Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New Reference Design of the European ADS RFQ Accelerator for MYRRHA

For demonstrating the technical feasibility of nuclear waste transmutation in an Accelerator Driven System (ADS), the MYRRHA (Multi-purpose hYbrid Research Reactor for High-tech Applications) proton driver is under intensive studies. Good performance of the 2 – 4 mA, 1.5MeV RFQ (Radio-Frequency Quadrupole), the start of the accelerator chain, is essential to the reliability of the whole facility, so it must be very well designed. On the basis of the first reference design, further improvements with respect to electrode aperture, emittance growths and output distributions have been performed. The simulation results of the new reference design are presented in this paper. INTRODUCTION Kicked off in 2001, a European collaboration on the R&D of the ADS technology for nuclear waste transmutation has been supported by several EURATOM Framework Programmes (FP) continuously. In the period of 2010 – 2014, a dedicated FP7 project, MAX (MYRRHA Accelerator eXperiment Research & Development Programme) [1], is working on an advanced accelerator design for the planned construction of the first European ADS demonstrator in Mol, Belgium, in 2017. Fig. 1 shows the schematic layout of the MYRRHA driver accelerator. Figure 1: Layout of the MYRRHA proton driver. For both the previous FP6-project EUROTRANS (European Research Programme for the Transmutation of High Level Nuclear Waste in an Accelerator Driven System) and the current MAX project, the injector part is mainly consisting of an RFQ accelerator and several RT (Room-Temperature) and SC (Superconducting) H-type DTL (Drift-Tube Linac) cavities up to 17 MeV. By means of Table 1, a brief review of the changes in design specifications for the European ADS RFQ can be made:  For EUROTRANS [2]: A 352MHz, 3 MeV RFQ should be designed to provide good beam performance at two design beam intensities i.e. 30 mA and 5 mA. For sufficient focusing strength at both intensities, the inter-vane voltage U was chosen as 65 kV.  From EUROTRANS to MYRRHA [3, 4]: The resonant frequency f was halved to 176 MHz for improving the shunt impedance Rs. To keep the RFQ length still at ~4 m, the input and output energies Win and Wout were accordingly decreased to 30 keV and 1.5 MeV, respectively. As only one design intensity, 5mA, will be needed for the MYRRHA facility, a lower U of 40 kV is sufficient.  For MYRRHA from 2011 to 2013: a new decision has been made to increase U by 10%. The reasons will be explained in the next section. Table 1: Design Specifications for the European ADS RFQ Accelerator MYRRHA (2013) MYRRHA (2011) EUROTRANS
Analyzing Muffler Performance Using the Transfer Matrix Method

Exhaust noise must meet legislation targets, customer expectations and cost reduction which call for design optimization of the exhaust systems in the design phase. One solution is to use 3 dimensional linear pressure acoustics and calculate the transfer matrix of the muffler. The transfer matrix is the basis for calculating either the insertion loss or transmission loss of a muffler. The 3D simulations in Comsol of different muffler configurations are verified by measurements in a flow acoustic test rig using the two source method.
Elasto-plastic constitutive relations and coupled formulations for unsaturated soils

