Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Superconducting FeSe0.5Te0.5 thin films: a morphological and structural investigation with scanning tunnelling microscopy and x-ray diffraction

We used scanning tunnelling microscopy to study the morphology of superconducting FeSe0.5Te0. 5 thin films epitaxially grown by pulsed laser deposition. Samples with critical temperature Tc above the bulk value (>16 K) show large atomic terraces, and a square lattice of periodicity 3.8 Å associated with the Se/Te surface termination. Differences in the height coordinate of the chalcogenide atoms are clearly visible at the atomic level. On the contrary, samples with lower Tc (11 K) show hillocks generated by a spiral surface growth driven by threading dislocations of screw character. A comparative x-ray diffraction analysis reveals differences of compressive strain for the two classes of specimens. Variations in the deposition rate are found to affect film growth and inner strain, which ultimately tune Tc.
Publishing in predatory language and linguistics journals: Authors’ experiences and motivations

Abstract This study examines the experiences and motivations of language and linguistics academics who have published in potential predatory journals (PPJs). A questionnaire was administered to 2,793 academics with publications in 63 language and linguistics PPJs, and 213 of them returned their responses. A subsample of the respondents (n = 21) also contributed qualitative data through semi-structured interviews or email responses to open-ended questions. Analyses of the survey data found that the authors were mainly from Asia, mostly had a doctorate, chose the PPJs chiefly for fast publication and/or meeting degree or job requirements, were predominantly of the opinion that the PPJs were reputable, and commonly reported positive impacts of publishing in the PPJs on their studies or academic careers. A thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed five main themes: unawareness, unrelenting publication pressures, low information literacy, social identity threat, and failure to publish in top-tier journals.
On the calculation of the Voigt line profile: a single proper integral with a damped sine integrand

We provide a remedy for a recently published formulation of the Voigt function by reformulating the function into a single proper integral with a damped sine integrand. The present formulation clears up concerns highlighted about the original formulation. The reduction of the Voigt function to a single proper integral enables the use of algorithms available in the literature and included in many software packages to integrate the function and to evaluate the line profile with relative simplicity and superior accuracy. Evidence of the usefulness and superior accuracy of the new formulation is provided.
Evaluating Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 Vaccination Outcomes in a Low-Income Hispanic Population

Background: A pilot study was performed at a low-income emergency care clinic to assess the humoral immune response to the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine (Ad26.COV2.S) to better understand how to evaluate the COVID-19 health status of its Hispanic patient population following vaccination. Methods: This study used the Clungene® SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM Rapid Test Cassette to determine the presence of binding antibodies resulting from the J&J COVID-19 vaccine. The Clungene test principle is based on the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein. Antibodies targeting the spike protein are considered an appropriate measure of humoral response from spike-based vaccines. Results: The study confirmed previous research that antibodies wane over time, and results are consistent with reported vaccine efficacy. There was a statistically significant relationship between the humoral immune response and demographic and health status variables. Conclusions: COVID-19 negative patients can be easily and efficiently monitored to determine the success and durability of COVID-19 vaccines in low-income minority populations. The use of simple low-cost spike targeted COVID-19 antibody lateral flow devices may serve as a useful adjunct to assist community-based physicians on the COVID-19 health status of its patients. Further research is needed to confirm the utility of this approach.
The role of the EU non-financial reporting directive and employee representation in employee-related disclosures

ABSTRACT This study investigates how the European Union (EU) Directive (2014/95) on Non-Financial Reporting and employee representation within the board affects the extent and quality of employee-related disclosures. Using a sample of Swedish firms listed on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm Exchange, we find that both the Directive and employee representation on the board positively affect the extent and quality of disclosures on employee-related matters. We document that employee-related disclosures are more precise and less uncertain among firms with employee representatives, although the level of uncertainty increases after implementing the Directive. Moreover, our interaction analysis indicates that the Directive and employee representatives affect employee-related disclosures independently. This finding suggests that both internal corporate governance and external regulation are important, and that the Directive ensures a minimum extent of disclosures at firms that lack internal governance mechanisms (i.e. employee representation on their corporate boards).
Cytoprotective, Antiproliferative, and Anti-Oxidant Potential of the Hydroethanolic Extract of Fridericia chica Leaves on Human Cancer Cell Lines Exposed to α- and β-Zearalenol

