Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New optical techniques to improve the visibility of graphene on multiple substrates

Optical microscopy as a means to identify graphene is hampered by the low absorptivity of its monolayers and few-layer structures. However for many of the upcoming applications for graphene, it is essential to develop techniques to readily deliver images of graphene based structures. We report on two novel techniques and additionally on a well-known, but modified technique for the identification of graphene. All of the described methods employ standard optical reflection and transmission microsocopy and can be readily adapted in most laboratories. One of the novel techniques is based on the enhancement of the optical contrast by refractive index matching using oil immersion microscopy. The second technique, microdroplet condensation, exploits the hydrophobicity difference between the carbonic sheets and almost any arbitrary substrate. The third technique is a modification of the already well known technique to enhance the visibility contrast of graphene using interferometric effects by employing a Si wafer coated with a dielectric of specific thickness.
Pose-invariant kinematic features for action recognition

Recognition of actions from videos is a difficult task due to several factors like dynamic backgrounds, occlusion, pose-variations observed. To tackle the pose variation problem, we propose a simple method based on a novel set of pose-invariant kinematic features which are encoded in a human body centric space. The proposed framework begins with detection of neck point, which will serve as a origin of body centric space. We propose a deep learning based classifier to detect neck point based on the output of fully connected network layer. With the help of the detected neck, propagation mechanism is proposed to divide the foreground region into head, torso and leg grids. The motion observed in each of these body part grids are represented using a set of pose-invariant kinematic features. These features represent motion of foreground or body region with respect to the detected neck point's motion and encoded based on view in a human body centric space. Based on these features, poseinvariant action recognition can be achieved. Due to the body centric space is used, non-upright human posture actions can also be handled easily. To test its effectiveness in non-upright human postures in actions, a new dataset is introduced with 8 non-upright actions performed by 35 subjects in 3 different views. Experiments have been conducted on benchmark and newly proposed non-upright action dataset to identify limitations and get insights on the proposed framework.
Numerical analysis of the resin transfer molding process by the finite element method

As large components of fiber reinforced composite materials are being more frequently produced by Resin Transfer Molding (RTM), a computer simulation of the injection process can help the mold designer to accomplish three important tasks: (1) to ensure a complete filling of the mold through adequate positioning of the injection ports and of the air vents; (2) to verify the integrity of the mold during the filling process through knowledge of the pressure distribution; and (3) to optimize the production cycle using information about the filling time. The resin impregnation is usually modeled as a flow through a porous medium. It is governed by Darcy's law, which states that the flow rate is proportional to the pressure gradient. In our model, Darcy equation is solved at each time step inside the saturated part of the mold using nonconforming finite elements. This method was chosen because the approximated flow rates, contrary to conforming finite elements, satisfy locally the important physical condition of resin conservation across inter-element boundaries. This permits simplification of the numerical procedure. It is no longer necessary to resort to a control volume approach to move the flow front forward. The resin pressure distribution and the resin front positions are obtained by the computer simulation and calculated results for selected mold geometries are compared with experimental observations. Molds with inserts, multiple injection ports, and the case of anisotropic preforms can be analyzed by the computer program. © 1993 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Sensing Time Optimization and Power Control for Energy Efficient Cognitive Small Cell With Imperfect Hybrid Spectrum Sensing

Cognitive radio enabled small cell network is an emerging technology to address the exponential increase of mobile traffic demand in next generation mobile communications. Recently, many technological issues, such as resource allocation and interference mitigation pertaining to cognitive small cell network have been studied, but most studies focus on maximizing spectral efficiency. Different from the existing works, we investigate the power control and sensing time optimization problem in a cognitive small cell network, where the cross-tier interference mitigation, imperfect hybrid spectrum sensing, and energy efficiency are considered. The optimization of energy efficient sensing time and power allocation is formulated as a non-convex optimization problem. We solve the proposed problem in an asymptotically optimal manner. An iterative power control algorithm and a near optimal sensing time scheme are developed by considering imperfect hybrid spectrum sensing, cross-tier interference mitigation, minimum data rate requirement, and energy efficiency. Simulation results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms for energy efficient resource allocation in the cognitive small cell network.
Energy-harvesting user fairness in wireless information and power transfer OFDMA networks

