Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Compaoparison of Characteristics of Fracture Toughness of Materials for Nuclear Piping by Use of Various Types of Specimens

Since it is difficult to cut off large specimens from nuclear piping, generally the standard CT specimens of 1T are used to perform fracture toughness tests. However, when compared with the test result obtained from a real pipe, the results from CT specimens are been known to be very conservative. Therefore, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission recommends the use of specimens whose thickness is greater than or equal to the thickness of a real pipe for estimating the stability of crack resistance[1]. In this study, a series of fracture toughness tests were performed using various types of specimens: the standard CT, non-standard Compact Pipe, and Curved CT. The results of the tests were compared.
Adaptive Reduced-Rank Processing Based on Joint and Iterative Interpolation, Decimation, and Filtering

We present an adaptive reduced-rank signal processing technique for performing dimensionality reduction in general adaptive filtering problems. The proposed method is based on the concept of joint and iterative interpolation, decimation and filtering. We describe an iterative least squares (LS) procedure to jointly optimize the interpolation, decimation and filtering tasks for reduced-rank adaptive filtering. In order to design the decimation unit, we present the optimal decimation scheme and also propose low-complexity decimation structures. We then develop low-complexity least-mean squares (LMS) and recursive least squares (RLS) algorithms for the proposed scheme along with automatic rank and branch adaptation techniques. An analysis of the convergence properties and issues of the proposed algorithms is carried out and the key features of the optimization problem such as the existence of multiple solutions are discussed. We consider the application of the proposed algorithms to interference suppression in code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems. Simulations results show that the proposed algorithms outperform the best known reduced-rank schemes with lower complexity.
The control of branching morphogenesis

Many organs of higher organisms are heavily branched structures and arise by an apparently similar process of branching morphogenesis. Yet the regulatory components and local interactions that have been identified differ greatly in these organs. It is an open question whether the regulatory processes work according to a common principle and how far physical and geometrical constraints determine the branching process. Here, we review the known regulatory factors and physical constraints in lung, kidney, pancreas, prostate, mammary gland and salivary gland branching morphogenesis, and describe the models that have been formulated to analyse their impacts.
Determination of polyphenol and crude nutrient content and nutrient digestibility of dried and ensiled white and red grape pomace cultivars

The present study aimed to determine the nutrient and energy content of fresh and ensiled grape pomace (GP) from different grape varieties originating from Germany, and to estimate the feed value of dried white, dried red and ensiled white GP by calculating nutrient digestibility and the content of metabolisable energy (ME) and net energy lactation (NEL) measured in sheep as a ruminant model. GP from red cultivars had higher contents of organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), crude fibre (CF), total phenolic contents (TPC) and ME, whereas the concentrations of ash and sugar were lower than from white cultivars. Compared with untreated GP, ensiled GP had increased concentrations of CP (+19%), ether extract (EE; +23%) and CF (+12%) and a higher ME content (+7%) and markedly decreased concentrations of sugar (−99.6%) and TPC (−48%). The concentrations of dry matter, OM and ash were not different between ensiled and fresh GP. Compared with dried GP, ensiled GP had a higher nutrient digestibility (OM, +32%; CP, +43%; CF, +46%; neutral detergent fibre [NDF], +54%; acid detergent fibre [ADF], +69%) and higher energy values (ME, +16%; NEL, +19%). The digestibility of OM, CP, EE and CF and the energy content were higher for dried red than for dried white GP, whereas the digestibility of NDFOM and ADFOM was lower for dried red than dried white GP. In conclusion, the results show that both red and white GP are suitable dietary sources for enrichment with TPC. Furthermore, compared with drying ensiling of GP improves the feeding value of GP and is a good possibility of preserving the seasonally produced by-product of winemaking for ruminant feeding.
Errors in LiDAR ground elevation and wetland vegetation height estimates

An airborne scanning LiDAR (light detection and ranging) survey using a small footprint discrete pulse return Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper (ALTM) was conducted over the Utikuma Boreal wetland area of northern Alberta in August 2002. These data were analysed to quantify systematic LiDAR errors in: a) ground surface elevation; and b) vegetation canopy surface height. Of the vegetation classes, aquatic vegetation was associated with the largest error in LiDAR ground surface definition (+0.15 m, σ = 0.22), likely a result of saturated ground conditions. The largest absolute errors in LiDAR canopy surface height were associated with tall vegetation classes. However, the largest relative errors were associated with low shrub (63%) and aquatic vegetation (54%) classes. The openness and orientation of vegetation foliage was thought to enhance laser pulse canopy surface penetration in these two classes. Raster canopy height models (CHMs) systematically underestimated field validation heights by between 3% (aspens and black spruce) and 64% (aquatic vegetation). It is recommended that robust LiDAR canopy surface height correction methods be investigated that are universally applicable to vegetation classes of all species and heights.
Enhancement of image processing procedure for multiple UAV flying blocks

