Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Obliquely propagating Alfvén waves in a Maxwellian dusty plasma

A kinetic formulation developed to analyze wave propagation in dusty plasmas, which takes into account the charge variation of the dust particles, is utilized to study the propagation and damping of Alfvén waves propagating in oblique directions relative to the ambient magnetic field. A dusty plasma containing spherical and immobile dust grains in a homogeneous ambient magnetic field is considered. The charging process of the dust grains is assumed to be associated with the capture of electrons and ions by the dust particles during inelastic collisions between them and plasma particles. The dispersion relation and the damping rates of obliquely propagating Alfvén waves are obtained assuming Maxwellian distributions for electrons and ions in equilibrium. For the numerical analysis of the dispersion relation we use the average values of the inelastic collision frequency as an approximation, instead of the momentum dependent expressions originally derived in the kinetic formulation, and study the modifications which the presence of the dust particles causes in both the propagation and the damping of the Alfvén waves. In particular is discussed the competition between the different damping mechanisms, namely, the Landau damping and the damping associated with the dust charge variation, and it is shown that the inelastic collision frequency plays a pivotal role in the magnitude of the damping rates.
Capping Layer on Thin Si Film for µ-Czochralski Process with Excimer Laser Crystallization

In this paper, we report the effect of SiO2 capping layer (C/L) on the excimer laser crystallization of an amorphous Si (a-Si) thin film by the µ-Czochralski (µ-CZ) process. With a 50-nm-thick C/L on a 50-nm-thick a-Si film, the diameter of a location-controlled grain increased to 6 µm. Single grain (SG) thin-film transistor (TFT) was fabricated with the C/L SiO2 as a part of the gate oxide. SG TFT with 50-nm-thick Si showed improved characteristics compared to that without the C/L SiO2. A field effect mobility of 340 cm2 V-1 s-1 and a subthreshold slope of 0.18 V/dec were obtained with the 50-nm-thick Si.
Hodge decomposition for two‐dimensional time‐harmonic Maxwell's equations: impedance boundary condition

We extend the Hodge decomposition approach for the cavity problem of two‐dimensional time‐harmonic Maxwell's equations to include the impedance boundary condition, with anisotropic electric permittivity and sign‐changing magnetic permeability. We derive error estimates for a P1 finite element method based on the Hodge decomposition approach and present results of numerical experiments that involve metamaterials and electromagnetic cloaking. The well‐posedness of the cavity problem when both electric permittivity and magnetic permeability can change sign is also discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Radiative Transfer Modeling of Radio-Frequency Spectral Line Data: Accretion onto G10.6-0.4

Une procedure de simulation d'images de raies spectrales de nuages moleculaires 3D est presentee et appliquee a l'ecoulement d'accretion associe a une formation stellaire de grande masse dans la region G10.6-0.4. Les comparaisons observations-simulations sont realisees pour les temperatures, densites et champ de vitesse. La nature de l'ecoulement est analysee.
Particle size amplification of black carbon by scattering measurement due to morphology diversity

Black carbon (BC) is an important aerosol species due to its strong heating of the atmosphere accompanied by cooling of the Earth’s surface, but its radiative forcing is poorly constrained by different regional size distributions due to uncertain reproductions of a morphologically simplified model. Here, we quantify the BC morphological effect on measuring the particle size using an aggregate model. We show that the size distributions of loose BC particles could account for up to 45% underestimation by morphological simplification, leading to up to 25% differences, by relying on a simplified model to estimate radiative forcing. We find that the BC particle size is remarkably amplified for looser and larger BC aggregates by angular scattering observations. We suggest that the BC morphological diversity can be neglected in forward scattering angles (<30°), which is a useful supplement to reduce the uncertainty of radiative forcing assessment.
Sound-field reconstruction performance of a mixed-order Ambisonics microphone array

Recently, there has been increasing interest in using spherical microphone arrays for spatial audio recordings. Accurate recordings are important for a range of applications, from virtual sound environments for hearing research through to the evaluation of communication devices, such as hearing instruments and mobile phones. Previously, a mixed-order Ambisonics (MOA) approach was proposed to improve the horizontal spatial resolution of spherical arrays. This was achieved by increasing the number of microphones near the horizontal plane while keeping the total number of transducers fixed. The approach is motivated by the fact that human spatial hearing is most acute in the horizontal plane. This study presents simulations of the performance of an MOA rigid-sphere microphone array, and its robustness to variations in microphone characteristics. Specifications of a commercially available microphone were used to simulate self-noise, sensitivity, and phase response variations between the microphones. To quantify the reconstruction error and the “sweet area” as a function of source elevation, the reconstructed sound field based on a simulated array measurement was compared to the reference sound field for both horizontal and elevated sources. It is expected that the MOA approach results in a larger sweet area for mid to high frequencies for horizontal sources.
Do structural priming and inverse preference effect demand cognitive resources? Evidence from structural priming in production

