Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bismuth based thin film superconductors

﻿ This thesis describes investigations performed into the growth and characterisation of Bi-based (Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca n-1 Cu n O 2n + 4 + x , n=2, 3) ceramic superconducting material in the form of thin films, about 0. 5μm thick, grown on single crystal MgO, LaAIO 3 and SrTiO 3 substrates by r.f. magnetron sputtering. The effect of oxygen content on the Pb doped Bi-2223 (n=3) phase was also studied by changing the cooling process and by annealing in different partial pressures of oxygen at ambient pressure. The films produced have been assessed by considering their initial composition where it is found that Bi/Sr ratios can be between 0.9 c- zero of around 80K is achievable for (Ca + Sr)/Bi ratios between 1.4 and 1.65 while T c- onset remains above 90K for Bi-2212 films. However, the best superconducting properties can be obtained for a (Ca + Sr)/Bi ratio which is quite close the nominal composition. The use of a heavily Pb doped target is an effective way of Pb doping Bi-2223 thin films. A Bi-content of 1.4 10,sup>4 A/cm 2 at 77K. The effect of the initial Pb content and annealing conditions on the formation of the Bi-2223 phase was investigated. It was found that high Pb content (0.9 2 PbO 4 ) formed below 835°C and its fraction increases with increasing sintering temperature up to 862°C, while the fraction of initial phases decreases. An annealing duration of 30 min. has provided highly oriented films with c-axis perpendicular to the substrate surface and sharp superconducting transition ( 2 PbO 4 in the film after sintering. On LaAIO 3 and SrTiO 3 perovskite substrates, T c is at least 5K lower than in the case of MgO. Nevertheless, LaAIO 3 can provide good microstructure with a critical current density, of 5x10 4 A/cm 2 at 77K. The direction and the range of variation of T c in Bi-2223 films with oxidising process can be related to both the film composition (especially Bi and Pb content) and initial oxygen content. The variation range of T c with oxidising is controlled by the Pb content. However, the maximum variation is around 4K at ambient pressure. Radiation response measurements were carried out on films patterned into a 150μm wide, and 1 cm long meander-type structure using standard photolithography and wet chemical etching in EDTA. The results showed that the optical response using a continuous wave (cw) He-Ne laser is bolometric, while the microwave response using a 34.5 GHz Gunn diode microwave generator contains a non bolometric component. Such polycrystalline Bi-based high T c thin films may have interesting applications as sensitive microwave detectors, but they are not particularly good for microwave applications because of their high surface resistance, Rs, at microwave frequencies.
Spatial Frequency Tuning Reveals Interactions between the Dorsal and Ventral Visual Systems

It is widely argued that the ability to recognize and identify manipulable objects depends on the retrieval and simulation of action-based information associated with using those objects. Evidence for that view comes from fMRI studies that have reported differential BOLD contrast in dorsal visual stream regions when participants view manipulable objects compared with a range of baseline categories. An alternative interpretation is that processes internal to the ventral visual pathway are sufficient to support the visual identification of manipulable objects and that the retrieval of object-associated use information is contingent on analysis of the visual input by the ventral stream. Here, we sought to distinguish these two perspectives by exploiting the fact that the dorsal stream is largely driven by magnocellular input, which is biased toward low spatial frequency visual information. Thus, any tool-selective responses in parietal cortex that are driven by high spatial frequencies would be indicative of inputs from the ventral visual pathway. Participants viewed images of tools and animals containing only low, or only high, spatial frequencies during fMRI. We find an internal parcellation of left parietal “tool-preferring” voxels: Inferior aspects of left parietal cortex are driven by high spatial frequency information and have privileged connectivity with ventral stream regions that show similar category preferences, whereas superior regions are driven by low spatial frequency information. Our findings suggest that the automatic activation of complex object-associated manipulation knowledge is contingent on analysis of the visual input by the ventral visual pathway.
User-system interaction ( USI ) : overview and introduction

• A submitted manuscript is the author's version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers.
USING OF COMPATIBILIZER FOR IMPROVE MORPHOLOGiCAL PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC FROM THERMOPLASTIC-STRACH-POLYETYLENE BLENDS

