Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Formation and Early Evolution of the

Recent observations indicate that the Milky Way may have formed by aggregation of gas and stars from a reservoir of preexisting small galaxies in the local universe. The process probably began more than 12 billion years ago with material of different original angular momentum following two separate evolutionary lines, one into the slowly rotating halo and central bulge and the other into the rapidly rotating disk. The existence of distinct thick and thin disks shows that continuing mergers of satellite galaxies likely also determined the early evolution of the main structural component of the luminous Galaxy. The Milky Way Galaxy belongs to a small cluster of galaxies called the Local Group (1), which is one of many other groups and clusters of galaxies located near the outer edge of the Virgo supercluster. Within about 450 kiloparsecs (kpc) (2) of the Local Group’s barycenter, about half of its three dozen member galaxies known today are clustered in two subgroups around the two dominating massive spirals, the Andromeda nebula (M31) and the Galaxy. Among the Milky Way’s companion galaxies, the brightest ones are the Large and the Small Magellanic Clouds—irregular galaxies at distances of ;50 and ;60 kpc, respectively— while the remainder are all fainter, lower mass dwarfs. At a distance of less than ;25 kpc from the Galactic center, the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy was only recently discovered and was shown to be in a process of merging with the main body of the Milky Way (3). The main body of the luminous Galaxy
CBCT Evaluation of Periapical Pathologies in Maxillary Posterior Teeth and Their Relationship with Maxillary Sinus Mucosal Thickening

In modern dentistry, radiographic imaging is crucial for examining the connection between the maxillary sinus floor and the root apices of the maxillary posterior teeth, particularly when the periapical region is affected by pathology that could result in infectious, inflammatory, or traumatic changes in the maxillary sinus. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of periapical pathologies in the maxillary posterior teeth and their relationship with maxillary sinus mucosal thickening by using cone-beam computed tomography scans. This retrospective study was conducted on 420 digitized CBCT images which were scanned in sagittal, axial, and coronal views. Out of 420 total images, 223 (53.1%) were of males and 197 (44.9%) were of females. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 28. A total of 2936 posterior maxillary teeth were tested for periapical pathology (PP), 1477 on the right side and 1459 on the left side. In terms of gender, there was no significant relationship between PP in maxillary posterior teeth on both sides and mucosal thickness of the maxillary sinus (p > 0.05). A significant relationship was found between PP in maxillary posterior teeth on both sides and maxillary sinus mucosal thickening (p < 0.05). This study concluded that the prevalence of periapical pathology in the maxillary posterior teeth was significantly associated with a rise in the incidence of maxillary sinus mucosal thickening. Moreover, the primary causative factor for the pathophysiology of the odontogenic maxillary sinus was the periapical pathology in both maxillary first molars.
Convex Relaxation for Low-Dimensional Representation: Phase Transitions and Limitations

There is a growing interest in taking advantage of possible patterns and structures in data so as to extract the desired information and overcome the curse of dimensionality. In a wide range of applications, including computer vision, machine learning, medical imaging, and social networks, the signal that gives rise to the observations can be modeled to be approximately sparse and exploiting this fact can be very beneficial. This has led to an immense interest in the problem of efficiently reconstructing a sparse signal from limited linear observations. More recently, low-rank approximation techniques have become prominent tools to approach problems arising in machine learning, system identification and quantum tomography. In sparse and low-rank estimation problems, the challenge is the inherent intractability of the objective function, and one needs efficient methods to capture the low-dimensionality of these models. Convex optimization is often a promising tool to attack such problems. An intractable problem with a combinatorial objective can often be "relaxed" to obtain a tractable but almost as powerful convex optimization problem. This dissertation studies convex optimization techniques that can take advantage of low-dimensional representations of the underlying high-dimensional data. We provide provable guarantees that ensure that the proposed algorithms will succeed under reasonable conditions, and answer questions of the following flavor: For a given number of measurements, can we reliably estimate the true signal? If so, how good is the reconstruction as a function of the model parameters? More specifically, i) Focusing on linear inverse problems, we generalize the classical error bounds known for the least-squares technique to the lasso formulation, which incorporates the signal model. ii) We show that intuitive convex approaches do not perform as well as expected when it comes to signals that have multiple low-dimensional structures simultaneously. iii) Finally, we propose convex relaxations for the graph clustering problem and give sharp performance guarantees for a family of graphs arising from the so-called stochastic block model. We pay particular attention to the following aspects. For i) and ii), we aim to provide a general geometric framework, in which the results on sparse and low-rank estimation can be obtained as special cases. For i) and iii), we investigate the precise performance characterization, which yields the right constants in our bounds and the true dependence between the problem parameters.
Association of relative deprivation with loneliness and its underlying mechanisms: Evidence from Chinese migrant children

