Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transmission electron microscopy investigation of lattice defects in Al2SiO5 polymorphs and plasticity induced polymorphic transformations

Les structures des dislocations induites par deformation naturelle et experimentale dans les trois polymorphes Al2SiO5 (disthene, andalousite et sillimanite) ont ete etudiees par microscopie electronique en transmission. Pour les trois materiaux, les structures de cœur des dislocations (dissociations) sont fortement affectees par la temperature (T) et la pression (P) de la deformation. Pour des valeurs de T et P proches des limites de phase, certains types de dislocations deviennent largement dissocies et lors des essais de deformation a vitesse constante la contrainte d'ecoulement augmente fortement. On propose que certaines energies de faute d'empilement diminuent pour des valeurs de T, P proches des limites de phase parce que les rubans de faute sont des lamelles d'epaisseur unite du polymorphe voisin plus stable. Cette relation est etablie dans le cas de la transformation sillimanite-disthene qui est induite par une deformation experimentale. On observe la nucleation de petits domaines de la nouvelle phase (disthene) sur les dislocations dissociees. On propose un modele cristallographique qui rend compte du changement important de la contrainte d'ecoulement.
Xylem acoustic signals from mature Pinus sylvestris during an extended drought

Signaux acoustiques du xylem chez des Pinus sylvestris matures soumis a une secheresse prolongee. Des pins sylvestres matures (Pinus sylvestris) ont ete soumis a partir de novembre 1994 et pendant 11 mois a une secheresse artificielle du sol. Des placeaux temoins ont beneficie de la pluie et d'un supplement d'eau sous forme d'irrigation. On a compare l'importance de la cavitation dans le xyleme des branches et des futs par des mesures d'emission acoustique ultrasonique (UAE). On a egalement effectue des mesures de contenu relatif d'eau (Rw) dans les futs et les branches. Les emissions acoustiques ont ete detectees dans les deux traitements. L'effet du stress hydrique a ete note sur branches et futs au stade du pic de secheresse. Sur les arbres soumis a stress hydrique, on a mis en evidence des differences de vulnerabilite a la cavitation; les vaisseaux encore fonctionnels apparaissent moins vulnerables apres la perte des plus vulnerables. Le Rw des troncs etait inferieur a celui des branches. On a constate une augmentation du phenomene d'embolie dans les pousses de 1 an des arbres soumis a la secheresse. Les changements saisonniers de Rw des pousses ont ete interpretes comme etant une consequence du bon retablissement du remplissage des vaisseaux des tissus du xyleme frappe d'embolie. L'hypothese d'un role actif des precipitations a ete avancee. On a estime que le phenomene de cavitation a affecte 15 % des tracheides sans que les resistances hydrauliques dans les parties aeriennes soient affectees. Il est suggere que la cavitation generalisee etait evitee grâce a la fermeture des stomates permettant de maintenir le potentiel hydrique des feuilles (indicateur de la tension du xyleme) au dessous du seuil de cavitation, avec comme consequence un faible effet de la secheresse sur les tissus situes au dessous du sol.
Active gate driver for SiC MOSFET based PV inverter with enhanced operating range

For photo-voltaic (PV) inverter applications, the grid code mandates reactive power support to the grid, and the amount of reactive power injection may be limited by the voltage overshoot during the switching transients. For SiC-MOSFET based PV inverters this problem is more pronounced since the voltage and current gradient during switching transitions are much higher than a Si-based power devices. During a gloomy day when the inverter has to operate at PV panel's open circuit voltage, it becomes harder to push higher currents through the device but also keeping the device within its SOA and low the switching loss at all operating conditions. Slowing down the switching transient could be a remedy but this also increases the converter switching loss. This paper demonstrates an application of dynamic gate resistance modulation technique to keep the SiC-device inside its safe operating area (SOA) while maintaining a low switching loss with minimum voltage and current overshoots. The proposed implementation is verified with hardware test results at high junction temperatures (up to 150°C).
γ-Tocotrienol-induced apoptosis in human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells is associated with a suppression in mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling

