Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Iterative CT reconstruction with small pixel size: distance-driven forward projector versus Joseph's

Over the last few years, iterative reconstruction methods have become an important research topic in x-ray CT imaging. This effort is motivated by increasing evidence that such methods may enable significant savings in terms of dose imparted to the patient. Conceptually, iterative reconstruction methods involve two important ingredients: the statistical model, which includes the forward projector, and a priori information in the image domain, which is expressed using a regularizer. Most often, the image pixel size is chosen to be equal (or close) to the detector pixel size (at field-of-view center). However, there are applications for which a smaller pixel size is desired. In this investigation, we focus on reconstruction with a pixel size that is twice smaller than the detector pixel size. Using such a small pixel size implies a large increase in computational effort when using the distance-driven method for forward projection, which models the detector size. On the other hand, the more efficient method of Joseph will create imbalances in the reconstruction of each pixel, in the sense that there will be large differences in the way each projection contributes to the pixels. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the impact of these imbalances on image quality in comparison with utilization of the distance-driven method. The evaluation involves computational effort, bias and noise metrics, and LROC analysis using human observers. The results show that Joseph's method largely remains attractive.
Solutions of Woods—Saxon Potential with Spin-Orbit and Centrifugal Terms through Nikiforov—Uvarov Method

In this study, the analytical solutions of the radial Schrödinger equation for the central Woods—Saxon potential together with spin-orbit interaction and centrifugal terms have been derived by using Nikiforov-Uvarov method. The energy eigenvalues and corresponding eigenfunctions of nucleons have been obtained for various values of n, l, and j quantum numbers. The obtained results using this method are in satisfactory agreement with available data in the special case.
Geomagnetic field analysis—III. Magnetic fields on the core—mantle boundary

Summary. The method of stochastic inversion, previously applied to secular variation data, is applied to main field data. Adaptations to the method are required: non-linear, as well as linear, data are used; allowance is made for crustal components in the observatory data; and the prior information is specified differently. The requirement that the models should satisfy a finite lower bound on the Ohmic heating in the core provides strong prior information and gives finite error estimates at the core—mantle boundary. The new method is applied to data from the epochs 1969.5 and 1980.0. The resulting field models are very much more complex than other models, such as the IGRF models extrapolated to the core, and show considerable small-scale detail which, on the basis of the error analysis, can be believed. The flux integral over the northern hemisphere is computed at each epoch; the difference between the two epochs is approximately one standard deviation, suggesting that the question as to whether the decay of the dipole is consistent with the frozen-flux hypothesis has been resolved in favour of the hypothesis.
Thermopower in the Re-entrant Insulating Phase of a Two-Dimensional Hole System

We report thermopower measurements on a low-disorder, dilute two-dimensional hole system in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure exhibiting a re-entrant insulating phase around filling factor ? =? 1/3. As the temperature is lowered, the thermopower vanishes at the integral and fractional quantum Hall states but diverges in the insulating phase, suggesting that an energy gap separates the insulating ground state from its conducting excitations. Our results are consistent with the condensation of the holes into a pinned Wigner solid and, from the onset of the divergence of the thermopower, we derive a phase diagram for the solid-liquid transition.
The He2 potential at small distances

Quantum Monte Carlo methods have been used to determine the exact Born–Oppenheimer interaction energy of two helium atoms with internuclear separations between 0.5 and 1.8 A. There is reasonable agreement with potentials derived from scattering data, however the semiempirical Aziz potential is too repulsive for separation less than 1.8 A. We propose a new potential for this region.
The Stress and Strain Distribution at the Neck of a Tensile Specimen

