Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A high pressure device for measurements of the speed of sound in liquids

A new measuring set for measurements of the speed of sound in liquids under high pressures (up to 300 MPa), designed and constructed in our laboratory, is described. It operates on the principle of the pulse-echo-overlap method. A single transmitting–receiving piezoelectric ceramic transducer operating at 4 MHz and an acoustic reflector were applied. Details concerning the designing and operation of all the elements of the acoustic path, assuring high accuracy of the speed measurements, are given.
Angioplasty of Dysfunctional Dialysis Fistula or Graft with Resveratrol-Excipient and Paclitaxel-Coated Balloon Improves Primary Patency Rates Compared to Plain Angioplasty Alone

In this prospective randomized single-blinded study (reg. ISRCTN11414306), 76 patients with a dysfunctional dialysis fistula or graft due to a single de novo or recurrent stenosis in the access circuit were randomized to receive either conventional PTA (POBA) as a standard of care (n = 38) or PTA + adjunctive PTA with a drug-coated (paclitaxel–resveratrol matrix) SeQuent® Please OTW balloon (n = 38, DCB). Patients were scheduled for follow-up PTA at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. The time of clinically driven target-lesion reintervention rate (primary patency rate) after the index procedure was analyzed using the log-rank test. The primary patency rates at 12 months after the index procedure were 17% (DCB) vs. 11% (POBA). At 3 months, they were 87% vs. 74%, at 6 months they were 53% vs. 26%, and at 9 months they were 22% vs. 11%. The hazard ratio for DCB was 0.55 (95%CI 0.32 to 0.95). The median time needed for target-lesion reintervention was longer in the DCB group (181 days) than in the conventional PTA group (98 days, p = 0.019). We conclude that PTA with the paclitaxel–resveratrol drug-coated SeQuent® Please OTW balloon in patients with de novo or recurrent stenosis in dialysis arteriovenous fistulas or grafts prolongs the time needed for target lesion reintervention and improves primary patency rates in the first year after the index procedure.
Evaluation of the Structural Performance of Low Carbon Concrete

Evaluation of the effect of embodied carbon reduction using an optimized design section for a ground beam, use of supplementary cementitious materials, and replacement of normal aggregate with light weight aggregate on the mechanical properties of low-carbon concrete was carried out. A creep coefficient of 0.019 was estimated for a 365-day period on a change in section from 1 to 0.6 m2 on a proposed trapezoidal section for ground beam, which showed a negligible difference when compared to the normal rectangular section owing to a reduction in embodied carbon due to the associated reduction in concrete volume and reinforcement. Training of 81 low-carbon concrete data sets in MATLAB using artificial neural network for 100% cement replacement with ground granular base slag indicates good performance with a mean square error of 0.856. From the study, it was observed that the extent of carbonation depth in concrete evidenced the measure of compressive strength formation based on the specific surface area of the binder and the water absorption rate of the aggregate, while enhancing the flexural strength of the low-carbon concrete required a cement-to-supplementary-cementitious-material ratio of 0.8.
Learning to Throw With a Handful of Samples Using Decision Transformers

Throwing objects by a robot extends its reach and has many industrial applications. While analytical models can provide efficient performance, they require accurate estimation of system parameters. Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms can provide an accurate throwing policy without prior knowledge. However, they require an extensive amount of real world samples which may be time consuming and, most importantly, pose danger. Training in simulation, on the other hand, would most likely result in poor performance on the real robot. In this letter, we explore the use of Decision Transformers (DT) and their ability to transfer from a simulation-based policy into the real-world. Contrary to RL, we re-frame the problem as sequence modelling and train a DT by supervised learning. The DT is trained off-line on data collected from a far-from-reality simulation through random actions without any prior knowledge on how to throw. Then, the DT is fine-tuned on an handful ($\sim 5$) of real throws. Results on various objects show accurate throws reaching an error of approximately 4 cm. Also, the DT can extrapolate and accurately throw to goals that are out-of-distribution to the training data. We additionally show that few expert throw samples, and no pre-training in simulation, are sufficient for training an accurate policy.
Spectral ageing in a sample of 14 high-luminosity double radio sources

