Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nonlinear dynamics of confined thin liquid-vapor bilayer systems with phase change

We numerically investigate the nonlinear evolution of the interface of a thin liquid-vapor bilayer system confined by rigid horizontal walls from both below and above. The lateral variation of the vapor pressure arising from phase change is taken into account in the present analysis. When the liquid (vapor) is heated (cooled) and gravity acts toward the liquid, the deflection of the interface monotonically grows, leading to a rupture of the vapor layer, whereas nonruptured stationary states are found when the liquid (vapor) is cooled (heated) and gravity acts toward the vapor. In the latter case, vapor-flow-driven convective cells are found in the liquid phase in the stationary state. The average vapor pressure and interface temperature deviate from their equilibrium values once the interface departs from the flat equilibrium state. Thermocapillarity does not have a significant effect near the thermodynamic equilibrium, but becomes important if the system significantly deviates from it.
Leitura de Escritas Numéricas de Números Multidígitos: implicações ao Processo de Formação de Professores

O trabalho tem como objetivo promover reflexoes sobre a importância do conhecimento dos conteudos matematicos a serem ensinados por futuros professores dos anos iniciais e sobre o pouco espaco dado a eles e aos conhecimentos didaticos e metodologicos nos cursos de formacao inicial de professores, em especial, nos cursos de Pedagogia. Para tal, apresenta parte dos resultados da pesquisa “Concepcoes de academicos de Pedagogia sobre escritas numericas de numeros multidigitos” realizada com alunos do Curso de Pedagogia da UFPR. Os dados apresentados referem-se a entrevistas realizadas com tres duplas de academicos, nas quais foram propostas situacoes didaticas envolvendo a leitura de numeros multidigitos. Permitem observar dificuldades, em especial, na leitura de numerais superiores a milhoes e aos conceitos que envolvem o Sistema de Numeracao Decimal, bem como um processo de construcao de estrategias para ler numeros superiores a classe dos milhoes, semelhante ao observado em criancas em fase de escolarizacao. Os resultados da pesquisa sugerem a necessidade de trabalhar com o conhecimento do conteudo nos cursos de formacao inicial de professores de modo integrado ao conhecimento didatico-metodologico, uma vez que as concepcoes, hipoteses e conhecimentos previos dos academicos precisam ser objeto de reflexao e ressignificacao. Sugerem, tambem, a necessidade de os cursos de formacao inicial reservarem maior tempo e espaco para a disciplinas que proporcionem estas abordagens aos conteudos que os futuros professores deverao ensinar.
Correlation between degree of crystallinity, morphology and mechanical properties of PPS/carbon fiber laminates

The crystallization degree in semi-crystalline thermoplastics plays an important role in determining the final properties of structural composite material (e.g. toughness, stiffness and solvent resistance). The main purpose of this work is to study different induced degrees of crystallinity in carbon fiber (CF) reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) composites, by using three different cooling rates during hot compression molding processing (51%, 58% and 62% of crystallinity). In this study, the morphology, thermal and mechanical properties of the produced laminates were investigated and compared. The results showed an increase in the storage modulus (9.8%), Young's modulus (9.2%) and ILSS (14.2%) for the lower cooling rates. Evidences of fiber/interface improvement and crystallites nucleation on the fiber reinforcement surface were also identified.
A NEW NECK INJURY CRITERION CANDIDATE-BASED ON INJURY FINDINGS IN THE CERVICAL SPINAL GANGLIA AFTER EXPERIMENTAL NECK EXTENSION TRAUMA

