Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Numerical Simulation of Particles Deposition in a Human Upper Airway

Based on the CT scanned images, a realistic geometric model from nasal cavity to upper six-generation bronchia is rebuilt. In order to effectively simulate the particle movement and deposition, LES model is used and the particles are tracked in the frame of Lagrange. Seven kinds of typical particles, including micron particles (1, 5, and 10 μm) and nanoparticles (1, 5, 20, and 100 nm), and three representative respiratory intensities are adopted as computational case, respectively. Deposition efficiency (D E ), deposition concentration (D C ), and capture efficiency (C E ) are introduced. Furthermore, the locations of particle deposition are visualized. The results indicate that the injecting particles from different nasal inlet present “transposition effect. ”The D E values of micron particles are much higher than nanoparticles. The particle diameter plays a weaker role in nanoparticle depositions than micron particles. The highest values of D E and D C both occur in nasal cavity, while the highest C E up to 99.5% occurs in bronchus region.
Investigations in the boletes (Boletaceae) of southeastern USA: four novel species and three novel combinations

The Boletaceae is the largest family of fleshy fungi in the Boletales. Despite the extensive history of work in the Boletaceae in North America, novel species and genera are continually being described. Multigene molecular phylogenetic analyses of five loci were combined with thorough morphological studies to investigate the taxonomy of several boletes from the southeastern USA. Based on our results, we describe four new species: Aureoboletus pseudoauriporus, Cyanoboletus bessettei, Hemileccinum floridanum, and Xerocomellus bolinii. We also propose three combinations to reflect the results of our molecular analyses: Cyanoboletus cyaneitinctus comb. nov., a bolete that is widespread across the eastern USA, C. cyaneitinctus f. reticulatus, and Lanmaoa sublurida, a rarely-documented bolete that is so far known only from Florida.
An Auto-Programming Approach to Vulkan

We propose a novel high-level approach for software development on GPU using Vulkan API. Our goal is to speed-up development and performance studies for complex algorithms on GPU, which is quite difficult and laborious for Vulkan due to large number of HW features low level details. The proposed approach uses auto programming to translate ordinary C++ to optimized Vulkan implementation with automatic shaders generation, resource binding and fine-grained barriers placement. Our model is not general-purpose programming, but is extendible and customer-focused. For a single C++ input our tool can generate multiple different implementations of algorithm in Vulkan for different cases or types of hardware. For example, we automatically detect reduction in C++ source code and then generate several variants of parallel reduction on GPU: with optimization for different warp size, with or without atomics, using or not subgroup operations. Another example is GPU ray tracing applications for which we can generate different variants: pure software implementation in compute shader, using hardware accelerated ray queries, using full RTX pipeline. The goal of our work is to increase productivity of developers who are forced to use Vulkan due to various required hardware features in their software but still do care about cross-platform ability of the developed software and want to debug their algorithm logic on the CPU. Therefore, we assume that the user will take generated code and integrate it with hand-written Vulkan code.
Predicting Dropout in Higher Education: a Systematic Review

In this article, we present a systematic literature review, carried out from February to March 2020, on the application of a machine learning technique to predict student dropout in higher education institutions. Besides describing the protocol followed during our research, which includes the research questions, searched databases and query strings, along with criteria for inclusion and exclusion of articles, we also present our main results, in terms of the attributes used by current research on this theme, along with adopted approaches, specific algorithms, and evalution metrics. The Decision Tree technique is the most used for the construction of models, and accuracy and recall and precision being the most used metric for evaluating models.
Proton radiation effects in 0.35 /spl mu/m partially depleted SOI MOSFETs fabricated on UNIBOND

We investigate the proton radiation tolerance of a 0.35 /spl mu/m SOI technology on UNIBOND material. The radiation response is characterized by threshold-voltage shifts of the front-gate and back-gate transistors. An increase of the front-gate threshold voltage is observed on the n-channel MOSFETs after irradiation and is attributed to radiation-induced interface states at the front-gate oxide/silicon interface. A double g/sub m/ peak behavior is observed on the back-gate g/sub m/-V/sub GS/ curves for both n- and p-channel MOSFETs and is attributed to silicon/back-gate oxide interface traps with a delta-function-like distribution in the energy gap. The results suggest this 0.35 /spl mu/m technology on UNIBOND material performs well in a proton-radiation environment.
Precambrian Tectonic Affinity of the Southern Langshan Area, Northeastern Margin of the Alxa Block: Evidence from Zircon U‐Pb Dating and Lu‐Hf Isotopes

