Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Morphology, mechanical properties, and shape memory effects of poly(lactic acid)/ thermoplastic polyurethane blend scaffolds prepared by thermally induced phase separation

Novel blended scaffolds combining biobased polylactic acid (PLA) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) were fabricated by thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) using two different solvents. Pure PLA and TPU polymer scaffolds using 1,4-dioxane as the sole solvent exhibited typical ladder-like structures, while blended PLA/TPU scaffolds using the same solvent showed a more uniform microstructure. When de-ionized water was added to the solution as a non-solvent, scaffolds with the mixed solvent showed more open cells and greater interconnectivity. In compression tests, it was found that specimens, including pure PLA, TPU, and blended scaffolds with the mixed solvent, showed a higher compressive modulus than their counterparts that used dioxane as the single solvent. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was employed to characterize the shape memory properties of the scaffolds. DMA indicated that the shape fixing ratio was highest in the PLA scaffolds, while the shape recovery ratio of the TPU scaffolds was the greatest among the specimens. More interestingly, when the mixed solvent was used, the shape memory property of the blended scaffolds displayed a similar deformation curve to the TPU scaffold. This was due to the presence of the TPU phase and similarity in structure between PLA/TPU and TPU scaffolds when mixed solvent was used. In the degradation test, the blended scaffolds showed a balanced degradation behavior in-between the more easily degraded PLA and the more stable TPU in the phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), and the addition of water to the systems accelerated the degradation process of the specimens. Cell culture results showed that all of the scaffolds had good biocompatibility.
Accuracy/Diversity and Ensemble MLP Classifier Design

The difficulties of tuning parameters of multilayer perceptrons (MLP) classifiers are well known. In this paper, a measure is described that is capable of predicting the number of classifier training epochs for achieving optimal performance in an ensemble of MLP classifiers. The measure is computed between pairs of patterns on the training data and is based on a spectral representation of a Boolean function. This representation characterizes the mapping from classifier decisions to target label and allows accuracy and diversity to be incorporated within a single measure. Results on many benchmark problems, including the Olivetti Research Laboratory (ORL) face database demonstrate that the measure is well correlated with base-classifier test error, and may be used to predict the optimal number of training epochs. While correlation with ensemble test error is not quite as strong, it is shown in this paper that the measure may be used to predict number of epochs for optimal ensemble performance. Although the technique is only applicable to two-class problems, it is extended here to multiclass through output coding. For the output-coding technique, a random code matrix is shown to give better performance than one-per-class code, even when the base classifier is well-tuned
Magic Simulation of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Torch Interactions with Surface

Atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) is gaining many grounds in surface modification, photo resist cleaning, medical instrument decontamination, and air pollution control. Previous simulation results were performed mostly with fluid simulations, in which potential profile, electron temperature, and plasma chemistry are available, but lack the details in field emission, secondary electrons, and space charge effect which is important in high pressure plasma. On the other hand, Particle-In-Cell simulation is time consuming. We try to perform a simulation on APP source with MAGIC code, and direct the plasma towards a surface that is to be modified and observe the effect of applied voltage, flow speed, field emission, secondary electrons, Electron Energy Distribution Function (EEDF) and ion temperature. We separate these effects into different simulations, and plasma chemistry is ignored. Simulation results indicate just these particle simulation can reveal many useful insight into operations of an APP source on surface.
Comparison of sodium naphthenate and air-ionization corona discharge as surface treatments for the ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene polymer (ETFE) to improve adhesion between ETFE and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymer (ABS) in the presence of a cyanoacrylate adhesive (CAA)

