Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phase Development During Setting and Hardening of a Bone Cement Based on α-Tricalcium and Octacalcium Phosphates

In this study, the phase development in the cement system α-TCP–OCP with phosphoric acid as a setting liquid was studied. The most promising formulation of α-TCP (60 wt%) and OCP (40 wt%) is proposed. This cement has the following characteristics: setting time 10 min, pH = 6.7, the compressive strength about 30 MPa, and high dissolution rate in an isotonic solution; the final wt% composition of α-TCP/DCPD/HA/OCP equals 27/38/20/15. Energy dispersive X-ray diffraction techniques were used for in situ monitoring of the processes taking place in the cement in real time.
The Generalized C Index for Internal Fuzzy Cluster Validity

The C index is an internal cluster validity index that was introduced in 1970 as a way to define and identify a “best” crisp partition on n objects represented by either unlabeled feature vectors or dissimilarity matrix data. This index is often one of the better performers among the plethora of internal indices available for this task. This paper develops a soft generalization of the C index that can be used to evaluate sets of candidate partitions found by either fuzzy or probabilistic clustering algorithms. We define four generalizations based on relational transformations of the soft partition and, then, compare their performance to eight other popular internal fuzzy cluster indices using two methods of comparison (internal “best-c ” and internal/external (I/E) “best match”), six synthetic datasets, and six real-world labeled datasets. Our main conclusion is that the sum-min generalization is the second best performer in the best-c tests and the best performer in the I/E tests on small data.
Proposed nomenclature for glass-ionomer dental cements and related materials.

The development of the original glass-ionomer cement by Wilson and Kent in 1969' was significant in that it made available for the first time a restorative dental material that had long-term adhesion to tooth structure. It also possessed some cariostatic properties due to the sustained release of fluoride. ^ More recently, glass-ionomer/composite resin hybrid materials have been introduced into chnical dentistry,̂ "* and this has led to considerable confusion over nomenclature. The terms "light-cured" (or "light-curable"), "dual cure," "resin-reinforced," and "resinmodified" have all been applied to them; in the worst cases, no qualifying phrase has been used at all. Instead, the term glass-ionomer has been used alone, giving the reader the impression that what is described is simply an accepted variation on the well-established theme of acid-base dental cements known as glassionomers. In a recent letter, Mount^ has highlighted the difficulties of this state of affairs, and called attention to the need for clear and unambiguous nomenclature in this field. He has also pointed out quite unacceptable examples of manufacturers calling their products lightcurable glass-ionomer cements, when in fact Iheir products show no evidence of the recognized setting reaction (ie, neutralization) and. when set, do not exhibit the typical properties of true glass-ionomer cements, such as adhesion or fluoride release.
Anaesthesiological considerations in small‐incision and laparoscopic cholecystectomy in symptomatic cholecystolithiasis: implications for pulmonary function. A randomized clinical trial *

Background: Upper abdominal surgery, including laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), is associated with post‐operative pulmonary dysfunction. LC has, by consensus, become the treatment of choice for symptomatic cholecystolithiasis. Small‐incision cholecystectomy (SIC), a procedure that does not require a pneumoperitoneum, threatens to be lost to clinical practice, even though there is evidence of equality. We hypothesized that the SIC technique should be equal, and might even be superior, to LC when considering post‐operative pulmonary function because of the short incision length.
Cloning and sequencing of the genes encoding Escherichia coli cytolethal distending toxin

