Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of temperature and concentration on N1 and tumbling in a liquid crystal polymer

The shear rate γmin at the relative minimum in the N1 flow curve is studied as a function of temperature and concentration for liquid crystalline (hydroxypropyl)cellulose (HPC). For lyotropes, at least, γmin is the shear rate necessary to halt director “tumbling” and align the molecules. HPC is a convenient polymer for studying the relationship between lyotropic and thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers because it exhibits a pure thermotropic phase at elevated temperatures, and room temperature lyotropic phases at moderate concentrations in m-cresol. At the highest possible polymer concentration at which reliable rheology data can be obtained (around 70 wt % polymer), indirect evidence for director tumbling is observed, in that N1 retains a local minimum versus shear rate. For the highest concentrations this minimum N1 value is positive, rather than negative, as is the case at lower concentrations and as is predicted by the Doi theory. Empirical time–temperature and time–concentration shifting can be.
Ultraviolet Extinction by Interstellar Dust in External Galaxies: M31

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS) spectra of stars in OB associations of M31 are used to derive the UV extinction by interstellar dust in M31 by three different methods: (1) comparing spectra of M31 star pairs, (2) comparing spectra of M31 stars to those of Galactic standard stars, and (3) comparing M31 star spectra to atmosphere models. The derived intrinsic M31 extinction curve has an overall wavelength dependence very similar to that of the average Galactic extinction curve but possibly has a weaker 2175 Å bump, however, with a significance of only 1 σ. This result is different from the LMC (30 Dor)-like curves published earlier, which contained both intrinsic M31 extinction and “foreground” extinction, and were based either on low-signal IUE spectra, or on FOS data affected by inaccuracy in the preliminary flux calibration, and were not computed with the pair method used in this work. In this work, the foreground extinction component from the Galactic halo is also investigated. The foreground curve is consistent with the standard curve. While there is a slight indication for a steeper foreground curve than the standard one, the difference is not significant considering the data uncertainties.
Predicting fruit-pick success using a grasp classifier trained on a physical proxy

Apple picking is a challenging manipulation task, but it is difficult to test solutions due to the limited window of time that apples are in season. Previous methods have built simulations of apple trees, but simulations rarely capture soft contact and deformation well, both of which are common in fruit picking. In this paper we present and validate a physical proxy that replicates the mechanics of a real world apple pick. This proxy, in conjunction with a novel hand with multiple sensors, enables large-scale capture of sensor data for data collection and testing. To validate our approach, we train a Long Short-Term Memory network to classify a pick as successful or failed based on sensor feedback from the robot hand. We show that a network trained on the proxy performs as well, or even better, than a network trained solely on real apple trees, with accuracies up to 90%. We determine which sensors are most important for pick classification and also demonstrate that our proxy preserves the most important sensor feature data for pick classification. For our hand, the most informative sensor was the finger's servomotor effort.
A wearable system with harmonic oscillations to assess finger biomechanics

This paper presents a wearable device for finger assessment that can identify finger joint impedance parameters through harmonic oscillation perturbations. This device is designed to help assess motor impairments related to hypertonic soft-tissue changes, that can arise from a number of conditions such as stroke. By measuring the ratio of the applied torque and resulting velocities, the impedance values for any bending direction of a metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint can be estimated. The ability of this device to effectively estimate finger parameters was tested in experiments with six participants. The experimental result was validated through comparison to prior works on finger impedance estimation. The user experience of the presented system was also analysed, indicating that the device design is comfortable and acceptable for participants.
Implementation of Procalcitonin in Antibiotic Stewardship: Derivation of a Consensus Algorithm for Procalcitonin Use in Clinical Practice

Reducing antibiotics overuse is essential to minimize antibiotics related side effects and to prevent the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Procalcitonin (PCT) guided antibiotics therapy has been reported to be safe in patients with acute respiratory infections and sepsis, improving clinical outcomes as well as reducing the duration of antibiotics use. However, there is still no universal agreement on clinical guidelines in Korea for optimal PCT applications. Through this expert consensus meeting, clinical research findings in the PCT-guided antibiotics treatment interventions and real-world clinical applications were discussed. From the perspective of antibiotic stewardship, PCT application target groups, cut-offs, and testing cycles were discussed to reach a consensus on the PCT-guided antibiotics treatment algorithm for application in Korea. Combining clinical assessment for patients with an appropriate PCT-guided antibiotics treatment algorithm could improve the diagnosis and treatment of acute respiratory infections and sepsis. In addition, continuous education and regular feedback would improve the effectiveness of antibiotic stewardship.
Applying a band-aid or building a bridge: ecological factors and divergent approaches to enhancing teacher wellbeing