Plastics as packaging material is very likely and used many time. However, plastics waste can pollute environment because plastic difficult to biodegrade by microorganism. Effort to reduce dependent plastic is develop plastic that environment friendly from renewable resources by blending method. Problems encountered in the manufacture of biodegradable plastic are not compatible between hydrophilic/polar and hydrophobic/non-polar materials. To improve the compatibility between the twomaterial blend were added materials such as compatibilizer. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of compatibilizer on the physical and mechanical properties of biodegradable plastics made from thermoplastic starch (TPS) and Linear Low Density PolyEthylene (LLDPE) blend. This study consited two steps, namely preparation of thermoplastic starch, and manufacturing process of biodegradable plastic. The plastic properties observed included morphological structure, melt flow rate, density, temperature melting, and mechanical properties. Morphological structure of biodegradable plastic become compatible and homogeneous with the using of compatibilizer with the marked spread of TPS into the polymer matrix. Compatibilizer is able to mediate between two materials which have characteristics different that is LLDPE (hydrophobic) and TPS (hydrophilic). Using of a compatibilizer made biodegradable plastic more compatible, homogeneous and good mechanical properties. Compatibilizer can improve surface adhesivitas between LLDPE and TPS blend. The presence of MA-g-LLDPE resulted greater physical and mechanical properties of biodegradabel plastic than without compatibilizer. Keywords: Compatibilizer, Thermoplastic starch, LLDPE, Biodegradable plastic
Tumor Burden Analysis on Computed Tomography by Automated Liver and Tumor Segmentation

The paper presents the automated computation of hepatic tumor burden from abdominal computed tomography (CT) images of diseased populations with images with inconsistent enhancement. The automated segmentation of livers is addressed first. A novel 3-D affine invariant shape parameterization is employed to compare local shape across organs. By generating a regular sampling of the organ's surface, this parameterization can be effectively used to compare features of a set of closed 3-D surfaces point-to-point, while avoiding common problems with the parameterization of concave surfaces. From an initial segmentation of the livers, the areas of atypical local shape are determined using training sets. A geodesic active contour corrects locally the segmentations of the livers in abnormal images. Graph cuts segment the hepatic tumors using shape and enhancement constraints. Liver segmentation errors are reduced significantly and all tumors are detected. Finally, support vector machines and feature selection are employed to reduce the number of false tumor detections. The tumor detection true position fraction of 100% is achieved at 2.3 false positives/case and the tumor burden is estimated with 0.9% error. Results from the test data demonstrate the method's robustness to analyze livers from difficult clinical cases to allow the temporal monitoring of patients with hepatic cancer.
Discrete-Time Adaptive Backstepping Nonlinear Control via High-Order Neural Networks

This paper deals with adaptive tracking for discrete-time multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) nonlinear systems in presence of bounded disturbances. In this paper, a high-order neural network (HONN) structure is used to approximate a control law designed by the backstepping technique, applied to a block strict feedback form (BSFF). This paper also includes the respective stability analysis, on the basis of the Lyapunov approach, for the whole controlled system, including the extended Kalman filter (EKF)-based NN learning algorithm. Applicability of the scheme is illustrated via simulation for a discrete-time nonlinear model of an electric induction motor.
Methamphetamine-Induced Dopamine-Independent Alterations in Striatal Gene Expression in the 6-Hydroxydopamine Hemiparkinsonian Rats

Unilateral injections of 6-hydroxydopamine into the medial forebrain bundle are used extensively as a model of Parkinson's disease. The present experiments sought to identify genes that were affected in the dopamine (DA)–denervated striatum after 6-hydroxydopamine-induced destruction of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway in the rat. We also examined whether a single injection of methamphetamine (METH) (2.5 mg/kg) known to cause changes in gene expression in the normally DA-innervated striatum could still influence striatal gene expression in the absence of DA. Unilateral injections of 6-hydroxydopamine into the medial forebrain bundle resulted in METH-induced rotational behaviors ipsilateral to the lesioned side and total striatal DA depletion on the lesioned side. This injection also caused decrease in striatal serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) levels. DA depletion was associated with increases in 5-HIAA/5-HT ratios that were potentiated by the METH injection. Microarray analyses revealed changes (± 1.7-fold, p<0.025) in the expression of 67 genes on the lesioned side in comparison to the intact side of the saline-treated hemiparkinsonian animals. These include follistatin, neuromedin U, and tachykinin 2 which were up-regulated. METH administration caused increases in the expression of c-fos, Egr1, and Nor-1 on the intact side. On the DA-depleted side, METH administration also increased the expression of 61 genes including Pdgf-d and Cox-2. There were METH-induced changes in 16 genes that were common in the DA-innervated and DA-depleted sides. These include c-fos and Nor-1 which show greater changes on the normal DA side. Thus, the present study documents, for the first time, that METH mediated DA-independent changes in the levels of transcripts of several genes in the DA-denervated striatum. Our results also implicate 5-HT as a potential player in these METH-induced alterations in gene expression because the METH injection also caused significant increases in 5-HIAA/5-HT ratios on the DA-depleted side.
Orca: A Language For Parallel Programming of Distributed Systems

