Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship between filler content and selected mechanical properties of six microhybrid composites

OBJETIVO: O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a influencia do conteudo de carga, em peso, de seis resinas compostas microhibrida sobre determinadas propriedades mecânicas. METODOLOGIA: A resistencia a compressao, modulo de elasticidade, microdureza Vickers (VHN) e conteudo de carga de peso foram avaliados nas seguintes resinas compostas: Admira (AD), Charisma (CH), InTen-S (IN), Tetric Ceram (TC), Point 4 (P4) e Z250 (Z2). RESULTADOS: Os valores medios de resistencia a compressao (MPa) variaram de P4 76,60 a Z2 222,33. Os modulos de elasticidade (GPa) variou de IN 2,56 a Z2 4,59. A microdureza VHN variou de P4 50,53 a Z2 87,88. O conteudo de carga em peso (Wt%) variou de IN 72,51 a TC 79,56. Foram encontradas diferencas significativas entre as resinas compostas (ANOVA/Tukey's, P<0,05). CONCLUSAO: A resina Z2 teve a maior resistencia a compressao; Z2 e TC apresentaram maiores modulo de elasticidade, VHN e conteudo de carga em peso. O conteudo de carga em peso teve uma forte influencia nas propriedades mecânicas avaliadas (0,78
Aerobic and anaerobic power characteristics of off-road cyclists.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between anaerobic power at different pedaling frequencies (including the optimal cadence) and aerobic power in off-road cyclists (CYC; N = 25) and sports students, who did not perform specific cycle exercise more than two times per week (CON; N = 60). METHODS To describe the aerobic power, we measured the maximal power output (W(max)) and the power output at the fixed lactate threshold at 4 mmol x L(-1) (W(L4)) obtained during a maximal aerobic power cycling test. To describe anaerobic power output, we measured the average power output (IsoW(mean)) over a range from 50 to 140 rpm by using a 10-s sprint on an isokinetic cycle ergometer. RESULTS For the 10-s anaerobic test, CON and CYC showed a peak power output (IsoW(peak)) of 13.3 +/- 1.4 and 14.9 +/- 1.1 W x kg(-1), respectively. IsoW(peak) corresponded to an optimal cadence of 100 +/- 9.3 rpm for CON and 100 +/- 8.7 rpm for CYC. There was a significant difference (P < 0.001) in the W(max):IsoW(peak) (W(aerobic):W(anaerobic)) ratio between CON (32 +/- 4.5%) and CYC (38 +/- 3.9%). Significant differences among group means were identified using an ANOVA test and a post hoc analysis. The off-road cyclists showed a significantly higher IsoW(mean) at all pedaling frequencies and at the optimal cadence (P < 0.01). There was a modest relationship between W(max) and IsoW(peak) in both groups (CON r = 0.53; CYC r = 0.64; P < 0.01). CONCLUSION Anaerobic power values are important components associated with cycle performance in both noncyclists and off-road cyclists. However, the results of the present study demonstrated the usefulness of the power index in the physiological evaluation of off-road cyclists, as it gives information on the proportion of aerobic to anaerobic energy contribution.
Peut on classer les universités en fonction de leur performance d'insertion ?

