Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Medical education in Ecuador

Background: Ecuador, the smallest of the Andean countries, is located in the northwest portion of South America. The nation's 14.5 million people have a tremendous need for high quality primary care. Aims: To describe the profound advances as well as the persistent needs in medical education in Ecuador that have occurred with globalization and with the modernization of the country. Methods: Through an extensive search of the literature; medical school data; reports from the Ecuador Ministry of Public Health and Ministry of Education; and information from the National Secretary of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation (SENESCYT), the medical education system in Ecuador has been thoroughly examined. Results: The National System of Higher Education in Ecuador has experienced significant growth over the last 20 years. As of 2009 the system boasts 19 medical schools, all of which offer the required education needed to obtain the title of Physician, but only 12 of which offer postgraduate clinical training. Of these 19 universities, nine are public, five are private and self-financed, and five are private and co-financed. Post-graduate options for medical students include: (1) Clinical specialization, (2) Higher diploma, (3) Course specialization, (4) Master's degree, and (5) PhD degree. Conclusion: The rapid growth of Ecuador's system of medical education has led to inevitable gaps that threaten its ability to sustain itself. Chief among these is the lack of well-trained faculty to supply its medical schools. To ensure an adequate supply of faculty exists, the creation of sufficient postgraduate, sub-specialization, and PhD training positions must be created and maintained.
Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 3 Inhibits Antiviral IFN-β Signaling To Enhance HIV-1 Replication in Macrophages

HIV-1 replication within macrophages of the CNS often results in cognitive and motor impairment, which is known as HIV-associated dementia (HAD) in its most severe form. IFN-β suppresses viral replication within these cells during early CNS infection, but the effect is transient. HIV-1 eventually overcomes this protective innate immune response to resume replication through an unknown mechanism, initiating the progression toward HAD. In this article, we show that Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling (SOCS)3, a molecular inhibitor of IFN signaling, may allow HIV-1 to evade innate immunity within the CNS. We found that SOCS3 is elevated in an in vivo SIV/macaque model of HAD and that the pattern of expression correlates with recurrence of viral replication and onset of CNS disease. In vitro, the HIV-1 regulatory protein transactivator of transcription induces SOCS3 in human and murine macrophages in a NF-κB–dependent manner. SOCS3 expression attenuates the response of macrophages to IFN-β at proximal levels of pathway activation and downstream antiviral gene expression and consequently overcomes the inhibitory effect of IFN-β on HIV-1 replication. These studies indicate that SOCS3 expression, induced by stimuli present in the HIV-1–infected brain, such as transactivator of transcription, inhibits antiviral IFN-β signaling to enhance HIV-1 replication in macrophages. This consequence of SOCS3 expression in vitro, supported by a correlation with increased viral load and onset of CNS disease in vivo, suggests that SOCS3 may allow HIV-1 to evade the protective innate immune response within the CNS, allowing the recurrence of viral replication and, ultimately, promoting progression toward HAD.
A new annealing route for industrial processing of dual phase steels to obtain improved mechanical properties

Dual-phase (DP) steels offer high potential of weight reduction without sacrificing mechanical properties for their application in automotive industry. They derive their properties through the second hard phase (martensite/ bainite) in a ferrite matrix. DP steels are mostly produced through the continuous annealing process route in the industry because of the requirement of high production rates, uniformity in properties, and leaner chemistry design feasibility. Important mechanical properties which are desirable for the final components include absence of yield point, low yield point to ultimate tensile strength, high strain hardenability along with high ductility etc. The main objective of the present work was to improve the mechanical properties of a low carbon Si based ferrite-martensite DP steel by tailoring the second phase (martensite) morphology, distribution, and size in the ferrite matrix. An existing conventional continuous annealing process (CAL) route was modified to develop an improved annealing process route suitable for industrial usage. A custom designed annealing simulator (capable of simulating conditions similar to industrial continuous annealing lines) was used to simulate the various annealing processes. Several combinations of processing routes depending on the governing mechanisms such as, ferrite recrystallization, pearlite dissolution, and phase transformation etc. were investigated for their effect on the morphology, and distribution of the martensite phase and the resulting mechanical properties. The main focus of the current work was to study the effect of heating rates, isothermal annealing temperatures, and soaking time periods (with no changes in cooling regime of conventional CAL) on the morphology, and distribution of martensite phase. Further, the effect of combining thermal cycling as a pretreatment to conventional CAL processing was also investigated. It was observed that by varying the above stated annealing parameters, it was possible to trigger the ferrite recrystallization, pearlite dissolution, and phase transformation at various stages of the annealing process cycle. All such changes resulted in change of martensite morphology, distribution, and even grain size and thus affected the final mechanical properties of DP steel. This entire experimentation effort resulted in the development of a new processing route called “Continuous Heating Annealing Process (CHAP)” that gave strength levels of 625 MPa with ductility similar to that obtained with the
Perm: Processing Provenance and Data on the Same Data Model through Query Rewriting

