Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A lumped parameter model for strip-shaped dielectric elastomer membrane transducers with arbitrary aspect ratio

Dielectric elastomer (DE) membrane transducers allow to achieve large strain, low energy consumption, low-noise, and highly compact mechatronic devices. To optimize the design of membrane DEs via numerically efficient software tools, as well as to develop accurate control and self-sensing algorithms, a lumped parameter model is required. In the case of rectangular DE strips clamped at both ends and subject to a uniaxial in-plane load, the resulting necking and inhomogeneous deformation turn out to be challenging to be described via standard lumped models, thus making it necessary to rely on numerically involved finite element (FE) tools. In this paper, we present a novel modeling framework that permits to accurately describe clamped DE membranes with generic aspect ratio in a control-oriented fashion. The model is grounded on an anisotropic free-energy function, which maps the inhomogeneities due to clamping within the constitutive membrane behavior. In this way, a lumped description of the DE can be obtained in terms of average stress and stretch quantities. After presenting the model, an extensive validation is performed by means of comparative studies with FE simulations as well as experimental results. It is observed how the proposed model permits to accurately describe the electro-mechanical response of clamped DE membranes for a wide range of aspect ratios, including nearly-uniaxial, nearly-pure shear, as well as intermediate configurations.
Assessing the exposure of three diving bird species to offshore wind areas on the U.S. Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf using satellite telemetry

The United States Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) has considerable offshore wind energy potential. Capturing that resource is part of a broader effort to reduce CO2 emissions. While few turbines have been constructed in U.S. waters, over a dozen currently planned offshore wind projects have the potential to displace marine birds, potentially leading to effective habitat loss. We focused on three diving birds identified in Europe to be vulnerable to displacement. Our research aimed to determine their potential exposure to areas designated or proposed for offshore wind development along the Atlantic OCS.
Larvicidal activity of Juniperus procera extract against anopheles mosquito in in vitro, North Western Ethiopia

Mosquitoes are the major health threat as they transmit plasmodium parasites that cause malaria. Since mosquitoes developed resistances towards insecticides, investigators are searching for alternative control measures. Bioactive plant chemicals have been identified to serve as a defense mechanism against insects’ larvae. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate larvicidal activities of Juniperus procera extracts in in vitro against 3rd to 4th instars larvae of Anopheles arabiensis. The leaves of the plant were collected from Fogera District and brought to Bahir Dar University where it was extracted with chloroform, petroleum ether, ethanol and acetone. The phytochemical screening was performed. A. arabiensis 3rd to 4th instar larvae were collected from Woreta town of Fogera District and bioassay was tested on 20 larvae at room temperature. Finally, the percentage mortality of larvae at 24, 48 and 72 h was calculated. The result showed that chloroform, petroleum ether, acetone and ethanol extracts of J. procera caused significant mortality of anopheles mosquito larvae (P=0.00). The mortality rate increased with the concentration of the extracts. Therefore, the study concluded that J. procera might be an alternative in mosquito control. Key words: Anopheles arabiensis, Juniperus procera, Larvicidal activity, plant extract, solvent.
Dispersal ability predicts spatial genetic structure in native mammals persisting across an urbanization gradient

