Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy of Ionic Conductivity and Reaction Mechanisms in Ultrathin Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Abstract Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are promising candidates for use in alternative energy technologies. A full understanding of the reaction mechanisms in these dynamic material systems is required to optimize device performance and overcome present limitations. Here, we show that in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can be used to study redox reactions and ionic conductivity in SOFCs in a gas environment at elevated temperature. We examine model ultrathin half and complete cells in two environmental TEMs using off-axis electron holography and electron energy-loss spectroscopy. Our results from the model cells provide insight into the essential phenomena that are important for the operation of commercial devices. Changes in the activities of dopant cations in the solid electrolyte are detected during oxygen anion conduction, demonstrating the key role of dopants in electrolyte architecture in SOFCs.
Role of B-type natriuretic peptide in epoxyeicosatrienoic acid-mediated improved post-ischaemic recovery of heart contractile function.

AIMS This study examined the functional role of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (EET)-mediated cardioprotection in mice with targeted disruption of the sEH or Ephx2 gene (sEH null). METHODS AND RESULTS Isolated mouse hearts were perfused in the Langendorff mode and subjected to global no-flow ischaemia followed by reperfusion. Hearts were analysed for recovery of left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP), mRNA levels, and protein expression. Naïve hearts from sEH null mice had similar expression of preproBNP (Nppb) mRNA compared with wild-type (WT) hearts. However, significant increases in Nppb mRNA and BNP protein expression occurred during post-ischaemic reperfusion and correlated with improved post-ischaemic recovery of LVDP. Perfusion with the putative EET receptor antagonist 14,15-epoxyeicosa-5(Z)-enoic acid prior to ischaemia reduced the preproBNP mRNA in sEH null hearts. Inhibitor studies demonstrated that perfusion with the natriuretic peptide receptor type-A (NPR-A) antagonist, A71915, limited the improved recovery in recombinant full-length mouse BNP (rBNP)- and 11,12-EET-perfused hearts as well as in sEH null mice. Increased expression of phosphorylated protein kinase C epsilon and Akt were found in WT hearts perfused with either 11,12-EET or rBNP, while mitochondrial glycogen synthase kinase-3beta was significantly lower in the same samples. Furthermore, treatment with the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor wortmannin abolished improved LVDP recovery in 11,12-EET-treated hearts but not did significantly inhibit recovery of rBNP-treated hearts. CONCLUSION Taken together, these data indicate that EET-mediated cardioprotection involves BNP and PI3K signalling events.
On the Support of Activity Patterns in ProWAP: Case Studies, Formal Semantics, Tool Support

Recently, research on workflow activity patterns emerged in order to increase the reuse of recurring business functions (e.g., request for task execution, notification, approval and decision). While workflow patterns have been defined for several aspects related to process execution, recurrent business functions have been only partially addressed by existing work. Related to this challenge we proposed a set of seven workflow activity patterns in previous work. In this paper we report on the results of several case studies we performed in Brazilian and European companies in order to investigate how frequently the activity patterns occur in real-world process models. We further formalize the identified activity patterns using Pi-calculus. This formalization as well as our analysis results are applied in the develop¬ment of a BPM tool fostering the reuse of business functions specifications.
Computability in Basic Quantum Mechanics

We discuss computability of basic notions of quantum mechanics like states and observables in the sense of Type Two Effectivity (TTE). This is not done directly but via function realizability using topological domain theory as developed by Schroeder and Simpson. We relate the natural topologies induced by admissible representations to topologies considered in functional analysis and measure theory.
New Switching Strategy for Single-Mode Operation of a Single-Stage Buck–Boost Inverter

Generally, single-stage buck–boost inverters consist of distinct circuits operating individually in buck/boost or positive/negative modes, the latter definitely leading to crossover distortion in the output current. This paper proposes a switching strategy that changes the bimodal operation of a single-stage buck–boost topology to a single-mode inverter. This is due to the consequent voltage gain that ensures that the output voltage polarity, apart from its magnitude, is an exclusive function of the duty ratio. Operational principle and salient hardware design are explained with the help of equivalent circuits. Details about the dynamic model are presented, based on which controller design is carried out for both stand-alone and grid-connected operation. Experimental results obtained from a 300-W, 110-V laboratory prototype are presented to validate the performance of the proposed switching strategy.
Exploration and characterization of ligninolytic aerobic bacteria and its application in composting oil palm empty fruit bunch.

