Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synthesis and physicochemical study of bisphenol‐C‐formaldehyde‐toluene diisocyanate polyurethane–jute and jute–rice husk/wheat husk composites

Bisphenol-C-formaldehyde-toluene-2,4-di isocyanate polyurethane (PU) has been synthesized at room temperature and used for the fabrication of jute and jute–rice husk/wheat husk hybrid composites. PU–jute and PU–jute–RH/WH composites were prepared under pressure of 30.4 MPa at room temperature for 8 h, while PU–jute–RH/WH composites were prepared under same pressure at 110°C for 5 h. PU–jute composite has good tensile strength and flexural strength (50–53 MPa), while PU–jute–RH/WH hybrid composites have moderate tensile strength (9–11 MPa) and a fairly good flexural strength (15–31 MPa). Composites possess 1.1–2.2 kV electric strength and 0.94–1.26 × 1012 ohm cm volume resistivity. Water absorption in PU–jute composite is different in water (9.75%), 10% HCl (12.14%), and 10% NaCl (6.05%). Equilibrium water uptake time in salt environment is observed 96 h, while in pure water and acidic environments it is 192 h. In boiling water equilibrium water content and equilibrium time are found to be 21.7% and 3 h, respectively. Water absorption increased 2.2 times in boiling water, whereas equilibrium time reduced 64 times. Thus, PU–jute composite has excellent hydrolytic stability against boiling water, 10% HCl, and 10% NaCl solutions. Fairly good mechanical and electrical properties and excellent hydrolytic stability of composites signify their usefulness for low cost housing units and in electrical and marine industries. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 2363–2370, 2006
Temporal lobe regions on magnetic resonance imaging identify patients with early Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVE The goal of the study was to examine the volume of selected brain regions in a group of mildly impaired patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Five regions were selected for analysis, all of which have been reported to show substantial change in the majority of patients with AD at some time in the course of disease. DESIGN Case-control study with the experimenter "blinded. " SETTING Hospital-based magnetic resonance imaging center. PARTICIPANTS Fifteen subjects, eight patients with the diagnosis of probable dementia of the Alzheimer type made in concordance with National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Diseases and Stroke/Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria and seven age-matched healthy control subjects. RESULTS Three of the volumetric measures were significantly different between patients with AD and controls: the hippocampus, the temporal horn of the lateral ventricles, and the temporal lobe. Two of the measures did not significantly differentiate patients with AD and controls: the amygdala and the basal forebrain. A discriminant function analysis demonstrated that a linear combination of the volumes of the hippocampus and the temporal horn of the lateral ventricles differentiated 100% of the patients and controls from one another. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that the hippocampus and the temporal horn of the lateral ventricles may be useful as antemortem markers of AD in mildly impaired patients.
' s personal copy Specimen-specific multi-scale model for the anisotropic elastic constants of human cortical bone

The anisotropic elastic constants of human cortical bone were predicted using a specimen-specific micromechanical model that accounted for structural parameters across multiple length scales. At the nano-scale, the elastic constants of the mineralized collagen fibril were estimated from measured volume fractions of the constituent phases, namely apatite crystals and Type I collagen. The elastic constants of the extracellular matrix (ECM) were predicted using the measured orientation distribution function (ODF) for the apatite crystals to average the contribution of misoriented mineralized collagen fibrils. Finally, the elastic constants of cortical bone tissue were determined by accounting for the measured volume fraction of Haversian porosity within the ECM. Model predictions using the measured apatite crystal ODF were not statistically different from experimental measurements for both the magnitude and anisotropy of elastic constants. In contrast, model predictions using common idealized assumptions of perfectly aligned or randomly oriented apatite crystals were significantly different from the experimental measurements. A sensitivity analysis indicated that the apatite crystal volume fraction and ODF were the most influential structural parameters affecting model predictions of the magnitude and anisotropy, respectively, of elastic constants. & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Ordered assembly of a functional preinitiation transcription complex, containing vaccinia virus early transcription factor and RNA polymerase, on an immobilized template