Afin de mesurer la qualite de l'insertion de leurs diplomes, la tres grande majorite des universites a developpe un systeme d'observation regulier de l'insertion de leurs etudiants. Plus recemment, sous l'impulsion du MESR, une enquete commune a plus de 70 etablissements a ete realisee sur les diplomes de master. Si l'objectif etait de proposer aux etudiants une information necessaire sur leurs debouches professionnels, est apparue rapidement la tentation de classer les universites en fonction de leur "performance" d'insertion. Le travail propose dans cet article se veut une contribution a la reflexion sur la pertinence d'une telle mesure a partir des enquetes existantes. Dans une premiere partie, nous nous proposons de revenir sur le classement des universites presente dans les premiers resultats publies par le Ministere a partir de l'enquete Master 2007. Nous montrons que le poids des effets de structure et des effets regionaux du marche du travail influencent largement ce classement. Dans une seconde partie, nous nous proposons de discuter de la mesure des effets etablissements sur l'insertion professionnelle a partir de la litterature existante notamment en economie de l'education. Comme on pourra le voir, il apparait souvent difficile de mettre en evidence des effets nets lies aux etablissements, notamment lorsque l'on tient compte des caracteristiques individuelles des etudiants au sein de ces etablissements. Enfin, dans une troisieme partie, a partir des donnees de l'enquete Generation 2004 du Cereq sur les sortants des universites, mais egalement des ecoles d'ingenieurs, nous proposons de mesurer l'effet specifique des etablissements sur les salaires des diplomes, en controlant les caracteristiques individuelles des etudiants et celles de leur marche local du travail. Pour les differents types d'etablissement d'enseignement superieur, nous montrons que l'effet "etablissement" est en general faible ou inexistant : la plus grande partie de la variance des salaires, quelle que soit la formation, est expliquee par des caracteristiques individuelles des diplomes et par la conjoncture sur le marche local du travail ou la majorite d'entre eux s'insere. De plus, lorsqu'ils existent, une partie des effets etablissements pour les universites s'explique par la part des boursiers sur criteres sociaux dans l'etablissement, qui a toujours un effet significatif et negatif sur la remuneration des diplomes.
The Effects of Localization on Economic Performance: Analysis of Spanish Tourism Clusters

The sun, sea and sand model that has characterized the Spanish tourism sector and has caused Spain's tourist sector to become a world-class industry is actually undergoing drastic changes. This model is based on the existence of major tourism destinations characterized by high levels of industry specialisation, which makes them a target of analysis as tourism clusters in which the geographic concentration of synergies reinforces the competitive position. In this study, Spanish tourism clusters are identified using quantitative methods and the current validity of the economies of location that have made them possible are also analysed. Although all the identified clusters can be defined as mature and became less significant during the last decade in Spanish tourism, according to the results the creation of externalities measured in terms of higher generation of profit is higher in companies belonging to the tourism clusters than in those outside of them.
Effect of raw soya bean particle size on productive performance and digestion of dairy cows.

Differing soya bean particle sizes may affect productive performance and ruminal fermentation due to the level of fatty acid (FA) exposure of the cotyledon in soya bean grain and because the protein in small particles is more rapidly degraded than the protein in large particles, which influence ruminal fibre digestion and the amounts of ruminally undegradable nutrients. The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effects of raw soya bean particle size on productive performance, digestion and milk FA profile of dairy cows. Twelve Holstein cows were assigned to three 4 × 4 Latin squares with 21-day periods. At the start of the experiment, cows were 121 days in milk (DIM) and yielded 30.2 kg/day of milk. Cows were fed 4 diets: (i) control diet (CO), without raw soya bean; (ii) whole raw soya bean (WRS); (iii) cracked raw soya bean in Wiley mill 4-mm screen (CS4); and (iv) cracked raw soya bean in Wiley mill 2-mm screen (CS2). The inclusion of soya beans (whole or cracked) was 200 g/kg on dry matter (DM) basis and partially replaced ground corn and soya bean meal. Uncorrected milk yield and composition were not influenced by experimental diets; however, fat-corrected milk (FCM) decreased when cows were fed soya bean treatments. Soya bean diets increased the intake of ether extract (EE) and net energy of lactation (NEL ), and decreased the intake of DM and non-fibre carbohydrate (NFC). Ruminal propionate concentration was lower in cows fed WRS than cows fed CS2 or CS4. Cows fed cracked raw soya bean presented lower nitrogen in faeces than cows fed WRS. The milk of cows fed WRS, CS2 and CS4 presented higher unsaturated FA than cows fed CO. The addition of raw soya bean in cow diets, regardless of the particle size, did not impair uncorrected milk yield and nutrient digestion, and increased the concentration of unsaturated FA in milk. Cows fed cracked raw soya bean presented similar productive performance to cows fed whole raw soya bean.
Effect of ouabain on tone, membrane potential and sodium efflux compared with [3H]ouabain binding in rat resistance vessels.