A detailed description is given of the Orca language design and the design choices are discussed. Orca is intended for applications programmers rather than systems programmers. This is reflected in its design goals to provide a simple, easy-to-use language that is type-secure and provides clean semantics. Three example parallel applications in Orca, one of which is described in detail, are discussed. One of the existing implementations, which is based on reliable broadcasting, is described. Performance measurements of this system are given for three parallel applications. The measurements show that significant speedups can be obtained for all three applications. The authors compare Orca with several related languages and systems. >
Bounds on natural direct effects in the presence of confounded intermediate variables

In epidemiological studies we often want to learn about the direct effect of an exposure on an outcome, i.e. the effect that is not relayed by a specific intermediate variable. In the literature, there are two common definitions of direct effects; controlled and natural. When the intermediate variable and the outcome have common causes, neither the controlled nor the natural direct effect is identified. Cai et al. (Biometrics 2007; 64(3):695–701) derived bounds for the controlled direct effect under a set of hierarchical assumptions. In this paper we derive bounds on the natural direct effect under the same assumptions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A feature based approach to re-engineering objects of freeform design by exploiting point cloud morphology

Reverse engineering, the process of obtaining a geometric CAD model from measurements obtained by scanning an existing physical model, is widely used in numerous applications, such as manufacturing, industrial design and jewellery design. In this work we propose a framework for reverse engineering objects of freeform design to obtain a fully editable feature-based CAD model that can be reproduced or modified before production. We focus on the process of detecting features on a cloud point and we present a fast method for analyzing the morphology of the surface defined by the point cloud. We compute a point wise characteristic called point concavity intensity and we use this quantity to detect regions that are then refined to object features. The proposed algorithm takes overall O(nlogn) time, where n is the cardinality of the point cloud.
Study on Building Engineering with Simulation and Analysis of Outdoor Thermal Environment for a Residential Subdistrict in Hot Summer/Cold Winter Region

Thermal environmental problems in urban high-rise buildings are prevalent. To analyze the phenomenon, the thermal environment of a typical urban residential subdistrict is simulated by using CFD techniques considering the affects of different type of wall material. The simulation data are carefully analyzed. Some useful results are thus obtained. The direction of the buildings affects air circulation greatly with the north-south orientation having the best effects. Temperature in the subdistrict is about 3~5°C higher than its surroundings because of heat island effects which could be weakened if greening rate of the sbudistrict is increased. Finally, simulation results show that wall materials affect the environment considerably.
Von Hippel-Lindau gene product directs cytokinesis: a new tumor suppressor function

One of the mechanisms of tumorigenesis is that the failure of cell division results in genetically unstable, multinucleated cells. Here we show that pVHL, a tumor suppressor protein that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), plays an important role in regulation of cytokinesis. We found that pVHL-deficient RCC 786-O cells were multinucleated and polyploid. Reintroduction of wild-type pVHL into these cells rescued the diploid cell population, whereas the mutant pVHL-K171G failed to do so. We demonstrate that lysine 171 of pVHL is important for the final step of cytokinesis: the midbody abscission. The pVHL-K171G caused failure to localize the ESCRT-1 interacting protein Alix and the v-SNARE complex component Endobrevin to the midbody in 786-O cells, leading to defective cytokinesis. Moreover, SUMOylation of pVHL at lysine 171 might modulate its function as a cytokinesis regulator. pVHL tumor suppressor function was also disrupted by the K171G mutation, as evidenced by the xenograft tumor formation when 786-O clones expressing pVHL-K171G were injected into mice. Most RCC cell lines show a polyploid chromosome complement and consistent heterogeneity in chromosome number. Thus, this study offers a way to explain the chromosome instability in RCC and reveals a new direction for the tumor suppressor function of pVHL, which is independent of its E3 ubiquitin ligase activity.
Morphology Evolution in PC/PE Blends with and without Compatibilization During Twin-Screw Extrusion

The morphology evolution in polycarbonate/polyethylene (PC/PE) blends with and without compatibilization in a twin-screw extruder was studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The effects of screw speed and compatibilizer on the morphology of PC/PE blend during the extrusion were discussed in detail. It was found that the shape and size of the dispersed phase in the uncompatibilized PC/PE blend are both influenced by the screw speed. The evolution of dispersed phase morphology can be affected by increasing screw speed, and the dispersed particle size decreases with the increasing of the screw speed. As a compatibilizer, the addition of the (ethylene-methyl acrylate-glycidyl methacrylate) copolymer (E-MA-GMA) could accelerate the breakup of the PC dispersed phase and decrease the dispersed particle size. The dispersed droplet size in the PC/PE blend with compatibilization was hard to change at different positions along the screw axis with a higher screw speed. Along with the addition of the compatibilizer, the dispersed particle size was slightly influenced by the screw speed.
The Sodium Iodide Symporter (NIS) as an Imaging Reporter for Gene, Viral, and Cell-based Therapies