A functional preinitiation transcription complex was formed by incubating vaccinia virus early transcription factor VETF and RAP94+ RNA polymerase with an early promoter template immobilized on paramagnetic particles. A preferred order of assembly, VETF followed by RNA polymerase, was demonstrated by stepwise addition experiments. ATP was unnecessary for preinitiation transcription complex formation, but divalent cations were required specifically for the association of RNA polymerase.
Cutting Edge: Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells Provide Innate Immune Protection against Mucosal Viral Infection In Situ1

Dendritic cells (DCs) are powerful APCs capable of activating naive lymphocytes. Of the DC subfamilies, plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) are unique in that they secrete high levels of type I IFNs in response to viruses but their role in inducing adaptive immunity remains divisive. In this study, we examined the importance of pDCs and their ability to recognize a virus through TLR9 in immunity against genital HSV-2 infection. We show that a low number of pDCs survey the vaginal mucosa at steady state. Upon infection, pDCs are recruited to the vagina and produce large amounts of type I IFNs in a TLR9-dependent manner and suppress local viral replication. Although pDCs are critical in innate defense against genital herpes challenge, adaptive Th1 immunity developed normally in the absence of pDCs. Thus, by way of migrating directly into the peripheral mucosa, pDCs act strictly as innate antiviral effector cells against mucosal viral infection in situ.
Cooperative Strategies for Half-Duplex Parallel Relay Channel : Simultaneous Relaying versus Successive Relaying

This paper deals with the problem of cooperative communicat ion for a network with multiple halfduplex relays. Two half-duplex relaying protocols, i.e. si multaneous and successive relaying protocols, associated with two possible relay orderings for a half-dup lex arallel relay network are proposed. The optimum ordering of the relays and hence the capacity of the G aussian half-duplex parallel relay network in high SNR scenarios is derived. Furthermore, for the simul taneous relaying protocol a combined Amplify-Forward and Decode-Forward (AF-DF) scheme is devi s d which gives a better achievable rate with respect to other known schemes in certain ranges of SNR.
Analytical Evaluation of Fractional Frequency Reuse for OFDMA Cellular Networks

Fractional frequency reuse (FFR) is an interference management technique well-suited to OFDMA-based cellular networks wherein the bandwidth of the cells is partitioned into regions with different frequency reuse factors. To date, FFR techniques have been typically been evaluated through system-level simulations using a hexagonal grid for the base station locations. This paper instead focuses on analytically evaluating the two main types of FFR deployments - Strict FFR and Soft Frequency Reuse (SFR) - using a Poisson point process to model the base station locations. The results are compared with the standard grid model and an actual urban deployment. Under reasonable special cases for modern cellular networks, our results reduce to simple closed-form expressions, which provide insight into system design guidelines and the relative merits of Strict FFR, SFR, universal reuse, and fixed frequency reuse. Finally, a SINR-proportional resource allocation strategy is proposed based on the analytical expressions and we observe that FFR provides an increase in the sum-rate as well as the well-known benefit of improved coverage for cell-edge users.
Dynamic Stabilization of an Automotive using Pattern Recognition

To err is human! Preventing errors using inhuman devices can save disasters. In this article we propose an inhuman robotic system that can prevent distance related disasters or accidents. The system running on the proposed algorithm calibrates itself with the subject which is identified during the initial stages and maintains a constant distance with the subject preventing clashing of the system with the subject. The system can be used in varieties of applications which are discussed briefly in this paper.
Towards Estimating Bias in Stereo Visual Odometry