To investigate the mechanism by which ouabain causes acute increase in peripheral resistance, the effect of ouabain on vessel tone, 22Na efflux and membrane potential has been compared with the binding of [3H]ouabain in rat isolated mesenteric resistance vessels (lumen diameter approximately 200 microns). Ouabain at concentrations between 1 X 10(‐8) and 1 X 10(‐3) M had no effect on the tone of resting vessels but caused potentiation of the tone of vessels which were submaximally contracted with noradrenaline. In the entire concentration range, these acute potentiating effects of ouabain on vessel tone correlated well with an acute inhibitory effect on 22Na efflux and with acute [3H]ouabain binding, consistent with the vasoconstrictor effect of ouabain being associated with inhibition of the Na‐K pump. At all concentrations, in both resting and activated vessels, ouabain exposure caused an acute concentration‐dependent depolarization of the membrane. At low ouabain concentrations (1 X 10(‐6) and 1 X 10(‐5) M) the potentiating effect on vessel tone and the inhibitory effect on 22Na efflux were transient, so that after 10 min no effect of ouabain was seen. This was consistent with these ouabain concentrations failing to cause a measurable increase in the intracellular Na concentration ([Na]i) after longer term (up to 2 h) exposure. The recovery of 22Na efflux was due to a recovery of the ouabain‐sensitive part of the 22Na efflux, suggesting that the transitory nature of these effects is due to stimulation of uninhibited Na‐K pumps. The transient effects of low ouabain concentrations contrasted with binding experiments where, with 1 X 10(‐6) M‐ouabain, the binding first peaked after 30 min with only a small decline thereafter. With higher concentrations of ouabain (1 X 10(‐4) and 1 X 10(‐3) M), the potentiating effect was also transitory, but 22Na efflux was permanently inhibited and the [Na]i rose. The possibility of there being two populations of ouabain binding sites having different affinities, was supported by the observation of shoulders in the ouabain concentration‐effect characteristics obtained with respect to the mechanical potentiation of noradrenaline responses, the 22Na efflux and the acute ouabain binding. In all cases a shoulder was seen between 1 X 10(‐6) and 1 X 10(‐5) M‐ouabain. The results are consistent with the vasoconstrictor effect of ouabain being due to depolarization of the membrane as a consequence of inhibition of the Na‐K pump.
Cytokine Expression in the Spinal Cord Lesions in HTLV-l-associated Myelopathy

Immunocytochemical staining of spinal cords from five autopsied patients with HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/ tropical spastic paraparesis was performed using a panel of monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies reactive with interleukin-1/3 (IL-1/3), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a, interferon (IFN)-a, IFN-/3, IFN--yand transforming growth factor (TGF)-/S. In the spinal cords of patients with a shorter duration of illness, IL-l/S, TNF-a, and IFN-7 were expressed on perivascular infiltrating macrophages, astrocytes and microglia in active-chronic inflammatory lesions. In striking contrast, we rarely noted cytokine expression except for IFN-7 in inactive-chronic lesions of patients with longer durations. In situ expression of these cytokines on microglia and astrocytes, in addition to infiltrating mononuclear cells, suggests that glial cells participate in the inflammatory process, especially in active lesions. In addition, the cytokine expression was gradually downregulated along with duration of illness.
Aceclofenac ethosomes for enhanced transdermal delivery

The oral administration of aceclofenac has often resulted in side effects with chronic use. Using the transdermal route eliminates these side effects. Aceclofenac ethosomes were prepared and incorporated into a gel to enhance the skin permeability of aceclofenac. Ethosomal system comprised of phospholipids, ethanol, propylene glycol and lecithin. Different formulations were prepared with varying concentrations of lecithin and ethanol. The optical microscopy confirmed the formulation of multilamellar vesicles. The vesicle size of the ethosomes ranged between 0.696–1. 140µm. Surface morphology was conducted by scanning electron microscopy. The entrapment efficiency was determined by centrifugation method. Effect of ethanol and lecithin concentration on entrapment of ethosomes was observed. Franz diffusion cell was used to evaluate the in vitro transdermal permeability of aceclofenac ethosomes. The studies were carried out using mouse skin as well as commercial sigma membrane. The in vitro drug permeation of the optimised formulation was compared with commercial conventional gel-Ziynac gel. The flux values of different ethosomal formulation were observed between 116. 5µg/cm2/hr to 226.15µg/cm2 /hr. Formulation 5 showed maximum J value 226.1 as compared to marketed one 131. 5µg/cm2 /hr. From the results of the present study it can be concluded that ethosomes improve the transdermal flux, prolong the release and represent an active carrier for sustained transdermal delivery.
Improving Negative Sampling for Word Representation using Self-embedded Features

