Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Additive manufacturing of laser cutting nozzles by SLM: processing, finishing and functional characterization

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the use of selective laser melting for producing single and double chamber laser cutting nozzles. The main aim is to assess a whole production chain composed of an additive manufacturing (AM) and consecutive finishing processes together. Beyond the metrological and flow-related characterization of the produced nozzles, functional analysis on the use of the produced nozzles are carried out through laser cutting experiments. ,SLM experiments were carried out to determine the correct compensation factor to achieve a desired nozzle diameter on steel with known processibility by SLM and using standard nozzle geometries for comparative purposes. The produced nozzles are finished through electrochemical machining (ECM) and abrasive flow machining (AFM). The performance of nozzles produced via additive manufacturing (AM) are compared to conventional ones on an industrial laser cutting system through cutting experiments with a 6 kW fibre laser. The produced nozzles are characterized in terms of pressure drop and flow dynamics through Schlieren imaging. ,The manufacturing chain was regulated to achieve 1 mm diameter nozzles after consecutive post processing. The average surface roughness could be lowered by approximately 80 per cent. The SLM produced single chamber nozzles would perform similarly to conventional nozzles during the laser cutting of 1 mm mild steel with nitrogen. The double chamber nozzles could provide complete cuts with oxygen on 5 mm-thick mild steel only after post-processing. Post-processing operations proved to decrease the pressure drop of the nozzles. Schlieren images showed jet constriction at the nozzle outlet on the as-built nozzles. ,In this work, the use of an additive manufacturing process is assessed together with suitable finishing and functional analysis of the related application to provide a complete production and evaluation chain. The results show how the finishing processes should be allocated in an AM-based production chain in a broader vision. In particular, the results confirm the functionality for designing more complex nozzle geometries for laser cutting, exploiting the flexibility of SLM process.
Platelet glycoprotein gene Ia C807T, HPA-3, and Ibα VNTR polymorphisms are associated with increased ischemic stroke risk: Evidence from a comprehensive meta-analysis

Background/aims Platelet glycoproteins play a crucial role in the initial stage of thrombus formation and may contribute to the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis. Polymorphisms in glycoprotein genes alter the function of the protein, possibly leading to increased risk of ischemic stroke. However, previous genetic association studies that examined the relationship between glycoprotein genes polymorphisms and ischemic stroke have yielded inconsistent results. This study aimed to evaluate the association between glycoprotein genes and ischemic stroke by the application of meta-analysis. Methods Relevant studies were identified by an extensive search through databases. The quality of included studies was assessed independently using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Allele and genotype frequencies for each included study were extracted. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was calculated using a random-effects or fixed-effects model. Q statistic was used to evaluate homogeneity, and a meta-regression model was used to explore the study-level variables and to describe the heterogeneity in included studies. Egger’s test and funnel plot were used to assess publication bias. Results A total of 60 studies (9 polymorphisms) were included and identified in the current meta-analysis. The Newcastle–Ottawa Scale scores ranged from 7 to 9 except for two studies with Newcastle–Ottawa Scale scores of 6. The T allele or TT genotype of the glycoprotein Ia C807T polymorphism were associated with an increased susceptibility to ischemic stroke in combined population (807T allele: OR, 95%CI: 1.24, 1.03–1.50, p = 0.02) or Asian populations (807T allele: OR, 95%CI: 1.31, 1.10–1.54, p = 0.002 and 807TT genotype: OR, 95%CI: 1.53, 1.13–2.08, p = 0.006, respectively), and the Ser allele of HPA-3 was associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke in combined population or in Asians (OR, 95%CI: 1.21, 1.04–1.40, p = 0.01 or 1.54, 1.18–2.01, p = 0.001). Of note, the Ser/Ser genotype was more common in Asians (OR, 95%CI: 2.09, 1.40–3.13, p < 0.001). For glycoprotein Ibα variable number tandem repeat, only B allele showed a mild significant association with ischemic stroke risk in combined population or in Caucasians (OR, 95%CI: 2.17, 1.04–4.55, p = 0.04 or 1.79, 1.02–3.13, p = 0.04). There was no significant association between HPA-1, HPA-2, HPA-4, HPA-5, glycoprotein Ibα-5 T/C as well as Ia G873A polymorphisms and increased risk of ischemic stroke. Conclusions We found that glycoprotein Ia C807T T allele or the TT genotype, the Ser-allele of HPA-3 and B allele of glycoprotein Ibα variable number tandem repeat polymorphisms were associated with increased risk for ischemic stroke. Future studies with larger sample sizes will be necessary to confirm the results. In addition, analyses of ischemic stroke subtypes and gene–gene and gene–environment interactions are warranted.
A Direct Formulation for Sparse Pca Using Semidefinite Programming

