Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of Performance Measures for the Implementation of Total Quality Management in Indian Industry

Total Quality Management (TQM) refers to management methods used to enhance quality and productivity in business organizations. Total Quality Management (TQM) has become a frequently used term in discussions concerning quality. Total Quality management has brought rise in demands on the organizations policy and the customers have gained more importance in the organizations focus. TQM is considered as an important management tool, which helps the organizations to satisfy their customers. In present research critical success factors includes management commitment, customer satisfaction, continuous improvement, work culture and environment, supplier quality management, training and development, employee satisfaction and product/process design are studied. A questionnaire is developed to implement these critical success factors in implementation of total quality management in Indian industry. Questionnaires filled by consulting different industrial organizations. Data collected from questionnaires is analyzed by descriptive and importance indexes. Keywords—Total quality management, critical success factor, employee satisfaction.
Chemical kinetics on extrasolar planets

Chemical kinetics plays an important role in controlling the atmospheric composition of all planetary atmospheres, including those of extrasolar planets. For the hottest exoplanets, the composition can closely follow thermochemical-equilibrium predictions, at least in the visible and infrared photosphere at dayside (eclipse) conditions. However, for atmospheric temperatures , and in the uppermost atmosphere at any temperature, chemical kinetics matters. The two key mechanisms by which kinetic processes drive an exoplanet atmosphere out of equilibrium are photochemistry and transport-induced quenching. I review these disequilibrium processes in detail, discuss observational consequences and examine some of the current evidence for kinetic processes on extrasolar planets.
Osteoblast Behavior at the Surface of CO3Ap-Collagen Sponges

Carbonate apatite (CO3Ap) was synthesized at 60+1°C and pH 7.4+0.2, to develop a new biodegradable scaffold biomaterial. The synthetic CO3Ap was mixed with a neutralized collagen gel and the CO3Ap-collagen mixtures with different kinds of CO3Ap contents and porosity were frozen and dried in lyophilized into the sponges. CO3Ap-collagen mixtures were also lyophilized into sponges in a HAp frame ring with 0.5 mm pores. To examine the degree of cell invasion, mouse MC3T3-E1 cells were grown in αMEM with 10% heat-inactivated FBS in 96-well plates containing the CO3Ap-collagen sponges at 37°C in a 5% humidified atmosphere. Under pentobarbital anesthesia, samples of UV-irradiated CO3Ap-collagen sponges with frames were surgically implanted beneath the periosteum cranii of rats. SEM observation of CO3Ap-collagen sponges showed favorable pores for cell invasion. Approximately 50~300 µm size pores seemed to continue into the deep bottom. X-ray high-resolution microtomography revealed a clear image of 3D structure of the sponges. 70 wt% CO3Ap-collagen sponge seemed to be most favorable biomaterial from the viewpoint of the natural bone properties. Then, to avoid the shrinkage of the sponges, we successfully made a hybridized CO3Ap-collagen sponge with a frame. When these sponge-frame complexes were implanted beneath the periosteum cranii of rats, newly created bone was observed toward the inner core of the complex from the surface of the periosteum cranii.
Polymeric nanomaterials – synthesis, functionalization and applications in diagnosis and therapy

The sections in this article are Introduction Polymer Materials Used for the Synthesis of Nanoparticles Natural Polymers Degradable Synthetic Polymers Nondegradable Synthetic Polymers PEO Preparation of Polymeric Nanoparticles Preparation of Nanospheres from Preformed Polymers Emulsion-evaporation Salting-out Emulsification-diffusion Nanoprecipitation Synthesis of Nanospheres by In Situ Polymerization Preparation of Nanocapsules Surface Functionalization Functionalization with Biological (Macro)molecules Functionalization with Specific Ligands: Specific Interaction through Biological Recognition Mono- or Oligosaccharides (Carbohydrates) Folate Receptor Antibodies Biotin Strategies for Surface Modification Adsorption on Preformed Nanoparticles Functional Surfactants as Stabilizers and Surface Modifiers Emulsion, Miniemulsion or Dispersion Polymerization Covalent Linking of Functional Molecules to Preformed Nanoparticles Analytical Techniques for Surface Modification Physicochemical Techniques Biological Assays/Methods Applications Drug Delivery Systems [141] Routes of Administration Therapeutic Applications of Nanoparticles Triggered Release Diagnosis Fluorescence Labeling of Polymeric Nanoparticles Contrast Agents for MRI Magnetic Nanoparticles for In Vitro Assays Electron Dense Agents for Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Radiolabeled Nanoparticles Conclusion and Perspectives
X-ray diffraction study of crystalline barium titanate ceramics

