Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative evaluation of effects of different surface treatment methods on bond strength between fiber post and composite core

PURPOSE Debonding of a composite resin core of the fiber post often occurs at the interface between these two materials. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different surface treatment methods on bond strength between fiber posts and composite core. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixty-four fiber posts were picked in two groups (Hetco and Exacto). Each group was further divided into four subgroups using different surface treatments: 1) silanization; 2) sandblasting; 3) Treatment with 24% H2O2, and 4) no treatment (control group). A cylindrical plexiglass matrix was placed around the post and filled with the core resin composite. Specimens were stored in 5000 thermal cycles between 5℃ and 55℃. Tensile bond strength (TBS) test and evaluation using stereomicroscope were performed on the specimen and the data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA, Post Hoc Scheffe tests and Fisher's Exact Test (α=.05). RESULTS There was a significant difference between the effect of different surface treatments on TBS (P<.001) but different brands of post (P=.743) and interaction between the brand of post and surface treatment (P=.922) had no significant effect on TBS. Both silanization and sandblasting improved the bonding strength of fiber posts to composite resin core, but there were not any significant differences between these groups and control group. CONCLUSION There was not any significant difference between two brands of fiber posts that had been used in this study. Although silanization and sandblasting can improve the TBS, there was not any significant differences between surface treatments used.
Characteristics of the lesions and risk of malignant conversion associated with the type of human papillomavirus involved in epidermodysplasia verruciformis.

Abstract Fourteen patients with epidermodysplasia verruciformis were studied to correlate the type of human papillomavirus (HPV) found in benign lesions to their clinical aspects and to the course of the disease; nine patients were familial cases, and six had carcinomas. The type of the virus was determined by the RNA-DNA filter hybridization technique, using complementary RNA9s transcribed from the DNA9s of the four types of HPV9s previously identified, and by immunofluorescence studies, using antisera specific for the four types of viruses. HPV type 3 was found in seven patients presenting lesions of only the verruca plana type. These cases were mostly stationary or abortive and showed no malignant conversion. HPV type 4 was detected in four patients with lesions of different types: very flat, often reddish warts; reddish plaques; and pityriasis versicolor-like pigmented or achromic plaques. All these patients showed cancers. Both types of viruses were found in two patients: HPV type 3 in flat wart-like lesions and, for one patient, in large confluent pigmented plaques and HPV type 4 in reddish or pityriasis versicolor-like plaques. One of these patients had early malignant lesions (Bowen9s disease), and the other had multiple carcinomas. For one patient, the type of virus could not be identified because of an insufficient amount of material. These results point to the role of virus in the pathogenesis of epidermodysplasia verruciformis, together with genetic and immunological factors. They suggest, in addition, different oncogenic potentials for viruses involved in the disease.
A Diagnosis Algorithm for Bridging Faults in Combinational Circuits

A novel algorithm for diagnosing bridging faults in combinational circuits is presented. The voting model and its simplifications, the Wired-AND and Wired-OR models, are assumed. The diagnosis algorithm guarantees the “object bridging fault” (bridging fault in the circuit being diagnosed) to be in the final fault list. The novelty of the algorithm are: (i) unlike previous algorithms it does not use the full fault dictionary but uses only portions of the stuck-at fault dictionary which is computed dynamically; (ii) it enumerates the faults implicitly using a compact data structure; and (iii) fault dropping rules, using stuck-at fault simulation only, are used. The resulting algorithm is both time and space efficient. Experimental evaluation of the algorithm is presented.
Effects of early-stage aging on locomotor dynamics and hindlimb muscle force production in the rat

