Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cranioplasty and Craniofacial Reconstruction: A Review of Implant Material, Manufacturing Method and Infection Risk

Analysis of current literature highlights a wide variation in reported infection risk for different materials in cranial repair. The purpose of these composite materials are to mimic natural bone and assist in restoring function (structurally and aesthetically) to the human skull. This review aims to examine the meta-data in order to provide an amalgamated overview of potential trends between implant material, manufacturing method and infection risk, in order to provide a core reference point for future studies surrounding emerging biomedical materials in the fields of cranioplasty by providing base point for understanding the capabilities and limitations of current technologies. Methods: A search for articles was conducted, with the following criteria seen as fundamental in providing an accurate picture of the current landscape: publication in the last decade, provision of a numerical value for both number of implants and infection cases, patient sample of 10+, adult patients, and cranioplasty/cranial repair. Results: A total of 41 articles were seen to meet the author’s inclusion criteria. Average infection rates per material ranged between 2.04% and 10.98%. The results indicate that there is variation between materials in regards to total infection risk, however, depending on the materials compared, this value may be insignificant. Alternative risk factors associated with infection, including surgical time, revisions and previous infection, have a greater impact on infection potential than material variation. Comparison of fabrication methods did highlight a notable effect on average infection rate. Trends can be observed showing that materials with greater levels of surface interaction and active support of tissue ingrowth presented greater infection resistance. Such characteristics are due to the physical structures of the implants. Conclusions: It can be said that the manufacturing methods can influence biomedical materials to assist in minimizing implant infection risk.
Multivariate curve resolution-assisted determination of pseudoephedrine and methamphetamine by HPLC-DAD in water samples.

In the present study, a simple strategy based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) with a cation exchange sorbent (Finisterre SCX) followed by fast high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection coupled with chemometrics tools has been proposed for the determination of methamphetamine and pseudoephedrine in ground water and river water. At first, the HPLC and SPE conditions were optimized and the analytical performance of the method was determined. In the case of ground water, determination of analytes was successfully performed through univariate calibration curves. For river water sample, multivariate curve resolution and alternating least squares was implemented and the second-order advantage was achieved in samples containing uncalibrated interferences and uncorrected background signals. The calibration curves showed good linearity (r(2) > 0.994). The limits of detection for pseudoephedrine and methamphetamine were 0.06 and 0.08 μg/L and the average recovery values were 104.7 and 102.3% in river water, respectively.
B1 gradient encoding with the rotating RF coil

Synopsis: Conventionally, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is performed by pulsing gradient coils, which invariably leads to strong acoustic noise, eddy current induction in nearby conductors/patient, and costly power and space requirements. Here we describe a new silent, B0 gradient-free MRI technique, B1 gradient encoding with a rotating RF coil (B1-RRFC). The rotation of the RF coil allows for the generation of a large number of B1 gradients over time. Coupled with a flip angle – based modulation scheme as part of a finite-difference-based nonlinear Bloch equation solver, the RRFC technique facilitates a large number of encoding degrees of freedom. Initial results suggest that representative 2D and 3D images with intensity deviations of less than 5% from the original image can be obtained.
A Fast and Low Computation Consumption Model for System-Level Thermal Management in 3D IC

With the rapid increment of the power density and the introduction of vertical stack, heat dissipation has become a challenge issue. Thermal-aware placement thereby attracts more and more attentions for 3D IC. Meanwhile, as the keep-going scaling-down of IC, a huge computation consumption was caused by the large scale span. In this paper, an equivalent anisotropic thermal conductivity model was introduced to low down the computation consumption caused by the huge feature size difference. Correctness of this model was verified and the deviation from a full-scale simulation was less than 20%. By applying this model, thermal distribution of a designed 3D IC with 1566 TSVs and 80504 hot-spots was obtained with the total computation time of about 24 minutes in a regular personal computer.
A Predictive Model for Notional Anaphora in English

Notional anaphors are pronouns which disagree with their antecedents’ grammatical categories for notional reasons, such as plural to singular agreement in: “the government . they”. Since such cases are rare and conflict with evidence from strictly agreeing cases (“the government . it”), they present a substantial challenge to both coreference resolution and referring expression generation. Using the OntoNotes corpus, this paper takes an ensemble approach to predicting English notional anaphora in context on the basis of the largest empirical data to date. In addition to state of the art prediction accuracy, the results suggest that theoretical approaches positing a plural construal at the antecedent’s utterance are insufficient, and that circumstances at the anaphor’s utterance location, as well as global factors such as genre, have a strong effect on the choice of referring expression.
What Drivers Really Want: Investigating Dimensions in Automobile User Needs