Escherichia coli strains expressing cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) cause elongation of CHO cells at 24 h, followed by progressive cellular distention and death for up to 120 h. Similar distention and cytotoxicity are seen in HeLa, HEp-2, and, to a lesser extent, Vero cells. The initial elongation in CHO cells is indistinguishable from that caused by E. coli heat-labile toxin (LT). In contrast to those from LT strains, supernatants from these strains have no effect on Y-1 adrenal cells. TnphoA was introduced into CDT-positive E. coli E6468/62 (O86:H34), isolated from a child with diarrhea, and 13 CDT-negative transconjugants were identified. DNA probes constructed from DNA flanking the TnphoA insertion sites of CDT-negative mutants were used to identify a CDT-positive clone from an E6468/62 genomic library with a 5.5-kb insert. Exonuclease deletions were created and assayed in CHO cells. In this manner, a 2.3-kb CDT-active region was defined, and the nucleotide sequence was determined. Sequence analysis identified three open reading frames (ORFs), designated cdtA, cdtB, and cdtC. These contain 711, 819, and 570 bp, respectively, and encode polypeptides with predicted molecular masses of 25.5, 29.8, and 20.3 kDa, respectively. Each ORF has a putative signal sequence, and there are 4-bp overlaps between cdtA and cdtB and between cdtB and cdtC. The nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequences have no significant homology with those of any previously reported genes or proteins. By in vitro transcription-translation and an anti-alkaline phosphatase immunoblot, native proteins and/or fusion proteins corresponding to each ORF were identified.
Studies on the development of mouse embryos in vitro. IV. Interaction of energy sources.

The interactions of a number of possible energy sources for in-vitro development of 2-cell mouse ova were examined using statistical experimental designs. These experiments indicated that glucose has no beneficial effect on development when employed with the optimum concentration of pyruvate. Optimum concentrations of pyruvate and oxaloacetate when employed together resulted in a significantly lower response than when either compound was employed alone. It was found that the best medium for the development of 2-cell mouse ova into blastocysts contained 2·5 to 5·0 × 10−4 M-pyruvate + 2·5 to 5·0 × 10−2 M-lactate.
Delta mu Na+ drives the synthesis of ATP via an delta mu Na(+)-translocating F1F0-ATP synthase in membrane vesicles of the archaeon Methanosarcina mazei Gö1

Methanosarcina mazei Gö1 couples the methyl transfer from methyl-tetrahydromethanopterin to 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate (coenzyme M) with the generation of an electrochemical sodium ion gradient (delta mu Na+) and the reduction of the heterodisulfide of coenzyme M and 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreoninephosphate with the generation of an electrochemical proton gradient (delta muH+). Experiments with washed inverted vesicles were performed to investigate whether both ion gradients are used directly for the synthesis of ATP. delta mu Na+ and delta mu H+ were both able to drive the synthesis of ATP in the vesicular system. ATP synthesis driven by heterodisulfide reduction (delta mu H+) or an artificial delta pH was inhibited by the protonophore SF6847 but not by the sodium ionophore ETH157, whereas ETH157 but not SF6847 inhibited ATP synthesis driven by a chemical sodium ion gradient (delta pNa) as well as the methyl transfer reaction (delta mu Na+). Inhibition of the Na+/H+ antiporter led to a stimulation of ATP synthesis driven by the methyl transfer reaction (delta mu Na+), as well as by delta pNa. These experiments indicate that delta mu Na+ and delta mu H+ drive the synthesis of ATP via an Na(+)- and an H(+)-translocating ATP synthase, respectively. Inhibitor studies were performed to elucidate the nature of the ATP synthase(s) involved. delta pH-driven ATP synthesis was specifically inhibited by bafilomycin A1, whereas delta pNa-driven ATP synthesis was exclusively inhibited by 7-chloro-4-nitro-2-oxa-1,3-diazole, azide, and venturicidin. These results are evidence for the presence of an F(1)F(0)-ATP synthase in addition to the A(1)A(0)-ATP synthase in membranes of M. Mazei Gö1 and suggest that the F(1)F(0)-type enzyme is an Na+-translocating ATP synthase, whereas the A(1)A(0)-ATP synthase uses H+ as the coupling ion.
A hybrid linear-neural model for time series forecasting