Fridericia chica (Bignoniaceae) is a Colombian Caribbean plant with numerous health benefits, including properties such as wound healing, immune system stimulation, and antioxidant capacity, among others. Mycotoxins alpha-zearalenol (α-ZEL) and beta-zearalenol (β-ZEL) are phase I metabolites of zearalenone, a natural product involved in endocrine disruption and cell proliferation processes. This study aimed to investigate the cytotoxic potential of the hydroethanolic extract of F. chica leaves (HEFc) and determine their protective effects against proliferation induced by α-ZEL and β-ZEL on human hepatoma HepG2, lung cancer Calu-1, and primary normal human epidermal keratinocytes, neonatal (HEKn). The cytotoxicity of HEFc was measured in a range from 4 to 1000 µg/mL and from 0.4 to 100 μM for both α-ZEL and β-ZEL. Cell production of intracellular ROS was monitored using the H2-DCFDA probe. The cells exposed to HEFc presented IC50 of 128, 249, and 602 µg/mL for the HepG2, Calu-1, and HEKn cells, respectively. A greater selectivity was seen in HepG2 cells [selectivity index (SI) = 3.5] than in Calu-1 cells (SI = 2.4). Cells treated with mycotoxins remained viable during the first day, and cell proliferation increased at low tested concentrations (0.4-6.3 µM) in all three cell lines. However, after 48 h treatment, cells exposed to 50 and 100 µM of α-ZEL and β-ZEL displayed decreased viability. HEFc at 16 µg/mL was able to give some protection against cytotoxicity induced by high concentrations of β-ZEL in HepG2, reducing also cell proliferation elicited at low levels of α-ZEL and β-ZEL. ROS production was not observed in cells treated with this HEFc concentration; however, it prevented ROS formation induced by treatment with 50 µM α-ZEL or β-ZEL. In summary, HEFc isolated from plants grown in northern Colombia displayed promising results against cell proliferation and oxidative stress caused by mycotoxins.
Benefits of Gamification in Second Language Learning

Teaching methods have evolved substantially over time, as students’ learning styles and needs nowadays are different from those that students used to have in the past. That is the reason why the integration of technology in the language learning process has been progressively introduced in the classrooms. Mobile Learning and gamification are only some of the most recent trends. Gamification in education refers to the use of game design elements in educational contexts. The aim of this paper is to discuss the benefits derived from gamification in second language learning in the areas of vocabulary and grammar learning, language and soft skills development, and second language assessment. Some of the benefits found in this study include frequent and personalized feedback, development of social learning, and an increased motivation.
Refugee recognition in Brazil under Bolsonaro: the domestic impact of international norms and standards

Abstract Why did the far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, with financial support from Donald Trump’s US government, preside over the group recognition of around 47,000 displaced Venezuelans as refugees? It would appear implausible that a far-right, nationalistic government led by a president who had expressed visceral hostility to migrants and refugees would use the provisions of a progressive regional framework to grant refugee status to thousands of displaced people, aided by a US president whose government was literally caging child refugees. To address this question, we show that recognition of Venezuelans as refugees was grounded in an existing and credible legal and bureaucratic process managed by the Brazilian National Committee for Refugees (CONARE) that also brought to bear the influence and presence of key international actors, particularly the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). An additional crucial factor was Bolsonaro’s anti-communism, which provided a strong ideological and instrumental motivation for his government to engage with the US government of Donald Trump in its efforts to undermine the Maduro regime in Venezuela and led to the seemingly paradoxical situation of a far-right Brazilian government granting refugee status to thousands of displaced people that exceeded responses in other South American countries.
Computational study on the impact of Nb doping on electronic structure, magnetic and optical properties of hexagonal bilayer BN

We investigate the impact of Niobium (Nb) doping on the electronic structure, and magnetic and optical properties of the bilayer hexagonal boron nitride (BL hBN) using spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT). The calculated values of formation energy reveal the structural stability of Nb-doped BL hBN. The structural parameter analysis indicates the bond length and lattices constant of BL hBN increase due to Nb doping. In addition, it is found that the energy band gap of BL hBN is reduced from 5.1 eV to 3.9 eV due to 5.5% of Nb doping. Moreover, the obtained magnetic moment of 2 μ B and 4 μ B for Nb concentrations of 5.55% and 11.11% respectively, indicate the turning of the paramagnetic behavior of pure BL hBN to ferromagnetic. Besides, we have also found that the first and second nearest neighboring (NN) magnetic interaction between two dopants (Nb atoms) is ferromagnetic. Whereas, the third nearest neighbor interaction is antiferromagnetic. More interestingly, using mean field theory together with spin-polarized DFT ferromagnetic transition temperature (T c ) of 367 K is obtained for 11.11% of Nb-doped BL hBN. Furthermore, a significant enhancement of the absorption coefficient due to Nb doping in both the visible and mid-to-far-infrared regions was observed. Based on those results, we suggest that Nb-doped BL hBN is a good candidate material for nanoelectronics, spintronics, and optoelectronics applications.
GENE EXPRESSION DATA CLASSIFICATION COMBINING HIERARCHICAL REPRESENTATION AND EFFICIENT FEATURE SELECTION

