Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hybrid ceramic and all ceramic anti friction bearings

New bearing materials, coatings and particular designs have innovated bearing solutions in the recent past. The introduction of silicon nitride (Si3N4) as bul k material for beari ng components allowed to use this new type of anti friction bearings even under ve ry demanding conditions. The low tendency of adhesion between steel and silicon nitride and ev en more between silicon nitride parts among themselves provide s ignificant advantage s in dry run and under -lubricated run. In several steps a productio n technology has been established for a quality safe manufacture not only of the balls, but a lso of cylindrical rollers and complete bearing rings from the very hard to machine silicon nitride. The technology of hybrid ceramic and ceramic bearings will be discussed in this paper , presenting recent results of the development of dry running and under-lubricated cer amic bearings with high stiffness and low friction. Examples for ground and space applications will be given. 1. CERAMIC IN ROLLING BE ARINGS CEROBEAR is the worldwide leading manufacturer of ceramic rolling bearings. Founde in 1989 CEROBEAR is presently the onl y company which serially produces ceramic rolling bearings in all common designs starting from ball bearings via rolling bearings up to needle bearings. CEROB EAR’s succes rests upon its fundamental knowledge of machining high performance ceramics and other specia l materials. And like no other material cer amic demands total ly new methods in production technology. The final machining of ceramic, for example, is possible only by grinding and polishing. Because o f its extreme hardness high performance ceramics can only be machined by diamond tools. But thorough know-how of machining technology isn’ t the only key to a successful product. The employment of this group of material in machine elements in severe ambient conditions, i.e. vacuo, high/l ow temperature, corrosive agents also d emands far-reaching experi ence in material sci ence. The combination of both knowledge of machining technology i n addition to experience in material scienc e is necessa ry to create a success ful product. CEROBEAR toda y produces: Ceramic Rolling Bearings
Bayesian identifiability and misclassification in multinomial data

The authors consider the Bayesian analysis of multinomial data in the presence of misclassification. Misclassification of the multinomial cell entries leads to problems of identifiability which are categorized into two types. The first type, referred to as the permutation‐type nonidentifiabilities, may be handled with constraints that are suggested by the structure of the problem. Problems of identifiability of the second type are addressed with informative prior information via Dirichlet distributions. Computations are carried out using a Gibbs sampling algorithm.
Medium access control protocols in cognitive radio networks

In cognitive radio (CR) networks, medium access control (MAC) protocols play an important role to exploit the spectrum opportunities, manage the interference to primary users (PUs), and coordinate the spectrum access amongst secondary users (SUs). In this paper, we first introduce the challenges in the design and implementation of CR MAC protocols. Then, we make a comprehensive survey of the state-of-the-art CR MAC protocols and categorize them on the basis of spectrum sharing modes, i.e., overlay and underlay modes. We also introduce some other classification metrics such as architecture (centralized or distributed), sharing behaviors (cooperative or non-cooperative), and access modes (contention based or contention free). Through the study, we find out that most CR MAC protocols are designed for the overlay mode. The CR MAC protocols in underlay mode could yield higher spectrum utilization efficiency with the cost of more complicated power and admission control schemes. The centralized CR MAC protocols are more suitable to do spectrum sensing using quiet period of whole network, while the distributed CR MAC protocols are more flexible to deploy. We identify several future directions, such as more practical CR MAC protocols for underlay mode, MAC protocols considering security, MAC protocols considering heterogeneous coexistence, etc. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Heritability estimates on resting state fMRI data using the ENIGMA analysis pipeline