ABSTRACT Teacher wellbeing is important, not least for the role teachers play in supporting students’ social, emotional, physical and academic wellbeing. Effective teachers need to remain both physically and mentally healthy. This paper examines how teacher wellbeing is conceptualised through research to identify the influential ecological influences that support and sustain teachers. Through a scoping review methodology, this examination starts with a conceptualisation of teacher wellbeing, and is then organised into three interrelated themes. This thematic approach provides a basis to examine, first, the influential individual factors shaping teachers’ wellbeing; second, the relational factors that characterise teachers’ work; and, third, the contemporary contextual factors associated with enhancing or eroding teacher wellbeing. These themes highlight that many approaches to enhancing teachers’ wellbeing are often short-term band-aid fixes, and the authors argue that attention must be given to longer-term bridge-building strategies that place teacher wellbeing at the heart of teaching.
Natural remobilization and historical evolution of a modern coastal transgressive dunefield

The vast majority of coastal dunes in Europe have been stabilized by increasing vegetation cover since the mid‐20th century. However, some systems may experience a remobilization phase, generally occurring locally and further propagating alongshore, the drivers of which remain poorly documented. This study investigates the evolutionary paths (stabilization/destabilization/remobilization) from 1945 to 2020 of a 2 km‐long modern coastal transgressive dunefield located in southwest France with a holistic approach (GPR profiles, aerial photographs and LiDAR topographic data). Results show a landward migration of the transgressive dune by approximately 233 ± 7.5 m, through two distinct stages of rapid landward migration from 10 to 23 m/yr (Stage I: 1949–1959 and Stage III: 2000–2021) separated by an approximately 40‐year stage of slow to no migration, but with substantial windward slope deflation (Stage II). The onset of Stage II is due to the fixation of vegetation by human action between 1950 and 1959. The onset of Stage III is hypothesized to be driven by long and sustained upper backshore/dune toe erosion beginning in 1968 due to a massive shoal welding that locally disturbed the longshore drift. It induced a destabilization of the dune and erosion of the vegetation cover over some decades. A non‐synchronization is therefore observed between the start of the perturbation (1968), then the migration (2000), in line with the hysteresis concept of Tsoar (2005). This study shows that almost all of the sedimentary volume of the 1945 dune has been remobilized by translation to shape the dune system in its current form. The 2.2 km dunefield has grown by approximately 673 000 ± 190 000 m3 during the 2005–2020 period. Among this volume, there is a new foredune that was built from 2005 between the upper beach and the transgressive dune (volume in 2020 of about 394 000 ± 68 000 m3).
Antagonistic dielectric elastomer actuator for biologically-inspired robotics

For optimal performance, actuators designed for biologically-inspired robotics applications need to be capable of mimicking the key characteristics of natural musculoskeletal systems. These characteristics include a large output stroke, high energy density, antagonistic operation and passive compliance. The actuation properties of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) make them viable for use as an artificial muscle technology. However, much like the musculoskeletal system, rigid structures are needed to couple the compliant DEA layers to a load. In this paper, a cone DEA design is developed as an antagonistic, multi-DOF actuator, viable for a variety for biologically-inspired robotics applications. The design has the advantage of maintaining pre-strain through a support structure without substantially lowering the overall mass-specific power density. Prototype cone DEAs have been fabricated with VHB 4910 acrylic elastomer and have characteristic dimensions of 49mm (strut length) and 60mm (DEA diameter). Multi-DOF kinematical outputs of the cone DEAs were measured using a custom 3D motion tracking system. Experimental tests of the prototypes demonstrate antagonistic linear (±10mm), rotational (±25°) and combined multi-DOF strokes. Overall, antagonistic cone DEAs are shown to produce a complex multi-DOF output from a mass-efficient support structure and thus are well suited for being exploited in biologically-inspired robotics.
Work-in-Progress: A Holistic Approach to WCRT Analysis for Multicore Systems

Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) multicore processors have become a preferable choice for modern systems to meet the increasing functionalities and computational demand of modern applications. However, the adoption of multicore platforms in hard real-time systems, i.e., systems that run applications with stringent timing requirements, is still under scrutiny. The main challenge that hinders the use of COTS multicore platforms in hard real-time systems is their unpredictability, which originates from the sharing of different hardware resources. A task executing on one core of a multicore platform has to compete with other co-running tasks (running on other cores) to access hardware resources such as the last-level cache (LLC), the interconnect (e.g., memory bus), and the main memory. This competition leads to inter-core contention which can significantly impact the Worst-Case Execution Time (WCET) and Worst-Case Response Time (WCRT) of tasks.
Effects of therapeutic interventions on pain due to plantar fasciitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To determine the effects of different therapeutic interventions that have ever been evaluated in randomized controlled trials on pain due to plantar fasciitis. Methods We searched different electronic databases until September 2022. Mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation was used to evaluate the overall certainty evidence. Results A total of 236 studies met the study criteria, including 15,401 patients. Botulinum toxin MD −2.14 (CI: −4.15, −0.14), micronized dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane injection MD −3.31 (CI: −5.54, −1.08), dry needling MD −2.34 (CI: −4.64, −0.04), low-dye taping MD −3.60 (CI: −4.16, −3.03), low-level laser therapy MD −2.09 (CI: −2.28, −1.90), myofascial releases MD −1.79 (CI: −2.63, −0.94), platelet-rich plasma MD −2.40 (CI: −4.16, −0.63), radiofrequency MD −2.47 (CI: −4.65, −0.29), and stretching MD −1.14 (CI: −2.02, −0.26) resulted in being effective treatments for pain when compared to the control in the short term. In the medium and long term, only extracorporeal shock wave therapy MD −0.97 (CI: −1.13, −0.81)/MD −2.49 (CI: −3.17, −1.82) was effective for improving pain when compared to the control. Conclusions Considering the available studies, this systematic review and meta-analysis showed that different therapeutic interventions seem to be useful strategies for improving pain in patients with plantar fasciitis. In the medium and long term, only extracorporeal shock wave therapy was effective in improving pain when compared to the control.
Amplifying magneto-optical photonic crystal

We modeled transmission and Faraday rotation characteristics of Er-doped all-garnet [Bi3Fe5O12/Gd3Ga5O12]m photonic crystals in view of their application in C-band magneto-optical amplifiers. It is found that 48 layered 11.4 μm thick crystal at λ=1532 nm provides 45° Faraday rotation and transmission as high as 85% being pumped with 100 mW/980 nm solid state laser diode.
Fluctuating circulation forced by unsteady multidirectional breaking waves

In this paper, we consider nearshore rotational currents directly forced by unsteady multidirectional wave breaking. Scaling relationships, simplified analytical solutions, and asymptotic limits are developed for the maximum forced cross-shore and longshore velocities. In all cases, forced longshore velocities are considerably larger than cross-shore velocities. On longshore-uniform beaches, strong fluctuating velocities are found for (i) large waves; (ii) strong directional spreading; and (iii) short peak wave periods. When topographic inhomogeneities control longshore scales of wave breaking, overall scaling changes and the largest fluctuating velocities are found for ($a$) large waves; ($b$) long wave periods; and ($c$) topographic features that vary quickly in the longshore direction. The ratio of fluctuating rotational velocities to mean longshore current does not depend on the wave height or period, but instead on the bottom friction, slope, deep water wave angle, and details of the wave spectrum.
Waveform Design for Watermark Framework Based DFRC System With Application on Joint SAR Imaging and Communication

In this article, the watermarking framework for electromagnetic systems is established with nonblind, semiblind, and blind watermarking demodulation processes mitigated to applications like radar detection, synchronization, integrated dual function, etc. Desired for similar advantages and trade-offs of watermarking technology, the dual function radar and communication (DFRC) system is specifically concerned for covert communication and low possibility of interception (LPI) radar sensing. In this respect, we propose a novel DFRC waveform design method where peak sidelobe level (PSL) of autocorrelation function (ACF) is considered as the figure of merit with information embedded via discrete Fourier transform (DFT) watermarking strategy. Meanwhile, the peak-to-average ratio (PAR) and energy constraints are forced to ensure compatibility with current hardware technique. To handle the resulting NP-hard design problems, the proximal method of multipliers (PMM) is employed with the overall computational burden linear with the amount of information per pulse and quadratic with respect to the code length. Finally, numerical and experimental results are provided to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed DFRC waveform design scheme with application in joint synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging and communication.
A decade of progress in marine evolutionary biology

This article summarizes the Evolutionary Applications Special Issue, “A decade of progress in Marine Evolutionary Biology. ” The globally connected ocean, from its pelagic depths to its highly varied coastlines, inspired Charles Darwin to develop the theory of evolution during the voyage of the Beagle. As technology has developed, there has been a dramatic increase in our knowledge about life on our blue planet. This Special Issue, composed of 19 original papers and seven reviews, represents a small contribution to the larger picture of recent research in evolutionary biology, and how such advancements come about through the connection of researchers, their fields, and their knowledge. The first European network for marine evolutionary biology, the Linnaeus Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology (CeMEB), was developed to study evolutionary processes in the marine environment under global change. Though hosted by the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, the network quickly grew to encompass researchers throughout Europe and beyond. Today, more than a decade after its foundation, CeMEB's focus on the evolutionary consequences of global change is more relevant than ever, and knowledge gained from marine evolution research is urgently needed in management and conservation. This Special Issue, organized and developed through the CeMEB network, contains contributions from all over the world and provides a snapshot of the current state of the field, thus forming an important basis for future research directions.
Characterizing the Quasi-periodic Oscillation Behavior of the X-Ray Nova XTE J1550–564

