Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects and microstructures of indium tin oxide seed layers for perpendicular magnetic recording media

Co/Pd multilayers have been shown to exhibit fcc structures and they have good recording properties with ITO as a seed layer. The microstructures of extremely thin indium–tin–oxide (ITO) grown in pure Ar, and the effects of this ITO as seed layers for Co/Pd and Co75B25/Pd multilayers, have been studied. The magnetic properties of the multilayers have been correlated with the crystallinity of the ITO. TEM analysis showed that this ITO has a crystalline structure instead of the amorphous structure reported by other researchers. Both heated and unheated films had what appeared to be metallic fcc structures with lattice constants of 4.88 A. Heating ITO seed layers led to increased coercivity (from 5.5 kOe to 7 kOe) in Co/Pd multilayers that were grown at room temperature.
Technical note: Introduction to MIMICA, a large‐eddy simulation solver for cloudy planetary boundary layers

In large‐eddy simulation (LES), large‐scale turbulent structures are explicitly resolved on the numerical grid while the dissipative turbulent eddies, typically smaller than the grid size, must be modeled. Because in the atmospheric boundary layer a large disparity of turbulent scales exists (about 9 orders of magnitude separate the largest and smallest scales), LES is considered as an essential modeling approach to capture the physics and dynamics of boundary layer clouds. A new LES solver developed at Stockholm University is presented here for the first time. The model solves for nonhydrostatic anelastic equations using high‐order low‐dissipative numerical schemes for the advection of scalars and momentum. A two‐moment bulk microphysics scheme is implemented representing five types of hydrometeors including ice crystals and snow. The LES is evaluated based on simulations of two well‐documented stratiform cloud events that were previously used for LES intercomparisons. In the first one, a marine drizzling stratocumulus observed during DYCOMS‐II, the model is shown to predict bulk cloud microphysical and dynamical properties within the range of the intercomparison model results. In the second case, based on a monolayer Arctic mixed‐phase cloud observed during ISDAC, we found that when using fast‐falling crystals, ice quickly precipitates out of the cloud without significant growth, resulting in very low ice water paths. The simulated clouds are also found to be very sensitive to the prescribed ice crystal number concentration: multiplying the ice concentration by a factor 2.5 results in rapid cloud dissipation in the most extreme case. Overall, these results are found to be consistent with former studies of Arctic mixed‐phase clouds as well as in situ measurements. More specifically, when the ice number concentration and parameterized ice habit are constrained by measurements, simulated microphysical properties such as the ice water path and ice crystal size distribution are found to agree well with observations.
Effects of a Piezo-Actuator on a Finitely Deformed Beam Subjected to General Loading

The deformation of a beam-column, the upper and lower surfaces of which are bonded in segments with piezo-ceramic liners, is studied for the purpose of obtaining appropriate expressions for the force transferred to the structural member by the piezo-actuator. This concept may be employed for the control of large dynamic deformations of a lattice-type flexible space-structure. The present model, which is based upon a static analysis, accounts for the effects of transverse shear and axial forces in addition to a bending moment on the beam in formulating the governing equilibrium equations. The present model provides more complete expressions for the force transmitted to the structural member than a model reported earlier in literature, in which the shear and axial forces are neglected.
Molecular Evolutionary Analyses of the Pseudomonas-Derived Cephalosporinase Gene

Despite the increasing evidence of the clinical impact of Pseudomonas-derived cephalosporinase (PDC) sequence polymorphisms, the molecular evolution of its encoding gene, blaPDC, remains elusive. To elucidate this, we performed a comprehensive evolutionary analysis of blaPDC. A Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo phylogenetic tree revealed that a common ancestor of blaPDC diverged approximately 4660 years ago, leading to the formation of eight clonal variants (clusters A–H). The phylogenetic distances within clusters A to G were short, whereas those within cluster H were relatively long. Two positive selection sites and many negative selection sites were estimated. Two PDC active sites overlapped with negative selection sites. In docking simulation models based on samples selected from clusters A and H, piperacillin was bound to the serine and the threonine residues of the PDC active sites, with the same binding mode for both models. These results suggest that, in P. aeruginosa, blaPDC is highly conserved, and PDC exhibits similar antibiotic resistance functionality regardless of its genotype.
A Novel Security Survival Model for Quantum Key Distribution Networks Enabled by Software-Defined Networking