Big data initiatives such as the Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis consortium (ENIGMA), combine data collected by independent studies worldwide to achieve more generalizable estimates of effect sizes and more reliable and reproducible outcomes. Such efforts require harmonized image analyses protocols to extract phenotypes consistently. This harmonization is particularly challenging for resting state fMRI due to the wide variability of acquisition protocols and scanner platforms; this leads to site-to-site variance in quality, resolution and temporal signal-to-noise ratio (tSNR). An effective harmonization should provide optimal measures for data of different qualities. We developed a multi-site rsfMRI analysis pipeline to allow research groups around the world to process rsfMRI scans in a harmonized way, to extract consistent and quantitative measurements of connectivity and to perform coordinated statistical tests. We used the single-modality ENIGMA rsfMRI preprocessing pipeline based on modelfree Marchenko-Pastur PCA based denoising to verify and replicate resting state network heritability estimates. We analyzed two independent cohorts, GOBS (Genetics of Brain Structure) and HCP (the Human Connectome Project), which collected data using conventional and connectomics oriented fMRI protocols, respectively. We used seed-based connectivity and dual-regression approaches to show that the rsfMRI signal is consistently heritable across twenty major functional network measures. Heritability values of 20-40% were observed across both cohorts.
Ischaemic heart disease: association with haematocrit in the British Regional Heart Study.

OBJECTIVES--To assess the relationship between haematocrit and risk of major ischaemic heart disease events. DESIGN--Prospective study of a cohort of men followed up for 9.5 years. SETTING--General practices in 24 towns in England, Wales, and Scotland (British Regional Heart Study). SUBJECTS--Altogether 7735 men aged 40-59 years at screening, who were selected at random from one general practice in each of 24 towns, were studied. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Fatal and nonfatal ischaemic heart disease events. RESULTS--Risk of major ischaemic heart disease events was significantly increased at haematocrit levels of > or = 46.0%. Men with raised haematocrit (> or = 46.0%) showed a 30% increase in relative risk (RR) of major ischaemic heart disease events (RR = 1.32; 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.10,1.57, p < 0.01) compared with those with values below 46.0%, even after adjustment for age, social class, smoking, body mass index, physical activity, blood cholesterol, lung function (FEV1), and pre-existing evidence of ischaemic heart disease. Further adjustment for systolic blood pressure reduced the risk slightly (RR = 1.27; 95% CI 1.06,1.51, p = 0.02) but it remained significant. The relationship was seen in men with and without pre-existing evidence of ischaemic heart disease. The study suggests that an increased haematocrit level plays a part in the development of major ischaemic heart disease events.
Can Refactoring Cyclic Dependent Components Reduce Defect-Proneness?

Previous studies have shown that dependency cycles contain significant number of defects, defect-prone components and account for the most critical defects. Thereby, demonstrating the impacts of cycles on software reliability. This preliminary study investigates the variables in a cyclic dependency graph that relate most with the number of defect-prone components in such graphs so as to motivate and guide decisions for possible system refactoring. By using network analysis and statistical methods on cyclic graphs of Eclipse and Apache-Active MQ, we have examined the relationships between the size and distance measures of cyclic dependency graphs. The size of the cyclic graphs consistently correlates more with the defect-proneness of components in these systems than other measures. Showing that adding new components to and/or creating new dependencies within an existing cyclic dependency structures are stronger in increasing the likelihood of defect-proneness. Our next study will investigate whether there is a cause and effect between refactoring (breaking) cyclic dependencies and defect-proneness of affected components.
Cognitive signals for brain–machine interfaces in posterior parietal cortex include continuous 3D trajectory commands

Cortical neural prosthetics extract command signals from the brain with the goal to restore function in paralyzed or amputated patients. Continuous control signals can be extracted from the motor cortical areas, whereas neural activity from posterior parietal cortex (PPC) can be used to decode cognitive variables related to the goals of movement. Because typical activities of daily living comprise both continuous control tasks such as reaching, and tasks benefiting from discrete control such as typing on a keyboard, availability of both signals simultaneously would promise significant increases in performance and versatility. Here, we show that PPC can provide 3D hand trajectory information under natural conditions that would be encountered for prosthetic applications, thus allowing simultaneous extraction of continuous and discrete signals without requiring multisite surgical implants. We found that limb movements can be decoded robustly and with high accuracy from a small population of neural units under free gaze in a complex 3D point-to-point reaching task. Both animals’ brain-control performance improved rapidly with practice, resulting in faster target acquisition and increasing accuracy. These findings disprove the notion that the motor cortical areas are the only candidate areas for continuous prosthetic command signals and, rather, suggests that PPC can provide equally useful trajectory signals in addition to discrete, cognitive variables. Hybrid use of continuous and discrete signals from PPC may enable a new generation of neural prostheses providing superior performance and additional flexibility in addressing individual patient needs.
Large Animal Model of Chronic Pulmonary Hypertension