In this paper, we propose a new optimization framework that supports energy harvesting user fairness in a wireless information and power transfer OFDMA network. We consider the downlink of a multiuser network, where non-overlapping subchannels are allocated to the users with power splitting receivers for information transfer and energy harvesting. We propose a two-stage optimization algorithm to maximize the minimum energy harvested by the users while satisfying a minimum required user rate. We apply the proposed algorithm to optimize the subchannel allocation, power allocation, and power splitting ratio for each user. Numerical examples are provided to highlight the fairness and efficiency of our two-stage algorithm.
Effective connectivity during episodic memory retrieval in schizophrenia participants before and after antipsychotic medication

Background: Impairment in episodic memory is one of the most robust findings in schizophrenia. Disruptions of fronto‐temporal functional connectivity that could explain some aspects of these deficits have been reported. Recent work has identified abnormal hippocampal function in unmedicated patients with schizophrenia (SZ), such as increased metabolism and glutamate content that are not always seen in medicated SZ. For these reasons, we hypothesized that altered fronto‐temporal connectivity might originate from the hippocampus and might be partially restored by antipsychotic medication. Methods: Granger causality methods were used to evaluate the effective connectivity between frontal and temporal regions in 21 unmedicated SZ and 20 matched healthy controls (HC) during performance of an episodic memory retrieval task. In 16 SZ, effective connectivity between these regions was evaluated before and after 1‐week of antipsychotic treatment. Results: In HC, significant effective connectivity originating from the right hippocampus to frontal regions was identified. Compared to HC, unmedicated SZ showed significant altered fronto‐temporal effective connectivity, including reduced right hippocampal to right medial frontal connectivity. After 1‐week of antipsychotic treatment, connectivity more closely resembled the patterns observed in HC, including increased effective connectivity from the right hippocampus to frontal regions. Conclusions: These results support the notion that memory disruption in schizophrenia might originate from hippocampal dysfunction and that medication restores some aspects of fronto‐temporal dysconnectivity. Patterns of fronto‐temporal connectivity could provide valuable biomarkers to identify new treatments for the symptoms of schizophrenia, including memory deficits. Hum Brain Mapp 36:1442–1457, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
gamma-Aminobutyric acid-opioid interactions in the regulation of gonadotropin secretion in the immature female rat.

Previous studies in the male rat have demonstrated that GABA acting via GABAB receptors can abolish naloxone-induced LH secretion. The purpose of the present study was to determine if an analogous situation exists in the female rat. Naloxone administered to ovariectomized immature rats had no effect on LH release. In contrast, naloxone potently stimulated LH release in estrogen-primed ovariectomized immature rats. Elevation of endogenous brain levels of GABA by administering amino-oxyacetic acid, an inhibitor of GABA catabolism, prevented the naloxone-stimulated release of LH. This effect appeared to be both GABAA and GABAB receptor mediated, since exogenous administration of either muscimol (GABAA agonist) or baclofen (GABAB agonist) prevented the naloxone-induced release of LH. Neither GABA agonist had any effect on LHRH-stimulated LH release in vivo, suggesting that their effect was specific and achieved at the level of the CNS. In contrast to its inhibitory effect on naloxone-stimulated LH and FSH release, muscimol increased basal LH and FSH release in vivo and from hemipituitaries incubated in vitro, while having no effect on LHRH release from mediobasal hypothalamic and preoptic area fragments in vitro. Thus, under conditions of basal LH release, activation of GABAA receptors in the anterior pituitary can actually lead to enhanced LH secretion. Finally, naloxone-stimulated LH release was found to be inhibited by the alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenergic blockers, prazosin and yohimbine, suggesting that naloxone-stimulated LH release is mediated via catecholamine neurotransmission involving alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenergic receptor activation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Efficient GAN-Based Anomaly Detection