In this study, BaTiO3 ceramics have been prepared via solid-state reaction method. The powders were calcined for 2 hours at different temperatures ranging from 600°C to 1200°C. Using X-ray diffraction with a Rietveld analysis, the phase formation and crystal structure of the BaTiO3 powders were studied. Change in crystallite size and tetragonality as a function of calcination temperature were also discussed. It has been found that the formation of pure perovskite phase of BaTiO3 began at calcination condition of 1000 °C for 2 hours. The crystal structure of BaTiO3 formed is in the tetragonal structure. The second phases of BaCO3 and TiO2 existed with calcination temperature below 1000 °C. Purity, crystallite size and tetragonality of BaTiO3 powders were found to increase with increasing calcination temperature.
Acetylcholine Receptor Organization at the Dystrophic Extraocular Muscle Neuromuscular Junction

Spared extraocular muscles of dystrophic mice are not subjected to regeneration process and can be used to verify whether the lack of dystrophin per se could cause changes in acetylcholine receptor (AChR) distribution. In the present study, rectus and oblique (spared) and retractor bulbi (nonspared) muscles were dissected from adult control (C57Bl/10) and mdx mice. AChRs and nerve terminals were labeled with rhodamine–α‐bungarotoxin and anti–NF200‐IgG‐FITC, respectively, and visualized by confocal microscopy. Rectus and oblique muscles presented 0.5% central nucleation, while retractor bulbi had central nucleation in 45% of muscle fibers. In mdx rectus, AChRs were distributed in branches in 99% of the junctions examined (n = 200), similar to that observed for controls. Nerve terminals covered the AChR branches in 100% of the junctions examined. In control retractor bulbi, AChRs were distributed in regular branches. In mdx retractor bulbi, multiple fragmented islands of receptors were seen in 56% of the endplates examined (n = 200). These results suggest that the lack of dystrophin per se does not influence the distribution of acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction of spared extraocular muscles. Anat Rec, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effects of Different Intensity Walking on Serum Nitric Oxide for the Elderly Men

Objective: In order to study the effect of different intensity exercise on serum nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase of elderly men, and look for the most appropriate exercise intensity for them which can prevent cardiovascular disease. Methods: 36 men who are 55 to 62 years old, were randomly divided into the low intensity group(L group,n=12), the moderate-intensity group(M group,n=12) and the high-intensity group(H group,n=12). During the period for testing, they walked for 12 weeks, 4 times per week, 45 minutes for each time,target heart rate is 100 ~110 beats/min(L group), 110 ~120 beats/min(M group), 120~ 130 beats/min(H group). With an over-night fast, all the subject venous blood samples were drawn by 4ml before and after the exercise. The blood samples were centrifuged and separated immediately, then serum nitric oxide content, TNOS activity, cNOS activity, iNOS activity were measured.Results:In low-intensity group, serum NO content, TNOS activity, cNOS activity were significantly increased than pre-exercise (P<0.05); in moderate-intensity group,serum NO content,TNOS activity,cNOS activity were very significantly increased than pre-exercise (P <0.01);the indicators of high-intensity exercise group did not change significantly. Conclusion: we recommend that a more appropriate exercise intensity is 100-120 beats /min for elderly during fitness exercise, and especially 110-120 beats/min. Such intensity exercise can increase NO content in vivo, thus effectively prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular disease.
Reduction of the thermal load by laser oscillation in highly Nd3+-doped ceramic YAG