As the rate of urbanization continues to increase globally, a growing body of research is emerging that investigates how urbanization shapes the movement—and consequent gene flow—of species in cities. Of particular interest are native species that persist in cities, either as small relict populations or as larger populations of synanthropic species that thrive alongside humans in new urban environments. In this study, we used genomic sequence data (SNPs) and spatially explicit individual‐based analyses to directly compare the genetic structure and patterns of gene flow in two small mammals with different dispersal abilities that occupy the same urbanized landscape to evaluate how mobility impacts genetic connectivity. We collected 215 white‐footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) and 380 big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) across an urban‐to‐rural gradient within the Providence, Rhode Island (U.S.A.) metropolitan area (population =1,600,000 people). We found that mice and bats exhibit clear differences in their spatial genetic structure that are consistent with their dispersal abilities, with urbanization having a stronger effect on Peromyscus mice. There were sharp breaks in the genetic structure of mice within the Providence urban core, as well as reduced rates of migration and an increase in inbreeding with more urbanization. In contrast, bats showed very weak genetic structuring across the entire study area, suggesting a near‐panmictic gene pool likely due to the ability to disperse by flight. Genetic diversity remained stable for both species across the study region. Mice also exhibited a stronger reduction in gene flow between island and mainland populations than bats. This study represents one of the first to directly compare multiple species within the same urban‐to‐rural landscape gradient, an important gap to fill for urban ecology and evolution. Moreover, here we document the impacts of dispersal capacity on connectivity for native species that have persisted as the urban landscape matrix expands.
Exploitation status and stock assessment of the smooth clam Callista chione (Linnaeus, 1758) in the northern Alboran Sea (GSA01-W Mediterranean Sea)

The smooth clam, Callista chione (Linnaeus, 1758), is a venerid bivalve widely appreciated in southern Spain where it represents the top commercial bivalve species in terms of landings and economic value. In this area, a total of 223 artisanal boats (68% of the artisanal fleet) are involved in shellfishing targeting bivalve molluscs, including the smooth clam. The artisanal mechanised dredging that targets C. chione in the northern Alboran Sea is described and the current exploitation status of its populations is analysed. A surplus-production model was run using ASPIC and used to assess the temporal variation in the levels of fishing for this bivalve throughout the study period (2002-2015), as well as to suggest conservation reference points that could guarantee the sustainable exploitation of this resource. During the study period, the maximum C. chione catch was registered in 2003 (306 t) and the minimum in 2006 (93 t). The ASPIC model for C. chione stock suggests that a Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) of 216 t could be produced from a total stock biomass of 983 t (Bmsy) at a fishing mortality rate of total biomass of 0.22 (Fmsy), with B/Bmsy and F/Fmsy values of 1.34 and 0.82, respectively, indicating that the stock is approaching good status.
Biodegradable poly(urethane-urea-amide): Synthesis, characterization and mechanical studies

Biodegradable polyurethane with excellent mechanical property finds a lot of applications in the biomedical field. In this study, multi block copolymer poly(urethane-urea-amide) (PUUA) is prepared using polyethylene oxide, 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate and diamide (N1, N4-bis(6-aminohexyl)benzene-1,4-dicarboxamide (6T6) or N1, N6-bis(6-aminohexyl)hexanediamide (6A6)) by a method of solution/melt polymerization techniques. The polymer formation is confirmed by the 1H NMR spectroscopic method. Other techniques such as viscosity measurements, FT-IR, DSC, TGA, and biodegradability are used to characterize the synthesized copolymers. The hard segment crystallinity is an analyzed by FT-IR spectroscopy, it revealed that the 6T6 based polymer showed 70% of crystallinity. The synthesized copolymer shows three transitions in the DSC curve. The melting enthalpy of the hard segment depends on the amide unit employed in the polymerization process. These materials are fast crystallizing due to low under cooling value. This material has a very high thermal stability and stable up to 400°C. Tensile test confirms the strain induced crystallization of hard segment occurred in the PUUA. The biodegradability of the polymer depends on the pH and chain extenders. This type of materials can be a good candidate for tissue engineering application.
Ostwald ripening in macro- and nanoemulsions

Characteristic features of the Ostwald ripening in oil-in-water and water-in-oil macro- and nanoemulsions are analyzed. Methods for reducing the ripening rate are considered. It is shown that Ostwald ripening is especially relevant for nanoemulsions, and this is often the main process leading to degradation of nanoemulsions, thus limiting their practical applications. Considerable attention is paid to the debatable issue of the role of surfactants in the mass transfer between the droplets of the dispersed phase. Analysis of published sources shows that if the solubility of the dispersed phase substance in the dispersion medium is not extremely low, then the major contribution to Ostwald ripening is made by molecular diffusion. If the solubility of the dispersed phase substance is very low, then micelles and nanodroplets are the most likely carriers of the substances through the dispersion medium. Nanodroplets and slightly larger droplets are formed on the surface of droplets of the starting emulsion because of the interfacial instability (Marangoni effect). The bibliography includes 204 references.
Ear biometric verification approach based on morphological and geometric invariants