We examine the problem of approximating, in the Frobenius-norm sense, a positive, semidefinite symmetric matrix by a rank-one matrix, with an upper bound on the cardinality of its eigenvector. The problem arises in the decomposition of a covariance matrix into sparse factors, and has wide applications ranging from biology to finance. We use a modification of the classical variational representation of the largest eigenvalue of a symmetric matrix, where cardinality is constrained, and derive a semidefinite programming based relaxation for our problem.
Evaluating probabilistic model checking tools for verification of robot control policies

Research literature on Probabilistic Model Checking (PMC) encompasses a well-established set of algorithmic techniques whereby probabilistic models can be analyzed. In the last decade, owing to the increasing availability of effective tools, PMC has found applications in many domains, including computer networks, computational biology and robotics. In this paper, we evaluate PMC tools – namely COMICS, MRMC and PRISM – to investigate safe reinforcement learning in robots, i.e., to establish safety of policies learned considering feedback signals received upon acting in partially unknown environments. Introduced in previous contributions of ours, this application is a challenging domain wherein PMC tools act as back-engines of an automated methodology aimed to verify and repair control policies. We present an evaluation of the current state-of-the-art PMC tools to assess their potential on various case studies, including both real and simulated robots accomplishing navigation, manipulation and reaching tasks.
Established and Newly Proposed Mechanisms of Chronic Cyclosporine Nephropathy

Cyclosporine (CsA) has improved patient and graft survival rates following solid-organ transplantation and has shown significant clinical benefits in the management of autoimmune diseases. However, the clinical use of CsA is often limited by acute or chronic nephropathy, which remains a major problem. Acute nephropathy depends on the dosage of CsA and appears to be caused by a reduction in renal blood flow related to afferent arteriolar vasoconstriction. However, the mechanisms underlying chronic CsA nephropathy are not completely understood. Activation of the intrarenal renin-angiotensin system (RAS), increased release of endothelin-1, dysregulation of nitric oxide (NO) and NO synthase, up-regulation of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1), inappropriate apoptosis, stimulation of inflammatory mediators, enhanced innate immunity, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and autophagy have all been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic CsA nephropathy. Reducing the CsA dosage or using other renoprotective drugs (angiotensin II receptor antagonist, mycophenolate mofetil, and statins, etc.) may ameliorate chronic CsA-induced renal injury. This review discusses old and new concepts in CsA nephropathy and preventive strategies for this clinical dilemma.
Approximate range searching

The range searching problem is a fundamental problem in computational geometry, with numerous important applications. Most research has focused on solving this problem exactly, but lower bounds show that if linear space is assumed, the problem cannot be solved in polylogarithmic time, except for the case of orthogonal ranges. In this paper we show that if one is willing to allow approximate ranges, then it is possible to do much better. In particular, given a bounded range Q of diameter w and "> 0, an approximate range query treats the range as a fuzzy object, meaning that points lying within distance "w of the boundary of Q either may or may not be counted. We show that in any fixed dimension d ,as et ofn points in R d can be preprocessed in O.nC logn/ time and O.n/ space, such that approximate queries can be answered in O.logn. 1="/ d / time. The only assumption we make about ranges is that the intersection of a range and a d-dimensional cube can be answered in constant time (depending on dimension). For convex ranges, we tighten this to O.lognC.1="/ d 1 / time. We also present a lower bound for approximate range searching based on partition trees of . lognC.1="/ d 1 /, which implies optimality for convex ranges (assuming fixed dimensions). Finally, we give empirical evidence showing that allowing small relative errors can significantly improve query execution times. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
An improved artifact removal in exposure fusion with local linear constraints