Generative adversarial networks (GANs) are able to model the complex highdimensional distributions of real-world data, which suggests they could be effective for anomaly detection. However, few works have explored the use of GANs for the anomaly detection task. We leverage recently developed GAN models for anomaly detection, and achieve state-of-the-art performance on image and network intrusion datasets, while being several hundred-fold faster at test time than the only published GAN-based method.
Effect of annealing and orientation on microstructures and mechanical properties of polylactic acid

Two types of polylactic acid (PLA) films (one amorphous and one semi-crystalline) were produced by sheet extrusion. Talc was used as a nucleation agent for the semi-crystalline PLA. The films were annealed above their T-g or were uniaxially orientated in two ways: (1) via a drawing system in front of the extruder and die or (2) via a three-roller stretching system. The slower crystallization rate and lower melting stress of the PLA resulted in amorphous film using the drawing system. Annealing above T-g increased crystallinity and polymer chain relaxation, which resulted in increases in both strength and toughness. Stretching above T-g also produced simultaneous crystallization and chain relaxation, which resulted in increases in both modulus and toughness. Both modulus and tensile strength in the stretching direction were higher than in the crosswise direction. Talc acted not only as a rigid filler to reinforce the PLA, but also as a nucleation agent for the PLA, especially during annealing.
Application of large wood in regulated riverine habitats facilitates native fishes but not invasive alien round goby (Neogobius melanostomus).

Regulated rivers in Western Europe have rapidly been colonized by invasive alien Ponto-Caspian gobies. In particular, the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) can reach high densities in habitats with hard substratum, such as groynes and dams made of basalt stones. High densities of Ponto-Caspian gobies negatively impact native benthic fishes. It is hypothesized that natural complex three-dimensional structures in Western European rivers, such as (pieces of) large wood (e.g., trees that fell into the river), are a less attractive habitat for Ponto-Caspian gobies. These bottom-dwelling fishes are strongly associated with sheltered places on the river bottom and may avoid the three-dimensional structure of large wood in the water column. The colonization of littoral zones provided with large wood (i.e., entire trees) by round goby and native fishes was studied in the River Lek (a distributary of the River Rhine) in the Netherlands during the period 2014–2016. The fish assemblage of four reference sites dominated by basalt stones was compared with that of four large wood sites. Counts of round goby in large wood habitats were significantly lower than in habitats dominated by basalt stones, while native fishes were more abundant in large wood habitats. In large wood habitats counts of native fishes were significantly higher than those of round goby, whereas the reverse was true in the reference habitat. Counts of the entire fish assemblage did not significantly differ between habitat types. These results suggest that large wood in regulated Western European rivers predominantly functions as a suitable habitat for native fishes whereas the invasive bottomdwelling round goby only uses large wood habitats to a limited extent. Large wood may be applicable as a management tool to stimulate native fish fauna with minimal facilitation of the round goby.
Throughput and energy consumption trade-off in traffic splitting in heterogeneous networks with dual connectivity

This paper investigates the trade-off between throughput and energy consumption in heterogeneous networks with dual connectivity and backhaul delay. The problem of traffic splitting between the main eNB and secondary eNBs is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem. Based on some observations, assumptions, and subsequent simplifications, two algorithms are devised. One targets throughput optimization (TO) by transmission delay minimization. The other one does energy savings (ES) by not transmitting on the main eNB depending on the delay allowance defined in the QoS criterion of the transmitted data. The main eNB is in control of the data transfer to the secondary eNB. Simulations show that the TO algorithm performs slightly better than an earlier published algorithm in which the secondary eNBs are in control of the data transfer from the main eNB. The ES algorithm does save energy at the expense of a larger transmission delay.
Atmospheric tar balls: aged primary droplets from biomass burning?