Some approximate solutions to the problem of stress distribution at the neck of a tensile specimen have been developed by Bridgman, and Davidenkov and Spiridonova, assuming the following conditions : (1) The elastic strain can be neglected. (2) The strains are uniform over the cross section of the neck. (3) The yielding stress, therefore, is constant over the cross section of the neck. The strains of the surface of the minimum section were measured from the elongations of circumferential lines drawn finely by a diamond tool. By these measurements, it has been made clear that the axial strains over the minimum section are considerably different. It will be reasonable, therefore, to consider that the yielding stress is not constant over the minimum cross section. Using the obtained strains, we calculated the stress distribution over the minimum section, considering the difference of strain hardening over the minimum section.
The Effect of Serving as a Resident Assistant on Undergraduates’ Prosocial Behaviors

The authors examined whether serving as a resident assistant has an effect on undergraduates’ prosocial behaviors (social change behaviors, social perspective taking, and social generativity). The authors used propensity score matching techniques to develop a “treatment group” of resident assistants and a matched “control group” of students who were not resident assistants using covariates. Resident assistants had significantly higher social change behaviors, social perspective taking, and social generativity compared to the matched peer group.
FPGA implementation of high performance digital FIR filter design using a hybrid adder and multiplier

ABSTRACT The energetic growth in portable multimedia and mobile communication system has increased the requirement of high-speed signal processing system with compact area and power consumption. Finite impulse response(FIR) filters are broadly used in image, signal, speech and video signal processing, medical electronics, noise filtering, mobile communication and many other fields. The performance of the whole signal processing system with FIR filter depends on the basic building block of multiplier and adders. Hence, the hybrid FIR filter is proposed to improve the speed of the signal processing system using hybrid adder and hybrid multiplier. In this technique, the basic hybrid adder is designed with the help of 2-bit adders, BEC and 4:1 Multiplexer. Also, the hybrid multiplier is designed based on partial products of two consecutive multiplicand bits which are added at same time using Han-Carlson, Weinberger and Ling adder. The proposed FIR filter is functionally verified and synthesised using Xilinx ISE simulator and is implemented in Spartan 6 FPGA boards. The result shows that the delay of FIR filter using the proposed multiplier is improved by 26.51%, 15.59%, 15.83% and 2.79% as compared with CLA, conventional CSA, CSA-BK-BEC and the proposed adder with array multiplier, respectively.
All about urine: Longitudinal examination of urine pH, specific gravity, proteins, culture, and resistance profiles in healthy dogs

Background Urine is routinely evaluated in dogs to assess health. Reference ranges for many urine properties are well established, but the scope of variation in these properties over time within heathy dogs is not well characterized. Objectives Longitudinally characterize urine properties in healthy dogs over 3 months. Animals Fourteen healthy client-owned dogs. Methods Dogs were evaluated for health; then, mid-stream free catch urine was collected from each dog at 12 timepoints: Mornings / afternoons of Days 1, 2, 3; end of Weeks 4, 5, 6, 7 and Months 2 and 3. Urine pH, urine specific gravity (USG), protein, cultures, and antimicrobial resistance profiles were evaluated at each timepoint. Results Urine pH varied significantly within and between dogs over time (Friedman’s test: within p = 0.031; between p < 0.005). However, USG, protein, and bacterial richness of urine were consistent within dogs over time, and only varied significantly between dogs (Kruskal-Wallis: between all p < 0.005). Antimicrobial resistant isolates were identified in 13 out of 14 dogs with 71% (34 of 48) of the isolates demonstrating resistance to amoxicillin. Conclusions and clinical importance 1) Urine pH should be assessed at multiple timepoints via pH meter prior to making clinical decisions. 2) Mid-stream free catch urine from multiple healthy dogs yielded high concentrations of bacteria in culture (>105 CFU/mL) and should not be considered the only indicator of urinary tract infection. 3) Bacterial isolates demonstrated widespread resistance to amoxicillin / oxacillin underscoring the need for antimicrobial stewardship.
The generation of broadband electrostatic noise by an ion beam in the magnetotail

