Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative nest attendance and chick provisioning strategies in coastal and desert nesting Grey Gulls (Leucophaeus modestus) in northern Chile

ABSTRACT Grey Gulls (Leucophaeus modestus) are unique among gulls in that they forage in the coast but breed up to 115 km inland in the barren Atacama Desert of northern Chile. By nesting in the desert, adults are limited to a single daily foraging trip to feed their chicks and relieve their incubating/brooding mates. Birds perform long-distance and energetically expensive trips between foraging and breeding grounds. We describe how Grey Gulls modify nest attendance and chick provisioning strategies from an unusual coastal colony established at Playa Brava, northern Chile, during the 2017–2018 season. Contrary to what it is usually observed in desert colonies, incubating, and brooding Grey Gulls at Playa Brava relieved mates at the nest regularly and fed chicks several times throughout the day. Some adults even left their chicks unattended at the nest to forage on the nearby shoreline (<0.15 km) for a variable amount of time (up to 57 min) before returning to resume brooding. These behaviours are likely to ease parental duties by allowing multiple pair changeovers, reduce energy expenditure by avoiding extensive trips between the desert and the coast, increase chick growth rates by allowing multiple meals during the day, among other advantages. Our observations show that, when moving their colonies from the desert to the coast, Grey Gulls accordingly adjust their breeding behaviour to cope with this new habitat.
A Ku/K/Ka-Band GaAs MMIC Load-Modulated Amplifier with a Negative Group Delay Output Network

We present the design and characterization of a 50% bandwidth Ku/K/Ka-band 16–28 GHz load-modulated two-stage single-polarity bias MMIC power amplifier fabricated in a 0. 15μm E-pHEMT GaAs process. Extended bandwidth is obtained with wideband matching networks and a negative group delay modified Doherty impedance inverter in the output combining network. Measured results show 12–15 dB gain, 24–27 dBm output power, 41/32% peak PAE, and 28/22% PAE average at P1dB/6dB output power back-off (OBO).
Scalable Learned Geometric Feasibility for Cooperative Grasp and Motion Planning

This letter proposes a novel learned feasibility estimator that considers multi-modal grasp poses for grasp and motion planning. Grasp poses inherently have multi-modal structures, that is, continuous and discrete parameters. Mixed-integer programming (MIP) is one method that solves these multi-modal problems. However, searching for all the discrete parameters costs considerable time. Therefore, by learning the feasibility of each mode from the geometric variables, the problem can be solved efficiently within a given time limit. The feasibility of grasp poses is related to the pose of the object and nearby obstacles. Utilizing this information, we introduce learned geometric feasibility (LGF), which prioritizes the integer search of MIP. LGF is scalable to multiple robots and environments because it learns the feasibility using object-oriented information. It has been demonstrated to improve the number of solved MIP problems within the time limit and to be applicable to various environmental settings.
CFFS: A Persistent Memory File System for Contiguous File Allocation With Fine-Grained Metadata

Extensive research on persistent memory (PM)-aware file systems has led to the development of numerous methods for improving read/write throughput. In particular, accessing or modifying file contents in a similar manner to the memory operations through mmap is a common approach. We designed a file system, CFFS (Contiguous File Allocation with Fine-Grained Metadata File System), to rapidly allocate PM pages to upper layer applications for mmap and to alleviate page fault overheads due to mmap. We optimized the physical contiguity of files in PM to reduce file fragmentation and increase fragment alignment with the goal of reducing software overhead. To achieve this goal, we implemented greedy-based buddy systems and implicit preallocation with a not-most-recently-used (NMRU) policy based on our overall page allocation strategy of considering not only the spatial but also the temporal locality of file access patterns. Furthermore, for efficient and atomic metadata operations, we fully leveraged the byte-addressable property of PM to design fine-grained metadata. CFFS adopts persistent doubly linked lists for directory operations to identify and recover from inconsistencies caused by system failures, doing so without using traditional log mechanisms. In experiments, CFFS showed superior page allocation performance to EXT4-DAX and NOVA did under different PM fragmentation levels. Our allocation algorithm also reduced the cost of page faults for frequently appended files. Finally, CFFS’s lightweight directory operations performed excellently in creating and deleting files of various quantities. In summary, the main contribution of the paper is proposing an efficient page allocation algorithm to improve the performance of subsequent mmaps, based on the strategy of considering not only the spatial but also the temporal locality of file access patterns in PM file systems. Another contribution was the fine-grained and log-free method for atomic directory operations.
A CMOS image sensor for soft x-ray astronomy