Given the increase in the number of internal migrant children, the mental health problems (e.g., loneliness) of this population have received widespread attention. Relative deprivation is considered to be related to migrant children’s loneliness. However, the underlying mechanisms of this relationship remain unclear. Therefore, the present study tested the possible mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of belief in a just world in the association between relative deprivation and loneliness of migrant children. A total of 1,261 Chinese rural-to-urban migrant children (10–15 years old, Mage = 12.34 years, SD = 1.67; 52.0% males, 48.0% females; 23.55% fourth grade students, 16.49% fifth grade students, 19.59% sixth grade students, 15.54% seventh grade students, 13.80% eighth grade students, and 10.86% ninth grade students) were recruited to complete measures of relative deprivation, self-esteem, belief in a just world, loneliness, and demographic variables. Relative deprivation was significantly and positively correlated with migrant children’s loneliness, and this connection could be mediated by self-esteem. Moreover, the first part of the indirect effect of self-esteem on this link was moderated by belief in a just world. These effects were stronger for migrant children with higher levels of belief in a just world. This study reveals the potential mechanisms of relative deprivation affecting loneliness, while also providing insights into how to better help migrant children alleviate loneliness and improve their mental health.
Convergence Rates for Conditional Gradient Sequences Generated by Implicit Step Length Rules

Conditional gradient algorithms with implicit line minimization and Goldstein–Armijo step length rules are considered for the problem $\min _\Omega F$ with $\Omega $ a bounded convex subset of a real Banach space. When the Frechet derivative $F'$ is uniformly continuous on $\Omega $, the iterates $x_n $ generated by any of the algorithms comprise an “extremizing” sequence in the sense that the quantity, $\langle {F'(x_n ),x_n } \rangle - \inf _{y \in \Omega } \langle {F'(x_n ),y} \rangle $, converges to zero as $n \to \infty $. This ensures that every limit point of $\{ x_n \} $ is an extremal, and for compact $\Omega $ it then follows that $\{ x_n \} $ converges to the set of extremals in $\Omega $. Weak counterparts of these results are also established. Convergence rate estimates are derived for convex F and Lipschitz continuous $F'$. These estimates are closely related to results obtained in an earlier investigation of two explicit step length formulas for conditional gradient methods. Once again, the.
Algal amendment enhances biogenic methane production from coals of different thermal maturity

The addition of small amounts of algal biomass to stimulate methane production in coal seams is a promising low carbon renewable coalbed methane enhancement technique. However, little is known about how the addition of algal biomass amendment affects methane production from coals of different thermal maturity. Here, we show that biogenic methane can be produced from five coals ranging in rank from lignite to low-volatile bituminous using a coal-derived microbial consortium in batch microcosms with and without algal amendment. The addition of 0.1 g/l algal biomass resulted in maximum methane production rates up to 37 days earlier and decreased the time required to reach maximum methane production by 17–19 days when compared to unamended, analogous microcosms. Cumulative methane production and methane production rate were generally highest in low rank, subbituminous coals, but no clear association between increasing vitrinite reflectance and decreasing methane production could be determined. Microbial community analysis revealed that archaeal populations were correlated with methane production rate (p = 0.01), vitrinite reflectance (p = 0.03), percent volatile matter (p = 0.03), and fixed carbon (p = 0.02), all of which are related to coal rank and composition. Sequences indicative of the acetoclastic methanogenic genus Methanosaeta dominated low rank coal microcosms. Amended treatments that had increased methane production relative to unamended analogs had high relative abundances of the hydrogenotrophic methanogenic genus Methanobacterium and the bacterial family Pseudomonadaceae. These results suggest that algal amendment may shift coal-derived microbial communities towards coal-degrading bacteria and CO2-reducing methanogens. These results have broad implications for understanding subsurface carbon cycling in coal beds and the adoption of low carbon renewable microbially enhanced coalbed methane techniques across a diverse range of coal geology.
To share or not to share, by whom is the question. Acceptability and acceptance of shared transport services by vulnerable groups