This study compares two ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) surface activation treatments, namely chemical attack with a solution of sodium naphthenate and plasma erosion via air-ionization corona discharge in order to improve the adhesive properties of the ETFE. An experimental design was prepared for both treatments in order to assess the effect of the treatment characteristics on the tensile load needed to break the bond between the ETFE and the acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymer (ABS) formed with a cyanoacrylate adhesive (CAA) applied between them. The reason for the selection of this problem is that both polymers are frequently used in the biomedical industry for their properties, and they need to be joined firmly in biomedical devices, and the cyanoacrylate adhesive is the adhesive traditionally used for fluoropolymers, in this case the ETFE, and the same CAA has also shown good adhesion with ABS. However, the strength of the bond for the triplet ETFE-CAA-ABS has not been reported and the improvement of the strength of the bond with surface treatments is not found in scholarly journals for modern medical devices such as stents and snares. Both treatments were compared based on the aforementioned design of experiments. The case where ETFE receives no surface treatment serves as the reference. The results indicated that the three factors evaluated (initial drying of the material, temperature of the chemical bath, and immersion time), and their interactions have no significant effect over the tensile load at failure (tensile strength) of the adhesive bond being evaluated. For the air-ionization corona discharge treatment, two factors were evaluated: discharge exposition time and air pressure. The results obtained from this experimental design indicate that there is no significant difference between the levels of the factors evaluated. These results were unexpected as the ranges used were representative of the maximum ranges permissible in manufacturing operations. As for the comparison of the treatments, it was determined that the treatments have statistically significant differences. It was also determined that there is a significant statistical difference between the processes where a surface treatment is performed and the process where no surface treatment is applied to the ETFE. The chemical treatment results in a higher tensile load at failure (tensile strength) of 276.6 N on average, the air ionization treatment has an average of 248.4 N, and the process with no treatment has the lower ultimate tensile strength average of 53 N. This comparison has demonstrated that the best treatment is the chemical treatment with sodium naphthenate under the conditions tested.
Towards constant velocity Navigation and collision avoidance for autonomous nonholonomic aircraft-like vehicles

This paper presents a methodology for the decentralised control of multiple 3-dimensional nonholonomic agents. The proposed control scheme is based on Navigation Functions and offers improvements compared to previous work of the authors in this field. The problem formulation is chosen to resemble Air-Traffic Management, where the safety guarantees provided by Navigation Functions based control strategies are very important. The linear velocity of each agent is maintained constant and equal to a desired value in most cases, while the azimuth and elevation control laws are engineered to reduce the required control effort. These qualitative improvements do not affect the collision avoidance characteristics of the control strategy. The performance and efficiency of our approach is supported by computer simulations presented in the paper.
An LMI Approach for Reliable PTZ Camera Self-Calibration

PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) cameras are widely used for large-area video surveillance. For many visual tracking and video analysis tasks, an accurate camera calibration is very important. Traditional off-line camera calibration algorithms are often not satisfactory because some of the PTZ camera intrinsic parameters (e.g., focal length) may change during working. Despite of their theoretical elegance, existing on-line camera self-calibration algorithms are not satisfactory either, because of the lack of numerical stability. This paper proposes a new method based on LMI (linear matrix inequality) optimization. This method automatically incorporates the required positive-definiteness constraint into the computation, thus delivers more reliable and more stable results. Experiments on both synthetic data and real images have validated the advantages of our method.
Microfluidic system to detect DNA amplicons using agglutination technique

This research investigates the design, fabrication and testing of an easy-to-use and disposable microfluidic system for DNA amplification detection. This is suitable for point-of-care testing (POCT) applications. The microfluidic system utilizes biotin-labelled DNA to agglutinate streptavidin-coated microspheres. The microfluidic system is designed to retain aggregates of cross-linked microspheres as opposed to single microspheres, indicating the detection of biotin-labelled DNA. The microfluidic platform is composed of a filter design and inlet/outlet reservoirs, which was fabricated using microfabrication techniques. This research demonstrates that the microfluidic system is an improvement on the current DNA detection technique that uses particle agglutination. Such a system may, in turn, form the basis of future hand-held, compact, point-of-care biosensors for disease screening and identification.
Using Ecological Momentary Assessment to Investigate Short-Term Variations in Sexual Functioning in a Sample of Peri-Menopausal Women from Iran

