Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF ANODIC OXIDATION OF TITANIUM SUBSTRATE ON THE SHADE OF LITHIUM DISILICATE CERAMIC WITH DIFFERENT THICKNESSES (IN VITRO STUDY)

BACKGROUND: The color of the titanium abutment can affect the color of the final restoration. Several methods, such as anodic oxidation which changes the gray color of implant abutment to yellow have been attempted to mask the abutment’s unaesthetic gray color. However, it’s uncertain if an anodized titanium abutment can keep transparent ceramic restorations from discoloring. As a result, more research is required. AIM OF THE STUDY: the purpose of this laboratory study was to evaluate the effect of anodic oxidation of titanium on the shade of lithium disilicate ceramic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty grade V titanium backgrounds (n=20) were fabricated and divided into two groups: group 1 was anodized to yellow color and group 2 was left untreated. Each group was subdivided into 2 subgroups (n=10) according to the thickness of the lithium disilicate cemented over it: subgroup A with 1 mm thick lithium disilicate and subgroup B with 2 mm thick lithium disilicate. Each titanium background was cemented to its corresponding lithium disilicate block using translucent resin cement. For the control group, 4 mm thickness lithium disilicate specimens was fabricated. Color evaluation and differences (ΔE) were calculated for the specimens using a spectrophotometer. RESULTS: In both the anodized and unanodized groups ,there was a significant difference in the color of ceramic specimen (p < 0.05). At 1mm thickness of the lithium disilicate, the color difference between the anodized and unanodized groups was (6.84 ± 0.14) and (8.79 ± 0.52), respectively, while at 2mm thickness, it was (2.38 ± 0.24) and (2.57 ± 0.09). CONCLUSION: The titanium anodization process has a positive effect on the color of the ceramic specimen, which can help achieve an esthetic ceramic restoration over dental implants.
Approches pour l'analyse des signaux à phase polynomiale dans un environnement non gaussien

Le sujet de la these porte sur l'etude des approches d'estimation des Signaux a Phase Polynomiale (SPP) noyes par un bruit non gaussien. Nous considerons deux modeles pour le bruit: le premier modele est defini par une Somme Ponderee de Gaussiennes et le second par des distributions alpha-stables. Dans un premier temps, nous abordons les methodes classiques d'analyse des SPP. L'utilisation des statistiques d'ordre fractionnaire permet d'obtenir des algorithmes robustes en presence de bruit impulsif; nous exploitons cette propriete pour proposer une Distribution de Wigner-Ville Polynomiale pour l'analyse des SPP. Cette nouvelle distribution, permet de mieux estimer la frequence instantanee du SPP bruite. La deuxieme partie est consacree aux methodes recentes d'analyse spectrale adaptees aux SPP. Nous proposons un algorithme MUSIC robuste obtenu par SVD de la matrice de covariation. Cet algorithme nous permet d'estimer les coefficients de la phase dans un plan temps-coefficient. Dans la troisieme partie, une approche pour l'estimation des SPP par filtrage de Kalman est presentee. Cette approche repose sur un modele d'etat non lineaire avec un bruit d'observation non gaussien. Nous presentons trois types de filtres de Kalman robustes au bruit impulsif. Le premier, appele filtre de Kalman etendu robuste utilise un gain de Kalman dependant de la fonction de Huber. Aussi, nous proposons d'utiliser deux filtres de Kalman etendus (EKF) operant en parallele couples via le terme d'apparition du bruit impulsif. Enfin, il est possible d'ameliorer les performances d'estimation en utilisant un filtre UKF ‘unscented Kalman filter' a la place du filtre EKF.
Effect of incorporation of ethylene glycol into PEDOT:PSS on electron phonon coupling and conductivity

The effect of incorporation of ethylene glycol (EG) into poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) on electron phonon coupling and conductivity is investigated. It is shown that the carrier density (NC ) increases significantly and the carrier mobility (μ) increases slightly at 300 K. The increased intensity of the Raman spectrum between 1400 and 1450 cm−1, following EG treatment (that is, the quinoid-dominated structures of the PEDOT chain), leads to an increase in the number of polarons (bipolarons), which leads to an increase in NC . In addition, μ in PEDOT:PSS samples with or without EG addition exhibits a strong temperature dependence, which demonstrates the dominance of tunneling (hopping) at low (high) temperatures. The high conductivity of PEDOT:PSS samples with the addition of EG is attributed to the combined effect of the modification of the electron-phonon coupling and the increase in NC (μ).
MERGERS IN GALAXY GROUPS. I. STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF ELLIPTICAL REMNANTS