Lignin is a complex compounds that makes up the cell walls of plants and is quite difficult to degrade at normal ambient condition. One of the organic materials with high lignin content is empty fruit bunches (EFB) of oil palm. So far, the well-studied microorganism to degrade lignin is of a class of fungi. Utilization of bacteria to degrade lignin in EFB has rarely been reported although application of the bacteria is very important if it is associated with aerobic composting which requires regular turning process and supporting clean development mechanism (CDM). The objective of this study was to explore and characterize the bacteria having capability to degrade lignin in EFB. The result showed that from 14 types of sample, 12 and 11 isolates were obtained through non enrichment and enrichment methods respectively. Qualitative test was performed using a lignin derivative dye (methylene blue/MB) suspended in Luria Bertani (LB) solid media and the formation of the clear zone was observed, while quantitative assay was performed with enzyme activity assays of laccase (Lac), manganese peroxidase (Mn-P), and lignin peroxidase (Li-P). The best isolate (FS isolate) was obtained from enrichment method that able to make 0.6 cm clear zone of LB media + MB and actively produced laccase, manganese peroxidase with and without addition of Mn with an activity of 2.68, 20.02, and 0.36 U/mL, respectively. While the best isolate from non enrichment method was CRK 1, that was able to make 0.3 cm clear zone and produced Mn-peroxidase with and without addition of Mn as much as 2.09 and 0.23 U/mL, respectively. Application of the decomposer formula could speed upthe declining rate of C/N ratio and suppressing Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp.in EFB compost produced. [
Crossing the front: contrasting storm-forced dispersal dynamics revealed by biological, geological and genetic analysis of beach-cast kelp

The subtropical front (STF) generally represents a substantial oceanographic barrier to dispersal between cold-sub-Antarctic and warm-temperate water masses. Recent studies have suggested that storm events can drastically influence marine dispersal and patterns. Here we analyse biological and geological dispersal driven by two major, contrasting storm events in southern New Zealand, 2017. We integrate biological and physical data to show that a severe southerly system in July 2017 disrupted this barrier by promoting movement of substantial numbers of southern sub-Antarctic Durvillaea kelp rafts across the STF, to make landfall in mainland NZ. By contrast, a less intense easterly storm (Cyclone Cook, April 2017) resulted in more moderate dispersal distances, with minimal dispersal between the sub-Antarctic and mainland New Zealand. These quantitative analyses of approximately 200 freshly beach-cast kelp specimens indicate that storm intensity and wind direction can strongly influence marine dispersal and landfall outcomes.
A Quinoxaline Derivative as a Potent Chemotherapeutic Agent, Alone or in Combination with Benznidazole, against Trypanosoma cruzi

Background Chagas’ disease is a condition caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi that affects millions of people, mainly in Latin America where it is considered endemic. The chemotherapy for Chagas disease remains a problem; the standard treatment currently relies on a single drug, benznidazole, which unfortunately induces several side effects and it is not successful in the cure of most of the chronic patients. In order to improve the drug armamentarium against Chagas’ disease, in the present study we describe the synthesis of the compound 3-chloro-7-methoxy-2-(methylsulfonyl) quinoxaline (quinoxaline 4) and its activity, alone or in combination with benznidazole, against Trypanosoma cruzi in vitro. Methodology/Principal Findings Quinoxaline 4 was found to be strongly active against Trypanosoma cruzi Y strain and more effective against the proliferative forms. The cytotoxicity against LLCMK2 cells provided selective indices above one for all of the parasite forms. The drug induced very low hemolysis, but its anti-protozoan activity was partially inhibited when mouse blood was added in the experiment against trypomastigotes, an effect that was specifically related to blood cells. A synergistic effect between quinoxaline 4 and benznidazole was observed against epimastigotes and trypomastigotes, accompanied by an antagonistic interaction against LLCMK2 cells. Quinoxaline 4 induced several ultrastructural alterations, including formations of vesicular bodies, profiles of reticulum endoplasmic surrounding organelles and disorganization of Golgi complex. These alterations were also companied by cell volume reduction and maintenance of cell membrane integrity of treated-parasites. Conclusion/Significance Our results demonstrated that quinoxaline 4, alone or in combination with benznidazole, has promising effects against all the main forms of T. cruzi. The compound at low concentrations induced several ultrastructural alterations and led the parasite to an autophagic-like cell death. Taken together these results may support the further development of a combination therapy as an alternative more effective in Chagas’ disease treatment.
THE GROWTHAND THE DEATH OF CARBONFULLER~NES AND NANOTUBES

Calculations based on a.n ab initio total energy functional are used to study the recently discovered all-carbon fullerene clusters, such as the buckyball, and nanotubes. Molecular dynamics simulations show that fnllerenes are very resilient when subject to binary collisions or exposed to heat. The growth of multi-shell structures is shown to be aided by covalent bonds between the edges of neighboring shells. The fragmentation dynamics of fullerenes and nanotubes, which proceeds via transformation into carbon chains, provides new insight into the fonnation process of these intriguing systems.
Single-Phase LED Drivers With Minimal Power Processing, Constant Output Current, Input Power Factor Correction, and Without Electrolytic Capacitor

