Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of a New Grain Refiner (Al–Ti–Mg–Ce) on Hardness, Tensile, and Impact Properties of Al–7Si Alloy

Through studying the effects of the Al–5Ti-x(Mg–30%Ce) refiner on the microstructure of the Al–7Si alloy, we investigated the hardness, tensile, and impact properties of the Al–Si alloy before and after refinement. The refinement results show that Mg–30%Ce can improve the refinement effect of Al–5Ti on Al–7Si, and also refine α-Al and eutectic Si in Al–7Si. When 2%Mg–30%Ce is added, the refining effect of the aluminum–silicon alloy is most obvious. After refinement, the hardness and tensile properties of the Al–7Si alloy improve. When 2%Mg–30%Ce is added to the refiner, the tensile properties of the Al–Si alloy are the best. Dynamic mechanical tests were conducted on refined Al–7Si alloy. The impact toughness of Al–7Si–(Al–5Ti-2(Mg–30%Ce) improved and the impact toughness reached 34.91 J/cm2, which is 78.7% higher than that of Al–7Si–(Al–5Ti) specimens. The separate Hopkinson pressure bar test results show that, under a high strain rate, the strain rate sensitivity of the prepared Al–Si alloy is significant. The specimens of Al–7Si–(Al–5Ti-2(Mg–30%Ce) demonstrated the best anti-impact performance at the same velocity.
Trust in Automation

Objective: We systematically review recent empirical research on factors that influence trust in automation to present a three-layered trust model that synthesizes existing knowledge. Background: Much of the existing research on factors that guide human-automation interaction is centered around trust, a variable that often determines the willingness of human operators to rely on automation. Studies have utilized a variety of different automated systems in diverse experimental paradigms to identify factors that impact operators’ trust. Method: We performed a systematic review of empirical research on trust in automation from January 2002 to June 2013. Papers were deemed eligible only if they reported the results of a human-subjects experiment in which humans interacted with an automated system in order to achieve a goal. Additionally, a relationship between trust (or a trust-related behavior) and another variable had to be measured. All together, 101 total papers, containing 127 eligible studies, were included in the review. Results: Our analysis revealed three layers of variability in human–automation trust (dispositional trust, situational trust, and learned trust), which we organize into a model. We propose design recommendations for creating trustworthy automation and identify environmental conditions that can affect the strength of the relationship between trust and reliance. Future research directions are also discussed for each layer of trust. Conclusion: Our three-layered trust model provides a new lens for conceptualizing the variability of trust in automation. Its structure can be applied to help guide future research and develop training interventions and design procedures that encourage appropriate trust.
DABC-NV: A buffer cache architecture for mobile systems with heterogeneous flash memories

Flash memory is widely used in mobile consumer electronics devices due to its good properties such as small size, shock resistance, and low-power consumption. However, the cost of flash memory is still high to accommodate ever-growing mobile applications and multimedia contents. Using MLC (multilevel cell) technologies is an efficient solution to extend the storage capacity, but it degrades the performance of flash memory significantly compared to the original storage based on SLC (single-level cell) technologies. To bridge the characteristics of the two technologies, this paper presents a new buffer cache management scheme that uses both MLC and SLC together and considers their heterogeneous characteristics. By allocating cache space based on the characteristics of each storage media as well as I/O operation types and reference history of buffered blocks, the proposed scheme improves the I/O performance of mobile systems by 24% on average and up to 180% compared to the CLOCK algorithm. Moreover, it guarantees high reliability of file data by adopting recently emerging non-volatile RAMs in a certain portion of the buffer cache.
Establishing food site vectors in desert ants

SUMMARY When returning to the site of a successful previous forage, where does one search for the goodies? Should one rely on experience from the previous homebound journey, or should one consider the outbound journey as well, or even exclusively? Desert ants are particularly well suited for pursuing this question because of their primary reliance on path integration in open and featureless desert habitats. Path integration has been studied particularly with regard to homing after lengthy foraging trips. The ants also use path integration to return to plentiful feeding sites, but what is memorised for revisiting the feeder remains controversial. Here, we demonstrate that desert ants consider, and indeed linearly average, both outbound and inbound travel for their return to a familiar feeder. This may be interpreted as a strategy to reduce navigation errors.
Traumatic brain injury: physiology, mechanisms, and outcome