We present collisionless simulations of dry mergers in groups of 3 to 25 galaxies to test the hypothesis that elliptical galaxies form at the centers of such groups. Mock observations of the central remnants confirm their similarity to ellipticals, despite having no dissipational component. We vary the profile of the original spiral's bulge and find that ellipticals formed from spirals with exponential bulges have too low Sersic indices. Mergers of spirals with de Vaucouleurs (classical) bulges produce remnants with larger Sersic indices correlated with luminosity, as with Sloan Digital Sky Survey ellipticals. Exponential bulge mergers are better fits to faint ellipticals, whereas classical bulge mergers better match luminous ellipticals. Similarly, luminous ellipticals are better reproduced by remnants undergoing many (>5) mergers, and fainter ellipticals by those with fewer mergers. The remnants follow tight size–luminosity and velocity dispersion–luminosity (Faber–Jackson) relations (<0.12 dex scatter), demonstrating that stochastic merging can produce tight scaling relations if the merging galaxies also follow tight scaling relations. The slopes of the size–luminosity and Faber–Jackson relations are close to observations but slightly shallower in the former case. Both relations' intercepts are offset—remnants are too large but have too low dispersions at fixed luminosity. Some remnants show substantial (v/σ > 0.1) rotational support, although most are slow rotators and few are very fast rotators (v/σ > 0.5). These findings contrast with previous studies concluding that dissipation is necessary to produce ellipticals from binary mergers of spirals. Multiple, mostly minor and dry mergers can produce bright ellipticals, whereas significant dissipation could be required to produce faint, rapidly rotating ellipticals.
Intravitreal Fluocinolone Acetonide for Diabetic Macular Edema: Long-Term Effect and Structure/Function Correlation

The long-term effect of intravitreal Fluocinolone acetonide (FAc) on retinal morphology and function in diabetic macular edema (DME) was investigated. Seventeen eyes of twelve consecutive DME patients, treated by intravitreal FAc, were retrospectively evaluated. Retinal morphology was assessed with central macular thickness (CMT). Retinal function was assessed by best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and cone b-wave and photopic negative response (PhNR). The main outcome was a mean change in CMT at month 24. The secondary outcomes were changes in cone b-wave and PhNR at month 24. The incidence of adverse events was also recorded. Mean CMT decreased from 406.52 µm (±138.74) at baseline to 310 µm (±130.39) at 24 months (p = 0.008). No significant changes in the other parameters were found. At baseline, BCVA and PhNR amplitude were negatively correlated (r = −0.55) with CMT. At the end of follow-up, the change in CMT was negatively correlated with baseline CMT (r = −0.53, p = 0.03) and positively correlated with baseline PhNR amplitude (r = 0.58, p < 0.01). A significant, long-term reduction in CMT was observed in DME patients after FAc implant. The anti-edema effect tended to be stronger in patients with the poorest baseline retinal morphology (CMT) and function (PhNR). Structure/function correlations might help to characterize the patients who may benefit from this treatment.
Prediction of Indirect Indicators of a Grass-Based Diet by Milk Fourier Transform Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy to Assess the Feeding Typologies of Dairy Farms

Simple Summary The dairy industry is interested in developing a detection tool for milk produced from pasture to certify the protected designation of origin of certain dairy products. As the cattle’s grazing influences the milk composition, the milk mid-infrared (MIR) spectra will be modified. Therefore, this study aims to develop a predictive model allowing one to use milk MIR spectrometry to classify milk as produced from a cattle diet either based on grass or not. To achieve this objective, the collection of grazing calendars from farms is needed. Unfortunately, this is hardly possible, as this information is rarely recorded. Therefore, the innovation of this research consists of using the usual farming practices developed in the southern part of Belgium combined with a large-scale milk database containing 48 milk composition-related traits. Indeed, in this geographical area, the cows are mainly on pasture between April and September. Therefore, the month of testing can be considered indirect information about their feeding. The developed models were able to distinguish with a precision of around 90% the supposed grass-based diet. Therefore, the probability of belonging to the GRASS class could be used in a tool counting the number of grazing days to confirm the labeling of dairy products. Abstract This research aims to develop a predictive model to discriminate milk produced from a cattle diet either based on grass or not using milk mid-infrared spectrometry and the month of testing (an indirect indicator of the feeding ration). The dataset contained 3,377,715 spectra collected between 2011 and 2021 from 2449 farms and 3 grazing traits defined following the month of testing. Records from 30% of the randomly selected farms were kept in the calibration set, and the remaining records were used to validate the models. Around 90% of the records were correctly discriminated. This accuracy is very good, as some records could be erroneously assigned. The probability of belonging to the GRASS modality allowed confirmation of the model’s ability to detect the transition period even if the model was not trained on this data. Indeed, the probability increased from the spring to the summer and then decreased. The discrimination was mainly explained by the changes in the milk fat, mineral, and protein compositions. A hierarchical clustering from the averaged probability per farm and year highlighted 12 groups illustrating different management practices. The probability of belonging to the GRASS class could be used in a tool counting the number of grazing days.
Heuristic search with a general order relation