High-power light-emitting diodes (LEDs) having properties of high luminous efficacy and long life span are becoming a major light source for general illumination. To fully utilize the advantages of LED in lighting applications, the offline power supply that drives the LED should possess the following features: high efficiency, long life span, high input power factor, and (COC). In this paper, high efficiency is achieved by using a minimal power processing (MPP) configuration. Near perfect power factor correction (PFC) is achieved by a simple dual-output disc-ontinuous-conduction-mode (DCM) pulse-width-modulated (PWM) front-end converter. One output of the front-end converter is connected to the LED load using a control switch. The other output is connected directly to a dc storage capacitor cascaded with a downstream DCM PWM converter driving the same LED load to achieve COC driving. The power flow is controlled to achieve the required MPP that can also reduce the storage capacitance by balancing only the ac input ripple power and the dc output power without power recycling. Thus, the design requires no electrolytic capacitor, hence extending the system life span. The achievement of input PFC, MPP, and COC requires design tradeoff among design freedom, ease of control and component count. LED drivers having all these properties are developed, designed, and tested.
HyDe: a Python Package for Genome-Scale Hybridization Detection

The analysis of hybridization and gene flow among closely related taxa is a common goal for researchers studying speciation and phylogeography in natural populations. Many methods for hybridization detection use simple site pattern frequencies from observed genomic data and compare them to null models that predict an absence of gene flow. The theory underlying the detection of hybridization using these site pattern probabilities exploits the relationship between the coalescent process for gene trees within population trees and the process of mutation along the branches of the gene trees. For certain models, site patterns are predicted to occur in equal frequency (i.e., their difference is 0), producing a set of functions called phylogenetic invariants. In this paper we introduce HyDe, a software package for detecting hybridization using phylogenetic invariants arising under the coalescent model with hybridization. HyDe is written using a combination of C++ and Python, and can be used interactively in Python or through the command line using pre-packaged scripts. We demonstrate the use of HyDe on simulated data, as well as on two empirical data sets from the literature. We focus in particular on identifying individual hybrids within population samples and on distinguishing between hybrid speciation and gene flow. HyDe is freely available as an open source Python package under the GNU GPL v3 on both GitHub (https://github.com/pblischak/HyDe) and the Python Package Index (PyPI: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/phyde).
A Modified RNA-Seq Approach for Whole Genome Sequencing of RNA Viruses from Faecal and Blood Samples

To date, very large scale sequencing of many clinically important RNA viruses has been complicated by their high population molecular variation, which creates challenges for polymerase chain reaction and sequencing primer design. Many RNA viruses are also difficult or currently not possible to culture, severely limiting the amount and purity of available starting material. Here, we describe a simple, novel, high-throughput approach to Norovirus and Hepatitis C virus whole genome sequence determination based on RNA shotgun sequencing (also known as RNA-Seq). We demonstrate the effectiveness of this method by sequencing three Norovirus samples from faeces and two Hepatitis C virus samples from blood, on an Illumina MiSeq benchtop sequencer. More than 97% of reference genomes were recovered. Compared with Sanger sequencing, our method had no nucleotide differences in 14,019 nucleotides (nt) for Noroviruses (from a total of 2 Norovirus genomes obtained with Sanger sequencing), and 8 variants in 9,542 nt for Hepatitis C virus (1 variant per 1,193 nt). The three Norovirus samples had 2, 3, and 2 distinct positions called as heterozygous, while the two Hepatitis C virus samples had 117 and 131 positions called as heterozygous. To confirm that our sample and library preparation could be scaled to true high-throughput, we prepared and sequenced an additional 77 Norovirus samples in a single batch on an Illumina HiSeq 2000 sequencer, recovering >90% of the reference genome in all but one sample. No discrepancies were observed across 118,757 nt compared between Sanger and our custom RNA-Seq method in 16 samples. By generating viral genomic sequences that are not biased by primer-specific amplification or enrichment, this method offers the prospect of large-scale, affordable studies of RNA viruses which could be adapted to routine diagnostic laboratory workflows in the near future, with the potential to directly characterize within-host viral diversity.
SiyGe1−x−ySnx films grown on Si using a cold-wall ultrahigh-vacuum chemical vapor deposition system