Biometric verification based on ear features is modern filed for scientific research. As known, there are many biometric identifiers that can identify people such as fingerprints, iris and speech. In this paper, the focus is placed on the ear biometric model in order to verifying the identity of persons. The main idea is based on used the moments as ear feature extractors. The proposed approach included some operations as follow: image capturing, edge detection, erosion, feature extraction, and matching. The proposed approach has been tested using many images of the ears with different states. Experimental results using several trails verified that the proposed approach is achieved high accuracy level over a wide variety of ear images. Also, the verification process will be completed by matching query ear image with ear images that kept in database during real time.
SYNERGISTIC ANTIBACTERIAL STUDIES OF HELIOTROPIUMSTERIGOSUM

Heliotropium sterigosum is an annual herb found in south Punjab of Pakistan. Extract of whole plant in methanol was tested for anti bacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilus, and Sarcina lutae. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of methanolic extract was determined and found to be bactericidal in concentration of 1000 μg/ml against streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Synergistic antibacterial activity of methanolic extracts was tested with respective solvent extracts of seeds of Withania coagulans, whole plant of Hypericum perforatum and Pinus roxburgii (bark). Staphylococcus aureus was synergistically inhibited by methanolic extract of Heliotropium sterigosum and Pinus roxburgii (bark) (1μg/ml) and Withania coagulans (1μg/ml). Methanolic extract of Heliotropium sterigosum inhibits the growth of Sarcina lutae in combination with Pinus roxburgii (bark) methanolic extract (0.5μg/ml). Highest synergistic activity was observed by Heliotropium sterigosum and Withania coagulans methanolic extracts against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (0.5μg/ml) and Bacillus subtilus (1μg/ml).
The danger of words: major challenges facing Myanmar journalists on reporting the Rohingya conflict

Due to the fighting between the Myanmar Army and the Rohingya militant group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in August 2017, hundreds of thousands of stateless Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh. The Myanmar Army was accused of committing torture, atrocities, arson and gang-rapes against the Rohingya Muslims during its operations to wipe out the ARSA. When covering this conflict, Myanmar journalists faced criticism from international media and monitoring groups that most of their stories were one-sided and lacked multiple voices. To discover which barriers have impeded Myanmar journalists in their reporting, I conducted in-depth interviews with 17 reporters and editors from 10 media outlets and also drew from my own experiences during 14 years as a Myanmar journalist. The analysis of interviews showed that journalists faced restricted access to the conflict area, limited cooperation from the government and the army, pressures from local Rakhine people, difficulty accessing Rohingya Muslims, barriers in the verification processes, personal safety concerns, and ethical dilemmas. The results suggested that as long as freedom of press is restrained and safety of messengers is threatened, journalists will find it hard to practice peace journalism or conflict sensitive journalism to the fullest. In addition, as previous studies on conflict reporting suggest, this study also revealed that some journalists favored what they believed to be in the national interest whenever they found themselves in an ethical dilemma.
Zoogeography of North American Hydrobiid Cavesnails

North American hydrobiid cavesnails are moderately diverse taxonomically, including 36 species representing 15 genera and four subfamilies. This exclusively freshwater fauna is deployed in eastern United States and small areas of south-central Texas and northeast Mexico. Most of the snails are stygobionts (obligate aquatic subterranean forms without eye and body pigment), while five species of Fontigens are stygophiles (occurring in both epigean and hypogean habitats). Three of the above subfamilies are old freshwater groups (probably predating break-up of Laurasia) with no close relationships to brackish water, coastal taxa. Both Amnicola (Amnicolinae) and Fontigens (Emmericiinae) include epigean or stygophile species as well as stygobionts, and are closely similar to European snails, while affinities of an undescribed stygobiont amnicolid genus from Alabama are uncertain. Lithoglyphine stygobionts comprise two groups of old relicts presumably derived from epigean, lotic ancestors: one from Texas (Phreatodrobia), and the other from widely disjunct locales in Mexico (Pterides), Alabama (n. gen.), and Virginia (Holsingeria). Littoridinine stygobionts (comprising two groups from Texas/northern Mexico and one from Upper Mississippi drainage) have close relatives in coastal/brackish waters and some may be relicts that invaded freshwater following regression of late Cretaceous marine embayments.
The complete mitochondrial genome of comma, polygonia c-aureum (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Nymphalinae)

