Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preparation of Nanofibrous Structure of Mesoporous Bioactive Glass Microbeads for Biomedical Applications

A highly ordered, mesoporous (pore size 2~50 nm) bioactive glass (MBG) structure has a greater surface area and pore volume and excellent bone-forming bioactivity compared with traditional bioactive glasses (BGs). Hence, MBGs have been used in drug delivery and bone tissue engineering. MBGs can be developed as either a dense or porous block. Compared with a block, microbeads provide greater flexibility for filling different-shaped cavities and are suitable for culturing cells in vitro. In contrast, the fibrous structure of a scaffold has been shown to increase cell attachment and differentiation due to its ability to mimic the three-dimensional structure of natural extracellular matrices. Hence, the aim of this study is to fabricate MBG microbeads with a fibrous structure. First, a sol-gel/electrospinning technique was utilized to fabricate the MBG nanofiber (MBGNF) structure. Subsequently, the MBGNF microbeads (MFBs) were produced by an electrospraying technology. The results show that the diameter of the MFBs decreases when the applied voltage increases. The drug loading and release profiles and mechanisms of the MFBs were also evaluated. MFBs had a better drug entrapment efficiency, could reduce the burst release of tetracycline, and sustain the release over 10 days. Hence, the MFBs may be suitable drug carriers. In addition, the cellular attachment of MG63 osteoblast-like cells is significantly higher for MFBs than for glass microbeads after culturing for 4 h. The nanofibrous structure of MFBs could provide an appropriate environment for cellular spreading. Therefore, MFBs have great potential for use as a bone graft material in bone tissue engineering applications.
Striatal and midbrain connectivity with the hippocampus selectively boosts memory for contextual novelty

The role of contextual expectation in processing familiar and novel stimuli was investigated in a series of experiments combining eye tracking, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and behavioral methods. An experimental paradigm emphasizing either familiarity or novelty detection at retrieval was used. The detection of unexpected familiar and novel stimuli, which were characterized by lower probability, engaged activity in midbrain and striatal structures. Specifically, detecting unexpected novel stimuli, relative to expected novel stimuli, produced greater activity in the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA), whereas the detection of unexpected familiar, relative to expected, familiar stimuli, elicited activity in the striatum/globus pallidus (GP). An effective connectivity analysis showed greater functional coupling between these two seed areas (GP and SN/VTA) and the hippocampus, for unexpected than for expected stimuli. Within this network of midbrain/striatal–hippocampal interactions two pathways are apparent; the direct SN–hippocampal pathway sensitive to unexpected novelty and the perirhinal–GP–hippocampal pathway sensitive to unexpected familiarity. In addition, increased eye fixations and pupil dilations also accompanied the detection of unexpected relative to expected familiar and novel stimuli, reflecting autonomic activity triggered by the functioning of these two pathways. Finally, subsequent memory for unexpected, relative to expected, familiar, and novel stimuli was characterized by enhanced recollection, but not familiarity, accuracy. Taken together, these findings suggest that a hippocampal–midbrain network, characterized by two distinct pathways, mediates encoding facilitation and most critically, that this facilitation is driven by contextual novelty, rather than by the absolute novelty of a stimulus. This contextually sensitive neural mechanism appears to elicit increased exploratory behavior, leading subsequently to greater recollection of the unexpected stimulus. © 2015 The Authors Hippocampus Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Visual-Interactive Similarity Search for Complex Objects by Example of Soccer Player Analysis

The definition of similarity is a key prerequisite when analyzing complex data types in data mining, information retrieval, or machine learning. However, the meaningful definition is often hampered by the complexity of data objects and particularly by different notions of subjective similarity latent in targeted user groups. Taking the example of soccer players, we present a visual-interactive system that learns users' mental models of similarity. In a visual-interactive interface, users are able to label pairs of soccer players with respect to their subjective notion of similarity. Our proposed similarity model automatically learns the respective concept of similarity using an active learning strategy. A visual-interactive retrieval technique is provided to validate the model and to execute downstream retrieval tasks for soccer player analysis. The applicability of the approach is demonstrated in different evaluation strategies, including usage scenarions and cross-validation tests.
The ratio of nurse consultation and physician efficiency index of senior rheumatologists is significantly higher than junior physicians in rheumatology residency training