This paper considers a linear model with time varying parameters controlled by a neural network to analyze and forecast nonlinear time series.We show that this formulation, called neural coefficient smooth transition autoregressive (NCSTAR) model, is in close relation to the threshold autoregressive (TAR) model and the smooth transition autoregressive (STAR) model with the advantage of naturally incorporating linear multivariate thresholds and smooth transitions between regimes. In our proposal, the neuralnetwork output is used to induce a partition of the input space, with smooth and multivariate thresholds. This also allows the choice of good initial values for the training algorithm.
Stable Isotope Applications in Bone Collagen with Emphasis on Deuterium/Hydrogen Ratios

The broad scope of isotopic applications of bone collagen ranges from modern ecological and physiological investigations to learning about living conditions of animals in the past (Ambrose & DeNiro, 1989; Chisholm et al., 1982; DeNiro & Epstein 1978, 1981; DeNiro & Weiner, 1988; Hare et al., 1991; Hedges & Law, 1989; Leyden et al., 2006; Lis et al., 2008; Reynard & Hedges, 2008). Bone collagen represents one of the best preserved proteins in fossilized animal remains that in some cases has been chemically preserved for up to 120,000 years (Bocherens et al., 1999). Collagen is protected from degradation by being encapsulated into the bone mineral bioapatite. In comparison to other biopolymers found in the archaeological record, bone collagen is relatively abundant, easily extracted, and offers a long-term record of the life of humans and animals (Collins et al., 2002). Stable isotope ratios in the living biomass directly relate to the stable isotope ratios of life-supporting substrates in the environment. Animals integrate stable isotopes into their biomass through the air we breathe, water we drink and food we eat. Despite the apparent permanence of mineral constituents of bone, the organic components undergo constant turnover through the life of a vertebrate and its collagen content represents a ‘running average’ of months, years, or a lifetime, depending on the specific bone and the animal. Bone collagen thus offers a valuable insight into the environmental conditions during part of or the entire life of an animal (LeeThorp, 2008; Tuross et al., 2008). Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of bone collagen have been in broad use in determining diets, paleodiets, trophic levels, and paleoenvironments associated with modern and fossilized bone samples (Ambrose & DeNiro 1989; Chisholm et al., 1982; Hare et al., 1991; Schwarcz, 2000; Walker & DeNiro, 1986; Walter & Leslie, 2009), while other isotopes are only recently finding useful applications. Hydrogen is unique among all elements in terms of the doubling of the atomic mass from the light hydrogen nuclide protium 1H to the less abundant, but heavier nuclide deuterium 2H (or traditionally also abbreviated as D). This large mass difference between the two stable hydrogen isotopes creates strong fractionation effects (i.e. the preferential use or participation of one of the two isotopes in chemical and physical processes) and generates an extremely wide natural isotopic range of hydrogen stable isotope ratios (Sessions et al., 1999). Available hydrogen stable isotope data from bone collagen suggest greater variability than the most of the earlier studies had presumed, a situation that would compromise the diagnostic value of individual forensic collagen δD values for many species.
Segmentation indépendante du texte par le formalisme multiéchelles microcanonique

Dans la presente communication un cadre d'analyse nouveau, le formalisme multiechelles mi- crocanonique (FMM), est utilise pour l'etude des signaux de parole. Le FMM est base sur le calcul des parametres geometriques et locaux –les exposants de singularite – qui permettent une analyse non-lineaire de la dynamique complexe et, en particulier, de caracteriser la signature intermittente. Egalement, une mesure cumulative de ces exposants qui a la propriete de produire des changements clairs et distinctifs aux frontieres des phonemes est definie. Des experiences preliminaires sur la base de donnees TIMIT sont presentees. Elles montrent que les exposants de singularite apportent en effet des informations precises sur la dynamique locale de la parole. Ces experiences montrent egalement que la mesure proposee a un bon potentiel de fournir une methode nouvelle et puissante pour la segmentation phonetique independante du texte.
Study of Serum Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 levels in Patients of Vascular Dementia