ABSTRACT Implicit learning theories assume that structural priming is based on an error-based prediction mechanism (e.g. Chang et al. [2006]. Becoming syntactic. Psychological Review, 113(2), 234–272. ), which predicts stronger priming when the bias of the verb in the prime sentence towards a syntactic structure mismatches the actual sentence’s structure (inverse preference priming). We investigated whether structural priming and inverse preference priming are modulated by cognitive resources such as demand on memory. Experiments 1 and 2 showed inverse preference priming in a priming task that exerted a relatively low cognitive load (sentence reading followed by picture description), but Experiments 3 and 4 found no such effect in a more demanding task (i.e. sentence reading, sentence recognition judgment, picture description, and picture recognition judgment). In the less demanding experiments, structural priming was always stronger and inverse preference priming was marginally stronger. These findings suggest an important role of cognitive resources in error-based learning.
A descriptive sensory evaluation of edible insects in Czechia: do the species and size matter?

ABSTRACT Our recently conducted questionnaire survey focused on the acceptance of insects by Czech respondents and revealed different preferences between the consumption of whole and ground insects. To identify whether the species and size may affect the acceptance of insects, small and large species of Blattodea, Coleoptera, and Orthoptera were assessed in their whole form and as ground meals in white bread and chocolate cookies by a panel of 16 trained panelists. The hedonic ranking test of whole fried and salted insects showed that Tenebrio molitor was the best choice. According to the paired preference test, smaller insects were preferred in the case of Orthoptera and Coleoptera, but larger cockroaches were rated better than smaller ones. The overall acceptability of insect meal in food products was higher than that of whole insects. Only bread containing Tenebrio molitor and Gryllus assimilis meals were comparable to those of the control, whereas no significant differences were detected among the cookie samples. Conclusively, it was proven that the acceptance of whole insects is influenced more by species than size, and all tested meals can be used to fortify confectionary products with no adverse effects on their liking.
Near-ideal magnetoelectricity in high-permeability magnetostrictive/piezofiber laminates with a (2-1) connectivity

Theoretically, the two-phase laminated configurations should have even much higher magnetoelectric (ME) effects—however, prior experimental studies have failed to find such an enhancement. Here, the authors report the unleashing of the potential of the (2-1) connectivity configuration: a piezofiber (one-dimension connectivity) layer laminated between two high-permeability magnetostrictive FeBSiC alloy ones (two-dimension connectivity) has near-ideal ME coupling. Very high ME effects of up to 22V∕cmOe (4×10−7s∕m) at 1Hz—an order of magnitude higher than the giant ones—have been found.
Evaporation Caused Invaginations of Acoustically Levitated Colloidal Droplets

Controlled buckling of colloidal droplets via acoustic levitation plays an important role in pharmaceutical, coating, and material self-assembly. In this study, the evaporation process of PTFE colloidal droplets with two particle concentrations (60 wt% and 20 wt%) was investigated under acoustic levitation. We report the occurrence of surface invagination caused by evaporation. For the high particle concentration droplet, the upper surface was invaginated, eventually forming a bowl-shaped structure. While for the low particle concentration droplet, both the upper and lower surfaces of the droplet were invaginated, resulting in a doughnut-like structure. For the acoustically levitated oblate spherical droplet, the dispersant loss at the equatorial area of the droplet is greater than that at the two poles. Therefore, the thickness of the solid shell on the surface of the droplet was not uniform, resulting in invagination at the weaker pole area. Moreover, once the droplet surface was buckling, the hollow cavity on the droplet surface would absorb the sound energy and results in strong positive acoustic radiation pressure at bottom of the invagination, thus further prompting the invagination process.
Dual-energy imaging using a digital scanned multi-slit system for mammography: evaluation of a differential beam filtering technique

This paper describes a method for single exposure contrast-enhanced dual-energy imaging of tumors utilizing a scanned multi-slit system for digital mammography. This photon counting system employs an array of silicon strip detectors in an edge-on geometry. In the multi-slit setup, the line detectors and pre-collimator slits are aligned orthogonal to the scan direction. This geometry is advantageous to dual-energy imaging, since it allows differential filtering of the x-ray beam in the pre-collimator slits. A high-energy image is constructed from those lines where the filter material has been chosen to harden the x-ray beam and the low-energy image from the lines with a filter producing softer beams. Both images are obtained in the same scan, eliminating the need to change tube voltages and anode materials and minimizing the risk of motion artifacts. The method is illustrated on a purpose-built phantom and logarithmic subtraction of the images produces images essentially free of anatomical clutter with the contrast-enhanced targets clearly visible.
Critical behavior of the dimerized Si(001) surface: Continuous order-disorder phase transition in the two-dimensional Ising universality class

