Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deep and vertical silicon bulk micromachining using metal assisted chemical etching

In this paper, a newfound and simple silicon bulk micromachining process based on metal-assisted chemical etching (MaCE) is proposed which opens a whole new field of research in MEMS technology. This method is anisotropic and by controlling the etching parameters, deep vertical etching, relative to substrate surface, can be achieved in micrometer size for 〈1 0 0〉 oriented Si wafer. By utilizing gold as a catalyst and a photoresist layer as the single mask layer for etching, 60 µm deep gyroscope micromachined structures have been fabricated for 2 µm features. The results indicate that MaCE could be the only wet etching method comparable to conventional dry etching recipes in terms of achievable etch rate, aspect ratio, verticality and side wall roughness. It also does not need a vacuum chamber and the other costly instruments associated with dry etching techniques.
Customizing SSL Certificate Extensions to Reduce False-Positive Certificate Error/Warning Messages

In today’s Internet world, X.509 certificates are commonly used in SSL protocol to provide security for web-based services by server/client authentication and secure communication. Although SSL protocol presents a technical basis, this web-security largely depends on user awareness of security measures as well. There are significant number of scientific studies in the literature reporting that the count of invalid or self-signed certificate usage in today’s Internet can not be overlooked. At the same time, quite a number of studies place emphasis on the acquired indifference towards certificate warning messages which are popped up by web browsers when visiting web pages with invalid or self-signed certificates. In this study, with the importance of user’s daily practices in developing habits in mind, we studied a modification of X.509 certificates in order to reduce the number of false-positive certificate-warning pop ups in order to reduce gaining faulty usage habit of invalid certificates.
Using statistical smoothing to date medieval manuscripts

We discuss the use of multivariate kernel smoothing methods to date manuscripts dating from the 11th to the 15th centuries, in the English county of Essex. The dataset consists of some 3300 dated and 5000 undated manuscripts, and the former are used as a training sample for imputing dates for the latter. It is assumed that two manuscripts that are ``close'', in a sense that may be defined by a vector of measures of distance for documents, will have close dates. Using this approach, statistical ideas are used to assess ``similarity'', by smoothing among distance measures, and thus to estimate dates for the 5000 undated manuscripts by reference to the dated ones.
Additional effects of topical tranexamic acid in on-pump cardiac surgery

Objective Postoperative bleeding after cardiac surgery is commonly associated with hyperfibrinolysis. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of topical tranexamic acid in addition to intravenous tranexamic acid in reducing bleeding in cardiac surgery cases. Methods From July 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015, 82 patients who underwent elective on-pump cardiac surgery were randomized into a tranexamic acid group and a placebo group. In the tranexamic acid group, 1 g of tranexamic acid dissolved in 100 mL of normal saline solution was poured into the pericardium during sternal closure; the placebo group had 100 mL of saline only. Two patients were excluded from the study due to obvious surgical bleeding. The primary endpoint was total blood loss 24 h after surgery. Repeated measures with mixed models was used to analyze bleeding over time. Results There was no significant difference in demographic and intraoperative data except for a significantly lower platelet count preoperatively in the tranexamic acid group (p = 0.030). There was no significant difference in postoperative drainage volumes at 8, 16, and 24 h, postoperative bleeding over time (coefficient = 0.713, p = 0.709), or blood product transfusion between the groups. There were no serious complications. Conclusions Topical tranexamic acid is safe but it adds no additional efficacy to the intravenous application in reducing postoperative blood loss. Intravenous tranexamic acid administration alone is sufficient antifibrinolytic treatment to enhance the hemostatic effects during on-pump cardiac surgery.
On Colimits and Elementary Embeddings

Abstract We give a sharper version of a theorem of Rosický, Trnková and Adámek [13], and a new proof of a theorem of Rosický [12], both about colimits in categories of structures. Unlike the original proofs, which use category-theoretic methods, we use set-theoretic arguments involving elementary embeddings given by large cardinals such as α-strongly compact and C(n)-extendible cardinals.
Low Cycle Fatigue and Cycle Dependent Creep with Continuum Damage Mechanics

A continuum damage mechanics (CDM) model for low cycle fatigue cou pled with cycle dependent creep is presented. The cycle-creep and damage behavior of hot rolled type RS50 steel is analysed by the damage model and compared with those mea sured in satisfactory agreement. The model can describe the gradual acceleration of creep rate under constant stress amplitude and mean stress in low cycle fatigue, a phenomenon which can never be explained by conventional mechanics. The model also results in a con venient experimental method for the measurement of damage values.
Synthesis of highly stable folic acid conjugated magnetite nanoparticles for targeting cancer cells