In this study a mathematical model, based on Navier Stokes equations, was developed and validated against experimental data. This model predicts the pressure changes in the spinal canal as a function of the volume change inside the canal during neck bending in the x-z (sagittal) plane. Another aim of the study was to investigate pressure phenomena and ganglion injuries at static neck extension loading and dynamic neck extension trauma with a head-restraint present. Experiments on pigs were conducted. Preliminary results indicate that ganglion injuries, as well as pressure transients inside the spinal canal, seem to correlate to the phase shift when the neck passes an s-shape (or maximal retraction) during the rearward motion of the head. That is, when the upper neck quickly changes from a flexion to an extension shape. Static loading of the neck resulted in no signs of injuries to the ganglia. A possible candidate for a neck injury criterion is presented, based on the relative acceleration between the top and the bottom of the cervical spine. A tolerance level based on the pig tests is also discussed.
Subtypes of Sodium‐Dependent High‐Affinity L‐[3H]Glutamate Transport Activity: Pharmacologic Specificity and Regulation by Sodium and Potassium

Abstract: Some data suggest that the sodium‐dependent, high‐affinity L‐glutamate (Glu) transport sites in forebrain are different from those in cerebellum. In the present study, sodium‐dependent transport of L‐[3H]Glu was characterized in cerebellum and cortex. In both cerebellar and cortical tissue, activity was enriched in synaptosomes. Approximately 100 excitatory amino acid analogues were tested as potential inhibitors of transport activity. Many of the compounds tested inhibited transport activity by <65% at 1 mM and were not studied further. One group of compounds exhibited inhibition conforming to theoretical curves with Hill coefficients of 1 and were <10‐fold selective as inhibitors of transport activity. These included three of the putative endogenous substrates for transport: L‐Glu, L‐aspartate, and L‐cysteate. Four of the compounds exhibited inhibition conforming to theoretical curves with Hill coefficients of 1 and were > 10‐fold selective as inhibitors. These included β‐N‐oxalyl‐L‐α,β‐diaminopropionate, α‐methyl‐DL‐glutamate, (2S, 1′S,2′S)‐2‐(carboxycyclopropyl)glycine, and (2S, 1′S,2′S,3′S)‐2‐(2‐carboxy‐3‐methoxymethylcyclopropyl)glycine. Data obtained with a few of the inhibitors were consistent with two sites in one or both of the brain regions. (2S, 1′R,2′R)‐2‐(Carboxycyclopropyl)glycine (L‐CCG‐II) was identified as the most potent (IC50= 5.5 μM) and selective (60–100‐fold) inhibitor of transport activity in cerebellum. One of the potential endogenous substrates, L‐homocysteate, was also a selective inhibitor of cerebellar transport activity. The data for inhibition of transport activity in cortex by both L‐CCG‐II and L‐homocysteate were best fit to two sites. Kainate was equipotent as an inhibitor of transport activity, and in both brain regions the data for inhibition were best fit to two sites. The possibility that there are four subtypes of excitatory amino acid transport is discussed. Altering sodium and potassium levels affects cerebellar and cortical transport activity differently, suggesting that the differences extend to other recognition sites on these transporters.
RISK IN WOMEN WITH POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a condition that was first described by Drs. Stein and Leventhal in 1935, when they described a group of women with amenorrhea, hirsuitism, obesity, and enlarged ovaries [1]. Over subsequent years, PCOS has become recognized as a common endocrine disorder which affects 6-12% of reproductive-aged women in most populations, making it the one of the most common endocrine disorders. The exact prevalence varies in different populations and according to the definitions used, but has been reported to be as high as 28.3% among overweight and obese women from Spain [2]. In Asian populations such as Chinese, hirsuitism may not be a prominent feature [3], though a recent study in southern Chinese reported a prevalence of 2.2% among women of reproductive age [4].
Crosstalk-included eye-diagram estimation for high-speed silicon, organic, and glass interposer channels on 2.5D/3D IC