Depolarization resulting from thermally induced birefringence in 3.5 at. % Nd:YAG ceramic under lasing is measured to be 1/3 of that under non-lasing condition, which is comparable to that in 1.0 at. % Nd:YAG single crystal under non-lasing condition. The calculation employed is in agreement with the experimental data, indicating that the thermal load under lasing condition can be roughly estimated by the laser input-output characteristics. The thermal load of the 3.5 at. % Nd:YAG ceramic under lasing is found to be more than 40 % smaller than that under non-lasing condition.
Isolation of Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus from a Patient with Cellulitis

ABSTRACT Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus is a gram-negative, slender, spirally curved bacterial pathogen. It has been isolated from human blood, spinal fluid, and abscesses, but cellulitis associated with bacteremia is rare. We report its isolation from a blood culture of a human patient with cellulitis as well as difficulties encountered in determining the identity of the subspecies of C. fetus.
Maturation Mechanism of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Coronavirus 3C-like Proteinase

The 3C-like proteinase (3CLpro) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus plays a vital role in virus maturation and is proposed to be a key target for drug design against SARS. Various in vitro studies revealed that only the dimer of the matured 3CLpro is active. However, as the internally encoded 3CLpro gets matured from the replicase polyprotein by autolytic cleavage at both the N-terminal and the C-terminal flanking sites, it is unclear whether the polyprotein also needs to dimerize first for its autocleavage reaction. We constructed a large protein containing the cyan fluorescent protein (C), the N-terminal flanking substrate peptide of SARS 3CLpro (XX), SARS 3CLpro (3CLP), and the yellow fluorescent protein (Y) to study the autoprocessing of 3CLpro using fluorescence resonance energy transfer. In contrast to the matured 3CLpro, the polyprotein, as well as the one-step digested product, 3CLP-Y-His, were shown to be monomeric in gel filtration and analytic ultracentrifuge analysis. However, dimers can still be induced and detected when incubating these large proteins with a substrate analog compound in both chemical cross-linking experiments and analytic ultracentrifuge analysis. We also measured enzyme activity under different enzyme concentrations and found a clear tendency of substrate-induced dimer formation. Based on these discoveries, we conclude that substrate-induced dimerization is essential for the activity of SARS-3CLpro in the polyprotein, and a modified model for the 3CLpro maturation process was proposed. As many viral proteases undergo a similar maturation process, this model might be generally applicable.
Hopf Bifurcation and Chaos Synchronization for a Class of Mechanical Centrifugal Flywheel Governor System

Chaos and chaos synchronization of the centrifugal flywheel governor system are studied in this paper. By mechanics analyzing, the dynamical equation of the centrifugal flywheel governor system are established. Because of the non-linear terms of the system, the system exhibit both regular and chaotic motions. The evolution from Hopf bifurcation to chaos is shown by the bifurcation diagrams and a series of Poincaré sections under different sets of system parameters, and the bifurcation diagrams are verified by the related Lyapunov exponent spectra. This paper addresses control for the chaos synchronization of feedback control laws in two coupled non-autonomous chaotic systems with different coupling terms, which is demonstrated and verified by Lyapunov exponent spectra and phase portraits. Finally, numerical simulations are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed chaos synchronization scheme.
Thermo-Mechanical Reliability of 3D-integrated Microstructures in Stacked Silicon

This paper investigates the thermo-mechanical reliability of inter-chip-vias (ICV) for 3D chip stacking after processing and under external thermal loads relevant for the envisaged field of application (mobile, automotive) by Finite Element simulation. First the materials are characterised by nano-indentation to determine elasto-plastic data. Finite Element simulations are used to reproduce these data and to extract local material properties like E-modulus and yield stress. Accumulated plastic strain is used as failure indicator under periodic thermal loading of an ICV. Geometrical, material and process-related parameters are varied to obtain first design guidelines for this new technology. The locations of stress and strain accumulation are given.
RAD-Seq Reveals Patterns of Additive Polygenic Variation Caused by Spatially-Varying Selection in the American Eel (Anguilla rostrata)

