Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Dielectric Properties of Native Starch Solutions—a Research Note

The dielectric properties of four native starch solutions, both gelatinized and ungelatinized with concentrations from 5 to 30% over the temperature range from 3°C to 95°C, were measured by a cavity perturbation technique at 175 GHz. The dielectric properties of the starch types did not differ from each other; the most important factor affecting the dielectric properties was the water content. Both the real permittivity (e’) and the loss factor (e”) decreased with increasing temperature and increasing starch concentration. The differences between gelatinized and non gelatinized samples were small, the e’” of non gelatinized starch being 2–3% higher and the e up to 5% lower than gelatinized starch.
Analysis of Cathodoluminescence Behavior of Fluoropolymers

This article presents a study on cathodoluminescence (CL) of different space-used fluoropolymers, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), and ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE). This experimental technique allows highlighting radiative energy transitions under electron irradiation and degradation mechanisms under high radiation doses. Samples were irradiated with an electron beam (10 keV–1 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{A}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) under vacuum (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$10^{-6}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mbar). A parametric study has been performed to analyze especially the effect of temperature and the injected radiation dose on the CL spectra of these different polymers. The CL spectrum for these three materials is composed of three elementary contributions at 2.2, 2.4, and 3.75 eV, each of them being associated with specific processes in relation to different chromophores present in the materials or generated by electronic irradiation. A decline in the amplitude of the CL spectra with the increasing temperature or accumulated radiation dose has been observed on these fluoropolymers.
Ionic Levothyroxine Formulations: Synthesis, Bioavailability, and Cytotoxicity Studies

Thyroid diseases affect a considerable portion of the population, with hypothyroidism being one of the most commonly reported thyroid diseases. Levothyroxine (T4) is clinically used to treat hypothyroidism and suppress thyroid stimulating hormone secretion in other thyroid diseases. In this work, an attempt to improve T4 solubility is made through the synthesis of ionic liquids (ILs) based on this drug. In this context, [Na][T4] was combined with choline [Ch]+ and 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-methylimidazolium [C2OHMiM]+ cations in order to prepare the desired T4-ILs. All compounds were characterized by NMR, ATR-FTIR, elemental analysis, and DSC, aiming to check their chemical structure, purities, and thermal properties. The serum, water, and PBS solubilities of the T4-ILs were compared to [Na][T4], as well as the permeability assays. It is important to note an improved adsorption capacity, in which no significant cytotoxicity was observed against L929 cells. [C2OHMiM][T4] seems to be a good alternative to the commercial levothyroxine sodium salt with promising bioavailability.
Knowledge Culture and Employee Performance in Public Universities in Kenya

The role of university education is recognized as critical since it produces people equipped with the knowledge and skills to make strategic contributions toward the economic development of a country. Universities as ‘knowledge intensive’ organizations thrive on the production and dissemination of knowledge and rely heavily on the human resource component to facilitate, generate and disseminate it. The management of knowledge has become important to the institutions in view of its abundance and this has led to the development of several emerging issues such as the roles played by platforms created for sharing knowledge and cultural factors. Review of literature reveals that the culture of an organization affects how it is able to create a suitable environment to improve the performance of its employees. Knowledge culture represents that part of an organization in which its values, beliefs and norms influence the manner in which knowledge is utilized to attain competitive advantage. A knowledge culture that is supportive in promoting knowledge creation initiatives and sharing of the same is in a better position to build a strong knowledge base. Further review of literature shows that there are limited number of empirical studies that have been done to study the relationship between knowledge culture and employee performance in these institutions. This paper sought to contribute to this growing body of knowledge by determining the nature of this relationship in public universities in Kenya. The study was anchored on the resource-based view. Descriptive survey design was applied and descriptive and inferential statistics used to analyze the data. The target population consisted of 495 employees from 10 public universities in Kenya selected on the basis of their size and age. The study reported a significant and positive relationship between knowledge culture and employee performance when moderated with organizational structure in public universities in Kenya.
Dissecting molecular mechanisms of immune microenvironment dysfunction in multiple myeloma and precursor conditions