vii ABSTRACT The mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils is affected by the changes in porewater and pore-air pressures. There are two classes of pore-water pressures that may develop in the field. The first one is pore-water pressure associated with seepage through soils. The second one is excess pore-water pressure that develops from the application of an external load. When excess pore-water pressures develop, a transient process of water flow occurs. The transient process of water flow changes the equilibrium conditions of the unsaturated soil because it changes the stress state in the porous media. Volume change occurs since the soil structure reaches a new equilibrium condition. On the other hand, volume change alters the hydraulic properties of the soil structure and thus influences the transient process of water flow through the soil. Therefore, the interactive processes between stress-strain and pore-water pressure are primary processes affecting the mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils. The stress-strain process is governed by the equilibrium equations. The water flow is governed by the water continuity equation. An accurate solution for the mechanical behaviour of an unsaturated soil requires that the equilibrium equations and the continuity equation be solved simultaneously as a coupled solution. In the coupled approach, the simultaneous solution of the two equations (i.e., equilibrium equations and continuity equation) means that the dynamic interdependence between seepage and deformation problems is fully realized. In the uncoupled approach, the water phase continuity (i.e., seepage) is solved independently from the equilibrium (i.e., stress-strain) equations. In this study, elasto-plastic constitutive relations for unsaturated soil were proposed. Coupled formulations were also formulated based on the proposed elasto-plastic constitutive relations. The experimental data available in literature and in this study were used to verify the proposed elasto-plastic constitutive relations. The triaxial apparatus was modified to incorporate NTU mini suction probes in order to measure pore-water pressures in the specimen during the test. The modified triaxial apparatus was used to conduct a series of soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) tests, a series of isotropic consolidation tests, a series of consolidated drained tests
Teaching Experience on the Impacts of COVID-19: Opportunities to Update the Teaching and Learning Process of Bioethics and Scientific Integrity in Human Medicine in Peru

Under the context of the Pandemic COVID-19, there have been extreme situations in health that need to be transferred to the processes of medical education. Objectives: To include real cases presented in the pandemic for their analysis as a strategy to update the teaching and learning of bioethics and scientific integrity in medicine. Methods: 150 Peruvian medical students analyzed emblematic historical cases of bioethics and cases related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Interest in analyzing the cases, academic performance, and quality of ethical analysis were compared. Results: Students showed better performance, interest, and quality of analysis, with a significant difference (p < 0.001) in the evaluation of COVID-19 cases. Conclusions: Analysis of pandemic-related cases improved critical ethical analysis skills in medical students. The pandemic has provided an opportunity to update bioethics and scientific integrity content in virtual environments.
Fracture Resistance and Fracture Behaviour of Monolithic Multi-Layered Translucent Zirconia Fixed Dental Prostheses with Different Placing Strategies of Connector: An in vitro Study

Purpose To evaluate the effect of different placing strategies performed in the connector area on fracture resistance and fracture behaviour of monolithic multi-layered translucent zirconia fixed dental prostheses (FDPs). Materials and Methods Thirty 3-unit monolithic FDPs were produced and divided into three groups (n = 10) based on the different strategies for placing the connector area of FDPs in multi-layered zirconia blank with varying contents of yttria ranging from 4 to 5 mol%. The groups were as follows: FDPs with connectors placed in dentin layer with 4 mol% yttria content, FDPs with connectors placed in gradient layer, and FDPs with connectors placed in translucent layer with 5 mol% yttria content. A final group (n = 10) of conventional monolithic zirconia with a monolayer of yttria content (4 mol%) has been used as a control group. The specimens were artificially aged using thermocycling and pre-loading procedures and subsequently loaded to fracture using a universal testing machine. Fracture loads and fracture behaviour were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Fisher’s exact tests and statistically evaluated (p ≤ 0.05). Results There were no significant differences in fracture loads among the groups based on the placing strategies of the connector area of the FDPs in the multi-layered translucent zirconia blank (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference in fracture loads between monolithic multi-layered translucent zirconia and conventional monolithic translucent zirconia materials (p > 0.05). Fracture behaviour of FDPs with connector area placed in translucent layer differed significantly compared to FDPs with connector area placed in dentin layer and FDPs in control group (p = 0.004). Conclusion The placing strategies of the connector used in the computer aided design and manufacturing procedures do not considerably affect fracture resistance of monolithic FDPs made of multi-layered translucent zirconia. Monolithic FDPs made of multi-layered translucent zirconia show comparable strength to FDPs made of conventional translucent zirconia, but with different fracture behaviour.
Transrectal Ultrasound in Prostate Cancer: Current Utilization, Integration with mpMRI, HIFU and Other Emerging Applications

