Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Targeting Subsoil Constraints in Southern Queensland: Concept Proof of Spraying Polyacrylamide for Subsoil Stabilisation during Tillage

Deep ripping, in conjunction with gypsum and/or organic amendment, is known to be useful for removing physical constraints and improving crop yields in dispersive subsoils. However, the benefits are short-lived due to lateral movement of Na into soil between the rip lines, and slumping following the wetting of loosened soil, leaving low pore volume for air and water movement. This study evaluated the effect of high concentration polyacrylamide (PAM) solutions on stabilising soil structure, with a focus on PAM application on dispersive aggregates theoretically dislodged by ripping, as part of the subsoil decompaction. Three distinct soils (Vertosol, Kandosol, and Dermosol) from southern Queensland were treated to be sodic. These aggregates were further applied with PAM solutions under three scenarios, including: immersion, coating, and no application. In general, PAM stabilised soil aggregates with a concentration above 1.5 g L–1 when immersed into PAM solution or coated with PAM product, as compared to non-PAM-treated samples. The efficacy depended on PAM concentration, viscosity, soil type, and mechanical force. The concept of spraying PAM for stabilising the subsoil during tillage was proposed, as there is feasible potential for PAM to prolong the benefits of subsoil decompaction long enough through stabilising aggregate structure.
A CODE TO COMPUTE THE EMISSION OF THIN ACCRETION DISKS IN NON-KERR SPACETIMES AND TEST THE NATURE OF BLACK HOLE CANDIDATES

Astrophysical black hole (BH) candidates are thought to be the Kerr BHs predicted by general relativity, but the actual nature of these objects has still to be proven. The analysis of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by a geometrically thin and optically thick accretion disk around a BH candidate can provide information about the geometry of the spacetime around the compact object and it can thus test the Kerr BH hypothesis. In this paper, I present a code based on a ray-tracing approach and capable of computing some basic properties of thin accretion disks in spacetimes with deviations from the Kerr background. The code can be used to fit current and future X-ray data of stellar-mass BH candidates and constrain possible deviations from the Kerr geometry in the spin parameter–deformation parameter plane.
NuSTAR J095551+6940.8: a highly magnetized neutron star with super-Eddington mass accretion

The identification of the Ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) X-2 in M82 as an accreting pulsar has shed new light on the nature of a subset of ULXs, while rising new questions on the nature of the super-Eddington accretion. Here, by numerically solving the torque equation of the accreting pulsar within the framework of the magnetically threaded-disk scenario, we show that three classes of solutions, corresponding to different values of the magnetic field, are mathematically allowed. We argue that the highest magnetic field one, corresponding to B $\sim 10^{13}$ G, is favoured based on physical considerations and the observed properties of the source. In particular, that is the only solution which can account for the observed variations in $\dot{P}$ (over four time intervals) without requiring major changes in $\dot{M}$, which would be at odds with the approximately constant X-ray emission of the source during the same time. For this solution, we find that the source can only accomodate a moderate amount of beaming, 0.5 $\lesssim b < 1$. Last, we show that the upper limit on the luminosity, L$_X < 2.5 \times 10^{38}$ erg s$^{-1}$ from archival observations, is consistent with a highly-magnetized neutron star being in the propeller phase at that time.
Power Allocation Optimization and Decoding Order Selection in Uplink C-NOMA Networks

In this letter, we investigate the power allocation and decoding order at the base station (BS) of two-user uplink (UL) cooperative non-orthogonal multiple access (C-NOMA)-based cellular networks. We formulate a joint optimization problem aiming at maximizing the minimum user achievable rate. Given that the problem at hand is non-convex, as an alternative, we derive low-complexity and near optimal analytical expressions for the power allocation coefficients. We demonstrate through numerical results that the proposed scheme provides superior performance in comparison with the traditional UL NOMA. We also demonstrate that, in UL C-NOMA, decoding the far NOMA user first at the BS provides the best performance.
A STUDY OF SENTENCE STRESS PRODUCTION BY IRAQI ARABIC EFL LEARNERS