The Alxa Block is the westernmost part of the North China Craton (NCC), and is regarded as one of the basement components of the NCC. Its geological evolution is of great significance for the understanding of the NCC. However, the Precambrian basement of the Alxa Block is still poorly studied. In this study, we present new in situ LA‐ICP‐MS zircon U‐Pb and Lu‐Hf isotope data from the Diebusige Metamorphic Complex (DMC) which located in the eastern Alxa Block. Field and petrological studies show that the DMC consists mainly of metamorphic supracrustal rocks and minor metamorphic plutonic rocks and has experienced amphibolite‐granulite facies metamorphism. Zircon U‐Pb dating results suggested that the amphibolite sample yields a crystallization age of 2636 ± 14 Ma and metamorphic ages of 2517–2454 Ma and 1988–1952 Ma, proving the existence of exposed Archean rocks in the Langshan area and indicating that late Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic metamorphic events existed in the Alxa Block. Two paragneiss samples show that the magmatic detrital zircons from the DMC yield 207Pb/206Pb ages ranging from 2.48 Ga to 2.10 Ga with two youngest peaks at 2.13 Ga and 2.16 Ga, respectively, and they were also overprinted by metamorphic events at 1.97–1.90 Ga and 1.89–1.79 Ga. Compilation of U‐Pb ages of magmatic detrital and metamorphic zircons suggested that the main part of the DMC may have been formed at 2.1–2.0 Ga. Zircon Lu‐Hf isotope data show that the source materials of the main part of the DMC were originated from the reworking of ancient Archean crust (3.45–2.78 Ga). The Hf isotope characteristics and the tectonothermal event records exhibit different evolution history with the Khondalite Belt and the Yinshan Block and the other basements of the Alxa Block, indicating that the Langshan was likely an independent terrain before the middle Paleoproterozoic and was subjected to the middle to late Paleoproterozoic tectonothermal events with the Khondalite Belt as a whole.
Pathological Features and Prognostication in Colorectal Cancer

The prognostication of colorectal cancer (CRC) has traditionally relied on staging as defined by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM staging classifications. However, clinically, there appears to be differences in survival patterns independent of stage, suggesting a complex interaction of stage, pathological features, and biomarkers playing a role in guiding prognosis, risk stratification, and guiding neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies. Histological features such as tumour budding, perineural invasion, apical lymph node involvement, lymph node yield, lymph node ratio, and molecular features such as MSI, KRAS, BRAF, and CDX2 may assist in prognostication and optimising adjuvant treatment. This study provides a comprehensive review of the pathological features and biomarkers that are important in the prognostication and treatment of CRC. We review the importance of pathological features and biomarkers that may be important in colorectal cancer based on the current evidence in the literature.
Cross-laminated timber: Status and research needs in Europe

In the 20 years since its invention in Europe, cross-laminated timber (CLT) has become a widely used construction material in parts of the old continent and has started to attract global attention. CLT possesses numerous advantages as a construction material, including its superior structural and environmental performance, as well as the speed and efficiency with which CLT buildings can be erected. In this study, European engineers were surveyed to learn about their current level of awareness of CLT, the major barriers to CLT adoption, and about the most pressing research needs to advance the use of CLT as a construction material. The study used a web-based survey with a convenience sample of 93 different kinds of timber and civil engineers and/or researchers, most of which belong to a European CLT research network. Results showed that participants think that, in general, the level of awareness about CLT among developers, construction managers, engineers, architects, and construction managers, is low. The majority of perceived barriers for CLT adoption involved its building code compatibility and the availability of technical information. The most pressing research needs for CLT development, according to respondents, are in the areas of structural performance and connections, moisture performance, and market research.
APPLICATION OF GAME MECHANICS TO IMPROVE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

The new generation of students poses a challenge to educators. Given their obsessive use of online social networks and video games, they have shorter attention spans and are more easily distracted, making it harder to engage them in class. In this paper, we describe how we experimented with game mechanics to engage students enrolled in CS1101S, an introductory programming methodology course taken by first year undergraduates in the School of Computing. To investigate how well the use of game mechanics can encourage students to work consistently and improve their learning process, we built JFDI Academy, an online learning platform that supplements CS1101S. The platform is used by students to submit their assignments and to discuss their solutions with tutors. As students complete assignments, they are awarded experience points, and "level-up". Students are also motivated to work hard via other game mechanics such as a leaderboard and a storyline that advances as they complete missions. We evaluated the effectiveness of our approach by administering surveys to them, once during the middle of the course and once at the end. We found that the average assignment submission times improved from less than a day (15.5) hours before the deadline to more than two days (51.2 hours) before the deadline. The students also claimed that the game system made the course interesting and motivated them to work beyond what is minimally required. This shows that the use of game mechanics can indeed help to engage the new generation of students. However, our survey results also show that game mechanics work best only when the fundamentals of the course, such the lectures and the quality of the teaching staff, are already sound.
Metformin Reduces Repeat Mild Concussive Injury Pathophysiology

