Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of carbon fiber volume fraction on 6H to 4H-SiC polytype transformation

ABSTRACT In this study, polycrystalline α-SiC composed of 55.7 wt. % 6H-SiC, 35.1 wt. % 4H-SiC with different volume fractions of carbon fibers (0–5–10–15–20%) was successfully sintered by spark plasma sintering technique at 2000°C and 35 MPa of applied pressure. The micrographs obtained from scanning electron microscopy revealed that the sintered samples were composed of equiaxed SiC grains. Results indicated that the presence of carbon fibers retarded the SiC densification process, decreased their relative densities and increased their porosity. Additionally, according to quantitative phase analysis by the Rietveld method during the sintering step, it was found that the 6H to 4H transformation has taken place. Increasing the carbon fibers content accelerated this trend as the sample containing 20 vol.% carbon fiber was consisted of 85.5 wt. % 4H-SiC.
FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITY OF MARINE SPONGES COLLECTED FROM KOVALAM, CHENNAI

Objective: The main focus of this study is to screen the marine sponges for potent free radical scavenging activity. Methods: Various methods such as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay are employed to ascertain the antioxidant properties of marine sponges namely Dysidea herbacea and Sigmadocia pumila. Results: On analyzing, the result of ABTS assay D. herbacea and S. pumila exhibited almost equal antioxidant properties. While calculating the inhibitory concentration 50% value for DPPH assay, the Sample 1 and 2 has an IC of 655.49 and 826.739 μl, respectively, and in FRAP assay, the Sample 1 and 2 has an IC of 67.587 and 74.57 μg, respectively. Conclusion: Overall from this assay, D. herbacea revealed slightly better antioxidant activity when compared to S. pumila, also which in future may serve as a better source to fight against various diseases
Synthesis of mixed-ligand Cu–MOFs and their adsorption of malachite green

Different mixed-ligand MOFs with various ratios of Cu2+ and ligands (MOFs-1, MOFs-2, MOFs-3 and MOFs-4) were synthesized and characterized. The mixed-ligand MOFs-2 was the optimal adsorbent, as confirmed by studying the adsorption of malachite green (MG); the adsorption capacity of MOFs-2 for MG was calculated to be 185.4 mg g−1. Based on a combination of surface and pore structure analysis, it was concluded that size match is more important than surface area for adsorption. Adsorption isotherms were acquired, and the results showed that the adsorption is a physical process that obeys the Freundlich model. The adsorption mechanisms were tested, and the results showed that the adsorption has pseudo-first-order kinetics. MOFs-2 was proven to be stable in water and suitable to be recycled for waste water treatments.
Pemanfaatan Kulit Singkong Sebagai Bahan Baku Karbon Aktif

Karbon aktif merupakan produk dari proses aktivasi karbon yang kemampuan penyerapannya lebih tinggi dan memiliki kegunaan lebih banyak daripada karbon biasa. Karbon aktif dapat mengadsorpsi gas dan senyawa-senyawa kimia tertentu atau sifat adsorpsinya selektif, tergantung pada besar atau volume pori-pori dan luas permukaan. Karbon aktif dapat dibuat dari karbon kulit singkong dengan cara dikarbonisasi untuk menghasilkan karbon pada suhu 200 0 C, 300 0 C, 400 0 C, 500 0 C, dan 600 0 C. Selanjutnya karbon diaktivasi secara kimia dengan larutan asam fosfat. Proses aktivasi kimia karbon kulit singkong dilakukan dengan merendam karbon kulit singkong dalam larutan H 3 PO 4 2,5% selama 24 jam. Karbon aktif yang dihasilkan memenuhi standar (SNI) 06–3730-1995 dengan hasil pengujian kadar air antara 4,5% - 13% dimana standar SNI maksimum 15% dan kadar abu antara 1,5%-7,5% dimana standar SNI maksimum 10%, dan dan daya serap iodium antara 2.533,78 mg/g - 2.537,71mg/g dimana standar SNI maksimum 750 mg/g.
Improving Situational Awareness of Heavy-Snowfall Using the Geostationary Lightning Mapper

