Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) Modified Porous Ca5(PO4)2SiO4 Bioceramics: Structural, Morphologic and Bioactivity Analysis

Bioceramics are class of biomaterials that are specially developed for application in tissue engineering and regenerative medicines. Sol-gel method used for producing bioactive and reactive bioceramic materials more than those synthesized by traditional methods. In the present research study, the effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on Ca5(PO4)2SiO4 (CPS) bioceramics was investigated. The addition of 5% and 10% PEG significantly affected the porosity and bioactivity of sol-gel derived Ca5(PO4)2SiO4. The morphology and physicochemical properties of pure and modified materials were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. The effect of PEG on the surface area and porosity of Ca5(PO4)2SiO4 was measured by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET). The results obtained from XRD and FTIR studies confirmed the interactions between PEG and CPS. Due to the high concentration of PEG, the CPS-3 sample showed the largest-sized particle with an average of 200.53 µm. The porous structure of CPS-2 and CPS-3 revealed that they have a better ability to generate an appetite layer on the surface of the sample when immersed in simulated body fluid (SBF) for seven days. The generation of appetite layer showed the bioactive nature of CPS which makes it a suitable material for hard tissue engineering applications. The results have shown that the PEG-modified porous CPS could be a more effective material for drug delivery, implant coatings and other tissue engineering applications. The aim of this research work is to fabricate SBF treated and porous polyethylene glycol-modified Ca5(PO4)2SiO4 material. SBF treatment and porosity of material can provide a very useful target for bioactivity and drug delivery applications in the future.
Design of a Small-Aperture Steering Mirror for High-Bandwidth Acquisition and Tracking

The High-Bandwidth Steering Mirror (HBSM) prototype is the product of a research program to develop a high-bandwidth, low angular range, two-dimensional beam steerer used in optomechanical pointing, acquisition, and tracking systems. This research centered around the optimization of a beam-steering mechanism comprising a mirror, restoring flexure, actuators, position sensors, and encompassing housing. Various design trade-offs and manufacturing issues involved in building the prototype are discussed, and the resulting performance data are presented. The resulting HBSM design allows integration with a simple closed-loop control scheme. The mirror/controller has a closed-loop bandwidth of 10 kHz, and 1° peak-to-peak stroke (mirror normal) at low frequencies. This increased bandwidth yields excellent disturbance rejection in the 10to 1000-Hz frequency band and enables the generation of faster scan patterns.
Persistent challenges in geovisualization – a community perspective

ABSTRACT Over four workshops, we collected community input on what people considered as persistent challenges in geovisualization with the participation of 72 experts from various sub-domains of geographic information science and technology. We categorize and analyze this bottom-up input, and contrast it with the previously published research challenges based on five research agenda papers (top-down). We observe certain overlaps but also some interesting differences between the top-down and bottom-up approaches. A synthesis of the two suggests three major issues as persistent challenges: (1) a better understanding of the scope of our domain, how it interacts with other domains, and how to make this happen, (2) a systematic understanding of human factors, (3) a ‘practicable’ set of guidelines that matches the visualization types to task types, and guides the practitioner to design geovisualizations that are appropriate and helpful to the user. Distinguishing persistent from important, we discuss why the identified challenges are persistent, and draw recommendations for action based on our observations and interpretations. We believe these findings will help building a stronger, better-grounded research agenda for our community.
A Marketing Perspective on Mergers and Acquisitions: How Marketing Integration Affects Postmerger Performance

Previous research on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has neglected marketing issues by and large. In this article, the authors examine the effects of postmerger integration in marketing (extent and speed of marketing integration) on M&A performance, as mediated by integration outcomes (magnitude of cost savings and market-related performance). Results from a survey of 232 horizontal M&A show that market-related performance after the merger or acquisition has a much stronger impact on financial performance than does cost savings. In addition, the authors find that the extent of integration is beneficial in terms of cost savings but detrimental in terms of market-related performance. Finally, they identify variables that moderate the relationships being considered.
An Efficient Vehicle Model Recognition Method

An efficient vehicle model recognition method based on Adaptive Harris corner detector is presented in this paper. First, the vehicle radiator grid is selected as ROI and Harris corner detection is used to detect corner as vehicle model features, to solve a problem of inconsistencies in the number of corner between different models or the same model in different environment. Second, an adaptive threshold function is constructed to control the number of corner replacing a fixed threshold, ensuring that the image is always able to produce a certain number of strong corners. Third, a parallel scheme is designed to accelerate the vehicle recognition algorithm via GPU/CPU heterogeneous computing model to meet real-time requirement, which includes parallelization of algorithm and parallelization of process. The experiments on 1096 big truck images of 12 vehicle models obtain the recognition accuracy rate of 99.5%, and achieve 58x speedup on average by a platform with Intel Core i5 2400 and NVIDIA C2075. The results show that our proposed method can meet the requirements of practical application.
An Evolutionary Model of the Emergence of Meanings