Stress is an important feature in suprasegmentally phonology, the study of sounds beyond the segment. In sentence stress, stress is placed randomly due to the native speaker’s intention. The difficulty comes from many factors like L1 interference, experience, age of learning etc. as a result they might affect learners’ performance. The present study aims at the following: 1) Identifying the mean values of the acoustic factors: intensity (dB), F0 (Hz) and duration (m s) for each vowel in the given sentence. 2) Investigating the difference in the mean values of the three acoustic factors, i.e. intensity, F0 and duration between the groups of Iraqi learners and the English group of native speakers, concerning the stressed vowels. Accordingly, the following is hypothesized: L1 interference is the main cause of speakers’ English stress difference. 3) Identifying whether there is any statistical significance between F0, intensity and duration in the production of sentence stress. The results of the preceding objectives are as follows: 1) The difference between the Iraqi Arabic learners and the English native speakers is found to be not significant; even though, there are remarkable differences in vowel production. 2) There are no statistical differences in the three factors F0, intensity and duration. In conclusion, the study experimented two essential aspects L1 interference and language proficiency and it is found that both hypotheses are not true acoustically but they can be seen as active on the level of production.
Testing assumptions of the Draw-a-Scientist-Test (DAST): do stereotyped views affect career aspirations?

ABSTRACT A growing body of research addresses students’ images of scientists using the Draw-a-Scientist-Test (DAST) and its Checklist (DAST-C). These protocols rest on the assumption that stereotypical views of scientists, as identified by the presence of multiple indicators in student drawings (e.g. lab coat, male gender; eyeglasses; facial hair), may affect science career interest. Yet, such an assumption remains unexplored. This study investigated whether stereotyped images of scientists identified by the DAST and DAST-C predicted and affected students’ science career interests. A total of 1799 students in grades 3, 6, 9, and 11 in Colombia drew a picture of a scientist at work and reported their interest in a scientific career. Contrary to theoretical expectations, neither the original seven DAST stereotypical indicators nor the eight alternative DAST-C indicators predicted students’ science career interests. Similarly, drawings of male or female scientists had no predictive power of students’ science career interest. On the contrary, students interested in a science career drew significantly more stereotyped indicators than their counterparts with low interest. This study failed to find evidence supporting the contention of DAST and DAST-C protocols, and raises questions about their validity in identifying stereotipical images of scientists.
Effect of Liraglutide on Serum TSH Levels in Patients with NAFLD and its Underlying Mechanisms

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of liraglutide on serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and explore the underlying mechanisms via bioinformatics analysis. A total of 49 obese/overweight patients with T2DM received liraglutide during outpatient visits or hospitalization in the Department of Endocrinology. Meanwhile, the control group included 49 patients with T2DM but without nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) who were matched for age and sex (baseline from July 2016 to June 2021). Follow-up data on the last use of liraglutide were also retrieved. Age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and duration of diabetes were obtained from the participants' records. All patients were tested for biochemical markers hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, free triiodothyronine, free thyroxine (FT4), and TSH at baseline and follow-up. After adjusting for all factors with a p-value < 0.05, BMI, HbA1c, LDL, FT4, and TSH were identified as significant independent risk factors for NAFLD in the univariate analysis. Following liraglutide therapy (average time 16 months), these patients had significantly lower BMI, HbA1c, and TSH but higher high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels than those in the baseline data (all p < 0.05), and further subgroup analysis stratified by duration of liraglutide use showed that the test for time trends had statistical differences in BMI and TSH but not in HbA1c and HDL. After the therapy, the NAFLD and NASH groups showed significantly decreased TSH levels after liraglutide therapy compared with the corresponding baseline data. Furthermore, the expression of THRB, which encodes TRβ, was significantly decreased in the NAFLD group, which may explain the thyroid hormone resistance-like manifestation in the clinical findings. In conclusion, liraglutide improves hepatic thyroid hormone resistance in T2DM with NAFLD, and restoration of impaired TRβ expression in NAFLD is a potential mechanism involved in the process of liraglutide therapy.
Deep Exploration on Fault Model of Electromagnetic Pulse Attack