The results of a theoretical investigation of the generation of broadband electrostatic noise (BEN) by an ion beam in the Earth's magnetotail are presented. It is shown that at low beam temperatures an ion beam can generate BEN at wave normal angles (θ) between zero and 80°, with the maximum growth occurring at θ = 0° when the beam velocity is small and at large θ (∼ 70°) for higher beam velocities. It is also shown that two types of instability are responsible for the wave amplification. One is the ion acoustic instability associated with the electron-ion beam relative drift, and the other is the ion-ion instability. The broad frequency and angular spectra of BEN can be explained by the presence of the two instabilities. These instabilities are shown to be insensitive to the presence of a background magnetic field.
Non-uniformity and layering in sediment transport modelling 1: flume simulations

The development and validation of an integrated numerical sediment transport model capable of solving both uniform and non-uniform transport equations while calculating grain size distributions is presented. The model is coupled with external hydrodynamic codes which provide flow field and bed shear stress patterns. Transport equations are solved for an unlimited number of sediment size fractions. Two validation experiments involving unsteady flow in a channel bend and steady flow in a flume with lateral contraction were considered. Good agreement with measured bed deformations was found for non-uniform calculations with an exchange layer, whereas both uniform and non-uniform computations without the exchange layer resulted in comparably larger differences. In the channel bend experiment, the presence of an exchange layer was essential for achieving accurate modelling results, while its role was less pronounced in the lateral contraction experiment. Moreover, the sorting coefficient of the bed material was found to be a suitable indicator for estimating the applicability of uniform transport equations.
Optical spectroscopy of the ROSAT X-ray brightest clusters.

The results from the first stage of an optical follow-up study of the X-ray brightest clusters of galaxies detected in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) are presented. The redshifts of the central galaxies in 29 of the X-ray brightest Abell and Zwicky clusters in the RASS have been measured using the Faint Object Spectrograph on the Isaac Newton Telescope. Approximately 40 per cent of the central galaxy spectra obtained show strong optical line emission. In several cases this emission is quite spectacular
Valveless pressure regulation with a submerged micro‐hole

Abstract This study aims at controlling air pressure fluctuation in a chamber from which liquid is being drained continuously by using a submerged micro‐hole. In practical applications, this test chamber is used to simulate the commercial ink cartridge of a thermal bubble inkjet printhead. The chamber air pressure drops owing to liquid being drained from the chamber, and it rises again as bubbles are generated and detached from a submerged micro‐hole connecting liquid and the atmosphere. The chamber air pressure fluctuation can be controlled in a designated range that depends on factors such as physical properties of liquid used in the chamber, micro‐hole diameter, and liquid drain rate. In this study, both distilled water and 10% wt. isopropanol solution are tested with micro‐hole diameter ranging from 60 to 1200 μm. To simulate practical ink injection rates, the liquid drain rate ranges from 0.006 to 0.10 ml/s. For conditions tested in this study, our measured results show that the chamber air pressure variation and detached bubble volume depend mainly on micro‐hole diameter and physical properties of liquid, and only slightly on liquid drain rate. Two correlations are proposed to obtain both the detached bubble volume and chamber air pressure fluctuation from physical properties of liquid and micro‐hole diameter.
EOS Data Experiments for Plastic Foams Using Smoothed Laser Beams

The importance of foams on laser-produced plasmas has been recently pointed out. In this paper EOS measurements of plastic porous materials have been experimentally determined using ns laser pulses smoothed with phase zone plates. Foams of density in the range 50-200 mg cm-3 and thickness about 20 microns were used. An original scheme for the targets has been designed which allowed us to obtain, for the first time, EOS data for pressures between 0.2-0.8 Mbar. Results are discussed and compared with EOS models.
On Dispersion Rates for Solutions to the Vlasov-Poisson System

The purpose of this article is to refine and complement the results obtained in Calogero et al. (2010) on the dispersive behavior for solutions to the Vlasov-Poisson system in the stellar dynamics case. I will focus mainly on solutions that have zero energy in the center of mass system.
SMALL-SCALE HYDRODYNAMICS IN LAKES

