Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Squared eigenfunctions and the perturbation theory for the nondegenerate N × N operator: a general outline

We provide an overview of the soliton perturbation theory for the N × N eigenvalue operator. Key to perturbation studies of integrable systems are the squared eigenfunctions and their adjoints, which serve as mappings between variations in the potentials and variations in the scattering data. We also address the problem of the normalization of the Jost functions, how this affects the structure and solvability of the inverse scattering equations and the definition of the scattering data. We also discuss the inner products and closure relations for these squared eigenfunctions and their adjoints.
The Spread of Ocean Heat Uptake Efficiency Traced to Ocean Salinity

Ocean heat uptake (OHU) plays an important role in determining the rate of surface warming under CO2 forcing. We examined the transient response to CO2 forcing in a set of 30 climate models from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) and found that the intermodel spread in OHU efficiency largely depends on the base‐state ocean stratification, especially in the Southern Ocean. This dependence is primarily traced to ocean salinity rather than ocean temperature. Models with weaker ocean stratification primarily due to higher upper‐ocean salinity tend to sequester heat into the deeper ocean, leading to a lower rate of surface warming, a primary reason for higher OHU efficiency; the stratification impact on total OHU is secondary. We applied the relationship between salinity and OHU efficiency for an emergent constraint on OHU efficiency, suggesting an OHU efficiency higher than the CMIP6 multimodel average and arguing against models with extremely low efficiency.
A Thermal-Stable Protein Nanoparticle That Stimulates Long Lasting Humoral Immune Response

A thermally stable vaccine platform is considered the missing piece of vaccine technology. In this article, we reported the creation of a novel protein nanoparticle and assessed its ability to withstand extended high temperature incubation while stimulating a long-lasting humoral immune response. This protein nanoparticle was assembled from a fusion protein composed of an amphipathic helical peptide derived from the M2 protein of the H5N1 influenza virus (AH3) and a superfolder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP). Its proposed structure was modeled according to transmission electronic microscope (TEM) images of protein nanoparticles. From this proposed protein model, we created a mutant with two gain-of-function mutations that work synergistically on particle stability. A protein nanoparticle assembled from this gain-of-function mutant is able to remove a hydrophobic patch from its surface. This gain-of-function mutant also contributes to the higher thermostability of protein nanoparticles and stimulates a long lasting humoral immune response after a single immunization. This assembled nanoparticle showed increasing particle stability at higher temperatures and salt concentrations. This novel protein nanoparticle may serve as a thermally-stable platform for vaccine development.
Biologic Therapies for Asthma and Allergic Disease: Past, Present, and Future

The discovery of the mechanism underlying allergic disease, mouse models of asthma, and bronchoscopy studies provided initial insights into the role of Th2-type cytokines, including interlukin (IL)-4, IL-5 and IL-13, which became the target of monoclonal antibody therapy. Omalizumab, Benralizumab, Mepolizumab, Reslizumab, and Tezepelumab have been approved. These biologicals have been shown to be good alternative therapies to corticosteroids, particularly in severe asthma management, where they can improve the quality of life of many patients. Given the success in asthma, these drugs have been used in other diseases with type 2 inflammation, including chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), atopic dermatitis, and chronic urticaria. Like the Th2-type cytokines, chemokines have also been the target of novel monoclonal therapies. However, they have not proved successful to date. In this review, targeted therapy is addressed from its inception to future applications in allergic diseases.
A new perspective for the integration of intelligence and risk management in a customs and border control context

Abstract This paper concerns intelligence and risk management in a customs and border control context. Intelligence here refers to the collection, sharing, processing, analysis and dissemination of information on threats, related to cross-border movements of goods, travellers, illegal activities, and serious organized crime. The main aim of the paper is to present a new perspective for the integration of intelligence and risk management for this context. The perspective, which builds on contemporary risk and safety science knowledge, as well as studies on intelligence, organizations, management, and social mechanisms, provides concepts, principles, and a unified framework for this integration. The paper gives customs and border control management new insights and instruments on how to organize and handle risk and intelligence issues and studies.
Natural Products as Modulators of Nrf2 Signaling Pathway in Neuroprotection

