Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Closed-Loop Microreactor on PCB for Ultra-Fast DNA Amplification: Design and Thermal Validation

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the most common method used for nucleic acid (DNA) amplification. The development of PCR-performing microfluidic reactors (μPCRs) has been of major importance, due to their crucial role in pathogen detection applications in medical diagnostics. Closed loop (CL) is an advantageous type of μPCR, which uses a circular microchannel, thus allowing the DNA sample to pass consecutively through the different temperature zones, in order to accomplish a PCR cycle. CL μPCR offers the main advantages of the traditional continuous-flow μPCR, eliminating at the same time most of the disadvantages associated with the long serpentine microchannel. In this work, the performance of three different CL μPCRs designed for fabrication on a printed circuit board (PCB) was evaluated by a computational study in terms of the residence time in each thermal zone. A 3D heat transfer model was used to calculate the temperature distribution in the microreactor, and the residence times were extracted by this distribution. The results of the computational study suggest that for the best-performing microreactor design, a PCR of 30 cycles can be achieved in less than 3 min. Subsequently, a PCB chip was fabricated based on the design that performed best in the computational study. PCB constitutes a great substrate as it allows for integrated microheaters inside the chip, permitting at the same time low-cost, reliable, reproducible, and mass-amenable fabrication. The fabricated chip, which, at the time of this writing, is the first CL μPCR chip fabricated on a PCB, was tested by measuring the temperatures on its surface with a thermal camera. These results were then compared with the ones of the computational study, in order to evaluate the reliability of the latter. The comparison of the calculated temperatures with the measured values verifies the accuracy of the developed model of the microreactor. As a result of that, a total power consumption of 1.521 W was experimentally measured, only ~7.3% larger than the one calculated (1.417 W). Full validation of the realized CL μPCR chip will be demonstrated in future work.
Convex curves, Radon transforms and convolution operators defined by singular measures

Let Γ be a convex curve in the plane and let μ ∈ M(R2) be the arc-length measure of Γ. Let us rotate Γ by an angle θ and let μθ be the corresponding measure. Let Tf(x, θ) = f ∗ μθ(x). Then ‖Tf‖L3(T×R2) ≤ c‖f‖L3/2(R2). This is optimal for an arbitrary Γ. Depending on the curvature of Γ, this estimate can be improved by introducing mixed-norm estimates of the form ‖Tf‖ Ls ( T,Lp(R2) ) ≤ c ‖f‖Lp(R2) where p and p′ are conjugate exponents.
REVISING THE KINEMATICS OF 12 GHz CH3OH MASERS TOWARD W3(OH)

We derive accurate proper motions of the CH3OH 12 GHz masers toward the W3(OH) ultra-compact (UC) H ii region, employing seven epochs of VLBA observations spanning a time interval of about 10 yr. The achieved velocity accuracy is of the order of 0.1 km s−1, adequate to precisely measure the relative velocities of most of the 12 GHz masers in W3(OH), with amplitude varying in the range 0.3–3 km s−1. Toward W3(OH), the most intense 12 GHz masers concentrate in a small area toward the north (the northern clump) of the UC H ii region. We have compared the proper motions of the CH3OH 12 GHz masers with those (derived from literature data) of the OH 6035 MHz masers, emitting from the same region of the methanol masers. In the northern clump, the two maser emissions emerge from nearby (but likely distinct) cloudlets of masing gas with, in general, a rather smooth variation of line-of-sight and sky-projected velocities, which suggests some connection of the environments and kinematics traced by both maser types. The conical outflow model, previously proposed to account for the 12 GHz maser kinematics in the northern clump, does not reproduce the new, accurate measurements of 12 GHz maser proper motions and has to be rejected. We focus on the subset of 12 GHz masers of the northern clump belonging to the “linear structure at P.A. = 130°–140°,” whose regular variation of LSR velocities with position presents evidence for some ordered motion. We show that the three-dimensional velocities of this “linear distribution” of 12 GHz masers can be well fitted considering a flat, rotating disk, seen almost edge-on.
A Note on Strongly Invisible Sets

