Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Morphology and deposit of picoliter droplet tracks generated by inkjet printing

In this work, the morphological patterns of liquid tracks of droplets (~10 pl) wetting on a homogeneous surface were investigated analytically and experimentally. Using drop- on-demand inkjet printing, micro liquid tracks were formed from silver (Ag) nanoparticle suspension (~40 nm) ink under ambient environments. These liquid tracks in circular and polygonal shapes were intended to have different line widths (W) from 25 µm to 250 µm and droplet spacing (s) from 10 to 20 µm. The re-scaled ratio of volume (VR = V/W3) and aspect ratio of length (AR = Li/Lo) were calculated to construct one morphological diagram. The resulting morphological diagram generated from the inkjet printing formations clearly showed three distinct morphologies: the cap (C), bulge (B), and ring (R) phases. In other words, the morphological phase of the inkjet printing formations could be changed simply by varying the values of W and s. Also the looped liquid tracks clearly indicated that capillary (convective) flows were induced due to interfacial energy during the formation of nano-Ag deposits. Finally, we demonstrated the anchoring effect on suppression of bulges by the addition of one anchor in front of all segments. The findings in liquid track morphology here may be further developed for a variety of inkjet printing applications such as electric conductors and electrodes in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) in the future.
Multiscale Texture Analysis: From 18F-FDG PET Images to Histologic Images

Characterizing tumor heterogeneity using texture indices derived from PET images has shown promise in predicting treatment response and patient survival in some types of cancer. Yet, the relationship between PET-derived texture indices, precise tracer distribution, and biologic heterogeneity needs to be clarified. We investigated this relationship using PET images, autoradiographic images, and histologic images. Methods: Three mice bearing orthotopically implanted mammary tumors derived from transgenic MMTV-PyMT mice were scanned with 18F-FDG PET/CT. The tumors were then sliced, and the slices were imaged with autoradiography and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Six texture indices derived from the PET images, autoradiographic images, and histologic images were compared for their ability to capture heterogeneity on different scales. Results: The PET-derived indices correlated significantly with the autoradiography-derived ones (R = 0.57–0.85), but the values differed in magnitude. The histology-derived indices correlated poorly with the autoradiography- and PET-derived ones (R = 0.06–0.54). All indices were slightly to moderately influenced by the difference in voxel size and spatial resolution in the autoradiographic images. The autoradiography-derived indices differed significantly (P < 0.05) between regions with a high density of cells and regions with a low density and between regions with different spatial arrangements of cells. Conclusion: Heterogeneity derived in vivo from PET images accurately reflects the heterogeneity of tracer uptake derived ex vivo from autoradiographic images. Various tumor-cell densities and spatial cell distributions seen on histologic images can be distinguished using texture indices derived from autoradiographic images despite the difference in voxel size and spatial resolution. Yet, tumor texture derived from PET images only coarsely reflects the spatial distribution and density of tumor cells.
Mineralogical data on bat guano deposits from three Romanian caves

Mineralogical studies performed on crusts, nodules and earthy masses from the Romanian caves Gaura cu Muscă, Gaura Haiducească and Peștera Zidită have revealed the presence of three different phosphate associations. The minerals have been identified by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Five phosphates have been identified in the samples, with hydroxylapatite the only common mineral in all the three caves. Brushite, taranakite, leucophosphite and variscite are the other phosphates identified. Associated minerals include gypsum, calcite, quartz, and illite-group minerals. Aside from differences in the lithology, the occurrences of the different phosphate minerals indicate variable pH and relative humidity conditions near or within the guano accumulations.
EXPONENTIAL DEPENDENCE OF DYNAMIC VISCOSITY-SHEAR RATE FOR VEGETABLE OIL