ABSTRACT This study investigates the mechanism by which individuals learn to associate signals with meanings in a way that is agreeable to everyone, and thereby, to collectively produce common and stable signaling systems. Previous studies suggest that simple learning algorithms based on local interactions, such as reinforcement learning, sufficiently give rise to signaling systems in decentralized populations. However, those algorithms often fail to achieve optimal signaling systems. Under what condition do suboptimal signaling systems emerge? To address this question, we propose a multi-agent model of signaling games with three parameters – memory length, the complexity of communication problems, and population size – as potential constraints imposed on the collective learning process. The results from numerical experiments suggest that finite memory leads to suboptimal signaling systems, characterized by redundant signal-meaning associations. This paper concludes with discussions on the theoretical implications of the findings and the directions of future research.
A Review of Brain Signal Processing Methods

Brain signals can be obtained and analyzed using a variety of methods as described in this literature review. Understanding the possibilities of analytical methods expands researchers’ horizons for developing technological approaches to detecting biological events. Specifically, EEG signals can be analyzed using a variety of methods, suggesting a combination of methods could be optimal for ease of computerized analysis and diagnosis of epileptic seizures. Keywords—Brain-Computer Interface, EEG signals, signal processing, feature extraction, epileptic seizures
Clinical Practice Guidelines : Management of alcohol-related liver disease q European Association for the Study of the Liver

Guideline development process A panel of clinicians with an interest in liver disease and alcoholic liver disease (ALD), approved by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Governing Board, wrote and discussed this Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) document between November 2016 and March 2017. The guidelines were independently peer reviewed, and all contributors to the CPG disclosed their conflicts of interest by means of a disclosure form provided by the EASL Office prior to work commencing. The EASL Ethics Committee reviewed the composition of the panel to eliminate the potential for real or perceived bias. The CPG panel conflict of interests are declared in this submission.
The Development of Ultrafast Electron Microscopy

Time-resolved electron microscopy is based on the excitation of a sample by pulsed laser radiation and its probing by synchronized photoelectron bunches in the electron microscope column. With femtosecond lasers, if probing pulses with a small number of electrons—in the limit, single-electron wave packets—are used, the stroboscopic regime enables ultrahigh spatiotemporal resolution to be obtained, which is not restricted by the Coulomb repulsion of electrons. This review article presents the current state of the ultrafast electron microscopy (UEM) method for detecting the structural dynamics of matter in the time range from picoseconds to attoseconds. Moreover, in the imaging mode, the spatial resolution lies, at best, in the subnanometer range, which limits the range of observation of structural changes in the sample. The ultrafast electron diffraction (UED), which created the methodological basis for the development of UEM, has opened the possibility of creating molecular movies that show the behavior of the investigated quantum system in the space-time continuum with details of sub-A spatial resolution. Therefore, this review on the development of UEM begins with a description of the main achievements of UED, which formed the basis for the creation and further development of the UEM method. A number of recent experiments are presented to illustrate the potential of the UEM method.
The sensitivity of intense rainfall to aerosol particle loading – a comparison of bin-resolved microphysics modelling with observations of heavy precipitation from HyMeX IOP7a

Abstract. Over the Cevennes–Vivarais region in southern France 5 h intensive rainfall covering an area of 1000 km 2 with more than 50 mm of rain accumulation was observed during IOP7a of HyMeX. This study evaluates the performance of a bin-resolved cloud model for simulating this heavy-precipitation event. The simulation results were compared with observations of rain accumulation, radar reflectivity, temporal and spatial evolution of precipitation, 5 min rain rates, and raindrop size distributions (RSDs). The different scenarios for aerosol number concentrations range from 1000 to 2900 cm −3 and represent realistic conditions for this region. Model results reproduce the heavy-precipitation event with respect to maximum rain intensity, surface area covered by intense rain and the duration, as well as the RSD. Differences occur in the short-term rainfall rates, as well as in the drop number concentration. The cloud condensation number concentration has a notable influence on the simulated rainfall, on both the surface amount and intensity but also on the RSD properties, and should be taken into account in microphysics parameterizations.
ON THE POTENTIAL OF HYPERSPECTRAL AND SENTINEL-2 DATA FOR LANDCOVER / LAND-USE CLASSIFICATION