In exposure fusion, it is challenging to remove artifacts because of camera motion and moving objects in the scene. An improved artifact removal method is proposed in this paper, which performs local linear adjustment in artifact removal progress. After determining a reference image, we first perform high-dynamic-range (HDR) deghosting to generate an intermediate image stack from the input image stack. Then, a linear Intensity Mapping Function (IMF) in each window is extracted based on the intensities of intermediate image and reference image, the intensity mean and variance of reference image. Finally, with the extracted local linear constraints, we reconstruct a target image stack, which can be directly used for fusing a single HDR-like image. Some experiments have been implemented and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is robust and effective in removing artifacts especially in the saturated regions of the reference image.
NMDA Receptor Activation Increases Free Radical Production through Nitric Oxide and NOX2

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) participate in NMDA receptor signaling. However, the source(s) of the ROS and their role in the increase in cerebral blood flow (CBF) induced by NMDA receptor activation have not been firmly established. NADPH oxidase generates ROS in neurons, but there is no direct evidence that this enzyme is present in neurons containing NMDA receptors, or that is involved in NMDA receptor-dependent ROS production and CBF increase. We addressed these questions using a combination of in vivo and in vitro approaches. We found that the CBF and ROS increases elicited by topical application of NMDA to the mouse neocortex were both dependent on neuronal NO synthase (nNOS), cGMP, and the cGMP effector kinase protein kinase G (PKG). In mice lacking the NADPH oxidase subunit NOX2, the ROS increase was not observed, but the CBF increase was still present. Electron microscopy of the neocortex revealed NOX2 immunolabeling in postsynaptic somata and dendrites that also expressed the NMDA receptor NR1 subunit and nNOS. In neuronal cultures, the NMDA-induced increase in ROS was mediated by NADPH oxidase through NO, cGMP and PKG. We conclude that NADPH oxidase in postsynaptic neurons generates ROS during NMDA receptor activation. However, NMDA receptor-derived ROS do not contribute to the CBF increase. The findings establish a NOX2-containing NADPH oxidase as a major source of ROS produced by NMDA receptor activation, and identify NO as the critical link between NMDA receptor activity and NOX2-dependent ROS production.
Phase Equilibria Among β/α/α_2/γ Phases and Phase Transformations in Ti-Al-Cr System at Elevated Temperatures

Effects of Cr addition to TiAl alloy on the phase equilibria among β/α/α_2/γ Phases and phase transformation pathways within the temperature range of 1523 K∼1073 K were investigated using several alloys in the composition of interest. In between 1473 K and 1373 K, The slope of β/α tie-line in the three-phase coexisting region of β+α+γ remains basically unchanged. However, this slope drastically rotates in a clockwise direction, in between 1373 K and 1273 K and below the eutectoid reaction temperature in the binary system (1400 K). This is a strong indication that α-phase exists even below the 1400 K, i.e. addition of Cr stabilizes α against α_2 and the three-phase coexisting region of β+α_2+γ at lower temperatures is formed through a ternary eutectoid reaction (α → β+α_2+γ) with decreasing temperature. This three-phase tie-triangle moves towards lower Al content in phase diagram. This suggests that Cr addition results in increase of the volume fraction of γ-phase with decreasing temperature even in alloys with low Al content.
Two-tiered antibody testing for Lyme disease with use of 2 enzyme immunoassays, a whole-cell sonicate enzyme immunoassay followed by a VlsE C6 peptide enzyme immunoassay.