Assuming the continuum hypothesis, there exists a strongly invisible set which is visible from a visible set. A set A ⊂ R 2 is called invisible , if its orthogonal projection is of measure in almost every direction; A is visible , if it is invisible. We say that A from a point , if almost all through that point do hit the set, except possibly for this point itself. for ⊂ n I n and | I n | = ε
The Effect Of The Implementation Of Corporate Social Responsibility Good Corporate Governance And Tri Hita Karana On The Financial Performance Of Village Credit Institutions (Lpd) Throughout Tabanan District

The Village Credit Institution (LPD), a financial institution that carries out community fund collection and distribution activities, operates in an administrative area of The Customary Village based on the kinship between villagers in Bali. Bali Provincial Regulation Number 8, 2002 concerning LPD, which requires LPD to divide its profit 20% for village development and 5% for social funds, reflects the social obligations that must be applied by LPD, which in accounting is known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), in addition, LPD uses loans from Regional Development Banks. Therefore, the principles of good corporate governance must be applied by LPD to reduce conflicts of interest between LPD managers as agents and owners, namely villages and between LPD managers and creditors, namely the Bali Regional Development Bank and maintain good relations and ensure the fullness of the rights of parties interested in the functions and objectives of the LPD itself. Tri Hita Karana culture is a local Balinese wisdom used as an individual foundation in every activity, especially in indigenous village communities with lpd owners
Harnessing religious teachings to reduce sexual prejudice

ABSTRACT Religion dictates the groups against whom it is seen as justifiable (even righteous) to express prejudice: often groups perceived of as violating core religious values. We review research demonstrating that for Christians, particularly conservative ones, religion seems to sanction prejudice against LGBT individuals. We describe the causes and the consequences of Christian/LGBT zero-sum beliefs (ZSBs): the extent to which gains for LGBT groups are seen as coming at a cost for Christians. We highlight how religious values can both exacerbate and mitigate ZSBs and sexual prejudice. When a Christian denomination decided to exclude gender and sexual minorities from full church participation, the Christians we interviewed disidentified with their denomination and strengthened commitment to their LGBTQ-friendly local congregations. Thus, we review how religious teachings can shape both group-based rejection and acceptance. We end with a discussion of educational programs for congregations, pastors, and methods to combat anti-LGBT bias.
DM ORI: A YOUNG STAR OCCULTED BY A DISTURBANCE IN ITS PROTOPLANETARY DISK

In some planet formation theories, protoplanets grow gravitationally within a young star’s protoplanetary disk, a signature of which may be a localized disturbance in the disk’s radial and/or vertical structure. Using time-series photometric observations by the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope South project and the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae, combined with archival observations, we present the discovery of two extended dimming events of the young star, DM Ori. This young system faded by ∼1.5 mag from 2000 March to 2002 August and then again in 2013 January until 2014 September (depth ∼1.7 mag). We constrain the duration of the 2000–2002 dimming to be < 860 days, and the event in 2013–2014 to be < 585 days, separated by ∼12.5 years. A model of the spectral energy distribution indicates a large infrared excess consistent with an extensive circumstellar disk. Using basic kinematic arguments, we propose that DM Ori is likely being periodically occulted by a feature (possibly a warp or perturbation) in its circumstellar disk. In this scenario, the occulting feature is located >6 au from the host star, moving at ∼14.6 km s−1 and is ∼4.9 au in width. This localized structure may indicate a disturbance such as that which may be caused by a protoplanet early in its formation.
GENERAL DECAY OF ENERGY FOR A VISCOELASTIC EQUATION WITH DAMPING AND SOURCE TERMS

The initial boundary value problem for a viscoelastic equation with linear damping and nonlinear source term in a bounded domain is considered. The decay rate of solution energy is discussed under some conditions on relaxation function $g$ and initial data by adopting the perturbed energy method of [4] and modifying the methods of [11,17]. Decay estimates of the energy function are also given.
Nonempirical study of superconductivity in alkali-doped fullerides based on density functional theory for superconductors

