Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gallium containing zinc borate bioactive glasses for bone graft applications

Zinc borate glasses with increasing gallium (Ga) content (0, 2.5, 5, 10, and 15 wt.% Ga) were synthesized with Ga replacing boron. X-ray diffraction (XRD) verified their amorphous state. Thermal analysis recorded a steady decline in both glass transition and crystallization temperatures with the addition of Ga. 11B magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed incremental addition of Ga reduced the BO4/BO3 ratio. Next, Bioactivity and antibacterial properties were investigated. Ion release profiles showed that increased Ga content in the glass resulted in increased Ga ion release, but decreased the release of other ions. The formation of amorphous Ca-P on the surface of all the glasses after 24 hours of incubation in simulated body fluid was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy, XRD and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses. Antibacterial evaluation of the glasses demonstrated that the addition of Ga increased the antibacterial potency of the glasses against P. aeruginosa (Gram-negative bacteria) while decreasing it against S. epidermidis (Gram-positive bacteria). Finally, the effect of glass composition on the viability and proliferation of preosteoblast and osteosarcoma cancer cells was investigated. Methyl Thiazolyl Tetrazolium (MTT) cell viability assays using glass degradation extracts revealed that the extracts from glasses with 0, 2.5 and 5 wt. % Ga did not lower the viability of preosteoblasts; however, extracts from glasses with 0 and 2.5 % Ga increased the viability of cancer cells. Therefore, glass with 5 wt. % Ga (G3) was selected for further analyses. The viability of preosteoblasts and osteosarcoma cells in contact with the G3 glass powders were also investigated using MTT assays. G3 powders could enhance the viability of preosteoblasts while decreasing the viability of osteosarcoma cells. According to Live/Dead assays, suppression of proliferation appeared to be the mechanism causing the reductions in the viability of osteosarcoma cells exposed to G3 powders. In conclusion, the performed in vitro characterizations confirmed the bioactivity and antibacterial activity of all glasses. However, G3 was selected as the most suitable composition for osteosarcoma-related graft operations as it could improve the viability of preosteoblasts without increasing the viability of cancer cells.
Developments in Offshore Engineering: Wave Phenomena and Offshore Topics

Wave Mechanics: The Green-Nahgdi theory of fluid sheets for shallow-water waves. The Cnoidal theory of water waves. Equation for numerical modeling of wave transformation in shallow water. Nearshore wave prediction models for coastal engineering applications. Offshore Topics: Mooring dynamics of offshore vessels. Cable dynamics for offshore applications. Modeling laws in ocean engineering. Hydrodynamics of offshore structures. Underwater acoustics. Life support for diving. Index.
The “realist search”: A systematic scoping review of current practice and reporting

The requirement for literature searches that identify studies for inclusion in systematic reviews should be systematic, explicit, and reproducible extends, at least by implication, to other types of literature review. However, realist reviews commonly require literature searches that challenge systematic reporting; searches are iterative and involve multiple search strategies and approaches. Notwithstanding these challenges, reporting of the “realist search” can be structured to be transparent and to facilitate identification of innovative retrieval practices. Our six‐component search framework consolidates and extends the structure advanced by Pawson, one of the originators of realist review: formulating the question, conducting the background search, searching for program theory, searching for empirical studies, searching to refine program theory and identifying relevant mid‐range theory, and documenting and reporting the search process. This study reviews reports of search methods in 34 realist reviews published within the calendar year of 2016. Data from all eligible reviews were extracted from the search framework. Realist search reports poorly differentiate between the different search components. Review teams often conduct a single “big bang” multipurpose search to fulfill multiple functions within the review. However, it is acknowledged that realist searches are likely to be iterative and responsive to emergent data. Overall, the search for empirical studies appears most comprehensive in conduct and reporting detail. In contrast, searches to identify and refine program theory are poorly conducted, if at all, and poorly reported. Use of this framework offers greater transparency in conduct and reporting while preserving flexibility and methodological innovation.
Micro-opto-mechanical switching and tuning for integrated optical systems