A general framework for microarray data classification is proposed in this paper. It produces precise and reliable classifiers through a two-step approach. At first, the original feature set is enhanced by a new set of features called metagenes. These new features are obtained through a hierarchical clustering process on the original data. Two different metagene generation rules have been analyzed, called Treelets clustering and Euclidean clustering. Metagenes creation is attractive for several reasons: first, they can improve the classification since they broaden the available feature space and capture the common behavior of similar genes reducing the residual measurement noise. Furthermore, by analyzing some of the chosen metagenes for classification with gene set enrichment analysis algorithms, it is shown how metagenes can summarize the behavior of functionally related probe sets. Additionally, metagenes can point out, still undocumented, highly discriminant probe sets numerically related to other probes endowed with prior biological information in order to contribute to the knowledge discovery process. The second step of the framework is the feature selection which applies the Improved Sequential Floating Forward Selection algorithm (IFFS) to properly choose a subset from the available feature set for classification composed of genes and metagenes. Considering the microarray sample scarcity problem, besides the classical error rate, a reliability measure is introduced to improve the feature selection process. Different scoring schemes are studied to choose the best one using both error rate and reliability. The Linear Discriminant Analysis classifier (LDA) has been used throughout this work, due to its good characteristics, but the proposed framework can be used with almost any classifier. The potential of the proposed framework has been evaluated analyzing all the publicly available datasets offered by the Micro Array Quality Control Study, phase II (MAQC). The comparative results showed that the proposed framework can compete with a wide variety of state of the art alternatives and it can obtain the best mean performance if a particular setup is chosen. A Monte Carlo simulation confirmed that the proposed framework obtains stable and repeatable results.
Resilience of Neural Cellularity to the Influence of Low Educational Level

Background: Education is believed to contribute positively to brain structure and function, as well as to cognitive reserve. One of the brain regions most impacted by education is the medial temporal lobe (MTL), a region that houses the hippocampus, which has an important role in learning processes and in consolidation of memories, and is also known to undergo neurogenesis in adulthood. We aimed to investigate the influence of education on the absolute cell numbers of the MTL (comprised by the hippocampal formation, amygdala, and parahippocampal gyrus) of men without cognitive impairment. Methods: The Isotropic Fractionator technique was used to allow the anisotropic brain tissue to be transformed into an isotropic suspension of nuclei, and therefore assess the absolute cell composition of the MTL. We dissected twenty-six brains from men aged 47 to 64 years, with either low or high education. Results: A significant difference between groups was observed in brain mass, but not in MTL mass. No significant difference was found between groups in the number of total cells, number of neurons, and number of non-neuronal cells. Regression analysis showed that the total number of cells, number of neurons, and number of non-neuronal cells in MTL were not affected by education. Conclusions: The results indicate a resilience of the absolute cellular composition of the MTL of typical men to low schooling, suggesting that the cellularity of brain regions is not affected by formal education.
Finite element simulation of laser surface treatments including convection in the melt pool

A two‐dimensional, macroscopic, stationary, finite element model is presented for both laser remelting and laser cladding of material surfaces. It considers, in addition to the heat transfer, the important fluid motion in the melt pool and the deformation of the liquid—gas interface. The velocity field in the melt is driven by thermocapillary forces for laser remelting, but also by forces due to powder injection for laser cladding. For a given velocity field within the liquid region, the stationary enthalpy (or Stefan) equation is solved. An efficient scheme allows the LU decomposition of the finite element matrix to be performed only once at the first iteration. Then, the velocity is updated using the Q1—P0 element with penalty methods for treating both the incompressibility condition and the slip boundary conditions. Numerical results for three different processing speeds for both laser remelting and laser cladding demonstrate the efficiency and robustness of the numerical approach. The influence of the.
Lie derivable mappings on prime rings

Let R be a prime ring containing a nontrivial idempotent. Suppose that a mapping δ : R → R satisfies for all a, b ∈ R. Then there exists a z a,b (depending on a and b) in its centre Z(R) such that Moreover, if R is 2-torsion free additionally, then δ is of the form D + τ, where D is a derivation of R into its central closure T and τ is a mapping of R into its extended centroid C such that τ(a + b) = τ(a) + τ(b) + z a,b and τ([a, b]) = 0 for all a, b ∈ R
Promising Molecular Targets in Pharmacological Therapy for Neuronal Damage in Brain Injury