Algorithms are developed and analyzed for the solution of a class of problems that can be represented by locally finite graphs in which preferences among solution paths may be described by a transitive binary relation. The basic algorithmic structure of the popular heuristic search algorithm A* and its relatives is generalized using concepts from decision theory to allow for problems not effectively formulated in terms of the standard scalar criterion for directing search. The major motivation for this generalization is the importance of multiobjective problems in which it is often the case that development of a total order over the set of solution paths is neither necessary nor desirable. Relevant background on heuristic search theory and decision theory is presented. A general algorithm for heuristic search using transitive binary relations, referred to as GOZ* for generally ordered Z*, is presented and its formal properties are investigated. Similar to its precursors, A* and Z*, this generalization is found to be complete and admissible under the appropriately adjusted definitions. Other relevant characteristics of the algorithm that are considered include termination, comparison of heuristics, monotonicity, and consistency. Specializations of this general algorithm to the cases of additive multiobjective problems and a linear additive parametric generalization of those problems are presented with the help of several illustrative examples. Implementation issues, computational questions, and extensions related to preferences and search of AND/OR graphs are discussed in the context of future research directions. Pseudo-code for several of the generalized search algorithms is presented in an appendix.
Impact of Off-Farm Employment on Farmland Transfer: Insight on the Mediating Role of Agricultural Production Service Outsourcing

Understanding the effects of the off-farm employment of rural laborers on agricultural land use is essential to promote farmland transfer and enhance rural development in China. This study aims to investigate the direct impact of off-farm employment on farmland transfer and the mediating role of agricultural production services outsourcing (APSO) by using the Probit and Tobit model approaches. This study uses field survey data of 960 rural households in 12 counties of the four main grain producing provinces of China. Findings of this study show that off-farm employment has a significant positive effect on the transfer of land out from households and a significant negative effect on the transfer of land into households. Furthermore, APSO has a significant mediating effect on the influence of off-farm employment on farmland transfer behavior. Specifically, APSO can reduce the positive impact of off-farm employment on agricultural land transfer and weaken the negative impact of off-farm employment on agricultural land transfer-in. The findings of our study also show that the mediating effect of different outsourcing of production links services on the impact of off-farm employment on agricultural land transfer is heterogeneous. Based on the findings of the study, it is contended that the APSO can reshape the supply and demand structure of rural land rental markets and policymakers should focus on the role of ASPO in shaping policies to promote land transfer.
Functional Brain Imaging: A Comprehensive Survey

Functional brain imaging allows measuring dynamic functionality in all brain regions. It is broadly used in clinical cognitive neuroscience as, well as in research. It will allow the observation of neural activities in the brain simultaneously. From the beginning when functional brain imaging was initiated by the mapping of brain functions proposed by phrenologists, many scientists were asking why we need to image brain functionality since we have already structural information. Simply, their important question was including a great answer. Functional information of the human brain would definitely complement structural information, helping to have a better understanding of what is happening in the brain. This paper, which could be useful to those who have an interest in functional brain imaging, such as engineers, will present a quick review of modalities used in functional brain imaging. We will concentrate on the most used techniques in functional imaging which are functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional optical imaging, which is one of novelties in this area of study.
Distinguishing quantum states using Clifford orbits

It is a fundamental property of quantum mechanics that information is lost as a result of performing measurements. Indeed, with every quantum measurement one can associate a number -- its POVM norm constant -- that quantifies how much the distinguishability of quantum states degrades in the worst case as a result of the measurement. This raises the obvious question which measurements preserve the most information in these sense of having the largest norm constant. While a number of near-optimal schemes have been found (e.g. the uniform POVM, or complex projective 4-designs), they all seem to be difficult to implement in practice. Here, we analyze the distinguishability of quantum states under measurements that are orbits of the Clifford group. The Clifford group plays an important role e.g. in quantum error correction, and its elements are considered simple to implement. We find that the POVM norm constants of Clifford orbits depend on the effective rank of the states that should be distinguished, as well as on a quantitative measure of the "degree of localization in phase space" of the vectors in the orbit. The most important Clifford orbit is formed by the set of stabilizer states. Our main result implies that stabilizer measurements are essentially optimal for distinguishing pure quantum states. As an auxiliary result, we use the methods developed here to prove new entropic uncertainty relations for stabilizer measurements. This paper is based on a very recent analysis of the representation theory of tensor powers of the Clifford group.
Quantum metrology of spatial deformation using arrays of classical and quantum light emitters

