Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Numerical simulation of particle-laden turbulent channel flow

This paper presents results for the behavior of particle-laden gases in a small Reynolds number vertical channel down flow. Results will be presented for the effects of particle feedback on the gas-phase turbulence and for the concentration profile of the particles. The effects of density ratio, mass loading, and particle inertia will be discussed. The results were obtained from a numerical simulation that included the effects of particle feedback on the gas phase and particle–particle collisions. The resolution of the simulation was comparable to the smallest scales in the particle-free flow, but the grid spacings were larger than the particle size. Particle mass loadings up to 2 and both elastic and inelastic collisions were considered. Particle feedback causes the turbulent intensities to become more anisotropic as the particle loading is increased. For small mass loadings, the particles cause an increase in the gas flow rate. It will be shown that the particles tend to increase the characteristic length scales of the fluctuations in the streamwise component of velocity and that this reduces the transfer of turbulent energy between the streamwise component of velocity and the components transverse to the flow. Particle–particle collisions greatly reduce the tendency of particles to accumulate at the wall for the range of mass loadings considered. This was true even when the collisions were inelastic.
Slicing Display : a tangible interface for slicing and annotation of volumetric data

The motivation behind this project is to facilitate the analysis and annotation of volumetric image data. The method consists on gener ati g 2d slices that appear physically at the right location in a three-dimensional refer nce frame associated to the virtual volume (Fig.1). This is done using a (p ssive) display that also functions as the volume slicing tool (Fig.2) and as a free-ha nd input surface (Fig.3). As a consequence, exploration of 3d data is rendered mor e intuitive thanks to the integration of proprioceptive information: the user intuitively “knows” the loca tion and pose of the slice, as if he/she were in direct con act with the virtual object (the VSD is an example of a “Tangible User Interface” [1 ]). Even if this system does not generate stereoscopic views, radiologists would be abl to retrieve a certain amount of three-dimensionality from an X-ray plate by free ly orienting the (unthethered) screen in space, instead of relying on a negatoscop e to form a mental representation of the volume, or using secondary hardware interfac s such as a mouse, knobs or keyboard to select a planar slice to be rendered on a standard monitor.
Constraint-Preserving Upwind Methods for Multidimensional Advection Equations

A general framework for constructing constraint-preserving numerical methods is presented and applied to a multidimensional divergence-constrained advection equation. This equation is part of a set of hyperbolic equations that evolve a vector field while locally preserving either its divergence or its curl. We discuss the properties of these equations and their relation to ordinary advection. Due to the constraint, such equations form model equations for general evolution equations with intrinsic constraints which appear frequently in physics. The general framework allows the construction of numerical methods that preserve \emph{exactly} the discretized constraint by special flux distribution. Assuming a rectangular, two-dimensional grid as a first approach, application of this framework leads to a locally constraint-preserving multidimensional upwind method. We prove consistency and stability of the new method and present several numerical experiments. Finally, extensions of the method to the three-dimensional case are described.
Ethnic Socialization, Discrimination, and the Academic Adjustment of Adolescents

Ethnic socialization has significant associations with African American children’s academic motivation and psychological well-being. However, little is known about the role of ethnic socialization for families with Latin American and Asian backgrounds. In the present study, we examined if there were ethnic and generation differences among 524 11th grade adolescents from Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds in the frequency and the types of ethnic socialization messages that they received from their parents. Participants also responded to questions about discrimination experiences and academic motivation. Their grade point averages (GPAs) were collected from school records. Results indicated that adolescents from both Mexican and Chinese backgrounds reported more cultural socialization and preparation for bias messages than their peers from European backgrounds. Chinese adolescents reported more promotion of mistrust messages than their peers with European backgrounds. Moreover, promotion of mistrust messages negatively predicted academic achievement, whereas positive cultural socialization messages accounted for the higher levels of motivation among adolescents from Chinese and Mexican backgrounds as compared to their equally-achieving peers from European backgrounds. Ethnic socialization did not moderate the negative association between discrimination and achievement.
SZX-Calculus: Scalable Graphical Quantum Reasoning

We introduce the Scalable ZX-calculus (SZX-calculus for short), a formal and compact graphical language for the design and verification of quantum computations. The SZX-calculus is an extension of the ZX-calculus, a powerful framework that captures graphically the fundamental properties of quantum mechanics through its complete set of rewrite rules. The ZX-calculus is, however, a low level language, with each wire representing a single qubit. This limits its ability to handle large and elaborate quantum evolutions. We extend the ZX-calculus to registers of qubits and allow compact representation of sub-diagrams via binary matrices. We show soundness and completeness of the SZX-calculus and provide two examples of applications, for graph states and error correcting codes.
Organotypic liver culture models: Meeting current challenges in toxicity testing

