Laser Densification of Extruded Dental Porcelain Bodies in Multi-Material Laser Densification (MMLD) Process

In this study commercial dental porcelain powder was deposited via slurry extrusion and laser densified to fabricate dental restorations in a Multi-Material Laser Densification (MMLD) process. The processing conditions for laser densification of single lines and closed rings were investigated in order to avoid warping and cracking. Multi-layer rings were also investigated to study the dependence of bonding between layers on the laser densification conditions. The laser densified rings showed no warping, and good bonding between layers could be achieved when the laser densification condition was selected properly. The mechanism to achieve porcelain rings without warping and cracking is discussed. The understanding developed will pave the way for fabricating a physical dental restoration unit.Mechanical Engineerin

An Improved ResNet-50 for Garbage Image Classification

In order to solve the classification model\u27s shortcomings, this study suggests a new trash classification model that is generated by altering the structure of the ResNet-50 network. The improvement is divided into two sections. The first section is to change the residual block. To filter the input features, the attention module is inserted into the residual block. Simultaneously, the downsampling process in the residual block is changed to decrease information loss. The second section is multi-scale feature fusion. To optimize feature usage, horizontal and vertical multi-scale feature fusion is integrated to the primary network structure. Because of the filtering and reuse of image features, the enhanced model can achieve higher classification performance than existing models for small data sets with few samples. The experimental results show that the modified model outperforms the original ResNet-50 model on the TrashNet dataset by 7.62% and is more robust. In the meanwhile, our model is more accurate than other advanced methods

Image Completion Based on Edge Prediction and Improved Generator

The existing image completion algorithms may result in problems of poor completion in the missing parts, excessive smoothing or chaotic structure of the completed areas, and large training cycle when processing more complex images. Therefore, a two-stage adversarial image completion model based on edge prediction and improved generator structure has been put forward to solve the existing problems. Firstly, Canny edge detection is utilized to extract the damaged edge image, to predict and to complete the edge information of the missing area of the image in the edge prediction network. Secondly, the predicted edge image is taken as a priori information by the Image completion network to complete the damaged area of the image, so as to make the structure information of the completed area more accurate. A-JPU module is designed to ensure the completion result and speed up training for existing models due to the enormous number of computations caused by the large use of extended convolution in the self-coding structure. Finally, the experimental results on Places 2 dataset show that the PSNR and SSIM of the image using the image completion model are higher and the subjective visual effect is closer to the real image than some other image completion models

Comparisons Between Thermal Modeling and Experiments in Laser-Densified Dental Powder Bodies

A three-dimensional thermal finite element model including the effect of the powder-tosolid transition has been developed to investigate the transient temperature distribution during laser densification of dental powder bed for the layer-by-layer fabrication. The model encompasses the effects of the temperature- and porosity-dependent thermal conduction and radiation as well as the temperature-dependent natural convection. The simulation result is compared with the experiments which establish the temperature dependence of the dental porcelain microstructure and utilize this dependence to construct the temperature distribution profile. It is found that the trend of the simulation result matches the experiments very well.The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support provided by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos: DMI-9908249 and DMI-0218169.Mechanical Engineerin

The Role of Confucian Ethics in the Foreign Policy Directions of Modern China

The purpose of the article is to analyze the significance of the philosophical and ethical postulates of Confucianism for China’s modern foreign policy. To achieve this goal, the article required the use of theoretical research methods: analysis, synthesis, abstraction, as well as the formal logical method. The evolution of China’s foreign policy attitudes is studied from the standpoint of the historical method. The result was an analysis of the role and significance of the Confucian doctrine and, in particular, its ethical component, for the formation of China’s modern foreign policy doctrine. The example of the implementation of the policy of soft power shows the embodiment of the main ethical postulates of Confucianism in the foreign policy of the Chinese state under the leadership of Xi Jinping. The role of Confucius Institutes in the implementation of soft power policy is noted. The significance of the ethics of Confucianism for China’s modern international policy in terms of the country’s inclusive orientation towards harmonious and friendly coexistence with major partners on a global scale is revealed. It is concluded that a deep understanding of Confucian thought enriches the understanding of China’s modern foreign policy and, in particular, how the head of the Chinese state, Xi Jinping, is trying to appeal to a global audience

Nowhere to Hide: Cross-modal Identity Leakage between Biometrics and Devices

Along with the benefits of Internet of Things (IoT) come potential privacy risks, since billions of the connected devices are granted permission to track information about their users and communicate it to other parties over the Internet. Of particular interest to the adversary is the user identity which constantly plays an important role in launching attacks. While the exposure of a certain type of physical biometrics or device identity is extensively studied, the compound effect of leakage from both sides remains unknown in multi-modal sensing environments. In this work, we explore the feasibility of the compound identity leakage across cyber-physical spaces and unveil that co-located smart device IDs (e.g., smartphone MAC addresses) and physical biometrics (e.g., facial/vocal samples) are side channels to each other. It is demonstrated that our method is robust to various observation noise in the wild and an attacker can comprehensively profile victims in multi-dimension with nearly zero analysis effort. Two real-world experiments on different biometrics and device IDs show that the presented approach can compromise more than 70\% of device IDs and harvests multiple biometric clusters with ~94% purity at the same time

Forsythiaside A inhibits hydrogen peroxide-induced inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes

Purpose: To investigate the effect of forsythiaside A on heart failure.Methods: An in vitro cell model of myocardial injury was established by incubating H9c2 primary cardiomyocytes with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry. Expression of inflammatory factors, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), was determined by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and enzymelinkedimmunosorbent assay (ELISA). Oxidative stress was evaluated by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels by ELISA.Results: Incubation with H2O2 increased H9c2 cell apoptosis (p < 0.001). Treatment with forsythiaside A reduced Bax expression and enhanced Bcl-2 expression which suppressed apoptosis of H2O2- induced H9c2 cells. Forsythiaside A also attenuated the H2O2-induced increase in TNF-α and IL-6expressions in H9c2 cells (p < 0.001). The H2O2-induced increase in MDA and decrease in SOD and GSH-Px in H9c2 cells were reversed by treatment with forsythiaside A. IκBα protein expression was downregulated, whereas p65 phosphorylation (p-p65), p-IκBα, nuclear factor erythropoietin-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) were upregulated in H2O2-induced H9c2 cells. Forsythiaside A increased IκBα, Nrf2, and HO-1 expression and decreased p-p65 and p-IκBα expression in H2O2-induced H9c2 cells.Conclusion: Forsythiaside A exerts anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-apoptotic effects against H2O2-induced H9c2 cells through inactivation of NF-κB pathway and activation of Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. These results support the potential clinical application of forsythiaside A for the treatment of heart failure