Abstract Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can initiate complex pathophysiological changes in the brain. Numerous cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these pathologic changes are altered after injury, including those involved in energy utilization, excitotoxicity, ionic disturbances, and inflammation. It is thought that targeting multiple mechanisms may be necessary to produce meaningful reductions in brain pathology and to improve outcome. Previous studies have reported that the anti-diabetic drug metformin can also affect inflammatory, cell survival, and metabolic outcomes, possibly by acting on multiple targets and/or pathways. We therefore questioned whether metformin treatment can reduce pathology after repeat mild closed head injury (rmCHI) in male C57Bl/6 mice. We found that metformin, administered acutely after each head impact, resulted in markedly reduced white matter damage, astrogliosis, loss of hippocampal parvalbumin neurons, and improved mitochondrial function. In addition, both motor and cognitive functions were significantly improved when tested after discontinuation of the treatment. These studies suggest that metformin may be beneficial as a treatment for repeat concussion.
Coordination interindividuelle et performance en aviron. Apports d’une analyse conjointe du cours d’expérience des rameurs et de paramètres mécaniques

Cette etude visait a analyser les phenomenes associes a la coordination entre les rameurs d’un equipage au cours d’une course d’aviron, en articulant une analyse des cours d’experience des rameurs, et une analyse de parametres mecaniques correlatifs de leur activite durant la course. Elle a ete concue afin (a) d’ameliorer la comprehension de la performance collective et d’optimiser l’entrainement en aviron, et (b) d’explorer la fecondite d’une methode permettant de decrire les processus de coordination conjointement aux niveaux significatif et non significatif de leur activite pour les acteurs. Deux equipages feminins ont volontairement participe a cette etude. Leur activite a ete etudiee in situ lors de deux courses contre la montre, en reference au cadre theorique et methodologique du cours d’action. Des mesures mecaniques ont conjointement ete collectees, permettant de calculer un ensemble de parametres mecaniques relatifs aux performances des rameurs et a leur coordination. Les resultats presentent, dans la premiere partie, les phenomenes significatifs pour les rameuses lies a leur coordination. Trois phenomenes ont ete mis en evidence : (a) une sensibilite particuliere des rameuses a l’etat de la coordination, (b) une interpretation recurrente de l’activite de leur partenaire, et (c) quatre modalites typiques d’ajustements mutuels. Dans la deuxieme partie, une etude de cas presente l’analyse d’un moment d’une course vecu par les rameuses comme un dysfonctionnement de leur coordination, sur la base de l’articulation d’une analyse des cours d’experience et de parametres mecaniques. Ces resultats sont discutes a trois niveaux, repondant aux visees empiriques, methodologiques et pratiques de l’etude.
Synthesis and Evaluation of Acridone and Xanthone Epoxides with Anti-MRSA and Anti-MSSA Activity

A series of acridone and xanthone-based compounds bearing 1,2-epoxypropyl or 1,2-propanediol substituents were synthesized and evaluated for activity against MRSA and MSSA bacterial strains. The results indicate a correlation exists between the number of epoxide groups and activity, with peak MIC values observed for bis-epoxy derivatives. Both activity and heathy cell toxicity was shown to decrease with the addition of a third epoxy group. The corresponding ring-opened diol analogs were devoid of activity, demonstrating the critical function of the epoxide in mediating antimicrobial activity. The most active compounds were also screened using a regulated antisense RNA expression library. The results show no increase in activity against cells sensitized by down-regulation of the most common drug targets, including DNA gyrase, DNA topoisomerase, tRNA synthetase, and the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway. The compounds are postulated to function as membrane disrupting agents, similar to the xanthone natural product α-mangostin.
Harmonic reduction in multiplex convertors by triple-frequency current injection

Conventionally, harmonic filters have hitherto been used to reduce the very undesirable effects of current harmonics in the input current to convertor equipment. The present paper describes an investigation into a new method of eliminating these current harmonics at the source, this being a more fundamental method than merely suppressing their consequences. The cost of the new method is not likely to be more expensive than elaborate filter equipment. The process consists of modifying the primary current waveform by the injection of triple-frequency currents into the convertor. An explanation of the fundamental action is presented, together with an analysis of the effects of triple-frequency current injection upon the harmonics generated by duplex convertor equipment.
Identifying Turkish students’ profiles of using information and communication technologies and its relationship with their academic achievement: A latent class analysis approach

In this study, 15-year-old Turkish students’ profiles of using ICT at home and at school were identified, and the extent to which these profiles were associated with their academic achievement was determined. Moreover, the study investigated the effects of the students’ age of first usage of digital device and internet, their gender and their parents’ education level on the students’ ICT usage profiles. In the study, by using Latent Class Analysis, Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 Turkey data were analyzed (n = 6890). According to the findings obtained in the study, it was revealed that the students who used ICT resources at high level at home and at school constituted the smallest class (8% of the sample). The students whose mothers’ levels of education were high and those who were male had a higher probability of being a member of the high-level ICT user class. In addition, the students who started using their first digital devices and the Internet at later ages were less likely to be a member of the class using high-level ICT. Finally, the students in the high-level ICT user class had low mathematics, reading, and science achievement scores.
Strategies for Online Inventory Routing Problem under Real-Time Information