In this paper, crosstalk-included eye-diagram of high-speed interposer channels are estimated and investigated. To analyze the crosstalk effect of various interposer channels, silicon, organic, and glass substrates are compared under the same physical structure and dimensions. Moreover, crosstalk-included eye-diagrams are estimated in short time with high accuracy using 8 worst input cases. The estimated crosstalk-included eye-diagrams are analyzed at data rate of 1 and 2 Gbps.
Costs and predictors of costs in rheumatoid arthritis: a prevalence-based study.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the annual cost of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its predictive factors. METHODS Data were obtained from a 12-month retrospective cohort of 201 RA patients, randomly selected from a rheumatology registry, through a structured interview and records of the Central Information System of the hospital. Results were divided into direct, indirect, and total costs in 2001 US dollars. A sensitivity analysis was performed. Multiple linear regression models for the different types of costs were carried out. RESULTS The total cost was US dollars 2.2 million per year, with a cost attributable to RA of US dollars 2.07 million per year. The average cost per patient was US dollars 10419 per year (ranging from US dollars 7914 per patient per year in the best scenario to US dollars 12922 per patient per year in the worst case). Direct costs represent nearly 70% of total costs. We found an average increment in total costs of US dollars 11184 per year per unit of Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score (P < 0.0001) and an average annual increment of US dollars 621 per year of disease (P < 0.0001). After adjustment, the HAQ score, inability to perform housework tasks, and being permanently disabled for work were the only predictors of high costs. CONCLUSION Our data show a remarkable economic impact of RA over society and link the costs of the disease to its consequences in terms of functional disability, work disability, and housework disability.
Recloser allocation for improved reliability of DG-enhanced distribution networks

The radial distribution feeder protection strategy is first presented in this paper without consideration for distributed generation (DG). Then, the addition of DG across the feeder (constrained in terms of power and/or energy capacity) is introduced in the model. If islanded operation of these DG sources is allowed on a feeder subjected to a disturbance, DG may reduce the number of interruptions and/or durations for customers residing within their protection zones, thus increasing the reliability of service. To that end, a procedure for finding optimal positions for DG and protection devices is presented for a feeder equipped with capacity-constrained distributed generators, using a custom-tailored genetic algorithm, and the improvement in reliability is demonstrated on a test feeder. Tuning of the genetic algorithm parameters and an adaptive algorithm that eliminates the need for parameter tuning are the subject of a separate paper by the same authors
Filtrado adaptativo multicanal para control local de campo sonoro basado en algoritmos de proyección afín

Esta Tesis doctoral se ha centrado en el desarrollo e implementacion de algoritmos eficientes multicanal, basados en el algoritmo de proyeccion afin, aplicados al control activo de ruido. Para abordar esta cuestion primeramente se han estudiado diferentes algoritmos eficientes de proyeccion afin que han sido analizados y validados mediante simulacion, finalizando con la implementacion, en un recinto, de un sistema real de control activo de ruido multicanal ejecutado en un DSP controlado por dichos algoritmos. En los ultimos anos, los algoritmos de proyeccion afin han sido propuestos como algoritmos de control en sistemas adaptativos, que pretenden mejorar la velocidad de convergencia de los algoritmos basados en el LMS, siendo una alternativa eficiente, robusta y estable frente a estos algoritmos, cuya limitacion principal es, precisamente, la velocidad de convergencia. Los algoritmos de proyeccion afin pueden ser considerados como una extension natural del algoritmo NLMS, ya que este actualiza sus coeficientes basandose en un unico vector de datos de la senal de entrada mientras que los algoritmos de proyeccion afin actualizan los coeficientes de los filtros adaptativos usando N vectores de datos de la senal de entrada (siendo N el orden de proyeccion). Se han dedicado muchos esfuerzos para tratar de optimizar la eficiencia computacional de estos algoritmos aplicados al problema de la cancelacion de eco, surgiendo diferentes versiones eficientes del algoritmo de proyeccion afin. Sin embargo, al aplicarlo al control activo de ruido, es necesario reducir aun mas la complejidad computacional, teniendo en cuenta que, por lo general, la eficiencia computacional se consigue a costa de la degradacion de alguna otra caracteristica del algoritmo (generalmente la velocidad de convergencia). En este trabajo se presentan algunas alternativas a versiones eficientes existentes, que no degradan significativamente las prestaciones de dicho algoritmo, y se analiza como reducir aun
Quantitative comparison of 3D third harmonic generation and fluorescence microscopy images