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) affect the West due to the increase in life expectancy. Nervous cells accumulate oxidative damage, which is one of the factors that triggers and accelerates neurodegeneration. However, cells have mechanisms that scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) and alleviate oxidative stress (OS). Many of these endogenous antioxidant systems are regulated at the gene expression level by the transcription factor Nrf2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2). In the presence of prooxidant conditions, Nrf2 translocates to the nucleus and induces the transcription of genes containing ARE (antioxidant response element). In recent years, there has been an increase in the study of the Nrf2 pathway and the natural products that positively regulate it to reduce oxidative damage to the nervous system, both in in vitro models with neurons and microglia subjected to stress factors and in vivo models using mainly murine models. Quercetin, curcumin, anthocyanins, tea polyphenols, and other less studied phenolic compounds such as kaempferol, hesperetin, and icariin can also modulate Nrf2 by regulating several Nrf2 upstream activators. Another group of phytochemical compounds that upregulate this pathway are terpenoids, including monoterpenes (aucubin, catapol), diterpenes (ginkgolides), triterpenes (ginsenosides), and carotenoids (astaxanthin, lycopene). This review aims to update the knowledge on the influence of secondary metabolites of health interest on the activation of the Nrf2 pathway and their potential as treatments for NDs.
Semi-global stabilization of linear systems subject to non-right invertible constraints

Stabilization problems of linear system with right invertible constraints have mostly been solved for both global and semi-global frameworks. Linear systems subject to non-right invertible constraints have completely different characteristics compared to those with right invertible constraints. This paper addresses the control problems of linear systems subject to non-right invertible constraints. This paper also expands further the available taxonomy of constraints. The new categorization of constraints introduced reveals the difficulty in semi-global oriented control design for the non-right invertible constraints. Some new notions of stabilization are also introduced.
Contagious politics and COVID-19: does the infectious disease hit populist supporters harder?

ABSTRACT As an example of a typical right-wing populist, Jair Bolsonaro downplayed Covid-19 and rejected scientific evidence to address the pandemic. We argue that both his communication style and approach to crisis management had consequences for the behavioural patterns of his followers, which, in turn, had public health implications. Building on survey research, we demonstrate how Bolsonaro’s supporters were less likely to consider the pandemic as a key challenge for the country, less worried about getting infected and less likely to wear masks. We show that this ‘riskier’ behaviour had concrete repercussions. Even after controlling for confounders such as population density, age, education and wealth, municipalities with higher aggregate support for Bolsonaro had higher Covid-19 infection rates in 2020 and saw more people dying from the virus.
Biodistribution and Adjuvant Effect of an Intranasal Vaccine Based on Chitosan Nanoparticles against Paracoccidioidomycosis

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a fungal infection caused by the thermodimorphic Paracoccidioides sp. PCM mainly affects the lungs, but, if it is not contained by the immune response, the disease can spread systemically. An immune response derived predominantly from Th1 and Th17 T cell subsets facilitates the elimination of Paracoccidioides cells. In the present work, we evaluated the biodistribution of a prototype vaccine based on the immunodominant and protective P. brasiliensis P10 peptide within chitosan nanoparticles in BALB/c mice infected with P. brasiliensis strain 18 (Pb18). The generated fluorescent (FITC or Cy5.5) or non-fluorescent chitosan nanoparticles ranged in diameter from 230 to 350 nm, and both displayed a Z potential of +20 mV. Most chitosan nanoparticles were found in the upper airway, with smaller amounts localized in the trachea and lungs. The nanoparticles complexed or associated with the P10 peptide were able to reduce the fungal load, and the use of the chitosan nanoparticles reduced the necessary number of doses to achieve fungal reduction. Both vaccines were able to induce a Th1 and Th17 immune response. These data demonstrates that the chitosan P10 nanoparticles are an excellent candidate vaccine for the treatment of PCM.
O-RADS Classification for Ultrasound Assessment of Adnexal Masses: Agreement between IOTA Lexicon and ADNEX Model for Assigning Risk Group

Background: The O-RADS system is a new proposal for establishing the risk of malignancy of adnexal masses using ultrasound. The objective of this study is to assess the agreement and diagnostic performance of O-RADS when using the IOTA lexicon or ADNEX model for assigning the O-RADS risk group. Methods: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. All women diagnosed as having an adnexal mass underwent transvaginal/transabdominal ultrasound. Adnexal masses were classified according to the O-RADS classification, using the criterion of the IOTA lexicon and according to the risk of malignancy determined by the ADNEX model. The agreement between both methods for assigning the O-RADS group was estimated using weighted Kappa and the percentage of agreement. The sensitivity and specificity of both approaches were calculated. Results: 454 adnexal masses in 412 women were evaluated during the study period. There were 64 malignant masses. The agreement between the two approaches was moderate (Kappa: 0.47), and the percentage of agreement was 46%. Most disagreements occurred for the groups O-RADS 2 and 3 and for groups O-RADS 3 and 4. The sensitivity and specificity for O-RADS using the IOTA lexicon and O-RADS using the ADNEX model were 92.2% and 86.1%, and 85.9% and 87.4%, respectively. Conclusion: The diagnostic performance of O-RADS classification using the IOTA lexicon as opposed to the IOTA ADNEX model is similar. However, O-RADS group assignment varies significantly, depending on the use of the IOTA lexicon or the risk estimation using the ADNEX model. This fact might be clinically relevant and deserves further research.
Low dimensional disturbance observer‐based control for nonlinear parabolic PDE systems with spatio‐temporal disturbances