Recent small-scale turbulence observations allow the mixing regimes in lakes, reservoirs, and other enclosed basins to be categorized into the turbulent surface and bottom boundary layers as well as the comparably quiet interior. The surface layer consists of an energetic wave-affected thin zone at the very top and a law-of-the-wall layer right below, where the classical logarithmic-layer characteristic applies on average. Short-term current and dissipation profiles, however, deviate strongly from any steady state. In contrast, the quasi-steady bottom boundary layer behaves almost perfectly as a logarithmic layer, although periodic seiching modifies the structure in the details. The interior stratified turbulence is extremely weak, even though much of the mechanical energy is contained in baroclinic basin-scale seiching and Kelvin waves or inertial currents (large lakes). The transformation of large-scale motions to turbulence occurs mainly in the bottom boundary and not in the interior, where the local shear remains weak and the Richardson numbers are generally large.
Optical activity of chiral thin film and liquid crystal hybrids

Using the glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technique, we have fabricated porous, chiral thin films with optically anisotropic helical microstructures that exhibit optical phenomena such as wavelength specific rotation of linearly polarized light. Initial research has shown that the porosity of the films allows for the addition of nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) to the films for promising applications in dynamically switchable devices, while simultaneously enhancing the optical properties of the film. This study describes the fundamental optical behaviour of LC-filled chiral thin films in relation to material, porosity, structure and thickness. It was found that for SiO2 films, the addition of NLCs increased the effective rotatory power by two-fold when compared with results from the film without added LCs. The rotatory power of Al2O3 and MgF2 films, while being similarly increased by the addition of LCs, exhibited a reversal in sign, or direction of rotation, for the visible wavelength spectrum investigated. The effects of film porosity and structure were studied by varying the angle of incidence from 83° to 86°; it was found that the greater porosity of the films deposited at larger angles allowed for more filling by the LCs and thus a larger increase in rotatory power. Finally, the addition of LCs was observed to shift the wavelength of peak rotation towards smaller values.
STATIC FRICTION AND ARCH FORMATION IN GRANULAR MATERIALS

We report experiments in two and three dimensions that show that the flow mode of a granulate confined in a container strongly depends upon preparation. After a shock or a compressive stress, the granulate can flow freely or exhibit fragmentation resulting from what we call ``vaults hardening. '' We analyze this effect in the framework of a classical triangular bead pattern where the central particle is submitted to a vertical load. The model includes the indetermination of static friction forces and a spring that mimics the elastic tension in a chain of deformable particles. During reversal of gravity, we show that there is a locking mechanism that maximizes the tension of the spring. Then, the magnitude of friction forces is also maximum and may be large enough to prevent any motion of the central particle. This work can be looked upon as an approach to the more general problem of the stability of contact chains in a granulate.
Recurrence relations for single and product moments of progressively Type-II censored order statistics from a generalized half-logistic distribution with application to inference

In this paper, we establish several recurrence relations for the single and product moments of progressively Type-II right-censored order statistics from a generalized half-logistic distribution. The use of these relations in a systematic recursive manner enables the computation of all the means, variances, and covariances of progressively Type-II right-censored order statistics from the generalized half-logistic distribution for all sample sizes n, effective sample sizes m, and all progressive censoring schemes (R 1, …, R m ). The results established here generalize the corresponding results for the usual order statistics due to Balakrishnan and Sandhu [Recurrence relations for single and product moments of order statistics from a generalized half-logistic distribution with applications to inference, J. Stat. Comput. Simul. 52 (1995), pp. 385–398. ]. The moments so determined are then utilized to derive the best linear unbiased estimators of the scale and location–scale parameters of the generalized half-logistic distribution. The best linear unbiased predictors of censored failure times are discussed briefly. Finally, a numerical example is presented to illustrate the inferential method developed here.
Universal and local time components in Schumann resonance intensity