The automated analysis of large areas with respect to land-cover and land-use is nowadays typically performed based on the use of hyperspectral or multispectral data acquired from airborne or spaceborne platforms. While hyperspectral data offer a more detailed description of the spectral properties of the Earth’s surface and thus a great potential for a variety of applications, multispectral data are less expensive and available in shorter time intervals which allows for time series analyses. Particularly with the recent availability of multispectral Sentinel-2 data, it seems desirable to have a comparative assessment of the potential of both types of data for land-cover and land-use classification. In this paper, we focus on such a comparison and therefore involve both types of data. On the one hand, we focus on the potential of hyperspectral data and the commonly applied techniques for data-driven dimensionality reduction or feature selection based on these hyperspectral data. On the other hand, we aim to reason about the potential of Sentinel-2 data and therefore transform the acquired hyperspectral data to Sentinel-2-like data. For performance evaluation, we provide classification results achieved with the different types of data for two standard benchmark datasets representing an urban area and an agricultural area, respectively.
Comparison Between Total Energy Intake and Screen Time Among U.S Children Based on NHANES 2015–2016 Data

Childhood obesity is a multifactorial condition related to energy intake and decreased energy expenditure. Increased screen time as television, computers, tablets, and video games may be contributing to the rates of overweight and obesity in the United States. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention recommend that children aged 3–5 years should spend up to 1 hour as screen time and older children up to 2 hours per day. Exceeding screen time recommendations may be related to overweight and obesity due to an increased consumption of sugar, fats, and highly advertised food products and to a lower energy expenditure. Our objectives were to compare total energy intake between children that comply or not with recommendations for screen time. This was an analysis of data from NHANES 2015–2016. Responses on the average of hours spent daily as screen time from television (TV), video watching, and computer use were analyzed and compared with the mean energy intake obtained from two 24-h dietary recalls. The sample was divided into two age groups following the recommendations for screen time: 3–5 y and 6–14 y. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), with Bonferroni post-hoc stratified by gender only for 6–14 y. A total of 1936 participants aged 3–14 y had complete data and were included in the analysis. Reported mean screen time was 5.48 ± 3.91 h in children 3–5 y and 4.98 ± 3.48 h in 6–14 y. Most did not meet the recommendations for screen time (87.6% in 3–5 y and 71.2% in 6–14 y). Girls aged 6–14 y who met the recommended screen time (≤2 h) had significantly lower mean energy intake (1733 ± 534.18 kcal/d) compared to those that spent between 4–8 h (1908 ± 809 kcal/d; P < 0.041). No significant differences in caloric intake were found in energy intake among boys aged 6–14 y or among children aged 3–5 y. Most of the children did not meet the recommendations for screen time. In girls aged 6–14 years, the length of screen time was associated with total calories consumed. This association might be explained by the high frequency of high calorie-dense foods advertised on television and the internet, which may influence food choices or by less energy expenditure with the long hours of sedentary viewing. This needs to be confirmed in future studies. Internal funds from Florida International University.
Comparative Evaluation of NOVAMIN Based Paste versus BIOMIN Based Paste in Dental Hypersensitivity

DOI: 10.21276/sjams.2018. 6.12. 30 Abstract: The objective of this study was to estimate and compare the dentin hypersensitivity reduction after Novamin based paste (SHY NM) paste and Biomin based paste (Elsenz) in an adult population. The study population included 100 subjects, who visited the out-patient department of periodontics, Govt Dental College and Hospital Srinagar in need of hypersensitivity problem. After conducting routine examinations, Tactile,VAS and thermal tests were used to assess the sensitivity. The measurement of sensitivity was carried out by using a 10 cm visual analog scale before and after desensitizing paste. The results were analyzed statistically using the Mann-Whitney U test. The results showed that patients who were prescribed Biomin based pastes (Elsenz) had more favourable results than Novamin based pastes (Shy NM). The results of the present study demonstrated that Patients with Biomin based paste reported more dentin hypersensitivity reduction than patients with Novamin based paste evaluated with thermal, tactile, VAS scale
Adaptive Quantization Parameter Estimation for HEVC Based Surveillance Scalable Video Coding

Visual surveillance systems have been playing a vital role in human modern life with a large number of applications, ranging from remote home management, public security to traffic monitoring. The recent High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) scalable extension, namely SHVC, provides not only the compression efficiency but also the adaptive streaming capability. However, SHVC is originally designed for videos captured from generic scenes rather than from visual surveillance systems. In this paper, we propose a novel HEVC based surveillance scalable video coding (SSVC) framework. First, to achieve high quality inter prediction, we propose a long-term reference coding method, which adaptively exploits the temporal correlation among frames in surveillance video. Second, to optimize the SSVC compression performance, we design a quantization parameter adaptation mechanism in which the relationship between SSVC rate-distortion (RD) performance and the quantization parameter is statistically modeled by a fourth-order polynomial function. Afterwards, an appropriate quantization parameter is derived for frames at long-term reference position. Experiments conducted for a common set of surveillance videos have shown that the proposed SSVC significantly outperforms the relevant SHVC standard, notably by around 6.9% and 12.6% bitrate saving for the low delay (LD) and random access (RA) coding configurations, respectively while still providing a similar perceptual decoded frame quality.
New geometric models for calculation of microalgal biovolume