Purpose of reviewThis review on traumatic brain injury consolidates the substantial current literature available on the pathophysiology, mechanisms, developments, and their subsequent effects on outcome. In particular, it tries to conceptualize why our greatly improved understanding of pathophysiology and neurobiology in traumatic brain injury has not translated into clear outcome improvements. Recent findingsEarly cerebral ischaemia has been characterized further, with ischaemic brain volume correlating with 6-month outcome. The Brain Trauma Foundation has revised perfusion pressure targets, and there are additional data on the outcome impact of brain tissue oxygen response and asymmetric patterns of cerebral autoregulation. Mechanistic studies have highlighted the role of inflammation and introduced concepts such as therapeutic vaccination and immune modulation. Experimental neurogenesis and repair strategies show promise. Despite continuing gains in knowledge, the experimental successes have not yet translated to the clinic. Indeed, several major articles have attempted to understand the clinical failure of highly promising strategies such as hypothermia, and set out the framework for further studies (e.g. addressing decompressive craniectomy). High-dose mannitol has shown promise in poor grade patients, while hypertonic saline has shown better intracranial pressure control. Negative results may be the consequence of ineffective therapies. However, there is a gathering body of work that highlights the outcome impact of subtle neurocognitive changes, which may not be quantified adequately by outcome measures used in previous trials. Such knowledge has also informed improved definition of mild traumatic brain injury, and allowed validation of management guidelines. SummaryThe evidence base for current therapies in this heterogeneous patient group is being refined, with greater emphasis on long-term functional outcomes. Improved monitoring techniques emphasize the need for individualization of therapeutic interventions.
Silver nanoparticle-specific mitotoxicity in Daphnia magna

Abstract Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are gaining popularity as bactericidal agents in commercial products; however, the mechanisms of toxicity (MOT) of Ag NPs to other organisms are not fully understood. It is the goal of this research to determine differences in MOT induced by ionic Ag+ and Ag NPs in Daphnia magna, by incorporating a battery of traditional and novel methods. Daphnia embryos were exposed to sublethal concentrations of AgNO3 and Ag NPs (130–650 ng/L), with uptake of the latter confirmed by confocal reflectance microscopy. Mitochondrial function was non-invasively monitored by measuring proton flux using self-referencing microsensors. Proton flux measurements revealed that while both forms of silver significantly affected proton efflux, the change induced by Ag NPs was greater than that of Ag+. This could be correlated with the effects of Ag NPs on mitochondrial dysfunction, as determined by confocal fluorescence microscopy and JC-1, an indicator of mitochondrial permeability. However, Ag+ was more efficient than Ag NPs at displacing Na+ within embryonic Daphnia, based on inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) analysis. The abnormalities in mitochondrial activity for Ag NP-exposed organisms suggest a nanoparticle-specific MOT, distinct from that induced by Ag ions. We propose that the MOT of each form of silver are complementary, and can act in synergy to produce a greater toxic response overall.
Special Care Dentistry

Sir, I would like to describe a potentially novel use of a selfie stick as a toothbrush handle in patients with physical disability. A 41-year-old woman presented with the chief complaints of halitosis, toothache and recurrent dental infections. Her medical history was significant for rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis; both conditions caused her profound physical disability with very limited mobility of all limbs and neck. She was totally dependent on her younger sister who took care of her feeding, personal hygiene, and other needs. Oral examination revealed a very limited mouth opening (less than 10 mm inter-incisal distance), multiple carious and unrestorable teeth, chronic gingivitis, and poor oral hygiene with excessive plaque accumulation. Apparently, the patient was unable to use her hands to brush her teeth, and her sister, who took care of everything else, could not help with tooth brushing. Unrestorable teeth were extracted and scaling was performed to COMMENT
An efficient heuristic approach for security against multiple adversaries