Preclinical and clinical tomographic imaging systems increasingly are being utilized for non-invasive imaging of reporter gene products to reveal the distribution of molecular therapeutics within living subjects. Reporter gene and probe combinations can be employed to monitor vectors for gene, viral, and cell-based therapies. There are several reporter systems available; however, those employing radionuclides for positron emission tomography (PET) or singlephoton emission computed tomography (SPECT) offer the highest sensitivity and the greatest promise for deep tissue imaging in humans. Within the category of radionuclide reporters, the thyroidal sodium iodide symporter (NIS) has emerged as one of the most promising for preclinical and translational research. NIS has been incorporated into a remarkable variety of viral and non-viral vectors in which its functionality is conveniently determined by in vitro iodide uptake assays prior to live animal imaging. This review on the NIS reporter will focus on 1) differences between endogenous NIS and heterologously-expressed NIS, 2) qualitative or comparative use of NIS as an imaging reporter in preclinical and translational gene therapy, oncolytic viral therapy, and cell trafficking research, and 3) use of NIS as an absolute quantitative reporter.
Effect of Enzymatically Modified Isoquercitrin, a Flavonoid, on Symptoms of Japanese Cedar Pollinosis: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial

Background: Flavonoids exert antiallergic and antioxidant effects. We investigated the efficacy of enzymatically modified isoquercitrin (EMIQ), a flavonoid, to relieve symptoms of pollinosis. Methods: In a parallel-group, double-blind placebo-controlled study design, 20 subjects with Japanese cedar pollinosis took two capsules daily of 100 mg EMIQ or a placebo for 8 weeks during the pollen season. Subjective symptoms and activities of daily living (ADL) scores were recorded every day, and the quality of life (QOL) score was obtained every 4 weeks. Blood sampling was performed before and after the study to measure serum cytokines, chemokines, IgE, quercetin and oxidized biomarkers. Results: During the entire study period, total ocular score and ocular itching score for the EMIQ group were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than for the placebo group. When limited to the individual periods, total symptom score for the EMIQ group was significantly lower (p < 0.05, week 4–5) than that for the placebo group while other scores for the EMIQ group, such as total nasal score (p = 0.06, week 4–5), nasal obstruction score (p = 0.08, week 4–5), lacrimation score (p = 0.06, week 5–6), ocular congestion score (p = 0.08, week 4–7) and ADL score (p = 0.08, week 4–7), all tended to be lower. The levels of serum cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, IL-12, IL-13, interferon-γ, and eotaxin and IgE were not significantly downregulated by the intake of EMIQ but the serum concentrations of oxidized low-density lipoprotein and thymus and activation-regulated chemokine were reduced. Conclusion: Intake of the quercetin glycoside EMIQ was safe and influenced ocular symptoms caused by pollinosis.
State of science: occupational slips, trips and falls on the same level *

Abstract Occupational slips, trips and falls on the same level (STFL) result in substantial injuries worldwide. This paper summarises the state of science regarding STFL, outlining relevant aspects of epidemiology, biomechanics, psychophysics, tribology, organisational influences and injury prevention. This review reaffirms that STFL remain a major cause of workplace injury and STFL prevention is a complex problem, requiring multi-disciplinary, multi-faceted approaches. Despite progress in recent decades in understanding the mechanisms involved in STFL, especially slipping, research leading to evidence-based prevention practices remains insufficient, given the problem scale. It is concluded that there is a pressing need to develop better fall prevention strategies using systems approaches conceptualising and addressing the factors involved in STFL, with considerations of the full range of factors and their interactions. There is also an urgent need for field trials of various fall prevention strategies to assess the effectiveness of different intervention components and their interactions. Practitioner Summary: Work-related slipping, tripping and falls on the same level are a major source of occupational injury. The causes are broadly understood, although more attention is needed from a systems perspective. Research has shown preventative action to be effective, but further studies are required to understand which aspects are most beneficial.
Using bag-of-words to distinguish similar languages: How efficient are they?

This paper presents a number of experiments describing the use of machine learning algorithms and bag-of-words to the task of automatic language identification. The paper focuses on the identification of language varieties, which is a known weakness of general purpose language identification methods. This question was addressed by a number of studies in the recent years, most of them relying on character n-gram language models. In this paper, I experiment simple bag-of-words and compare the results with previously proposed n-gram-based approaches. To perform these classification experiments three algorithms were used: Multinomial Naive Bayes (MNB), Support Vector Machines (SVM) and the J48 classifier.