terms of the distribution of NOS across the cochlear nuclei in animals with behavioral evidence of tinnitus: fewer NOS-positive cells and a reduced level of NOS staining was present across the whole extent of the contralateral VCN, relative to the ipsilateral VCN. The asymmetric pattern of NOS-containing cells was observed as early as 1 day after AOE and was also present in some animals at 3, 7, and 21 days after AOE. However, it was not until 8 weeks after AOE, when tinnitus had developed, that asymmetries were significant overall, compared with control animals. Asymmetrical NOS expression was not correlated with shifts in the threshold hearing levels. Variability in NOS expression between animals may represent one underlying difference that can be linked to whether or not tinnitus develops after noise exposure.
A blind frequency tracking algorithm for OFDM transmission over frequency selective channels

This paper presents a blind frequency offset estimation algorithm for OFDM systems. The blind algorithm is compared to two popular frequency offset estimation algorithms. The first is the cyclic prefix-based (CPB) algorithm, which is blind but does not perform well in frequency selective channels. The second is the the pilot tone-aided (PTA) algorithm, which performs well in frequency selective channels but requires pilot subcarriers. Unlike the CPB and PTA algorithms, the blind algorithm in this paper does not require any training symbols or pilot subcarriers, and performs well in frequency selective channels. By simulation, it is shown that the performance of the blind algorithm is better than that of the PTA algorithm with subcarriers comprised of 25% pilot subcarriers anti 75% of data subcarriers.
Basic Syntactic Processes

MacWhinney (1978) presented a computational model of the acquisition of morphophonology. The present chapter attempts to extend the model presented in that earlier paper to the acquisition of word-order patterns. This extension is supported by an examination of the previous research on syntactic acquisition. In the final section of the chapter, further possible extensions to phonology and semantics are considered. The crucial claim underlying the basic approach to both morphophonology and syntax is that use of a given rule system is governed by a system of alternative strategies. Within such a multileveled model, alternative strategies can be compared in terms of their relative complexity. In the present chapter, these alternative strategies are evaluated through application of the following analytic technique:
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Does Not Affect Model-Based or Model-Free Reinforcement Learning in Humans

There is broad consensus that the prefrontal cortex supports goal-directed, model-based decision-making. Consistent with this, we have recently shown that model-based control can be impaired through transcranial magnetic stimulation of right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in humans. We hypothesized that an enhancement of model-based control might be achieved by anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of the same region. We tested 22 healthy adult human participants in a within-subject, double-blind design in which participants were given Active or Sham stimulation over two sessions. We show Active stimulation had no effect on model-based control or on model-free (‘habitual’) control compared to Sham stimulation. These null effects are substantiated by a power analysis, which suggests that our study had at least 60% power to detect a true effect, and by a Bayesian model comparison, which favors a model of the data that assumes stimulation had no effect over models that assume stimulation had an effect on behavioral control. Although we cannot entirely exclude more trivial explanations for our null effect, for example related to (faults in) our experimental setup, these data suggest that anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex does not improve model-based control, despite existing evidence that transcranial magnetic stimulation can disrupt such control in the same brain region.
Towards power-shaping control of the CSTR: from thermodynamics to the Brayton-Moser formulation of the dynamics

Abstract The non-isothermal continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) is a classical yet complex case study of nonlinear dynamical systems. Power-shaping control is a recent approach for the control of nonlinear systems based on the physics of the dynamical system and it rests on the formulation of the dynamics in the Brayton-Moser form. The Brayton-Moser formulation of the non-isothermal continuous stirred tank reactor is investigated based on physical considerations on the system.
Initiative in robot assistance during collaborative task execution

Collaborative robots are quickly gaining momentum in real-world settings. This has motivated many new research questions in human-robot collaboration. In this paper, we address the questions of whether and when a robot should take initiative during joint human-robot task execution. We develop a system capable of autonomously tracking and performing table-top object manipulation tasks with humans and we implement three different initiative models to trigger robot actions. Human-initiated help gives control of robot action timing to the user; robot-initiated reactive help triggers robot assistance when it detects that the user needs help; and robot-initiated proactive help makes the robot help whenever it can. We performed a user study (N=18) to compare these trigger mechanisms in terms of task performance, usage characteristics, and subjective preference. We found that people collaborate best with a proactive robot, yielding better team fluency and high subjective ratings. However, they prefer having control of when the robot should help, rather than working with a reactive robot that only helps when it is needed.
Evaluating the medical malpractice system and options for reform.

