Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bacterial Secondary Metabolites as Biopigments for Textile Dyeing

In the past two decades, a growing body of research regarding the utilization of natural bacterial pigments or dyes for textile dyeing has emerged. Bacterial pigments are bacterial secondary metabolites that usually have bright colors and some special properties (e.g., antimicrobial, antioxidative, UV protective etc.). In addition to their high production yield, these special properties led scientists to research and develop methods for utilizing bacterial pigments in textile dyeing. This study presents the current state this field of research, with a focus on the dyeing potential of bacterial pigments for different types of textile material. The potential future directions of research in this area are also highlighted. In addition to the durable dyeing of textiles, bacterial pigments with special properties, such as antimicrobial activity, can add multifunctionality to dyed materials, thus increasing the value of the final product. This emerging field of research will also have a great impact on sustainability and the environment, contributing to the decreased usage of synthetic dyes in the textile industry.
Parallel Higher Order DGTD and FETD for Transient Electromagnetic-Circuital-Thermal Co-Simulation

A hybrid higher order discontinuous Galerkin time-domain (DGTD) method and finite-element time-domain (FETD) method with parallel technique is proposed for electromagnetic (EM)–circuital–thermal co-simulation in this article. For electromagnetic simulation, DGTD method with higher order hierarchical vector basis functions is used to solve Maxwell equation. Circuit simulation is carried out by modified nodal analysis method. For thermal simulation, FETD method with higher order interpolation scalar basis functions is adopted to solve heat conduction equation. To implement electromagnetic–circuital–thermal co-simulation, the electromagnetic and circuital equations are strongly coupled through voltages, currents, and electric fields at the lumped ports first. Then the electromagnetic and thermal equations are weakly coupled with electromagnetic loss and temperature-dependent medium parameters. Finally, large-scale parallel technique is used to accelerate the process of multiphysics simulation. Numerical results are given to validate the correctness and capability of the proposed electromagnetic–circuital–thermal co-simulation method.
Crater Ejecta Across Maxwell Montes, Venus, and Possible Effects on Future Rock Type Measurements

Venus highlands such as Maxwell Montes are an exploration target in the search for a past water‐rich environment. We combine Magellan and Arecibo radar data to characterize surface properties across Maxwell for orbital or landed investigations. Arecibo data reveal a region surrounding and west of the 90‐km crater Cleopatra with lower radar echoes and circular polarization ratio despite increased surface reflectivity. Modeling of microwave emissivity shows that the surface undergoes step‐like reflectivity shifts at ∼6056.2 km and ∼6,061 km radius, such that the changes in radar echo between these altitudes are not due solely to dielectric effects. We propose that fine‐grained Cleopatra ejecta mantles much of Maxwell Montes, consistent with Venus distal crater ejecta patterns and the longevity of mantling debris in the highlands. Future orbital or landed studies must consider the thickness of ejecta, source material, and effects of shock or melting on ejecta mineralogy.
No-Tillage Combined with Appropriate Amount of Straw Returning Increased Soil Biochemical Properties

(1) Background: Few studies have focused on the interaction of tillage and straw returning on soil carbon and nitrogen. Therefore, this study was conducted for investigating the effects of tillage and straw returning on soil biochemical properties under a rice–wheat double cropping system; (2) Methods: Six treatments were set up to determine soil biochemical properties, including no-tillage with all straw returning (NTS), wheat plow tillage and rice no-tillage with half straw returning (RT1), wheat no-tillage and rice plow tillage with half straw returning (RT2), plow tillage with all straw returning (CTS), less tillage with half straw returning (MTS), and plow tillage with no straw returning (CT); (3) Results: Straw returning increased soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) and soil microbial biomass nitrogen (SMBN), but had no significant effects on total nitrogen (TN) and soil organic carbon (SOC). In the treatments of straw returning, the contents of SMBC, SMBN, TN, and SOC under no-tillage were increased in the 0–7 cm soil layer. Tillage and straw returning had no significant effects in the 7–14 cm and 14–21 cm soil layers. In addition, SMBC/SMBN for all the treatments was maintained within a reasonable range, and microbial quotient (SMQ) and SMBN/TN in the no-tillage treatment had a significant improvement; (4) Conclusions: The results showed that no-tillage with an appropriate amount of straw returning improved the soil biochemical properties and maintained the nitrogen mineralization capacity in the 0–7 cm soil layer for this region.
Cost-effective deconstruction by a combination of dismantling, sorting and recycling processes