School of Graduate Studies The University of Alabama in Huntsville Degree Master of Science College/Dept. Science/Atmospheric Science in Atmospheric Science Name of Candidate Sebastian S. Harkema Title Improving Situational Awareness of Heavy-Snowfall Using The Geostationary Lightning Mapper While severe convective weather might be the focus of lightning data, studies regarding the use of these data for winter weather purposes are sparse. Nextgeneration satellite sensors, such as the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), provide new capabilities to gain a better understanding of the microphysical processes within heavy-snowfall. The advent of GLM provides a new opportunity to study how lightning is related to snowfall from a geostationary satellite perspective. Observed overlap between observations from GLM and National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Services (NESDIS) merged Snowfall Rate (mSFR) product indicate the existence of thundersnow (TSSN) and offers valuable insight to the rapidly changing environment in and around heavy-snowfall. A thundersnow detection algorithm was developed to objectively identify this phenomena and statistically significant (P<0.05) differences were observed for GLM flash area and flash energy; where GLM flashes that did not correspond to National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) data were weaker in energy output and smaller in size compared to those that had at least one NLDN correspondence. Nearly 14% of TSSN flashes
Toward Direct Thermal-to-Electric Conversion: On-chip Microreactors for Catalytic Combustion of Methanol-Air Mixture

In this thesis, on-chip microreactors for catalytic combustion of methanol-air mixture were designed, fabricated and characterized. Using standard optical lithography, deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) and other fabrication techniques, microreactors with integrated micropillars having four different types of designs, viz., square and staggered pillar arrangements along with axial and diagonal flow configurations were generated. The diameter and height of the micropillars are both 100 μm and the available internal surface area of the reactor is 629.77 mm2. Such microfabricated microreactors have a high surface-area-to-volume-ratio in the order of 27.80 mm−1. A wash-coating procedure was adopted to deposit Pt on Al2O3 catalyst onto the reactor surfaces. After a preheating procedure, by introducing methanol-air mixture into the reactors, an autonomous and stable on-chip catalytic combustion could be sustained. This work shows that apart from the catalyst, fuel type, fuel and air flow rates, the geometric configuration of the microreactor plays a significant role in terms of achieving highest on-chip temperature. It was found that the on-chip microreactor with squared pillar arrangement coupled with diagonal flow configuration provided the best performance for the catalytic combustion of methanol-air mixture. It was also demonstrated that the well-known transition from heterogeneous catalytic combustion to a mixed heterogeneous-catalytic-andhomogeneous-gas-phase combustion exists during the combustion process in these on-chip microreactors. Such sustained catalytic combustion can be utilized as future heat source for direct thermal-to-electric energy conversion platform where the
A hypoplastic constitutive model for clays with meta-stable structure

A new hypoplastic model for clays with meta-stable structure is presented in the paper. A new method for incorporation of structure effects into hypoplastic models based on the modification of barotropy and pyknotropy factors is proposed and applied to an existing hypoplastic model for reconstituted clays. The new model is characterised by a simple calibration procedure and a small number of parameters. This makes the model particularly suitable for practical applications. The model is evaluated using experimental data on two natural soft clays. Thanks to the incrementally non-linear character of the hypoplastic equation, the proposed model predicts behaviour of overconsolidated clays comparably to advanced kinematic hardening elasto-plastic models.
Facilitating Informed Decision Making: Determinants of University Students’ COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake

Background: Although several COVID-19 vaccines are available, the current challenge is achieving high vaccine uptake. We aimed to explore university students’ intention to get vaccinated and select the most relevant determinants/beliefs to facilitate informed decision making around COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey with students (N = 434) from Maastricht University was conducted in March 2021. The most relevant determinants/beliefs of students’ COVID-19 vaccine intention (i.e., determinants linked to vaccination intention, and with enough potential for change) were visualized using CIBER plots. Results: Students’ intention to get the COVID-19 vaccine was high (80%). Concerns about safety and side effects of the vaccine and trust in government, quality control, and the pharmaceutical industry were identified as the most relevant determinants of vaccine intention. Other determinants were risk perception, attitude, perceived norm, and self-efficacy beliefs. Conclusion: Our study identified several determinants of COVID-19 vaccine intention (e.g., safety, trust, risk perception, etc.) and helped to select the most relevant determinants/beliefs to target in an intervention to maximize COVID-19 vaccination uptake. Concerns and trust related to the COVID-19 vaccine are the most important targets for future interventions. Other determinants that were already positive (i.e., risk perception, attitudes, perceived norms, and self-efficacy) could be further confirmed.
Uncertainty quantification of criticality in solid-moderated and -reflected cores at Kyoto University Critical Assembly