The vegetable oil were carefully studied in recent years because they may constitute a raw material for biodegradable lubricants getting organic. These vegetable oils are an alternative to synthetic mineral oils. Biodegradable oils represent now an ingenious solution in lubrication engineering for equipments which work preponderantly in conditions that have high risk of environmental pollution. This refers to machines and equipments that work in agriculture, building industr, printing industry, car industry, where the environment pollution problem is of high concern, because of loss of lubricants in soil and water. The entrance on the market of these biodegradable lubricants is done in different ways, depending on the areas of applicability. Viscosity, shear stress, shear rate, yield value, plastic, pseudoplastic and thixotropic models, viscometer and rheometer types are the major issues discussed in rheology. This article proposes sever al dependency relations of dynamic viscosity with shear rate. Rheological characteristics of vegetable oils were measured with rotational co-axial cylinder rheometer at different temperatures of 313, 323, 333, 343, 353 and 363K. This article proposes three equations of dynamic viscosity dependence of shear rate starting from the model proposed by Al-Fariss. The proposed models were obtained by fitting exponential curves, dynamic viscosity of shear rate for vegetable oils. The best correlation coefficients were obtained for equations (3) and (4) have values between 0.9941 and 0.9999.
The involvement of centralized and distributed processes in sub‐second time interval adaptation: an ERP investigation of apparent motion

Accumulating evidence suggests that the timing of brief stationary sounds affects visual motion perception. Recent studies have shown that auditory time interval can alter apparent motion perception not only through concurrent stimulation but also through brief adaptation. The adaptation after‐effects for auditory time intervals was found to be similar to those for visual time intervals, suggesting the involvement of a central timing mechanism. To understand the nature of cortical processes underlying such after‐effects, we adapted observers to different time intervals using either brief sounds or visual flashes and examined the evoked activity to the subsequently presented visual apparent motion. Both auditory and visual time interval adaptation led to significant changes in the ERPs elicited by the apparent motion. However, the changes induced by each modality were in the opposite direction. Also, they mainly occurred in different time windows and clustered over distinct scalp sites. The effects of auditory time interval adaptation were centred over parietal and parieto‐central electrodes while the visual adaptation effects were mostly over occipital and parieto‐occipital regions. Moreover, the changes were much more salient when sounds were used during the adaptation phase. Taken together, our findings within the context of visual motion point to auditory dominance in the temporal domain and highlight the distinct nature of the sensory processes involved in auditory and visual time interval adaptation.
Racial Differences in Gray Matter Integrity by Diffusion Tensor in Black and White Octogenarians.

OBJECTIVE To quantify racial differences in brain structural characteristics in white and black octogenarians, and to examine whether these characteristics contribute to cognition. METHODS Cross-sectional study of 283 adults 79-89 years old (59.4% white;42.0% women) with data on gray matter integrity via diffusion tensor imaging (mean diffusivity), gray matter atrophy (GMA), white matter hyperintensities (WMH), literacy, smoking, drinking, income, hypertension and diabetes. Participants were recruited from an ongoing epidemiological study of older adults living in the community with a range of chronic conditions, physical and cognitive function. Standardized betas (sβ) of neuroimaging markers predicting Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) and Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) scores were computed in multivariable regression models stratified by race. RESULTS Compared to whites, blacks had lower DSST (p=0.001) and lower 3MS (p=0.006), but also lower mean diffusivity (i.e. higher gray matter microstructural integrity, p=0.032), independent of gender, income, literacy, body mass index, diabetes and drinking habits. Racial differences were not significant for WMH (p=0.062) or GMA (p=0.4). Among blacks, mean diffusivity and WMH were associated with DSST (sβ=-.209, p=0.037 and -.211, p=.038, respectively) independent of each other and other covariates; among whites, mean diffusivity, but not WMH, was significantly associated with DSST and 3MS (sβ =-.277, p=.002 and -.250, p=0.029, respectively). CONCLUSIONS In this cohort of octogenarians living in the community, blacks appeared to have higher microstructural integrity of gray matter as compared to whites. This neuroimaging marker was related to higher cognition even in the presence of WMH and other cardiovascular conditions. If confirmed, these findings suggest microstructural gray matter integrity may be a target to improve cognition, especially among blacks who survive to very old age with a range of chronic cardiovascular conditions.
Matrix: a realtime object identification and registration method for augmented reality