Stereo visual odometry (VO) is a common technique for estimating a camera's motion, features are tracked across frames and the pose change is subsequently inferred. This position estimation method can play a particularly important role in environments in which the global positioning system (GPS) is not available (e.g., Mars rovers). Recently, some authors have noticed a bias in VO position estimates that grows with distance travelled, this can cause the resulting position estimate to become highly inaccurate. The goals of this paper are (i) to investigate the nature of this bias in VO, (ii) to propose methods of estimating it, and (iii) to provide a correction that can potentially be used online. We identify two effects at play in stereo VO bias: first, the inherent bias in the maximum-likelihood estimation framework, and second, the disparity threshold used to discard far-away and erroneous stereo observations. In order to estimate the bias, we investigate three methods: Monte Carlo sampling, the sigma-point method (with modification), and an existing analytical method in the literature. Based on simulations, we show that our new sigma point method achieves similar accuracy to Monte Carlo, but at a fraction of the computational cost. Finally, we develop a bias correction algorithm by adapting the idea of the bootstrap in statistics, and demonstrate that our bias correction algorithm is capable of reducing approximately 95% of bias in VO problems without incorporating other sensors into the setup.
Atypical vertical sound localization and sound-onset sensitivity in people with autism spectrum disorders.

BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are associated with auditory hyper- or hyposensitivity; atypicalities in central auditory processes, such as speech-processing and selective auditory attention; and neural connectivity deficits. We sought to investigate whether the low-level integrative processes underlying sound localization and spatial discrimination are affected in ASDs. METHODS We performed 3 behavioural experiments to probe different connecting neural pathways: 1) horizontal and vertical localization of auditory stimuli in a noisy background, 2) vertical localization of repetitive frequency sweeps and 3) discrimination of horizontally separated sound stimuli with a short onset difference (precedence effect). RESULTS Ten adult participants with ASDs and 10 healthy control listeners participated in experiments 1 and 3; sample sizes for experiment 2 were 18 adults with ASDs and 19 controls. Horizontal localization was unaffected, but vertical localization performance was significantly worse in participants with ASDs. The temporal window for the precedence effect was shorter in participants with ASDs than in controls. LIMITATIONS The study was performed with adult participants and hence does not provide insight into the developmental aspects of auditory processing in individuals with ASDs. CONCLUSION Changes in low-level auditory processing could underlie degraded performance in vertical localization, which would be in agreement with recently reported changes in the neuroanatomy of the auditory brainstem in individuals with ASDs. The results are further discussed in the context of theories about abnormal brain connectivity in individuals with ASDs.
Vitamin D levels in systemic sclerosis patients: a meta-analysis

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the association between vitamin D and systemic sclerosis (SSc) by meta-analysis. Methods A comprehensive search was performed through June 12, 2017. Pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) was used to estimate the mean vitamin D difference between case and control groups (or between diffused- and limited-type SSc). Pooled risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the impact of vitamin D level on clinical characteristics of SSc patients. All statistical analyses were performed using Revman 5.0 software. Results The search yielded six studies with a total of 554 SSc patients and 321 healthy controls. The meta-analysis showed that SSc patients suffered from decreased vitamin D levels (SMD =−8.72 ng/mL; 95% CI: −10.11 to −7.32) compared with healthy controls. The meta-analysis results of three studies with 240 SSc patients (93 diffused-type and 147 limited-type SSc patients) showed that diffused-type SSc patients exhibited lower vitamin D levels (SMD =−4.71 ng/mL; 95% CI: −8.98 to −0.44) compared with limited-type SSc patients. However, vitamin D level was not found to be associated with Rodnan score (SMD =−2.29 ng/mL, 95% CI: −8.49 to 3.91, P=0.47), systolic pulmonary pressure (SMD =−1.68 ng/mL, 95% CI: −10.79 to 7.43, P=0.72), gastrointestinal ulcer (RR =1.01, 95% CI: 0.53–1.93, P=0.98), or pulmonary involvement (RR =1.01, 95% CI: 0.36–2.86, P=0.99) in SSc patients. Conclusion SSc patients exhibited lower vitamin D levels compared with healthy controls. Vitamin D levels in diffused-type SSc patients were significantly lower than those in limited-type SSc patients. The severity of clinical features was not associated with the extent of vitamin D deficit. Therefore, we hypothesize that SSc patients, especially diffused type, have lower vitamin D levels, and that the decrease of vitamin D levels might not be an accelerating factor of SSc severity.
The Effect of Ni on the High-Temperature Strength of Al-Si Cast Alloys