In adversarial multiagent domains, security, commonly defined as the ability to deal with intentional threats from other agents, is a critical issue. This paper focuses on domains where these threats come from unknown adversaries. These domains can be modeled as Bayesian games; much work has been done on finding equilibria for such games. However, it is often the case in multiagent security domains that one agent can commit to a mixed strategy which its adversaries observe before choosing their own strategies. In this case, the agent can maximize reward by finding an optimal strategy, without requiring equilibrium. Previous work has shown this problem of optimal strategy selection to be NP-hard. Therefore, we present a heuristic called ASAP, with three key advantages to address the problem. First, ASAP searches for the highest-reward strategy, rather than a Bayes-Nash equilibrium, allowing it to find feasible strategies that exploit the natural first-mover advantage of the game. Second, it provides strategies which are simple to understand, represent, and implement. Third, it operates directly on the compact, Bayesian game representation, without requiring conversion to normal form. We provide an efficient Mixed Integer Linear Program (MILP) implementation for ASAP, along with experimental results illustrating significant speedups and higher rewards over other approaches.
A theoretical interpretation of self-similar right-skewed particle size distributions in Ostwald ripening of cementite in ferrite

AbstractA multi-particle approach of Ostwald ripening in two-phase systems based on direct interactions is developed which successfully explains the stationary right-skewed shape of the particle size distribution found in coarsening experiments of cementite in ferrite at a volume fraction of about 0.07. To reproduce such an evidence the mean field hypothesis of the classical LSW theory has been replaced by a topological framework where any particle exchanges solutes with all its neighbours within an interaction volume proportional to its size. Then, an effective diffusion distance depending on the current average size in the system and on volume fraction of the second phase has been introduced.
Assessment model for organizational business process maturity with a focus on BPM governance practices

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose an assessment model for process management maturity focussed on business process management (BPM) governance practices. Design/methodology/approach – This investigation uses case studies. Findings – The BPM governance elements identified and analysis of the BPM maturity models previously used gave rise to the assessment model for organizational maturity in BPM developed for this study. Originality/value – The model allowed the authors to diagnose organizations’ current situation in terms of process management and provided a preliminary assessment of the next steps in the evolution of maturity for each of the factors analyzed.
Effects of Parathyroid Hormone on Immune Function

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) function as immunologic mediator has become interesting with the recent usage of PTH analogue (teriparatide) in the management of osteoporosis. Since the early 1980s, PTH receptors were found on most immunologic cells (neutrophils, B and T cells). The in vitro evaluations for a possible role of PTH as immunomodulator have shown inconsistent results mainly due to methodological heterogeneity of these studies: it used different PTH formulations (rat, bovine, and human), at different dosages and different incubating periods. In some of these studies, the lymphocytes were collected from uremic patients or animals, which renders the interpretation of the results problematic due to the effect of uremic toxins. Parathyroidectomy has been found to reverse the immunologic defect in patients with high PTH levels. Nonetheless, the clinical significance of these findings is unclear. Further studies are needed to define if PTH does have immunomodulatory effects.
Cranioplasty: Review of materials and techniques

ABSTRACT Cranioplasty is the surgical intervention to repair cranial defects. The aim of cranioplasty is not only a cosmetic issue; also, the repair of cranial defects gives relief to psychological drawbacks and increases the social performances. Many different types of materials were used throughout the history of cranioplasty. With the evolving biomedical technology, new materials are available to be used by the surgeons. Although many different materials and techniques had been described, there is still no consensus about the best material, and ongoing researches on both biologic and nonbiologic substitutions continue aiming to develop the ideal reconstruction materials. In this article, the principle materialsand techniques of cranioplasty are reviewed.
Context-Based Statistical Process Control