The paper introduces a novel technique for producing augmented reality systems that simultaneously identify real world objects and estimate their coordinate systems. This method utilizes a 2D matrix marker, a square shaped barcode, which can identify a large number of objects. It also acts as a landmark to register information on real world images. As a result, it costs virtually nothing to produce and attach codes to various kinds of real world objects, because the matrix code is printable. We have developed an augmented reality system based on this method, and demonstrated several potential applications.
Experimental Study of Static and Fatigue Behavior of CFRP-Balsa Sandwiches under Three-point Flexural Loading

Balsa wood is a natural cellular material with an excellent resistance-to-weight ratio that is ideal for manufacturing the core of sandwich structures. In this study, sandwich specimens with a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) skin and a balsa wood core were tested with static and dynamic loading. Three-point flexural tests in static regime determined the mechanical characteristics of the CFRP-balsa specimens that were needed for subsequent fatigue strength tests. Also, experimental research was performed on the Charpy impact response of the CFRP-balsa sandwich specimens. This study implemented an accelerated fatigue testing method to identify and predict the mean fatigue life of the CFRP-balsa sandwich specimens subjected to cyclic fatigue via three-point flexural tests. Using the accelerated fatigue and the three-point flexural testing methodology on the CFRP-balsa sandwich specimens, the testing period was reduced by 11.9 times, and thus the material costs necessary for the tests were also reduced. Also, the breaking surfaces were analysed to reveal the failure modes of CFRP-balsa specimens subjected to static and fatigue tests at three-point flexural and at impact tests.
Pump Depletion Impact in Fiber Raman Amplifier

Mohamed Mahmoud Aly Ahmed Pump Depletion Impact in Fiber Raman Amplifier In this paper, forward stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is theoretically discussed and investigated in a distributed Raman fiber amplifier (DRFA). This is carried out with consideration of the pump depletion due to the SRS process. The effect of pump depletion on the performance of Raman amplifiers is clarified. It appears above threshold values of pump power of 330 mW, and fiber length of 135 km, respectively. Analytical expressions are derived for threshold depletion length and threshold depletion pump power in forward pumped Raman amplifier. In the backward pumped amplifier, an expression for the safe fiber length is derived such that the signal power can be amplified without losing its characteristics. Analytical expressions are also derived for the unity gain amplifier length in both forward and backward pumped amplifiers and for the maximum transmission length without a repeater for bidirectional pump amplifiers. The maximum repeater transmission length in this case was found to be about 472 km at signal power of 0.1 μW and pump power of 0.5 W.
EFFECT OF COMBINED AEROBIC AND RESISTANCE TRAINING WITH BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION IN THE ELDERLY WOMEN

This study aims to study the effects of concurrent training with blood flow restriction (BFR-CT) and (CT) on the aerobic fitness, muscle mass and muscle strength in a group of older individuals. 25 healthy older adults (64.7 ± 4.1 years; 69.33 ± 10.8 kg; 1.6 ± 0.1 m) were selected as experimental groups: CT (n = 8, endurance training (ET), 2 days/week for 30–40 min, 50–80 % VO2peak and RT, 2 days/week, leg press with 4 sets of 10 reps at 70–80 % of 1-RM with 60 s rest), BFRCT (n = 10, ET, similar to CT, but resistance training with blood flow restriction: 2 days/week, leg press with 1 set of 30 and 3 sets of 15 reps at 20–30 % 1-RM with 60 s rest) or control group (n = 7). Quadriceps cross-sectional area (CSAq), 1-RM and VO2peak were assessed in pre-test and post-test (12 wk). The CT and BFR-CT showed similar increases in CSAq post-test (7.3 %, P < 0.001; 7.6 %, P < 0.0001, respectively), 1-RM (38.1 %, P < 0.001; 35.4 %, P = 0.001, respectively) and VO2peak (9.5 %, P = 0.04; 10.3 %, P = 0.02, respectively). The BFR-CT develops similar neuromuscular and cardiorespiratory adaptations as CT.
Instruction Criticality Based Energy-Efficient Hardware Data Prefetching