The production of construction and demolition waste (CDW) is growing each year and is about 19 million tons. Luckily almost all of this material is re-used, mostly as a road foundation. This re-use can be called down cycling. In order to move from down cycling of this material to recycling (ore even up cycling) integral chain management becomes very important. Especially the early design of a construction has a great effect on the future CDW. To improve high level recycling (construction re-use, element re-use or material reuse) constructions should be designed according to the design for recycling method. These methods can be divided into three categories: 1. Design for adaptability (construction re-use) 2. Design for deconstruction (element re-use) 3. Design for dismantling (material re-use) In order to calculate the environmental effects of these designing methods, a new tool is under development: Building End of Life ANalysis TOol (BELCANTO).
Determinants of Depression among Malay Single Mothers Living in Community in Perak, Malaysia

Background Being a single mother is challenging. Many single mothers developed depression, but some managed to survive. This study aimed to determine the proportion of depression among single mothers living in community and its associated factors. Methods This cross-sectional study involved conveniently sampled 213 Malay single mothers living in community in Perak, Malaysia. A Malay version of Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 was used to determine significant depression at a cut-off point of 10. Malay version of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS-M) and Brief-Coping with Problems Experienced (COPE) scales were used to assess support and coping strategies. Results The proportion of depression among Malay single mothers in this study was 20.2% (95% CI: 15.0, 26.2). Previous history of depression (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 10.27; 95% CI: 2.18, 48.35; P = 0.003) and coping by using self-blame (aOR: 2.00; 95% CI: 1.45, 2.77; P < 0.001) increased the risk of depression. Active coping (aOR: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.46, 0.96; P = 0.027) and use of emotional support (aOR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.84; P = 0.002) is protective of depression. Conclusion There was a high proportion of depression among Malay single mothers living in the community. Personal history of depression and type of coping strategies used significantly influenced the occurrence of depression among these single mothers. Providing guidance to acquire adaptive coping strategies is a crucial preventive measure.
Numerical investigation of the transient charging behavior of a piezoelectric vibration-based energy harvester for different base excitations

A finite element method to simulate energy harvesters, recently introduced by the authors, is applied to investigate the transient charging behavior of a strongly coupled bimorph piezoelectric vibration-based energy harvester for a harmonic and a shock-like triangular pulse excitation. The system simulation method is extended to allow for charging a capacitor and the standard and the synchronized switch harvesting on inductor (SSHI) circuits are considered. The simulation results show that the standard circuit is more efficient for the harmonic excitation, while the SSHI circuit is more efficient for the shock-like triangular excitation. The influence of different capacitors is discussed.
Assessing the earthquake systemic vulnerability of the urban centres in the South-East region of Romania. The tale of Galați and Brăila Cities, Romania

Abstract Earthquakes are one of the most destructive natural phenomena in the world, their impact being of particular severity in urban areas. Failures relating to proper allocation of resources, to the identification of optimal routes between the affected urban areas and relief centres, and to the mitigation of potential earthquake-triggered destructive phenomena emerge as systemic vulnerability sources. This paper aims to assess the seismic systemic vulnerability of the 6 administrative centres in the South-East region of Romania, by proposing a weighted composite index (Earthquake Vulnerability Index, ESVI) that integrates indicators referring to the accessibility of emergency services centres, the capacity of the local medical infrastructure and secondary danger sources. The validation of ESVI relies on Sensitivity Analysis and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods. Moreover, in order to illustrate the utility of an assessment of this type, a comparative case study of Galați and Brăila Cities is presented. This paper shows how the integration of GIS tools and techniques may improve vulnerability assessments, especially when they are used in conjunction with MCDM methods. ESVI and its integrated maps point out the most vulnerable urban centres and the hotspots of vulnerability within them, allowing for advanced regional and local scale planning of emergency interventions.
Three-Dimensional Gait Analysis of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Before and After Injury

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify clinical reference for the diagnosis of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. We compared the knee flexion extension rotation angle (FERA), internal and external rotation angle (IERA) and varus eversion rotation angle (VERA) before and after ACL injury. Study design: Cohort study (Diagnosis); Level of evidenceII. Methods: In the control group, 15 health volunteers (male: 6; female: 9) was included. In the ACL injury group, 15 subjects (male: 6; female: 9) with ACL injury on single knee were included. Three-dimensional motion system was used to analyze FERA, IERA and VERA during the stance and swing phases of a gait cycle. Results: The results showed that FERA, IERA and VERA were significantly different between the ACL injury group and the healthy control group. In the swing phase of a gait cycle, knee flexion angle, tibial external rotation and varus reached maximum. In the stance phase of a gait cycle, the extension, tibial internal rotation, varus angles reached maximum. In the healthy control group, FERA, IERA and VERA varied within a narrow range, while in the ACL injury group, FERA, IERA and VERA varied at a significantly larger range. Conclusions: We concluded that FERA, IERA and VERA can be used as diagnostic reference for ACL injury. Accurate data from gait analysis can provide scientific guidance for postoperative rehabilitation.
SYNTHETIC MULTIVARIATE DATA GENERATION PROCEDURE WITH VARIOUS OUTLIER SCENARIOS USING R PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