Most statistical process control (SPC) methods are not suitable for monitoring nonlinear and state-dependent processes. This article introduces the context-based SPC (CSPC) methodology for state-dependent data generated by a finite-memory source. The key idea of the CSPC is to monitor the statistical attributes of a process by comparing two context trees at any monitoring period of time. The first is a reference tree that represents the “in control” reference behavior of the process; the second is a monitored tree, generated periodically from a sample of sequenced observations, that represents the behavior of the process at that period. The Kullback–Leibler (KL) statistic is used to measure the relative “distance” between these two trees, and an analytic distribution of this statistic is derived. Monitoring the KL statistic indicates whether there has been any significant change in the process that requires intervention. An example of buffer-level monitoring in a production system demonstrates the viability of the new method with respect to conventional methods.
Acutely induced anxiety increases negative interpretations of events in a closed-circuit television monitoring task

In two experiments we measured the effects of 7.5% CO2 inhalation on the interpretation of video footage recorded on closed circuit television (CCTV). As predicted, inhalation of 7.5% CO2 was associated with increases in physiological and subjective correlates of anxiety compared with inhalation of medical air (placebo). Importantly, when in the 7.5% CO2 condition, participants reported the increased presence of suspicious activity compared with placebo (Experiment 1), a finding that was replicated and extended (Experiment 2) with no concomitant increase in the reporting of the presence of positive activity. These findings support previous work on interpretative bias in anxiety but are novel in terms of how the anxiety was elicited, the nature of the interpretative bias, and the ecological validity of the task.
PROPEL: A randomized trial of mericitabine plus peginterferon alpha‐2a/ribavirin therapy in treatment‐naïve HCV genotype 1/4 patients

Mericitabine is a nucleoside analog polymerase inhibitor of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Treatment‐naïve HCV genotype 1 or 4 patients were randomized to double‐blind treatment with oral mericitabine at a dosage of 500 mg twice‐daily (BID) for 12 weeks (A), 1,000 mg BID for 8 (B) or 12 weeks (C and D), or placebo BID for 12 weeks (E). All patients received pegylated interferon alpha‐2a (Peg‐IFNα‐2a; 40 kD)/ribavirin (RBV) at standard doses for 24 or 48 weeks during and after mericitabine/placebo therapy. Patients in arms A‐C who maintained a virologic response (VR) (HCV RNA <15 IU/mL) from weeks 4 to 22 stopped all treatment at week 24; all other patients (arms A‐E) continued Peg‐IFNα‐2a/RBV to complete 48 weeks. The primary outcome was sustained VR (SVR) (HCV RNA <15 IU/mL after 24 weeks of untreated follow‐up; SVR‐24). VR rates were higher in arms A‐D than in arm E at weeks 4 and 12 overall, in patients with and without cirrhosis and in patients with CC and non‐CC IL28B genotypes. However, the overall SVR‐24 rate in arms D (50.6%) and E (placebo, 51.2%) was similar and those in the response‐guided therapy arms A, B, and C were lower (48.8%, 42.0%, and 32.9%, respectively). No viral breakthrough or mericitabine‐resistance mutations (S282T) were observed during mericitabine therapy. Conclusion: Treatment with mericitabine plus Peg‐IFNα‐2a/RBV for 8 or 12 weeks provided potent suppression of HCV RNA, was well tolerated, and did not select resistant variants, but did not increase SVR rates, compared to placebo. IFN‐free and IFN‐containing trials of mericitabine of longer treatment duration are ongoing. (HEPATOLOGY 2013;58:524–537)
Ultra-violet lithography of thick photoresist for the applications in BioMEMS and micro optics