The investigation of short-term changes in female sexual functioning has received little attention so far. The aims of the study were to gain empirical knowledge on within-subject and within- and across-variable fluctuations in women’s sexual functioning over time. More specifically, to investigate the stability of women´s self-reported sexual functioning and the moderating effects of contextual and interpersonal factors. A convenience sample of 206 women, recruited across eight Health care Clinics in Rasht, Iran. Ecological momentary assessment was used to examine fluctuations of sexual functioning over a six week period. A shortened version of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) was applied to assess sexual functioning. Self-constructed questions were included to assess relationship satisfaction, partner’s sexual performance and stress levels. Mixed linear two-level model analyses revealed a link between orgasm and relationship satisfaction (Beta = 0.125, P = 0.074) with this link varying significantly between women. Analyses further revealed a significant negative association between stress and all six domains of women’s sexual functioning. Women not only reported differing levels of stress over the course of the assessment period, but further differed from each other in how much stress they experienced and how much this influenced their sexual response. Orgasm and sexual satisfaction were both significantly associated with all other domains of sexual function (P<0.001). And finally, a link between partner performance and all domains of women`s sexual functioning (P<0.001) could be detected. Except for lubrication (P = 0.717), relationship satisfaction had a significant effect on all domains of the sexual response (P<0.001). Overall, our findings support the new group of criteria introduced in the DSM-5, called “associated features” such as partner factors and relationship factors. Consideration of these criteria is important and necessary for clinicians when diagnosing FSD.
Blockade of Striatal Adenosine A2A Receptor Reduces, through a Presynaptic Mechanism, Quinolinic Acid-Induced Excitotoxicity: Possible Relevance to Neuroprotective Interventions in Neurodegenerative Diseases of the Striatum

The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether, and by means of which mechanisms, the adenosine A2A receptor antagonist SCH 58261 [5-amino-7-(2-phenylethyl)-2-(2-furyl)-pyrazolo[4,3-e]-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidine] exerted neuroprotective effects in a rat model of Huntington's disease. In a first set of experiments, SCH 58261 (0.01 and 1 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally to Wistar rats 20 min before the bilateral striatal injection of quinolinic acid (QA) (300 nmol/1 μl). SCH 58261 (0.01 but not 1 mg/kg, i.p.) did reduce significantly the effects of QA on motor activity, electroencephalographic changes, and striatal gliosis. Because QA acts by both increasing glutamate outflow and directly stimulating NMDA receptors, a second set of experiments was performed to evaluate whether SCH 58261 acted by preventing the presynaptic and/or the postsynaptic effects of QA. In microdialysis experiments in naı̈ve rats, striatal perfusion with QA (5 mm) enhanced glutamate levels by ∼500%. Such an effect of QA was completely antagonized by pretreatment with SCH 58261 (0.01 but not 1 mg/kg, i.p.). In primary striatal cultures, bath application of QA (900 μm) significantly increased intracellular calcium levels, an effect prevented by the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 [(+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo [a,d] cyclohepten-5,10-imine maleate]. In this model, bath application of SCH 58261 (15–200 nm) tended to potentiate QA-induced calcium increase. We conclude the following: (1) the adenosine A2A receptor antagonist SCH 58261 has neuroprotective effects, although only at low doses, in an excitotoxic rat model of HD, and (2) the inhibition of QA-evoked glutamate outflow seems to be the major mechanism underlying the neuroprotective effects of SCH 58261.
The Techno-Political Dynamics of Information Infrastructure Development : Interpreting Two Cases of Puzzling Evidence