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a technique for distributing symmetric encryption keys securely using quantum physics. The rate of key distribution is low and decreases exponentially with increasing distance. A classic trusted relay (CTR) uses additional keys to enhance security distance in QKD networks. In practice, the assurance of security for certain relay nodes is still lacking, despite the fact that CTR requires that all nodes be trusted. Owing to channel unreliability, system faults accumulate during the key relay, thereby increasing the probability of CTR failing to distribute the secret key. The failure of a successful key relay would then result in the subsequent destruction of all the keys involved in the process, which leads to the wasting of the quantum secret key and reduction system encryption. Hence, alleviating the effect of CTR failure for the purpose of obtaining key security distribution of distant quantum network is necessary issue to tackle. Therefore, a new scheme is needed in order to overcome the above-mentioned issues to come up with a better utilization of the generated keys. In this study, a software-defined networking (SDN) technique is introduced to circumvent this drawback by utilising the flexibility provided by the SDN paradigm for better QKD network management. In particular, a novel survivability model called software-defined quantum key relay failure (SDQKRF) is proposed in this paper in which a new function is developed and added to the SDN controller. According to the simulation results, SDN over a QKD network using the SDQKRF model is more reliable and performs better in terms of the key generation ratio, key utilisation rate, recovery after failure, avalanche effect, and service blocking rate than a regular QKD network without the SDQTRF model.
Combined Use of Ionic Liquid-Based Aqueous Biphasic Systems and Microfluidic Devices for the Detection of Prostate-Specific Antigen

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the cancer types that most affects males worldwide and is among the highest contributors to cancer mortality rates. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find strategies to improve the diagnosis of PCa. Microtechnologies have been gaining ground in biomedical devices, with microfluidics and lab-on-chip systems potentially revolutionizing medical diagnostics. In this paper, it is shown that prostate-specific antigen (PSA) can be detected through an immunoassay performed in a microbead-based microfluidic device after being extracted and purified from a serum sample through an aqueous biphasic system (ABS). Given their well-established status as ABS components for successful bioseparations, ionic liquids (ILs) and polymers were used in combination with buffered salts. Using both IL-based and polymer-based ABS, it was demonstrated that it is possible to detect PSA in non-physiological environments. It was concluded that the ABS that performed better in extracting the PSA from serum were those composed of tetrabutylammonium chloride ([N4444]Cl) and tetrabutylphosphonium bromide ([P4444]Br), both combined with phosphate buffer, and constituted by polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 1000 g/mol (PEG1000) with citrate buffer. In comparison with the assay with PSA prepared in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or human serum in which no ABS-mediated extraction was applied, assays attained lower limits of detection after IL-based ABS-mediated extraction. These results reinforce the potential of this method in future point-of-care (PoC) measurements.
On weak generalized positive subdefinite matrices and the linear complementarity problem

In this article, we present a weaker version of the class of generalized positive subdefinite matrices introduced by Crouzeix and Komlósi [J.P. Crouzeix and S. Komlósi, The Linear Complementarity Problem and the Class of Generalized Positive Subdefinite Matrices, Applied Optimization, Vol. 59, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 2001, pp. 45–63], which is new in the literature, and obtain some properties of weak generalized positive subdefinite (WGPSBD) matrices. We show that this weaker class of matrices is also captured by row-sufficient matrices introduced by Cottle et al. [R.W. Cottle, J.S. Pang, and V. Venkateswaran, Sufficient matrices and the linear complementarity problem, Linear Algebra Appl. 114/115 (1989), pp. 231–249] and show that for WGPSBD matrices under appropriate assumptions, the solution set of a linear complementarity problem is the same as the set of Karush–Kuhn–Tucker-stationary points of the corresponding quadratic programming problem. This further extends the results obtained in an earlier paper by Neogy and Das [S.K. Neogy and A.K. Das, Some properties of generalized positive subdenite matrices, SIAM J. Matrix Anal. Appl. 27 (2006), pp. 988–995].
Neonatal outcomes associated with antimicrobial resistance: A retrospective cross-sectional study