We apply the density functional theory for superconductors (SCDFT) based on the local-density approximation (LDA) to alkali-doped fullerides A3C60 with the face-centered cubic structure. We evaluate the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) from first principles considering energy dependence of electron-phonon coupling, the mass renormalization, and the retardation effect. The calculated Tc=7.5, 9.0 and 15.7 K for A=K, Rb, Cs are approximately 60 % smaller than the experimentally observed values. Our results strongly suggest necessity to go beyond the framework of the Migdal-Eliashberg theory based on the LDA. PACS numbers:
DeDiM: De-identification using a diffusion model

As a countermeasure against malicious authentication in a face recognition system using a face image obtained from SNS or the like, de-identification methods based on adversarial example have been studied. However, since adversarial example directly uses the gradient information of a face recognition model, it is highly dependent on the model, and a de-identification effect and image quality are difficult to achieve for an unknown recognition model. In this study, we propose a novel deidentification method based on a diffusion model, which has high generalizability to an unknown recognition model by applying minute changes to face shapes. Experiments using LFW showed that the proposed method has a higher de-identification effect for unknown models and better image quality than a conventional method using adversarial example.
Long-term effects of vitamin D on exacerbation rate, health care utilization and lung function in children with asthma

Background Asthma exacerbations lead to unplanned health care utilization and reduced lung function in children. Sufficient vitamin D level has been found to have a short-term protective effect against asthma exacerbation in children. However, it is unclear whether this effect remains in the long term. We evaluated the long-term effects of vitamin D levels on the occurrence of asthma exacerbations, emergency department visits or hospitalizations, and lung function among children with asthma, and further investigated the temporal trends of the effects. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, children with asthma who were admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from 2017 to 2021 were enrolled. Negative binomial, Poisson, or logistic regression model was used for the multivariable analysis, adjusting for age, sex, body mass index z-score, and severity of asthma exacerbation. Results Of the 370 children with asthma, 87.8% had vitamin D level less than or equal to 30 ng/mL. After adjustment for confounding factors, higher baseline vitamin D levels in asthma children were significantly associated with reduced occurrence of asthma exacerbations during the first [odds ratio 0.842, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.805–0.881; P<0.001], second (odds ratio 0.848, 95% CI: 0.793–0.907; P<0.001) and third years (odds ratio 0.865, 95% CI: 0.811–0.922; P<0.001) of follow-up. Higher vitamin D levels in asthmatic children were also strongly associated with a reduced number of emergency department visits or hospitalizations during the first (odds ratio 0.880, 95% CI: 0.842–0.920; P<0.001), second (odds ratio 0.885, 95% CI: 0.832–0.941; P<0.001), and third years (odds ratio 0.922, 95% CI: 0.851–0.998; P=0.044) of follow-up. In addition, the vitamin D levels in asthmatic children were found to be negatively associated with the odds of large airway dysfunction (odds ratio 0.865, 95% CI: 0.771–0.970; P=0.013) and small airway dysfunction (odds ratio 0.922, 95% CI: 0.855–0.996; P=0.038) during the first year of follow-up. Conclusions Sufficient vitamin D level is associated with lower risk of asthma exacerbations and health care utilization over a 3-year period, and improved lung function over 1 year. The protective effects of vitamin D on asthmatic children decreased over time.
SHOCKING TAILS IN THE MAJOR MERGER ABELL 2744

We identify four rare “jellyfish” galaxies in Hubble Space Telescope imagery of the major merger cluster Abell 2744. These galaxies harbor trails of star-forming knots and filaments which have formed in situ in gas tails stripped from the parent galaxies, indicating they are in the process of being transformed by the environment. Further evidence for rapid transformation in these galaxies comes from their optical spectra, which reveal starburst, poststarburst, and active galactic nucleus features. Most intriguingly, three of the jellyfish galaxies lie near intracluster medium features associated with a merging “Bullet-like” subcluster and its shock front detected in Chandra X-ray images. We suggest that the high-pressure merger environment may be responsible for the star formation in the gaseous tails. This provides observational evidence for the rapid transformation of galaxies during the violent core passage phase of a major cluster merger.
HARD X-RAY EMISSION FROM THE NGC 5044 GROUP

