Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dietary Polyphenols as Therapeutic Intervention for Alzheimer’s Disease: A Mechanistic Insight

Dietary polyphenols encompass a diverse range of secondary metabolites found in nature, such as fruits, vegetables, herbal teas, wine, and cocoa products, etc. Structurally, they are either derivatives or isomers of phenol acid, isoflavonoids and possess hidden health promoting characteristics, such as antioxidative, anti-aging, anti-cancerous and many more. The use of such polyphenols in combating the neuropathological war raging in this generation is currently a hotly debated topic. Lately, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is emerging as the most common neuropathological disease, destroying the livelihoods of millions in one way or another. Any therapeutic intervention to curtail its advancement in the generation to come has been in vain to date. Using dietary polyphenols to construct the barricade around it is going to be an effective strategy, taking into account their hidden potential to counter multifactorial events taking place under such pathology. Besides their strong antioxidant properties, naturally occurring polyphenols are reported to have neuroprotective effects by modulating the Aβ biogenesis pathway in Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, in this review, I am focusing on unlocking the hidden secrets of dietary polyphenols and their mechanistic advantages to fight the war with AD and related pathology.
Reorienting the organisational strategy of SMEs during the COVID-19 crisis: can entrepreneurial orientation help?

PurposeThis paper offers innovative strategies on how small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can respond to the COVID-19 crisis by incorporating an entrepreneurial orientation concept corresponding to the nature of the environmental shock.Design/methodology/approachThis paper conceptualises a solution by elaborating three critical items, namely entrepreneurial orientation, adaptive process and strategy types as key factors to develop the framework solution. This paper outlines a strategy proposal for SMEs to respond to the crisis.FindingsThe environmental factor represents the crisis, which leads to a degree of innovation, i.e., radical and incremental, and can be approached using an adjusted adaptive consolidation process from Child. This paper identifies four strategy options from Miles and Snow to respond to the crisis; i.e. (1) defender–exploitative innovation; (2) analyser–organisational ambidexterity; (3) prospector–exploratory innovation and (4) reactor–abandon or shut down the business.Originality/valueWhile most of the suggestions from previous COVID-19-related works are acknowledged, this paper brings more insight from an academic perspective, specifically organisational theory, to cope with the pandemic crisis. The steps and strategy to be chosen can guide policymakers to decide what is their best move to respond to this crisis. In addition, the proposed strategies call for future research to provide empirical evidence by exploring and examining various scenarios in different kinds of businesses.
A Study of Vertical Gas Jets in a Bubbling Fluidized Bed

A detailed experimental study of a vertical gas jet impinging a fluidized bed of particles has been conducted with the help of Laser Doppler Velocimetry measurements. Mean and fluctuating velocity profiles of the two phases have been presented and analyzed for different fluidization states of the emulsion. The results of this work would be greatly helpful in understanding the complex two-phase mixing phenomenon that occurs in bubbling beds, such as in coal and biomass gasification, and also in building more fundamental gas-solid Eulerian/Lagrangian models which can be incorporated into existing CFD codes. Relevant simulations to supplement the experimental findings have also been conducted using the Department of Energy's open source code MFIX. The goal of these simulations was two-fold. One was to check the two-dimensional nature of the experimental results. The other was an attempt to improve the existing dense phase Eulerian framework through validation with the experimental results. In particular the sensitivity of existing frictional models in predicting the flow was investigated. The simulation results provide insight on wall-bounded turbulent jets and the effect frictional models have on gas-solid bubbling flows. Additionally, some empirical minimum fluidization correlations were validated for non-spherical particles with the idea of extending the presentmore » study to non-spherical particles which are more common in industries. « less
Structuring Broiler Barns: How a Perforated Flooring System Affects Animal Behavior