Processing of a vast number of aerial images from high-resolution digital camera always leads to the use of lengthy hours. This contradicts to the advantage of the use of UAV that could acquire and deliver the data rapidly to highlight the actual condition of the terrain. In previous studies, 1033 images were used covering the size of about seven kilometres square of the study area. During image acquisition the time taken was about three hours while for the image processing it took more than 12 hours to be finished. Image processing was tested to be run in normal computer platform by image processing software that allows for automated bundle adjustment of aerial images considering the interior and exterior orientation of the camera has been resolved. However, due to the huge amount of file size, the output product cannot be displayed correctly after processing stage. Thus, in producing the output model of Digital Orthophoto and Digital Elevation Model of a large area at large scale, many precaution and guideline must comply so that the data could be processed thoroughly until the perfect match of the terrain model could be generated. From this studies, it can be concluded that during image processing stage, not all of the images need to be processed altogether if the overlapping percentage of the adjacent images are already high. Besides, the processing stage must be done by considering the image resolution used which also influencing the size of the output model.
A Low-Power RFID Integrated Circuits for Intelligent Healthcare Systems

This paper presents low-power radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology for intelligent healthcare systems. With attention to power-efficient communication in the body sensor network, RF power transfer was estimated and the required low-power ICs, which are important in the development of a healthcare system with miniaturization and system integration, are discussed based on the RFID platform. To analyze the power transformation, this paper adopts a 915-MHz industrial, scientific, and medical RF with a radiation power of 70 mW to estimate the power loss under the 1-m communication distance between an RFID reader (bioinformation node) and a transponder (biosignal acquisition nodes). The low-power ICs of the transponder will be implemented in the TSMC 0.18-μm CMOS process. The simulation result reveals that the transponder's IC can fit in with the link budget of the UHF RFID system.
Filamentation in laser microprocessing and microwelding

Focused femtosecond laser pulse inside the bulk transparent materials leads to filamentary propagation. The optical intensity in the filamentary volume can become high enough to induce permanent structural modifications. The induction of filamentary structural modifications is a versatile technique for the fabrication of three-dimensional photonic devices in transparent materials. In this paper, we present applications of filamentation in microprocessing by demonstrating the fabrication of waveguide devices and diffractive optical elements in transparent materials. Filamentation is applied to micro welding of transparent substrates.
New perspectives of an old cytokine.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by an unusual and complex immune response in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Intestinal inflammation is a result of imbalance between immunosuppressive and proinflammatory responses. Discovery of new types of CD4+ T-helper cells provided new opportunities in the understanding of IBD immunopathogenesis. Interleukin (IL)-2 is one of the oldest known cytokines, which is secreted by various lymphocytes. It has been known to exert both proinflammatory and immunosuppressive actions at different doses. 1 At higher doses, it is proinflammatory and is used as a chemotherapeutic agent in malignancies. At low doses, it promotes the development and function of CD4+, CD25 high , forkhead box P3 (FOXP3+) T-regulatory (T-reg) cells by preferentially engaging with its receptor on these cells. 2 Deficiency or neutralization of IL-2 has been shown to cause immune damage in animal models. 3 Recently, Saadoun et al 4 demonstrated the safety of low-dose IL-2 administration and substantial improvement of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced auto-immune vasculitis. We believe the same concept can be reproduced in other autoimmune diseases like IBD. Recently, preliminary data from our laboratory showed some interesting results about IL-2 levels in patients with IBD. 5 In our ongoing cohort, we measured IL-2 in the plasma and in the supernatant of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) isolated from colonic biopsy after in vitro stimulation with anti-CD3 in 10 IBD patients and 13 healthy controls. No significant difference ( P = 0.9766) in the plasma levels of IL-2 in healthy controls compared to the IBD patients was observed (mean ± standard deviation [SD]; 1.03 ± 1.10 and 1.14 ± 1.11 pg/ml, respectively). However, the
Comparative Evaluation of the Remineralizing Effects and Surface Micro hardness of Glass Ionomer Cements Containing Bioactive Glass (S53P4):An in vitro Study