Observations made with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer Proportional Counter Array (PCA) to constrain the hard X-ray emission in the NGC 5044 group are reported here. Modeling a combined PCA and ROSAT position sensitive proportional counter spectrum with a 0.5–15 keV energy range shows excess hard emission above 4 keV. Addition of a power-law component with a spectral index of 2.6–2.8 and a luminosity of 2.6 × 1042 erg s−1 within 700 kpc in the observed energy band removes these residuals. Thus, there is a detection of a significant non-thermal component that is 32% of the total X-ray emission. Point-source emission makes up at most 14% of the non-thermal emission from the NGC 5044 group. Therefore, the diffuse, point-source-subtracted, non-thermal component is (2.2–3.0) × 1042 erg s−1. The cosmic-ray electron energy density is 3.6 × 10−12 erg cm−3 and the average magnetic field is 0.034 μG in the largest radio emitting region. The ratio of cosmic-ray electron energy density to magnetic field energy density, ∼2.5 × 104, is significantly out of equipartition and is therefore atypical of radio lobes. In addition, the group's small size and low non-thermal energy density strongly contradicts the size–energy relationship found for radio lobes. Thus, it is unlikely related to the active galaxy and is most likely a relic of the merger. The energy in cosmic rays and magnetic field is consistent with simulations of cosmic-ray acceleration by merger shocks.
Evolutionary Marketing Strategies for New High-Technology Product Sales: Effects of Customers’ Innovation Adoption

The level of product innovation is a prerequisite for high-technology product manufacturers to remain competitive. However, the customers of such products may behave differently in adopting innovative products, as proven by the innovation-adoption theories. Accordingly, the marketing strategy of distributing firms becomes critical in promoting the customers’ innovation adoption. Such distributors also face competitive markets where the rivals may choose dominant strategies. Regarding these issues, this article proposes a model for strategy adoption of competitive high-technology distributors, considering the impacts of external factors (including customers’ innovation-adoption behavior and rival's actions). To this end, an evolutionary game model is developed for the competitive distributors’ strategy adoption. Meanwhile, the impacts of customers’ behaviors are modeled based on the innovation-adoption theories and applied in the demand functions that are inputs for the evolutionary game model. If replacement and sales services are two alternative strategies that the competitive distributors can choose, this model determines which one is the evolutionary stable marketing strategy for them. The analyses demonstrated that the replacement service is the strategy that will finally be adopted by a plethora of distributors in the long run. The results shed light on the determination of marketing strategies.
Seasonal Prevalence and Molecular Identification of Thermophilic Campylobacter from Chicken, Cattle, and Respective Drinking Water in Kajiado County, Kenya

Thermophilic Campylobacter species are a leading cause of human gastroenteritis throughout the world and have been implicated in reproductive disorders (abortion), mastitis, enteritis, and/or diarrhoea in livestock. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Kajiado County to determine prevalence, seasonality, and molecular detection of thermophilic Campylobacter species (with emphasis on C. jejuni, C. coli, and other thermophilic Campylobacter species) in chicken, cattle, and respective pooled drinking water. A total of 457 samples comprising 265 cattle rectal swabs, 142 chicken cloacal swabs, and 50 trough water samples were collected from 55 randomly selected smallholder farms. Individual samples were subjected to standard techniques for isolation and biochemical tests, followed by singleplex polymerase chain reaction (sPCR) assays for identification and confirmation of genus and species. Overall, thermophilic Campylobacter prevalence was 35.4% (95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 31.0–39.8), with C. jejuni dominating at 55.6% (95% CI = 47.9–63.3%) over C. coli in all sample types. The highest thermophilic Campylobacter prevalence was observed in cloacal swabs of live chicken at 44.4% (95% CI = 36.2–52.6%), followed by rectal swabs from live cattle at 30.9% (95% CI = 25.3–36.5%). Water samples from cattle drinkers/trough were found to be contaminated at 34% (95% CI = 20.9–47.1%). The isolation rate was higher in cattle under the confinement system (44.3%) (95% CI = 36.1–52.5%) than in those under the free-roaming grazing system. Thermophilic Campylobacter species were isolated in both seasons, with higher prevalence (39.8% (95% CI = 33.6–45.9)) recorded during rainy and cold season in all sample types except for water. There was significant (P < 0.05) association between season and thermophilic Campylobacter occurrence, even though there were no statistical differences in the prevalence values across the two seasons. Results of this study demonstrate that cattle, chicken, and respective drinking water harbour potentially pathogenic thermophilic campylobacters, with C. jejuni being widely distributed among farms. It is possible that seasonal variations and cattle confinement result in differences in thermophilic Campylobacter carriage. Further epidemiological and phylogenetic studies comparing distribution of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. isolates in livestock, environmental, and human samples are recommended to establish source attribution to reduce the impact of resultant diseases for the wellbeing of public and livestock.
Evolution and Equilibria Selection of Repeated Lattice Games