The critical behavior of the order-disorder phase transition in the buckled dimer structure of the Si(001) surface is investigated both theoretically by means of first-principles calculations and experimentally by spot profile analysis low-energy electron diffraction (SPA-LEED). We use density functional theory (DFT) with three different functionals commonly used for Si to determine the coupling constants of an effective lattice Hamiltonian describing the dimer interactions. Experimentally, the phase transition from the low-temperature $c(4 {\times} 2)$- to the high-temperature $p(2 {\times} 1)$-reconstructed surface is followed through the intensity and width of the superstructure spots within the temperature range 78-400 K. Near the critical temperature $T_c = 190.6\,\mathrm{K}$, we observe universal critical behavior of spot intensities and correlation lengths which falls into the universality class of the two-dimensional (2D) Ising model. From the ratio of correlation lengths along and across the dimer rows we determine effective nearest-neighbor couplings of an anisotropic 2D Ising model, $J_\parallel = (-24.9 \pm 0.9_\mathrm{stat} \pm 1.3_\mathrm{sys})\,\mathrm{meV}$ and $J_\perp = (-0.8 \pm 0.1_\mathrm{stat})\,\mathrm{meV}$. We find that the experimentally determined coupling constants of the Ising model can be reconciled with those of the more complex lattice Hamiltonian from DFT when the critical behavior is of primary interest. The anisotropy of the interactions derived from the experimental data via the 2D Ising model is best matched by DFT calculations using the PBEsol functional. The trends in the calculated anisotropy are consistent with the surface stress anisotropy predicted by the DFT functionals, pointing towards the role of surface stress reduction as a driving force for establishing the $c(4 {\times} 2)$-reconstructed ground state.
Patients’ Preferences for Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors and Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists

Purpose To determine patients’ preferences for sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT-2is) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs). Patients and Methods A cross-sectional, web-based discrete choice experiment was conducted among US adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in May 2021. Six attributes—the route and frequency of administration, the chance of reaching target HbA1c in six months, the percentage reduction in the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), the chance of gastrointestinal side effects, the chance of genital infection, and out-of-pocket cost per month—were identified from literature review and consultation with patients and clinicians. A Bayesian efficient design was used to generate choice sets. Each choice set contained two hypothetical SGLT-2i and GLP-1 RA alternatives described by the attributes and an opt-out alternative. A total of 176 patients were asked to select the most preferred option from each choice set. Mixed logit (ML) and latent class (LC) models were developed. The conditional relative importance of each attribute was determined. Results The ML model showed the out-of-pocket cost had the highest conditional relative importance, followed by the chance of reaching the target HbA1c. The best LC model revealed two patient classes. All attributes were significantly important to the patients in both classes, except the chance of genital infection in class 2. Compared to the patients in class 2, the patients in class 1 were older (approximately 65 vs 56 years) and had a higher number of comorbidities (approximately three vs two). Conclusion T2DM patients placed different preference weights or importance across SGLT-2i and GLP-1 RA attributes. Preference heterogeneity was found among patients with different ages and numbers of comorbidities.
Rocking of Rigid Blocks Due to Harmonic Shaking