We extend the technique suggested by Sentman and Fraser (1991) and discussed by Pechony and Price (2006), the technique for separating the local and universal time variations in the Schumann resonance intensity. Initially, we simulate the resonance oscillations in a uniform Earth-ionosphere cavity with the distribution of lightning strokes based on the OTD satellite data. Different field components were used in the Dayside source model for the Moshiri (Japan, geographic coordinates: 44.365° N, 142.24° E) and Lehta (Karelia, Russia, 64.427° N, 33.974° E) observatories. We use the extended Fourier series for obtaining the modulating functions. Simulations show that the algorithm evaluates the impact of the source proximity in the resonance intensity. Our major goal was in estimating the universal alteration factors, which reflect changes in the global thunderstorm activity. It was achieved by compensating the local factors present in the initial data. The technique is introduced with the model Schumann resonance data and afterwards we use the long-term experimental records at the above sites for obtaining the diurnal/monthly variations of the global thunderstorms.
Learning Mathematics with Picture Books.

This paper describes a field experiment with a pretest-posttest-control group design in which the potential of reading picture books to children for supporting their mathematical understanding was investigated. The study involved 384 children from eighteen kindergarten classes in eighteen schools in the Netherlands. Data analyses revealed that the experimental group showed a significantly larger increase than the control group in their mathematics performance in a project test containing items on a variety of mathematical topics including arithmetic, measurement, and geometry.
Near-infrared observations of candidate extrinsic S stars

Photometric observations in the near infrared for 161 S stars, including 18 Tc-rich (intrinsic) stars, 19 Tc-deficient (extrinsic) ones and 124 candidates for Tc-deficient S stars, are presented in this paper. Based on some further investigations into the infrared properties of both Tc-rich and Tc-deficient S stars, 104 candidates are identified as very likely Tc-deficient S stars. The large number of infrared-selected Tc-deficient S stars provides a convenient way to study the physical properties and the evolutionary status of this species of S stars.
Cosmic ray decreases and magnetic clouds

A study has been made of energetic particle data, obtained from IMP 8, in conjunction with solar wind field and plasma data at the times of reported magnetic clouds. It is shown that magnetic clouds can cause a depression of the cosmic ray flux but high fields are required. A depression of 3% in a neutron monitor requires a field of about 25 nT. Such high fields are found only in a subset of coronal ejecta. The principal cause for Forbush decreases associated with energetic shocks is probably turbulence in the postshock region, although some shocks will be followed by an ejecta with a high field. Each event is different. The lower-energy particles can help in identifying the dominant processes in individual events. 19 refs., 5 figs.
The clinical effects of two non-invasive ventilation modes on premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome: A randomized controlled trial

Background: To compare the safety and effectiveness of nasal noninvasive high- frequency oscillatory ventilation (NHFOV) and duo positive airway pressure (DuoPAP) applications in preterm babies with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial. Forty-three premature infants with RDS treated in the neonatal intensive care unit of Huaibei Maternal and Child Health Hospital from January 2020 to November 2021 were selected as the research participants. They were randomly divided into the NHFOV group (n = 22) and DuoPAP group (n = 21). General conditions, including the arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO2), carbon dioxide partial pressure (PaCO2), oxygenation index (OI), the incidence of apnea at 72 hours, duration of noninvasive respiratory support, maternal high-risk factors, total oxygen consumption time, total gastrointestinal feeding time, and the frequency of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and apnea were compared between the NHFOV group and DuoPAP group at 12 and 24 hours after noninvasive respiratory support. Results: There was no noteworthy difference between the 2 groups with respect to PaO2, PaCO2, OI, IVH, and NEC and BPD at different nodes (all P > .05). Conclusion: The endpoints of PaO2, PaCO2 and OI and complications of IVH, NEC, BPD and Apnea, and did not reveal any statistical differences between NHFOV and DuoPAP during the respiratory support in preterm babies with RDS.