The efficient fault injection attack (FIA) technique, electromagnetic pulse attack (EMPA), becomes a severe threat to the security of integrated circuits (ICs). Understanding the fault model of EMPA is necessary to protect ICs against EMPA. This work investigates the fault model of EMPA on digital circuits in depth by exploring its fault behaviors, fault conditions and fault causes. During exploration, a new kind of sampling fault model, called S-sampling fault model, is found. By adding the new finding, the fault models of EMPA can be built, fully covering the combinational and sequential digital circuits, the positive and negative polarity of EM pulse, and the signals processed by the circuits. The investigation is carried out based on the circuit-level simulation, considering the disturbances on the IC power and ground grids caused by EMPA. The insights into the EMPA fault models allow circuit designers to design more efficient countermeasures against EMPA.
MFG-E8 Exerts Neuroprotection in Neural Stem Cells Induced by Anesthetic Sevoflurane via Regulating the PI3K/AKT Pathways

MFG-E8 has shown tissue protection effects in various models of organ injury. In this study, the function of MFG-E8 in SEV-induced neural stem cells (NSCs) was studied. The cell viability and apoptosis affected by rhMFG-E8 were tested by MTT and flow cytometry analysis, respectively. Then, the mRNA expression of MFG-E8 was detected by qRT-PCR. The expression of SOD, GSF-Px, and MDA was assessed using ELISA assay. Western blot analysis was applied for assessing the expression of MFG-E8, BCL2, BAX, cleaved caspase-3, GRP-78, XBP-1, ATF-6, ATF-4, CHOP, p-PI3K, PI3K, p-AKT, and AKT. The pharmacological experiments suggested that both mRNA and protein expression of MFG-E8 were significantly decreased after 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h treatment with SEV, and the Western blot results displayed that 50 and 100 μg/ml rhMFG-E8 could evidently promote the expression of MFG-E8 in NSCs induced by SEV. Next, rhMFG-E8 reduced the apoptosis of NSCs induced by SEV through upregulating Bcl-2 and cleaved caspase-3 and downregulating Bax. Moreover, rhMFG-E8 alleviated the endoplasmic reticulum pressure of NSCs induced by SEV through decreasing the expression of GRP-78, XBP-1, ATF-6, ATF-4, and CHOP. In addition, the rhMFG-E8 could promote the expression of SOD and GSH-Px and inhibit the expression of MDA and LDH detected by the ELISA assay and LDH kit. Moreover, rhMFG-E8 elevated the expression of p-PI3K/PI3K and p-AKT/AKT, which were inhibited by SEV in NSCs. The results of this project supported that rhMFG-E8 protects neural activity in neural stem cells induced by anesthetic sevoflurane via regulating the PI3K/AKT pathways.
A Systematic Study of Leveraging Subword Information for Learning Word Representations

The use of subword-level information (e.g., characters, character n-grams, morphemes) has become ubiquitous in modern word representation learning. Its importance is attested especially for morphologically rich languages which generate a large number of rare words. Despite a steadily increasing interest in such subword-informed word representations, their systematic comparative analysis across typologically diverse languages and different tasks is still missing. In this work, we deliver such a study focusing on the variation of two crucial components required for subword-level integration into word representation models: 1) segmentation of words into subword units, and 2) subword composition functions to obtain final word representations. We propose a general framework for learning subword-informed word representations that allows for easy experimentation with different segmentation and composition components, also including more advanced techniques based on position embeddings and self-attention. Using the unified framework, we run experiments over a large number of subword-informed word representation configurations (60 in total) on 3 tasks (general and rare word similarity, dependency parsing, fine-grained entity typing) for 5 languages representing 3 language types. Our main results clearly indicate that there is no “one-size-fits-all” configuration, as performance is both language- and task-dependent. We also show that configurations based on unsupervised segmentation (e.g., BPE, Morfessor) are sometimes comparable to or even outperform the ones based on supervised word segmentation.
Outcome of Venous Supercharged Pedicled Anterolateral Thigh Flap for Reconstruction of Soft Tissue Defect around the Knee Joint