A synthetic data generation procedure is a procedure to generate data from either a statistical or mathematical model. The data generation procedure has been used in simulation studies to compare statistical performance methods or propose a new statistical method with a specific distribution. A synthetic multivariate data generation procedure with various outlier scenarios using R is formulated in this study. An outlier generating model is used to generate multivariate data that contains outliers. Data generation procedures for various outlier scenarios by using R are explained. Three outlier scenarios are produced, and graphical representations using 3D scatterplot and Chernoff faces for these outlier scenarios are shown. The graphical representation shows that as the distance between outliers and inliers by shifting the mean, increases in Outlier Scenario 1, the outliers and inliers are completely separated. The same pattern can also be seen when the distance between outliers and inliers, by shifting the covariance, increase in Outlier Scenario 2. For Outlier Scenario 3, when both values and increase, the separation of outliers and inliers are more apparent. The data generation procedure in this study will be continually used in other applications, such as identifying outliers by using the clustering method.
Assessment of the Type of Deficit Irrigation Applied during Berry Development in ‘Crimson Seedless’ Table Grapes

This work assessed the effects of the sustained (during the whole berry growth) and regulated (at post-veraison) practices of deficit irrigation on water relations, yield components and berry quality in a commercial vineyard of ‘Crimson Seedless’ table grapes. For this, five irrigation treatments were established during a complete irrigation season (from April to October): (i) Control (CTL) irrigated to 110% crop evapotranspiration (ETc); (ii) Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI) irrigated at 50% of CTL during the non-critical period of post-veraison; (iii) Sustained Deficit Irrigation (SDI), irrigated at 50% of CTL throughout the entire berry growing season; (iv) Partial Root-Zone Drying (PRD), irrigated similar to RDI but alternating the irrigation applied on the dry side every 10–14 days; (v) Sustained Partial Root-Zone Drying (SPRD), irrigated as SDI but alternating the irrigation on the dry side every 10–14 days. RDI and PRD received 24% and 28% less water than CTL, respectively. These reductions were higher in SDI and SPRD (65% and 53%, respectively). Total yield was not affected by any DI strategy. Only significantly lower productive values were observed in the weight and height of the berries as compared to CTL. However, the color parameters evaluated increased in all the DI treatments, being slightly higher in SDI and SPRD as compared with RDI and PRD. In addition, total soluble solids (TSS) were significantly higher in SDI, compared to other irrigated counterparts. Our findings showed that the application of water deficit during the entire period of berry growth using SDI and SPRD can be considered for irrigation scheduling in ‘Crimson Seedless’ table grapes when the aim is to solve the trouble of insufficient reddish color of the berries.
Micro Scale Energy Harvesting For Ultra-Low Power Systems

Ultra-low power systems such as Wireless sensor network (WSN) nodes have emerged as an active research topic due to their vast application areas. Such WSNs would be able to perform their sensing functions and wireless communication without any supervision, configuration, or maintenance. These systems have to cope with severe power supply constraints. The need shared by most WSNs for long lifetimes and small form factors does not match up well with the power density of available battery technology. This could limit the use of WSNs due to the need for large batteries. It is not expected that better batteries for small devices will become available in the near future. Energy harvesting could therefore be a solution to making WSNs autonomous and could thus enable widespread use of these systems in many applications. Energy harvesting is becoming more and more popular for micro-power applications where the environmental energy is used to power up the systems. As sensors have become smaller, cheaper, and increasingly abundant, there have been commensurate reductions in the size and cost of computation and wireless communication. In context of micro scale solar energy harvesting systems, the design of ecient energy conversion unit and accurate maximum power point tracking(MPPT) unit becomes a tremendous challenge due to area constraint and very low (W) output power. This thesis presents a novel MPP tracking method including a charge pump based DC-DC converter for extracting energy from a tiny single PV cell (open circuit voltage 0.4V). We have used a feed-forward (FF) unit to track maximum power point. The design of FF MPP is derived from the operating point of solar cell under dierent solar intensity. This scheme consumes very little power and is faster when compared to other methods. This method eliminates the use of current sensor and other power hungry elements in the MPPT unit. The proposed method tracks the MPP with less than 2 % error and gives eciency of 63.50% through FF MPPT. The complete circuit has been simulated using 0.18 m CMOS process.
Introduction to the risk management in the maintenance of railway tracks