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a disease of clonally differentiated plasma cells. MM is almost always preceded by precursor conditions, monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS), and smoldering MM (SMM) through largely unknown molecular events. Genetic alterations of the malignant plasma cells play a critical role in patient clinical outcomes. Del(17p), t(4;14), and additional chromosomal alterations such as del(1p32), gain(1q) and MYC translocations are involved in active MM evolution. Interestingly, these genetic alterations appear strikingly similar in transformed plasma cell (PC) clones from MGUS, SMM, and MM stages. Recent studies show that effectors of the innate and adaptive immune response show marked dysfunction and skewing towards a tolerant environment that favors disease progression. The MM myeloid compartment is characterized by myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), dendritic cells as well as M2-like phenotype macrophages that promote immune evasion. Major deregulations are found in the lymphoid compartment as well, with skewing towards immune tolerant Th17 and Treg and inhibition of CD8+ cytotoxic and CD4+ activated effector T cells. In summary, this review will provide an overview of the complex cross-talk between MM plasma cells and immune cells in the microenvironment and the molecular mechanisms promoting progression from precursor states to full-blown myeloma.
Sur certains problèmes non linéaires de Neumann et sur certains problèmes non linéaires mixtes

© Gauthier-Villars (Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier), 1932, tous droits réservés. L’accès aux archives de la revue « Annales scientifiques de l’É. N.S. » (http://www. elsevier.com/locate/ansens) implique l’accord avec les conditions générales d’utilisation (http://www.numdam.org/conditions). Toute utilisation commerciale ou impression systématique est constitutive d’une infraction pénale. Toute copie ou impression de ce fichier doit contenir la présente mention de copyright.
Lagrangian Surface Wave Motion and Stokes Drift Fluctuations

AbstractNonlinear effects in Lagrangian sea surface motions are important to understanding variability in wave-induced mass transport, wave-driven diffusion processes, and the interpretation of measurements obtained with moored or free-drifting buoys. This study evaluates the Lagrangian vertical and horizontal motions of a particle at the surface in a natural, random sea state using second-order, finite-depth wave theory. In deep water, the predicted low-frequency (infragravity) surface height fluctuations are much larger than Eulerian bound wave motions and of the opposite sign. Comparison to surface elevation bispectra observed with a moored buoy in steady, high-wind conditions shows good agreement and confirms that—in contrast to the Eulerian sea surface motion with predominant phase coupling between the spectral peak and double-frequency harmonic components—nonlinearity in Lagrangian wave observations is dominated by phase-coupled infragravity motions. Sea surface skewness estimates obtained from moor.
Change in Antarctic ice shelf area from 2009 to 2019

Abstract. Antarctic ice shelves provide buttressing support to the ice sheet, stabilising the flow of grounded ice and its contribution to global sea levels. Over the past 50 years, satellite observations have shown ice shelves collapse, thin, and retreat; however, there are few measurements of the Antarctic-wide change in ice shelf area. Here, we use MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite data to measure the change in ice shelf calving front position and area on 34 ice shelves in Antarctica from 2009 to 2019. Over the last decade, a reduction in the area on the Antarctic Peninsula (6693 km2) and West Antarctica (5563 km2) has been outweighed by area growth in East Antarctica (3532 km2) and the large Ross and Ronne–Filchner ice shelves (14 028 km2). The largest retreat was observed on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, where 5917 km2 of ice was lost during an individual calving event in 2017, and the largest area increase was observed on Ronne Ice Shelf in East Antarctica, where a gradual advance over the past decade (535 km2 yr−1) led to a 5889 km2 area gain from 2009 to 2019. Overall, the Antarctic ice shelf area has grown by 5305 km2 since 2009, with 18 ice shelves retreating and 16 larger shelves growing in area. Our observations show that Antarctic ice shelves gained 661 Gt of ice mass over the past decade, whereas the steady-state approach would estimate substantial ice loss over the same period, demonstrating the importance of using time-variable calving flux observations to measure change.
Can we reverse arterial stiffness by intervening on CKD-MBD biomarkers?

ABSTRACT The increased cardiovascular risk of chronic kidney disease may in part be the consequence of arterial stiffness, a typical feature of kidney failure. Deranged homeostasis of minerals and hormones involved (CKD-MBD), are also strongly associated with this increased risk. It is well established that CKD-MBD is a main driver of vascular calcification, which in turn worsens arterial stiffness. However, there are other contributors to arterial stiffness in CKD than calcification. An overlooked possibility is that CKD-MBD may have detrimental effects on this potentially better modifiable component of arterial stiffness. In this review, the individual contributions of short-term changes in calcium, phosphate, PTH, vitamin D, magnesium, and FGF23 to arterial stiffness, in most studies assessed as pulse wave velocity, is summarized. Indeed, there is evidence from both observational studies and interventional trials that higher calcium concentrations can worsen arterial stiffness. This, however, has not been shown for phosphate, and it seems unlikely that, apart from being a contributor to vascular calcification and having effects on the microcirculation, phosphate has no acute effect on large artery stiffness. Several interventional studies, both by infusing PTH and by abrupt lowering PTH by calcimimetics or surgery, virtually ruled out direct effects on large artery stiffness. A well-designed trial using both active and nutritional vitamin D as intervention found a beneficial effect for the latter. Unfortunately, the study had a baseline imbalance and other studies did not support its finding. Both magnesium and FGF23 do not seem do modify central arterial stiffness.
Bioinformatic Analysis of Key Regulatory Genes in Adult Asthma and Prediction of Potential Drug Candidates