In this paper, a design problem of low dimensional disturbance observer‐based control (DOBC) is considered for a class of nonlinear parabolic partial differential equation (PDE) systems with the spatio‐temporal disturbance modeled by an infinite dimensional exosystem of parabolic PDE. Motivated by the fact that the dominant structure of the parabolic PDE is usually characterized by a finite number of degrees of freedom, the modal decomposition method is initially applied to both the PDE system and the PDE exosystem to derive a low dimensional slow system and a low dimensional slow exosystem, which accurately capture the dominant dynamics of the PDE system and the PDE exosystem, respectively. Then, the definition of input‐to‐state stability for the PDE system with the spatio‐temporal disturbance is given to formulate the design objective. Subsequently, based on the derived slow system and slow exosystem, a low dimensional disturbance observer (DO) is constructed to estimate the state of the slow exosystem, and then a low dimensional DOBC is given to compensate the effect of the slow exosystem in order to reject approximately the spatio‐temporal disturbance. Then, a design method of low dimensional DOBC is developed in terms of linear matrix inequality to guarantee that not only the closed‐loop slow system is exponentially stable in the presence of the slow exosystem but also the closed‐loop PDE system is input‐to‐state stable in the presence of the spatio‐temporal disturbance. Finally, simulation results on the control of temperature profile for catalytic rod demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Random Versus Nonrandom Coefficient Models for Multilevel Analysis

It has been argued recently that adequate representation of the multilevel processes of interest in many educational settings will often require models with coefficients that are random rather than nonrandom. Computer simulation results presented here demonstrate the extent to which the two most common multilevel or contextual analysis procedures may mislead when data are, in fact, generated with a random coefficients process. In contrast, correct results are obtained with a third method, which has been recently proposed but not used yet in substantive research.
Integral transform solution for the lid‐driven cavity flow problem in streamfunction‐only formulation

SUMMARY The basic ideas in the generalized integral transform technique are further advanced to allow for the hybrid numerical-analytical solution of the two-dimensional steady Navier-Stokes equations in streamfunctiononly formulation. The classical lid-driven square cavity problem is selected for illustration of the approach. The corresponding biharmonic-type non-linear partial differential equation for the streamfunction is integral transformed in one of the co-ordinates and an infinite system of coupled non-linear ODES for the transformed potential results in the other independent variable. Upon truncation to an appropriate finite order, the ODE system is numerically solved by well-established algorithms with automatic error control devices. The convergence behaviour of the eigenfunction expansion is demonstrated and reference results are provided for typical values of Reynolds number.
Bootstrap Confidence Sets with Weak Instruments

We study several methods of constructing confidence sets for the coefficient of the single right-hand-side endogenous variable in a linear equation with weak instruments. Two of these are based on conditional likelihood ratio (CLR) tests, and the others are based on inverting t statistics or the bootstrap P values associated with them. We propose a new method for constructing bootstrap confidence sets based on t statistics. In large samples, the procedures that generally work best are CLR confidence sets using asymptotic critical values and bootstrap confidence sets based on limited-information maximum likelihood (LIML) estimates.
Regional economic convergence in federation contexts: a comparative analysis of Brazil and the European Union

ABSTRACT This article examines regional economic convergence in two federal contexts: Brazil and the European Union. Despite many differences, in the last decades these two economies have shown irregular economic growth and been facing economic inequalities, launching public policies to reduce them. We analyse the tendencies of regional convergence within these economies between 2002 and 2019, focusing on σ-convergence, absolute convergence, convergence clubs and the transitional behaviour of club members. The results show that in both cases convergence occurs, but at a slow rhythm, especially in the European Union.
Peripheral Refraction and Visual Function of Novel Perifocal Ophthalmic Lens for the Control of Myopia Progression