Although the word-popularity based negative sampler has shown superb performance in the skip-gram model, the theoretical motivation behind oversampling popular (non-observed) words as negative samples is still not well understood. In this paper, we start from an investigation of the gradient vanishing issue in the skip-gram model without a proper negative sampler. By performing an insightful analysis from the stochastic gradient descent (SGD) learning perspective, we demonstrate, both theoretically and intuitively, negative samples with larger inner product scores are more informative than those with lower scores for the SGD learner in terms of both convergence rate and accuracy. Understanding this, we propose an alternative sampling algorithm that dynamically selects informative negative samples during each SGD update. More importantly, the proposed sampler accounts for multi-dimensional self-embedded features during the sampling process, which essentially makes it more effective than the original popularity-based (one-dimensional) sampler. Empirical experiments further verify our observations and show that our fine-grained samplers gain significant improvement over the existing ones without increasing computational complexity.
New simulation approaches supporting temperature-aware design of digital ICs

Regarding thermal issues in digital IC design a major concern is how timing integrity is affected by the elevated junction temperature and temperature gradients on the chip surface. To predict this in a thermal aware design process one needs a dedicated simulation tool in which the logic simulation of the circuit is coupled to the thermal simulation of the chip and its environment. This paper presents two approaches to this so called logithermal simulation. In one of our approaches we rely completely on industry standard EDA tools, standard EDA file formats and interfaces. In the other solution which provides us total freedom in the abstraction level of circuit description and simulation accuracy we use our own logic simulation engine. In both cases the logic simulation engine is connected to our own thermal simulation engines which also use compact thermal models of the IC package during simulation. This paper describes certain implementation aspects and features of our logithermal simulation solutions, with emphasizes on modeling the thermal properties of the IC packaging.
A Biologically Inspired Training Algorithm for Spiking Neural Networks

The work presented in this paper merges the Bienenstock-Cooper-Munro (BCM) learning rule with the Spike Timing Dependant Plasticity (STDP) rule to develop a training algorithm for a multi layer Spiking Neural Network (SNN), stimulated using spike trains. The BCM rule is utilised to modulate the height of the plasticity window, associated with STDP, as a function of the activity of the postsynaptic neurons, and in doing so introduces a correlation between the activity of the postsynaptic neurons and their associated weights. The induced correlation uses the activity of postsynaptic neurons to stabilise the weight values across a multi-layer network causing convergence during training. The training algorithm also includes both exhibitory and inhibitory facilitating dynamic synapses that create a frequency filtering mechanism allowing the information presented to the network to be routed to different neurons. A variable neuron threshold level simulates the refractory period.
The Spectrum of Tuberculosis Infection: New Perspectives in the Era of Biologics

The risk of developing active tuberculosis (TB) is higher in patients taking immunosuppressive drugs, either as a result of reactivation of a latent TB infection (LTBI) or following a new infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). We discuss the pathogenesis and spectrum of Mtb infection in light of its implication for the management of patients following biologic regimens. Among recent findings, during LTBI, Mtb can persist in the host for decades, localizing in many tissues and assuming different metabolic states that protect the bacilli from the harsh host immune defenses. Despite the strong host T cell response against Mtb, the bacilli may also replicate and multiply in vivo, and any event impairing immune function may lead to active and uncontrolled bacteria replication and active disease. The classic dichotomy between active and latent disease is being reconsidered in favor of a continuous and dynamic spectrum extending from infection to disease that can coexist in the same individual. This TB spectrum results from the dynamic interaction between the host immune system and the bacilli and can be maintained in equilibrium for decades, although treatments affecting the host immune cells may result in disease reactivation.
New rate-compatible repetition convolutional codes