A new approach towards the design of folic acid conjugated magnetic nanoparticles for enhancing their site specific intracellular uptake against a folate receptor overexpressing cancer cells is reported. Magnetite nanoparticles were prepared by coprecipitation from an Fe3+ and Fe2+ solution followed by surface modification with 2-carboxyethyl phosphonic acid to form carboxyl group terminated nanoparticles. Then folic acid and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) were conjugated with carboxylic acid functionalized magnetite nanoparticles using 2,2′-(ethylenedioxy)-bis-ethylamine. These folate-conjugated nanoparticles were characterized in terms of their size by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Surface functional groups and surface composition were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. Vibration sample magnetometry (VSM) measurements showed the superparamagnetic nature of the particles at room temperature. Folate-conjugated magnetic nanoparticles are noncytotoxic and receptor mediated internalization by HeLa and B16 melanoma F0 cancer cells was confirmed by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy.
Assessment of Questionnaires Measuring Quality of Life in Infertile Couples: A Systematic Review

Background Infertility has potentially inappropriate effects on quality of life in infertile couples. Various general and specific questionnaires have been structured for assessing different aspects of quality of life in infertile men, women, or couples. The present systematic review was designed to assess these questionnaires and also identify different factors affecting infertile couples based on the aforesaid questionnaires. Methods The research strategy involved general and specific terms in relation to couples's infertility and their quality of life. A review was done for studies published from 1982 to 2012 that were indexed in Medline, ISI Web of Science and Scopus as well as abstract books on this subject. We also corresponded with the authors of the references in related studies for introducing more resources and references. Results In all reviewed studies, different aspects of the quality of life in couples were evaluated including sexual, psychological, social, communicational, environmental, occupational, medical, as well as economical ones. In total, after initial screening of all studies, 10 general and 2 specific questionnaires were retrieved. Although no meta-analysis was found in the review, infertility had a negative effect on quality of life in couples. Conclusion This study revealed that some general questionnaires such as SF-36 and WHO-QOL were mostly used for assessing quality of life in infertile couples and some specific questionnaires such as FERTI-QoL and Fertility Problem Inventory were rarely used. Thus, it seems that the evaluation of quality of life in infertile couples needs valid instruments for measurement.
A classification of invasive patterns in AOP

Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) improves modularity by encapsulating crosscutting concerns into aspects. Some mechanisms to compose aspects allow invasiveness as a mean to integrate concerns. Invasiveness means that AOP languages have unrestricted access to program properties. Such kind of languages are interesting because they allow performing complex operations and better introduce functionalities. In this report we present a classification of invasive patterns in AOP. This classification characterizes the aspects invasive behavior and allows developers to abstract about the aspect incidence over the program they crosscut.
Improving transient error tolerance of digital VLSI circuits using robustness compiler (ROCO)

Due to aggressive technology scaling, VLSI circuits are becoming increasingly susceptible to transient errors caused by single-event-upsets (SEUs). In this paper, we introduce two circuit-level techniques to efficiently yet economically improve SEU tolerance of static CMOS digital circuits. We also developed a "Robustness COmpiler (ROCO)" to integrate these techniques into the existing design flow to achieve high level of reliability at low design cost. Experiment results show that the proposed methodology is able to greatly improve the circuits' SEU tolerance with zero timing overhead and very limited area penalty
Theoretical Design and Circuit Implementation of Multidirectional Multi-Torus Chaotic Attractors

This paper introduces a novel fourth-order double-torus chaotic circuit. Based on this basic circuit, a systematic theoretical design approach is proposed for generating 1-Dn torus, 2-D n times m-torus, 3-D n times m times I torus, and 4-D n times m times l times p torus chaotic attractors. This is the first autonomous circuit reported in the literature for generating multidirectional multi-torus (MDMT) chaotic attractors. The dynamical behaviors of these MDMT chaotic systems are further investigated, including equilibrium points, bifurcations, Lyapunov exponents, and Poincare maps. Theoretical analysis shows that the MDMT chaotic attractors can be generated by switching and displacing a basic linear circuit. Finally, a block circuit diagram is designed for hardware implementation of the MDMT chaotic attractors. This is also the first time in the literature to experimentally verify a maximal 1-D 20-torus, a maximal 2-D 5 times 5 torus, and a maximal 4-D 5 times 5 times 3 times 3 torus chaotic attractors.
Sorting Olive Batches for the Milling Process Using Image Processing

The quality of virgin olive oil obtained in the milling process is directly bound to the characteristics of the olives. Hence, the correct classification of the different incoming olive batches is crucial to reach the maximum quality of the oil. The aim of this work is to provide an automatic inspection system, based on computer vision, and to classify automatically different batches of olives entering the milling process. The classification is based on the differentiation between ground and tree olives. For this purpose, three different species have been studied (Picudo, Picual and Hojiblanco). The samples have been obtained by picking the olives directly from the tree or from the ground. The feature vector of the samples has been obtained on the basis of the olive image histograms. Moreover, different image preprocessing has been employed, and two classification techniques have been used: these are discriminant analysis and neural networks. The proposed methodology has been validated successfully, obtaining good classification results.
An in vitro model of lymphocyte homing. I. Characterization of the interaction between thoracic duct lymphocytes and specialized high-endothelial venules of lymph nodes.