Data provenance is information that describes how a given data item was produced. The provenance includes source and intermediate data as well as the transformations involved in producing the concrete data item. In the context of a relational databases, the source and intermediate dataitems are relations, tuples and attribute values. The transformations are SQL queries and/or functions on the relational data items. Existing approaches capture provenance information by extending the underlying data model. This has the intrinsic disadvantage that the provenance must be stored and accessed using a different model than the actual data. In this paper, we present an alternative approach that uses query rewriting to annotate result tuples with provenance information. The rewritten query and its result use the same model and can, thus, be queried, stored and optimized using standard relational database techniques. In the paper we formalize the query rewriting procedures, prove their correctness, and evaluate a first implementation of the ideas using PostgreSQL. As the experiments indicate, our approach efficiently provides provenance information inducing only a small overhead on normal operations.
Vibration analysis of multi-phase nanocrystalline material nanoshells using strain gradient elasticity

This paper studies the free vibrational behavior of porous nanocrystalline silicon nanoshells using strain gradient theory. Nanocrystalline materials are multi-phase composites with the contribution of nanopores, nanograins and interface phase. Because of experimental observation of strain gradients near the interface phase, the nanoshell is modeled via strain gradient theory. A micromechanical model based on the Mori–Tanaka scheme is employed to incorporate the size of nanograins/nanopores and their surface energies. The nanoshell is modeled via first order shear deformation theory and Galerkin’s method is implemented to obtain vibration frequencies. Shape functions that satisfy available classical and non-classical boundary conditions in strain gradient theory are proposed. It is shown that the vibrational behavior of the nanoshell is influenced by the porosity percentage, nanograin size, strain gradient coefficient, boundary conditions, and the surface phase of nanograins/nanopores.
Effect of Arenga Pinnata “Ijuk” Fiber as Nucleating Agent on Crystallization Kinetics of Impact Polypropylene Copolymer

Impact Polypropylene Copolymer (IPC) is one of the PP type which is widely used. IPC was made with addition of ethylene in PP which decreases PP crystallinity. Many efforts have been made to improve the properties of PP crystallinity by addition of nucleating agents. In this study, we use Arenga Pinnata “Ijuk” fiber as PP nucleating agent. In order to determine the effect of “Ijuk” fiber as nucleating agents in kinetics aspect, we used DSC measurement based on Avrami equation. The results showed that the addition of ijuk decreases crystallizationhalf timeand dimension of crystal growth which indicate the effects of “Ijuk” fiber as a nucleating agent.
Analytical Modeling of Self-Loosening of Bolted Joints Subjected to Transverse Loading

Self-loosening of bolted joints is a common issue in structural connections and machine design. This phenomenon can not only cause the industry a lot of losses due to maintenance but can result in catastrophic incidents leading to environment and health issues. This paper presents a new analytical model with an improved criterion that could be used to predict self-loosening of bolted joints. A complete study involving analytical, numerical, and experimental work has been conducted to give an insight of the mechanism leading to self-loosening of bolted joints and support the developed model. Particular focus is put on the effect of the clamping plate thickness on the self-loosening of the joint. A fully instrumented experimental setup, in conjunction with an M12-1.75 bolt, is deployed to track the bolt tension decrease with the application of an imposed cyclic transverse displacement. In addition to the measurement of the transverse relative displacement between the two clamping parts, the clamping and transverse loads are also recorded. Finally, the relative rotation between the bolt and the nut is measured by means of a rotation sensor directly installed on the nut. The results show that there is a good agreement between the analytical, numerical and experimental results. The new model is compared with finite element method (FEM) and experimentation for different plate thickness configurations.
Highly Bendable Piezoelectric Resonators for Flexible Radio‐Frequency Electronics

As bendable, conformal electronic components, flexible gigahertz resonators are in demand as important building blocks (e.g., oscillators, filters, and signal processors) in future flexible radio‐frequency electronics for efficient wireless communication. Here, a 2.7 GHz piezoelectric thin‐film resonator (i.e., film bulk acoustic wave resonator) is presented that possesses high levels of both electrical performance and mechanical flexibility. The highly bendable resonator fabricated by FlexMEMS technology is essentially a thin‐film composite (i.e., high‐quality metal and inorganic piezoelectric layer stacks) encapsulated in polymer thin films with a total thickness of only 11.6 µm. The experimental series resonance frequency (fS), parallel resonance frequency (fP), quality factor (Q), and effective coupling coefficient ( kt eff 2 ) are 2.72 GHz, 2.77 GHz, 1398, and 4.39%, respectively. These parameter values are comparable to those of a conventional silicon‐based resonator. The minimum bending radius of the flexible resonator can be reduced to ≈0.5 mm with very slight electrical performance variation. Furthermore, the flexible resonator retains its mechanical and electrical stability after 2000 bending cycles. The superior mechanical flexibility and stability represent a significant advancement toward bendable, foldable, and conformal electronics working in the RF range.
Computational Information Geometry in Statistics: Theory and Practice