Multifrequency observations of a sample of 14 high-luminosity 3C double radio sources are used in a discussion of their structures and spectral properties. The observations were made with the VLA at 1.4, 5 and 15 GHz and have resolutions of 0.4 or 1.2 arcsec. The spectra are interpreted in terms of the ageing of the electron population, as in the related study by Alexander & Leahy (1987, MNRAS, 225). The hotspots always have the youngest population of electrons, and the apparent ages increase away from the hotspot, even in those cases where the diffuse emission extends perpendicular to the source axis or directly aways from the nucleus
Properties of hexagonal polytypes of group-IV elements from first-principles calculations

Results of ab initio calculations are reported for hexagonal polytypes of C, Si, and Ge in equilibrium and under hydrostatic pressure. For each polytype $2H,$ $3C,$ $4H,$ and $6H,$ the atomic geometry, the energetics, and the electronic structure are studied. The resulting lattice parameters are in good agreement with measured values. While $3C$ is the most stable polytype for each element, pressure-induced phase transitions to hexagonal modifications are found to be possible. Silicon is the most favorable candidate in this respect. The results are interpreted within the axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising model. It simultaneously allows the derivation of formation energies for stacking faults in agreement with other calculations and measurements. We predict significant differences in the band structures between the hexagonal polytypes and the diamond structure. This holds especially for the energy gaps and the location of the conduction-band minima. Trends with the hexagonality of the polytype and the element are derived.
Blending Surface Currents from HF Radar Observations and Numerical Modeling: Tidal Hindcasts and Forecasts

AbstractAn observation network operating three Wellen Radars (WERAs) in the German Bight, which are part of the Coastal Observing System for Northern and Arctic Seas (COSYNA), is presented in detail. Major consideration is given to expanding the patchy observations over the entire German Bight on a 1-km grid and producing state estimates at intratidal scales, and 6- and 12-h forecasts. This was achieved with the help of the proposed spatiotemporal optimal interpolation (STOI) method, which efficiently uses observations and simulations from a free model run within an analysis window of one or two tidal cycles. In this way the method maximizes the use of available observations and can be considered as a step toward the “best surface current estimate. ” The performance of the analysis was investigated based on the achieved reduction of the misfit between model and observations. The complex dynamics of the study domain was illustrated based on the spatial and temporal changes of tidal ellipses for the M2 and M.
Deteriorative Effects of Radiation Injury Combined with Skin Wounding in a Mouse Model

Radiation-combined injury (RCI) augments the risk of morbidity and mortality when compared to radiation injury (RI) alone. No FDA-approved medical countermeasures (MCMs) are available for treating RCI. Previous studies implied that RI and RCI elicit differential mechanisms leading to their detrimental effects. We hypothesize that accelerating wound healing improves the survival of RCI mice. In the current study, we examined the effects of RCI at different doses on lethality, weight loss, wound closure delay, and proinflammatory status, and assessed the relative contribution of systemic and local elements to their delayed wound closure. Our data demonstrated that RCI increased the lethality and weight loss, delayed skin wound closure, and induced a systemic proinflammatory status in a radiation dose-dependent manner. We also demonstrated that delayed wound closure did not specifically depend on the extent of hematopoietic suppression, but was significantly influenced by the toxicity of the radiation-induced systemic inflammation and local elements, including the altered levels of proinflammatory chemokines and factors, and the dysregulated collagen homeostasis in the wounded area. In conclusion, the results from our study indicate a close association between delayed wound healing and the significantly altered pathways in RCI mice. This insightful information may contribute to the evaluation of the prognosis of RCI and development of MCMs for RCI.
Making Catholic Schools Research Relevant: Assessing Contemporary Trends in the Field of Catholic Education