This paper describes a preliminary analysis of the role of power in the development of two large-scale information infrastructures. Grounded in these empirical studies, the paper suggests that such largescale infrastructure efforts encapsulate a specific techno-political dynamics that by necessity involve the need to juggle a variety of changing alliances, to give and take, exercise power more or less openly, and to inscribe ways of disciplining different users’ patterns of use. Consequently, in contrast to much written in the IS literature on the issue of power, this paper argues that power is not necessarily negative, stable, and zero-sum, but rather performed, dialectic, distributed, implicit, and inscribed. The paper concludes by sketching some ideas for conceptualizing the role of power in the development and use of information infrastructures and such ‘mega-projects’ in general.
Genealogical correspondence of a forebrain centre implies an executive brain in the protostome–deuterostome bilaterian ancestor

Orthologous genes involved in the formation of proteins associated with memory acquisition are similarly expressed in forebrain centres that exhibit similar cognitive properties. These proteins include cAMP-dependent protein kinase A catalytic subunit (PKA-Cα) and phosphorylated Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (pCaMKII), both required for long-term memory formation which is enriched in rodent hippocampus and insect mushroom bodies, both implicated in allocentric memory and both possessing corresponding neuronal architectures. Antibodies against these proteins resolve forebrain centres, or their equivalents, having the same ground pattern of neuronal organization in species across five phyla. The ground pattern is defined by olfactory or chemosensory afferents supplying systems of parallel fibres of intrinsic neurons intersected by orthogonal domains of afferent and efferent arborizations with local interneurons providing feedback loops. The totality of shared characters implies a deep origin in the protostome–deuterostome bilaterian ancestor of elements of a learning and memory circuit. Proxies for such an ancestral taxon are simple extant bilaterians, particularly acoels that express PKA-Cα and pCaMKII in discrete anterior domains that can be properly referred to as brains.
Control of accommodation by longitudinal chromatic aberration and blue cones.

PURPOSE To better understand the striking overaccommodation that is triggered at wavelengths below 430 nm (below referred to as OAB). METHODS Fourteen students served as subjects, 6 emmetropic and 8 mildly myopic. They fixated a reading target or a Landolt C at 33-cm distance while the wavelength of light illuminating the target was varied. Their accommodation was continuously monitored with the PowerRefractor (Multichannel Systems, Reutlingen, Germany, 1995). Luminances were matched using a candela meter (Minolta LS100) and neutral density filters. The following experiments were done: (1) confirmation of the effect at 10 cd/m(2), (2) comparing 10 and 1 cd/m(2), (3) foveal stimulation, (4) parafoveal stimulation, (5) testing independent combinations of the wavelength in the center and periphery, (6) testing accommodation tonus without fixation target while the wavelength is varied. RESULTS (1) OAB was nicely confirmed as initially described by F. J. Rucker and P. B. Kruger (2004a, 2004b) and A. Seidemann and F. Schaeffel (2002). (2) OAB remained stable at target luminances between 10 and 1 cd/m(2). (3, 4) OAB was found to be more pronounced when the parafoveal region was stimulated than when mainly the fovea was stimulated. (5) When fovea and parafovea were illuminated by light of different wavelengths, the wavelength in the foveal region had greater impact on OAB. (6) OAB was not elicited in the absence of an accommodation target. CONCLUSIONS OAB appears to be controlled more by the parafovea than by the fovea. The findings are in line with the assumption that OAB is mediated by the short-wavelength-sensitive cones that are absent from the central fovea in most subjects.
A Pythagorean-Type Fuzzy Deep Denoising Autoencoder for Industrial Accident Early Warning

Early warning is crucial for preventing industrial accidents and mitigating damage, but current methods are often time-consuming, error-prone, and incompetent to deal with uncertainty. This paper presents a fuzzy deep neural network for early warning of industrial accidents, which equips the classical deep denoising autoencoder (DDAE) model with Pythagorean-type fuzzy parameters in order to enhance the model's representation ability and robustness. To efficiently train the fuzzy deep model, we propose a hybrid algorithm combining Hessian-free optimization and biogeography-based optimization metaheuristic to balance global search and local search. Experiments on datasets from several industrial zones in China show that the proposed Pythagorean-type fuzzy DDAE (PFDDAE) can achieve much higher accuracy of accident risk classification than the classical DDAE and the fuzzy DDAE using regular fuzzy parameters, and the proposed hybrid learning algorithm exhibits significant performance advantage over some other learning algorithms in training PFDDAE. In particular, a test on the 2014 Kunshan aluminum dust explosion accident shows that the deep learning model would be very likely to prevent the accident if it was adopted in advance.
Effects of Upper Thoracic Manipulation on Pressure Pain Sensitivity in Women with Temporomandibular Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Clinical Trial