BACKGROUND Lyme disease (LD) antibody testing currently involves a 2-tiered algorithm with a whole-cell sonicate (WCS) enzyme immunoassay (EIA), followed by IgM/IgG Western immunoblots. A single EIA using the C6 peptide of the Borrelia burgdorferi variable-major protein-like sequence expressed lipoprotein provides similar or better sensitivity but less specificity, compared with standard 2-tiered testing. Here, we investigated an alternative 2-tiered strategy, in which the first step remained a WCS EIA, but immunoblotting was replaced by a C6 EIA. METHODS We determined the sensitivity of the 3 testing strategies with use of 91 serum samples from research study patients with LD and 78 serum samples from patients with LD whose samples were submitted to our hospital's clinical laboratory. Specificity was measured using 54 patients with other illnesses and 1246 healthy subjects from areas where the infection is endemic and nonendemic. RESULTS The 2-EIA algorithm in early LD had similar sensitivity as C6 testing alone, and both strategies had better sensitivity than did standard 2-tiered testing (61% and 64%, respectively, vs 48%; P = .03 and P = .008). For late disease, all 3 strategies had 100% sensitivity. The specificity of the 2-EIA algorithm was equal to that of standard 2-tiered testing, and both 2-tiered strategies were more specific than C6 testing alone (for both, 99.5% vs 98.4%; P = .01). The positive predictive value of the 2-EIA algorithm was 70%, compared with 66% for standard 2-tiered testing and 43% for the C6 EIA alone. CONCLUSIONS The 2-EIA strategy matched the individual strengths of the C6 EIA and Western blotting, without the drawbacks. The 2 EIAs provided sensitivity comparable to that of the C6 EIA but maintained the specificity of standard 2-tiered testing.
QIRAL: A High Level Language for Lattice QCD Code Generation

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory of subnuclear physics, aiming at mod- eling the strong nuclear force, which is responsible for the interactions of nuclear particles. Lattice QCD (LQCD) is the corresponding discrete formulation, widely used for simula- tions. The computational demand for the LQCD is tremendous. It has played a role in the history of supercomputers, and has also helped defining their future. Designing efficient LQCD codes that scale well on large (probably hybrid) supercomputers requires to express many levels of parallelism, and then to explore different algorithmic solutions. While al- gorithmic exploration is the key for efficient parallel codes, the process is hampered by the necessary coding effort. We present in this paper a domain-specific language, QIRAL, for a high level expression of parallel algorithms in LQCD. Parallelism is expressed through the mathematical struc- ture of the sparse matrices defining the problem. We show that from these expressions and from algorithmic and preconditioning formulations, a parallel code can be automatically generated. This separates algorithms and mathematical formulations for LQCD (that be- long to the field of physics) from the effective orchestration of parallelism, mainly related to compilation and optimization for parallel architectures.
SPACA1-deficient male mice are infertile with abnormally shaped sperm heads reminiscent of globozoospermia

SPACA1 is a membrane protein that localizes in the equatorial segment of spermatozoa in mammals and is reported to function in sperm-egg fusion. We produced a Spaca1 gene-disrupted mouse line and found that the male mice were infertile. The cause of this sterility was abnormal shaping of the sperm head reminiscent of globozoospermia in humans. Disruption of Spaca1 led to the disappearance of the nuclear plate, a dense lining of the nuclear envelope facing the inner acrosomal membrane. This coincided with the failure of acrosomal expansion during spermiogenesis and resulted in the degeneration and disappearance of the acrosome in mature spermatozoa. Thus, these findings clarify part of the cascade leading to globozoospermia.
Mapping Atomistic to Coarse-Grained Polymer Models Using Automatic Simplex Optimization to Fit Structural Properties