A large animal model is needed to study artificial lung attachment in a setting simulating chronic lung disease with significant pulmonary hypertension (PH). This study sought to create a sheep model that develops significant PH within 60 days with a low rate of mortality. Sephadex beads were injected in the pulmonary circulation of sheep every other day for 60 days at doses of 0.5, 0.75, and 1 g (n = 10, 10, 7). Mean pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and cardiac output were obtained every 2 weeks. In the 0.5, 0.75, and 1-g groups, 90, 70, and 14.3% of sheep completed the study, respectively, with the remainder experiencing heart failure. By the 60th day, pulmonary vascular resistance had increased (p < 0.01) from 0.89 ± 0.3 to 3.2 ± 0.9 mm Hg/(L/min) and from 0.9 ± 0.3 to 4.3 ± 3.2 mm Hg/(L/min) in the 0.5 and 0.75-g groups, respectively. Significant right ventricular hypertrophy was observed in the 0.75-g group but not in the 0.5-g group. Data from the 1-g group were insufficient for analysis due to high mortality. Thus, the 0.5 and 0.75-g groups generate significant PH, but the 0.75-g group is a better model of chronic PH in lung disease due to the development of right ventricular hypertrophy.
Breastfeeding and Nutrition to 2 Years of Age and Risk of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Brain Tumors

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and childhood brain tumors (CBT) are 2 of the most common forms of childhood cancer, but little is known of their etiology. In 2 nationwide case-control studies we investigated whether breastfeeding, age of food introduction, or early diet are associated with the risk of these cancers. Cases aged 0–14 years were identified from Australian pediatric oncology units between 2003 and 2007 (ALL) and 2005 and 2010 (CBT) and population-based controls through nationwide random-digit dialing. Mothers completed questionnaires giving details of infant feeding up to the age of 2 yr. Data from 322 ALL cases, 679 ALL controls, 299 CBT cases, and 733 CBT controls were analysed using unconditional logistic regression. Breastfeeding was associated with a reduced risk of ALL [odds ratio (OR) = 0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.32, 0.84), regardless of duration. Introduction of artificial formula within 14 days of birth was positively associated with ALL (OR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.03, 2.37), as was exclusive formula feeding to 6 mo (OR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.07, 3.05). No associations were seen between breastfeeding or formula use and risk of CBT. Our results suggest that breastfeeding and delayed introduction of artificial formula may reduce the risk of ALL but not CBT.
On the origin of tropospheric ozone and NOx over the tropical South Pacific

The budgets of ozone and nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) ill the tropical South Pacific troposphere are analyzed by photochemical point modeling of aircraft observations at 0-12 km altitude from the Pacific Exploratory Mission-Tropics A campaign flown in September- October 1996. The model reproduces the observed NO2/NO concentration ratio to within 30% and has similar success in simulating observed concentrations of peroxides (H202, CH3OOH), lending confidence in its use to investigate ozone chemistry. It is found that chemical production of ozone balances only half of chemical loss in the tropospheric column over the tropical South Pacific. The net loss is 1.8 x 1011 molecules cm -2 S '1. The missing source of ozone is matched by west- erly transport of continental pollution into the region. Independent analysis of the regional ozone budget with a global three-dimensional model corroborates the results from the point model and reveals the importance of biomass burning emissions in South America and Africa for the ozone budget over the tropical South Pacific. In this model, biomass burning increases average ozone concentrations by 7-8 ppbv throughout the troposphere. The NOx responsible for ozone produc- tion within the South Pacific troposphere below 4 km can be largely explained by decomposition of peroxyacetylnitrate (PAN) transported into the region with biomass burning pollution at higher altitudes.
Algorithmic specifications in linear logic with subexponentials