Despite the outsized influence the Catholic school sector in the United States has on policymaking, research into the organization of Catholic schools has not kept pace with contemporary educational research trends. In this brief paper, we diagnose how conceptual and empirical decisions made within the field of Catholic education resulted in the field’s relative isolation from other research communities and highlight additional explanations for the diminished relevance of research into Catholic schooling in the United States in recent years. Following this diagnosis and synthesis, we argue that Catholic educational research would be enhanced by considering contemporary organizational and policy research trends and propose new directions that may allow U.S. Catholic school researchers to increase their field’s relevance.
Erratum: “On the Evolution of Star-forming Galaxies” (ApJ, 615, 209 [2004])

The star formation rate (SFR) density values reported in my 2004 paper for the data taken from D. W. Hogg et al. (ApJ, 504, 622 [1998]) are in error. The original cosmology conversion factor used was incorrect, and the values listed in Table 2 for both C1 and ̇ com are in error. Moreover, the (incorrect) value reported for C1 was not that used in calculating the (incorrect) values of ̇ com. The correct cosmology conversion leads to SFR density values that are smaller than those given in the original paper by amounts decreasing monotonically from 43% for the z 1⁄4 0:2 bin to 30% for the z 1⁄4 1:2 bin, as indicated by A. M. Hopkins & J. F. Beacom (ApJ, 651, 142 [2006]), who show an updated version of the star formation history diagram (compare their Fig. 1 with my original Fig. 1). The correct SFR density values are given here in a new Table 1, which has the same format as Table 2 of my original paper, although the table notes are omitted here. Apart from the location of the corresponding data points in Figure 1, this error does not significantly alter any of the results or conclusions of the original paper. I thank Chun Ly for bringing this error to my attention.
Age- and sex-related differences in cortical morphology and their relationships with cognitive performance in healthy middle-aged and older adults

Background The impacts of age and sex on brain structures related to cognitive function may be important for understanding the role of aging in Alzheimer disease for both sexes. We intended to investigate the age and sex differences of cortical morphology in middle-aged and older adults and their relationships with the decline of cognitive function. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we examined the cortical morphology in 204 healthy middle-aged and older adult participants aged 45 to 89 years using structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) data from the Dallas Lifespan Brain Study data set. Brain cortical thickness, surface complexity, and gyrification index were analyzed through a completely automated surface-based morphometric analysis using the CAT12 toolbox. Furthermore, we explored the correlation between cortical morphology differences and test scores for processing speed and working memory. Results There were no significant interactions of age and sex with cortical thickness, fractal dimension, or gyrification index. Rather, we found that both males and females showed age-related decreases in cortical thickness, fractal dimension, and gyrification index. There were significant sex differences in the fractal dimension in middle-aged participants and the gyrification index in older adult participants. In addition, there were significant positive correlations between the cortical thickness of the right superior frontal gyrus and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)-III Letter-Number Sequencing test scores in males (r=0.394; P<0.001; 95% CI for r values 0.216–0.577) and females (r=0.344; P<0.001; 95% CI for r values 0.197–0.491), respectively. Furthermore, a significant relationship between the gyrification index of the right supramarginal gyrus (SupraMG) and WAIS-III Digit Symbol test scores was observed in older adult participants (r=0.375; P<0.001; 95% CI for r values 0.203–0.522). Conclusions The results suggest that, compared with males, females have more extensive differences in cortical morphology. The gyrification index of the right SupraMG can be used as an imaging marker of sexual cognitive differences between males and females in older adults. This study helps to further understand sex differences in the aging of the brain and cognition.
A Cross-Sectional Study on the Evidence-Based Dentistry, Perception Basis, and Use of Articaine Among Dental Practitioners