Abstract To elucidate the difference between ratios of nurse consultation sought by senior rheumatologists and junior physicians in rheumatology residency training, and also to evaluate physician efficiency index respecting patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Data regarding outpatient visits for RA patients between November 2013 and 2015 were extracted. The mean interval (day) between consultations, the nurse/physician visits ratio, and physician efficiency index (nurse/physician visits ratio × mean interval) for each senior and junior physicians were calculated. Disease Activity Score in 28 joints-C-Reactive Protein (DAS28-CRP) and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) scores were used to monitor treatment outcome. Therefore, DAS28 and HAQ scores were measured 3 times: firstly at physician consultation, then after nurse consultation, and finally at the third visit, either at a nurse or physician consultation. Of 6046 visits, 3699 visits, planned by 11 physicians (4 specialists and 7 junior physicians), were included. These numbers of visits belonged to 672 RA patients, among which 431 (64.1%) patients were female, the mean age being 64.9 ± 14.1 years, and DAS28 at baseline was 4.5 ± 1.2. The nurse/physician visits ratio (P = .01) and mean efficiency index (P = .04) of senior rheumatologists were significantly higher than that of junior physicians. Regression analysis showed a positive correlation between physician postgraduate experience and physician efficiency index adjusted for DAS28 at baseline and number of patients for each physician (regression coefficient 5.427, 95% confidence interval 1.068–9.787, P = .022). There was a high correlation between physicians’ postgraduate experience (year) and the ratio of nurse/physician visits (r = 0.91, P < .001), and also physician efficiency index (r = 0.94, P < .001). Nurse consultation did not contribute to worsening treatment outcome, since DAS28 and HAQ scores were significantly decreased if physician visits were followed by nurse visits (P = .004 for DAS28 and P = .025 for HAQ). If junior physicians are supervised to refer RA patients with milder and sufficient treatment plan to nurses, the entire department operates more efficiently, leading to prevent additional expenses (due to the differences in yearly salary of physicians and nurses) and human resource waste. Quality of care should be monitored by markers of disease activity and CRP.
Does drinking water influence hospital-admitted sialolithiasis on an epidemiological level in Denmark?

Objectives Sialolithiasis, or salivary stones, is not a rare disease of the major salivary glands. However, the aetiology and incidence remain largely unknown. Since sialoliths are comprised mainly of calcium phosphate salts, we hypothesise that drinking water calcium levels and other elements in drinking water could play a role in sialolithiasis. Owing to substantial intermunicipality differences in drinking water composition, Denmark constitutes a unique environment for testing such relations. Design An epidemiological study based on patient data extracted from the National Patient Registry and drinking water data from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland retrieved as weighted data on all major drinking water constituents for each of the 3364 waterworks in Denmark. All patient cases with International Statistical Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes for sialolithiasis registered between the years 2000 and 2010 were included in the study (n=3014) and related to the drinking water composition on a municipality level (n=98). Primary and secondary outcome measures Multiple regression analysis using iterative search and testing among all demographic and drinking water variables with sialolithiasis incidence as the outcome in search of possible relations among the variables tested. Results The nationwide incidence of hospital-admitted sialolithiasis was 5.5 cases per 100 000 citizens per year in Denmark. Strong relations were found between the incidence of sialolithiasis and the drinking water concentration of calcium, magnesium and hydrogen carbonate, however, in separate models (p<0.001). Analyses also confirmed correlations between drinking water calcium and magnesium and their concentration in saliva whereas this was not the case for hydrogen carbonate. Conclusions Differences in drinking water calcium and magnesium may play a role in the incidence of sialolithiasis. These findings are of interest because many countries have started large-scale desalination programmes of drinking water.
Air flow control of OWC wave power plants using FOPID controller

This paper proposes a method for air flow control of oscillating water column (OWC) wave power plants using fractional order PID (FOPID) controller. Due to high air pressure oscillations inside the OWC the Wells turbine often gets stalled which in turn reduces the power generated. Thus the air flow rate is required to be controlled via air control valves in order to achieve the desired electrical output power. The FOPID controller is used to control the electrical output power of the induction generator. Initially, the conventional PID controller has been designed followed by tuning of fractional parameters of FOPID using particle swarm optimisation (PSO). Numerical simulations show that the air valve control through FOPID has better response over PID control under different sea wave conditions.
Characterization and Correlation of Particle-Level Interactions to the Macroscopic Rheology of Powders, Granular Slurries, and Colloidal Suspensions

This project had two primary objectives. The first was to understand the physical properties and behavior of select Hanford tank sludges under conditions that might exist during retrieval, treatment, packaging, and transportation for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The second objective was to develop a fundamental understanding of these sludge suspensions by correlating the macroscopic properties with particle interactions occurring at the colloidal scale. The specific tank wastes considered herein are contained in thirteen Hanford tanks including three double-shell tanks (DSTs) (AW-103, AW-105, and SY-102) and ten single-shell tanks (SSTs) (B-201 through B-204, T-201 through T-204, T-110, and T-111). At the outset of the project, these tanks were designated as potentially containing transuranic (TRU) process wastes that would be treated and disposed of in a manner different from the majority of the tank wastes.
Radial Laminated Magnetic-Barrier Rotor Optimization Design of Brushless Doubly-Fed Machine