The inventory routing problem (IRP) under real-time information studied in this paper involves repeated delivery of products from a depot to a set of retailers that face stochastic demands over a long period. This system is controlled by a central decision maker who operates with real-time information about the complete state of the system. To address this online IRP under real-time information, rolling horizon approaches are proposed: plans are updated and solve a mixed integer programming formulation for the off-line version of the problem. In this mixed integer programming formulation, an incremental inventory cost (IIC) function is introduced to combine inventory and transportation costs in the same objective function. This IIC function takes into account additional inventory costs associated with serving a customer at a different time and refilling an amount different from that prescribed by the best inventory policy with fixed transportation costs. Three rolling horizon strategies for the real-time version are compared. These policies are based on repeated reoptimization of different instances of the offline IRP and differ in the number of steps that are implemented for current solutions and the events that trigger plan updates. These policies are compared with a benchmark policy of operating the system in a decentralized manner. The comparison is conducted with a general simulation framework. New replanning policies are shown to outperform systematically the benchmark policy under all scenarios considered.
Platoons of underwater vehicles

We have presented a decentralized control design methodology for regulating global functions of cooperating mobile systems. The application of relatively standard system-theoretic tools, leads to a novel broadcast-only communication structure. The feedback mechanism between vehicles is the measurement of the global variables and broadcast of their integrated values. More generally, the methods presented allow the designer to determine what explicit communication strategies are sufficient for a stabilizing decentralized control to exist. Using a simplified model, we showed that it is indeed possible to regulate global variables of a platoon of autonomous underwater vehicles, in particular, the center of the platoon and the distribution of the vehicles about the center. A relatively small amount of explicit communication is required between vehicles and that no vehicle must regulate its actual position. Further, the approach presented is scalable to any number of cooperating vehicles without the need for additional communication, although there is a practical limit on the size of the platoon.
Dynamic bifurcations in a power system model exhibiting voltage collapse

Bifurcations are studied for a power system dynamic model which has previously been used to illustrate voltage collapse. It is found that for this model, the nominal operating point undergoes dynamic bifurcations prior to the static bifurcation to which voltage collapse has been attributed. These dynamic bifurcations result in a reduced stability margin in parameter space. Moreover, a short oscillatory voltage transient typically occurs prior to voltage collapse for this model. In addition, it is found that the model admits large-amplitude bifurcations, including cyclic fold and period-doubling bifurcations; the latter leading to period-doubling cascades and the resulting chaotic behavior. <<ETX>>
Decision Tree–Based Deterioration Model for Buried Wastewater Pipelines

AbstractAsset management provides a managerial decision-making framework for public agencies to monitor, evaluate, and make informed decisions about how to best maintain vital civil infrastructure assets. Among many steps required for implementing asset management, developing an accurate deterioration model is one of the key components because it helps infrastructure agencies predict remaining asset life. The accuracy of deterioration models highly depends on the quality of input data and the computational technique used in data analysis. Among many options of computational techniques, a decision tree offers the combination of visual representation and sound statistical background. The visual representation enables the decision maker to identify the relationship and interdependencies of each decision and formulate an appropriate prediction. This study developed a decision tree–based deterioration model for sewer pipes. The performance of the new model is then compared with conventional regression- and neu.
Computational modeling of the combustion and gasification zones in a downdraft gasifier

Computational modeling was completed on a simplified downdraft gasifier being installed at the University of Iowa Oakdale Power Plant. The model was created in Gambit and simulated in ANSYS Fluent. The process modeled was non-premixed combustion on biomass fuel with a fixed-bed. The Fluent coal model was modified based on (off-site) proximate and ultimate analyses of the biomass. Varying packing densities, oxidizer inlet velocities and fuel types were simulated and the impact on the combustion zone was assessed. It was found that packing densities around 0.5 with oxidizer inlet velocities less than 5m/s were ideal for modeling wood gasification and produced a temperature distribution that was the most analogous to previous experimental measurements. The resulting reaction field was mainly a large rich fuel combustion (RFC) zone where gasification and pyrolysis could occur. The different fuels were found to have similar temperature and mean mixture fraction patterns, although the maximum temperatures attained were very different (1080K for seed corn versus 678K for wood), with the wood showing a greater area of RFC for gasification and pyrolysis. The temperature contour corresponded to the mixture fraction figure perfectly and well explained the stable asymmetric combustion in a downdraft gasifier.Copyright © 2011 by ASME