Asthma is a common chronic disease that is characterized by respiratory symptoms including cough, wheeze, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. The underlying mechanisms of this disease are not fully elucidated, so more research is needed to identify better therapeutic compounds and biomarkers to improve disease outcomes. In this present study, we used bioinformatics to analyze the gene expression of adult asthma in publicly available microarray datasets to identify putative therapeutic molecules for this disease. We first compared gene expression in healthy volunteers and adult asthma patients to obtain differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for further analysis. A final gene expression signature of 49 genes, including 34 upregulated and 15 downregulated genes, was obtained. Protein–protein interaction and hub analyses showed that 10 genes, including POSTN, CPA3, CCL26, SERPINB2, CLCA1, TPSAB1, TPSB2, MUC5B, BPIFA1, and CST1, may be hub genes. Then, the L1000CDS2 search engine was used for drug repurposing studies. The top approved drug candidate predicted to reverse the asthma gene signature was lovastatin. Clustergram results showed that lovastatin may perturb MUC5B expression. Moreover, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, and computational alanine scanning results supported the notion that lovastatin may interact with MUC5B via key residues such as Thr80, Thr91, Leu93, and Gln105. In summary, by analyzing gene expression signatures, hub genes, and therapeutic perturbation, we show that lovastatin is an approved drug candidate that may have potential for treating adult asthma.
Optimal Path Planning for Aerial Robots Using Genetic Algorithm

Optimal Path Planning For Aerial Robots Using Genetic Algorithm by Anna Puigvert I Juan This thesis presents a path optimization solution for a robot in two different constrained 3dimensional (3D) environments. The robot is required to travel from its current position to a goal position following minimum cost paths (optimal paths). The first environment has 3D obstacles that interfere with the robot’s path. The path cost for this environment accounts for the minimum distance traveled by the robot from the start to the goal position while avoiding obstacles. The second environment is the atmosphere of Venus, specifically a flyable region of this atmosphere with characteristics similar to Earth’s. This environment has strong westward winds that require a more complex cost function. The path cost also accounts for energy expenditure, such as thrust or drag, and energy accumulation, such as charging using the robot’s solar panels and gains of potential energy (e.g., due to upward directional winds). In this case, we can add to the path cost function the localization cost of the robot. Localization is simulated in the environment by the use of cameras pointing to the surface of the planet, which yields lower localization errors when the vehicle is close to the surface. The approach proposed in this thesis uses Genetic Algorithms, a heuristic search that, based on a population of initially feasible paths and a set of biologically inspired operations, finds a low-cost path. Path feasibility is assured by computing local reachability regions based on different factors such as wind velocity, obstacles, and the maximum speed of the robot. The method is illustrated through a series of simulations that show our results as a function of the number of iterations and path population sizes. Finally, a comparison with different planners is made to show that Genetic Algorithms allow for more efficient and easier implementations.
On minimising a portfolio's shortfall probability

We obtain a lower asymptotic bound on the decay rate of the probability of a portfolio's underperformance against a benchmark over a large time horizon. It is assumed that the prices of the securities are governed by geometric Brownian motions with the coefficients depending on an economic factor, possibly nonlinearly. The economic factor is modelled with a general Ito equation. The bound is shown to be tight. More specifically, epsilon-optimal portfolios are obtained under additional conditions.
Exponential convergence in the mean-square sense of nonlocal stochastic almost automorphic genetic regulatory lattice networks

This paper first establishes the lattice model for nonlocal stochastic genetic regulatory networks with reaction diffusions by employing a mix of the finite difference and Mittag–Leffler time Euler difference techniques. Second, the existence of a unique bounded almost automorphic sequence in distribution and global mean-square exponential convergence to the achieved difference model are investigated. An illustrative example is used to show the feasible of the works of the current paper.
Epidemiological Impact on Use of Antibiotics in Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19: A Retrospective Cohort Study in Italy