Abstract The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Polygonia c-aureum (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Nymphalinae) is determined to be 15,209 bp in length and shows AT bias (80.6%). Similar to other butterflies, it contains 37 typical mitochondrial genes and one AT-rich region (D-loop). All protein-coding genes (PCGs) started with ATN, except for cox1 gene with CGA(R), which is often found in other butterflies, and seven PCGs harbour the typical stop codon TAA, whereas cox1, cox2, nad3, nad5, nad4 and nad1 end with a single T. The rrnL and rrnS genes are 1332 bp and 773 bp in length, respectively. The 342 bp AT-rich region contains non-repetitive sequences, but harbour several features common to the lepidopterans, including the motif ATAGA followed by a 19-bp poly-T stretch and a microsatellite-like (TA)8 element preceded by the ATTTA motif. The complete mitogenome sequence provided here would be useful for further understanding the taxonomy and phylogeny of Nymphalinae.
Connecting family trees to construct a population-scale and longitudinal geo-social network for the U.S

ABSTRACT We collected 92,832 user-contributed and publicly available family trees from rootsweb.com, including 250 million individuals who were born in North America and Europe between 1630 and 1930. We cleaned and connected the family trees to create a population-scale and longitudinal family tree dataset using a workflow of data collection and cleaning, geocoding, fuzzy record linkage and a relation-based iterative search for connecting trees and deduplication of records. Given the largest connected component of nearly 40 million individuals, and a total of 80 million individuals, we generated, to date, the largest population-scale and longitudinal geo-social network over centuries. We evaluated the representativeness of the family tree dataset for historical population demography and mobility by comparing the data to the 1880 Census. Our results showed that the family trees were biased towards males, the elderly, farmers, and native-born white segments of the population. Individuals were highly mobile – in our 1880 sample of parent-child pairs where both were born in the U.S., 47% were born in different states. Our findings agreed with prior studies that people migrated from East to West in horizontal bands, and the trend was reflected in the dialects and regional structure of the U.S.
One genome, two sexes: genomic and transcriptomic bases of sexual dimorphism in species without sexual chromosomes

Sex in the jewel wasp Nasonia vitripennis is determined by whether eggs are haploid or diploid: the radically different male and female phenotypes share the same genome, showing that their sexual dimorphism is not genetic but rather a specific case of phenotypic plasticity. As a consequence, all of Nasonia’s genes are selected for both male and female fitness. The impact of this diverging selective pressure on the evolution of its genome and whether it is comparable to organisms with sex chromosomes are questions still largely unanswered. In this thesis, I develop and apply a set of tools for the integrative analysis of different aspects of Nasonia’s biology. I characterize the improved gene set of Nasonia and identify several lineage-specific gene family expansions. I provide an algorithm for detection and comparison of splicing and transcription signal from transcriptomic data in non-model organisms. Finally, I identify the different regulatory processes that enable generation of disparate phenotypes using network analyses on Nasonia’s developmental transcriptome. Nasonia’s transcriptome shows high amounts of sex-bias not tied to linkage groups or alternative splicing. Early development shows a prevalence of sex-biased interactions between transcripts rather than single-gene upregulation, and sex-biased networks are enriched in lineage-specific regulators.
Influence of Seawater Ageing on Fracture of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites for Ocean Engineering