Neonatal sepsis (NS) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality requiring immediate admission and prolonged neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stay. This study attempts to identify factors associated with NS and its outcomes. A total of 186 NS cases records (January 2017 to September 2019) were analyzed retrospectively. Multiple logistic regression and linear regression were employed to determine the factors associated with mortality, length of NICU stay, and treatment cost with a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. The mean neonatal age was 6.8 ± 9.5 days. Culture reports identified Klebsiella pneumonia (69%) as the major pathogen. Forty-four percent of neonates died, of whom 57% and 44% suffered early-onset sepsis and late-onset sepsis respectively. Logistic regression showed that mortality was significantly associated with platelet count (OR = 0.998; 95% CI =0.996–1.000) and very low birth weight (LBW) (OR = 2.427; 95% CI = 1.103–5.342). Linear regression showed that the number of definitive antibiotics used was associated with prolonged length of NICU stay. Also, length of NICU stay, number of definitive antibiotics, seizures, and heart disease, were significantly associated with overall cost. Mortality was higher with early-onset of sepsis than with late-onset of sepsis. The study could help policymakers and clinical practitioners to develop and implement targeted interventions that potentially reduce the global prevalence of NS.
A new approach to the synthesis of modal control laws in active structural vibration control

Many systems have, by their nature, a small damping and they are therefore potentially subjected to dangerous vibratory phenomena. The aim of active vibration control is to contain these phenomena, increasing the natural damping of the system and its fatigue life, preferably without changing its natural frequencies and vibration modes. The modal control technique is the favorite amongst mechanical and structural engineers because of its representation in modal coordinates. However, especially in the field of active vibration control, the traditional design of the controller developed in state coordinates makes it difficult to understand how the mechanical parameters of the system are modified. The present paper introduces a new approach to the synthesis of a modal controller to suppress vibrations in structures. Itturns away from the traditional formulation of the problem showing how the performance of the designed controller can be evaluated through the analysis of the resulting modal damping matrix of the controlled system. The approach is based on the relationship existing between the shape of the matrix and the possibility that the control forces are dissipative (and, thus, ensuring the system stability). This analysis allows us to easily evaluate spillover effects, due to the presence of unmodeled modes, the stability of the control and the consequent effectiveness in reducing vibration. The opportunity to easily manage this information allows the synthesis of an efficient modal controller. Theoretical aspects are supported by numerical simulations and experimental tests.
Electronic Configurations of Superheavy Elements

We study electronic configurations of superheavy elements around one of islands of stabilities, from element 121 to 131, using the relativistic density functional theory with quantum electrodynamical corrections (Breit interaction) by MacDonald and Vosko. It is found that these corrections are important for studying electronic configurations of superheavy elements, and that g electrons in the atom first appear from element 126. We draw a table for the electronic configuration of elements including these superheavy elements.
Refined Structural Model for Thin- and Thick-Walled Composite Rotor Blades