ABSTRACT Uncertainty quantification is conducted for the criticality of excess reactivity and control rod worth obtained at the Kyoto University Critical Assembly (KUCA). By combining SRAC2006 and MARBLE code systems, the sensitivity coefficients of the cross sections for aluminum-27 (27Al) comprising mainly of core components are large in the solid-moderated and -reflected cores (A cores) at KUCA. Also, the uncertainty is dominant in the uranium-235 isotope by the covariance data of JENDL-4.0, and a quantitative value is about 150 pcm induced by the JENDL-4.0 data library in the KUCA A cores, whereas the covariance data of 27Al are not prepared in JENDL-4.0. Moreover, the effect of decreasing uncertainty is obtained by applying the cross-sectional adjustment method to the uncertainty analyses. From the results, a series of uncertainty quantifications is expected to clarify the uncertainty of sub-criticality in accelerator-driven system experiments with spallation neutrons in the KUCA A cores.
The Positive Effect of Sulfur on Selenium Detoxification Under Selenite Condition in Wheat

ABSTRACT An experiment was performed to evaluate the regulatory effects of varied amounts of sulfur (S) on selenium (Se) uptake and distribution within wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in response to selenite (SeO32-). The results showed that an appropriate amount of SeO32- (≤5 mg kg−1) improved the agronomic traits of wheat, and the addition of S significantly alleviated wheat growth inhibition caused by excessive SeO32- (≥15 mg kg−1). The Se concentration of different fractions in wheat grain showed a tendency of alkali-soluble Se > alcohol-soluble Se > water-soluble Se > salt-soluble Se. The use of S significantly reduced Se accumulation in each wheat part when the addition of SeO32- was ≤15 mg kg−1, but the Se distribution ratio of various wheat parts was not influenced by S supply. Overall, the application of S fertilizer is an effective technical measure to promote wheat production safety in high-Se areas.
An Eye Tracking System for a Virtual Reality Headset by

An Eye Tracking System for a Virtual Reality Headset Soumil Chugh Masters of Applied Science Graduate Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Toronto 2020 This research describes a head-mounted eye tracking system for a commercial virtual reality (VR) system. The system uses infrared LEDs that illuminate the eyes and cameras to capture eye images and a 3D gaze estimation model that uses the locations pupil center and corneal reflections in the eye images. It generates gaze estimates that are insensitive to headset slippage. A key contribution of the work is a novel method to determine the correspondence between the corneal reflections and the LEDs. This is done using a fully convolutional neural network (CNN) based on the UNET architecture, which correctly identifies and matches 91% of reflections in tests. The eye tracking system has an average gaze accuracy of 1.1◦, which is at least 100% better than current VR eye tracking systems. The high accuracy of the system was maintained with up to 10 mm of headset slippage.
Thinking Inside the Box: A Tutorial on Grey-Box Bayesian Optimization

Bayesian optimization (BO) is a framework for global optimization of expensive-to-evaluate objective functions. Classical BO methods assume that the objective function is a black box. However, internal information about objective function computation is often available. For example, when optimizing a manufacturing line's throughput with simulation, we observe the number of parts waiting at each workstation, in addition to the overall throughput. Recent BO methods leverage such internal information to dramatically improve performance. We call these “grey-box” BO methods because they treat objective computation as partially observable and even modifiable, blending the black-box approach with so-called “white-box” first-principles knowledge of objective function computation. This tutorial describes these methods, focusing on BO of composite objective functions, where one can observe and selectively evaluate individual constituents that feed into the overall objective; and multi-fidelity BO, where one can evaluate cheaper approximations of the objective function by varying parameters of the evaluation oracle.
Multi-agent Deep Covering Option Discovery