Integrated optical circuits have the potential to lower manufacturing and operating costs and enhance the functionality of optical systems in a manner similar to what has been achieved by integrating electronic circuits. One of the basic optical elements required to enable integrated optical circuits is an integrated optical switch, analogous to transistor switches used in integrated electronic circuits. An ideal switch for integrated optical circuits would provide wavelength-selective switching. Wavelengthselective behavior is an important characteristic for devices intended for networking applications as wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) of optical signals has become the accepted standard. A major contribution of this thesis is the design, fabrication, and experimental demonstration of a wavelength-selective, integrated optical switch. This switch operates by combining a microring resonator filter with a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device that allows the normally static ring resonator filter to be switched on and off. This represents the first demonstration of a wavelength-selective integrated optical MEMS switch. Additional contributions of this work include a new study of dielectric charging, analysis of the use of titanium nitride as structural material for MEMS, two new MEMS actuation techniques that lead to higher speed and/or lower actuation voltage, and a feasibility analysis for wavelength tuning using a generalized version of the switch design. A model for the evolution of dielectric charging during the actuation of MEMS devices was developed to address a deviation of the experimentally fabricated devices from the theoretical predictions according to older models. The new model predicts the experimental voltage versus displacement behavior of the wavelength selective switch accurately, and offers new insights into the physics of dielectric charging. The use of titanium nitride as a MEMS material was conceived as a solution to residual stress problems that are common in cantilever-type of actuators in general, including the wavelength-selective switch. Specific details on MEMS implementation using titanium nitride are discussed in the thesis. To address CMOS compatibility and speed challenges, two new complementary MEMS switch actuation techniques
SERIOUS INJURY SINGLE VEHICLE CRASHES

This report describes the methods used in the study, the characteristics of serious injury single vehicle crashes and how these differ from fatal single vehicle crashes. It compares the serious injury crash data with control data to estimate the risk factors for serious injury single vehicle crashes and then compares these with the risk factors previously identified for fatal single vehicle crashes. The comparison of risk factors for fatal and serious injury crashes was complicated by the poorer data quality for serious injury crashes than fatal crashes for some factors. For both fatal and serious injury crashes, the most important risk factors in terms of prevalence and increase in risk were: BAC greater than 0.05; driver aged under 25; driver aged 60 and over; learner permit or probationary licence; pre-1978 vehicle; and curved road. Fatal crashes were more likely to involve impact with a tree or pole than serious injury single vehicle crashes. (a)
Multirate Systems And Filter Banks

1. Introduction 2. Review of Discrete-Time Systems 3. Review of Digital Filters 4. Fundamentals of Multirate Systems 5. Maximally Decimated Filter Banks 6. Paraunitary Perfect Reconstruction Filter Banks 7. Linear Phase Perfect Reconstruction QMF Banks 8. Cosine Modulated Filter Banks 9. Finite Word Length Effects 10. Multirate Filter Bank Theory and Related Topics 11. The Wavelet Transform and Relation to Multirate Filter Banks 12. Multidimensional Multirate Systems 13. Review of Discrete-Time Multi-Input Multi-Output LTI Systems 14. Paraunitary and Lossless Systems Appendices Bibliography Index
GEOTECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SYNTHETIC MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE FOR EFFECTIVE LANDFILL DESIGN