Prediction of chemical-induced hepatotoxicity in humans from in vitro data continues to be a significant challenge for the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Generally, conventional in vitro hepatic model systems (i.e. 2-D static monocultures of primary or immortalized hepatocytes) are limited by their inability to maintain histotypic and phenotypic characteristics over time in culture, including stable expression of clearance and bioactivation pathways, as well as complex adaptive responses to chemical exposure. These systems are less than ideal for longer-term toxicity evaluations and elucidation of key cellular and molecular events involved in primary and secondary adaptation to chemical exposure, or for identification of important mediators of inflammation, proliferation and apoptosis. Progress in implementing a more effective strategy for in vitro-in vivo extrapolation and human risk assessment depends on significant advances in tissue culture technology and increasing their level of biological complexity. This article describes the current and ongoing need for more relevant, organotypic in vitro surrogate systems of human liver and recent efforts to recreate the multicellular architecture and hemodynamic properties of the liver using novel culture platforms. As these systems become more widely used for chemical and drug toxicity testing, there will be a corresponding need to establish standardized testing conditions, endpoint analyses and acceptance criteria. In the future, a balanced approach between sample throughput and biological relevance should provide better in vitro tools that are complementary with animal testing and assist in conducting more predictive human risk assessment.
Estimating age-specific vaccine effectiveness using data from a large measles outbreak in Berlin, Germany, 2014/15: evidence for waning immunity

Background Measles elimination is based on 95% coverage with two doses of a measles-containing vaccine (MCV2), high vaccine effectiveness (VE) and life-long vaccine-induced immunity. Longitudinal analysis of antibody titres suggests existence of waning immunity, but the relevance at the population-level is unknown. Aim We sought to assess presence of waning immunity by estimating MCV2 VE in different age groups (2–5, 6–15, 16–23, 24–30 and 31–42 years) in Berlin. Methods We conducted a systematic literature review on vaccination coverage and applied the screening-method using data from a large measles outbreak (2014/15) in Berlin. Uncertainty in input variables was incorporated by Monte Carlo simulation. In a scenario analysis, we estimated the proportion vaccinated with MCV2 in those 31-42 years using VE of the youngest age group, where natural immunity was deemed negligible. Results Of 773 measles cases (median age: 20 years), 40 had received MCV2. Average vaccine coverage per age group varied (32%–88%). Estimated median VE was > 99% (95% credible interval (CrI): 98.6–100) in the three youngest age groups, but lower (90.9%, 95% CrI: 74.1–97.6) in the oldest age group. In the scenario analysis, the estimated proportion vaccinated was 98.8% (95% CrI: 96.5–99.8). Conclusion VE for MCV2 was generally high, but lower in those aged 31-42 years old. The estimated proportion with MCV2 should have led to sufficient herd immunity in those aged 31-42 years old. Thus, lower VE cannot be fully explained by natural immunity, suggesting presence of waning immunity.
Poly-L-lactide acid-modified scaffolds for osteoinduction and osteoconduction.

Poly-L-lactide acid (PLLA) scaffold has been modified to enhance its osteoconductive and osteoinductive properties in view of a bone tissue engineering application. Two approaches have been followed: (i) coating with laminin or fibronectin and (ii) grafting with arginine-glycine-aspatic acid (RGD) or SIKVAV peptides. Moreover we have added a bioactive molecule 1,25-(OH)₂ D3 into the scaffold that shows better cellular interaction to implement osteoinduction and osteogenesis. The two coatings promoted only cell adhesion in the very short term while even if grafted scaffolds had cell seeding efficiency similar to ungrafted PLLA, the grafted ones supported better the proliferation of seeded human osteoblast (hOB) and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) over 1 week of culture. Our data showed that in view of bone integration and bone regeneration, PLLA grafting with RGD can be considered a good substrate to induce hOB adhesion and proliferation but having no significant effect on the osteogenic induction, the scaffold has to be reinforced with osteoinductive molecules. It can be concluded from reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction results, alkaline phosphatase activity and mineralization assays that 1,25(OH)₂ D3 reinforced RGD-PLLA keeps increased cell proliferation supported by an upregulation of the studied osteogenic markers and induced hMSCs differentiation into osteoblasts demonstrating osteoinductivity and osteoconductivity of the new formulated scaffold. These results can lead to a future application of RGD-D3-PLLA as an osteogenic material for bone replacement.
Face modelling and tracking from range scans