—The use of options can greatly accelerate exploration in reinforcement learning, especially when only sparse reward signals are available. While option discovery methods have been proposed for individual agents, in multi-agent reinforcement learning settings, discovering collaborative options that can coordinate the behavior of multiple agents and encourage them to visit the under-explored regions of their joint state space has not been considered. In this case, we propose Multi-agent Deep Covering Option Discovery , which constructs the multi- agent options through minimizing the expected cover time of the multiple agents’ joint state space. Also, we propose a novel framework to adopt the multi-agent options in the MARL process. In practice, a multi-agent task can usually be divided into some sub-tasks, each of which can be completed by a sub-group of the agents. Therefore, our algorithm framework ﬁrst leverages an attention mechanism to ﬁnd collaborative agent sub-groups that would beneﬁt most from coordinated actions. Then, a hierarchical algorithm, namely HA-MSAC, is developed to learn the multi-agent options for each sub-group to complete their sub-tasks ﬁrst, and then to integrate them through a high-level policy as the solution of the whole task. This hierarchical option construction allows our framework to strike a balance between scalability and effective collaboration among the agents. The evaluation based on multi-agent collaborative tasks shows that the proposed algorithm can effectively capture the agent interactions with the attention mechanism, successfully identify multi-agent options, and signiﬁcantly outperforms prior works using single-agent options or no options, in terms of both faster exploration and higher task rewards.
Friezes over Z [ √ 2 ] UMN-Twin Cities REU Summer 2021

A frieze on a polygon is a map from the diagonals of the polygon to an integral domain which respects the Ptolemy relation. Conway and Coxeter previously studied positive friezes over Z and showed that they are in bijection with triangulations of a polygon. We study friezes over Z[ √ 2] and investigate relationships between different types of friezes over this integral domain. In particular, we investigate the characterization of unitary friezes that come from dissecting a polygon into triangles and quadrilaterals. We identify families of dissections that give rise to unitary and non-unitary friezes. Among them, we can always obtain a unitary frieze from dissecting a polygon into ”towers. ” We conjecture that a dissection into triangles and quadrilaterals produce a unitary frieze if and only if the dissection is a gluing of towers. We make progress towards proving this conjecture in the case of certain types of dissections.
Mean Streets ? The Social Locations , Gender Dynamics , and Patterns of Violent Crime in Winnipeg by

Fuelled in part by newspaper headlines like the above, public concerns over the levels of violence in our communities have intensified in recent years. Our perception and fear of violent crime has had a definite impact on how many of us go about our daily lives. We warn our children not to talk to strangers. We avoid taking public transportation or venturing into certain parts of the city late at night. And we lock up our homes and install security devices to keep out unwanted intruders. Each time the newspapers report yet another incident of violence on the “mean streets,” the calls for the criminal justice system to “get tougher” on violent crime become louder. These “tough” proposals usually include increased surveillance and monitoring of public spaces, stricter law enforcement practices and harsher prison sentences for violent offenders. Given our fears of violent crime, many of us take comfort in the notion that our homes can provide a refuge from violence. Yet, this image of the home as a haven has been shattered by the realization that assaults can occur in the privacy of our houses as well as on the streets. Even more worrisome, the assailants are not strangers, but people we know. The idea that violence is a regular occurrence in many homes has been made prominant by the women’s movement. Over the past three decades, feminists have organized, lobbied and advocated to put this issue on the political map. Key to their position is that the victims of this violence are women and the offenders are the men with whom they share an intimate relationship; their husbands, boyfriends or common law partners. Estimates of the incidence of male violence against women are alarming. The most recent and comprehensive study found that one in four Canadian women have experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of a male partner (Statistics Canada, 1993). Such findings have produced a sea change in how we understand the problem of violence. Once considered a private matter Mean Streets? The Social Locations, Gender Dynamics, and Patterns of Violent Crime in Winnipeg
The Sample Complexity of Parity Learning in the Robust Shuffle Model