Tocotrienols have been shown to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in cancer cells. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in tocotrienol-induced apoptosis are still unclear. In the present study, γ-tocotrienol induced apoptosis in human gastric adenocarcinoma SGC-7901 cell line through down regulation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signalling pathway. Furthermore, γ-tocotrienol-induced apoptosis was accompanied by down regulation of Bcl-2, up regulation of Bax, activation of caspase-3, and subsequent poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage. These results indicated that up or down regulation of Bcl-2 family proteins play a major role in the initiation of γ-tocotrienol-induced apoptosis as an activator of caspase-3. γ-Tocotrienol also down regulated the activation of the Raf-ERK signalling pathway, and down regulated c-Myc by decreasing the expressions of Raf-1 and p-ERK1/2 proteins. The results suggest that key regulators in tocotrienol-induced apoptosis may be Bcl-2 families and caspase-3 in SGC-7901 cells through down regulation of the Raf-ERK signalling pathway.
A comparison of oral controlled-release morphine and oxycodone with transdermal formulations of buprenorphine and fentanyl in the treatment of severe pain in cancer patients

Aim of the study To compare analgesia and adverse effects during oral morphine and oxycodone and transdermal fentanyl and buprenorphine administration in cancer patients with pain. Patients and methods Cancer patients treated at home and in outpatient clinics with severe pain (numerical rating scale score 6–10) fail to respond to non-opioids and/or weak opioids. All patients were randomized to either morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl or buprenorphine and divided into subgroups with predominant neuropathic and nociceptive pain component. Doses of opioids were titrated to satisfactory analgesia and acceptable adverse effects intensity. Patients were assessed at baseline and followed for 28 days. In all patient groups, immediate-release oral morphine was the rescue analgesic and lactulose 10 mL twice daily was the prophylaxis of constipation; no antiemetics were used as prophylaxis. Results A total of 62 patients participated and 53 patients completed the study. Good analgesia was obtained for all 4 opioids, for both nociceptive and neuropathic pain. The use of co-analgesics was greater in patients with neuropathic pain. Morphine treatment was associated with less negative impact of pain on ability to walk, work and activity (trend) according to Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form scores and less consumption of rescue morphine. The most common adverse effects included nausea and drowsiness, which increased at the beginning of the treatment and gradually decreased over the days to come. Appetite, well-being, anxiety, depression, and fatigue improved. There was no constipation (the Bowel Function Index scores were within normal range) during the treatment with all opioids. No changes were seen for constipation, vomiting and dyspnea. Conclusion All opioids were effective and well-tolerated. Morphine was the most effective in the improvement in some of the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form items regarding negative impact of pain on patients’ daily activities. Prophylaxis of constipation was effective; antiemetics may be considered for nausea prevention.
Characterization and thermal kinetic analysis of pineapple leaf fibers and their reinforcement in epoxy

The progress in the development of composites with natural fibers for various applications in different sectors witnesses remarkable success worldwide in the last decade. Among the various natural fibers existing worldwide, pineapple leaf fibers (PALFs) possess remarkable mechanical properties because of the maximum content of cellulose (∼80%) among all natural fibers. In spite of having few limitations such as hydrophilicity, its advantages such as low cost, low weight, and biodegradability overweigh their limitations. The PALFs are poorly reported in the literature as a reinforcement in epoxy material. Bagasse, wheat straw, and coir have been successfully reinforced with epoxy resin; but inspite of having highest tensile strength among all natural fibers, PALF’s are seldom used. PALF has been characterized chemically, morphologically, and thermally. Using thermal analysis, the models were fitted to calculate its activation energies at different fraction levels using different heating rates. PALF epoxy composites have been prepared using the hand layup method. The effect of fiber loading has also been studied for morphological, chemical, mechanical, and thermal properties of composites. Composites with 10% fiber loading have better mechanical properties in comparison to composites with other fiber loading. Scanning electron microscopic micrographs of fractured surfaces have been analyzed for all fiber loading composites, and the results have been successfully studied linking the stated work of other distinguished researchers of this arena.
A Weakly-Supervised Framework for Interpretable Diabetic Retinopathy Detection on Retinal Images