Background: Dementia is a major health problem worldwide and the number of people affected is expected to rise considerably, especially in developing countries. Vascular dementia is a degenerative cerebrovascular disorder that results from ischemic or haemorrhagic brain damage. Vitamin B12 and folate represent modifiable risk factors for dementia. They may increase the risk of vascular dementia as their deficiency can increase the homocysteine(vascular risk factor). Hence, it is important to explore the status of serum vitamin B12, folate in vascular dementia to evolve the treatment strategies for the same. Objectives: To determine the levels of serum folic acid and vitamin B12 in cases of vascular dementia and to compare these with age and sex matched controls. Methodology: In this case control study, 30 vascular dementia cases and 30 age and sex matched controls were selected. Serum levels of Folic acid and vitamin B12 were estimated by chemiluminescence method. Results: The vitamin B12 levels in vegetarians and mixed diet patients showed p value of 0.079 suggestive of significance. In Pearson correlation between MMSE score and vitamin B 12, r = 0.463 and p = 0.010 showing significant positive correlation indicating that cases with low vitamin B12 levels had more cognitive deficit. Conclusion : Vitamin B12 represents the modifiable risk factor for vascular dementia, hence B vitamin supplementation should be considered as preventive and therapeutic intervention.
Electromagnetic Navigation during Flexible Bronchoscopy

Background: Flexible bronchoscopy is routinely utilized in the diagnosis and treatment of various lung diseases. Nondiagnostic bronchoscopy leads to more invasive interventions, such as transthoracic needle aspiration, mediastinoscopy or even thoracotomy. Electromagnetic navigation is a novel technology that facilitates approaching peripheral lung lesions, which are difficult to sample by conventional means. The navigation system involves creating an electromagnetic field around the chest and localizing an endoscopic tool using a microsensor overlaid upon previously acquired CT images. Objectives: To determine the practicality, accuracy and safety of real-time electromagnetic navigation, coupled with previously acquired 3D CT images, in locating artificially created peripheral lung lesions in a swine model. Methods: Peripheral lung lesions were created in four swine models by insertion of a metal tube (1 × 10 mm) via a transthoracic approach. An electromagnetic field was created by placing the animal on an electromagnetic location board. A position sensor incorporated into the distal tip of a dedicated tool was used to navigate to the various target lesions. Information gathered in real time during bronchoscopy was presented on a monitor simultaneously by displaying previously acquired CT images. Upon reaching the target lesion, biopsies were performed and the functionality and safety of the superDimension/Bronchus System was observed and documented. Results: The registration accuracy expressed by the fiducial target registration error, expressing both the registration quality and the stability of fiducial (registration) points, was 4.5 mm on average. No adverse effects, such as pneumothorax or internal bleeding, were encountered in any of the animals in this study. Conclusions: Real-time electromagnetic positioning technology coupled with previously acquired CT images is an accurate technology added to standard bronchoscopy to assist in reaching peripheral lung lesions and performing biopsies.
Minimizing Door-to-Balloon Time Is Not the Most Critical Factor in Improving Clinical Outcome of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Patients Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention*

Objectives:We tested the hypothesis that, as compared with conventional door-to-balloon, shortened door-to-balloon time would further improve 30-day outcome in ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients undergoing primary stenting. Design:Retrospective cohort study Setting:Academic tertiary care hospital with approximately 2600 beds Patients:Between January 2008 and December 2009, 266 ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients underwent primary stenting with conventional Door-to-baloon were consecutively enrolled as group 1, while 293 ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients underwent primary stenting with shortened door-to-balloon between January 2010 and December 2011 were consecutively enrolled as group 2. Intervention:Shorten door-to-balloon time. Measurements and Main Results:The results showed that time from chest pain onset to door did not differ between two groups (p > 0.1), whereas door-to-balloon time was significantly reduced in group 2 compared with that in group 1 (p < 0.0001). The prevalences of successful reperfusion, acute and subacute stent thrombosis, 30-day death or combined endpoint (defined as congestive heart failure ≥ New York Heart Association functional class 3 or 30-d death), and left ventricular function did not differ between two groups (all p > 0.05), whereas the peak creatine phosphokinase level was significantly reduced in group 2 (< 0.05). Further analysis showed that shortening the chest pain-to-reperfusion time to less than 240 minutes was the most important factor in improving left ventricular function (p < 0.001) and 30-day combined endpoint. Multivariate analysis showed that congestive heart failure greater than or equal to New York Heart Association functional class 3, poor left ventricular function, and age (all p < 0.001) along with unsuccessful reperfusion (p = 0.25) were independently predictive of 30-day mortality. Conclusion:Shortening the duration between chest pain onset and reperfusion to less than 4.0 hours was critical in reducing myocardial necrosis and improving heart function and 30-day mortality.
A parylene-led wingbeating indicator for visual remote sensing