An in vitro system was used to study lymphocyte interaction with high-endothelial venules (HEV) in rat lymph nodes. The results show that thoracic duct lymphocytes (TDL) are capable of selective adherence to the endothelium of HEV when overlaid onto glutaraldehyde-fixed sections of lymph nodes. At optimal TDL concentration (30 × 10 6 /ml) and incubation temperature (7°C) binding occurs rapidly and the majority of HEV in each section usually shows adherent lymphocytes, the number attaching to each vessel being proportional to the endothelial area. TDL do not bind to other vascular structures in the node and ordinarily there is little adherence to other cells in the section. The results indicate therefore that TDL have surface membrane structures specific for HEV recognition. Although TDL adhere to glutaraldehyde-fixed HEV, lymphocytes pretreated with fixative lose their capacity to bind. Also incubation performed at 1°C produces a fairly marked reduction in binding capacity of normal TDL. These observations indicate that endothelium of HEV are passive participants in the in vitro reaction whereas metabolic activity is important on the part of lymphocytes. In addition, when incubation is performed at 24°C, binding is severely reduced and at 37°C few, if any, HEV exhibit adherent TDL. It is suggested that lymphocytes that adhere to HEV are capable of rapid dissociation under physiologic conditions, a property that could facilitate entry of lymphocytes into the lymph node after their interaction with the specialized endothelium in vivo .
The Detection And Elimination Of Useless Misses In Multiprocessors

In this paper we introduce a new classification of misses in shared-memory multiprocessors based on interprocessor communication. We identify the set of essential misses, i.e., the smallest set of misses necessary for correct execution. Essential misses include cold misses and true sharing misses. All other misses are useless misses and can be ignored without affecting the correctness of program execution. Based on the new classification we compare the effectiveness of five different protocols which delay and combine invalidations leading to useless misses. In cache-based systems the protocols are very effective and have miss rates close to the essential miss rate. In virtual shared memory systems the techniques are also effective but leave room for improvements.
Evaluation of immune response following one dose of an AS03A-adjuvanted H1N1 2009 pandemic influenza vaccine in Japanese adults 65 years of age or older

Objective: This study assessed the immunogenicity, long-term persistence of immune response and safety of a single dose of an A/California/07/2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza vaccine adjuvanted with AS03 (α-tocopherol and squalene based oil-in-water emulsion Adjuvant System) in subjects ≥ 65 y of age (NCT01114620). Results: At Day 21, the HI immune response met all three European guidance criteria [seroconversion rate (SCR): 60.0%; seroprotection rate (SPR): 64.0%; geometric mean fold rise (GMFR): 10.2] and the US guidance criterion for SCR. At month 6, the HI immune response against the A/California/07/2009 H1N1 strain persisted but at levels lower than that observed at Day 21 (SCR: 38.8%; SPR: 42.9%; HI antibody geometric mean titer: 27.6); the European regulatory guidance criteria for SCR and GMFR were still met. Overall, the vaccine was well-tolerated. Conclusion A single dose of the 3.75µg HA AS03-adjuvanted H1N1 2009 pandemic vaccine induced immune responses against the vaccine strain that met the European regulatory guidance criteria at day 21 in the elderly Japanese population; the immune response persisted at lower levels at month 6. No safety concerns were identified. These results suggest that two vaccine doses might be useful for the elderly population to improve antibody induction and persistence. Methods: In this open-label, single group study, 50 subjects received one dose of the 3.75 µg hemagglutinin (HA) AS03-adjuvanted H1N1 2009 vaccine. Immunogenicity assessments were made before vaccination, 21 days and six months after vaccination using hemagglutination inhibition (HI) and microneutralization assays. Immunogenicity end points were based on US and European regulatory criteria.
Predicate Transformers for Infinite-State Automata in NuPRL Type Theory

This paper has two goals. The first is to present a formalization in Nuprl type theory of a very general methodology for system description, specification and verification. The method is especially suitable for describing distributed systems, and is based on a modification of the I/O automata of Lynch & Tuttle. By using infinite extendible records as the state spaces of automata we gain a key inheritance property that make modular verification tractible. The second goal is to show how we can state and prove meta-theorems about the method in Nuprl by a reflection procedure whereby we define syntax and semantics for both system descriptions and specifications within Nuprl type theory. We can then define a syntactic predicate transformation algorithm that generates syntactic verification conditions, and then prove the meta-theorem that shows that the truth of (the meanings of) the verification conditions implies that (the meaning of) the description satisfies (the meaning of) the specification.
Flow cytometric (DNA content and S‐phase fraction) analysis of breast cancer