This paper establishes four kinds of Brushless Doubly-Fed Machine (BDFM) models with radial laminated magnetic-barrier rotor using ANSOFT finite element software, calculates the electromagnetic field of these four kinds of models, comparatively analyzes the magnetic field distribution, the torque capability, the end winding characteristics ,the rotor’s radial magnetic forces, the core losses and the motor operating performance of motor with different rotor structures, and thus provides theoretical guidance for optimization design of radial laminated magnetic-barrier rotor structure.
Formal Modeling and Analysis of Object Oriented Systems using Triple Graph Grammars

This paper proposes a Model Driven Engineering automatic translation approach based on the integration of rewriting logic formal specification and UML semi-formal models. This integration is a contribution in formalizing UML models since it lacks for formal semantics. It aims at providing UML with the capabilities of rewriting logic and its Maude language to control and detect incoherencies in their diagrams. Rewriting logic Maude language allows simulation and verification of system’s properties using its LTL model-checker. This automatic translation approach is based on meta-modeling and graph transformation since UML diagrams are graphs. More precisely, the authors have proposed five meta-models and three triple graph grammars to perform the translation process. The authors have used Eclipse Generative Modeling tools: Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) for meta-modeling, Graphical Modeling Framework (GMF) for generating visual modeling tools and TGG Interpreter for proposing triple graph grammars. The approach is illustrated through an example. Formal Modeling and Analysis of Object Oriented Systems using Triple Graph Grammars
Fabrication of micro/nano-fluidic channels by single-beam direct femtosecond laser writing

In this paper, we report on the formation of micro/nano-fluidic channels inside fused silica glass using single-beam femtosecond laser. The micro/nano-fluidic channels are fabricated by controlling the irradiation conditions of the femtosecond laser pulses, especially, pulse energy and scanning speed. We examine the production of this kind of channels both in air and water. In both cases, laser beam is focused inside the glass bar and shined horizontally with very low scanning speeds. In case of water, the glass sample is placed inside distilled water, which way is expected to reduce the surface roughness of the channels. The quality of the channels fabricated under different environment is compared as well. We further investigate the influence of various laser parameters on the production of channels. We also evaluate the fluid flowing ability of the fabricated micro/nano-fluidic channels of various diameters, fabricated under different environment and irradiation conditions.
An energy-efficient transmission mechanism for VoIP over IEEE 802.11 WLAN

Voice over IP (VoIP) over WLAN (VoWLAN) is an important application for public and private WLANs. However, VoWLAN systems suffer from several technical challenges such as power consumption of a WLAN station (STA) and service capacity of an access point (AP), making the commercial deployment of a large-scale VoWLAN service problematic. This study presents a cross-layer and energy-efficient mechanism for transmitting VoIP packets over IEEE 802.11 WLAN. The proposed mechanism considers the characteristics of voice packets that can tolerate certain loss, and dynamically disables the medium access control (MAC) layer acknowledgement for voice packets. In doing so, the time and energy consumed to transmit and receive voice packets for an STA can be reduced. Simulation results demonstrate that the mechanism improves the energy efficiency of a VoWLAN STA and WLAN utilization without sacrificing voice qualities. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Towards Learning Transferable Conversational Skills using Multi-dimensional Dialogue Modelling

Recent statistical approaches have improved the robustness and scalability of spoken dialogue systems. However, despite recent progress in domain adaptation, their reliance on in-domain data still limits their cross-domain scalability. In this paper, we argue that this problem can be addressed by extending current models to reflect and exploit the multi-dimensional nature of human dialogue. We present our multi-dimensional, statistical dialogue management framework, in which transferable conversational skills can be learnt by separating out domain-independent dimensions of communication and using multi-agent reinforcement learning. Our initial experiments with a simulated user show that we can speed up the learning process by transferring learnt policies.
DEVELOPMENT OF COVERAGE WITH EVIDENCE DEVELOPMENT FOR MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES IN SWITZERLAND FROM 1996 TO 2012