This paper presents an automatic framework for face model and texture reconstruction, facial expression transferring, and face tracking from 3D and 4D range scans. Taking the scale transformation into consideration, an extension of the iterative closest points (ICP) algorithm is introduced to solve the problem of registering a generic face model onto range scans with different sizes. A deformable model derived from thin shells is proposed to faithfully reconstruct face models and textures from range scans. Dense point correspondences are then established across different reconstructed face models so that facial expressions can be easily transferred from one face onto another by the deformation transfer technique. The proposed deformable model is also used to track the facial motion presented in 4D range scans and some preliminary results are obtained.
Nuclear Localization and Dynamic Properties of the Marek's Disease Virus Oncogene Products Meq and Meq/vIL8

ABSTRACT Marek's disease virus (MDV) is an avian herpesvirus that causes T-cell lymphomas and immune suppression in susceptible chickens. At least one gene product, MDV Eco Q-encoded protein (Meq), is essential for the oncogenicity of MDV. Alternative splicing permits the meq gene to give rise to two major transcripts encoding proteins designated Meq and Meq/vIL8. Meq is a basic leucine zipper protein capable of modulating transcription. The Meq/vIL8 protein retains a modified leucine zipper, along with the mature receptor-binding portion of vIL8, but lacks the domain of Meq responsible for transcriptional modulation. In this report, we describe studies using fusions between either Meq or Meq/vIL8 and fluorescent proteins to characterize the distribution and properties of these products in chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEFs). Meq and Meq/vIL8 both localized to the nucleoplasm, nucleoli, and Cajal bodies of transfected cells. Similar distributions were found for fluorescent fusion proteins and native Meq or Meq/vIL8. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and photoactivatable green fluorescent protein revealed that Meq exhibited mobility properties similar to those of other transcription factors, while Meq/vIL8 was far less mobile. In addition, fluorescence resonance energy transfer studies indicated the formation of Meq/vIL8 homodimers in CEFs. Time lapse studies revealed the coordinated elimination of a portion of Meq and Meq/vIL8 from the nucleus. Our data provide new insight regarding the dynamic cellular properties of two forms of a herpesvirus-encoded oncoprotein and suggest that these forms may have fundamentally different functions in MDV-infected cells.
Data Structure Engineering For Byte-Addressable Non-Volatile Memory

Storage Class Memory (SCM) is emerging as a viable alternative to traditional DRAM, alleviating its scalability limits, both in terms of capacity and energy consumption, while being non-volatile. Hence, SCM has the potential to become a universal memory, blurring well-known storage hierarchies. However, along with opportunities, SCM brings many challenges. In this tutorial we will dissect SCM challenges and provide an in-depth view of existing programming models that circumvent them, as well as novel data structures that stem from these models. We will also elaborate on fail-safety testing challenges -- an often overlooked, yet important topic. Finally, we will discuss SCM emulation techniques for end-to-end testing of SCM-based software components. In contrast to surveys investigating the use of SCM in database systems, this tutorial is designed as a programming guide for researchers and professionals interested in leveraging SCM in database systems.
The Effect of Government Size on the Steady-State Unemployment Rate: A Dynamic Perspective

The relationship between government size and the unemployment rate is investigated using a panel error-correction model that describes both the short-run dynamics and long-run determination of the unemployment rate. Using data from twenty OECD countries from 1970 to 1999 and after correcting for simultaneity bias, we find that government size, measured as total government outlays as a percentage of GDP, plays a significant role in affecting the steady-state unemployment rate. Importantly, when government outlays are disaggregated, transfers and subsidies are found to significantly affect the steady-state unemployment rate while government purchases of goods and services play no significant role.
Compensating for variability in FPGAs by re-mapping and re-placement

Two complementary techniques for reducing the effect of within-die variability on the critical path delay in FPGA circuits are reported. The first technique selects the best LUT mapping from a set of alternative mappings of a logic function for each LUT cluster in the FPGA. The second selects the best assignment of LUTs to physical locations within a cluster. The techniques can be used together, and are shown in Monte Carlo experiments to reduce both the mean and standard deviation of critical path delay.
The intensity threshold of colour vision in a passerine bird, the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)

Many vertebrates use colour vision for vital behaviour but their visual performance in dim light is largely unknown. The light intensity threshold of colour vision is known only for humans, horses and two parrot species. Here, we first explore this threshold in a passerine bird, the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus). Using classic conditioning of colour cues to food rewards in three individuals, we find a threshold ranging from 0.05 to 0.2 cd m−2. Results are comparable to the two previously tested bird species. For tits, nest light conditions probably exceed that threshold, at least after sunrise. These results shed new light on the lively debate questioning the visual performance of cavity nesters and the evolutionary significance of egg and chick coloration. Although this needs further investigation, it is possible that blue tits exploit both colour and brightness cues when viewing their eggs, chicks or conspecifics in their nests.
Insights into the Genetic History of French Cattle from Dense SNP Data on 47 Worldwide Breeds