Abstract The American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) has an exceptional life cycle characterized by panmictic reproduction at the species scale, random dispersal, and selection in a highly heterogeneous habitat extending from subtropical to subarctic latitudes. The genetic consequences of spatially-varying selection in this species have been investigated for decades, revealing subtle clines in allele frequency at a few loci that contrast with complete panmixia on the vast majority of the genome. Because reproduction homogenizes allele frequencies every generation, sampling size, and genomic coverage are critical to reach sufficient power to detect selected loci in this context. Here, we used a total of 710 individuals from 12 sites and 12,098 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms to re-evaluate the extent to which local selection affects the spatial distribution of genetic diversity in this species. We used environmental association methods to identify markers under spatially-varying selection, which indicated that selection affects ∼1.5% of the genome. We then evaluated the extent to which candidate markers collectively vary with environmental factors using additive polygenic scores. We found significant correlations between polygenic scores and latitude, longitude and temperature which are consistent with polygenic selection acting against maladapted genotypes in different habitats occupied by eels throughout their range of distribution. Gene functions associated with outlier markers were significantly enriched for the insulin signaling pathway, indicating that the trade-offs inherent to occupying such a large distribution range involve the regulation of metabolism. Overall, this study highlights the potential of the additive polygenic scores approach in detecting selective effects in a complex environment.
Ustekinumab therapy for Crohn's disease during pregnancy: a case report and review of the literature

The safety of continued ustekinumab (UST) therapy during pregnancy remains unclear in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). There are no meta‐analysis reports of exposure to UST during pregnancy. The objective was to describe a case of a pregnant patient with CD who was successfully treated with UST maintenance therapy throughout the pregnancy and delivered a baby boy without any congenital malformations, neurological abnormalities or birth defects.
Improved stability of haptic human–robot interfaces using measurement of human arm stiffness

Necessary physical contact between an operator and a force feedback haptic device creates a coupled system consisting of human and machine. This contact, combined with the natural human tendency to increase arm stiffness to attempt to stabilize its motion, can reduce the stability of the system. This paper proposes a method to increase stability on demand while maintaining speed and performance. Operator arm stiffness is not directly measurable, so controllers cannot typically account for this issue. The causes of arm end-point stiffness are examined as related to system stability, and a method for estimating changes in arm stiffness based on arm muscle activity was designed to provide a robotic controller with additional information about the operator. This was accomplished using electromyograms (EMGs) to measure muscle activities and estimating the level of arm stiffness, which was used to adjust the dynamic characteristics of an impedance controller. To support this design, the correlation between EMGs and arm stiffness was validated experimentally. Further experiments characterized the effects of the designed system on operator performance. This showed increased stability and faster, more accurate movements using the compensating system. Such a system could be used in many applications, including force assisting devices in industrial facilities.
The effect of organoclay on the properties of a reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive

In order to improve the initial bond strength of a reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive (RHA), organoclay was added as a modifier. The organoclay caused a viscosity increase as well as a solid-like yield behavior of the RHA in melt state. The enhanced initial and final bond strength and reduced setting time showed that the organoclay improved both the solidification rate after application upon cooling and the bonding interaction. We examined tensile properties and X-ray diffraction patterns of RHAs, and the morphology was observed by transmission electron microscopy.
An Efficient Call Admission Control for IEEE 802.16 Networks

Scheduling and call admission control (CAC) in IEEE 802.16 system play a vital role in the performance of the system. The 802.16 standard does not specify any scheduling architecture or CAC. Many proposals assume a bandwidth based CAC which only provides bandwidth guarantee, but cannot fulfill delay and jitter requirements. In this paper, we propose a CAC that ensures QoS guarantee in terms of bandwidth, delay and jitter. We also present a novel method of estimating bandwidth requirement of variable bit rate application to increase the resource utilization of the system. We present our simulation result to show the effectiveness of bandwidth estimation and better performance over bandwidth based CAC.
Distributed Dynamic Inter-Cell Interference Management for Femtocell Networks Using Over-the-Air Single-Tone Signaling