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) detection is a critical retinal image analysis task in the context of early blindness prevention. Unfortunately, in order to train a model to accurately detect DR based on the presence of different retinal lesions, typically a dataset with medical expert’s annotations at the pixel level is needed. In this paper, a new methodology based on the multiple instance learning (MIL) framework is developed in order to overcome this necessity by leveraging the implicit information present on annotations made at the image level. Contrary to previous MIL-based DR detection systems, the main contribution of the proposed technique is the joint optimization of the instance encoding and the image classification stages. In this way, more useful mid-level representations of pathological images can be obtained. The explainability of the model decisions is further enhanced by means of a new loss function enforcing appropriate instance and mid-level representations. The proposed technique achieves comparable or better results than other recently proposed methods, with 90% area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) on Messidor, 93% AUC on DR1, and 96% AUC on DR2, while improving the interpretability of the produced decisions.
Root-to-shoot signalling : Assessing the roles of ‘ up ’ in the up and down world of long-distance signalling in planta

An important mediator of shoot physiological processes can be the supply of signal molecules (other than water and nutrients) from the root system. Root-to-shoot signalling is often considered to be important in regulating shoot growth and water use when soil conditions change without any demonstrable change in shoot water or nutrient status. Changes in xylem sap composition are often thought to be synonymous with changes in root-to-shoot signalling, even though there is considerable re-cycling of compounds between xylem and phloem. Techniques used to collect xylem sap are reviewed. Elucidating the roles of putative root signal molecules in planta has usually taken priority over identifying the sources of signal molecules in xylem sap. The roles of several signal molecules are considered. This choice is selective, and the failure of known signals to account for observed physiological changes in some systems has lead to the conclusions that other novel signals can be important. The efficacy of a given signal molecule can depend on the shoot water and nutrient status, as demonstrated by variation in stomatal responses to abscisic acid. If such variation is widespread in crop species, this may have implications for the increasing intentional use of rootto-shoot signals to modify crop water use and shoot architecture. Research into root-to-shoot signalling may become increasingly reductionist, in trying to evaluate the contribution of root signals versus local processes to observed physiological changes. However, future challenges are to successfully integrate this basic research into improved crop production systems. Abbreviations: ABA – abscisic acid; ABA-GE – ABA glucose ester; ACC – aminocyclopropane-1-carbox ylic acid; AOA – aminooxyacetic acid; AVG – L-a -(2-aminoethoxyvinyl)glycine; CK – cytokinin; DHZ – dihydrozeatin; DHZ-9G – dihydrozeatin-9-glucoside; DHZ-OG – dihydrozeatin-O-glucoside; DHZR – di hydrozeatin riboside; DHZR-OG – dihydrozeatin riboside-O-glucoside; DI – deficit irrigation; GA – gibber ellin; gs – stomatal conductance; IAA – indole-acetic acid; iP – isopentenyladenine; ipt – isopentenyl trans ferase; PRD – partial rootzone drying; WT – wild-type; Z – zeatin; Z-OG – zeatin-O-glucoside; ZR – zeatin riboside.
TURBULENT WALL JET IN A COFLOWING STREAM

TURBULENT WALL JET IN A COFLOWING STREAMJames F. CampbellLangley Research CenterSUMMARYA theoretical investigation has been undertaken to develop a relatively simple modelof a two-dimensional, turbulent wall jet in a coflowing stream. The incompressible jetflow was modeled by using an integral method which includes turbulent shear stress,entrainment, and heat transfer. The method solves the conservation equations for theaverage jet flow properties and uses the velocity profile suggested by Escudier and Nicollto obtain detailed characteristics of the jet on a flat plate. The analytical results comparefavorably with experimental data for a range of injection velocities, which demonstratesthe usefulness of the theory for estimating jet growth, velocity decay, and wall skinfriction.The theory, which was applied to a Coanda jet on a circular cylinder, provided esti-mates of suction pressures aft of the jet exit that were in close agreement with experimen-tal values.INTRODUCTIONWall jets, have been studied for some time with principal applications to boundary-layer control and film-cooling technology (refs. 1 to 9). Another application occurs onairplanes (refs. 10 to 12) where the jet engines exhaust over the upper surfaces of thewings and interact with the wing flow field in the fashion of a wall jet (ref. 13). As pointedout by Wimpress (ref. 10), this arrangement can result in scrubbing drag which has sig-nificant effects on cruise efficiency.The theoretical representation of a wall jet usually assumes similarity conditions ofsome sort in order to obtain solutions to the governing equations of fluid motion (ref. 5,for example). This limits their applicability to that region of the jet flow that is fullydeveloped, that is, downstream of the potential-core region of the jet. Since the upper-surface-blowing wall jet can have a potential core existing to or beyond the wing trailingedge, it is desirable to have a theory that uses the jet exhaust conditions to obtain esti-mates of the wall-jet development from the jet exit.Accordingly, the present study was conducted to develop a relatively simple theo-retical model of a two-dimensional, turbulent wall jet in a coflowing stream, where the
Soft-transient modulation strategy for improved efficiency and EMC performance of PFC converters applied to flexible induction heating appliances