This paper presents a 3D (three-dimensional) trajectory detection framework for a flapping flexible wingskin of a MAV (micro-air-vehicle) “Golden Snitch”, which has a flight record of 8 min. A flexible wingskin embedded with a 9-LED (light emitting diode) array was fabricated via parylene MEMS process. The obtained figure-of-8 trajectory of a flapping MAV is firstly reported with detailed 3D coordinate data.
Application of Higher Order Cumulants for Seismic Wavelet Reconstruction

According to the fact that high order cumulants (HOC) retain the phase information of signals and the HOC of the Gaussian color noise is always equal to zero, a new method of wavelet reconstruction is provided in this paper, based on 4th-order cumulants of non-Gaussian seismic signals. The feasibility of this method is demonstrated by the simulation of wavelet estimation for synthetic seismic traces. Furthermore, the seismic wavelet of field data processed with this method can be reconstructed correctly.
The effects of process-oriented organizational design on firm performance

Purpose – Several organizations choose a process‐oriented organizational design as a source for competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to explore empirically the relationship between process orientation (PO) and firm performance. The paper considers PO as a multidimensional construct and examines how its underlying dimensions impact different aspects of organizational performance.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses an exploratory research design and investigates the effects of the different PO dimensions on profitability, customer satisfaction, product quality, and time‐based performance using a random sample of Austrian manufacturing firms.Findings – The empirical findings reveal that process performance measurement, a process‐oriented organizational structure, the application of continuous process improvement methods, and – in particular – a culture in line with the process approach, are significantly and positively associated with organizational performance.Originality/value – Whi.
Statistical Learning for Sparse Sensing and Agile Operation

Author(s): Zhou, Yuxun | Advisor(s): Spanos, Costas J | Abstract: Recent advancements in the study of cyber-physical systems (CPS) have addressed the combination of computation, networking, physical processes, and human involvement as an overall system to improve adaptability, autonomy, eciency, functionality, reliability, safety, and usability. Among other lines of CPS research, machine learning (ML) has emerged as an indispensable component for state estimation, prediction, diagnosis, structure identication, operation specication, event detection, etc. This work particularly discusses three learning tasks that are commonly encountered in CPS sensing and operation applications. The primary motivations underlying this dissertation are (1) to incorporate the unique characteristics of the data generated from system measurement, and (2) to facilitate the integration of ML into other components of CPS, such as sensing and control subsystems.More specically, we rst consider learning interaction structures for sparse sensing. With the generic directed information maximization as the learning objective, we discuss two subset selection problems and provide performance guarantees for greedy algorithms by extending the notion of submodularity. Practically, the proposed learning framework can be applied broadly to streaming feature selection, causality mining, sensor placement, as well as the construction of causal graphs. The second learning task discussed in this work is focused on the detection of outliers or novelties from multiple correlated time series data generated from CPS measurement. The key issue being addressed is the utilization of the correlation information in the smoothing process of multiple sequences. Two methods, one based on a multi-task extension of non-parametric time series modeling and the other based on merging hidden Markov model with matrix factorization, are established and analyzed. Lastly, we discuss the task of learning system requirement for agile operation and optimal control. The classical ML paradigm is modied with \shape constraints" to facilitate its usage for optimal control or to capture class imbalance for event detection. While developing new learning formulations, we also propose a novel global optimization procedure, namely parametric dual maximization, that is able to solve a class of modied machine learning problems having non-convex objectives.