Introduction: Soft tissue defects around the knee are common following motor vehicle accidents, burns especially electric burn, excision of malignancy etc. Reconstruction of soft tissue defect around the knee needs thin, pliable and tough skin. Recently distally based pedicled anterolateral thigh flap has been used for soft tissue reconstruction for its several advantages like long pedicle, sufficient amount of soft tissue and less donor site morbidity. But it has tendency towards venous congestion and this can be overcome with venous supercharging. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of venous supercharging in reducing venous congestion in pedicled anterolateral thigh flap for reconstruction of soft tissue defect around the knee joint. Methods: This prospective observational study was carried out at Department of Plastic Surgery and Burn Unit, Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery (SHNIBPS), Dhaka from August 2017 to June 2019. Twenty (20) patients who presented with defect around the knee were included in this study according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Maximum patients 5(25%)were day labour and wounds were created by MVA in most of the cases10(50%). Most common site was anterior aspect of knee joint 8(40%). The dimension of the wound size ranged from 5×3cm upto 7×14cm. Majority of the wounds ranged from 15×13cm to 17×14cm. The flap size ranged from 6×3.5cm upto 20×18cm. 18 (90%) flaps had no venous congestion, but 2(10%) cases had it. All flaps (20) survived well, 18 cases had acceptable scar and in 2 cases infection occurred. Regarding functional outcome of knee joints, 15 (75%) patients had full range of motion and 5(25%) patients had 5p -10p restriction in flexion of knee joints. Final outcome was found excellent in 16(80%) and satisfactory in 4(20%) cases. Conclusion: Venous supercharging in pedicled anterolateral thigh flap for soft tissue defect around the knee joint have shown to be effective in reducing venous congestion. J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2022; 40: 233-239
Black hole microstates in AdS

We extend a recently derived higher-dimensional Cardy formula to include angular momenta, which we use to obtain the Bekensten-Hawking entropy of AdS black branes, compactified rotating branes, and large Schwarzschild/Kerr black holes. This is the natural generalization of Strominger's microscopic derivation of the BTZ black hole entropy to higher dimensions. We propose an extension to include $U(1)$ charge, which agrees with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of large Reissner-Nordstrom/Kerr-Newman black holes at high temperature. We extend the results to arbitrary hyperscaling violation exponent (this captures the case of black D$p$-branes as a subclass) and reproduce logarithmic corrections.
The clustering of galaxies at z ≈ 0.5 in the SDSS-III Data Release 9 BOSS-CMASS sample: a test for the ΛCDM cosmology

We present results on the clustering of 282 068 galaxies in the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) sample of massive galaxies with redshifts 0.4 < z < 0.7 which is part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III project. Our results cover a large range of scales from ∼500 to ∼90 h−1 Mpc. We compare these estimates with the expectations of the flat Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) standard cosmological model with parameters compatible with Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 7 data. We use the MultiDark cosmological simulation, one of the largest N-body runs presently available, together with a simple halo abundance matching technique, to estimate galaxy correlation functions, power spectra, abundance of subhaloes and galaxy biases. We find that the ΛCDM model gives a reasonable description to the observed correlation functions at z ≈ 0.5, which is remarkably good agreement considering that the model, once matched to the observed abundance of BOSS galaxies, does not have any free parameters. However, we find a ≳10 per cent deviation in the correlation functions for scales ≲ 1 and ∼10–40 h−1 Mpc. A more realistic abundance matching model and better statistics from upcoming observations are needed to clarify the situation. We also estimate that about 12 per cent of the ‘galaxies’ in the abundance-matched sample are satellites inhabiting central haloes with mass M ≳ 1014 h−1 M⊙. Using the MultiDark simulation, we also study the real-space halo bias b of the matched catalogue finding that b = 2.00 ± 0.07 at large scales, consistent with the one obtained using the measured BOSS-projected correlation function. Furthermore, the linear large-scale bias, defined using the extrapolated linear matter power spectrum, depends on the number density n of the abundance-matched sample as b = −0.048 − (0.594 ± 0.02)log10(n/ h3 Mpc−3). Extrapolating these results to baryon acoustic oscillation scales, we measure a scale-dependent damping of the acoustic signal produced by non-linear evolution that leads to ∼2–4 per cent dips at ≳ 3σ level for wavenumbers k ≳ 0.1 h Mpc−1 in the linear large-scale bias.
"Short" spinning strings and structure of quantum AdS 5 × S 5 spectrum