SUMMARY Attenuation of locomotor function is common in many species of animals as they age. Dysfunctions may emerge from a constellation of age-related impairments, including increased joint stiffness, reduced ability to repair muscle tissue, and decreasing fine motor control capabilities. Any or all of these factors may contribute to gait abnormalities and substantially limit an animal's speed and mobility. In this study we examined the effects of aging on whole-animal locomotor performance and hindlimb muscle mechanics in young adult rats aged 6–8 months and ‘early aged’ 24-month-old rats (Rattus norvegicus, Fischer 344 × Brown Norway crosses). Analyses of gaits and kinematics demonstrated that aged rats moved significantly more slowly, sustained longer hindlimb support durations, moved with a greater proportion of asymmetrical gaits, were more plantigrade, and moved with a more kyphotic spinal posture than the young rats. Additionally, the external mechanical energy profiles of the aged animals were variable across trials, whereas the younger rats moved predominantly with bouncing mechanics. In situ analyses of the ankle extensor/plantar flexor muscle group (soleus, plantaris, and medial and lateral gastrocnemii) revealed reduced maximum force generation with aging, despite minimal changes in muscle mass. The weakened muscles were implicated in the degradation of hindfoot posture, as well as variability in center-of-mass mechanics. These results demonstrate that the early stages of aging have consequences for whole-body performance, even before age-related loss of muscle mass begins.
Quantum List Decoding of Classical Block Codes of Polynomially Small Rate from Quantumly Corrupted Codewords

Given a classical error-correcting block code, the task of quantum list decoding is to produce from any quantumly corrupted codeword a short list containing all messages whose codewords exhibit high "presence" in the quantumly corrupted codeword. Efficient quantum list decoders have been used to prove a quantum hardcore property of classical codes. However, the code rates of all known families of efficiently quantum list-decodable codes are, unfortunately, too small for other practical applications. To improve those known code rates, we prove that a specific code family of polynomially small code rate over a fixed code alphabet, obtained by concatenating generalized Reed-Solomon codes as outer codes with Hadamard codes as inner codes, has an efficient quantum list-decoding algorithm if its codewords have relatively high codeword presence in a given quantumly corrupted codeword. As an immediate application, we use the quantum list decodability of this code family to solve a certain form of quantum search problems in polynomial time. When the codeword presence becomes smaller, in contrast, we show that the quantum list decodability of generalized Reed-Solomon codes with high confidence is closely related to the efficient solvability of the following two problems: the noisy polynomial interpolation problem and the bounded distance vector problem. Moreover, assuming that NP is not included in BQP, we also prove that no efficient quantum list decoder exists for the generalized Reed-Solomon codes.
New 64-QAM Golay Complementary Sequences

A construction of 64-QAM Golay complementary sequences was proposed by Lee and Golomb, where three QPSK Golay-Davis-Jedwab complementary sequences (GDJ sequences, or standard Golay sequences) related by a pair of offsets were combined to form each 64-QAM Golay sequence. Feasible offset pairs were given as first order generalized Boolean functions in algebraic normal form. New offset pairs were described in a conjecture of Li, leading to new 64-QAM Golay complementary sequences. The proof of the conjecture is presented.
One-, Two-, and Three-Dimensional Hopping Dynamics

Hopping dynamics in glass has been known for quite a long time. In contrast, hopping dynamics in smectic-A (SmA) and hexatic smectic-B (HexB) liquid crystals (LC) has been observed only recently. The hopping in SmA phase occurs among the smectic layers (one-dimensionally), while hopping in HexB phase occurs inside the layers (two-dimensionally). The hopping dynamics in SmA and HexB liquid crystal phases is investigated by parallel soft-core spherocylinders, while three-dimensional hopping dynamics in inherent glassy states is investigated by systems of Weeks–Chandler–Andersen (WCA) spheres. The temperature dependence of diffusion coefficients of hopping in SmA phase can be described by the Arrhenius equation characteristic of activation process. In HexB LC phase, the diffusion coefficients saturate at higher temperatures. In a system of WCA spheres, the values and temperature dependence of diffusion coefficients depend on the observed states.
Production and supply

The work of more than 50 years aimed at gaining empirical insight into the production structure of agriculture and the related modes of farmers' behavior is reviewed, and orders of magnitude of the various parameters of interest are quoted. The review follows the lines of the evolution of the pertinent research, and it builds on it in forming a general framework for empirical work. This approach broadens the scope of producers' decisions to include the choice of the implemented technology and it also overcomes statistical problems that have accompanied the relevant research for a long time.
Classes to Passes: Is Class Attendance a Determinant of Grades in Undergraduate Engineering Subjects?