Recent developments in domestic induction heating include flexible cooking surfaces that are demanding power factor corrector (PFC) converter for improved performance. In this paper, a soft-transient hybrid modulation strategy along with the converter control strategy is proposed to increase the efficiency and remove the zero-cross distortion, reaching a good balance between efficiency and EMC performance. The proposed modulation strategy works with zero voltage switching (ZVS) at constant frequency in the mains cycle decreasing the switching losses and avoiding the intermodulation noise. Besides, for the same reason, avoiding acoustic noise, this frequency can be variable in order to synchronize the load inverter and the PFC stage. A 3.7 kW prototype is implemented and the experimental waveforms and efficiency are measured to prove the feasibility of this proposal.
Sequential Extractions and Toxicity Potential of Trace Metals Absorbed into Airborne Particles in an Urban Atmosphere of Southwestern Nigeria

The paper investigates the hypothesis that biotoxicities of trace metals depend not only on the concentration as expressed by the total amount, but also on their geochemical fractions and bioavailability. Airborne particles were collected using SKC Air Check XR 5000 high volume Sampler at a human breathing height of 1.5–2.0 meters, during the dry season months from November 2014 to March 2015 at different locations in Akure (7°10′N and 5°15′E). The geochemical-based sequential extractions were performed on the particles using a series of increasingly stringent solutions selected to extract metals (Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Mn) into four operational geochemical phases—exchangeable, reducible, organic, and residual—and then quantified using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The results showed metals concentration of order Pb > Cr > Cd > Zn > Ni > Cu > Mn. However, most metals in the samples exist in nonmobile fractions: exchangeable (6.43–16.2%), reducible (32.58–47.39%), organic (4.73–9.88%), and residual (18.28–27.53%). The pollution indices show ingestion as the leading route of metal exposure, with noncarcinogenic (HQ) and cancer risk (HI) for humans in the area being higher than 1.0 × 10−4, indicating a health threat.
Metabolic and Psychological Response to 7-Day Fasting in Obese Patients with and without Metabolic Syndrome

Background: Extended modified fasting is a frequently practiced tradition in Europe. It is claimed to improve the cardiometabolic state and physical and psychological well-being by an evolutionary co-developed adaptation response. We aimed to investigate the cardiometabolic and psychological effects of a 7-day fast and differences of these responses between patients with or without metabolic syndrome (MetS). Methods: We investigated 30 female subjects (49.0 ± 8.1 years, BMI 30.4 ± 6.7 kg/m2) with (n = 12) and without (n = 18) MetS. All subjects participated in a 7-day fast according to Buchinger with a nutritional energy intake of 300 kcal/day and stepwise reintroduction of solid food thereafter. Outcomes were assessed baseline and after fasting and included measures of metabolic and glucoregulatory control, adipokines as well as psychological well-being as assessed by Profile of Mood States (POMS) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: Mean weight decreased from 85.4 ± 18.8 kg to 79.7 ± 18.2 kg accompanied by systolic/diastolic blood pressure (BP) reduction of -16.2 mm Hg (95% CI: -9.1; -23.3 mm Hg) and -6.0 mm Hg (95% CI: -1.8; -10.3 mm Hg), each p < 0.001 and p = 0.005. Fasting led to marked decreases of levels of LDL-cholesterol, leptin, and insulin and increases of levels of adiponectin, leptin receptors, and resistin. Fasting-induced mood enhancement was reflected by decreased anxiety, depression, fatigue, and improved vigor. Patients with MetS showed some greater changes in B P, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, adiponectin, leptin, and sleep quality. Fasting was well-tolerated. Conclusions: Our results point to marked beneficial responses to 7-day modified fasting and a potential role in the prevention of the MetS. Randomized trials with longer observation periods should test the clinical effectiveness of fasting in metabolic diseases.
Lightweight Adaptive Mixture of Neural and N-gram Language Models