ABSTRACT Dental cements including the glass ionomer cement (GIC) have found widespread use in restoring tooth structures. In this study, modifications of glass ionomer cements (GICs) were made by adding bioactive glass (BAG) to GIC to obtain bioactive restorative materials. This study used polarized light microscopy (PLM) to examine the remineralization effects of the study materials on dentin. It also evaluated the Vickers microhardness of the experimental materials. Experimental glass ionomer cement (GIC)-BAG materials were made by mixing 10 wt% of BAG particles with conventional cure and resin-modified GIC powders. Class V restorations were made in 80 extracted mandibular teeth which included 4 groups of 20 teeth each. 100 |jm sections of the teeth were examined under polarized light microscope after undergoing pH cycling. Materials were also processed into 80 cylindrical specimens and immersed in water for 7 and 30 days before mechanical tests. Resin-modified GIC containing BAG showed a thick uniform layer of mineralization on the restoration-dentin interface. The conventional cure GIC-based materials had higher surface microhardness than the resin-modified materials. Significance: The addition of BAG to GIC compromises the mechanical properties of the materials to some extent. Thus, their clinical use ought to be restricted to applications where their bioactivity can be beneficial, such as root surface fillings and liners in dentistry.
RFID: Chromogenic Polymer Opal Film with Seal Could be Adopted as a Sensitive and Effective Technology to Fight against Counterfeit Drugs

Counterfeit drugs have emerged as a global problem. Though, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology increased security of the supply chain for drugs and consumer goods, prohibitive cost limited wide-spread acceptance globally by pharmaceutical companies. The approach to use chromogenic material with polymer opal films can be adopted as a low cost sensitive and effective tool to reduce counterfeit drugs. The color change response with the seal on the package provides a visual warning that can be detected by consumers or government regulatory personnel through observation. The packaging includes a film that would play an important role to enhance security and communicate with consumers through color change. As another tool in the arsenal to curtail counterfeit drug production and sale, chromogenic polymer opal film deserves attention by manufacturers as well as government procurement agencies.
Echocardiographic Assessment of Right Ventricular Size and Function in Cats With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Background Studies evaluating right ventricular (RV) structural and functional abnormalities in feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are limited. Hypothesis Right ventricular structural and functional abnormalities are present in cats with HCM and are associated with clinical severity. Animals Eighty‐one client‐owned cats. Methods Retrospective 2‐dimensional (2D) echocardiographic study. Right atrial diameter (RAD), RV free wall thickness (RVFWd), RV internal dimension (RVIDd), RV fractional area change (FAC), and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) were measured in control cats (n = 26), cats with subclinical HCM (subclinical HCM; n = 31), and cats with HCM and congestive heart failure (HCM + CHF; n = 24). Results Right heart size (RAD, RVFWd, and RVIDd) and RV function (FAC and TAPSE) significantly (all P < .05) increased and decreased, respectively, in the HCM + CHF group compared with controls. In the subclinical HCM group, only RVFWd was significantly (P < .05) higher than in controls. Compared with reference intervals derived from controls, 29% of cats with HCM had increased RVFWd. Increased left ventricular free wall thickness, increased RVIDd and decreased TAPSE independently correlated with increased left atrial size. Cats with HCM and pleural effusion were significantly more likely to have increased RVFWd and had increased RAD and decreased TAPSE compared with cats without pleural effusion. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Right ventricular remodeling and dysfunction occur in some cats with HCM and may be associated with clinical severity. Our results support involvement of RV in the pathophysiology of HCM in some cats and support echocardiographic assessment of the RV in cats with HCM.
Identification of Novel Drosophila melanogaster MicroRNAs

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs with important regulatory roles in post-transcriptional regulation of metazoan development, homeostasis and disease. The full set of miRNAs is not known for any species and it is believed that many await discovery. The recent assembly of 15 insect genomes has provided the opportunity to identify novel miRNAs in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. We have performed a computational screen for novel microRNAs in Drosophila melanogaster by searching for phylogenetically conserved putative pre-miRNA structures. The ability of predicted novel miRNA precursors to be processed to produce miRNAs was experimentally verified in S2 cells and in several cases their endogenous expression at was validated by Northern blots. After experimental validation, the predictions were cross-checked with reference to a newly released set of small RNA sequences. Combining both datasets allowed us to identify 53 novel miRNA loci in the fruit fly genome 22 of which we had predicted computationally. This significantly expands the set of known miRNAs in Drosophila melanogaster. Most novel miRNAs contain unique seed sequences not found in other Drosophila miRNAs and are therefore expected to regulate novel sets of target genes. This data provides the basis for future genetic analysis of miRNA function and will aid the discovery of orthologous sequences in other species.
A Topological Criterion for Filtering Information in Complex Brain Networks