A broad view of the nature and potential of computational information geometry in statistics is offered. This new area suitably extends the manifold-based approach of classical information geometry to a simplicial setting, in order to obtain an operational universal model space. Additional underlying theory and illustrative real examples are presented. In the infinite-dimensional case, challenges inherent in this ambitious overall agenda are highlighted and promising new methodologies indicated.
Endothelial Keratoplasty: From DLEK to DMEK

The last decade has heralded a revolutionary shift in the treatment of corneal endothelial disease. Only 15 years ago, the only surgical treatment for pseudophakic bullous keratopathy and Fuchs dystrophy was penetrating keratoplasty (PK). Although used successfully for over a century, PK requires many months of refractive adjustments before the eye achieves visual stability. Starting with the advent of posterior lamellar keratoplasty in the late 1990s, a number of procedures have been developed, refined, and widely adopted, which have given patients faster recoveries and improved globe stability in comparison to traditional corneal transplantation. Each iteration of endothelial keratoplasty (EK) has involved the increasingly selective transplantation of corneal endothelial cells. Preliminary results of the most recent form of EK, Descemet's membrane EK, suggest that pure endothelial cell transplantation is on the horizon.
Normalization Propagation: A Parametric Technique for Removing Internal Covariate Shift in Deep Networks

While the authors of Batch Normalization (BN) identify and address an important problem involved in training deep networks-- Internal Covariate Shift-- the current solution has certain drawbacks. Specifically, BN depends on batch statistics for layerwise input normalization during training which makes the estimates of mean and standard deviation of input (distribution) to hidden layers inaccurate for validation due to shifting parameter values (especially during initial training epochs). Also, BN cannot be used with batch-size 1 during training. We address these drawbacks by proposing a non-adaptive normalization technique for removing internal covariate shift, that we call Normalization Propagation. Our approach does not depend on batch statistics, but rather uses a data-independent parametric estimate of mean and standard-deviation in every layer thus being computationally faster compared with BN. We exploit the observation that the pre-activation before Rectified Linear Units follow Gaussian distribution in deep networks, and that once the first and second order statistics of any given dataset are normalized, we can forward propagate this normalization without the need for recalculating the approximate statistics for hidden layers.
EFFECT OF EQUAL CHANNEL ANGULAR PRESSING ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF A356 ALLOY

This work investigated the effect of equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of non-dendritic A356 alloy. This alloy was casted by cooling slope casting in order to produce a globular microstructure feedstock for ECAP process. After that, ECAP process was performed using 120° of die angle via route A for 2 passes at room temperature. The microstructure of the processed alloys was observed under an optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) whereas the mechanical properties of the alloy were validated using Vickers hardness test and tensile test. Microstructure observation showed that after 2 passes, the grain size was obviously refined to 35 µm from 75 µm in the as-cast sample. The mechanical properties of the alloy were ultimately improved in ECAP sample. The hardness of the ECAP sample increased as high as 77.6 HV as compared to the as-cast alloy which was 42.3 HV. The ultimate tensile strength also increased from 105 MPa to 237 MPa after 2 passes deformation. It was also discovered that the distribution of α-Al and eutectic phases were more homogeneous at the ECAP sample than using non-dendritic structure feedstock.
Non Linear Oscillator Systems and Solving Techniques

AbstractThe paper involves thorough study of non-linear vibratory oscillators and numerical methodology to analyse and resolute the non-linear dynamical world. The study involves the analysis of non-linear oscillators like the Van der Pol Oscillator and Duffing Oscillator. Application of regular perturbation method in the oscillator is also demonstrated. The equilibrium and stability analysis of the oscillators with graphical representation is simulated through XPP-AUT and MATLAB. The graphical and mathematical depiction of damping with altering parameters in oscillators’ equations is also shown. Saddle points, centers and equilibrium points of consequent curves are depicted in scale. Apart from the oscillators, implementation of “Method of Multiple Scales” and “Method of Averaging” in non-linear dynamical equations is also rendered numerically in the study with the conclusion that the “Method of Multiple Scales” produces better results than the “Method of Averaging”.
Effect of body posture on postexercise parasympathetic reactivation in men

