Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Localization Methods in MF and UHF Reserve Radionavigation System

The article presents the results of construction and research of the backup radio navigation system. The issues of radio communication subsystem integration were presented. Selected methods of receiver position estimation, were described, taking into account the specificity of the MF and UHF ranges. Further in the article the functionality of radio communication and navigation were demonstrated. The measurements results of signals generated by ground-based station transmitters with implemented mechanisms and methods of signal processing were presented. The results were compared with known propagation models for horizon and beyond horizon sea links.
Resilient Scheduling of Moldable Jobs on Failure-Prone Platforms

This paper focuses on the resilient scheduling of moldable parallel jobs on high-performance computing (HPC) platforms. Moldable jobs allow for choosing a processor allocation before execution, and their execution time obeys various speedup models. The objective is to minimize the overall completion time of the jobs, or makespan, assuming that jobs are subject to arbitrary failure scenarios, and hence need to be re-executed each time they fail until successful completion. This work generalizes the classical framework where jobs are known offline and do not fail. We introduce a list-based algorithm, and prove new approximation ratios for three prominent speedup models (roofline, communication, Amdahl). We also introduce a batch-based algorithm, where each job is allowed a restricted number of failures per batch, and prove a new approximation ratio for the arbitrary speedup model. We conduct an extensive set of simulations to evaluate and compare different variants of the two algorithms. The results show that they consistently outperform some baseline heuristics. In particular, the list algorithm performs better for the roofline and communication models, while the batch algorithm has better performance for the Amdahl's model. Overall, our best algorithm is within a factor of 1.47 of a lower bound on average over the whole set of experiments, and within a factor of 1.8 in the worst case.
The unique ecological role of pyrosomes in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

Pyrosomes are an important but often overlooked component of marine zooplankton communities, with limited existing information regarding their ecological and trophic roles in pelagic ecosystems. We present the first estimates of grazing and trophic interactions of the large tropical pyrosome, Pyrostremma spinosum, in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. While patchy in distribution, Pyrostremma spinosum's grazing impact was substantial, up to 17.5% of chlorophyll a standing stock d−1 in certain areas. In contrast, these organisms cleared a very small percentage of the abundant picoplankton Synechococcus spp. compared to the bulk zooplankton community. Stable isotopes (13C and 15N) indicated that particulate organic matter (POM) from the surface mixed layer (0–20 m) constitutes the isotopic food‐web baseline for most of the zooplankton community, and zooplankton trophic interactions were size structured in some areas. Pyrosomes, doliolids, and appendicularians, along with the smallest size class of net‐collected zooplankton, had isotopic values closest to pure herbivory, while intermediate size classes, copepods, and salps showed substantial omnivory/carnivory. Euphausiids, chaetognaths, and > 2 mm zooplankton were the main carnivorous zooplankton in the plankton food web. Stable isotopes indicated that Pyrostremma spinosum is trophically distinct from the rest of the zooplankton community, grazing just below the mixed layer (20–40 m), as opposed to feeding on surface POM. Pyrosomes represent an additional, distinct pathway for material transfer up the plankton food web, by directly consuming POM sources not substantially grazed upon by the rest of the mesozooplankton community.
A Voltage-Quadrupler Interleaved Bidirectional DC–DC Converter With Intrinsic Equal Current Sharing Characteristic for Electric Vehicles

A voltage-quadrupler interleaved bidirectional dc–dc converter with intrinsic equal current sharing is presented in this article. The proposed converter offers a wide voltage conversion ratio, which makes it suitable for interconnecting the energy storage unit with dc bus for electric vehicle applications. A high voltage gain and low voltage stress across switches are achieved by adopting the capacitive voltage-divider stage, which enables the designer to employ a low-voltage switch with a small on-resistance RDS(ON). As a result, it allows the converter to run more efficiently and cooler. An interleaved connection at the low-voltage side paves the way for reducing the current ripple, which reduces the filter size and increases the power-density. Moreover, a built-in equal current sharing is achieved for two interleaved phases without using a current-sharing control scheme. The operating principle, steady-state characteristics including the current and voltage stress of the switches, and comparison with other state-of-the-art bidirectional converters are carried out in detail. Finally, to verify theoretical analysis, a 2-kW scaled-down laboratory prototype of the proposed converter using Gallium-Nitride switches is implemented.
Rabies-induced behavioural changes are key to rabies persistence in dog populations: Investigation using a network-based model