The U.S. medical malpractice liability system has two principal objectives: to compensate patients who are injured through the negligence of healthcare providers and to deter providers from practicing negligently. In practice, however, the system is slow and costly to administer. It both fails to compensate patients who have suffered from bad medical care and compensates those who haven't. According to opinion surveys of physicians, the system creates incentives to undertake cost-ineffective treatments based on fear of legal liability--to practice "defensive medicine. " The failures of the liability system and the high cost of health care in the United States have led to an important debate over tort policy. How well does malpractice law achieve its intended goals? How large of a problem is defensive medicine and can reforms to malpractice law reduce its impact on healthcare spending? The flaws of the existing system have led a number of states to change their laws in a way that would reduce malpractice liability--to adopt "tort reforms. " Evidence from several studies suggests that wisely chosen reforms have the potential to reduce healthcare spending significantly with no adverse impact on patient health outcomes.
A MEGACAM SURVEY OF OUTER HALO SATELLITES. IV. TWO FOREGROUND POPULATIONS POSSIBLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE MONOCEROS SUBSTRUCTURE IN THE DIRECTION OF NGC 2419 AND KOPOSOV 2

The origin of the Galactic halo stellar structure known as the Monoceros Ring is still under debate. In this work, we study this halo substructure using deep Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope wide-field photometry obtained for the globular clusters NGC 2419 and Koposov 2, where the presence of Monoceros becomes significant because of their coincident projected position. Using Sloan Digital Sky Survey photometry and spectroscopy in the area surrounding these globulars and beyond, where the same Monoceros population is detected, we conclude that a second feature, which is not likely to be associated with Milky Way disk stars along the line of sight, is present as a foreground population. Our analysis suggests that the Monoceros Ring might be composed of an old stellar population of age t ∼ 9 ? > Gyr and a new component ∼4 Gyr younger at the same heliocentric distance. Alternatively, this detection might be associated with a second wrap of Monoceros in that direction of the sky and might also indicate a metallicity spread in the ring. The detection of such a low-density feature in other sections of this halo substructure will shed light on its nature.
Horn Clauses for Communicating Timed Systems

Languages based on the theory of timed automata are a well established approach for modelling and analysing real-time systems, with many applications both in industrial and academic context. Model checking for timed automata has been studied extensively during the last two decades; however, even now industrial-grade model checkers are available only for few timed automata dialects (in particular Uppaal timed automata), exhibit limited scalability for systems with large discrete state space, or cannot handle parametrised systems. We explore the use of Horn constraints and off-the-shelf model checkers for analysis of networks of timed automata. The resulting analysis method is fully symbolic and applicable to systems with large or infinite discrete state space, and can be extended to include various language features, for instance Uppaal-style communication/broadcast channels and BIPstyle interactions, and systems with infinite parallelism. Experiments demonstrate the feasibility of the method.
Cell-type-specific tuning of Cav1.3 Ca2+-channels by a C-terminal automodulatory domain

Cav1.3 L-type Ca2+-channel function is regulated by a C-terminal automodulatory domain (CTM). It affects channel binding of calmodulin and thereby tunes channel activity by interfering with Ca2+- and voltage-dependent gating. Alternative splicing generates short C-terminal channel variants lacking the CTM resulting in enhanced Ca2+-dependent inactivation and stronger voltage-sensitivity upon heterologous expression. However, the role of this modulatory domain for channel function in its native environment is unkown. To determine its functional significance in vivo, we interrupted the CTM with a hemagglutinin tag in mutant mice (Cav1.3DCRDHA/HA). Using these mice we provide biochemical evidence for the existence of long (CTM-containing) and short (CTM-deficient) Cav1.3 α1-subunits in brain. The long (HA-labeled) Cav1.3 isoform was present in all ribbon synapses of cochlear inner hair cells. CTM-elimination impaired Ca2+-dependent inactivation of Ca2+-currents in hair cells but increased it in chromaffin cells, resulting in hyperpolarized resting potentials and reduced pacemaking. CTM disruption did not affect hearing thresholds. We show that the modulatory function of the CTM is affected by its native environment in different cells and thus occurs in a cell-type specific manner in vivo. It stabilizes gating properties of Cav1.3 channels required for normal electrical excitability.