Simple Summary Broiler chickens in Europe are usually raised in littered barns without structuring elements. Previous studies have found a positive influence on the health and welfare of broiler chickens when they have access to elevated platforms. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an elevated perforated floor on the behavior of broiler chickens. Therefore, one of two barns was equipped with a perforated floor under the food and water supply. The second barn was used as a control. In total, three fattening periods were observed, with 500 broiler chickens kept in each barn. To compare the behavior of the birds, cameras were installed in both barns. The videos were analyzed by counting the number of birds in a defined area and observing focal animals continuously while recording their behavior. More animals were observed on the perforated floor than in the littered control area, but, in total, the focal animals spent less time on the perforated floor compared to the observed littered area in the control barn. There were no differences in the length of the recorded behaviors between the treatments. These findings suggest that, in general, the elevated perforated floor is attractive for the animals. However, it does not promote one of the recorded behavior patterns. Our results show that an elevated perforated floor could be an option for structuring broiler barns. Abstract Broiler chickens in Europe are usually raised in a barren environment. Elevated perforated platforms address this problem and can positively influence animal health and welfare. To evaluate the effect of an elevated perforated floor on the behavior of broiler chickens, one of two barns was equipped with a perforated flooring system under the food and water supply. The second barn was used as a control. In total, three fattening periods were observed, with 500 broiler chickens (Ross 308 breed) kept in each barn. To compare the behavior of the birds in these groups, cameras were installed in the two barns. The videos were analyzed by counting the number of birds and observing focal animals while recording their behavior. More animals were observed on the perforated floor than in the littered control area (p < 0.001), but focal animals spent less time on the perforated floor compared to the observed littered area in the control barn (p < 0.05). There were no differences in the length of the recorded behaviors between the treatments. These findings suggest that, in general, the elevated perforated floor is attractive for the animals. However, it does not promote one of the recorded behavior patterns. Our results show that an elevated perforated floor could be an option for structuring broiler barns.
Participation of Electrolytic Aluminium Load in the Frequency Control in Direct Power Supply System

This paper studies and analyses the method of participation of electrolytic aluminium load in the frequency modulation in direct power supply system. In view of properties of the electrolytic aluminium production process,the adoption of silicon controlled rectifier device characteristic of fast response,and involvement of aluminium load in power grid frequency control,can effectively reduce the number of frequency modulation for the generator,to ensure the stable operation of power grid.
Synthesis of Silver Nanocomposites for Stereolithography: In Situ Formation of Nanoparticles

Additive Manufacturing (AM) offers remarkable advantages in relation to traditional methods used to obtain solid structures, such as the capability to obtain customized complex geometries adapted to individual requirements. The design of novel nanocomposites suitable for AM is an excellent strategy to widen the application field of these techniques. In this work, we report on the fabrication of metal/polymer nanocomposites with enhanced optical/electrical behaviour for stereolithography (SLA). In particular, we analyse the in situ generation of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) from Ag precursors (AgNO3 and AgClO4) within acrylic resins via SLA. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis confirmed the formation of Ag NPs smaller than 5 nm in all nanocomposites, providing optical activity to the materials. A high density of Ag NPs with a good distribution through the material for the larger concentration of AgClO4 precursor tested was observed, in contrast to the isolated agglomerations found when the precursor amount was reduced to 0.1%. A significant reduction in the electrical resistivity up to four orders of magnitude was found for this material compared to the unfilled resin. However, consumption of part of the photoinitiator in the formation process of the Ag NPs contributed to a reduction in the polymerization degree of the resin and, consequently, degraded the mechanical properties of the nanocomposites. Experiments with longer curing times showed that, for the higher AgClO4 concentrations tested, post-curing times of 300 min allowed an 80% degree of polymerization to be achieved. These conditions turned these materials into promising candidates to obtain solid structures with multifunctional properties.
Physics-Based Misbehavior Detection System for V2X
 Communications

Vehicle to Everything (V2X) allows vehicles, pedestrians, and infrastructure to share information for the purpose of enhancing road safety, improving traffic conditions, and lowering transporation costs. Although V2X messages are authenticated, their content is not validated. Sensor errors or adversarial attacks can cause messages to be perturbed increasing the likelihood of traffic jams, compromising the decision process of other vehicles, and provoking fatal crashes. In this article, we introduce V2X Core Anomaly Detection System (VCADS), a system based on the theory presented in [1] and built for the fields provided in the periodic messages shared across vehicles (i.e., Basic Safety Messages, BSMs). VCADS uses physics-based models to constrain the values in each field and detect anomalies by finding the numerical difference between a field and and its derivation using orthogonal values. VCADS evaluation is performed with four real V2X field testing datasets and a suite of attack simulations. The results show that VCADS can constrain a variety of real-world network environments and is able to detect ~85%
Spatiotemporal Evolution and Driving Mechanism of “Production-Living-Ecology” Functions in China: A Case of Both Sides of Hu Line

In order to explore the spatiotemporal evolution of land use function and its driving factors in China, taking both sides of the Hu Line as an example, we used Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis and Geographically Weighted Regression methods to reveal dynamic evolution law, spatial characteristics and influencing factors of the “Production-Living-Ecology” functions of 288 prefecture-level cities on both sides of the Hu Line. The results show that: (1) In the temporal dimension, the coordination of “Production-Living-Ecology” functions of land use in China has been improved, and the Hu Line can be roughly used as the boundary of China’s territorial space use. (2) In the spatial dimension, there is a significant positive spatial correlation between “Production-Living-Ecology” functions of land use in China, and the coordination gap between “Production-Living-Ecology” functions of land use on both sides of the Hu Line is gradually narrowing. (3) In terms of influencing mechanism, the coordination of “Production-Living-Ecology” functions is mainly driven by internal factors and is supplemented by external ones. The influence pattern of most driving factors is consistent with the layout characteristics of “strong east and weak west” of the Hu Line.
A Review Study on Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Cooler Design and Using CFD to Enhance Its Performance