Abstract Transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) has been an invaluable tool in the assessment of prostate size, anatomy and aiding in prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis for decades. Emerging techniques warrant an investigation into the efficacy of TRUS, how it compares to new techniques, and options to increase the accuracy of prostate cancer diagnosis. Currently, TRUS is used to guide both transrectal and transperineal biopsy approaches with similar cancer detection rates, but lower rates of infection have been reported with the transperineal approach, while lower rates of urinary retention are often reported with the transrectal approach. Multiparametric MRI has substantial benefits for prostate cancer diagnosis and triage such as lesion location, grading, and can be combined with TRUS to perform fusion biopsies targeting specific lesions. Micro-ultrasound generates higher resolution images that traditional ultrasound and has been shown effective at diagnosing PCa, giving it the potential to become a future standard of care. Finally, high-intensity focused ultrasound focal therapy administered via TRUS has been shown to offer safe and effective short-term oncological control for localized disease with low morbidity, and the precise nature makes it a viable option for salvage and repeat therapy.
A discrete dielectrophoresis device for the separation of malaria‐infected cells

Malaria is a serious disease caused by Plasmodium parasites that infect red blood cells (RBCs). This paper presents the continuous separation of malaria‐infected RBCs (iRBCs) from normal blood cells. The proposed method employed the discrete dielectrophoresis (DEP) in a microfluidic device with interdigitated electrodes. Our aim is to treat a sample having high concentration of cells to realize high throughput and to prevent the clogging of the microchannel with the use of the discrete DEP. The discrete DEP force for deflecting cells in the device was controlled by adjusting the magnitude, frequency, and duty cycle of the applied voltage. The effectiveness of the proposed method was demonstrated by separating the malaria‐infected cells in samples having a cell concentration of 106 cells/µl. From experimental results, we determined the enrichment that is needed to enhance the detection in the case of low parasitemia. The enrichment of the infected cells at the device output was 3000 times as high as that of the input containing 1 infected cell to 106 normal cells. Therefore, the proposed method is highly effective and can significantly facilitate the detection of the infected cells for the identification of Malaria patients.
Endogenous sex hormones, aromatase activity and lung cancer risk in postmenopausal never‐smoking women

Although reproductive factors have been repeatedly associated with lung cancer risk, no study to date has directly evaluated the relationship with endogenous sex hormones nor with aromatase activity in postmenopausal never‐smoking women. A case‐control study of 397 incident lung cancer cases and their individually matched controls, nested within the Shanghai Women's Health Study, was conducted among postmenopausal women who were lifetime never smokers. Prediagnostic concentrations of sex hormones was quantitated using LC‐MS/MS assays in plasma. The product‐substrate molar ratio of estrone to androstenedione was used as an index of aromatase activity (IAA). Multivariable conditional logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for lung cancer. Baseline concentrations of estradiol, free testosterone and IAA were inversely associated with subsequent risk of lung cancer in multivariable‐adjusted models. When further adjusted for body mass index, the inverse association with estradiol was attenuated and no longer statistically significant, but the association with free testosterone and IAA remained. In analyses confined to participants having never used menopausal hormone therapy in 376 case‐control pairs, the inverse association with free testosterone and IAA was slightly strengthened. OR for the highest vs the lowest quartile of free testosterone was 0.55 (95% CI = 0.34‐0.90; Ptrend = .03), and the corresponding OR for IAA was 0.57 (95% CI = 0.34‐0.96; Ptrend = .04). Our study, for the first time, suggests that higher levels of circulating free testosterone and estimated aromatase activity may be associated with lower lung cancer risk in postmenopausal never‐smoking women.
Evaluation of a natural resource management program: an Australian case study