Understanding what users need, as opposed to what they say they need, can be a challenge. In order to better address users' true needs, two consecutive methods were used in this study: Future Workshops and Repertory Grid Technique. The Future Workshops-where 21 participants designed for two different future scenarios-opened up for inscribing need expressions and possibilities into five futuristic automobile concepts. These concepts were used as a basis for the Repertory Grid, a technique where users compare objects, describing properties that they find to be important or significant. In this study, 78 participants provided 390 constructs of properties, which were refined to 19 dimensions relevant to user needs. Two study measures, Evaluative Ability and Descriptive Richness, indicate which methods to use when exploring the need dimensions further. Finally, the analysis of the constructs and dimensions point towards how three aspects of vehicles and driving are emerging: how novel technology should, or should not, support driving; how the automobile can be seen as something else than just a means of transportation, and how an automobile could be a part of a greater collective of vehicles.
Answer Extraction Towards better Evaluations of NLP Systems

We argue that reading comprehension tests are not particularly suited for the evaluation of NLP systems. Reading comprehension tests are specifically designed to evaluate human reading skills, and these require vast amounts of world knowledge and common-sense reasoning capabilities. Experience has shown that this kind of full-fledged question answering (QA) over texts from a wide range of domains is so difficult for machines as to be far beyond the present state of the art of NLP. To advance the field we propose a much more modest evaluation set-up, viz. Answer Extraction (AE) over texts from highly restricted domains. AE aims at retrieving those sentences from documents that contain the explicit answer to a user query. AE is less ambitious than full-fledged QA but has a number of important advantages over QA. It relies mainly on linguistic knowledge and needs only a very limited amount of world knowledge and few inference rules. However, it requires the solution of a number of key linguistic problems. This makes AE a suitable task to advance NLP techniques in a measurable way. Finally, there is a real demand for working AE systems in technical domains. We outline how evaluation procedures for AE systems over real world domains might look like and discuss their feasibility.
Long‐term precipitation database, Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed, Arizona, United States

An extensive precipitation database at the ∼149 km2 Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW) has been developed over the past 53 years with the first records starting in August 1953 and continuing to the present. The WGEW is a tributary of the San Pedro River, is located in southeastern Arizona, and surrounds the town of Tombstone. Average annual precipitation for the period of 1956–2005, as measured with six gauges, is roughly 312 mm, with approximately 60% falling during the summer monsoon. From a historical high of 95 rain gauges, a current network of 88 gauges is operational. This constitutes one of the densest rain gauge networks in the world (∼0.6 gauges/km2) for watersheds greater than 10 km2. Through 1999, the network consisted of analog recording weighing rain gauges. In 2000, a newly designed digital gauge with telemetry was placed adjacent (∼1 m) to the analog gauges. Both the analog and digital networks of gauges were in operation from 2000 to 2005 to enable a comparative analysis of the two systems. The analog data were digitized from paper charts and were stored in breakpoint format. The digital data consist of rainfall depths at 1‐min intervals during periods of rainfall. All these data can be obtained in a variety of formats and were accumulated over various time intervals (daily, monthly, and annual) via a web interface at http://www.tucson. ars.ag. gov/dap/.
Temperature dependency of the on-state voltage of IGBT and its application in thermal resistance test

In this paper, the temperature dependency of the on-state voltage of insulated-gate bipolar transistor is analyzed with an emphasis on the influence of collector current. The small-current on-state voltage has a negative temperature coefficient while the large-current on-state voltage has a positive temperature coefficient. Based on the analysis, two thermal resistance test systems supplying the small heating current and large heating current respectively were built and compared. To assure the reliability and accuracy, large-current thermal resistance test system is preferred.
Floral Acoustics: Conspicuous Echoes of a Dish-Shaped Leaf Attract Bat Pollinators

A bat-pollinated plant has dish-shaped leaves with conspicuous echoes that serve as acoustic attractors. The visual splendor of many diurnal flowers serves to attract visually guided pollinators such as bees and birds, but it remains to be seen whether bat-pollinated flowers have evolved analogous echo-acoustic signals to lure their echolocating pollinators. Here, we demonstrate how an unusual dish-shaped leaf displayed above the inflorescences of the vine Marcgravia evenia attracts bat pollinators. Specifically, this leaf’s echoes fulfilled requirements for an effective beacon, that is, they were strong, multidirectional, and had a recognizable invariant echo signature. In behavioral experiments, presence of the leaves halved foraging time for flower-visiting bats.
System optimization of a high power density non-isolated intermediate bus converter for 48 V server applications