The dynamic behavior of rigid-block structures resting on a rigid foundation subjected to horizontal harmonic excitation is examined. For slender structures, the nonlinear equation of motion is approximated by a piecewise linear equation. Using this approximation for an initially quiescent structure, safe or no-toppling and unsafe regions are identified in an excitation amplitude versus excitation frequency plane. Furthermore, several possible modes of steady-state response are detected, and analytical procedures are developed for determining the amplitudes of the predominant modes and for performing stability analyses. It is shown that the produced stability diagrams can be beneficial to assessing the toppling potential of a rigid-block structure under a given amplitude-frequency combination of harmonic excitation; in this manner the integration of the equation of motion is circumvented.
Size-Mediated Sea Turtle Behavioral Responses at Artificial Habitats in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Simple Summary In-water behavioral observation studies of sea turtles are lacking primarily because they are highly migratory throughout their lifecycles. However, utilizing new technology, such as remote stereo-video cameras, allows researchers to collect size-specific data and view relatively natural sea turtle behavior. In this study, we completed stereo-video camera surveys at local artificial reefs, piers, and jetties within the northern Gulf of Mexico from May 2019 to August 2021. We remotely measured sea turtle straight carapace length, assessed wariness using minimum approach distance (MAD) between the turtle and camera operator, and documented behaviors during encounters. Our results indicated that green sea turtles had the smallest mean MAD before a startle response occurred, but the largest range compared to loggerhead and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles. Using a linear mixed model, we found that the size of the turtle was an important predictor of MAD. Overall, our results suggest that larger sea turtles became startled at longer distances compared to the smaller individuals surveyed across all the species studied. This study supports the use of stereo-video camera systems as a non-invasive tool to conduct surveys to assess sea turtle behavioral observations in relation to body size. Abstract Our understanding of size-specific sea turtle behavior has lagged due to methodological limitations. However, stereo-video cameras (SVC) are an in-water approach that can link body-size and allow for relatively undisturbed behavioral observations. In this study, we conducted SVC dive surveys at local artificial reefs, piers, and jetties in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) from May 2019 to August 2021. Using SVCs, we measured sea turtle straight carapace length, documented behaviors, and quantified wariness by assessing minimum approach distance (MAD). In green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), the observed MAD ranged from 0.72 to 5.99 m (mean 2.10 m ± 1.10 standard deviation (SD), n = 73). For loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), the MAD ranged between 0.93 and 3.80 m (mean 2.12 m ± 0.99 SD, n = 16). Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) were similar to loggerheads, and MAD ranged from 0.78 to 3.63 m (mean 2.35 m ± 0.99 SD, n = 8). We then evaluated what biological factors could impact the MAD observed by species, but we excluded Kemp’s ridleys as the sample size was small. Using a linear mixed model and model selection based on AICc, the top ranked model for both green and loggerhead sea turtles included SCL as the most important factor influencing MAD. MAD did not vary with habitat type for either species. Our results showed that larger individuals, regardless of species, have a greater wariness response, becoming startled at greater distances than smaller individuals. The findings of our study support the use of SVC as an accessible, non-invasive tool to conduct ecologically relevant in-water surveys of sea turtles to link behavioral observations to body size.
The ability to resist Newcastle disease through inherited immunity in different strains of broilers in Nineveh governorate

Background: Newcastle disease (ND) is a viral disease that affects numerous bird species and is still present in many places, including Iraq. Aim: The purpose of this study was to compare maternal derived antibodies against against ND vaccination in 1-day-old imported Cobb 500 and Ross 308 chicks. Methods: From April to October 2020, four locations in Mosul governorate were chosen to compute the maternal derived antibodies from 1-day-old broiler chicks. Seven hundred and seven blood samples (451) from imported 28 Ross 308 flocks and 256 from 17 Cobb 500 flocks were obtained and tested for antibody levels using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay assay (BioChek commercial kit, UK). Results: The Cobb 500 broiler chicks outperformed the Ross 308 broiler chicks in that all of the Cobb 500 broiler chicks had maternal antibody titers (100% positivity) versus 97.78% of the Ross 308 chicks, had a mean Maternal antibody titer of 9,871.47 versus 8,647.76, and had a mean CV percentage of 12.41% versus 15.18%, respectively. The mean vaccination index of Cobb 500 broiler chicks was 966.59 versus 821.60 for Ross 308 broiler chicks Conclusion: Although both broiler types produced chicks with high and uniform maternal antibody titers, Cobb 500 produced chicks with higher protective titers than Ross 308.
The MAOA rs979605 Genetic Polymorphism Is Differentially Associated with Clinical Improvement Following Antidepressant Treatment between Male and Female Depressed Patients

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Treatment with antidepressant drugs (ATD), which target monoamine neurotransmitters including serotonin (5HT), are only modestly effective. Monoamine oxidase (MAO) metabolizes 5HT to 5-hydroxy indoleacetic acid (5HIAA). Genetic variants in the X-chromosome-linked MAO-encoding genes, MAOA and MAOB, have been associated with clinical improvement following ATD treatment in depressed patients. Our aim was to analyze the association of MAOA and MAOB genetic variants with (1) clinical improvement and (2) the plasma 5HIAA/5HT ratio in 6-month ATD-treated depressed individuals. Clinical (n = 378) and metabolite (n = 148) data were obtained at baseline and up to 6 months after beginning ATD treatment (M6) in patients of METADAP. Mixed-effects models were used to assess the association of variants with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score, response and remission rates, and the plasma 5HIAA/5HT ratio. Variant × sex interactions and dominance terms were included to control for X-chromosome-linked factors. The MAOA rs979605 and MAOB rs1799836 polymorphisms were analyzed. The sex × rs979605 interaction was significantly associated with the HDRS score (p = 0.012). At M6, A allele-carrying males had a lower HDRS score (n = 24, 10.9 ± 1.61) compared to AA homozygous females (n = 14, 18.1 ± 1.87; p = 0.0067). The rs1799836 polymorphism was significantly associated with the plasma 5HIAA/5HT ratio (p = 0.018). Overall, CC/C females/males had a lower ratio (n = 44, 2.18 ± 0.28) compared to TT/T females/males (n = 60, 2.79 ± 0.27; p = 0.047). The MAOA rs979605 polymorphism, associated with the HDRS score in a sex-dependent manner, could be a useful biomarker for the response to ATD treatment.