The complex etiopathogenesis of brain injury associated with neurodegeneration has sparked a lot of studies in the last century. These clinical situations are incurable, and the currently available therapies merely act on symptoms or slow down the course of the diseases. Effective methods are being sought with an intent to modify the disease, directly acting on the properly studied targets, as well as to contribute to the development of effective therapeutic strategies, opening the possibility of refocusing on drug development for disease management. In this sense, this review discusses the available evidence for mitochondrial dysfunction induced by Ca2+ miscommunication in neurons, as well as how targeting phosphorylation events may be used to modulate protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) activity in the treatment of neuronal damage. Ca2+ tends to be the catalyst for mitochondrial dysfunction, contributing to the synaptic deficiency seen in brain injury. Additionally, emerging data have shown that PP2A-activating drugs (PADs) suppress inflammatory responses by inhibiting different signaling pathways, indicating that PADs may be beneficial for the management of neuronal damage. In addition, a few bioactive compounds have also triggered the activation of PP2A-targeted drugs for this treatment, and clinical studies will help in the authentication of these compounds. If the safety profiles of PADs are proven to be satisfactory, there is a case to be made for starting clinical studies in the setting of neurological diseases as quickly as possible.
Making Pressure Measurements in Insert Earphone Couplers and Real Ears

When pressure measurements in couplers were made via a probe tube, it was often observed that the pressure frequency response would drop sharply at a single frequency. The frequency (f0) of this minimum depended on cavity dimensions and relative position and size of probe tube and sound inlet tube. An equation from Ingard [J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 20, 665 (1948)] served to explain this phenomenon. Pressure was theoretically determined at various locations within a hard‐walled cylindrical cavity when driven by a constant volume velocity inlet of circular symmetry. At each location, a transfer impedance was thus defined as the ratio of pressure to input volume velocity. In the region around the inlet port, each transfer impedance passes through zero from negative to positive reactance as frequency increases. Two hard‐walled cavities were examined in detail: (1) the main cavity of a 2‐cm3 HA‐2 coupler and (2) a cavity approximating the dimensions of the external ear canal (between earmold tip and eardrum). Cont.
Stochastic gyroresonant electron acceleration in a low-beta plasma. I: Interaction with parallel transverse cold plasma waves

The gyroresonance of electrons with parallel transverse cold plasma waves is considered, and the Fokker-Planck equation describing the evolution of the electron distribution function in the presence of a spectrum of turbulence is derived. A new resonance which produces a divergence in the Fokker-Planck coefficients is identified; it results when the electron is in gyroresonance with a wave that has a group velocity equal to the velocity of the electron along the magnetic field. Under the assumption of a power-law spectral density, the Fokker-Planck coefficients are calculated numerically, and their complicated momentum and pitch-angle dependence, as well as the influence of various approximations to the dispersion relation, gyroresonance condition, and spectral density are discussed. It is found that there is no resonance gap at any pitch angle as long as the full gyroresonance condition is used and waves propagating on both directions are present.
Equilibria of Field-Reversed Configuration with Subsidiary Coils

Two-dimensional equilibria of field-reversed configuration with subsidiary coils are computed by integrating the ideal magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium equation. The mirror coils have an effect to compress the plasma appreciably in the axial direction and hence sustain the compact torus. The cusp coils enlarge the plasma and consequently make the gradient of plasma density relaxed in the radial direction.
Transmission of microwaves through exchange-coupled bi-layer magnetic films in ferromagnetic and standing spin wave resonances

In this work, we have studied theoretically the transmission and reflection of electromagnetic waves in the microwave frequency range through the in-plane magnetized exchange-coupled bi-layer ferromagnetic metallic films. It was found that responses of the films in transmission and reflection are very different. In transmission, the response of the fundamental mode dominates, but in reflection, the first exchange mode demonstrates the largest variation in amplitude with respect to the off-resonance regime. The theory also predicts an interesting regime of low-loss transmission associated with the resonance excitation of the first (anti-symmetric) exchange standing spin wave mode. In this regime, the transmission through the sample increases instead of decreasing for this mode.
Optical and thermal energy transport from a NSOM probe to a pure silicon target under intense ns pulsed light

An integrated wave-based optical analysis and diffusion-based thermal analysis are constructed to understand the optical and thermal energy transport from a near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM) probe to a pure silicon target. Based on a comparison between the simulated results and experimentally observed melting structure on the silicon targets in the previous study, it is concluded that a direct contact between the NSOM probes and the target occurs when high intense nanosecond (ns) laser pulses are carried with NSOM probes. Significant thermal energy transport from the NSOM probe to the Si target occurs during the direct contact and is responsible for the melted structure on silicon targets observed in previous experiments. It is also predicted from the integrated optical-thermal analysis for the NSOM probes that (a) the thermal energy transport from the NSOM probe to the target can be orders higher than the near-field optical energy transport under intense ns laser pulses, (b) light transport efficiency from the NSOM probe to the Si target is a strong function of the tapering angle, aperture size and the constructing material of the metal cladding of the probe, (c) the highest temperature of the NSOM probe is a weak function of the tapering angle and aperture diameter of the NSOM probe. However, the maximum temperature of the NSOM can be significantly changed by selecting the appropriate cladding material of the NSOM probe.