We develop coarse-grained force fields for poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(acrylic acid) oligomers. In both cases, one monomer is mapped onto a coarse-grained bead. The new force fields are designed to match structural properties such as radial distribution functions of various kinds derived by atomistic simulations of these polymers. The mapping is therefore constructed in a way to take into account as much atomistic information as possible. On the technical side, our approach consists of a simplex algorithm which is used to optimize automatically nonbonded parameters as well as bonded parameters. Besides their similar conformation (only the functional side group differs), poly(acrylic acid) was chosen to be in aqueous solution in contrast to a poly(vinyl alcohol) melt. For poly(vinyl alcohol), a nonoptimized bond angle potential turns out to be sufficient in connection with a special, optimized nonbonded potential. No torsional potential has to be applied here. For poly(acrylic acid), we show that each pea.
D4M, a Self-Adapting Decentralized Derived Data Collection and Monitoring Framework

Peer-to-peer systems are evolving as a viable distributed resource sharing paradigm on the Internet. The trend is growing towards the usage of such decentralized systems because they are more scalable and resource efficient than centralized systems. Current decentralized systems, like peer-to-peer networks, lack functionality to adapt the transmission of certain information artifacts, according to their access patterns. Additionally, there is still no approach for an efficient dependency management between distributed and dependent information in decentralized networks. This paper presents our ideas of D4M, a framework for the management of distributed derived data in decentralized systems, and how such data can be handled in an efficient manner.
The 40 “generic” positions of a parallel robot

SAFIRt 2004 Route des Lucioles 06565 Valbonne (France) mourrain~sophia. inria . f r Abstract In this paper, we consider the direct kinematic problem of a parallel robot (called the Stewart platform or left hand). We want to show how the use of formal tools help us to guess the solution of this problem and then to establish it. We do not try here to give real time and numerical solutions to the problem of inverse images but focus on tools of effective algebra, which can help us to know a little more about the geometric aspects of the question. In a first part, we describe experimentations done in order to obtain the number of " generic " positions of this robot, once the length of the arms are known. In a second part, we sketch the proof that the degree of the corresponding map is 40 (details will be given in another paper). JVe use explicit eliminations techniques, in order to get rid of the solution at infinity and we use Bezout's theorem on surfaces with circularity to conclude.
Telemedicine in developing countries

Clinical review p 557 The advent of modern communication technology has unleashed a new wave of opportunities and threats to the delivery of health services.1 Telemedicine, a broad umbrella term for delivery of medical care at a distance, has reached around the world, and now health professionals can communicate faster, more widely, and more directly with clients and colleagues, no matter where they are.2 Telemedicine may in fact have a more profound impact on developing countries than on developed ones. Satellite stations in Uzbekistan, wireless connections in Cambodia, and microwave transmission in Kosova have shown that the low bandwidth internet can reach into remote areas, some of them with troubled political situations and uncertain economic environments. It has been more difficult and costly to implement broad bandwidth applications in these locations. Nevertheless, with the internet come email, websites, chatlines, multimedia presentations, and occasional opportunities for synchronous communication via internet phones and videoconferencing. Each of these communication vehicles provides an opportunity for medical education and medical care, not to mention collegial support.3 Of course, they …
Preserving paleontological resources using photogrammetry and geographic information systems

Introduction The American West is a storehouse of fascinating paleontological resources that include the footprints and skeletal remains of dinosaurs. These important scientific and educational resources are often on lands managed by government agencies for the benefit of the nation's public. Land management agencies are challenged with providing public access to these resources, as well as preserving them for future generations. Conservation includes the scientific identification, documentation, curation, and monitoring of these national treasures. The natural process of weathering, combined with the effects of public visita-tion—including those of vandalism, unfortunately—can significantly affect a site. Documentation, collection (when appropriate), and retention of data and associated materials in a suitable public repository, where the information can be preserved into perpetuity, are vital. An excellent documentation tool is three-dimensional (3-D) data capture. Photogrammetry, conventional or global positioning systems (GPS) surveying methods, and ground-based laser imaging are techniques that can provide highly accurate 3-D representations of fossil resources.