ABSTRACT It is believed that shared transport services (STSs) can reduce transport poverty and social exclusion. This paper proposes a definition of “social acceptability” and “social acceptance” and examines whether vulnerable groups accept STSs. The notions “acceptability” and “acceptance” were distinguished and four necessary conditions, especially for vulnerable groups, or the 4As were identified: “availability”, “accessibility”, “affordability”, and “attractability”. In the context of STSs, “social acceptability” is defined as the degree to which an individual intends to use a STS before experiencing it in everyday travel based on the expected availability, accessibility, affordability, and attractability of the service, while “social acceptance” also incorporates the use of a STS after experiencing it in everyday travel based on a minimum level of perceived availability, accessibility, affordability, and attractability. This paper further reviews the scientific literature in transport research regarding the “acceptability” or “acceptance” of STSs by vulnerable groups. While several studies include socio-economic and demographic variables (e.g. age, gender) to explain the “acceptability” of STSs, only a few studies specifically focus on vulnerable groups. More research on the “social acceptance” of STSs, especially shared scooters, ride-sharing, and apps and Mobility as a Service (MaaS), by vulnerable groups is needed.
Attitude Control with Analytic Disturbance-Rejection Guarantee

Analytic formulas that guarantee a minimum level of disturbance-rejection performance are derived for a class of attitude control problems consisting of linear proportional-derivative quaternion feedback applied to a rigid-body spacecraft plant model. Specifically, a Lyapunov-based disturbance-rejection assessment tool is derived for a general class of perturbed nonlinear systems, and then it is specialized to the linear attitude control class. Although the tool accepts generic Lyapunov function candidates, this paper demonstrates that existing Lyapunov functions (that readily prove asymptotic stability for attitude control systems) are insufficiently parameterized for purposes of estimating disturbance-rejection capability via the proposed tool. In response to this shortcoming, two new Lyapunov functions are proposed, and they are evaluated in the context of two closed-form disturbance-rejection performance assessment algorithms. Both algorithms demonstrate that the magnitude of the allowable disturbance.
A multiphase Cahn-Hilliard system with mobilities and the numerical simulation of dewetting

We propose in this paper a new multiphase Cahn-Hilliard model with doubly degenerate mobilities. We prove by a formal asymptotic analysis that it approximates with second order accuracy the multiphase surface diffusion flow with mobility coefficients and surface tensions. To illustrate that it lends itself well to numerical approximation, we propose a simple and effective numerical scheme together with a very compact Matlab implementation. We provide the results of various numerical experiments to show the influence of mobility and surface tension coefficients. Thanks to its second order accuracy and its good suitability for numerical implementation, our model is very handy for tackling notably difficult surface diffusion problems. In particular, we show that it can be used very effectively to simulate numerically the dewetting of thin liquid tubes on arbitrary solid supports without requiring nonlinear boundary conditions.
Flachheitsbasierte Steuerung eines Timoshenko‐Balkens

An open loop control for a clamped Timoshenko beam, driven by a boundary torque, is presented. With the proposed method finite time transitions between two steady states can be achieved. The solution of the PDE is obtained using Mikusiński operators. The time dependent functions corresponding to the operators have compact support and can be represented using infinite series. When parametrizing the system by a flat output, the system trajectories can be written as definite integrals.
Determinants of choice of credit source among clients of microfinance systems in the Upper West Region of Ghana

Abstract Microfinance institutions must understand what influences their clients’ choice of credit source in order to design and provide adequate and appropriate credit facilities to their clients. This paper explores the determinants of the choice of credit source among beneficiaries of microfinance systems in the Upper West Region of Ghana. An interview guide and a questionnaire were used to collect data. The study employed the multinomial probit model to analyse the data. The study revealed that gender, arable crop farming, household size, dependency ratio, access to microfinance information, repayment period, group size, interest rate, distance, loan amount, borrowing experience, household assets, and household members employed were the main determinants of the choice of credit source among beneficiaries. The study recommends that the Bank of Ghana, through the Apex Bank, standardise repayment periods and procedures such that banks compete on innovative methods of sourcing borrowers, which could result in efficiency in the lending industry.
Unraveling the Impact of Salbutamol Polytherapy: Clinically Relevant Drug Interactions

The proper drug choice determines the treatment quality for a disease. The pharmacotherapeutic strategy for respiratory diseases often involves the combination of different drugs with different mechanisms of action. Salbutamol is a short-acting β2-agonist (SABA) used as a reliever in the treatment of asthma and is frequently paired with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). Indeed, drug–drug interactions (DDI) receive special attention as they are some of the most common causes of adverse effects and can lead to increased morbidity and mortality. DDIs can occur in patients undergoing polytherapy at the pharmacokinetic (PK) or pharmacodynamic (PD) level. Given this, the interaction of salbutamol with other drugs has been extensively explored in terms of PD and PK since its introduction into the pharmaceutical market. To date, more than a thousand salbutamol interactions have been reported. Here, we propose to review some interactions of salbutamol with other drugs such as beta-blockers, anticholinergics, other classes of bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and others, and point out significant gaps in the knowledge of DDI.
High-Bandwidth Optical Measurements of the Second-Mode Instability in a Mach 6 Quiet Tunnel