Background: Many dentists use articaine as their choice of local anesthetic agent. However, the use of articaine is limited to inferior alveolar nerve blocks (IANBs), and literature data are scarce concerning its perception and choice among various dental practitioners. Aim: The aim of the present study was to assess the extent of articaine use as a local anesthetic in dentistry, its perception basis, and the consistency of evidence of the efficacy and safety of articaine in recent practice. Methods: The present study utilized a survey tool that was given to all the participating dental practitioners, and the participants were given five minutes to fill out the survey questionnaire. The questionnaire was in English and had 14 questions to be answered. The data gathered were statistically assessed to formulate the results. Results: The results of this cross-sectional survey reported that articaine is used as a choice of local anesthetic by more than half of the participating dental practitioners. Sixty percent (n = 480) participants used articaine in their practice, followed by lidocaine, which was used by 33% (n = 264) dental practitioners, mepivacaine by 2% (n = 16) participants, prilocaine by 1% (n = 8) dental practitioners, and other local anesthetics by 4% (n = 32) participants, respectively. Concerning the safety and efficacy of articaine use, 43% used it for all procedures except for IANBs, whereas 20% used it for all procedures, including IANBs. Conclusion: Despite the reported efficacy and safety of articaine as a local anesthetic for all dental procedures, many dental practitioners refrain from using it, especially for IANBs. These data depict a difference between current research evidence and reported clinical practice.
Conserved Double Translation Initiation Site for Δ160p53 Protein Hints at Isoform’s Key Role in Mammalian Physiology

p53 is the most commonly mutated gene in human cancers. Two fundamental reasons for this are its long protein isoforms protect from cancer, while its shorter C-terminal isoforms can support cancer and metastasis. Previously, we have shown that the Δ160p53 protein isoform enhances survival and the invasive character of cancer cells. Here, we identified a translation initiation site nine codons downstream of codon 160—the known initiation codon for the translation of Δ160p53—that is recognized by the translation machinery. When translation failed to initiate from AUG160 due to mutation, it initiated from AUG169 instead, producing similar levels of a similar protein, Δ169p53, which promoted cell survival as efficiently as Δ160p53 following DNA damage. Interestingly, almost all mammalian species with an orthologue to human AUG160 also possess one for AUG169, while none of the non-mammalian species lacking AUG160 have AUG169, even if that region of the p53 gene is well conserved. In view of our findings, we do not believe that Δ169p53 acts as a different p53 protein isoform; instead, we propose that the double translation initiation site strengthens the translation of these products with a critical role in cell homeostasis. Future studies will help verify if this is a more general mechanism for the expression of essential proteins in mammals.
The Emergence of Probability

The Greeks discussed randomness in a qualitative way: Democritus (460BC), Epicurus (341BC) … Yet, mathematical theory of probability came very late:-Gerolamo Cardano (b. 1501, Pavia); Ars Magna 1545-published solutions of cubic and quartic equations (derived by Tartaglia & Ferrari)-1526 Liber de ludo alaea-a gambler's handbook In physics, probability entered very late:-Gauss' theory of errors (~ 1800)-statistical mechanics (Boltzmann, 1871)-this probabilistic theory was not accepted until the 20th C-Einstein (1905) linked macroscopic Brownian motion with atomic properties-quantum mechanics brought genuine randomness into physics in the 1920's Statistics and probability were driven by biological questions:-Francis Galton pioneered biometrics-Karl Pearson developed the mathematics of the normal distribution in order to understand inheritance of continuous traits-Fisher (1918)-showed how continuous variation could be partitioned into components: ANOVA-developed modern statistical inference The course focusses on stochastic models rather than statistical inference-but these are closely connected
Interactions between nitrogen, hydrogen, and gallium vacancies inGaAs1−xNxalloys

The effects of H on the interaction between Ga vacancies ${V}_{\mathrm{Ga}}$ and N in ${\mathrm{GaAs}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{N}}_{x}$ dilute alloys are studied through first-principles total-energy calculations. We find that N binds to Ga vacancies and that in the presence of H this binding is enhanced. The formation energy of ${V}_{\mathrm{Ga}}$ bonded to N and H (resulting in a $\mathrm{N}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{H}\ensuremath{-}{V}_{\mathrm{Ga}}$ complex) can be more than 2 eV lower than that of the isolated Ga vacancy ${V}_{\mathrm{Ga}}$ in GaAs. Our finding that the concentration of ${V}_{\mathrm{Ga}}$ increases with N and even more in the presence of H allows us to interpret several recent experiments.
Social Behavioral Deficits in Krushinsky-Molodkina Rats, an Animal Model of Audiogenic Epilepsy