The linear logic exponentials ! ,? are not canonical: one can add to linear logic other such operators, say ! l,? 1, which may or may not allow contraction and weakening, and where l is from some pre-ordered set of labels. We shall call these additional operators subexponentials and use them to assign locations to multisets of formulas within a linear logic programming setting. Treating locations as subexponentials greatly increases the algorithmic expressiveness of logic. To illustrate this new expressiveness, we show that focused proof search can be precisely linked to a simple algorithmic specification language that contains while-loops, conditionals, and insertion into and deletion from multisets. We also give some general conditions for when a focused proof step can be executed in constant time. In addition, we propose a new logical connective that allows for the creation of new subexponentials, thereby further augmenting the algorithmic expressiveness of logic.
Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss in Japan

Abstract Conclusion: An epidemiological survey of hospitals and private clinics in Japan regarding idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) revealed that the incidence of SSNHL was 60.9 per 100 000 population. There were more females than males in the younger generation. Objective: The incidence of SSNHL varies largely by country. Because the Japanese criteria for diagnosing SSNHL have changed in accordance with those widely used in other parts of the world, a clinicoepidemiological study was undertaken using the new criteria. Methods: Ehime, Aichi, and Iwate Prefectures were selected from the western, central, and northeastern regions of Japan, respectively. The subjects for this study were patients who suffered SSNHL between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013. Questionnaires were mailed to all hospitals and private clinics in which ENT doctors were working. Initial and final audiograms were requested for 10% of the patients. Results: In all, 78 of 90 hospitals (87%) and 303 of 407 private clinics (74%) responded. It was reported that 1663 patients visited hospitals and 3090 patients visited only private clinics. It was estimated that 6205 SSNHL patients visited hospitals or private clinics in 1 year from a population of 10 145 000. Also, 23% of patients suffered acute low-tone SNHL (female to male ratio; 3:1 in definite cases).
The Concerted Contribution of the S4-S5 Linker and the S6 Segment to the Modulation of a Kv Channel by 1-Alkanols

Gating of voltage-gated K+ channels (Kv channels) depends on the electromechanical coupling between the voltage sensor and activation gate. The main activation gate of Kv channels involves the COOH-terminal section of the S6 segment (S6-b) and the S4-S5 linker at the intracellular mouth of the pore. In this study, we have expanded our earlier work to probe the concerted contribution of these regions to the putative amphipathic 1-alkanol site in the Shaw2 K+ channel. In the S4-S5 linker, we found a direct energetic correlation between α-helical propensity and the inhibition of the Shaw2 channel by 1-butanol. Spectroscopic structural analyses of the S4-S5 linker supported this correlation. Furthermore, the analysis of chimeric Shaw2 and Kv3.4 channels that exchanged their corresponding S4-S5 linkers showed that the potentiation induced by 1-butanol depends on the combination of a single mutation in the S6 PVPV motif (PVAV) and the presence of the Shaw2 S4-S5 linker. Then, using tandem-heterodimer subunits, we determined that this potentiation also depends on the number of S4-S5 linkers and PVAV mutations in the Kv channel tetramer. Consistent with the critical contribution of the Shaw2 S4-S5 linker, the equivalent PVAV mutation in certain mammalian Kv channels with divergent S4-S5 linkers conferred weak potentiation by 1-butanol. Overall, these results suggest that 1-alkanol action in Shaw2 channels depends on interactions involving the S4-S5 linker and the S6-b segment. Therefore, we propose that amphiphilic general anesthetic agents such as 1-alkanols may modulate gating of the Shaw2 K+ channel by an interaction with its activation gate.
Evaluation of morning report in an emergency medicine department