Objective The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of upper thoracic manipulation on pain in subjects with temporomandibular disorder. Design Thirty-two women with a diagnosis of temporomandibular disorder were randomly allocated to an experimental group (n = 16), submitted to upper thoracic manipulation, and a placebo group (n = 16), submitted to a procedure in the thoracic region with no therapeutic effect. All volunteers underwent an evaluation of pain in the masticatory muscles and the temporomandibular joint using an algometer and the visual analog scale before and immediately after the procedure as well as after 48–72 hrs. Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance was used for the intragroup and intergroup analyses, with the level of significance set to 5% (P < 0.05). Cohen d was calculated for the determination of the effect size. Results No significant group-by-time interaction was found (P > 0.05) for algometry in any analysis, and Cohen d revealed no significant effect of the treatment. Moreover, no significant group-by-time interaction was found for facial pain intensity determined using the visual analog scale (P > 0.05), and Cohen d also revealed no significant effect of the treatment regarding this variable. Conclusions On the basis of the present findings, upper thoracic spinal manipulation does not lead to a reduction in pain in women with temporomandibular disorder.
SAFIR: Low-cost spatial sound for instrumented environments

We present a high-level Java API that allows developers of pervasive computing environments to integrate 2D or 3D spatial sound over loudspeakers into systems without any DSP knowledge. The system is platform-independent and allows most arbitrary speaker configurations, thereby providing a scalable tool for real-time spatialization with low-cost off-the-shelf hardware
Lecture 9 Sequence Analysis II January 30 , 1996 Lecturer : Larry Ruzzo Notes :

The mechanisms to implement this strategy give genes several features which can potentially be used to identify them. A particularly important one is that each gene must contain a start codon and stop codon that identify the beginning and end respectively of the translated region. The reading frame specifies whether a given base is the first, second, or third base of the triplet comprising a codon. In random DNA, on average one of every 21 codons will be a stop codon, in each of the 3 (or 6) possible reading frames. Since this is much shorter than the average length of a protein, presence of a long open reading frame, i.e. a sequence of triplets containing no stop codon, is a good indication of a gene region (and of its proper reading frame ).
THE PROPAGATION OF THE VIRUS OF EPIZOOTIC HEMORRHAGIC DISEASE OF DEER IN NEWBORN MICE AND HELA CELLS

The New Jersey strain of EHD virus has been propagated in newborn Swiss mice by the intracerebral route and is regularly lethal beyond the first serial mouse passage. A complement-fixing antigen prepared from the brains of infected mice reacts positively with the sera of deer recovered from infection with either the New Jersey or South Dakota strain of virus, but not with the serum of normal deer. The mouse-passaged virus induced an inapparent infection in an experimental deer. The virus can also be grown serially in HeLa cell culture and induces a characteristic cytopathic effect. It is neutralizable in such cultures to high titer by the sera of deer recovered from EHD (New Jersey strain) and to lower titer by the serum of a deer recovered from EHD (South Dakota strain). Normal deer serum does not neutralize the virus in tissue culture. The HeLa cell-passaged virus induced typical lethal EHD in an experimental deer and virus could be recovered from most of the tissues of this animal in HeLa cell culture. An unexplained prozone of inhibition of cytopathogenicity at low dilutions was observed in cultures of some of the organs. The fact that EHD virus exhibited a limited sensitivity to sodium desoxycholate suggests that it may belong in the arbor virus group.