Using information from the marginality conditions of vertex operators for the AdS5×S 5 superstring, we determine the structure of the dependence of the energy of quantum string states on their conserved charges and the string tension ∼ √ λ. We consider states on the leading Regge trajectory in the flat space limit which carry one or two (equal) spins in AdS5 or S 5 and an orbital momentum in S 5 , with Konishi multiplet states being particular cases. We argue that the coefficients in the energy may be foundby using a semiclassical expansion. By analyzing the examples of folded spinning strings in AdS5 and S 5 as well as three cases of circular two-spin strings we demonstrate the universality of transcendental (zeta-function) parts of few leading coefficients. We also show the consistency with target space supersymmetry with different states belonging to the same multiplet having the same non-trivial part of the energy. We suggest, in particular, that a rational coefficient (found by Basso for the folded string using Bethe Ansatz considerations and which, in general, is yet to be determined by a direct two-loop string calculation) should, in fact, be universal.
Magnesium and dexmedetomidine combination reduces sodium nitroprusside requirement in laparoscopic pheochromocytoma

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Anesthesia management of pheochromocytoma excision surgery is associated with severe hemodynamic fluctuations. The objective of this study is to compare the number of hypertensive crisis requiring sodium nitroprusside (SNP) administration between the groups treated with magnesium (Mg)-dexmedetomidine (Dex) and conventional group in pheochromocytoma. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included patients who underwent pheochromocytoma surgery between 2011 and 2020. Patients were examined into two groups: 1-Conventional group (GC) included patients who were operated between 2011 and 2015 under standard anesthesia care and who did not receive perioperative additional medication. 2- Mg-Dex therapy group (GMD) comprised the patients who were operated between 2015 and 2020 and who had received 300 mg Mg per oral daily 1 week before the surgery and Mg-Dex infusion intraoperatively. Blood pressure, heart rate (HR), and SNP requirement were recorded throughout surgery as well as demographics and operative data. Hypertensive crisis was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) >180 mmHg, and tachycardia was defined as HR >110 bpm. RESULTS: A total of 78 patients’ data were analyzed from 108 patients’ documentary. (38 in GC, 40 in GMD) SNP requirement was significantly higher in GC (39.5%) comparing GMD (7.5%) (p=0.001). SBPs during tumor manipulation period were statistically higher in GC than in GMD at 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th, and 35th min. HR values were significantly higher in GC compared to GMD at 10th and 15th min of tumor manipulation period (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Combination of Mg-Dex seems to be an alternative therapy for reducing vasodilator requirement in perioperative management of pheochromocytoma.
On stability of rolls near the onset of convection in a layer with stress-free boundaries

We consider a classical problem of linear stability of convective rolls in a plane layer with stress-free horizontal boundaries near the onset of convection. The problem has been studied by a number of authors, who have shown that rolls of wave number k are unstable with respect to perturbations of different types, if some inequalities relating k and the Rayleigh number R are satisfied. The perturbations involve a large-scale mode. Certain asymptotic dependences between wave numbers of the mode and overcriticality are always assumed in the available proofs of instability. We analyse the stability analytically following the approach of Podvigina (Instability of flows near the onset of convection in a rotating layer with stress-free horizontal boundaries. Geophys. Astrophys. Fluid Dynamics 2008, 102, 299–326.) without making a priori assumptions concerning asymptotic relations between small parameters characterising the problem. Instability of rolls to short-scale modes is also considered. Therefore, our analytical results on stability to space-periodic perturbations are exhaustive; they allow us to identify the areas in the (k, R) plane, where convective rolls are stable near the onset. The analytical results are compared with numerical solutions to the eigenvalue problem determining stability of rolls.