Canine-rabies was endemic pre-urbanisation, yet little is known about how it persists in small populations of dogs typically seen in rural and remote regions. Our objectives were to simulate rabies outbreaks in such populations (50—90 dogs) using a network-based model, and investigate the influence of rabies-induced behavioural changes. Such changes – increased bite frequency and either roaming or paralysis that increased the number or duration of contacts, respectively – were essential for disease propagation. Spread occurred in approximately 50% of model simulations and in these, a very low case rates (2.0—2.6 cases/month) over long durations (95% range 20—473 days) were predicted. Consequently, disease detection is a challenge, risking human infection and spread to other communities via dog movements. Even with 70% pre-emptive vaccination, spread occurred in >30% of model simulations (in these, median case rate was 1.5/month with 95% range of 15—275 days duration). We conclude that the social disruption caused by rabies-induced behavioural change is the key to explaining how rabies persists in small populations of dogs. We predict that vaccination of substantially greater than the recommended 70% of dog populations is required to prevent rabies emergence in currently free rural areas.
Real-time Detection of Driver’s Movement Intention in Response to Traffic Lights

Movements are preceded by certain brain states that can be captured through various neuroimaging techniques. Brain-Computer Interfaces can be designed to detect the movement intention brain state during driving, which could be beneficial in improving the interaction between a smart car and its driver, by providing assistance in-line with the driver’s intention. In this paper, we present an Electroencephalogram based decoder of such brain states preceding movements performed in response to traffic lights in two experiments: in a car simulator and a real car. The results of both experiments (N=10: car simulator, N=8: real car) confirm the presence of anticipatory Slow Cortical Potentials in response to traffic lights for accelerating and braking actions. Single-trial classification performance exhibits an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.71±0.14 for accelerating and 0.75±0.13 for braking. The AUC for the real car experiment are 0.63±0.07 and 0.64±0.13 for accelerating and braking respectively. Moreover, we evaluated the performance of real-time decoding of the intention to brake during online experiments only in the car simulator, yielding an average accuracy of 0.64±0.1. This paper confirm the existence of the anticipatory slow cortical potentials and the feasibility of single-trial detection these potentials in driving scenarios.
A Self-Balanced Switched-Capacitor Boost Seven-Level Inverter for Photovoltaic Systems

Development of reduced components count switched-capacitor (SC) inverters is in the recent trend for photovoltaic (PV) power processing and high frequency ac systems. The self-voltage balancing without complex control scheme and voltage gain features makes SC based multilevel inverters (MLIs) a perfect choice for PV applications. This paper presents a SC based seven-level MLI (SC7MLI) with three-phase extendibility using a single dc source. The output voltage is boosted to three-times the input magnitude with the aid of natural voltage balancing and using fewer components compared to prior-art MLIs. The proposed topology uses only 9 and 21 switches in single-phase and three-phase extensions, respectively. Simulation results under different steady-state and dynamic conditions validate the feasibility of the proposed design that is further warranted by several experimental results.
Effect of the Shape of the Cross Section of the Solid Insulators Immersed in Coconut Oil on the Area and the Dimension of Creeping Discharge Propagation