In clinical practice, epilepsy is often comorbid with the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). This warrants a search of animal models to uncover putative overlapping neuronal mechanisms. The Krushinsky-Molodkina (KM) rat strain is one of the oldest inbred animal models for human convulsive epilepsies. We analyzed the behavioral response of adult seizure-naive KM males in three-chambered tests for social preference. We found that a presence of social stimuli (encaged unfamiliar Wistar rats of the same age and sex) evoked a reduced or reversed exploratory response in freely moving KM individuals. The epilepsy-prone rats demonstrated remarkably shortened bouts of social contacts and displayed less locomotion around the stranger rat-containing boxes, together with a pronounced freezing response. The decrease in social preference was not due to a general decrease in activity, since relative measures of activity, the index of sociability, were decreased, too. The susceptibility to audiogenic seizures was verified in the KM cohort but not seen in the control Wistar group. We propose the KM rat strain as a new animal model for comorbid ASD and epilepsy.
The monte carlo newton-raphson algorithm

It is shown that the Monte Carlo Newton-Raphson algorithm is a viable alternative to the Monte Carlo EM algorithm for finding maximum likelihood estimates based on incomplete data. Both Monte Carlo procedures require simulations from the conditional distribution of the missing data given the observed data with the aid of methods like Gibbs sampling and rejective sampling. The Newton-Raphson algorithm is computationally more efficient than the EM algorithm as it converges faster. We further refine the procedure to make it more stable numerically. Our stopping criterion is based on a chi-square test for zero gradient. We control the type II error by working out the number of Monte Carlo replications required to make the non-centrality parameter sufficiently large. The procedure is validated and illustrated using three examples involving binary, survival and count data. In the last example, the Monte Carlo Newton-Raphson procedure is eight times faster than a modified version of the Monte Carlo EM algorithm.
SEMICIRCULAR SLOT BASED UWB MICROSTRIP PATCH ANTENNA FOR VARIABLE BAND NOTCHED APPLICATIONS

The patch antenna with Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) characteristics is a promising candidate for wireless communication. It is a major research problem to mitigate electromagnetic interference (EMI) with narrowband technologies such as 5G lower band, Wi-MAX, WLAN and satellite band, which are all in the UWB region. This study describes a UWB antenna with variable band rejection that can be used to avoid interference with Wi-MAX and 5G lower band applications. The UWB characteristics of a simple rectangle patch antenna with a faulty ground structure has been designed for operational bandwidth (2.7–13) GHz. A novel method semicircular slot (SCS) at the radiation patch creates a band notched from (3.25–3.80) GHz and (3.4–4) GHz. Variable band rejection between (2.95–4.40) GHz can be achieved by adjusting the “Wa” values. When measured over the band rejection frequency, the return loss (S11) and VSWR values are very close to 0 dB and larger than 2. The simulated and measured results such as return loss, VSWR, 2-D polar pattern and gain have almost similar agreement. The design of the suggested antenna is simple, compact and efficient for Wi-MAX application, this is an ideal UWB antenna with the band notch characteristics.
ENERGY NORM A POSTERIORI ERROR ESTIMATION OF hp-ADAPTIVE DISCONTINUOUS GALERKIN METHODS FOR ELLIPTIC PROBLEMS

In this paper, we develop the a posteriori error estimation of hp-version interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of elliptic boundary-value problems. Computable upper and lower bounds on the error measured in terms of a natural (mesh-dependent) energy norm are derived. The bounds are explicit in the local mesh sizes and approximation orders. A series of numerical experiments illustrate the performance of the proposed estimators within an automatic hp-adaptive refinement procedure.