Third harmonic generation (THG) microscopy is a label‐free imaging technique that shows great potential for rapid pathology of brain tissue during brain tumor surgery. However, the interpretation of THG brain images should be quantitatively linked to images of more standard imaging techniques, which so far has been done qualitatively only. We establish here such a quantitative link between THG images of mouse brain tissue and all‐nuclei‐highlighted fluorescence images, acquired simultaneously from the same tissue area. For quantitative comparison of a substantial pair of images, we present here a segmentation workflow that is applicable for both THG and fluorescence images, with a precision of 91.3 % and 95.8 % achieved respectively. We find that the correspondence between the main features of the two imaging modalities amounts to 88.9 %, providing quantitative evidence of the interpretation of dark holes as brain cells. Moreover, 80 % bright objects in THG images overlap with nuclei highlighted in the fluorescence images, and they are 2 times smaller than the dark holes, showing that cells of different morphologies can be recognized in THG images. We expect that the described quantitative comparison is applicable to other types of brain tissue and with more specific staining experiments for cell type identification.
Event-Related Potentials and Semantics: An Overview and an Integrative Proposal

Event-related potentials have shown to be a valuable tool when studying language processing. In this review we focus on the literature that deals with semantic processing. Thus, we review studies concerning the classic semantic-related ERP component, the N400, those concerning the recently described recognition potential (RP), and studies that have attempted to identify brain activations related to semantic processing without focusing on specific ERP components. From the available data we provide an integrative proposal. According to this proposal, ERPs are clear indexes of the three subprocesses presumably involved in semantic comprehension. ERPs would provide, additionally, information about the time course of such subprocesses.
On P values and effect modification

Aim: A crucial element of evidence-based healthcare is the sound understanding and use of statistics. As part of instilling sound statistical knowledge and practice, it seems useful to highlight instances of unsound statistical reasoning or practice, not merely in captious or vitriolic spirit, but rather, to use such error as a springboard for edification by giving tangibility to the concepts at hand and highlighting the importance of avoiding such error. This article aims to provide an instructive overview of two key statistical concepts: effect modification and P values. Methods and results: A recent article published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on side effects related to statin therapy offers a notable example of errors in understanding effect modification and P values, and although not so critical as to entirely invalidate the article, the errors still demand considerable scrutiny and correction. In doing so, this article serves as an instructive overview of the statistical concepts of effect modification and P values. Conclusion: Judicious handling of statistics is imperative to avoid muddying their utility. This article contributes to the body of literature aiming to improve the use of statistics, which in turn will help facilitate evidence appraisal, synthesis, translation, and application.
The Association Between Anal Function and Neural Degeneration After Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy Followed by Intersphincteric Resection

BACKGROUND: Preoperative chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer is administered to improve local control, but it can also induce severe anal dysfunction after surgery. OBJECTIVE: The goals of the study were to assess the influence of preoperative chemoradiotherapy on pathological findings and to examine the correlation of these findings with the cause of severe anal dysfunction after intersphincteric resection. DESIGN: Peripheral nerve degeneration was evaluated histopathologically with the use of hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections of surgical specimens after intersphincteric resection, based on karyopyknosis, vacuolar degeneration, acidophilic degeneration of cytoplasm, denucleation, and adventitial neuronal changes. Each item was scored to quantify the level of neural degeneration, and the relationship between degeneration and anal function was examined at 12 months after closure of the stoma. Anal function was assessed by questionnaire, and incontinence was evaluated based on the Wexner score. SETTING: This study was conducted at the National Cancer Center Hospital East from 2001 to 2006. PATIENTS: The subjects were 68 patients with lower rectal cancer who underwent intersphincteric resection with (n = 47) or without (n = 21) preoperative chemoradiotherapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The findings in the 2 groups were compared to clarify the association between the degree of histological degeneration and postoperative anal function. RESULTS: Neural degeneration was significantly higher in the chemoradiotherapy group, and the neural degeneration and Wexner scores had a significant correlation (P = .003, r = 0.477). CONCLUSION: Preoperative chemoradiotherapy induced marked neural degeneration around the rectal tumor. The significant correlation between the degeneration score and postoperative anal function suggests that this score may be a useful marker to predict the influence of preoperative chemoradiotherapy on anal function after surgery.
Visual processing of the zebrafish optic tectum before and after optic nerve damage