This paper presents the results of laboratory investigation performed to determine the geotechnical characteristics of synthetic municipal solid waste (SMSW); simulating typical composition of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in Akure metropolis, south-western Nigeria. It was generally observed that the unit weight, specific gravity and shear strength of the SMSW increased with increase in compactive effort. Direct shear tests gave cohesion value of 7.6kN/m 3 for both Modified AASHTO and 4x Modified AASHTO compaction methods, while angle of shearing resistance for Modified AASHTO compaction method was 42.4 0 , and 48.5 0 for 4x Modified AASHTO compaction. In design of landfills the least shear strength failure envelope should be used for effective design. The hydraulic conductivity for both compactive efforts were within the same order of magnitude indicating that the Modified AASHTO compaction was a good approximation of field compaction for the municipal solid wastes. Compressibility test on SMSW gave compression ratio of 0.20 with total compression of 33.0% under maximum load of 224kN/m 2 . this complies with the results reported in literature. Compression index (cc) was 0.4, initial compression ratio (r0) was 0.19, primary compression ratio (rp) was 0.71 and secondary compression ratio (rs) was 0.10. These provide the necessary information needed for the computation of expected settlement in the landfill.
Usability Optimization and Testing Of Social Music Service

Music playback in venues is very often controlled by the small group of people administrating the business or locale, and not by the audience of listeners themselves. The people listening rarely have any ability to affect the choice of music within the public place or business they are currently situated in. This master thesis is built around a developed social music service, that lets the listeners control the playback of music together. The project is called: Blicko, and it enables its users to collaboratively build up a playlist of music, and then vote on the order of the upcoming tracks to be played. It can be thought of as a tool which has similar functions to a jukebox. The service enables the visitors or attendees at any type of public place or venue (i.e. cafes, bars, lobby, restaurants etc.) to be a part of deciding and controlling which music is being played. The thesis is dedicated to examine the best way of refining the service, in terms of optimizing the User Experience (UX), by application of different practices and methods within the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). This also involves managing the complications that rises when developing a multi-platform service for a wide range of devices.
FUEL QUALITY, VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY AND THEIR INTERACTIONS

This report reviews the complex interactions between fuels, vehicle technology, test cycles and reference fuels with regard to their relative influences on vehicle emissions, fuel consumption, carbon dioxide, durability and customer acceptance. Implications for the refining industry and trends in vehicle technology are also discussed as these are fundamental for a cost effective approach to contribute to meeting air quality standards. The study concludes that effects of fuel changes alone on emissions and performance are relatively small, but benefits arise when they are used to enable new technologies. Therefore, fuels and engines need to be developed together as a common system. Such developments have to be assessed in view of their global impact on a "cradle to grave" basis. To produce sufficient quantities of fuel, flexibility of the refineries has to be ensured by specifying fuel properties only where a clear link to vehicle performance or emissions is proven. Harmonising fuel specifications can only go in parallel with emissions limits, vehicle technology and test cycles.
Patents in the knowledge-based economy

This volume assembles papers commissioned by the National Research Councila (TM)s Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) to inform judgments about the significant institutional and policy changes in the patent system made over the past two decades. The chapters fall into three areas. The first four chapters consider the determinants and effects of changes in patent a /quality.a Quality refers to whether patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) meet the statutory standards of patentability, including novelty, nonobviousness, and utility. The fifth and sixth chapters consider the growth in patent litigation, which may itself be a function of changes in the quality of contested patents. The final three chapters explore controversies associated with the extension of patents into new domains of technology, including biomedicine, software, and business methods.
Antenna Theory and Microstrip Antennas

Antenna Theory and Microstrip Antennas offers a uniquely balanced analysis of antenna fundamentals and microstrip antennas. Concise and readable, it provides theoretical background, application materials, and details of recent progress. Exploring several effective design approaches, this book covers a wide scope, making it an ideal hands-on resource for professionals seeking a refresher in the fundamentals. It also provides the basic grounding in antenna essentials that is required for those new to the field.The books primary focus is on introducing practical techniques that will enable users to make optimal use of powerful commercial software packages and computational electromagnetics used in full wave analysis and antenna design. Going beyond particular numerical computations to teach broader concepts, the author systematically presents the all-important spectral domain approach to analyzing microstrip structures including antennas. In addition to a discussion of near-field measurement and the high-frequency method, this book also covers: Elementary linear sources, including Huygens planar element, and analysis and synthesis of the discrete and continuous arrays formed by these elementary sources The digital beam-forming antenna and smart antenna Cavity mode theory and related issues, including the design of irregularly shaped patches and the analysis of mutual coupling Based on much of the authors own internationally published research, and honed by his years of teaching experience, this text is designed to bring students, engineers, and technicians up to speed as efficiently as possible. This text purposefully emphasizes principles and includes carefully selected sample problems to ease the process of understanding the often intimidating area of antenna technology. Paying close attention to this text, you will be able to confidently emulate the authors own systematic approach to make the most of commercial software and find the creative solutions that every job seems to require.
Alcohol usage of the nighttime driver