In many biological systems, the network of interactions between the elements can only be inferred from experimental measurements. In neuroscience, non-invasive imaging tools are extensively used to derive either structural or functional brain networks in-vivo. As a result of the inference process, we obtain a matrix of values corresponding to a fully connected and weighted network. To turn this into a useful sparse network, thresholding is typically adopted to cancel a percentage of the weakest connections. The structural properties of the resulting network depend on how much of the inferred connectivity is eventually retained. However, how to objectively fix this threshold is still an open issue. We introduce a criterion, the efficiency cost optimization (ECO), to select a threshold based on the optimization of the trade-off between the efficiency of a network and its wiring cost. We prove analytically and we confirm through numerical simulations that the connection density maximizing this trade-off emphasizes the intrinsic properties of a given network, while preserving its sparsity. Moreover, this density threshold can be determined a-priori, since the number of connections to filter only depends on the network size according to a power-law. We validate this result on several brain networks, from micro- to macro-scales, obtained with different imaging modalities. Finally, we test the potential of ECO in discriminating brain states with respect to alternative filtering methods. ECO advances our ability to analyze and compare biological networks, inferred from experimental data, in a fast and principled way.
Exploiting Spatial ParallelismFor Software-only Video E ects ProcessingKetan

Video eeects play an important role in adding production value to video programs. The use of video eeects with Internet Video sources, however, is still uncommon because traditional hardware-based solutions are poorly suited to the Internet environment. In previous work, we described a parallel, software-only video eeects system designed for Internet Video and explored the use of temporal parallelism. This paper explores the use of spatial parallelism. In particular , an intermediate semicompressed video format is desribed that was designed to exploit spatial paral-lelism, and performance measurements are reported on the use of this representation.
Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour to determine recycling and waste minimisation behaviours : A case study of Bristol City , UK

The Australian Community Psychologist Volume 20 No 1 June 2008 The number of separate kerbside dryrecycling and organic waste collection systems operated by UK Local Authorities (LAs) has risen sharply as a result of the implementation of the European Landfill Directive (99/31/EC) into UK legislation on the 16th July 2001, concerns over remaining available landfill void space, and statutory recycling targets set by central government. The Landfill Directive seeks to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) going to landfill in three successive stages, (eventually by 2020 to 35% of the 1995 total of BMW), because of the negative environmental impacts associated with leachate and methane production. Many LAs are currently conducting pilot trials, research projects and system reviews to determine the best possible way of segregating, collecting, transporting and processing their recyclable wastes and minimising disposal to landfill. However, few councils are canvassing their residents views or taking into account individual motivations prior to designing and implementing their recycling schemes. The introduction of the Wastes and Emissions Trading Act 2005 and the subsequent Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) on the 1st April 2005, which enabled the trading of landfill allowances between LAs, resulted in a landfill allowance being granted to every UK waste disposal authority (WDA). For every tonne that is landfilled over the allowance, a fine of £150 is incurred (DEFRA, 2005). LATS was launched as a “tool to enable WDAs and England to meet the targets for the reduction of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) sent to landfill in the most flexible and cost effective way” (DEFRA, 2005, p. 5). The legislation was designed to ensure that the UK meets its first Landfill Directive targets in 2010 and avoids non-compliance fines estimated at up to £0.5million per day (DEFRA, 2005). Our aim in this paper was to investigate the potential views and social impacts of expanding the current dryUsing the Theory of Planned Behaviour to determine recycling and waste minimisation behaviours: A case study of Bristol City, UK
Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology

Using genetic immunisation of mice, we produced antibodies against chicken interleukin12p40 (chIL-12p40), also known as IL-12 . After a final injection with a recombinant chIL-12p40 protein, several stable hybridoma cell lines were established which secreted monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to this component of the heterodimeric IL-12 cytokine. Specific binding of three of the mAbs to COS-7 cell-derived recombinant chIL-12p40 and the chIL-12p70 heterodimer was demonstrated in an indirect ELISA, and in dot blots. Two of the mAbs were used to develop a capture ELISA, suitable for detecting both recombinant protein (chIL-12p40 and the heterodimeric p70 protein) and native chIL-12. The mAbs were further characterised to show utility in immunocytochemistry. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Information systems employment structures in the USA and Singapore: a cross-cultural comparison

The traditional view of the employment relationship between the information systems (IS) professional and the employing firm is one where the employee is governed by internal, hierarchical control. However, more recently, there are indications that firms may be adopting external forms of structuring their IS workforce which move away from the traditional internal structure (for example, by outsourcing activities). Proposes different views to explain preferences for external employment relationships: a market perspective which emphasizes economic factors, and a cultural perspective which views organizations as an expression of patterned values. Examines the efficacy of each approach by providing an empirical investigation of the extent to which IS workers are externalized in the USA and Singapore. Results suggest that the USA utilizes more externalized IS employment structures than Singapore. These results are interpreted from both market and cultural perspectives.