A refined structural model based on a mixed force and displacement method is proposed for the analysis of composite rotor blades with elastic couplings. The present formulation allows the modeling of either open-section or closed-section blades of arbitrary section shape, stacking sequence, and end restraint effects. The theory accounts for the effect of elastic couplings, shell wall thickness, section warping, warping restraint, and transverse shear deformations. A semicomplementary energy functional is used to derive, in a variationally consistent manner, the beam force-displacement relations. Bending and torsion related warpings and shear correction factors are obtained in closed form as part of the analysis. The resulting first-order shear deformation theory (Timoshenko) describes the beam kinematics in terms of the axial, flap and lag bending, flap and lag shear, twist, and torsion-warping deformations. The theory is validated against experimental data and other finite element results for graphite-epoxy composite beams of various cross sections such as I sections, box sections, and two-cell airfoils. Good correlation is achieved for all of the test examples. The influence of wall thickness and transverse shear on the static beam response is also investigated. Wall thickness effects are shown to become significant when the thickness-to-depth ratio of the beam reaches around 20%. The slenderness ratio has a significant effect on the transverse shear behavior of the beam, especially for beams with low slenderness ratios. It is also shown that the layup angle has a nonnegligible effect on the transverse shear behavior of the beam.
Investigation of the damage-dependent response of mooring ropes

The focus of this paper is on the development of an analytical damage model for predicting the deterioration of the mechanical properties of polyester (PET) ropes subjected to static tension loading. Experimental data on small PET ropes are used to estimate the evolution of damage using the effective stress concept and the principle of strain equivalence. The proposed damage model relies on an empirically based cumulative scalar damage function, which is founded on the assumption that the strain range experienced by rope elements is the main source of damage under static tension loading conditions. In this particular study, the evolution of the damage function is represented by both power law and polynomial forms. Based on experimental observations, softening behavior is developed by rope elements after reaching their maximum load-carrying capacities. This softening behavior is captured by the damage function through an asymptotic expansion technique (perturbation method). Comparisons between predicted rope responses and experimental data are provided to illustrate the use of the proposed damage model to estimate PET rope response.
Construction of Exact Simultaneous Confidence Bands for a Simple Linear Regression Model

A simultaneous confidence band provides a variety of inferences on the unknown components of a regression model. There are several recent papers using confidence bands for various inferential purposes; see for example, Sun et al. (1999), Spurrier (1999), Al‐Saidy et al. (2003), Liu et al. (2004), Bhargava & Spurrier (2004), Piegorsch et al. (2005) and Liu et al. (2007). Construction of simultaneous confidence bands for a simple linear regression model has a rich history, going back to the work of Working & Hotelling (1929). The purpose of this article is to consolidate the disparate modern literature on simultaneous confidence bands in linear regression, and to provide expressions for the construction of exact 1 −α level simultaneous confidence bands for a simple linear regression model of either one‐sided or two‐sided form. We center attention on the three most recognized shapes: hyperbolic, two‐segment, and three‐segment (which is also referred to as a trapezoidal shape and includes a constant‐width band as a special case). Some of these expressions have already appeared in the statistics literature, and some are newly derived in this article. The derivations typically involve a standard bivariate t random vector and its polar coordinate transformation.
Contextual Inequality in the Performance Costs of Financial Precarity

A substantial proportion of the workforce experiences financial precarity, which is defined as persistent concern about one's personal financial welfare. Research suggests that financial precarity often harms performance at work. In this paper, we investigate whether characteristics of the work context disproportionately occupied by people at the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder (low autonomy, high routinization, high interdependence, low social support) heighten the detrimental impact of financial precarity on performance. Drawing on role stress theory, we propose that these characteristics alter the degree to which the cognitive resources appropriated by financial precarity interfere with the resource requirements of a person's work role. Our predictions are tested using experience sampling data covering 8 consecutive observation days for 956 individuals in the United States (k = 7,015). Analyzing daily observations allows us to distinguish financial precarity from the day-to-day experience of transient financial events. We observed that financial precarity significantly undermined the quality of one's work during a given day, but this relationship was driven by those working in contexts with low levels of autonomy, routinization, and coworker support. This pattern was only observed for those experiencing financial precarity, not those only exposed to a negative financial event in a given day. The research demonstrates that specific characteristics of the work environment can lead to inequality in who bears the performance costs associated with financial precarity.
In Vitro Evaluation of the Effects of Hyaluronic Acid and an Aminoacidic Pool on Human Osteoblasts