CONTEXT The rapid advancement in information technologies in recent times has opened a number of opportunities to the higher education sector. This has led to a revision of the traditional educational paradigm through the advent of “online/flexible content delivery” and “massive open online courses (MOOCs)”. However, despite these advances, there is an underlying question as to the role of face-toface teaching in the modern era. In this respect a number of studies have demonstrated that attendance at lectures and tutorials could be strongly correlated to students’ success in their studies.
Accountable Redactable Signatures

Redactable signature schemes (RSS) allow removing blocks from signed data. State-of-the-art schemes have public redactions, i.e., Any party can remove parts from a signed message. This prohibits meaningful definitions of accountability. We address this gap by introducing the notion of accountable redactable signature schemes (ARSS). We present a generic construction which couples a sanitizable signature scheme (SSS) to profit from its accountability with an RSS to maintain the reduced malleability of RSSs. Depending on the building blocks, the resulting scheme offers transparency or public accountability. Transparency provides stronger privacy guarantees, while public accountability meets legal and application requirements.
Design of a Single-Feed Dual-Band Dual-Polarized Printed Microstrip Antenna Using a Boolean Particle Swarm Optimization

A novel dual-frequency dual-linear-polarization printed antenna element benefiting from a single-feed single-layer structure is introduced in this paper. The Boolean particle swarm optimization algorithm in conjunction with the method of moments (MoM) is employed to optimize the geometry of the antenna after considering three objectives: cross polarization, return loss, and boresight direction in both bands. A fuzzy-logic based ordered weighted averaging operator allows us to efficiently implement the multi-objective optimization technique. Prototypes of the optimized designs have been fabricated and tested. The measured results show excellent performance with more than 15 dB of return loss and 10 dB of cross polarization in both frequency bands of operation, i.e., 12 and 14 GHz. A gain of 4.8 dBi has been measured for both frequency bands.
Literacy Challenges and Opportunities for Students with Learning Disabilities in Social Studies and History

The Common Core State Standards for literacy in history and social studies present opportunities and challenges for teachers of and adolescents with learning disabilities (LD). In addition to reading challenges, students must engage in higher order thinking and reasoning. To provide opportunities for students to successfully respond to such challenges, teachers must have an understanding of the expectations in the Standards, and of the learning needs of students with LD. Teachers can assure success for adolescents with LD by selecting proven instructional procedures and engaging in collaboration to provide students with the supports they need. Examples of one evidence–based practice, Content Enhancement, are provided to illustrate instructional protocols for teachers of diverse classes that include adolescents with LD.
Distributed aperiodic model predictive control for multi-agent systems

In this study, the authors propose an aperiodic formulation of model predictive control for distributed agents with additive bounded disturbances. In the proposed method, each agent solves an optimal control problem only when certain control performances cannot be guaranteed according to certain triggering rules. This could lead to the reduction of energy consumption and the alleviation of over usage of communication resources. The triggering rules are derived for both event-triggered and self-triggered formulation. The authors proposed method is also verified through a simulation example.
Endogenous TrkB Ligands Suppress Functional Mechanosensory Plasticity in the Deafferented Spinal Cord