Hardware data prefetching is a latency hiding technique that mitigates the memory wall problem by fetching data blocks into caches before the processor demands them. For high performing state-of-the-art data prefetchers, this increases dynamic and static energy in memory hierarchy, due to increase in number of requests. A trivial way to improve energy-efficiency of hardware prefetchers is to prefetch instructions on the critical path of execution. As criticality-based data prefetching does not degrade performance significantly; this is an ideal approach to solve the energy-efficiency problem. We discuss limitations of existing critical instruction detection techniques and propose a new technique that uses re-order buffer occupancy as a metric to detect critical instructions and performs prefetcher-specific threshold tuning. With our detector, we achieve maximum memory hierarchy energy savings of 12.3% with 1.4% higher performance, for PPF, and average as follows: (i) SPEC CPU 2017 benchmarks: 2.04% lower energy, 0.3% lower performance, for IPCP at L1D, (ii) client/server benchmarks: 4.7% lower energy, 0.15% lower performance, for PPF, (iii) Cloudsuite benchmarks: 2.99% lower energy, 0.36% higher performance, for IPCP at L1D. IPCP and PPF are state-of-the-art data prefetchers.
ENTROPY OF ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG) SIGNALS CHANGES WITH SLEEP STATE

OF THESIS ENTROPY OF ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG) SIGNALS CHANGES WITH SLEEP STATE We hypothesized that temporal features of EEG are altered in sleep apnea subjects compared to normal subjects. The initial aim was to develop a measure to discriminate sleep stages in normals. The longer-term goal was to apply these methods to identify differences in EEG activity in sleep apnea subjects from normals. We analyzed the C3A2 EEG and an electrooculogram (EOG) recorded from 9 normal adults awake and in rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep. The EEG signals were filtered to remove EOG contamination. Two measures of the irregularity of EEG signals, Sample Entropy (SpEn) and Tsallis Entropy, were evaluated for their ability to discriminate sleep stages. SpEn changes with sleep state, being largest in Wake. Stage 3/4 had the smallest SpEn (0.57±0.11) normalized to Wake values, followed by Stage 2 (0.72±0.09), REM (0.75±0.1) and Stage 1 (0.89±0.05). This pattern was consistent in all the polysomnogram records analyzed. Similar pattern was observed in lead O1A2 as well. We conclude that SpEn may be useful as part of a montage for assessing sleep state. We analyzed data from sleep apnea subjects having obstructive and central apnea events and have made some preliminary observations; the SpEn values were more similar across sleep stages and also high correlation with oxygen saturation was observed.
Continuous, Array-Based Estimates of Atlantic Ocean Heat Transport at 26.5°N

Continuous estimates of the oceanic meridional heat transport in the Atlantic are derived from the Rapid Climate Change–Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) and Heatflux Array (RAPID–MOCHA) observing system deployed along 26.5°N, for the period from April 2004 to October 2007. The basinwide meridional heat transport (MHT) is derived by combining temperature transports (relative to a common reference) from 1) the Gulf Stream in the Straits of Florida; 2) the western boundary region offshore of Abaco, Bahamas; 3) the Ekman layer [derived from Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) wind stresses]; and 4) the interior ocean monitored by “endpoint” dynamic height moorings. The interior eddy heat transport arising from spatial covariance of the velocity and temperature fields is estimated independently from repeat hydrographic and expendable bathythermograph (XBT) sections and can also be approximated by the array. The results for the 3.5 yr of data thus far available show a mean MHT of 1.33 ± 0.40 PW for 10-day-averaged estimates, on which time scale a basinwide mass balance can be reasonably assumed. The associated MOC strength and variability is 18.5 ± 4.9 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1). The continuous heat transport estimates range from a minimum of 0.2 to a maximum of 2.5 PW, with approximately half of the variance caused by Ekman transport changes and half caused by changes in the geostrophic circulation. The data suggest a seasonal cycle of the MHT with a maximum in summer (July–September) and minimum in late winter (March–April), with an annual range of 0.6 PW. A breakdown of the MHT into “overturning” and “gyre” components shows that the overturning component carries 88% of the total heat transport. The overall uncertainty of the annual mean MHT for the 3.5-yr record is 0.14 PW or about 10% of the mean value.
Characterization of antimicrobial ef fi cacy of photocatalytic polymers against food-borne bio fi lms