The present paper is aimed at the use of solid material samples with square and circular uniform cross-section for analyzing fractal characteristics of creeping discharges propagating over solid/liquid interfaces under alternating current voltages. Considered solid insulating samples are made of glass and acrylic materials. A test set up based on a point-plane electrode arrangement is used to initiate creeping discharge in a laboratory environment. These configurations are used to analyze the effect of the shape of the cross section of the solid material on the fractal dimension calculated by box counting method and the area of the discharge patterns. Results show that the shape of the cross section of the solid dielectric material does not have a significant effect on the fractal dimension. However, it affects the area of the discharge patterns.
A Finite-Control-Set Linear Current Controller With Fast Transient Response and Low Switching Frequency for Grid-Tied Inverters

This article presents a linear current controller for a grid-tied inverter with an L or LCL filter that uses a finite-control-set (FCS) operation. Thanks to the FCS operation, the proposed controller provides a very fast transient response, similar to an FCS model-predictive controller (MPC), while needing a low switching frequency and a low computational load. Contrarily to MPC solutions, the proposal uses a linear control structure. Such a linear structure offers a straightforward implementation and stability assessment compared to an MPC, which usually requires complex optimization algorithms and Lyapunov functions that are a field of study in its own right. The proposal does not generate any switching or low-order harmonics. By design, the switching noise is evenly spread at all frequencies instead of it being concentrated at some harmonic frequencies, as in the case of pulsewidth-modulator-based controllers. This reduces the risk of exciting resonances in the utility grid and facilitates the operation of multiple inverters in parallel. In particular, the proposal is shown to achieve compliance with stringent grid harmonic codes using an L filter in a multimegawatt application, where previous proposals required an LCL filter with the same total inductance.
Temperature-Dependence of Electrical Conductivity for Some Natural Coordination Polymeric Biomaterials Especially Some Cross-Linked Trivalent Metal-Alginate Complexes with Correlation between the Coordination Geometry and Complex Stability

The electrical conductivity (AEi) of cross-linked arsenic (III) - alginate complex as a coordination polymeric biomaterial in the form of circular discs have been measured as a function of temperature. The measured values of the electrical conductivity were found to be in the range of semiconductors. The change of electrical conductivity as a function of temperature was found to be of considerable complexity (Arrhenius plot of ln AEi vs. 1/T ). The appearance of a parabola zone at the early stages was explained by the release of waters of crystalline, whereas the sharp increase in AEi values observed at the elevated temperatures was interpreted by the degradation process of the complex to give rise to the metal oxide as final product. The X-ray diffraction patterns indicated that the metalalginate complex is amorphous in nature. Infrared absorption spectra revealed a sort of complexation between the trivalent metal cations and the functional carboxylate and hydroxyl groups of alginate macromolecule. A suitable conduction mechanism in terms of the complex stability in relation to the coordination geometry is suggested and discussed.
UNE ÉTUDE COMPARATIVE DES PRATIQUES PARENTALES D'ADOLESCENTS QUÉBÉCOIS ET HAÏTIENS VIVANT À MONTRÉAL

Cette etude examine diverses pratiques parentales telles que percues par 312 adolescents haitiens et quebecois, au moyen d'un questionnaire examinant la qualite des liens affectifs, le controle, les modes de sanction et la tolerance parentale. Des analyses de variance multivariees degagent des differences marquees dans le cas des meres: les meres haitiennes s'averent plus controlantes, moins tolerantes a l'egard des amis et plus coercitives, alors que les meres quebecoises se revelent plus chaleureuses et adoptent plus souvent des sanctions inductives. Les peres haitiens sont percus comme moins tolerants et plus distants que les peres quebecois. Ces resultats sont interpretes dans une perspective qui prend en compte les valeurs preconisees par chacune des cultures, ainsi que la situation d'immigration particuliere aux familles haitiennes.
Simulation of gated GaAs-AlGaAs resonant tunneling diodes for tunable terahertz communication applications