Diﬀerential privacy [Dwork, McSherry, Nissim, Smith TCC 2006] is a standard of privacy in data analysis of personal information requiring that the information of any single individual should not inﬂuence the analysis’ output distribution signiﬁcantly. The focus of this thesis is the shuﬄe model of diﬀerential privacy [Bittau, Erlingsson, Maniatis, Mironov, Raghunathan, Lie, Rudominer, Kode, Tinnés, Seefel SOSP 2017], [Cheu, Smith, Ullman, Zeber, Zhilyaev EUROCRYPT 2019]. In the shuﬄe model, users communicate with an analyzer via a trusted shuﬄer, which permutes all received messages uniformly at random before submitting them to the analyst (then the analyst outputs an aggregate answer). Another model which we will discuss is the pan-privacy model [Dwork, Naor, Pitassi, Rothblum, Yekhanin ICS 2010], where an online algorithm is required to maintain diﬀerential privacy of both its internal state and its output (jointly).
Influence of Levels and Methods of Boron Application on the Yield and Uptake of Boron by Cotton in a Calcareous Soil of Punjab

ABSTRACT A field experiment was conducted to study the influence of boron (B) application on yield and B uptake of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in B-deficient calcareous soil of south-west Punjab. The treatments comprise six levels of soil-applied B (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 mg B kg−1soil) and two levels of foliar-applied B (0.1% and 0.2% borax and granubor solution) along with the common control (no B application). The experiment was laid out in RBD factorial design with three replications. The seed cotton yield and its attributing characters (plant height, number of sympodial and monopodial branches, boll weight, and number of boll per plant) and root biomass increased significantly with increasing levels of boron up to 1.0 mg B kg−1 level over the control and then remained nonsignificant with further higher levels of soil-applied boron. Among foliar-applied boron levels, 0.1% borax solution was better than 0.2% borax solution. Soil-applied boron was at par with foliar-applied boron. The efficiency of borax and granubor was found to be equal in both sources of boron. The mean B content and its uptake by seed cotton and roots increased significantly up to 1.0 mg B kg−1 soil-applied B level and then recorded nonsignificant with further higher levels of boron. For the foliar method of B application, the mean B content and its uptake by seed cotton increased significantly over the control. The mean available B content in soils (0–15 cm) at 45, 75, 105, and 145 days after sowing increased significantly over the control for all soil-applied B levels, while it remained nonsignificant over the control for all growth stages of cotton in foliar method of B application. Further, it was positively correlated with root biomass (r = 0.91), boron uptake by root (r = 0.98), and sympodial branch per plant (r = 0.81). The interaction of B application levels and sources was not significant for all studied traits. Regardless of B sources, B application had a significant effect on yield, yield attributes, and B uptake up to 1.0 mg B kg−1 level for soil-applied B and 0.1% borax or granubor solution for foliar-applied B.
Assessing the effects of inulin‐type fructan intake on body weight, blood glucose, and lipid profile: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

Abstract Inulin‐type fructan (ITF) intake has been suggested to alleviate several features of metabolic syndrome including obesity, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia; yet, results from the human trials remained inconsistent. We aimed to systematically evaluate the effects of ITF intake on body weight, glucose homeostasis, and lipid profile on human subjects with different health status, including healthy, overweight and obese, prediabetes and diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Weighted mean differences (WMDs) between ITF and control groups were calculated by a random‐effects model. A total of 33 randomized controlled human trials were included. Significant effect of ITF intake was only observed in the diabetics, but not in the other subject groups. Specifically, ITF intervention significantly decreased the WMD of blood glucose (−0.42 mmol/L; 95% CI: −0.71, −0.14; p = .004), total cholesterol (−0.46 mmol/L; 95% CI: −0.75, −0.17; p = .002), and triglycerides (TAG) (−0.21 mmol/L; 95% CI: −0.37, −0.05; p = .01) compared with the control. The stability of these favorable effects of ITF on diabetics was confirmed by sensitivity analysis. Also, ITF tends to lower LDL cholesterol (p = .084). But body weight and blood insulin were not affected by ITF intake. It should be noted that blood glucose, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol exhibited high unexplained heterogeneity. In conclusion, ITF intake lowers blood glucose, total cholesterol, and TAG in the people with diabetes, and they may benefit from addition of inulin into their diets, but the underlying mechanisms responsible for these effects are inconclusive.