Silicon germanium tin alloys were grown directly on Si substrates using a cold-wall ultrahigh-vacuum chemical vapor deposition system at 300 °C, where commercially available precursors of silane, germane, and stannic chloride were used to grow the epitaxial layers. The crystallinity and growth quality of the SiyGe1−x−ySnx films were investigated through material characterization methods including x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Rutherford backscattering measurements show that 2%–5% of the Sn and 3%–5% of the Si were successfully incorporated. Investigation of the material growth parameters shows that a flow rate of stannic chloride higher than 1 sccm results in etching of the film, while an increase in the silane flow rate results in amorphous film growth. The photoluminescence study shows clear emission peaks ascribed to direct and indirect bandgap transitions, which are in agreement with theoretical calculations.
A Comparative Study on the Performance of Classifiers in Predicting Frequency of Drug Intake : A case study with Ketamine , Heroin , Crack and Meth

Data Mining and pattern recognition has been used in several commercial and academical applications. A wide variety of techniques have been devised to tackle this variety in applications. Classification is a data mining technique that assigns items to target categories. The goal of classification is to predict the target category of the item accurately. Despite the long tradition of data mining research, no classification algorithm has been found to yield maximum accuracy in all applications. In this research a comparative study was performed on the performance of classification algorithms that are conventionally known to have high accuracy Bayesian Networks, Random Forest, Regression, SMO, J48, Bayesian Networks, Perceptron classifiers and Logistic regression. The frequency of intake of the drugs crack, meth, heroin and ketamine were analyzed with personality measurements including NEO-F FI-R (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness), BIS-11 (impulsivity), ImpSS( sensation seeking) and general demographic information. In addition, correlation based feature selection technique was applied on each algorithm and its results were recorded. The results of this work report that SMO performs best with over 75% accuracy when there are several features contributing to construction of the model and when the number of features is reduced using Feature Subset selection. The accuracy of J48, Logistic regression and multilayer perceptron models increase after feature selection with over 70% accuracy.
A GDSC-Based Technique to Distinguish Transformer Magnetizing From Fault Currents

This paper presents a novel technique to distinguish a transformer magnetization inrush current from a fault current. The proposed scheme is based on the behavior of fundamental and second-harmonic positive- and negative-sequence components. These four components are computed by using generalized delayed signal cancelation (GDSC). After a transient analysis for the GDSC filters, related to the behavior of those four components detection, some features were proposed. These features depict the trajectory change of the most relevant components in the $\alpha \beta$ plane and their amplitudes for short-circuit discrimination, rather than waiting for filters convergence or waiting one cycle to analyze waveform symmetries. Some features instantly change after an electrical event, making possible a distinction by analyzing a short number of samples. This is the main competitive advantage of the proposed technique. In order to evaluate the proposed method performance, 2200 test cases based on an actual power system were simulated. Also, current-transformer (CT) saturation influence on the technique, computational burden, and embedded implementation were analyzed. In about 95% of the results obtained, the response time of the proposed method was around one fourth of a fundamental cycle.
F‐statistics of clonal diploids structured in numerous demes

The expected apportionment of genetic diversity in diploid clonal organisms structured in numerous subpopulations is explored. Under the specific assumptions considered, corresponding, for instance, to clonal pathogens infecting a large number of hosts, the co‐ancestry between individuals within subpopulations is the only nontrivial quantity. Thus the population structure can be fully described either by FST or FIS, as FST = –FIS/(1 − FIS). We show that, for most of the parameter space considered, including simulations where equilibrium is not reached and/or where homoplasy is high, the number of effective migrants is most accurately estimated as Nm = –(1 + FIS)/4FIS. We further propose a criterion to test for the absence of cryptic sexual reproduction based on the F‐statistics FIS and FST, which is applied to three previously published empirical data sets.
Micro-Determination of Cotton Fibre Maturity in Polarized Light

Recent work described by Pattee 1 and based on previous findings by Schwarz 2 and Herzog 3 has evoked a certain amount of comment and criticism. In this brief discussion, therefore, certain data are presented in support of the method proposed by Pattee and in some measure an amplification and clarification of his technique. It is shown that the determination of the degree of maturity of a sample of cotton by means of polarized light has certain advantages over the older swelling technique described by Clegg 4 and recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture and the American Society for Testing Materials. It is also shown that the fibres selected by means of their characteristic behavior in the polarizing microscope have cross-sections which are definitely separable by measurement and appearance into distinct groups. Further, it is demonstrated that the wall thickness of the smallest cotton fibre (Sea Island) in the mature state is greater than the wall thickness of either the fully immature or the partially immature fibres of the coarsest type (Indian). Thus the objection to the polarized light method raised by certain workers, namely that the technique will not allow of distinguishing between a small-diameter mature fibre and a large-diameter immature fibre, is shown to be unfounded.