Dorsal root injury (DRI) disrupts the flow of sensory information to the spinal cord. Although primary afferents do not regenerate to their original targets, spontaneous recovery can, by unknown mechanisms, occur after DRI. Here, we show that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), but not nerve growth factor or neurotrophin-4, are upregulated in the spinal gray matter after DRI. Because endognous BDNF and NT-3 have well established roles in synaptic and axonal plasticity, we hypothesized that they contributed to spontaneous recovery after DRI. We first developed a model of DRI-induced mechanosensory dysfunction: rat C7/8 DRI produced a deficit in low-threshold cutaneous mechanosensation that spontaneously improved within 10 d but did not recover completely. To determine the effects of endogenous BDNF and NT-3, we administered TrkB-Fc or TrkC-Fc fusion proteins throughout the recovery period. To our surprise, TrkB-Fc stimulated complete recovery of mechanosensation by 6 d after DRI. It also stimulated mechanosensory axon sprouting but prevented deafferentation-induced serotonergic sprouting. TrkC-Fc had no effect on low-threshold mechanosensory behavior or axonal plasticity. There was no mechanosensory improvement with single-bolus TrkB-Fc infusions at 10 d after DRI (despite significantly reducing rhizotomy-induced cold pain), indicating that neuromodulatory effects of BDNF did not underlie mechanosensory recovery. Continuous infusion of the pan-neurotrophin antagonist K252a also stimulated behavioral and anatomical plasticity, indicating that these effects of TrkB-Fc treatment occurred independent of signaling by other neurotrophins. These results illustrate a novel, plasticity-suppressing effect of endogenous TrkB ligands on mechanosensation and mechanosensory primary afferent axons after spinal deafferentation.
Coral reef calcification and climate change: The effect of ocean warming

Coral reefs are constructed of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Deposition of CaCO3 (calcification) by corals and other reef organisms is controlled by the saturation state of CaCO3 in seawater (Ω) and sea surface temperature (SST). Previous studies have neglected the effects of ocean warming in predicting future coral reef calcification rates. In this study we take into account both these effects by combining empirical relationships between coral calcification rate and Ω and SST with output from a climate model to predict changes in coral reef calcification rates. Our analysis suggests that annual average coral reef calcification rate will increase with future ocean warming and eventually exceed pre‐industrial rates by about 35% by 2100. Our results suggest that present coral reef calcification rates are equivalent to levels in the late 19th century and does not support previous suggestions of large and potentially catastrophic decreases in the future.
E ¢ ciency analysis in the presence of uncertainty

In a stochastic decision environment, di¤erences in information can lead rational decision makers facing the same stochastic technology and the same markets to make di¤erent production choices. E¢ ciency and productivity measurement in such a setting can be seriously and systematically biased by the manner in which the stochastic technology is represented. For example, conventional production frontiers implicitly impose the restriction that information di¤erences have no e¤ect on the way risk-neutral decision makers utilize the same input bundle. The result is that rational and e¢ cient ex ante production choices can be mistakenly characterized as ine¢ cient informational di¤erences are mistaken for di¤erences in technical e¢ ciency. This paper uses simulation methods to illustrate the type and magnitude of empirical errors that can emerge in e¢ ciency analysis as a result of overly restrictive representations of production technologies.
Becoming a primary physical educator

ABSTRACT Previous studies have reported that generalist primary teachers lack the confidence and competence to teach Physical Education (PE). In response, schools have outsourced PE to external providers. This paper examines data from an online survey of 175 pre-service teachers (PSTs) in England and their perceived confidence to teach primary PE. Findings showed PSTs had high levels of confidence across a breadth of knowledge areas, specifically in areas relating to lesson planning, health and fitness and the subject’s aims. Conversely, knowledge confidence was lowest in swimming, assessment and working with external providers. This paper argues that to address teacher confidence in PE, teachers must be positioned back as the main curriculum deliverers. An outcome of this research has been the development of a professional knowledge model for primary PE which recognises a breadth of professional knowledge needed to become a primary physical educator.
User-centred input for a wearable soft-robotic glove supporting hand function in daily life