Focused schlieren is used in combination with a small-diameter fiber optic and avalanche photodetector to measure second-mode instabilities on a Mach 6 flared-cone model, within the unit Reynolds number range 7.8 to 11.0×10 m. The second-mode instability is readily observed at f0 ~ O(250 kHz), as is harmonic content at 2f0 and 3f0. A bispectral analysis shows that after sufficient amplification of the second mode, several nonlinear mechanisms become significant. A self-excited nonlinear interaction of the second mode takes place, resulting in an energy transfer to generate higher harmonics. A variety of nonlinear interactions occur, including ones involving 3f0, which have not hitherto been reported in the literature. With increasing Reynolds number, phase-coupled interactions are found to be increasingly intermittent, and there is a significant amplitude modulation of the secondmode disturbance at frequencies significantly lower than f0. At a freestream unit Reynolds number coinciding with the loss of the tunnel's quiet-flow environment, the redistribution of the available energy in the interacting modes eventually involves frequency components throughout much of the spectrum, and there is a filling in of the valleys in between the spectral peaks as the cone boundary layer becomes intermittently turbulent. A parametric study is considered in order to determine the sensitivity of f0 to small angles-of-attack of the test article about 0o and provides a convenient measure of angle misalignment for numerical simulations.
Lexicographic Preferences Induced in Asymmetric Information Environments

The current paper derives from a purely set-theoretical approach to the problem of strategic information transmission between an informed sender and an uninformed decision maker. The information provided by the sender is encoded in a multifunction that forces the decision maker to behave according to the preference relation induced by the encoded information. The main purpose of the paper is to study sufficient conditions for an information multifunction to alter an originally given additive preference relation of a decision maker and induce a lexicographic one. In doing so, we build several examples of sets of multifunctions inducing additive and lexicographic preferences.
Nurses’ Perceptions of Ethical Conflicts When Caring for Patients with COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused ethical challenges and dilemmas in care decisions colliding with nurses’ ethical values. This study sought to understand the perceptions and ethical conflicts faced by nurses working on the frontline during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and the main coping strategies. A qualitative phenomenological study was carried out following Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews until data saturation. The theoretical sample included 14 nurses from inpatient and intensive care units during the first and second waves of the pandemic. An interview script was used to guide the interviews. Data were analyzed following Giorgi’s phenomenological method using Atlas-Ti software. Two themes were identified: (1) ethical conflicts on a personal and professional level; and (2) coping strategies (active and autonomous learning, peer support and teamwork, catharsis, focusing on care, accepting the pandemic as just another work situation, forgetting the bad situations, valuing the positive reinforcement, and humanizing the situation). The strong professional commitment, teamwork, humanization of care, and continuous education have helped nurses to deal with ethical conflicts. It is necessary to address ethical conflicts and provide psychological and emotional support for nurses who have experienced personal and professional ethical conflicts during COVID-19.
Effect of Sodium selenite administration on the process of tendon healing in Wistar male rats

Tendon lesions have a great effect on the quality of life and medical spending. Thus is important to investigate the mechanisms responsible for tendon healing and to identify novel treatment options. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of Selenium on the healing processes of injured tendons. A total of 20 Wistar male rats were used and were split into two groups with two different treatment methods. The first group received a normal food administration, while the second group received Na2SeO3. The animals were kept for 28 days. During the eighth day, all animals underwent surgical experimental Achilles tendon lesion and a Kessler-type suture. After three weeks, the animals were sacrificed and the tendon was extracted for histological evaluation in order to do a comparison according to the Movin scale (modified by Bonar). The histological evaluation revealed an even orientation of the collagen fibers in the case of the experimental group (Se) compared with the second group. The Bonar score was 1.62 for the Se group, while the control group had a Bonar score of 1.98. The average number of tenocytes in the Se group was lower which is demonstrated by a lower Bonar score (1.22), compared with the second group (Bonar Score 1.85). In addition, a slightly higher number of tenocytes compared with the intact tendon areas was recorded. In vascularization, a decreased amount of blood vessels in the experimental group (Se) was observed (Bonar Score 1.70), compared with the control group (Bonar score 1.96). The present study demonstrated that Selenium administration on murine models could be beneficial for tendon healing. Further clinical research is required in order for this to be confidently recommended.