The optimum rate-compatible repetition convolutional (RCRC) codes with different parent encoder rates and different constraint lengths are presented. They are constructed according to the optimum distance spectrum (ODS) criterion. The obtained codes provide, e.g., significant throughput gains compared to simple repetition codes, when applied in hybrid type II automatic repeat request (ARQ) schemes.
Protection and Damage from Acute and Chronic Stress: Allostasis and Allostatic Overload and Relevance to the Pathophysiology of Psychiatric Disorders

Abstract: Stress promotes adaptation, but prolonged stress leads over time to wear‐and‐tear on the body (allostatic load). Neural changes mirror the pattern seen in other body systems, that is, short‐term adaptation vs. long‐term damage. Allostatic load leads to impaired immunity, atherosclerosis, obesity, bone demineralization, and atrophy of nerve cells in the brain. Many of these processes are seen in major depressive illness and may be expressed also in other chronic anxiety disorders. The brain controls the physiological and behavioral coping responses to daily events and stressors. The hippocampal formation expresses high levels of adrenal steroid receptors and is a malleable brain structure that is important for certain types of learning and memory. It is also vulnerable to the effects of stress and trauma. The amygdala mediates physiological and behavioral responses associated with fear. The prefrontal cortex plays an important role in working memory and executive function and is also involved in extinction of learning. All three regions are targets of stress hormones. In animal models, neurons in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex respond to repeated stress by showing atrophy, whereas neurons in amygdala show a growth response. Yet, these are not necessarily “damaged” and may be treatable with the right medications.
High order multi-dimensional moment generating algorithm and the efficient computation of Zernike moments

The optimum computation of multi-dimensional (multi-D) image moments is presented in this paper. The developed algorithm is designed for the general case, specifically, to an arbitrary moment order R and to dimension d. The properties of the algorithm makes it best suited for obtaining the well known 2-D Zernike moments when they are computed through their relation to ordinary moments. A computational complexity model shows that the proposed algorithm takes only (NR+N)(N+R+1) additions with a negligible amount of multiplications, when an N-sized image is used to generate 2-D ordinary moments up to order R. While the speed improvement of obtaining Zernike moments is of the order O(R) with respect to direct computation through Zernike polynomials. The regular structure of the processing elements and the minimum number of operations of the algorithm makes it best suited for hardware and software implementations.
Density-Varying High-End Sensor Placement in Heterogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks

To achieve better performance, we adopt a Heterogeneous Sensor Network (HSN) model. In many applications, the locations of some sensor nodes are controllable. In this paper, first we propose a novel density-varying deployment scheme for high-end sensors (H-sensors) in an HSN. The scheme solves the bottleneck problem in typical many-to-one sensor networks. We then study the optimal placement of H-sensors whose locations are controllable. The goal is to use the minimum number of H-sensors for ensuring successful data delivery, coverage and connectivity in a network for a given lifetime. We present an effective H-sensor placement scheme that can simultaneously achieve coverage, connectivity and data relay requirements while uses a small number of H-sensors. Both theoretical proofs and simulation results demonstrate that the proposed H-sensor placement scheme achieves very good performance.
Herbivory enables marine communities to resist warming

By maintaining interaction webs in the face of warming, herbivores dampen the effects of warming on succession and stability. Climate change can influence ecosystems via both direct effects on individual organisms and indirect effects mediated by species interactions. However, we understand little about how these changes will ripple through ecosystems or whether there are particular ecological characteristics that might make ecosystems more susceptible—or more resistant—to warming. By combining in situ experimental warming with herbivore manipulations in a natural rocky intertidal community for over 16 months, we show that herbivory regulates the capacity of marine communities to resist warming. We found that limpet herbivores helped to preserve trophic and competitive interactions under experimental warming, dampening the impact of warming on overall community composition. The presence of limpets facilitated the survival of the main habitat modifier (barnacles) under warmer conditions, which, in turn, facilitated the presence of a consumer guild. When limpets were removed, environmental warming altered trophic, competitive, and facilitative interactions, with cascading impacts on community succession and stability. We conclude that conserving trophic structure and the integrity of interaction networks is vitally important as Earth continues to warm.