ABSTRACT Good evaluation practice generally requires that clear project and program objectives, baselines, metrics and data collection and analysis methods be in place from project commencement to ensure that data are captured reliably. Causal links between actions and outcomes, when coupled with relevant data, should be sufficiently direct to allow reliable (preferably quantifiable) deductions to be drawn about project and program effectiveness and efficiency. However there are situations where the conditions are far from this ideal but when it is nevertheless important to objectively evaluate outcome performance and to find ways to improve programs. This article outlines an approach to manage evaluations where: baseline data is deficient; cause–effect relationships are complicated; and project objectives are complex. The approach was applied to evaluate a program that provided public funding to support a diverse portfolio of community-based, on-ground invasive animal control projects. The approach used: explicit ex post theorising to distil testable hypotheses about effectiveness and project operation; mixed-methods data gathering and analysis; triangulation of different types of evidence; expert data gatherers; and careful attention to the policy objectives of the evaluation.
The role of supervisors in ensuring learner driver compliance with road laws: An application of Akers' Social Learning Theory

This paper uses Akers’ social learning theory as a framework to explore the extent to which supervisors encourage their learner drivers’ to comply with road laws. The sample consisted of 552 individuals from Queensland and New South Wales who had supervised a learner driver in the 12 months prior to completing the online survey. The results suggest that Akers’ social learning theory variables provide additional explanation over and above socio-demographic variables and perceptions of risk associated with driving. This suggests that there may be benefits in providing additional support to parents and other supervisors of learner drivers.
Examining how Incremental Shifts in External Regulations Impact Student Performances

Increasing standards in education is frequently discussed on the national level but rarely studied on the local level. English/language arts teachers often use Accelerated Reading(AR) as a supplementary assessment tool. Students were required to read novels independently and, upon completion, take the AR multiple-choice test. The results are used to chart students’ performance. During implementation of the research, standards for AR were maintained the first week and then raised incrementally. Results indicated that students increased performance to meet the teacher’s regulation, but only to a point. In the last week, students came to what has been referred to as the “break” point, a point at which they could not meet the required standard. This research is significant for teachers and researchers interested in how students respond when academic standards are increased incrementally.
Pharmaceuticalisation in the city

Cityscapes comprise intense repositories for socio-economic interactions, including those surrounding medicinal products. This raises issues of pharmaceuticalisation, involving the construction of a range of human conditions as targets for pharmaceutical interventions. Employing the metaphoric figure of the flâneur, we traverse the New Zealand cityscape, interrogating the mediation and emplacement of various medicinal products within thoroughfares, commercial sites and domestic dwellings. We demonstrate the pharmaceuticalised commodification of the city and interpolation of urbanites as citizen-consumers.
Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Variants on the Analytical Sensitivity of rRT-PCR Assays

Emerging severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants with enhanced transmissibility, pathogenicity, and immune escape ability have ravaged many countries and regions, which has brought substantial challenges to pandemic prevention and control. Real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR) is widely used for SARS-CoV-2 detection but may be limited by the continuous evolution of the virus. ABSTRACT Emerging severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants with enhanced transmissibility, pathogenicity, and immune escape ability have ravaged many countries and regions, which has brought substantial challenges to pandemic prevention and control. Real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR) is widely used for SARS-CoV-2 detection but may be limited by the continuous evolution of the virus. However, the sensitivity of Chinese commercial rRT-PCR kits to critical SARS-CoV-2 variants remains unknown. In this study, contrived MS2 virus-like particles were used as reference materials to evaluate the analytical sensitivity of Daan, BioGerm, EasyDiagnosis, Liferiver, and Sansure kits when detecting six important variants (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Omicron, and Fin-796H). The Beta and Delta variants adversely affected the analytical sensitivity of the BioGerm ORF1ab gene assay (9.52% versus 42.96%, P = 0.014, and 14.29% versus 42.96%, P = 0.040, respectively), whereas the N gene assay completely failed in terms of the Fin-796H variant. The Gamma and Fin-796H variants impeded the PCR amplification efficiency for the Sansure ORF1ab gene assay (33.33% versus 66.67%, P = 0.031, and 66.67% versus 95.24%, P = 0.040, respectively), and the Delta variant compromised the E gene assay (52.38% versus 85.71%, P = 0.019). The Alpha and Omicron variants had no significant effect on the kits. This study highlights the necessity of identifying the potential effect of viral mutations on the efficacy and sensitivity of clinical detection assays. It can also provide helpful insights regarding the development and optimization of diagnostic assays and aid the strategic management of the ongoing pandemic.
Understanding the Importance of Cultural Appropriateness for User Interface Design: An Avatar Study