Abstract. Atmospheric tar balls are particles of special morphology and composition that are fairly abundant in the plumes of biomass smoke. These particles form a specific subset of brown carbon (BrC) which has been shown to play a significant role in atmospheric shortwave absorption and, by extension, climate forcing. Here we suggest that tar balls are produced by the direct emission of liquid tar droplets followed by heat transformation upon biomass burning. For the first time in atmospheric chemistry we generated tar-ball particles from liquid tar obtained previously by dry distillation of wood in an all-glass apparatus in the laboratory with the total exclusion of flame processes. The particles were perfectly spherical with a mean optical diameter of 300 nm, refractory, externally mixed, and homogeneous in the contrast of the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. They lacked any graphene-like microstructure and exhibited a mean carbon-to-oxygen ratio of 10. All of the observed characteristics of laboratory-generated particles were very similar to those reported for atmospheric tar-ball particles in the literature, strongly supporting our hypothesis regarding the formation mechanism of atmospheric tar-ball particles.
From x-rays to silly putty via Uranus: serendipity and its role in web search

The act of encountering information unexpectedly has long been identified as valuable, both as a joy in itself and as part of task-focused problem solving. There has been a concern that highly accurate search engines and targeted personalization may reduce opportunities for serendipity on the Web. We examine whether there is the potential for serendipitous encounters during Web search, and whether improving search relevance through personalization reduces this potential. By studying Web search query logs and the results people judge relevant and interesting, we find many of the queries people perform return interesting (potentially serendipitous) results that are not directly relevant. Rather than harming serendipity, personalization appears to identify interesting results in addition to relevant ones.
Cell-penetrating peptides and their utility in genome function modifications (Review)

For almost 30 years, studies have confirmed the effectiveness of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) in the facilitation of the intracellular delivery of various cargo molecules, including RNA, DNA, plasmids, proteins or nanoparticles, under in vitro and in vivo conditions. The cellular uptake of CPPs occurs via energy-dependent, as well as -independent mechanisms. In this relatively new direction of research, studies have attempted to introduce genome modification systems into cells by CPPs. Cellular uptake of CPPs carrying either covalently bound or electrostatically conjugated cargo, has several advantages over viral delivery systems, as it does not lead to any significant cytotoxicity or immunogenicity, and simultaneously it is more efficient than other non-viral systems. So far, CPPs have been successfully used to introduce Cre recombinase, zinc finger nucleases, transcription activator-like effector nucleases and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats systems into cells. The present article systematically reviewed the information obtained from studies on CPPs and assessed their utility with regard to their effectiveness and safety of use.
Structured lifestyle intervention based on a trans-cultural diabetes-specific nutrition algorithm (tDNA) in individuals with type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial

Objective Trans-cultural diabetes nutrition algorithm (tDNA) was created by international task force and culturally customized for Malaysian population. This study was designed to evaluate its effectiveness versus usual diabetes care in primary care settings. Research design and methods We randomized 230 patients with overweight/obesity, type 2 diabetes, and glycated hemoglobin (A1c) 7%–11% to receive usual care (UC) or UC with tDNA for 6 months. The tDNA intervention consisted of structured low-calorie meal plan, diabetes-specific meal replacements, and increased physical activity. Participants were counseled either through motivational interviewing (tDNA-MI) or conventional counseling (tDNA-CC). The UC group received standard dietary and exercise advice through conventional counseling. All patients were followed for another 6 months after intervention. Results At 6 months, A1c decreased significantly in tDNA-MI (−1.1±0.1%, p<0.001) and tDNA-CC (−0.5±0.1%, p=0.001) but not in UC (−0.2±0.1%, p=NS). Body weight decreased significantly in tDNA-MI (−6.9±1.3 kg, p<0.001) and tDNA-CC (−5.3±1.2 kg, p<0.001) but not in UC (−0.8±0.5 kg, p=NS). tDNA-MI patients had significantly lower fasting plasma glucose (tDNA-MI: −1.1±0.3 mmol/L, p<0.001; tDNA-CC: −0.6±0.3 mmol/L, p=NS; UC: 0.1±0.3 mmol/L, p=NS) and systolic blood pressure (tDNA-MI: −9±2 mm Hg, p<0.001; tDNA-CC: −9±2 mm Hg, p=0.001; UC: −1±2 mm Hg, p=NS). At 1 year, tDNA-MI patients maintained significant reduction in A1c (tDNA-MI: −0.5±0.2%, p=0.006 vs tDNA-CC: 0.1±0.2%, p=NS and UC: 0.02±0.01%, p=NS) and significant weight loss (tDNA-MI: −5.8±1.3 kg, p<0.001 vs tDNA-CC: −3.3±1.2 kg, p=NS and UC: 0.5±0.6 kg, p=NS). Conclusions Structured lifestyle intervention through culturally adapted nutrition algorithm and motivational interviewing significantly improved diabetes control and body weight in primary care setting.
Reduced efficiency roll-off in light-emitting diodes enabled by quantum dot–conducting polymer nanohybrids