Carbon fiber reinforced composite materials are finding new applications in highly loaded marine structures such as tidal turbine blades and marine propellers. Such applications require long-term damage resistance while being subjected to continuous seawater immersion. However, few data exist on which to base material selection and design. This paper provides a set of results from interlaminar fracture tests on specimens before and after seawater ageing. The focus is on delamination as this is the main failure mechanism for laminated composites under out-of-plane loading. Results show that there are two contributions to changes in fracture toughness during an accelerated wet ageing program: effects due to water and effects due to physical ageing. These are identified and it is shown that this composite retains over 70% of its initial fracture properties even for the worst case examined.
Separation of gliadins from wheat flour by capillary gel electrophoresis: optimal conditions

Introduction. Gliadin proteins are one of the gluten fractions. They are soluble in alcoholic solution and divided into four groups (α + β, γ, ω1.2, and ω5-gliadins). In this paper gliadins were extracted from wheat flour, and optimal conditions for their separation were determined. Study objects and methods. The separation was performed by capillary gel electrophoresis on Agilent apparatus, CE 7100 (a capillary with an inner diameter of 50 μm, a total length of 33 cm, and an effective length of 23.50 cm). In order to determine the optimal conditions, different solvent concentrations (50, 60, and 70% ethanol), capillary temperatures (20, 25, 30, 35, and 40°C), and electrode voltages (–14.5, –16.5, –17.5 and –18.5 kV) were applied. Migration time and relative concentration of each protein molecules within gliadin fractions in the electrophoregram were analysed using Agilent ChemStation Software. Results and discussion. The optimal conditions for gliadin separation were: solvent 70% (v/v) ethanol, capillary temperature of 25°C, and electrode voltage of –16.5 kV. Under these conditions, the total proteins were indetified as Xav = 23.50, including α + β gliadin fraction (Xav = 7.50 and relative concentration RC = 28.29%), γ-gliadins (Xav = 5.00, RC = 26.66%), ω1. 2-gliadins (Xav = 4.33, RC = 14.93%), and ω5-gliadins (Xav = 6.67, RC = 30.98%). Conclusion. The results of the research can be of fundamental importance in the study of gluten proteins and the influence of technological procedures on their change and the possibility of reducing the allergic effect of gluten during processing.
Analisis Faktor-Faktor yang Mempengaruhi Behavioral Intention untuk Mengadopsi Media Sosial sebagai Tempat Belanja Online

Pada era teknologi seperti saat ini, gaya hidup manusia turut berkembang terutama dalam aktivitas belanja online. Dalam belanja online, terdapat dua tempat populer yang digunakan oleh para pedagang online yaitu marketplace dan sosial media. Marketplace memberikan garansi keamanan, serta banyak benefit yang diberikan bagi penjual maupun pembeli, sedangkan sosial media tidak memberikan benefit apapun termasuk garansi keamanan. Namun nyatanya, transaksi di internet lebih banyak terjadi di media sosial dibandingkan dengan di marketplace, padahal media sosial tidak memberikan banyak benefit seperti marketplace. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis faktor-faktor yang membuat konsumen mau untuk belanja di media sosial. Penelitian menggunakan pendekatan model UTAUT 2, dan mendapatkan sebanyak 362 responden. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah aspek performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, dan habit mempengaruhi behavioral intention untuk menggunakan media sosial sebagai tempat belanja online.
Post-selection inference of generalized linear models based on the lasso and the elastic net

Abstract Post-selection inference has been an active research topic recently. A lot of work provided different ways to solve practical problems in many fields such as medicine, finance, and so on. In particular, post-selection inference under the linear model is widely discussed. We extend it to generalized linear model and present new approaches for post-selection inference for penalized least squares method. The core of this framework is the distribution function of the post-selection estimation conditioned on the selection event. Then, lasso and elastic net are used to select models to construct the effective confidence interval of the selected coefficient. The theoretical results and the numerical comparisons show that our methods are better than the existing ones. Finally, the proposed methods are applied to the analysis of real data sets.