Many stroke patients and elderly have a reduced hand function, resulting in difficulties with independently performing activities of daily living (ADL). Assistive technology is a promising alternative to support the upper limb in performing ADL. To avoid device abandonment, end-users should be involved early in the design and development phase to identify user requirements for assistive technology. The present study applies a user-centred approach to identify user requirements for wearable soft-robotic gloves targeted at physical support of hand function during ADL for elderly and stroke patients. Elderly, stroke patients and healthcare professionals, participating in focus groups, specified requirements regarding: 1) activities that need support of assistive technology, 2) design of wearable robotic devices for hand support, and 3) application of assistive technology as training tool at home. Assistive technology for the support of the hand is considered valuable by users for assisting ADL, but only if the device is wearable, compact, lightweight, easy to use, quickly initialized, washable and only supports the particular function(s) that an individual need(s) assistance with, without taking over existing function(s) from the user.
A method to standardize a reference of scalp EEG recordings to a point at infinity

The effect of an active reference in EEG recording is one of the oldest technical problems in EEG practice. In this paper, a method is proposed to approximately standardize the reference of scalp EEG recordings to a point at infinity. This method is based on the fact that the use of scalp potentials to determine the neural electrical activities or their equivalent sources does not depend on the reference, so we may approximately reconstruct the equivalent sources from scalp EEG recordings with a scalp point or average reference. Then the potentials referenced at infinity are approximately reconstructed from the equivalent sources. As a point at infinity is far from all the possible neural sources, this method may be considered as a reference electrode standardization technique (REST). The simulation studies performed with assumed neural sources included effects of electrode number, volume conductor model and noise on the performance of REST, and the significance of REST in EEG temporal analysis. The results showed that REST is potentially very effective for the most important superficial cortical region and the standardization could be especially important in recovering the temporal information of EEG recordings.
Development of a Recombinant Attenuated Salmonella Vaccine System for Taenia Solium Cysticercosis in Pigs

Taenia solium is a cestode that has a two-hosts life cycle. The adult tapeworm causes an asymptomatic disease known as taeniasis whereas the larval stage causes a disease called cysticercosis. In humans, the most common localization for the larvae is the central nervous system where it produces the neurological disorder neurocysticercosis. Previous works by several research groups around the world have shown that T. solium is a potentially eradicable parasite. Control programs have included treatment of human and pig populations with antihelmintics in conjunction with health education and are now considering vaccination of naive piglets. The potential of a live vector vaccine system to deliver Taenia solium Tsol18, a proven protective antigen, to prevent transmission of cysticercosis was investigated. An attenuated strain of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium χ9402 was used to develop an oral delivery system. Tsol18 gene was cloned downstream from the β-lactamase signal sequence in a multicopy asd + plasmid vector pYA3620 to yield plasmid pYA3620/Tsol18 and then transformed into the vaccine strain. The recombinant attenuated salmonella vaccine construct was stable for 50 generations and expressed rTsol18. Immunization of mice either with one or two doses of 10 CFU of the recombinant vaccine strain carrying plasmid pYA3620/Tsol18 elicited specific antibody response to Salmonella self antigens and to rTsol18. Moreover, oral immunization of piglets with 10 CFU of the vaccine construction significantly reduced the numbers of viable cysts after challenged. The development of a quantitative assay to detect specific antibodies against Tsol18 is also presented here. The Falcon assay screening test –enzyme linked immunoabsorbant assay (FAST-ELISA) format was used to develop a quantitative antibody detection assay. We have cloned, expressed and purified rTsol18. With purified porcine IgGs we constructed a standard curve that can be used to quantify the immune response. Our Fast-ELISA was able to follow the kinetics of the immune response in vaccinated pigs from an experimental trial. The data we present here provides the basis for a safe, affordable and easy vaccine delivery system that can be used as an adjunct in control programs. INDEX WORDS: Taenia solium, Cysticercosis, Salmonella, Vaccine, Tsol18, FastELISA. DEVELOPMENT OF A RECOMBINANT ATTENUATED SALMONELLA VACCINE SYSTEM FOR TAENIA SOLIUM CYSTICERCOSIS IN PIGS