This study aimed to evaluate the peripheral defocus induced with a novel perifocal ophthalmic lens for myopia progression control and the potential impact on visual function. This experimental, non-dispensing crossover study evaluated 17 myopic young adults. The peripheral refraction was measured using an open-field autorefractor, at 2.50 m from the target point, in two eccentric points, 25° temporal, 25° nasal, and central vision. Visual contrast sensitivity (VCS) was measured at 3.00 m with a Vistech system VCTS 6500 in low light conditions. Light disturbance (LD) was assessed with a light distortion analyzer 2.00 m away from the device. Peripheral refraction, VCS, and LD were assessed with a monofocal lens and perifocal lens (with an add power of +2.50 D on the temporal side of the lens, and +2.00 D on the nasal side). The results showed that the perifocal lenses induced an average myopic defocus of −0.42 ± 0.38 D (p-value < 0.001) in the nasal retina, at 25° The changes induced by the lower add power in the nasal part of the lens did not induce statistically significant changes in the refraction of the temporal retina. The VCS and LD showed no significant differences between the monofocal and perifocal lenses.
Exploring experiences of proculturation in international students during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study intends to find what are the experiences of international students semiotically adapting to unfamiliar signs in the United Kingdom before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six international university students to learn about their experiences of adapting to a new country. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Two themes were classified as dialogical self in interpersonal adaptation and linguistic elements of semiotic adaptation, each with two subthemes. Participants’ experiences of merging self-constructs seem reflective of proculturation theory. The researchers termed ‘language bridges’ to refer to social representations dependent on language-specific signs. Some of the participants’ self-constructs relied on signs not provided by the environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, proculturation offers insight into the complex psychological and social processes of adapting to unfamiliar signs.
The d Orbital Multi Pattern Occupancy in a Partially Filled d Shell: The KFeF3 Perovskite as a Test Case

The occupancy of the d shell in KFeF3 is t2g4eg2, with five α and one β electrons. The Jahn–Teller lift of degeneracy in the t2g sub-shell produces a tetragonal relaxation of the unit cell (4.09 vs. 4.22 Å, B3LYP result) not observed experimentally. In order to understand the origin of this apparent contradiction, we explored, with a 2 × 2 × 2 supercell (40 atoms per cell), all possible local structures in which contiguous Fe atoms have a different occupancy of the t2g orbitals with the minority spin electron. A total of 6561 configurations (with occupancies from (8,0,0) to (3,2,2) of the 3 t2g orbitals of the 8 Fe atoms) have been explored, with energies in many cases lower (by up to 1550 μEh per 2 Fe atoms) than the one of the fully ordered case, both for the ferromagnetic and the anti-ferromagnetic solutions. The results confirm that the orientation of the β d electron of Fe influences the electrostatics (more efficient relative orientation of the Fe quadrupoles of the d shell) of the system, but not the magnetic interactions. Three hybrid functionals, B3LYP, PBE0, and HSE06, provide very similar results.
Discrepancy between inter- and intra-subject variability in EEG-based motor imagery brain-computer interface: Evidence from multiple perspectives

Introduction Inter- and intra-subject variability are caused by the variability of the psychological and neurophysiological factors over time and across subjects. In the application of in Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI), the existence of inter- and intra-subject variability reduced the generalization ability of machine learning models seriously, which further limited the use of BCI in real life. Although many transfer learning methods can compensate for the inter- and intra-subject variability to some extent, there is still a lack of clear understanding about the change of feature distribution between the cross-subject and cross-session electroencephalography (EEG) signal. Methods To investigate this issue, an online platform for motor-imagery BCI decoding has been built in this work. The EEG signal from both the multi-subject (Exp1) and multi-session (Exp2) experiments has been analyzed from multiple perspectives. Results Firstly we found that with the similar variability of classification results, the time-frequency response of the EEG signal within-subject in Exp2 is more consistent than cross-subject results in Exp1. Secondly, the standard deviation of the common spatial pattern (CSP) feature has a significant difference between Exp1 and Exp2. Thirdly, for model training, different strategies for the training sample selection should be applied for the cross-subject and cross-session tasks. Discussion All these findings have deepened the understanding of inter- and intra-subject variability. They can also guide practice for the new transfer learning methods development in EEG-based BCI. In addition, these results also proved that BCI inefficiency was not caused by the subject’s unable to generate the event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) signal during the motor imagery.
Strong light-matter interactions of exciton in bulk WS2 and a toroidal dipole resonance.

Exciton-polaritonic states are generated by strong interactions between photons and excitons in nanocavities. Bulk transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) host excitons with a large binding energy at room temperature, and thus are regarded as an ideal platform for realizing exciton-polaritons. In this work, we investigate the strong coupling properties between high-Q toroidal dipole (TD) resonance and bulk WS2 excitons in a hybrid metasurface, consisting of Si3N4 nanodisk arrays with embedded WS2. Multipole decomposition and near-field distribution confirm that Si3N4 nanodisk arrays support strong TD resonance. The TD resonance wavelength is easily tuned to overlap with the bulk WS2 exciton wavelength, and strong coupling is observed when the bulk WS2 is integrated with the hollow nanodisk and the oscillator strength of the WS2 material is adjusted to be greater than 0.6. The Rabi splitting of the hybrid device is up to 65 meV. In addition, strong coupling is confirmed by the anticrossing of fluorescence enhancement in the hybrid Si3N4-WS2 metastructure. Our findings are expected to be of importance for both fundamental research in TMDC-based light-matter interactions and practical applications in the design of high-performance exciton-polariton devices.