The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of body posture on post‐submaximal exercise parasympathetic reactivation and to examine whether this influence was preserved under a heightened sympathetic background. On four occasions, eleven moderately trained subjects (22.1 ± 3.0 years old) performed, in random order, two consecutive submaximal running bouts (CTs), each followed by 5 min passive recovery in an upright (Up), sitting (Sit), supine (Sup) or supine with legs up position (SupLu). Between both CTs, participants performed 150 s of supramaximal intermittent running (SI). Parasympathetic reactivation was assessed from heart rate recovery (HRR) and variability (HRV; e.g. rMSSD30 s) indices calculated during the 5 min recovery periods [i.e. before (N) and after SI (post‐SI)]. In the N condition, Sup position was associated with a faster and greater increase in rMSSD30 s than Sit and SupLu (both P < 0.01), which were all higher compared with Up (P < 0.001). A ‘time’ effect was shown in Sit, Sup and SupLu (all P < 0.05), but not in Up (P= 0.99). All N values were higher than post‐SI values (P < 0.001), except for Up, where a trend was apparent (P= 0.06). In the post‐SI condition, a position effect was preserved for HRR (P < 0.001), but not for HRV indices (P= 0.99 for rMSSD30 s). In conclusion, the supine position accelerated and increased parasympathetic reactivation more than the other three positions, but the posture effect was less evident following supramaximal exercise. In the context of an accentuated sympathetic background (i.e. post‐SI), postexercise HRV indices are less gravity dependent than HRR, reflecting more the exercise‐related changes in parasympathetic activity.
Familial and socio-economic correlates of somatisation disorder

Background Somatisation disorder can result from an interplay between suboptimal family environment and socio-economic deprivation, which enhances the underlying cognitive tendency for this disorder. There are pertinent familial and socio-economic factors associated with this disorder, but research addressing this is sparse. Aim and setting The study aims to evaluate family and socio-economic factors that are associated with somatisation disorder amongst patients presenting to the Family Medicine clinic, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods This is an observational case-control study of 120 participants who presented to the clinic between May and August 2009. Data collection was by interviewer-administered structured questionnaire using the World Health Organization Screener for Somatoform Disorder and Somatoform Disorder Schedule to ascertain somatisation in 60 patients who were then matched with 60 controls. The respondents’ demographic and family data were also collected and their interpersonal relationships were assessed with the Family Relationship Index. Results The somatising patients were mostly females (70%), with a female to male ratio of 2.3:1 and mean age of 43.65 ± 13.04years. Living in a polygamous family (as any member of the family) was significantly related to somatisation (p = 0.04). Somatisation was also more common in people who were separated, divorced or widowed (p = 0.039). Somatisers from a lower social class or those earning below a dollar a day experienced poorer cohesion (p = 0.042) and more conflicts (p = 0.019) in their interpersonal relationship. Conclusion This study was able to demonstrate that a polygamous family setting, disrupted marriage, low social status and financial constraints are correlates of somatisation. It is of essence to identify these factors in holistic management of somatising patients.
Detection of curved road edges in radar images via deformable templates

Three methods of detecting road edges in millimeter-wave radar images are presented. All of them are based on deformable template priors and random field likelihoods. The first method is formulated in a Bayesian setting and employs an adaptive MAP estimate. The second method is a modification of the first, using a novel weighting scheme. The third method is based on a three-region indicator matrix which is used to impose the non-linear constraints implicit on road geometry via addition of a sum of quasi-quadratic matrix forms to the log-normal likelihood. Unlike the first two methods, that employ the Metropolis algorithm to find the optimal road edges, the third method uses a deterministic recursive scheme designed to find the optimal indicator matrix. Experimental results are presented to show the advantages of these methods.
Language processing of auditory cortex revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging in presbycusis patients

Abstract Conclusion: Contralateral temporal lobe activation decreases with aging, regardless of hearing status, with elderly individuals showing reduced right ear advantage. Background: Aging and hearing loss possibly lead to presbycusis speech discrimination decline. Objectives: To evaluate presbycusis patients’ auditory cortex activation under verbal stimulation. Method: Thirty-six patients were enrolled: 10 presbycusis patients (mean age = 64 years, range = 60–70), 10 in the healthy aged group (mean age = 66 years, range = 60–70), and 16 young healthy volunteers (mean age = 25 years, range = 23–28). These three groups underwent simultaneous 1 kHz and 90 dB single-syllable word stimuli and (blood-oxygen-level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging) BOLD fMRI examinations. Results: The main activation regions were superior temporal and middle temporal gyrus. For all aged subjects, the right region of interest (ROI) activation volume was decreased compared with the young group. With left ear stimulation, bilateral ROI activation intensity held. With right ear stimulation, the aged group’s activation intensity was higher. Using monaural stimulation in the young group, contralateral temporal lobe activation volume and intensity were higher vs ipsilateral, while they were lower in the aged and presbycusis groups. On left and right ear auditory tasks, the young group showed right ear advantage, while the aged and presbycusis groups showed reduced right ear advantage.