Strict emission standards are now in place that set specific limits to the amount that can be released into the environment. Reduction of exhaust emission of a vehicle is done through an EGR technique. EGR coolers are subjected to severe fouling such that their thermal efficiency can drop as much as 30 percent within a very short period of time. Durability of EGR cooler performance is key issue that affects the function of EGR system as anti-pollutant device. Decrease of thermal efficiency and increase of gas pressure drop caused by soot deposition implies higher EGR gas temperature and lower EGR flow. Selection of heat exchanger technology and definition of design parameters have an important effect on this degradation. This paper reviews a compendium of different tests, where different technologies and sizes of EGR cooler have been exposed to different engine test cycles. The focus is going to be mainly on Computation fluid dynamics (CFD) and to increase effectiveness of EGR cooler used in EGR system.
Innate immunity gene expression profiles in conjunctival membrane biopsies from Amazonian buffalo

ABSTRACT Domestic buffalo production plays an economically important role in the Brazilian Amazon, but they are susceptible to many diseases favored by the tropical climate and annually flooded habitats, including ocular diseases. In this context, it is important to select genotypes that maximize innate ocular immunity in Amazonian herds. We aimed to characterise, for the first time, gene expression profiles of the innate immune system in the conjunctival membrane of buffalo. Ocular conjunctival tissue samples were collected from 60 clinically healthy slaughtered animals in the northern Brazilian state of Amapá. The samples were histologically processed for classification into three groups according to the quantitative degree of lymphoid tissue associated with the conjunctiva (discrete, G1; slight, G2; and moderate, G3 presence of lymphoid tissue). RT-PCR was used to quantify gene expression of inflammatory cytokine (IL6, IL10, TNFA, IFNG), Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and Defensin beta 110 (DEFB110), relative to the endogenous GAPDH gene. G1 animals presented low expression for IL6, IL10, TNFA, and DEFB110, while G2 exhibited high expression for IL6, IL10, IFNG, and TLR4. All G3 animals showed high expression for all tested genes. These results suggest a greater resistance to pathogenic microorganisms of buffalos in the G3 group, and the proportion of lymphoid tissue associated with the conjunctiva may be related to the immune resistance of individuals.
Risk-Free Rates and Convenience Yields Around the World

This paper constructs risk-free interest rates implicit in index option prices for 9 of the major G10 currencies. We compare these rates to the yields of government bonds to provide international estimates of the convenience yield earned by safe assets. Average convenience yields across countries are highly correlated with the average interest rate in each country, ranging from -5 basis points in low-rate Japan to 61 basis points in high-rate Australia, with the moderate-rate US providing a middling 34 basis points. For each country, a covered interest parity (CIP) deviation constructed from its optionimplied rates and those of the US is negative, with these negative CIP deviations growing sharply in periods of financial distress, including the 2020 covid crisis when convenience yields themselves remained moderate. We conclude that risk-free discount rates in the US are especially low due to its central position in the global financial system, particularly during financial crises, but that US safe assets do not earn an unusually large convenience yield in addition. ∗We thank Max Yang for outstanding research assistance and Jesse Schreger for helpful comments. We also thank the Wharton Dean’s Research Fund, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Center, and Rodney White Center for Financial Research for generous financial support. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors.
Comparative Perspectives on Linkages between Violent Extremism and Organized Crime in Africa

ABSTRACT Complex linkages between violent extremist and organized criminal groups are a defining feature of contemporary African security. As comparisons across the Sahel-Sahara, Lake Chad Basin, and Horn of Africa attest, the interactions of these groups vary in terms of how intentional, proactive, and formal they are, and how much they develop on the organizational or individual level. These realities, which express themselves differently across contexts, must all be considered to accurately situate cases on the spectrum of coexistence, cooperation, and convergence that is frequently used in Africa-focused discussions about policy response. The comparisons illustrate two aspects of variation within the spectrum’s established categories of cooperation and convergence that deserve further attention: (i) the extent to which cooperation occurs organizationally versus individually, and (ii) the extent to which convergence happens across multiple criminal markets when it occurs. Tracking these aspects of linkage can facilitate classifications of the linkages between violent extremism and organized crime that are based on a more precise and contextualized articulation of the mechanisms through which cooperation or convergence may be in play.
A FAULT DIAGNOSIS MOOEL BASED ON LM NEURAL NETWORK FOR REGENERATIVE HEAT SYSTEM