We demonstrate QLEDs implementing wider active layers (50 nm) based on QD–conducting polymer nanohybrids, which exhibit a stable operational device performance across a wide range of current densities and brightness. A comparative study reveals that the significant suppression of efficiency roll-off in the high current density regime is primarily attributed to a sufficient charge carrier distribution over the wider active layer and improved charge carrier balance within QDs enabled by the hybridization of QDs with conducting polymers. Utilization of this finding in future studies should greatly facilitate the development of high performance, stable QLEDs at high current density or luminance regime toward displays or solid-state lighting applications.
Properties and distribution of glucocorticoid-binding sites in cytosol of the spinal cord.

We have examined the spinal cord for the presence of glucocorticoid-binding sites. For this purpose, cytosol from the spinal cord of adrenalectomized rats was incubated with (3H)-dexamethasone. Maximal binding was obtained after 20 h of incubation at 0 degree C in the presence of 20 mM molybdate, whereas at 20 degrees C the maximum was at 2 h. Using a range of (3H)-dexamethasone concentrations (0.2-30 nM), low capacity (161 +/- 23 fmol/mg protein) and high affinity (Kd 3.2 +/- 0.3 nM) sites were measured. Binding sites decreased by 25% and Kd increased 2.5-fold after incubation with a pure glucocorticoid (RU 26988). Relative binding affinities of several competitors of 10 nM (3H)-dexamethasone were: triamcinolone acetonide 108, dexamethasone 100, RU 26988 54, corticosterone 18, progesterone 17, aldosterone 7, estradiol and testosterone less than 1. Sedimentation coefficients in glycerol gradients containing molybdate were in the range of those published for glucocorticoid receptors (9.6-9.8 S). Binding of (3H)-dexamethasone was decreased by omitting a SH-protective agent from the buffer or by addition of SH-blocking reagents such as N-ethylmaleimide and p-chloromercuribenzoate. Using rats of different ages, it was found that binding sites were much lower in spinal cord from 2- to 8-day-old rats than in rats of 13-20 days and adults. Regional distribution studies using cytosol from spinal cords dissected between vertebrae C1-C2, C3-C7, T1-T8, T9-L3 and L4-L6 revealed that binding sites were higher in regions containing the cervical (C3-C7) and lumbar (T9-L3) enlargements, with respect to L4-L6. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Burst-Interference Suppression Based on Space-Time Processing

Burst-interference suppression is quite challenging and of great importance to wireless communications, but is rarely investigated in the current literature. In this paper, a novel approach based on space-time processing is proposed for the burst-interference suppression. First, part of the conventional centralized training sequence is scattered and evenly embedded into the transmitted data sequence. In this way, the unexpected burst interference has a much higher possibility to contaminate the training sequence, as compared with the conventional centralized one. Next, we can exploit the burst-interference information contained in the received scattered pilot to adaptively compute the optimal space-time weighting coefficients (STWC) under the weighted minimum mean square error criterion. The STWC are then used to perform the space-time filtering on the received data sequence to suppress interference as well as recover the transmitted data symbols. Simulation results show that our proposed method can effectively mitigate the influence of burst interference.