It is often the case that the best performing language model is an ensemble of a neural language model with n-grams. In this work, we propose a method to improve how these two models are combined. By using a small network which predicts the mixture weight between the two models, we adapt their relative importance at each time step. Because the gating network is small, it trains quickly on small amounts of held out data, and does not add overhead at scoring time. Our experiments carried out on the One Billion Word benchmark show a significant improvement over the state of the art ensemble without retraining of the basic modules.
Leaf green-white variegation is advantageous under N deprivation in Pelargonium×hortorum.

Variegation (patchy surface area with different colours) is a common trait of plant leaves. In green-white variegated leaves, two tissues with contrasted primary carbon metabolisms (autotrophic in green and heterotrophic in white tissues) are juxtaposed. It is generally believed that variegation is detrimental to growth due to the lower photosynthetic surface area. However, the common occurrence of leaf variegation in nature raises the question of a possible advantage under certain circumstances. Here, we examined growth and metabolism of variegated Pelargonium×hortorum L.H. Bailey using metabolomics techniques under N deprivation. Our results showed that variegated plants tolerate N deficiency much better, i.e. do not stop leaf biomass production after 9 weeks of N deprivation, even though the growth of green plants is eventually arrested and leaf senescence is triggered. Metabolic analysis indicates that white areas are naturally enriched in arginine, which decreases a lot upon N deprivation, probably to feed green areas. This process may compensate for the lower proteolysis enhancement in green areas and thus contribute to maintaining photosynthetic activity. We conclude that under our experimental conditions, leaf variegation was advantageous under prolonged N deprivation.
How plants learn.

The identification of signal-transduction components in plant cells is proceeding on an almost daily basis. In this issue, Kudla et al. (1) continue this important process by describing the isolation and characterization of regulatory subunits of calcineurin, a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase. Since the pioneering work of Cohen (2) and collaborators, biologists have classified protein phosphatases into four types: PP1, PP2A, PP2B, and PP2C. Although this classification was sensibly designed to bring order out of chaos, it had one major drawback. Division into just four types implied a limited diversity and perhaps a lack of specificity in the mechanism of protein dephosphorylation. Consequently, investigators have tended to concentrate attention on protein kinases where, it was surmised, all the action was to be found. Indeed, several hundred protein kinases have now been cloned or purified from plant tissues (3). Estimates suggest there will be nearly a thousand identified when the Arabidopsis genome sequence is finally published. However, the observations of Kudla et al. (1) suggest that the regulation of dephosphorylation by calcineurin (classified as PP2B) might be more complex than is currently appreciated.
Assessing the impact of extreme temperatures on fuel and energy efficiency of a range extended electric vehicle

The European Union and the United States of America are fostering electrification of road transport as a means for achieving ambitious policy targets set to tackle air pollution and climate change. In 2011, the US DoE Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and the EC Joint Research Centre (JRC) established a collaborative work programme for pre-normative research on interoperability of smart grids and electric vehicles, as well as fuel/energy efficiency of hybridand full-electric vehicles. The present paper reports about a joint experimental campaign on a plug-in range extended vehicle (REEV) carried out at ANL’s Advanced Powertrain Research Facility (APRF) and at JRC’s Vehicle Electric Laboratory (VeLA 8). The vehicle was tested on the two roller benches against EU and US legislative cycles, at representative ambient temperatures varying between -30°C and 50°C, in order to investigate the impact of extreme ambient conditions on fuel and energy efficiency.