Background Modern cattle originate from populations of the wild extinct aurochs through a few domestication events which occurred about 8,000 years ago. Newly domesticated populations subsequently spread worldwide following breeder migration routes. The resulting complex historical origins associated with both natural and artificial selection have led to the differentiation of numerous different cattle breeds displaying a broad phenotypic variety over a short period of time. Methodology/Principal Findings This study gives a detailed assessment of cattle genetic diversity based on 1,121 individuals sampled in 47 populations from different parts of the world (with a special focus on French cattle) genotyped for 44,706 autosomal SNPs. The analyzed data set consisted of new genotypes for 296 individuals representing 14 French cattle breeds which were combined to those available from three previously published studies. After characterizing SNP polymorphism in the different populations, we performed a detailed analysis of genetic structure at both the individual and population levels. We further searched for spatial patterns of genetic diversity among 23 European populations, most of them being of French origin, under the recently developed spatial Principal Component analysis framework. Conclusions/Significance Overall, such high throughput genotyping data confirmed a clear partitioning of the cattle genetic diversity into distinct breeds. In addition, patterns of differentiation among the three main groups of populations—the African taurine, the European taurine and zebus—may provide some additional support for three distinct domestication centres. Finally, among the European cattle breeds investigated, spatial patterns of genetic diversity were found in good agreement with the two main migration routes towards France, initially postulated based on archeological evidence.
Analytical computation of Ehrhart polynomials: enabling more compiler analyses and optimizations

Many optimization techniques, including several targeted specifically at embedded systems, depend on the ability to calculate the number of elements that satisfy certain conditions. If these conditions can be represented by linear constraints, then such problems are equivalent to counting the number of integer points in (possibly) parametric polytopes. It is well known that this parametric count can be represented by a set of Ehrhart polynomials. Previously, interpolation was used to obtain these polynomials, but this technique has several disadvantages. Its worst-case computation time for a single Ehrhart polynomial is exponential in the input size, even for fixed dimensions. The worst-case size of such an Ehrhart polynomial (measured in bits needed to represent the polynomial) is also exponential in the input size. Under certain conditions this technique even fails to produce a solution.Our main contribution is a novel method for calculating Ehrhart polynomials analytically. It extends an existing method, based on Barvinok's decomposition, for counting the number of integer points in a non-parametric polytope. Our technique always produces a solution and computes polynomially-sized Ehrhart polynomials in polynomial time (for fixed dimensions).
Simulation of Switched Reluctance Motor and Control Based on MATLAB Environment By

The first part of this master project report is the literature review of the switched reluctance motor (SRM) which includes the basic principle of the switched reluctance motor, motor topologies, mathematical approach, torque production, electromagnetic, drives, converters and its applications. This part means to help to understand the working principle and properties of SRM. The second part of the report describes the work of modeling and simulating of SRM and its control drives. This model is based on the mathematical equations of SRM. All simulation results are shown in this part. The simulation results for different turn-off angle are discussed, and then the current control and speed control are applied. Some simulation results will be compared with the paper which is chosen from IEEE journal. The MATLAB code are set as m-file. In the last part, some conclusion has been discussed. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to give thanks to my respected supervisor Professor Dr. Venkata Dinavahi, whom gives me plenty of help and guides the direction of my master project. With his outstanding supervision throughout the project work I have properly finished this project. Dr. Dinavahi acted not only as my project supervisor but also as a guardian entire time. I would also like to give my gratitude to Professor Ying Tsui for his kind and useful guidance throughout the program. I also like to thank Ms. Pinder Bains and all the supporting staff of the department for all the help given to me to complete this project.
Drunkorexia: Calorie Restriction Prior to Alcohol Consumption among College Freshman

Using a sample of 692 freshmen at a southeastern university, this study examined caloric restriction among students prior to planned alcohol consumption. Participants were surveyed for self-reported alcohol consumption, binge drinking, and caloric intake habits prior to drinking episodes. Results indicated that 99 of 695 (14%) of first year students reported restricting calories prior to drinking, with 6% reporting this behavior to avoid weight gain and 10% to enhance alcohols effects; no significant differences were found between males and females. Based on the study findings, practical campus-based and student-centered education and prevention strategies are presented to explore solutions to reduce drunkorexia. Effective evidence-based behavior change brief interventions such as Motivational Interviewing and the Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) program are presented and discussed.