Biofouling of food industry equipment and other surfaces that food products contact during processing is a threat to food safety, which results in infectious outbreaks and economic losses due to corrosion, equipment impairment, and reduced heat transfer efficiency. Once firmly attached to a surface, biofilms can be almost impossible to remove using current sanitation procedures. Self-cleaning surfaces with TiO2 coatings that are activated with ultraviolet (UV) light may be effective in preventing bacterial growth or killing or removing adherent organisms but require studies to demonstrate their efficacy and determine optimum conditions for use. Therefore, we examined the efficacy of TiO2-based polymer coatings against key food-borne pathogens namely, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella typhimurium. Upon photo-catalytic activation of the coatings, the viability of early stage biofilms formed on each coated surface and the relative contribution of reactive oxygen species was evaluated. Results show that the relative antimicrobial activity strength was dependent on the length of UV irradiation; 5e10 min exposure was sufficient to inhibit/kill biofilms of each pathogenic species tested. The results of this study render contact surfaces less attractive for pathogenic biofilms while doubling as an effective mitigation strategy to remove biofilms that form despite coating. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Maximum Transmission Unit Signalling Extensions for the Label Distribution Protocol

Proper functioning of RFC 1191 path Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) discovery requires that IP routers have knowledge of the MTU for each link to which they are connected. As currently specified, the Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) does not have the ability to signal the MTU for a Label Switched Path (LSP) to the ingress Label Switching Router (LSR). In the absence of this functionality, the MTU for each LSP must be statically configured by network operators or by equivalent off-line mechanisms. This document specifies experimental extensions to LDP in support of LSP MTU discovery. This memo defines an Experimental Protocol for the Internet community.
Secure and Efficient Intermediate Node Authentication in Wireless Sensor Networks

Message authentication is one of the most effective ways to thwart unauthorized and corrupted messages from being forwarded in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). For this reason, many message authentication schemes have been developed, based on either symmetrickey cryptosystems or public-key cryptosystems. Most of them, however, have the limitations of high computational and communication overhead in addition to lack of scalability and resilience to node compromise attacks. To address these issues, a polynomial-based scheme was recently introduced. However, this scheme and its extensions all have the weakness of a built-in threshold determined by the degree of the polynomial, when the number of messages transmitted is larger than this threshold, the adversary can fully recover the polynomial. Thus the aim of the project is to implement a scalable authentication scheme based on elliptic curve cryptography (ECC). While enabling intermediate nodes authentication. The proposed scheme allows any node to transmit an unlimited number of messages without suffering the threshold problem. In addition, the scheme can also provide message source privacy. 
A Low Phase Noise and Wide Tuning Range Millimeter-Wave VCO Using Switchable Coupled VCO-Cores

This work presents a millimeter-wave (mm-wave) dual-mode voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) topology with switchable coupled VCO-cores for wide frequency tuning range and low phase noise application. By taking advantage of the different parasitic capacitance of cross-coupled pair when the VCO-core operates in ON and OFF states, the dual-mode operation of VCO can be realized, and the oscillations for both modes can be excited at the lower resonant frequency of tank, such that tank Q and phase noise performance could be improved for both modes. Strongly coupled transformer with large coupling coefficient (k) is utilized to increase the oscillation stability at the desired resonant frequency for both modes. The large k transformer will also facilitate the enhancement of tank Q at the lower resonant frequency. Frequency tuning range of the VCO is increased by properly designing the VCO-cores and combining the frequency bands of the two modes. In addition, the cross-coupled pair of VCO-core at OFF state is able to act as high Q active capacitor, which can further increase the tank Q and thus reduce the phase noise. Fabricated in a 0.18 μm BiCMOS process, the VCO exhibits a wide tuning range of 17.2% from 55.7 GHz to 66 GHz, and low phase noise from -87.5 dBc/Hz to -93.5 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset over the entire tuning range.