The treatment of bone injuries must be timely and effective to improve the chances of full recovery. In this respect, a mix of hyaluronic acid and an amino acidic pool has been marketed to promote soft tissue healing, fastening recovery times. Several studies have reported the in vitro and in vivo influence of hyaluronic acid and amino acids on fibroblasts and keratinocytes, highlighting the enhancement of cell proliferation, motility and cytokines synthesis. Even though the effectiveness of this combination of molecules on bone repair has been described in vivo, to the best of our knowledge, its in vitro effects on osteoblasts still need to be investigated. Therefore, this work describes for the first time osteoblast metabolism, proliferation and in vitro differentiation in the presence of hyaluronic acid and amino acids, aiming at understanding the mechanisms underlying their effectiveness in injured tissue repair. The reported results demonstrate the enhancement of osteoblasts’ metabolic activity and the fastening of cell cycle progression. Furthermore, gene expression studies show a significant increase in differentiation markers, i.e., osteoprotegerin and osteonectin. Finally, alkaline phosphatase activity is also boosted by the combination of hyaluronic acid and aminoacids, confirming the ability of in vitro cultured cells to properly differentiate through the osteogenic lineage.
Study on Anti-Constipation Effects of Hemerocallis citrina Baroni through a Novel Strategy of Network Pharmacology Screening

Daylily (Hemerocallis citrina Baroni) is an edible plant widely distributed worldwide, especially in Asia. It has traditionally been considered a potential anti-constipation vegetable. This study aimed to investigate the anti-constipation effects of daylily from the perspective of gastro-intestinal transit, defecation parameters, short-chain organic acids, gut microbiome, transcriptomes and network pharmacology. The results show that dried daylily (DHC) intake accelerated the defecation frequency of mice, while it did not significantly alter the levels of short-chain organic acids in the cecum. The 16S rRNA sequencing showed that DHC elevated the abundance of Akkermansia, Bifidobacterium and Flavonifractor, while it reduced the level of pathogens (such as Helicobacter and Vibrio). Furthermore, a transcriptomics analysis revealed 736 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) after DHC treatment, which are mainly enriched in the olfactory transduction pathway. The integration of transcriptomes and network pharmacology revealed seven overlapping targets (Alb, Drd2, Igf2, Pon1, Tshr, Mc2r and Nalcn). A qPCR analysis further showed that DHC reduced the expression of Alb, Pon1 and Cnr1 in the colon of constipated mice. Our findings provide a novel insight into the anti-constipation effects of DHC.
Effectiveness of A Fourth Dose of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine in the Elderly Population During the Omicron BA.2 and BA.5 Circulation: A Nationwide Cohort Study in Korea (K-COVE)

Abstract We estimate the effectiveness of a fourth dose booster of coronavirus disease 2019 mRNA vaccine in individuals aged ≥60 years during Omicron BA.2 and BA.5 circulation in Korea. The effectiveness against critical infection was 67.7% (95% confidence interval, 50.7%–78.8%) at 31–60 days and 62.1% (95% confidence interval, 45.5%–73.7%) at 61–90 days.
Classes de Steinitz d’extensions à groupe de Galois $A_4$

Soient k un corps de nombres et Cl(k) son groupe des classes. Une extension de k a groupe de Galois isomorphe au groupe alterne A4 est dite alternee. Soit E/k une extension cyclique de degre 3. On calcule la classe de Steinitz, dans Cl(k), de toute extension alternee contenant E. Sous l'hypothese que le nombre des classes de k est impair, on determine l'ensemble de telles classes et on montre que c'est un sous-groupe de Cl(k) lorsque l'anneau des entiers de E est libre sur celui de k ou 3 ne divise pas l'ordre de Cl(k). Ensuite, on montre que l'ensemble des elements de Cl(k) qui sont realisables par des classes de Steinitz d'extensions alternees (resp. alternees et moderees) est le groupe Cl(k) tout entier.