THIS PAPER PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE COMPARISON BETWEEN ALCOHOL USAGE IN THE GENERAL NIGHT DRIVING POPULATION AND IN THE POPULATION OF PERSONS INVOLVED IN SINGLE-VEHICLE CRASHES AT NIGHT IN A MIDWESTERN COUNTY. RANDOMLY SELECTED NIGHT DRIVERS WERE GIVEN A BREATH TEST FOR ALCOHOL AND A SHORT INTERVIEW PROTOCOL. POLICE CRASH RECORDS WERE USED TO DEFINE THE CRASH POPULATION. HEAVY ALCOHOL USAGE WAS OBSERVED IN THE EARLY MORNING DRIVING POPULATION AS WELL AS A CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN ALCOHOL-RELATED CRASHES. PERSONS INEXPERIENCED IN DRINKING AND DRIVING (YOUNG DRIVERS AND WOMEN) WERE FOUND TO BE INVOLVED IN CRASHES AT LOWER BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATIONS. BARS WERE THE MAJOR SOURCE OF ALCOHOL FOR DRIVERS WITH HIGH BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATIONS. /SRIS/
Museums: A Place to Work : Planning Museum Careers

Surveying over thirty different positions in the museum profession, this is the essential guide for anyone considering entering the field, or a career change within it. From exhibition designer to shop manager, this comprehensive survey views the latest trends in museum work and the broad-ranging technological advances that have been made. For any professional in the field, this is a crucially useful book for how to prepare, look for and find jobs in the museum profession.
Operations Strategy: Focusing Competitive Excellence

I. INTRODUCTION-THE "STRATEGIC OVERVIEW" PERSPECTIVE. 1. Operations Management: The Key Competitive Weapon. 2. The Dimensions of Strategic Operations. 3. The Operations Strategy Process. CASES - PART I. Case I. - Operations Strategy at Waste Management. Case II. - Business Planning at Elco Manufacturing. II. STRUCTURE CONSIDERATIONS OF OPERATIONS STRATEGY. 4. The Integration of Organization Design. 5. Capacity Evaluation. 6. Facilities Strategy. 7. Production System Design. CASES - PART II. Case III. - Facilities Strategies at Courtyard by Marriott. Case IV. - Capacity Evaluation, Facilities Strategy & Production System Design at Elco Manufacturing. III. INFRASTRUCTURE CONSIDERATIONS OF OPERATIONS STRATEGY. 8. Operations Planning. 9. Improving Materials Management. 10. Just-in-Time. 11. Quality and Customer Service Management. 12. Productivity and Workforce Management. CASES - PART III. Case V. - Motorola - In Pursuit of Six Sigma. Case VI. - Operations, Inventory, and Quality Planning at Elco Manufacturing. IV. OPERATIONALIZING OPERATIONS STRATEGY. 13. The Management of Technology. 14. Policy-The Guide to Implementation. 15. Operations Management 2000: Toward the Millennium. CASES - PART IV. Case VII. - As GM goes . So Goes the Nation. Case VIII. - New Product Development at Elco Manufacturing.
From Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity: The Adoption of e-Tutoring by a Rural School District