Faults in regenerative heat system of the power plant have been analysed, and a new fault diagnosis model based on levenbergMarquardt (LM) neural network for regenerative heat system being put forward. The LM algorithm is a combination of the gradient decent algorithm with the GaussNewton algorithm. Results of simulation show that the new model has greatly reduced the training time and the tracking error, having very high accuracy, being more superior than traditional BP neural network algorithm model, and suitable for online training and monitoring.
Computational grounded theory revisited: From computer-led to computer-assisted text analysis

The size and variation in both meaning-making and populations that characterize much contemporary text data demand research processes that support both discovery, interpretation and measurement. We assess one dominant strategy within the social sciences that takes a computer-led approach to text analysis. The approach is coined computational grounded theory. This strategy, we argue, relies on a set of unwarranted assumptions, namely, that unsupervised models return natural clusters of meaning, that the researcher can understand text with limited immersion and that indirect validation is sufficient for ensuring unbiased and precise measurement. In response to this criticism, we develop a framework that is computer assisted. We argue that our reformulation of computational grounded theory better aligns with the principles within grounded theory, anthropological theory generation and ethnography.
A Content Analysis of Professional Literature in Child Life Focus: 1999-2019

Certified Child Life Specialists, as both consumers and producers of research related to the care of children and families in duress, have relied upon Child Life Focus as a source of evidence-based practice since its inception in 1999. However, this resource has not yet been comprehensively examined with respect to trends in authorship, content, format, or alignment with the foundational principles of the child life profession. The purpose of this content analysis was to identify the characteristics of Child Life Focus articles published be-tween 1999 and 2019 to inform future individual, departmental, and organizational efforts to establish the child life profession as an emerging field. Using a deductive coding scheme, two researchers independently coded 82 articles that met inclusion criteria; all discrepancies were resolved through additional review and consensus meetings. Results demonstrate opportunities for collaboration to generate diverse article content, increase congruence with the Child Life Certification Exam Content Outline, and support developing Certified Child Life Specialist clinician/researchers. Although growth is apparent over the two decades included in this study, more work can be done to increase child life scholarship in academic, clinical, and administrative domains. The types of evidence used to inform professional practice across health and education fields is varied.
Energy-Aware Hierarchical Resource Management and Backhaul Traffic Optimization in Heterogeneous Cellular Networks

The dense deployment of small-cell networks is a key feature of the next-generation mobile networks employed to provide the necessary capacity increase. The small cells are installed in the areas covered by macro base stations (eNBs) to supply the required local capacity based on the known concept of the hierarchical HetNets. Moreover, small-cell networks use high-capacity backhaul links on millimeter-wave bands to develop multihop topologies to mitigate the costs of data transmission. Nonetheless, green networking gains great importance for the uncontrolled installation of too many small cells may escalate operational costs and emit more carbon dioxide. This article proposes a dynamic optimization model to minimize the overall energy consumption of fifth-generation (5G) heterogeneous networks and provide the essential coverage and capacity. Optimizing carrier allocation and power utilization, the proposed model determines when to turn on or off small cells to meet the quality of service constraints of users with the highest level of energy efficiency. We also proposed a multihop backhauling strategy to effectively use the existing infrastructure of small-cell networks for simultaneous dual-hop transmissions. The numerical results indicated considerable rates of power saving in different traffic models while guaranteeing the throughput requirements for uniform and hotspot user equipment distribution patterns. Also, according to the simulation results, energy efficiency and system data rates can significantly be improved.
Role of Suction/Injection On Free Convective Flow in a Vertical Channel in the Presence of Point/Line Heat Source/Sink

This research work investigates the effect of point/line heat source/sink on free convection flow between two vertical channels with suction/injection. The Heaviside step function is used to model the constant heat source/sink, which is then transformed into a line source/sink. The governing equations describing flow formation and heat transfer are obtained and solved using the Laplace transform approach. The effect of physical parameters such as suction/injection, Prandtl number, and heat source/sink on velocity and temperature fields are studied graphically, while the skin friction, Nusselt number, and mass flow rate are analyzed through tabular representation. Results indicate that as the value of point/line source parameters rises, velocity and temperature profiles of fluid flow are enhanced.
A Solid-State Fault Current Limiting Device for VSC-HVDC Systems

Abstract Faults in the DC circuit constitute one of the main limitations of voltage source converter VSC-HVDC systems, as the high fault currents can damage seriously the converters. In this article, a new design for a fault current limiter (FCL) is proposed, which is capable of limiting the fault current as well as interrupting it, isolating the DC grid. The operation of the proposed FCL is analysed and verified with the most usual faults that can occur in overhead lines.