In this paper we study the configuration dynamics and the societal equilibrium selection of repeated lattice games. Each player plays games only with his immediate neighbors hence indirectly interacts with everyone else. A player may or may not have perfect control over his action. Different updating orderings at the society level are adopted and compared. The following conclusions are reached. (i) Under best-response dynamics the society locks in with probability one to a pure-strategy Nash configuration for the class of (weakly) acyclic lattice games when players do not move simultaneously. (ii) Under limited control, the configuration dynamics is ergodic with a unique invariant distribution having an explicit Gibbs representation. (iii) By allowing imperfect control over action to become perfect the Pareto Dominant Nash configurations will be selected stochastically.
Wind, Rain, and the Closed to Open Cell Transition in Subtropical Marine Stratocumulus

Lagrangian transitions in mesoscale cellular convective (MCC) clouds beginning as closed cell MCC and transitioning to open cells or disorganized but cellular MCC are explored on timescales from 12 to 72 hr. Potential drivers of MCC transitions are shown to act on multiple timescales. Closed‐to‐open MCC cloud transitions are preceded by strong surface winds and large moisture fluxes at lead times of up to 72 hr; and by high cloud water content, reduced cloud drop concentrations, and intense rain rates at lead times of 12–36 hr. The relationship between intense rain and the formation of open cells is consistent with a cold pool convergence mechanism. A Lagrangian analysis shows that anomalously strong surface winds are associated with higher rain rates as well as subsequent increases in rain rates through modifications to moisture flux and content in the boundary layer. The closed‐open MCC transition contrasts with the closed‐to‐disorganized transition which at long lead times is associated with warm sea surface temperature and at diurnal‐scale lead times is associated with variables related to cloud top entrainment drying such as a deepening boundary layer, weakening subsidence and inversion strength, and a drier free troposphere. A conceptual model is proposed where excess boundary layer moisture associated with wind breaks up stratocumulus through the closed‐to‐open transition, while excess dry‐air entrainment at cloud top breaks up stratocumulus through the closed‐to‐disorganized transition.
Energy gap opening in submonolayer lithium on graphene: Local density functional and tight-binding calculations

The adsorption of an alkali-metal submonolayer on graphene occupying every third hexagon of the honeycomb lattice in a commensurate $(\sqrt{3}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\sqrt{3})R30\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ arrangement induces an energy gap in the spectrum of graphene. To exemplify this type of band gap, we present ab initio density functional theory calculations of the electronic band structure of ${\text{C}}_{6}\text{Li}$. An examination of the lattice geometry of the compound system shows the possibility that the nearest-neighbor hopping amplitudes have alternating values constructed in a Kekul\'e-type structure. The band structure of the textured tight-binding model is calculated and shown to reproduce the expected band gap as well as other characteristic degeneracy removals in the spectrum of graphene induced by lithium adsorption. More generally we also deduce the possibility of energy gap opening in periodic metal on graphene compounds ${\text{C}}_{x}M$ if $x$ is a multiple of 3.