The ubiquity of Web 2.0 technologies has led to a seismic shift in the way educational services are delivered. It comes as no surprise then that e-tutoring—otherwise known as electronic or online tutoring—is quickly supplanting face-to-face tuition for reasons of both cost and convenience. While e-tutoring is an effective form of academic support for many students, its efficacy remains tenuous for those confronted with a digital divide that figures predominantly around geographic barriers, socio-economic status, and educational levels. Premised on diffusion research, this master’s dissertation explores the implementation of an e-tutoring service known as Homework Help that has effected relatively low adoption rates. It uses a concurrent mixed-methods approach—including surveys, interviews, and focus groups—to examine the factors that have led to this low adoption rate. The results are presented via two journal articles situated within a larger meta-talk: The first article contrasts the adoption patterns apparent between rural and urban students, while the second article looks at the utility of diffusion research in examining educational technologies, as it explores the use of e-tutoring for appliedstream students. The findings of this study suggest that rural and urban, as well as applied and academic student subgroups, differ in terms of their perception and adoption of e-tutoring. Implications for educational policy, especially in regards to rural education, are discussed. FROM DIGITAL DIVIDE TO DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY v Table of
Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Vertical-tail Size and Length and of Fuselage Shape and Length on the Static Lateral Stability Characteristics of a Model with 45 Degree Sweptback Wing and Tail Surfaces

An investigation was made to determine the effects of vertical-tail size and length and of fuselage shape and length on the static lateral stability characteristics of a model with wing and vertical tails having the quarter-chord lines swept back 45 degrees. The results indicate that the directional instability of the various isolated fuselages was about two-thirds as large as that predicted by classical theory.
DESIGN METHODS FOR BASALLY REINFORCED PILE-SUPPORTED EMBANKMENTS OVER SOFT GROUND

The use of high strength geosynthetics to transfer loading on to piles is now an established and increasingly popular technique for carrying embankments over very soft ground. Many successful case histories, both in this country and abroad, have been reported in the literature over recent years. The precise mechanism by which load is transferred to the geosynthetics, however, remains relatively poorly understood. It is felt that while several design methods currently exist, none yet truly captures the key characteristics of these complex structures. This paper highlights some of the inconsistencies which exist in current design methodology in particular BS8006 Section 8, and identifies important issues in the design of such structures which are not currently addressed by existing methods. (A)
Diffusion-weighted imaging in normal pancreas: Apparent diffusion coefficient test-retest repeatability

Background The assessment of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) repeatability is important to body diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). However, data onto evaluating the repeatability of ADC values for normal pancreas are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ADC test-retest repeatability of the normal pancreas.Methods Twenty-six healthy volunteers (mean 47.6 years; 13 men) were included and scanned twice with reposition using a DWI sequence at 3.0-T. ADCs of the pancreatic head, body and tail for two DWIs were measured by two readers. The mean ADCs of the pancreatic head, body and tail were calculated as the global pancreatic ADC. Test-retest repeatability and agreement of ADC measurement were evaluated by the Bland-Altman analysis, intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (CV). Results The global pancreatic ADC showed the best test-retest repeatability (mean difference ± limits of agreement were 0.05 ± 0.25×10 -3 mm 2 /s; ICC, 0.79; CV, 6%). Test-retest repeatabilities for ADC of pancreatic head, body or tail were scattered, with mean difference ± limits of agreement between two tests were 0.03 ± 0.47, 0.05 ± 0.42 and 0.06 ± 0.31 (×10 -3 mm 2 /s), respectively (ICCs, 0.81, 0.52 and 0.68; CVs, 9%, 8% and 8%). Both intra-observer repeatability and inter-observer reproducibility were acceptable for whole pancreas between ADC measurements of the two DWIs.Conclusions ADC values of the pancreas are technically challenging and repeatability is variable. Cautions should be taken when interpreting longitudinal clinical changes in ADC values of the normal pancreas because the measurements do have an inherent variability by locations.