In this work, we report simulations on a GaAs-AlGaAs gated nanowire resonant tunneling diode (RTD) for tunable terahertz communication applications. All calculations are performed with the self-consistent Non-Equilibrium Green’s Function (NEGF) quantum transport formalism implemented in our in-house Nano-Electronic Simulation Software (NESS). Our simulations successfully capture the detailed picture of the quantum mechanical effects such as quantum confinement and resonant tunneling of electrons through barriers in such structures. Moreover, we report for the first time the correlation between the gate-bias voltage and the position of the resonant peak (VR) in the current - voltage characteristics. Such Vr, which is associated with tunneling effects in RTD, could lead to tunable terahertz generation and detection for communication applications.
Cingulate Cortex Atrophy Is Associated With Hearing Loss in Presbycusis With Cochlear Amplifier Dysfunction

Age-related hearing loss is associated with cognitive decline and has been proposed as a risk factor for dementia. However, the mechanisms that relate hearing loss to cognitive decline remain elusive. Here, we propose that the impairment of the cochlear amplifier mechanism is associated with structural brain changes and cognitive impairment. Ninety-six subjects aged over 65 years old (63 female and 33 male) were evaluated using brain magnetic resonance imaging, neuropsychological and audiological assessments, including distortion product otoacoustic emissions as a measure of the cochlear amplifier function. All the analyses were adjusted by age, gender and education. The group with cochlear amplifier dysfunction showed greater brain atrophy in the cingulate cortex and in the parahippocampus. In addition, the atrophy of the cingulate cortex was associated with cognitive impairment in episodic and working memories and in language and visuoconstructive abilities. We conclude that the neural abnormalities observed in presbycusis subjects with cochlear amplifier dysfunction extend beyond core auditory network and are associated with cognitive decline in multiple domains. These results suggest that a cochlear amplifier dysfunction in presbycusis is an important mechanism relating hearing impairments to brain atrophy in the extended network of effortful hearing.
Molecular, phylogenetic and antibiotic resistance analysis of enteroaggregative escherichia coli/uropathogenic Escherichia coli hybrid genotypes causing urinary tract infections

Background: Horizontal gene transfer of virulence genes (VGs) from different Escherichia coli pathotypes results in the evolution of hybrid strains. Hybrid genotypes of enteroaggregative E. coli and uropathogenic E. coli (EAEC/UPEC) have been reported in sporadic infections and outbreaks of extraintestinal origin. Yet, their association with routine infections is still underrated. Materials and Methods: In this study, we analysed 163 isolates of E. coli from cases of urinary tract infection seeking hybrid (EAEC/UPEC) strains. Using multiplex polymerase chain reaction, we investigated VGs (adhesive and toxin genes) of UPEC along with EAEC marker genes (aap and agg R), ast A (toxin genes) and serine protease autotransporters of Enterobacteriaceae, pet (plasmid-encoded toxin) and pic (mucinase gene). Those UPEC strains which had characteristic defining genes of EAEC (agg R/aap or their combination) were considered UPEC/EAEC hybrids. Results: Molecular predictors of EAEC (aap and aggR) were detected in 20.2% (33/163) of the strains. The pap C was also detected in 36% of the EAEC/UPEC hybrid strains. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that hybrid strains belonged to Group D (60.6%). Nearly 73.8% of UPEC and 75.7% of UPEC/EAEC hybrid strains were multidrug-resistant. Among UPEC isolates, 72.3% and in hybrid UPEC/EAEC, 78.7% isolates were able to produce biofilm. Conclusions: Our results indicated a closer relationship among EAEC and UPEC, which suggested that some EAEC strains can be potential uropathogens. Ours is a first study documenting the existence of EAEC pathotypes VGs in UPEC strains of nosocomial origin; further studies are required to understand the diarrhoeagenic potential of these hybrids.
Integrative genomic analysis of pediatric T- cell lymphoblastic lymphoma reveals candidates of clinical significance.