UV lithography of thick photoresist is widely used in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and micro-optoelectromechanical systems (MOEMS). SU-8 is a typical negative tone thick photoresist for micro systems, and can be used for both structural material and pattern transfer. This dissertation presents an effort to comprehensively study these important subjects. The first part, and the most fundamental part of this dissertation concentrated on the numerical analysis and experimental study of the wavelength dependent absorbance of SU-8 and the diffraction effects on the sidewall profiles of the microstructures made using UV lithography of SU-8. This study has laid the foundation for all the designs and analysis for the BioMEMS and Micro-optic components and systems using UV lithography of SU-8 in the following chapters of the dissertation. After a full discussion of UV lithography of SU-8, the applications of SU-8 in BioMEMS and micro optics were presented in the following areas: 1) design, analysis, and molding fabrication of biodegradable PLGA microstructures for implanted drug delivery application; 2) design, fabrication, and test of a novel three-dimensional micro mixer/reactor based on arrays of spatially impinging micro-jets; 3) design, analysis, fabrication, and test of a novel new type of truly three-dimensional hydro-focusing unit for flow cytometry applications based on SU-8; 4) Study on a new technology to fabricate out-of-plane pre-aligned microlens and microlens array, and the application of the microlens in a fiber bundle coupler. Finally, a new negative tone thick photoresist based on the composition of EPON resins 165 and 154 were introduced. The synthesis, physical properties, and UV-lithography properties
Coping strategies used by hospitalized children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

PURPOSE To analyze coping strategies used by children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy during hospitalization. DESIGN AND METHODS This was an exploratory study to analyze qualitative data using an inductive thematic analysis. Semistructured interviews using puppets were conducted with 10 children with cancer, between 7 and 12 years old, who were hospitalized and undergoing chemotherapy. FINDINGS The coping strategies to deal with chemotherapy were: understanding the need for chemotherapy; finding relief for the chemotherapy's side effects and pain; seeking pleasure in nourishment; engaging in entertaining activities and having fun; keeping the hope of cure alive; and finding support in religion. CONCLUSIONS Children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy need to cope with hospitalizations, pain, medication side effects, idle time, and uncertainty regarding the success of treatment. These challenges motivated children to develop their own coping strategies, which were effective while undergoing chemotherapy. CLINICAL RELEVANCE By gaining knowledge and further understanding about valid coping strategies during chemotherapy treatment, health professionals can mobilize personal and material resources from the children, health teams, and institutions aiming to potentiate the use of these strategies to make treatments the least traumatic.
Ergodic properties of Markov processes

In these notes we discuss Markov processes, in particular stochastic differential equations (SDE) and develop some tools to analyze their long-time behavior. There are several ways to analyze such properties, and our point of view will be to use systematically Liapunov functions which allow a nice characterization of the ergodic properties. In this we follow, at least in spirit, the excellent book of Meyn and Tweedie [7]. In general a Liapunov function W is a positive function which grows at infinity and satisfies an inequality involving the generator of the Markov process L: roughly speaking we have the implications (α and β are positive constants)
Effects of inertance on respiratory mechanics measurements in mechanically ventilated children

Objective: The use of the first-order linear single compartment model when studying respiratory mechanics classically neglects inertance (Irs). We hypothesized that Irs would affect compliance (Crs) and resistance (Rrs) estimates in mechanically ventilated young children. Design: Prospective study; single-center evaluation. Setting: University-affiliated tertiary pediatric intensive care unit. Patients: Forty-four patients with and without respiratory disease. Interventions: Patients were studied during volume-controlled constant inspiratory flow ventilation. Measurements and Main Results: Pressure (Pao) and flow (V′) were analyzed according to two different models: a one-compartment first-order linear model according to Pao = (1/Crs)·V + Rrs·V′ and a one-compartment second-order linear model according to Pao = (1/Crs)·V + Rrs·V′ + Irs·V″. Irs was higher in children with vs. those without respiratory disease (median 0.00224 cm H2O/L/sec2, Q1–Q3 0.00180–0.00321 vs. median 0.00133 cm H2O/L/sec2, Q1–Q3 0.00072–0.00210; p < .001)). A positive correlation between Irs and the difference of Crs estimates between the first- and the second-order model was found in both groups (r = .84, p < .05 and r = .67, p < .05). Rrs estimates were similar in both groups. Conclusions: This study showed that the linear single-compartment model may not adequately estimate the respiratory mechanical properties in mechanically ventilated children, particularly in the presence of respiratory disease. Including an Irs term significantly diminished Crs estimates. A one-compartment second-order linear model might be a useful clinical tool in more adequately measuring respiratory mechanics and optimizing ventilatory settings in children with respiratory disease.