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess incidence, time frame, and outcome of “Coverage with Evidence Development” (CED) decisions in the Swiss Basic Health Insurance scheme. Methods: Analysis of all controversial medical technologies submitted to review by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) from 1996 to 2012 with focus on decisions with constraints. Description of types of technology, type of initial decision, duration of evaluation period, final decision, and search for potential factors associated with changes over time. Results: Forty-five (37.5 percent) of 120 controversial health technologies were classified as “yes, in evaluation, reimbursed” for a certain period of time and thirty-five (29.2 percent) as “no, in evaluation, not reimbursed” by the Federal Department of Home Affairs from 1996 to 2012. The rate of CED decisions ranged between zero and nine per year and was influenced by type of technology and calendar year. Forty-four of forty-five decisions were subject to further restrictions, to a “center or a specialist” (76 percent), “indications” (49 percent), “registry” (31 percent), or “other” (49 percent). The time to a final decision ranged from 1.5 to 11 years (median, 6 years). No factors associated with initial decision and final outcome could be identified. Conclusions: CED as a reality in Switzerland might have enabled patients to obtain access to promising technologies early in their life cycle. CED might have acted as a trigger to a successful implementation of a comprehensive national registry. The lack of qualitative data stresses the urgent need for evaluation of the HTA decisions and their impact on patient outcome and costs.
Methods to Quantify Regional Differences in Land Cover Change

This paper describes and illustrates methods for quantifying regional differences in land use/land cover changes. A series of approaches are used to analyse differences in land cover change from data held in change matrices. These are contingency tables and are commonly used in remote sensing to describe the spatial coincidence of land cover recorded over two time periods. Comparative analyses of regional change are developed using odds ratios to analyse data in two regions. These approaches are extended using generalised linear models to analyse data for three or more regions. A generalised Poisson regression model is used to generate a comparative index of change based on differences in change likelihoods. Mosaic plots are used to provide a visual representation of statistically surprising land use losses and gains. The methods are explored using a hypothetical but tractable dataset and then applied to a national case study of coastal land use changes over 50 years conducted for the National Trust. The suitability of the different approaches to different types of problem and the potential for their application to land cover accuracy measures are briefly discussed.
Non-invasive Collaboration Aids: Supporting Group Learning with Pervasive and Ambient Technologies

Studying in groups can have advantages as compared to doing so alone. Collaboration scripts are one means to handle the learning process systematically, by defining different phases and the tasks that individual team members should carry out. This paper presents a new concept to support the use of scripts during group learning: Non-invasive collaboration aids use pervasive and ambient technologies (room lighting, tabletop displays etc.) to help users recognize script phases, work on the individual task(s) of a phase, and become aware of other relevant factors during the learning process. Compared to previous efforts, which relied on desktop PC technology, this prevents interruptions and distractions, allowing users to focus on one another rather than on a computer. We demonstrate our ideas with an example user interface for a particular collaboration script.
Application of image segmentation algorithm based on particle swarm optimization and rough entropy standard

The algorithm based on the particle swarm optimization adopted uniform distribution particles as the initial population combined with the rough entropy based on boundary region is presented, and it is applied to the image threshold segmentation. The algorithm adopts the rough entropy based on boundary region as the valuation standard of image segmentation and converses image segmentation problem into an optimization problem and has fully utilized particle swarm optimization function in the field of optimizing. The algorithm is realized with MATLAB programs. It is shown in experiments that not only the quality but also the stability of image segmentation is high, and the sensibility of the algorithm to the partition-size image sub-piece is low.
SCMA for downlink multiple access of 5G wireless networks

Sparse code multiple access (SCMA) is a new frequency domain non-orthogonal multiple-access technique which can improve spectral efficiency of wireless radio access. With SCMA, different incoming data streams are directly mapped to codewords of different multi-dimensional cookbooks, where each codeword represents a spread transmission layer. Multiple SCMA layers share the same time-frequency resources of OFDMA. The sparsity of codewords makes the near-optimal detection feasible through iterative message passing algorithm (MPA). Such low complexity of multi-layer detection allows excessive codeword overloading in which the dimension of multiplexed layers exceeds the dimension of codewords. Optimization of overloading factor along with modulation-coding levels of layers provides a more flexible and efficient link-adaptation mechanism. On the other hand, the signal spreading feature of SCMA can improve link-adaptation as a result of less colored interference. In this paper a technique is developed to enable multi-user SCMA (MU-SCMA) for downlink wireless access. User pairing, power sharing, rate adjustment, and scheduling algorithms are designed to improve the downlink throughput of a heavily loaded network. The advantage of SCMA spreading for lightly loaded networks is also evaluated.
INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE-BASED TECHNOLOGIES IN THE SECTOR OF NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

Knowledge-based systems, knowledge technologies, and knowledge management are the areas that have been gaining significant attention and importance in the recent process of the knowledge-based economy creation. The above relates not only to the national economy as a whole (macroeconomic level) but also to particular economy sectors and individual organizations. This article focuses on the role of knowledge management tools, technologies, and approaches in the process of dynamic development of Polish nongovernmental organization (NGO) sector. First, the current state of this role is examined and then a systemic model solution is proposed with an example of implementation supporting the enhancement of NGO operations and performance. The article concludes with the outline of further research in this area.