Although the zebrafish has become an important model in visual neuroscience, little has been done to examine the processing of its higher visual centers. The purpose of this work was twofold. The first purpose was to examine the physiology of the zebrafish retinotectal system and its relationship to retinal physiology. Spectral sensitivity functions were derived from visually evoked tectal responses and these functions were compared to the functions of electroretinogram (ERG) responses obtained using the same stimulus conditions. The second purpose was to examine the recovery of visual functioning of the tectum following optic nerve damage. The optic nerves of adult zebrafish were damaged (crushed), and tectal visual processing was assessed following damage. The results showed that the spectral sensitivity functions based on the On-responses of the tectum and ERG were qualitatively similar. The functions based on each response type received similar cone contributions including both nonopponent and opponent contributions. However, the spectral sensitivity functions based on the Off-responses of the tectum and ERG differed. The results also showed that the zebrafish visual system is capable of neural regeneration. By 90 days following an optic nerve crush, the spectral sensitivity function based on the tectal On-response was similar to functions obtained from normal zebrafish. Although the tectal Off-response did recover, the spectral sensitivity based on the Off-response was not the same as the function of normal zebrafish. These results support the notion that different levels of the visual system process information differently and that the zebrafish visual system, like those of other lower vertebrates, is capable of functional regeneration.
Study on regulation of adipokines on body fat distribution and its correlation with metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND This paper aims to investigate the regulating role of adipokine expression level in body fat distribution of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2MD) as well as its correlation with metabolic syndrome (MS). METHODS 140 patients with T2MD admitted in the Endocrinology Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2017 to July 2017 were selected; their body height and weight were measured to calculate body mass index (BMI); patients with a BMI ≤23.9 kg/m2 were included into control group (n=49), and those with a BMI ≥24 kg/m2 into observation group (n=91). Based on whether the patients were complicated with MS, they were divided into non-metabolic syndrome (N-MS) group (n=79) and MS group (n=61); the levels of serum dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4), adiponectin (ADPN) and leptin as well as the contents of body fat and lean tissue of the two groups of patients were measured. RESULTS The serum DPP-4 level in observation group was remarkably elevated compared with that in control group (p<0.05), but there were no significant differences in the leptin and ADPN levels between the two groups (p>0.05). The serum DPP-4 and leptin levels were positively correlated with the total body fat mass (FAT) of the patients in observation group (r=0.461, p=0.004; r=0.433, p=0.007); DPP-4 level had a positive correlation with trunk fat mass (TRUNK F) (r=0.545, p=0.001) and limb fat mass (LIMB F) (r=0.412, p=0.005); the leptin level was positively correlated with LIMB F (r=0.513, p=0.001); the leptin and ADPN levels were negatively correlated with the content of lean tissue (r=-0.476, p=0.001; r=-0.344, p=0.021). Compared with those in N-MS group, the levels of serum DPP-4 and leptin were increased significantly, while the ADPN level was decreased notably (p<0.05) in MS group. CONCLUSIONS The adipokines DPP-4 and leptin in the serum can influence the body fat distribution of patients with T2MD; there is an important association of DPP-4, leptin and ADPN levels with MS, which may be used as therapeutic targets for multiple metabolism disorders of T2MD.