While previous research established that culture plays an important role in technology adoption, there is only limited work on the role of cultural appropriateness in user interface design for users from a specific background. In this study, we focus on the case of avatar design as a user interface element for facilitating positive user experience. Building on the theoretical lenses of social response theory and the “Computers Are Social Actors” paradigm, we develop a research model to investigate how cultural appropriateness of avatar design is a vital driver for users’ trust. We evaluate our research model by means of an online experiment (n = 313) in the context of online health advice for users from Saudi Arabia. The avatars differed in appearance (Arab, non-Arab), gender (male, female), and clothing (athletic, medical, everyday). Our results show that Arab avatars exhibited significantly higher cultural appropriateness than non-Arab avatars. Furthermore, participants were more inclined to select an Arab avatar (88.2%) that matched their gender (77.3%). Confirming the critical role of cultural appropriateness, our study demonstrates the importance of carefully considering the target audience in designing user interfaces.
Physics-Based Combustion Simulation

We propose a physics-based combustion simulation method for computer graphics that extends the mathematical models of previous efforts to automatically capture more realistic flames as well as temperature and soot distributions. Our method includes mathematical models for the thermodynamic properties of real-world fuels which enables, for example, the prediction of adiabatic flame temperatures. We couple this with a model of heat transfer that includes convection, conduction as well as both radiative cooling and heating. This facilitates among other things ignition at a distance without heating up the intermediate air. We model the combustion as infinitely fast chemistry and couple this with the thin flame model, spatially varying laminar burning velocities based on local species and empirical measurements, physically validated soot formation and oxidation as well as water vapor production and condensation. We implement this on adaptive octree-like grids with collocated state variables, a new SBDF2-derived semi-Lagrangian time integrator for velocity, and a multigrid scheme used for multiple solver components. In combination, these models enable us to simulate deflagration phenomena ranging from small scale premixed and diffusion flames to fireballs and subsonic explosions which we demonstrate by several examples. In addition, we validate several of the results based on reference footage and measurements and discuss the relation of prevalent heuristic techniques arising in visual effects production to some of the physics-based models we propose.
Dense Continuous-Time Optical Flow from Events and Frames

We present a method for estimating dense continuous-time optical ﬂow. Traditional dense optical ﬂow methods compute the pixel displacement between two images. Due to missing information, these approaches cannot recover the pixel trajectories in the blind time between two images. In this work, we show that it is possible to compute per-pixel, continuous-time optical ﬂow by additionally using events from an event camera. Events provide temporally ﬁne-grained information about movement in image space due to their asynchronous nature and microsecond response time. We leverage these beneﬁts to predict pixel trajectories densely in continuous-time via parameterized B´ezier curves. To achieve this, we introduce multiple innovations to build a neural network with strong inductive biases for this task: First, we build multiple sequential correlation volumes in time using event data. Second, we use B´ezier curves to index these correlation volumes at multiple timestamps along the trajectory. Third, we use the retrieved correlation to update the B´ezier curve representations iteratively. Our method can optionally include image pairs to boost performance further. The proposed approach outperforms existing image-based and event-based methods by 11.5 % lower EPE on DSEC-Flow. Finally, we introduce a novel synthetic dataset MultiFlow for pixel trajectory regression on which our method is currently the only successful approach.