With the power architecture transition from a 12 V to 48 V rack in modern data centers there is an increased interest in improving 48 V power conversion efficiency and power density. In this paper, we will analyze system optimization for a 48 V to 12 V non-isolated, fully regulated, intermediate bus converter (IBC) to maximize efficiency and power density. The final experimental prototype, a fully regulated, digitally controlled, 720 W, five phase, GaN transistor based 48 V to 12 V buck IBC demonstrates exceptional efficiency and power density, respectively exceeding 95% and 1000 W/in3.
Comparison of the performance of five screening methods for sarcopenia

Background Sarcopenia leads to serious adverse health consequences. There is a dearth of screening tools for this condition, and performances of these instruments have rarely been evaluated. Our aim was to compare the performance of five screening tools for identifying elders at risk of sarcopenia against five diagnostic definitions. Subjects and methods We gathered cross-sectional data of elders from the SarcoPhAge (“Sarco”penia and “Ph”ysical Impairment with Advancing “Age”) study. Lean mass was measured with X-ray absorptiometry, muscle strength with a dynamometer and physical performance with the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) test. Performances of screening methods were described using sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and area under the curve (AUC), according to five diagnostic definitions of sarcopenia. For each screening tool, optimal cutoff points were computed using two methods. Results A total of 306 subjects (74.8±5.9 years, 59.5% women) were included. The prevalence of sarcopenia varied from 5.7% to 16.7% depending on the definition. The best sensitivity (up to 100%) and the best NPV (up to 99.1%) were obtained with the screening test of Ishii et al, regardless of the definition applied. The highest AUC (up to 0.914) was also demonstrated by the instrument of Ishii et al. The most specific tool was the algorithm of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP; up to 91.1%). All NPVs were above 87.0%, and all PPVs were below 51.0%. New cutoffs related to each screening instrument were also proposed to better discriminate sarcopenic individuals from non-sarcopenic individuals. Conclusion Screening instruments for sarcopenia can be relevantly used in clinical practice to make sure to identify individuals who do not suffer from the syndrome. The screening test of Ishii et al showed better properties in terms of distinguishing those at risk of sarcopenia from those who were not at risk.
Spatial evapotranspiration, rainfall and land use data in water accounting - Part 1: Review of the accuracy of the remote sensing data

The scarcity of water encourages scientists to develop new analytical tools to enhance water resource management. Water accounting and distributed hydrological models are examples of such tools. Water accounting needs accurate input data for adequate descriptions of water distribution and water depletion in river basins. Ground-based observatories are decreasing, and not generally accessible. Remote sensing data is a suitable alternative to measure the required input variables. This paper reviews the reliability of remote sensing algorithms to accurately determine the spatial distribution of actual evapotranspiration, rainfall and land use. For our validation we used only those papers that covered study periods of seasonal to annual cycles because the accumulated water balance is the primary concern. Review papers covering shorter periods only (days, weeks) were not included in our review. Our review shows that by using remote sensing, the absolute values of evapotranspiration can be estimated with an overall accuracy of 95% (SD 5 %) and rainfall with an overall absolute accuracy of 82% (SD 15 %). Land use can be identified with an overall accuracy of 85% (SD 7 %). Hence, more scientific work is needed to improve the spatial mapping of rainfall and land use using multiple space-borne sensors. While not always perfect at all spatial and temporal scales, seasonally accumulated actual evapotranspiration maps can be used with confidence in water accounting and hydrological modeling.
Pollen-like particles can be prepared by exposure of polymer microparticles to an electron beam

Plant pollen shows awide variety of surface structures that develop during pollen sporogenesis. Some of the structures are similar to wrinkle structures that are formed when a layered material with different Young’s moduli is compressed. Here we report on the formation of wrinkled surface structures in polymer particles that is caused by electron beam irradiation of poly(methyl methacrylate) microparticles. Objective In this paper, we describe the formation of wrinkles on PMMAmicrobeads after coating with a thin metal layer and irradiation with a 12 kV electron beam in a scanning electron microscope. The beads were imaged in situ and we could show that a characteristic wrinkle structure appeared after a few minutes that got more pronounced over time. Introduction Wrinkles occur in layered systems in which the components have different Young’s moduli and can swell or can be compressed. Wrinkled polymer microparticles, for example, can be prepared in situ during polymerisation. Polyimide microparticles were prepared by electrospray of a precursor solution, and the evaporation of the solvent during imidisation lead to wrinkles [1]. Using another approach, Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) particles show dimple and wrinkles after ozone treatment and swelling with ethanol. The ozone treatment forms a hard silicon oxide layer and the difference in Young’s modulus then leads to wrinkles after swelling [2] [3]. Instead of ozone, a wet chemical oxidation can also be used [4]. Simple swelling and de-swelling of a polymer particle fixed on a substrate also caused a buckling and the formation of surface dimples [5]. Inorganic core-shell microparticles can show dimple structures by thermal treatment, for example, particles with an Ag-core and SiO2-shell [6]. A general theory to describe labyrinth and hexagonal patterns on spherical particles has been published outlining the generality of the processes [3]. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a known electron beam resist [7] in which a main chain scission of PMMA molecules by ionising radiation occurs via a stable radical species [8]. Thus, a PMMA bead should decompose and shrink upon electron beam irradiation. We have reported on the fabrication of polymer microparticles by a rapid evaporation of an oil-in-water emulsion [9] [10]. With this method, both particles from a single polymer as well as from polymer blends can be produced. Pollen-like particles can be prepared by exposure of polymer microparticles to an electron beam DOI: 10.19185/matters.201603000009 Matters (ISSN: 2297-8240) | 2 a
CARDIOPROTECTIVE EFFECT OF CYCLOALLIIN IN ISOPROTERENOL-INDUCED MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION IN ALBINO RATS: A MECHANISTIC STUDY