T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) is a heterogeneous malignancy of lymphoblasts committed to T-cell lineage. Dismal outcomes (15-30%) in case of T-LBL relapses warrants for establishing risk-based treatment in future. This is a first comprehensive, systematic, integrated genome-wide analysis including relapse cases aimed towards identifying molecular markers of prognostic relevance for T-LBL. NOTCH1 was identified as putative driver for T-LBL. Activated NOTCH/PI3K-AKT signaling axis and alterations in cell cycle regulators constitutes the core oncogenic program for T-LBL. Mutated KMT2D was identified as a prognostic marker. The cumulative incidence of relapse was 47±17% in patients with KMT2D mutations compared with 14±3% in KMT2D wildtype. Structural analysis of the mutated domains of KMT2D revealed plausible impact on the structure and functional consequences. These findings provide new insights into the pathogenesis of T-LBL including high translational potential. The ongoing trial LBL 2018 (NCT04043494) allows prospective validation and subsequent fine-tuning of the stratification criteria for T-LBL risk groups to improve survival of the pediatric patients.
Non-Smoker’s Exposure to Second-Hand Smoke in South Africa during 2017

Current South African tobacco control law allows for 25% designated smoking areas in some indoor public places. This study investigates non-smokers’ exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) in workplaces, homes, cafés/restaurants, and shebeens (local bars) using data from the 2017 South African Social Attitude Survey. Factors associated with any level of exposure were explored using multiple-variable-adjusted logistic regression analysis. The sample of 3063 participants (16+ years old), comprised 51.7% females and 78.5% Black Africans. The current smoking prevalence from this study was 21.5%. About 47% of non-smokers reported exposure to SHS in at least one location. Females were significantly less likely to be exposed to SHS in all locations except at home compared to males. Adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that females, adults aged 45–54 years, 55–64 years, and 65+ years were significantly less likely to be exposed to SHS (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.63, 0.60, 0.55, and 0.24, respectively) than males and those aged 16–24 years. Those who identified as Coloureds were significantly more likely to be exposed to SHS (AOR = 1.69) than Black Africans. This study found that nearly half of non-smokers reported exposure to SHS. A 100% smoke-free policy consistent with the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control would protect more people from exposure to SHS in South Africa.
Using georeferenced photo-elicitation projects to understand survivor resources: a method for trauma-informed practice in higher education

Abstract Objective This research examined the use of georeferenced photo-elicitation projects in conducting “assets inventories” of on-campus resources for students who have been the victims of violence. Participants: A pilot study was conducted with 27 undergraduate students at a small, Hispanic-serving, Catholic, liberal arts university. Methods: Students participated in a photo-elicitation project, submitting geotagged digital photographs of on-campus resources for victims of violence. Results: Thematic and spatial analyses revealed both place-based and person-based resources, some of which were not previously recognized by administrators. Mapping of resources showed areas of concentration and potential areas for future development. Assets were unique to the university studied, grounded both in its culture and history. Conclusions: GIS-based photo-elicitation research is useful for assessing current and potential trauma-informed on-campus resources. The pilot study is replicable on other campuses, allowing administrators to better understand how student needs are uniquely defined, currently being met, or can be better met.
Molecular magnetism in the multi-configurational self-consistent field method

We develop a structured theoretical framework used in our recent articles (2019 Eur. Phys. J. B 92 93 and 2020 Phys. Rev. B 101 094427) to characterize the unusual behavior of the magnetic spectrum, magnetization and magnetic susceptibility of the molecular magnet Ni4Mo12. The theoretical background is based on the molecular orbital theory in conjunction with the multi-configurational self-consistent field method and results in a post-Hartree–Fock scheme for constructing the corresponding energy spectrum. Furthermore, we construct a bilinear spin-like Hamiltonian involving discrete coupling parameters accounting for the relevant spectroscopic magnetic excitations, magnetization and magnetic susceptibility. The explicit expressions of the eigenenergies of the ensuing Hamiltonian are determined and the physical origin of broadening and splitting of experimentally observed peaks in the magnetic spectra is discussed. To demonstrate the efficiency of our method we compute the spectral properties of a spin-one magnetic dimer. The present approach may be applied to a variety of magnetic units based on transition metals and rare Earth elements.