Risk management is an essential tool for the implementation of safety policy within the framework of safety management systems deployed in all enterprises involved in the management of railway infrastructure and transport operations on the fundamental European Union rail network. The idea of risk management, however, is much younger than the railway system and therefore it is sometimes regarded as an independent supplement to the business of entities related to the railway. The aim of this article is to present how the processes of the railway track maintenance system can be supported by the language of methods of risk management, in order to be able to better integrate these processes with the safety management system of an infrastructure manager. This work also discusses the requirements for safety management systems and indicates further possible directions of research in the field of risk management methods which support processes of maintenance of railway tracks.
Enhancement And Assessment Of A Non Traditional Engineering Design Course

– At Northern Arizona University, an interdisciplinary sophomore design course – EGR 286 – has undergone a fundamental shift in its innovative and award-winning course structure. This shift is part of a Hewlett Foundation-supported development effort to encourage recruitment and retention of engineering students, with an emphasis on under-represented student populations. The course revitalization is centered upon enabling more direct student participation in design projects. It begins with two-person design teams that design, build and test weekly projects involving LEGO® parts, sensors, and the Robotic Command eXplorer (RCX). Control of the automated systems requires programming in both RoboLab (a LabView TM derivative) and in the “Not Quite C” (NQC) environments. The course develops in the semester to finally encompass larger design teams of fourteen students, with each team designing a complex, autonomous, robotic-styled system. An important part of this course development is the integration of assessment procedures that record the students’ perception of learning and enthusiasm. We present an overview of the course enhancements and objectives. Assessment categories include the students’ self-efficacy in their ability to design/build/test electro-mechanical devices, as well as their level of enthusiasm and motivation towards engineering as a chosen career. The assessments are accomplished before and after the course revisions for comparison. Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at He is a graduate of the University of (BSEE) and of the of California (MBA) and is a registered professional engineer. His areas of interest include freshman programs, multi-disciplinary design, computer aided instruction and testing, computer aided instrumentation systems, and analog and digital circuit design.
On the Asymptotic Behavior of the Optimal Exercise Price Near Expiry of an American Put Option under Stochastic Volatility

The behavior of the optimal exercise price of American puts near expiry has been well studied under the Black–Scholes model as a result of a series of publications. However, the behavior of the optimal exercise price under a stochastic volatility model, such as the Heston model, has not been reported at all. Adopting the method of matched asymptotic expansions, this paper addresses the asymptotic behavior of American put options on a dividend-paying underlying with stochastic volatility near expiry. Through our analyses, we are able to show that the option price will be quite different from that evaluated under the Black–Scholes model, while the leading-order term of the optimal exercise price remains almost the same as the constant volatility case if the spot volatility is given the same value as the constant volatility in the Black–Scholes model. Results from numerical experiments also suggest that our analytical formulae derived from the asymptotic analysis are quite reasonable approximations for options with remaining times to expiry in the order of days or weeks.
Mediating Role of Depressive Symptoms on the Association Between Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Quality of Life in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Purpose Few studies have explored the association between neighborhood social cohesion (NSC), a type of social capital, and the quality of life of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In addition, the potential mechanism for this association remains unclear. The current study examined the mediation effect of depressive symptoms on the relationship between NSC and quality of life among diabetes patients in China. Patients and Methods A cross-sectional study of 1747 T2DM patients was conducted. The specific quality of life (DSQL), Center for Epidemiological Survey Depression (CES-D), and social capital scales were administered using a face-to-face survey. Partial correlation analysis and a linear regression model were employed to explore the relationship between NSC, depressive symptoms, and quality of life. Bootstrap analysis using PROCESS was used to test the mediation model. Results After controlling for covariates, NSC was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms (r=−0.24, P<0.01) and DSQL score (r=−0.20, P<0.01) while depressive symptoms were positively correlated with DSQL score (r=0.46, P<0.01). Linear regression analysis also found that NSC was negatively associated with the DSQL score, while depressive symptoms were positively associated with the DSQL score. Depressive symptoms mediated the relationship between NSC and quality of life in T2DM patients (explaining 50.7% of the total variance). Conclusion NSC was positively associated with improved quality of life among Chinese T2DM patients in this study, and depressive symptoms were likely to partially explain this relationship. These findings may be used to help maintain a good quality of life among at-risk individuals. Additional prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.