In order to investigate the effect of Ni on the high-temperature strength of Al-Si cast alloys, tensile properties of hypoeutectic and eutectic alloys were determined at 250 °C after long-term annealing at test temperature. LOM- and SEM-analysis revealed the existence of Al3Ni-phases in close contact to eutectic Si. It was shown that the strength can be increased by the addition of Ni, though just to a certain level, depending on the fraction of eutectic phase in the alloy. The alloys were considered as a coarse two-phase system where a hardening effect is caused by load transfer to the harder phase, which requires a certain connectivity/contiguity of the latter. The paper describes the extent of contiguity of the eutectic as well as the hard silicon and Al3Ni-phases within the eutectic, and discusses their contribution to an enhanced strength of Al-Si alloys at elevated temperatures.
Mannitol Use in Acute Stroke: Case Fatality at 30 Days and 1 Year

Background and Purpose— Mannitol is used worldwide to treat acute stroke, although its efficacy and safety have not been proven by randomized trials. Methods— In a tricenter, prospective study, we analyzed the 30-day and 1-year case fatality with respect to mannitol treatment status in 805 patients consecutively admitted within 72 hours of stroke onset. Confounding factors were compared between treated and nontreated patients. Results— Two thirds of the patients received intravenous mannitol as part of their routine treatment (mean dose, 47±22 g/d; mean duration, 6±3 days). The case fatality was 25% versus 16% (P =0.006) at 30 days and 38% versus 25% (P <0.001) at 1 year in the-mannitol treated and nontreated groups, respectively. Mannitol treatment effect was adjusted for age, stroke severity, fever in the first 3 days, and aspirin treatment (for ischemic strokes) in logistic regression models. Depending on the factors entered into the model, either no effect or harm could be attributed to mannitol. When the analysis was restricted to those admitted within 24 hours (n=568), case fatality differed significantly only at 1 year (35% in treated and 26% in nontreated patients, P =0.044). Although the prognostic scores of the Scandinavian Neurological Stroke Scale were similar in treated and nontreated patients, both in ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, the patient groups differed in several factors that might also have influenced survival. Conclusions— Based on the results of this study, no recommendations can be made on the use of mannitol in acute stroke, and properly randomized, controlled trials should be performed to come to a final conclusion.
How the Knowledge of Interactions between Meningococcus and the Human Immune System Has Been Used to Prepare Effective Neisseria meningitidis Vaccines

In the last decades, tremendous advancement in dissecting the mechanisms of pathogenicity of Neisseria meningitidis at a molecular level has been achieved, exploiting converging approaches of different disciplines, ranging from pathology to microbiology, immunology, and omics sciences (such as genomics and proteomics). Here, we review the molecular biology of the infectious agent and, in particular, its interactions with the immune system, focusing on both the innate and the adaptive responses. Meningococci exploit different mechanisms and complex machineries in order to subvert the immune system and to avoid being killed. Capsular polysaccharide and lipooligosaccharide glycan composition, in particular, play a major role in circumventing immune response. The understanding of these mechanisms has opened new horizons in the field of vaccinology. Nowadays different licensed meningococcal vaccines are available and used: conjugate meningococcal C vaccines, tetravalent conjugate vaccines, an affordable conjugate vaccine against the N. menigitidis serogroup A, and universal vaccines based on multiple antigens each one with a different and peculiar function against meningococcal group B strains.
Election Boycotts and Regime Survival