The increased incidence of antimicrobial resistance during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a very important collateral damage of global concern. The cause is multifactorial and is particularly related to the high rates of antibiotic use in COVID-19 patients with a relatively low rate of secondary co-infection. To this end, we conducted a retrospective observational study of 1269 COVID-19 patients admitted during the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 in two Italian hospitals, with a focus on bacterial co-infections and antimicrobial therapy. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the association between bacterial co-infection, antibiotic use and hospital death after adjustment for age and comorbidity. Bacterial co-infection was detected in 185 patients. The overall mortality rate was 25% (n = 317). Concomitant bacterial infections were associated with increased hospital mortality (β = 1.002, p < 0.001). A total of 83.7% (n = 1062) of patients received antibiotic therapy, but only 14.6% of these patients had an obvious source of bacterial infection. There was a significantly higher rate of hospital mortality in patients who received antibiotics than in those who did not (χ2 = 6.22, p = 0.012). Appropriate prescribing and the rational use of antimicrobials according to the principles of antimicrobial stewardship can help prevent the emergence of antibiotic resistance.
A field measurement method of spectral emissivity and research on the feature of soil thermal infrared emissivity

An experiment method is suggested to measure the surface spectral emissivity in field based on iterative spectrally smoth temperature emissvity separation(ISSTES) algorithm. A deliberately designed experiment is carried out to study the relationship of the spectral emissivity of soil with different grain size, different sand and water content. The results show that emissvities become lower when sand content increase and higher when water content increase in 8～9. 5μm region; In 11～13μm region, the variance of emissivity is not obvious. Accordingly, a method is suggested for retrieving sand content and water content of soil with multispectral thermal infrared observation.
Continuous estimation of kinetic variables while walking using an accelerometer and artificial neural networks

Measuring the gait variables outside the laboratory is so important because they can be used to analyze walking in the long run and during real life situations. Wearable sensors like accelerometer show high potential in these applications. So, the aim of this study was continuous estimation of kinetic variables while walking using an accelerometer and artificial neural networks (ANNs). Seventy-three subjects (26 women and 47 men) voluntarily participated in this study. The subjects walked at the slow, moderate, and fast speeds on a walkway which covered with 10 Vicon camera. Acceleration was used as input for a feedforward neural networks to predict the lower limb moments (in sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes), power, and ground reaction force (GRF) (in medial-lateral, anterior-posterior, and vertical directions) during walking. Normalized root mean square error (nRMSE), and Pearson correlation coefficient (r) were computed between the measured and predicted variables. Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) was used to compare the measured and predicted variables. The results of this study showed approximately r values of 91–99 and nRMSE values of 4%–15% for GRF, power, and moment between the measured and predicted data. The SPM showed no significant difference between the measured and predicted variables in throughout stance phase. This work has shown the potential of predicting kinetic variables (GRF, moment, and power) in various speeds of walking using the accelerometer. The proposed estimation procedure utilizing a mixture of biomechanics and ANNs can be utilized to solve the tradeoff between richness of data and ease of measuring inherent in wearable sensors.
Towards a Moral Community: Moral Education Strategies in Indonesian Schools

Moral education is a foundational yet contestable matter in any society. Debates about moral education help to define the parameters of true and right conduct in a society. The contestable nature of moral education curricula in Indonesia perhaps indicates the critical importance of character development in national and cultural formation and in the continuous creation and recreation of national identity. This study of the nature of moral education in junior secondary schools in the Yogyakarta region used a qualitative focus group approach. Teachers, lecturers, and trainee teachers were selected to be formed into five focus groups designed to provide a deeper analysis of the conflicting understandings of the nature of morality and of the expression of that morality in the curriculum. The findings showed several areas of contradiction and confusion in moral education in schools, including differences in religious and secular conceptualizations of morality and differences between those who wanted to promote or exclude intercultural understandings of morality within the state. Keywords: moral education, character education, morality, Pancasila, Indonesia
STAR FORMING ACTIVITY OF CLUSTER GALAXIES AT z~1

The galaxy cluster is an important object for investigating the large scale structure and evolution of galaxies. Recent wide and deep near-IR surveys provide an opportunity to search for galaxy clusters in the high redshift universe. We have identified candidate clusters of 0.8< z <1.2 from the 25 deg SA22 field using an optical–near-IR dataset from merged UKIDSS DXS, IMS and CFHTLS catalogs. Using these candidates, we investigate the star forming activity of member galaxies. Consequently, at z ∼1, the star forming activity of cluster galaxies is not distinguishable from those of field galaxies, which is different from members in local clusters. This means the environmental effect becomes more important for M∗ > 10 M galaxies at z <1.