Necrosis of the myocardium due to imbalance between coronary blood supply and oxygen demand of the myocardial tissue promotes the evolution of acute myocardial infarction (MI). Onions are considered a rich source of medicinal compounds, of which cycloalliin (CYC), a sulfur containing imino compound with a cyclic structure, has been been extensively reported to exhibit various pharmacological activities. The present study aimed to elucidate the protective effect of cycloalliin in isoproternol (ISO)-induced myocardial infarction in male albino Wistar rats. Results of our investigation showed that treatment with CYC (10 mg/kg) significantly elevated both (+) and (−) left ventricular delta pressure/delta time (LVdP/dt) and decreased left ventricular end diastolic pressure LVEDP compared to the isoproterenol-treated group. The level of TBARS was significantly increased in the ISO-treated group. This was accompanied by diminished myocardial creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities when compared with the control group (p<0.001). In CYC-treated groups, glutathione (GSH) activity was improved significantly (p<0.05) in comparison to the ISO-treated group. Treatment with CYC showed no sign of alteration in myocardial fibers. DOI: 10.2298/ABS160114066P Keywords: cardioprotective effect; cycloalliin; isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction; antioxidants; hemodynamic functions Received: January 14, 2016; Revised: February 28, 2016; Accepted: March 1, 2016; Published online: August 1, 2016 How to cite this article: Peng D, Liu Q. Cardioprotective effect of cycloalliin in isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction in albino rats: A mechanistic study. Arch Biol Sci. 2016;68(4):789-93.
Fully Automatic Segmentation of 3D Brain Ultrasound: Learning from Coarse Annotations

Intra-operative ultrasound is an increasingly important imaging modality in neurosurgery. However, manual interaction with imaging data during the procedures, for example to select landmarks or perform segmentation, is difficult and can be time consuming. Yet, as registration to other imaging modalities is required in most cases, some annotation is necessary. We propose a segmentation method based on DeepVNet and specifically evaluate the integration of pre-training with simulated ultrasound sweeps to improve automatic segmentation and enable a fully automatic initialization of registration. In this view, we show that despite training on coarse and incomplete semi-automatic annotations, our approach is able to capture the desired superficial structures such as \textit{sulci}, the \textit{cerebellar tentorium}, and the \textit{falx cerebri}. We perform a five-fold cross-validation on the publicly available RESECT dataset. Trained on the dataset alone, we report a Dice and Jaccard coefficient of $0.45 \pm 0.09$ and $0.30 \pm 0.07$ respectively, as well as an average distance of $0.78 \pm 0.36~mm$. With the suggested pre-training, we computed a Dice and Jaccard coefficient of $0.47 \pm 0.10$ and $0.31 \pm 0.08$, and an average distance of $0.71 \pm 0.38~mm$. The qualitative evaluation suggest that with pre-training the network can learn to generalize better and provide refined and more complete segmentations in comparison to incomplete annotations provided as input.
Large-Magnitude Transformable Liquid-Metal Composites

Most of the existing robots would find it difficult to stretch and transform all parts of their body together due to rigid components and complex actuation mechanisms inside. Here, we presented a highly transformable liquid-metal composite (LMC) that is easy to change shape in large magnitude and resume its original state again according to need. When subject to heating, part of the ethanol droplets embedded in the composite would change phase and then actuate. We demonstrate the flexible transformation of LMC-made octopus from a two-dimensional shape into several predictable three-dimensional shapes freely on a large scale (even up to 11 times its initial height) through remote wireless heating, which needs no sophisticated operating system at all. Further, several designed behaviors, such as movement of octopus and entangling objects of soft robots, are also realized. Theoretical analysis of the heating-induced liquid–vapor transition of the embedded ethanol droplet interprets the mechanisms involved. The present findings open a new way to fabricate functional transformable composites that would find significant applications in developing future generation soft robots.