We introduce spatial deformations to an array of light sources and study how the estimation precision of the interspacing distance $d$ changes with the sources of light used. The quantum Fisher information (QFI) is used as the figure of merit in this work to quantify the amount of information we have on the estimation parameter. We derive the generator of translations $\stackrel{\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}{\mathcal{G}}$ in $d$ due to an arbitrary homogeneous deformation applied to the array. We show how the variance of the generator can be used to easily consider how different deformations and light sources can effect the estimation precision. The single-parameter estimation problem is applied to the array, and we report on the optimal state that maximizes the QFI for $d$. Contrary to what may have been expected, the higher average mode occupancies of the classical states performs better in estimating $d$ when compared with single photon emitters (SPEs). The optimal entangled state is constructed from the eigenvectors of the generator and found to outperform all these states. We also find the existence of multiple optimal estimators for the measurement of $d$. Our results find applications in evaluating stresses and strains, fracture prevention in materials expressing great sensitivities to deformations, and selecting frequency distinguished quantum sources from an array of reference sources.
Targeting the DNA Damage Response and DNA Repair Pathways to Enhance Radiosensitivity in Colorectal Cancer

Simple Summary The DNA damage response pathway plays a critical role in maintaining genomic integrity. Therefore, inhibition of activation of cell-cycle checkpoints involved in this pathway may increase the sensitivity of tumor cells to DNA damage induced by ionizing radiation. In this review, we provide an overview of mechanisms, preclinical studies and advances in clinical trials of DNA-PKcs, ATM/ATR, CHK1/CHK2, WEE1 and PARP1 kinase inhibitors combined with radiotherapy for colorectal cancer treatment. We evaluate the potential of developing high-efficiency and low-toxicity radiosensitizers targeting the DNA damage response and DNA repair pathways to enhance the response to radiotherapy in colorectal cancer. Abstract Radiotherapy is an important component of current treatment options for colorectal cancer (CRC). It is either applied as neoadjuvant radiotherapy to improve local disease control in rectal cancers or for the treatment of localized metastatic lesions of CRC. DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are the major critical lesions contributing to ionizing radiation (IR)-induced cell death. However, CRC stem cells promote radioresistance and tumor cell survival through activating cell-cycle checkpoints to trigger the DNA damage response (DDR) and DNA repair after exposure to IR. A promising strategy to overcome radioresistance is to target the DDR and DNA repair pathways with drugs that inhibit activated cell-cycle checkpoint proteins, thereby improving the sensitivity of CRC cells to radiotherapy. In this review, we focus on the preclinical studies and advances in clinical trials of DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs), ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM), ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related kinase (ATR), checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1), checkpoint kinase 2 (CHK2), WEE1 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) kinase inhibitors in CRC. Importantly, we also discuss the selective radiosensitization of CRC cells provided by synthetic lethality of these inhibitors and the potential for widening the therapeutic window by targeting the DDR and DNA repair pathways in combination with radiotherapy and immunotherapy.
Chromatin Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation (LLPS) Is Regulated by Ionic Conditions and Fiber Length

The dynamic regulation of the physical states of chromatin in the cell nucleus is crucial for maintaining cellular homeostasis. Chromatin can exist in solid- or liquid-like forms depending on the surrounding ions, binding proteins, post-translational modifications and many other factors. Several recent studies suggested that chromatin undergoes liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) in vitro and also in vivo; yet, controversial conclusions about the nature of chromatin LLPS were also observed from the in vitro studies. These inconsistencies are partially due to deviations in the in vitro buffer conditions that induce the condensation/aggregation of chromatin as well as to differences in chromatin (nucleosome array) constructs used in the studies. In this work, we present a detailed characterization of the effects of K+, Mg2+ and nucleosome fiber length on the physical state and property of reconstituted nucleosome arrays. LLPS was generally observed for shorter nucleosome arrays (15-197-601, reconstituted from 15 repeats of the Widom 601 DNA with 197 bp nucleosome repeat length) at physiological ion concentrations. In contrast, gel- or solid-like condensates were detected for the considerably longer 62-202-601 and lambda DNA (~48.5 kbp) nucleosome arrays under the same conditions. In addition, we demonstrated that the presence of reduced BSA and acetate buffer is not essential for the chromatin LLPS process. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of several factors regarding chromatin physical states and sheds light on the mechanism and biological relevance of chromatin phase separation in vivo.