The advent of therapeutic alternatives for patients with breast cancer has altered their clinical management profoundly. Because of this, the need for reliable prognostic indicators with definable clinical utility has spawned a number of objective evaluations of the neoplasm itself. Flow cytometric analysis of DNA and the cell cycle (S‐phase fraction) are two of the objective measurements. Their current status in breast cancer is unclear. In the important category of carcinomas with negative axillary lymph nodes, ONA content (ploidy) information does not add important, independent, or prognostic information. S‐phase fraction, in addition to correlating with DNA content and histologic grade, may be an independent factor, but methodologic variables have hampered definite conclusions about its utility. Currently, given the rather consistent absence of correlation between DNA ploidy, S‐phase fractions, and nodal metastases, the independent prognostic utility of the two flow cytometric parameters can be questioned. A resolution of their final status in the prognostic hierarchy depends on rigorous adherence to the variables affecting them, i.e., preanalytic, analytic, and postanalytic factors.
Impact of Flavour Variability on Electronic Cigarette Use Experience: An Internet Survey

Background: A major characteristic of the electronic cigarette (EC) market is the availability of a large number of different flavours. This has been criticised by the public health authorities, some of whom believe that diverse flavours will attract young users and that ECs are a gateway to smoking. At the same time, several reports in the news media mention that the main purpose of flavour marketing is to attract youngsters. The importance of flavourings and their patterns of use by EC consumers have not been adequately evaluated, therefore, the purpose of this survey was to examine and understand the impact of flavourings in the EC experience of dedicated users. Methods: A questionnaire was prepared and uploaded in an online survey tool. EC users were asked to participate irrespective of their current smoking status. Participants were divided according to their smoking status at the time of participation in two subgroups: former smokers and current smokers. Results: In total, 4,618 participants were included in the analysis, with 4,515 reporting current smoking status. The vast majority (91.1%) were former smokers, while current smokers had reduced smoking consumption from 20 to 4 cigarettes per day. Both subgroups had a median smoking history of 22 years and had been using ECs for 12 months. On average they were using three different types of liquid flavours on a regular basis, with former smokers switching between flavours more frequently compared to current smokers; 69.2% of the former subgroup reported doing so on a daily basis or within the day. Fruit flavours were more popular at the time of participation, while tobacco flavours were more popular at initiation of EC use. On a scale from 1 (not at all important) to 5 (extremely important) participants answered that variability of flavours was “very important” (score = 4) in their effort to reduce or quit smoking. The majority reported that restricting variability will make ECs less enjoyable and more boring, while 48.5% mentioned that it would increase craving for cigarettes and 39.7% said that it would have been less likely for them to reduce or quit smoking. The number of flavours used was independently associated with smoking cessation. Conclusions: The results of this survey of dedicated users indicate that flavours are marketed in order to satisfy vapers’ demand. They appear to contribute to both perceived pleasure and the effort to reduce cigarette consumption or quit smoking. Due to the fact that adoption of ECs by youngsters is currently minimal, it seems that implementing regulatory restrictions to flavours could cause harm to current vapers while no public health benefits would be observed in youngsters. Therefore, flavours variability should be maintained; any potential future risk for youngsters being attracted to ECs can be sufficiently minimized by strictly prohibiting EC sales in this population group.
Remote sensing of cloud, aerosol, and water vapor properties from the moderate resolution imaging spectrometer (MODIS)

The authors describe the status of MODIS-N and its companion instrument MODIS-T (tilt), a tiltable cross-track scanning spectrometer with 32 uniformly spaced channels between 0.410 and 0.875 mu m. They review the various methods being developed for the remote sensing of atmospheric properties using MODIS, placing primary emphasis on the principal atmospheric applications of determining the optical, microphysical, and physical properties of clouds and aerosol particles from spectral reflection and thermal emission measurements. In addition to cloud and aerosol properties, MODIS-N will be used for determining the total precipitable water vapor and atmospheric stability. The physical principles behind the determination of each of these atmospheric products are described, together with an example of their application to aircraft and/or satellite measurements. >
A New Biologically Motivated Framework for Robust Object Recognition

Abstract : In this paper,we introduce a novel set of features for robust object recognition, which exhibits outstanding performances on a variety of object categories while being capable of learning from only a few training examples. Each element of this set is a complex feature obtained by combining position- and scale-tolerant edge-detectors over neighboring positions and multiple orientations. Our system motivated by a quantitative model of visual cortex outperforms state-of-the-art systems on a variety of object image datasets from different groups. We also show that our system is able to learn from very few examples with no prior category knowledge. The success of the approach is also a suggestive plausibility proof for a class of feed-forward models of object recognition in cortex. Finally, we conjecture the existence of a universal overcomplete dictionary of features that could handle the recognition of all object categories.