Femtocell networks are promising for not only improving the coverage but also increasing the capacity of current cellular networks. The interference-limited reality in femtocell networks makes interference management (IM) the key to maintaining the quality of service and fairness in femtocell networks. Over-the-air signaling is one of the most effective means for fast distributed dynamic IM. However, the design of this type of signal is challenging. In this paper, we address the challenges and propose an effective solution, referred to as single-tone signaling (STS). The proposed STS scheme possesses many highly desirable properties, such as no dedicated resource requirement (no system overhead), no near-far effect, no inter-signal interference, and immunity to synchronization error. In addition, the proposed STS signal provides a means for high quality wideband channel estimation for the use of coordinated techniques, such as coordinated beamforming. Based on the proposed STS, two distributed dynamic IM schemes, ON/OFF power control and SLNR (signal-to-leakage-plus-noise-ratio)-based transmitter beam coordination, are proposed. Simulation results show significant performance improvement as a result of the use of STS-based IM schemes.
MsLRR: A Unified Multiscale Low-Rank Representation for Image Segmentation

In this paper, we present an efficient multiscale low-rank representation for image segmentation. Our method begins with partitioning the input images into a set of superpixels, followed by seeking the optimal superpixel-pair affinity matrix, both of which are performed at multiple scales of the input images. Since low-level superpixel features are usually corrupted by image noise, we propose to infer the low-rank refined affinity matrix. The inference is guided by two observations on natural images. First, looking into a single image, local small-size image patterns tend to recur frequently within the same semantic region, but may not appear in semantically different regions. The internal image statistics are referred to as replication prior, and we quantitatively justified it on real image databases. Second, the affinity matrices at different scales should be consistently solved, which leads to the cross-scale consistency constraint. We formulate these two purposes with one unified formulation and develop an efficient optimization procedure. The proposed representation can be used for both unsupervised or supervised image segmentation tasks. Our experiments on public data sets demonstrate the presented method can substantially improve segmentation accuracy.
Polymorphism Due to Multiple Amino Acid Substitutions at a Codon Site Within Ciona savignyi

We compared two haploid genotypes of one Ciona savignyi individual and identified codons at which these genotypes differ by two nonsynonymous substitutions. Using the C. intestinalis genome as an outgroup, we showed that both substitutions tend to occur in the same genotype. Only in 53 (34.4%) of 154 codons, one substitution occurred in each of the two genotypes, although 77 (50%) of such codons are to be expected if substitutions were independent. We considered two feasible evolutionary causes for the observed pattern: substitutions driven by positive selection and compensatory substitutions, as well as several potential biases. However, none of these explanations is fully compelling, and data on multiple genotypes of C. savignyi would help to elucidate the causes of this pattern.
Wetting transparency of graphene deposited on copper in contact with liquid tin

Wetting behavior of liquid Sn (99.99%) on graphenecoated Cu substrate was investigated by the sessile drop method using two testing procedures: 1) classical contact heating (CH) of a couple of materials; 2) capillary purification (CP) allowing non-contact heating accompanied with squeezing the Sn droplet through a hole in an alumina capillary. The tests were performed in vacuum (p < 1.80 × 10 mbar) at 360 °C for 300 s. The images of Sn/substrate couples were recorded by high-resolution high-speed CCD camera. The results of this study evidenced that graphene layer is transparent for liquid Sn and after 300 s interaction, it forms the contact angles (θ) similar to those on pure Cu substrates, both in CH (θ = 59°) and CP (θ = 32°) tests. However, with liquid Sn, apparently the same effect of graphene wetting transparency is more complicated than that with water and it is caused by different mechanism, most probably, accompanied with reconstruction of the graphene layer.