Biovolume calculation of micro algae is commonly used for the assessment in relative abundance (as biomass or carbon) of coexistent algae that vary in shape and/or size. Periphyton samples were obtained within a more general program, in fishery tanks and streams situated in the upper basin region of Tibagi River, nearby Londrina, Parana state, south of Brazil. The present work proposes new algorithms for the determination of algal species volume. Results showed that Gyrosigma scalproides (Rabenhorst) Cleve 1894 and Tetraedron gracile (Reinsch) Hansgirg 1889 were exceptions inside their genus and the present new formula for biovolume and area gives more adequate results. In addition, new formulas applied for Phacus longicauda (Ehrenberg) Dujardin 1841 and Kirchneriella lunaris (Kirchner) Mobius 1894 also showed much more accurate results than in the previous works. The difference in the calculations of biovolume between the present method and others was not small and could not be neglected.
Introduction: entrepreneurship, contextual, process and gender differentiations

This volume presents a selection of significant papers from the 139 presented at the RENT Conference XXVII hosted by ISM University of Management and Economics in Vilnius, Lithuania, in November 2013. The RENT Conference is one of the key entrepreneurship research conferences in the world, attended by 176 delegates. Entrepreneurship is an interdisciplinary field with many interesting and continuously emerging subfields. While some researchers are striving to push the field toward maturity with core theories with delineated topics and established methodologies, many see entrepreneurship research as an adolescent that continues to experiment and evolve in new directions. Consequently, the RENT XXVII Conference featured papers spanning a variety of topics and units of analyses, as well as methodological approaches and we have sought to reflect this when selecting the papers for this volume. The book also demonstrates how the field is developing, in terms of the lens that is used to examine specific research topics, its approaches and implications. This is evident in this volume in two specific ways. First, the recent focus and importance of ‘context’ illustrates that the entrepreneurship research field is starting to gradually grasp what the implications are for the field. For example, it is not enough to generate new research from emerging economies, as opposed to Western countries. Rather it is important to understand the heterogeneity within the contexts and the continuous changes in the environments in which we are researching entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship gains new meanings across different places during different times. Nor do these meanings necessarily have to be always positive. Entrepreneurship as a dynamic concept can be also dysfunctional or have unintended consequences. At the core
Physiological Attributes Related to Quality Attributes and Storage Life of Minimally Processed Lettuce

Relationships between storage quality attributes, such as russet spotting and browning intensity, and physiological attributes, such as soluble phenolic content and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activities, of mini- mally processed crisphead lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) were studied. The processed lettuce tissue was kept in air or air plus ethylene at 2 or 5 µl·liter -1 at 2.5 or 5C for 1 to 4 days and then transferred to air at 2.5, 5, or 20C for 1 to several days. None of the above physiological attributes of the initial samples from eight lettuce cultivars (Calmar, El Toro, Sea Green, Pacific, Monterey, Salinas 88, 86-13, and Nerone) and three maturity stages (immature, mature, and overmature) correlated with their storage quality. However, ethylene- induced PPO and PAL activities and browning intensity measured 3 to 4 days after harvest consistently and significantly correlated with the final visual quality of the ethylene- treated, minimally processed lettuce after 6 to 10 days of storage. Among these three attributes, ethylene induced a 2.5- to 5.3-fold increase in PAL activity, while the relative changes in PPO activity and browning intensity were only 23% to 68%. Ethylene-induced PAL activity possibly may be used as an index to predict the storage life of minimally processed lettuce. Recently, minimally processed lettuce has become popular due to its increased use in salad bars and fast food outlets. Chopping or shredding lettuce ruptures cells and initiates wound-induced physiological and biochemi- cal reactions that shorten storage life. Wound-
Inarticulate Devices: Critical Encounters with Network Technologies in Research Through Design

Research through design (RTD) is commonly conceived as a material and discursive practice of articulating knowledge. This paper contributes to the understanding of RTD as a form of critical inquiry by considering how inarticulacy can also be a productive element of this process. We present two reflective accounts of critically-engaged RTD practices in which our attempts to articulate concerns or questions were met with resistance from technology that was both the subject and medium of our investigation. We argue that encountering inarticulacy is not a failure of RTD but instead points to how material exploration can sensitise us to how network technology resists articulating certain values or concerns. Encountering inarticulacy led us to formulate new problems and new lines of inquiry. We conclude by suggesting that the central role given to ambiguity in RTD prepares us to witness and respond to inarticulacy in our practices, design outcomes and critical understandings.