Background: Morning report is considered as an important educational tool in different branches of medicine. The purpose of the present study was to examine the method of case selection, the leadership, the participant’s satisfaction and the educational value of morning report held in our centre. Method: In September 2007, a formal feedback about the morning report was provided by questionnaire surveys. The data on the method of case selection, the leadership, the participant’s satisfaction and the educational value of the sessions were collected from the residents, medical students and the academic staff in emergency medicine department. Each questionnaire also contained an open-ended question, asking for the responders’ suggestions for improving these sessions. Results: 73.2% of the responders were satisfied with the current model of the conference hall. The data showed that 46.3% of the participants believed these sessions are held for giving the medical team the required information and 65.9% for solving the patient’s problems. The data showed that the participants had evaluated the presentation strategy to be good; however, the presentation pattern was reported to be traditional and based on differential diagnosis in 53.7% of the cases and modern problem oriented in only 39%. Conclusion: Most participants considered morning report sessions held in our hospital to be effective in the way it is; however, issues such as communication skill, emergency department management, critical thinking, ethics, professionalism and evidence-based medicine should also be added to the sessions.
CXCR7 Silencing Attenuates Cell Adaptive Response to Stromal Cell Derived Factor 1α after Hypoxia

Previous studies have shown that chemotactic factor stromal-cell derived factor 1α (SDF1α) promotes cell recovery from hypoxic injury via its main receptor C-X-C chemokine receptor type (CXCR) 4. However, the role of its new receptor CXCR7 on cell repair against hypoxia and cell response to SDF1α remains largely unknown. In this study, neurons induced from hippocampal progenitor cells were pre-conditioned in hypoxia for 4h and subsequently monitored to investigate the function of SDF1α on cell repair after hypoxia. Neurons were assessed for their cell morphology, actin filament polymerization and migration capability. SDF1α protein levels increased significantly 1 h after hypoxia compared to control (P<0.01), and it reached a peak at 24 h after hypoxia. Moreover, addition of SDF1α promoted neurite outgrowth and actin filament polymerization both in normoxic and hypoxic cells compared to untreated cells. Cell migration showed a time-dependent increase with SDF1α stimulation in both groups, and hypoxic cells illustrated a significant augment at 0.5 h, 1 h and 12 h after SDF1α application compared to normoxic cells (P<0.01). CXCR7 expression also increased with time dependence after hypoxia and demonstrated a two-fold upregulation compared to control at 24 h after hypoxia. With CXCR7 silencing, axon elongation and actin filament polymerization induced by SDF1α were inhibited sharply both in normoxic and hypoxic cells. CXCR7 silencing also leads to reduced hypoxic cell migration at 0.5 h, 1 h, 12 h, 24 h and 36 h after SDF1α application (P<0.01), but it failed to reduce normoxic cell migration induced by SDF1α at 0.5 h, 1 h and 12 h (P>0.05). 24 h SDF1α stimulation led to higher ERK1/2 phosphorylation compared to control, and ERK1/2 phosphorylation increased more in hypoxic cells than that in normoxic cells. This study suggested that CXCR7 plays an important role on cell repair processing induced by SDF1α, and CXCR7 silencing attenuates cell adaptive response to acute SDF1α stimulation (≤12 h) after hypoxia.
A slovenian spoken dialog system for air flight inquiries

In this paper we give an overview of a Slovenian spoken dialog system, developed within a joint project in multilingual speech recognition and understanding. The aim of the project is the development of an information retrieval system, capable of having a dialog with a user. The paper presents the work on the development of the Slovenian spoken dialog system. Such a system has to be able to handle spontaneous speech, and to provide the user with correct information. The information system being developed for Slovenian speech is used for air (cid:13)ight information retrieval. The system has to answer questions about air (cid:13)ight connections and their time and date. In the paper we present the developed modules of the Slovenian system and show some results with respect to word accuracy, semantic accuracy and dialog success rate.
Tightness of the recentered maximum of the two‐dimensional discrete Gaussian free field

We consider the maximum of the discrete two‐dimensional Gaussian free field (GFF) in a box and prove that its maximum, centered at its mean, is tight, settling a longstanding conjecture. The proof combines a recent observation by Bolthausen, Deuschel, and Zeitouni with elements from Bramson's results on branching Brownian motion and comparison theorems for Gaussian fields. An essential part of the argument is the precise evaluation, up to an error of order 1, of the expected value of the maximum of the GFF in a box. Related Gaussian fields, such as the GFF on a two‐dimensional torus, are also discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.