For all 209 Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer observations of the X-ray nova XTE J1550-564 during its major outburst of 1998-1999, we have analyzed the X-ray power spectra, phase lags, and coherence functions. These observations constitute one of the richest and most complete data sets obtained for any black hole X-ray nova. The phase lags and coherence measures of low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs; ν < 20 Hz) are used to distinguish three types (one more than those reported by Wijnands, Homan, & van der Klis). For the most common type ("C"), the phase lag is correlated with both the QPO frequency and the amplitude. The physical significance of the QPO types is evident in the relationships between QPO properties and the apparent temperature and flux from the accretion disk. There is also a clear pattern in how the QPO types relate to the presence of high-frequency QPOs (ν > 100 Hz). In general, the amplitude of low-frequency QPOs decreases when high-frequency oscillations appear, and when both low-frequency and high-frequency QPOs are present, their Q-values (ν/FWHM) are anticorrelated. We speculate that this opposition between low-frequency and high-frequency QPOs arises from competing structures in a perturbed accretion disk. However, we find that the frequencies of slow and fast QPOs are not correlated. In addition, we encounter systematic problems in attempting to reliably compare the QPO frequencies with broad features in the power continuum, since there are a variable number of features or spectral breaks in the power spectra. These results cast some doubt on the reported global relationship between QPOs from neutron stars and those from black hole systems.
Unusual Nonpolynomial Van der Pol Oscillator Equations With Exact Harmonic and Isochronous Solutions

We do not know Van der Pol-type equations with nonlinear restoring force having explicitly an exact periodic solution. We present, for the first time, nonpolynomial Van der Pol oscillator equations that do not satisfy the classical existence theorems. We exhibit their exact harmonic and isochronous solutions and prove the existence of limit cycles by using averaging theory. We also present first integrals and exact solutions of polynomial Van der Pol-Duffing equations to show that they do not have any limit cycle. Additionally, we prove that the damped Duffing-type equations are equivalent to the conservative Duffing equations exhibiting nonoscillatory solutions.
Detection of Theileria and Anaplasma spp. in carrier buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) by polymerase chain reaction in Tamil Nadu, India

A total of 150 heparinised blood samples and equal number of blood smears were collected from buffaloes in three agro-climatic zones of Tamil Nadu viz., Cauvery delta, North - western and Southern zones to detect Theileria and Anaplasma by blood smear examination and Polymerase Chain Reaction. The blood smear examination revealed that none of animals were found to harbour any haemoprotozoan parasites. Whereas PCR detected Theileria and Anaplasma in 26.9% and 48.0%, and 10% and 15% of the animals, respectively in north- western zone and Cauvery delta, however no animal from south zone was detected positive for any protozoan. Besides, mixed infection of Theileria and Anaplasma was recorded in 8 (5.3%) animals. The analysis of data collected to determine the risk factors associated with occurrence of haemoprotozoan parasites revealed that the pure breed Murrah showed higher percentage of Theileria and Anaplasma positivity (30.7% and 46.1%) than non - descriptive breed (8.7% and 16.0%). The percentage of positivity of haemoprotozoan parasites was found to be higher among animals of 1 year, followed by 2 years and > 4 years of age.
PUA-MOS: End-to-End Point-wise Uncertainty Weighted Aggregation for Moving Object Segmentation

Segmenting moving objects in the 3D LiDAR point cloud can provide important guidance to localization, mapping and decision-making for self-driving vehicles. As for the conventional approaches to point cloud segmentation, they rely on semantic-level information, which makes it inevitable for long-tail problems to arise as there are always unseen types of objects on the road. To achieve moving segmentation while avoiding the reliance on the object category, the point motion is identified in this paper by fully exploring and aggregating the point-level geometric consistency in sequential point clouds. More specifically, an end-to-end point-wise uncertainty weighted aggregation approach known as PUA-MOS is proposed to segment the moving points in 3D LiDAR Data. Our method is applicable to estimate point-wise moving mask, scene flow and rigid-body transformation simultaneously in a coarse- to-fine network, where the relations between each prediction are implicitly learned. To explicitly model the inner and inter relations across these predictions among all points, the point- wise estimation and the average value of the same motion points are aggregated according to a predicted uncertainty. Then, the aggregated estimation is fed again into the next-level fusion, where the points will be re-segmented using the aggregated mask from the last level. Through iterative joint aggregation, our PUA-MOS outperforms the previous methods significantly on both KITTI [4] and Waymo [26] datasets. The code will be provided to generate the moving segmentation labels on both datasets for reproduction.