Election boycotts are a common occurrence in unconsolidated democracies, particularly in the developing world, with prominent examples from recent years occurring in Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia. Despite the frequent occurrence of boycotts, there are few studies available in the scholarly literature concerning the effectiveness of electoral boycotts, particularly as a strategy of opposition parties seeking to bring about the end of electoral authoritarian governments. This paper is based in the democratization literature, with a particular focus on the behavior and vulnerabilities of hybrid or electoral authoritarian regimes. Using an original dataset with global coverage including hybrid regimes from 1981 to 2006, this paper uses event-history analysis to determine the efficacy of boycotts in national elections among other risk factors thought to undermine electoral authoritarian regimes as well as the possibilities for subsequent democratization occurring following both contested and boycotted electoral processes. Index words: Elections, Boycotts, Democratization, Hybrid regimes, Electoral authoritarianism Election Boycotts and Regime Survival
Solving the Range Searching Problem for Region Bounded by a Convex Surface

In this paper we consider one of the approaches to solving the range searching problem for a range which is bounded by a convex surface in Euclidean d-dimensional space. In particular, we propose a method of range searching which gives query time O(logN) and uses O(NlogN) memory where N is cardinality of an input data set. It is enabled by applying optimal data structures for storing points in nodes of a quadtree.
The meaning of action: a review on action recognition and mapping

In this paper, we analyze the different approaches taken to date within the computer vision, robotics and artificial intelligence communities for the representation, recognition, synthesis and understanding of action. We deal with action at different levels of complexity and provide the reader with the necessary related literature references. We put the literature references further into context and outline a possible interpretation of action by taking into account the different aspects of action recognition, action synthesis and task-level planning.
Tumor Associated Epilepsy

Epilepsy in the general population occurs with an incidence of 44 per 100,000 person-years in a population based study [1]. Symptomatic etiologies such as vascular injuries, infection, and neoplasm are usually associated with a higher incidence of seizures and epilepsy. In the cancer population, seizures arise mainly as a result of an infiltrative neoplastic process in the brain. However, cancer treatment, metabolic causes, and paraneoplastic disease can also cause seizures in this population despite the absence of a structural lesion. The etiology of epilepsy in brain tumor patients includes primary malignancies and metastatic disease to the brain. A multifaceted approach is required for treatment of seizures including surgery, radiation treatment, chemotherapy, and antiepileptic drugs. A combination of treatments has the potential of adverse effects and generally requires a multidisciplinary team.
Desiccating Stress Decreases Apical Corneal Epithelial Cell Size-Modulation by the Metalloproteinase Inhibitor Doxycycline

Purpose: We investigated the effects of desiccating stress on murine corneal apical epithelial cell area and desquamation by using 4 defined parameters and evaluated the effects of the metalloproteinase inhibitor doxycycline on this process. Methods: C57BL/6 mice were subjected to experimental dry eye (EDE) for 5 days without or with topical therapy with doxycycline 0.025% or 0.0025% or vehicle 4 times a day. C57BL/6 mice that were not exposed to desiccating stress served as controls. Whole mount corneas from each group were immunostained for occludin and visualized by laser scanning confocal microscopy. The images were analyzed in a masked fashion, and mean individual cell area, apical cell density, average cell number loss, and average percent loss were recorded. Results: EDE caused a significant decrease in apical corneal cell area (1073 ± 135.9 μm2), an increase in apical cell density (895.8 ± 115.4 cells per mm2) and a greater percent of epithelial loss (21.29% ± 13.40%) than controls (1341 ± 95.28 μm2, 714.4 ± 55.60 cells per mm2, 2.897% ± 3.452%, P < 0.001 for all, respectively). Treatment with 0.025% doxycycline preserved cell area (1337 ± 144.6 μm2) and the apical cell density (721.0 ± 91.62 cells per mm2) and decreased percentage loss (5.117% ± 6.757%) compared with the vehicle control group (1154 ± 88.10 μm2, 830.2 ± 49.76 cells per mm2, 22.14 ± 9.616%, P < 0.001 for all, respectively). Conclusions: Desiccating stress decreases apical corneal epithelial cell area, increases apical cell density, and promotes epithelial cell loss. Treatment with the metalloproteinase inhibitor doxycycline during desiccating stress preserves cell area and apical cell density and prevents EDE-induced corneal epithelial cell loss. These findings suggest that metalloproteinases mediate apical corneal epithelial loss during desiccating stress.