A monolithic CMOS image sensor based on the pinned photodiode (PPD) and optimized for X-ray imaging in the 300 eV to 5 keV energy range is described. Featuring 40 μm square pixels and 40 μm thick, high resistivity epitaxial silicon, the sensor is fully depleted by reverse substrate bias. Backside illumination (BSI) processing has been used to achieve high X-ray QE, and a dedicated pixel design has been developed for low image lag and high conversion gain. The sensor, called CIS221-X, is manufactured in a 180 nm CMOS process and has three different 512×128-pixel arrays on 40 μm pitch, as well as a 2048×512 array of 10 μm pixels. CIS221-X also features per-column 12-bit ADCs, digital readout via four highspeed LVDS outputs, and can be read out at 45 frames per second. CIS221-X achieves readout noise of 2.6 e- RMS and full width at half maximum (FWHM) at the Mn-Kα 5.9 keV characteristic X-ray line of 153 eV at -40 °C. This paper presents the characterization results of the first backside illuminated CIS221-X, including X-ray response and readout noise. The newly developed sensor and the technology underpinning it is intended for diverse applications, including Xray astronomy, synchrotron, and X-ray free electron laser light sources.
Nonlinear Dimensionality Reduction Methods in Climate Data Analysis

Linear dimensionality reduction techniques, notably principal component analysis, are widely used in climate data analysis as a means to aid in the interpretation of datasets of high dimensionality. These linear methods may not be appropriate for the analysis of data arising from nonlinear processes occurring in the climate system. Numerous techniques for nonlinear dimensionality reduction have been developed recently that may provide a potentially useful tool for the identification of low-dimensional manifolds in climate data sets arising from nonlinear dynamics. In this thesis I apply three such techniques to the study of El Nino/Southern Oscillation variability in tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures and thermocline depth, comparing observational data with simulations from coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models from the CMIP3 multi-model ensemble. The three methods used here are a nonlinear principal component analysis (NLPCA) approach based on neural networks, the Isomap isometric mapping algorithm, and Hessian locally linear embedding. I use these three methods to examine El Nino variability in the different data sets and assess the suitability of these nonlinear dimensionality reduction approaches for climate data analysis. I conclude that although, for the application presented here, analysis using NLPCA, Isomap and Hessian locally linear embedding does not provide additional information beyond that already provided by principal component analysis, these methods are effective tools for exploratory data analysis.
Aquaporins influence seed dormancy and germination in response to stress

Abstract Aquaporins influence water flow in plants, yet little is known of their involvement in the water‐driven process of seed germination. We therefore investigated their role in seeds in the laboratory and under field and global warming conditions. We mapped the expression of tonoplast intrinsic proteins (TIPs) during dormancy cycling and during germination under normal and water stress conditions. We found that the two key tonoplast aquaporins, TIP3;1 and TIP3;2, which have previously been implicated in water or solute transport, respectively, act antagonistically to modulate the response to abscisic acid, with TIP3;1 being a positive and TIP3;2 a negative regulator. A third isoform, TIP4;1, which is normally expressed upon completion of germination, was found to play an earlier role during water stress. Seed TIPs also contribute to the regulation of depth of primary dormancy and differences in the induction of secondary dormancy during dormancy cycling. Protein and gene expression during annual cycling under field conditions and a global warming scenario further illustrate this role. We propose that the different responses of the seed TIP contribute to mechanisms that influence dormancy status and the timing of germination under variable soil conditions.
Spectrophotometric estimation of esomeprazole using diazotization reaction with meta- amino phenol reagent and application in pharmaceutical preparations

The aim of the following study is to develop a sensitive, high-accuracy and fast spectrophotometric method for the determination of esomeprazole (ESO) in pharmaceutical preparations.The proposed method is based on the formation of dyzonium salt from the reaction of meta-aminophenol reagent with nitrite in an acidic medium and then coupling it with esomeprazole in an alkaline medium to form a yellow dye that gives the highest absorption at a wavelength of 450 nm. Obtaining a calibration curve within 1_12 with a correlation coefficient of 0. 999. The molar absorbance 3.3954 × 104 L.mol-1 . cm-1, Sandell sensitivity 0.0101 µg. cm-2, and limits of detection LOD 0.048 µg/ml, LOQ 0.161 µg/ml were determined. The method was also applied to pharmaceutical preparations, and the validity of the method was confirmed by standard addition.
Effect of Parasitic Element on Multiband CPW-fed NB-IoT Antenna Development for Low-Power Wide-Area Network

The aim of this research is to develop a multiband IoT-based antenna with a very narrow bandwidth of 109.2 MHz, 178.16 MHz, 333.33 MHz, 91.954 MHz, and 135.01 MHz which are highly compatible with NB-IoT applications. For this purpose, the impacts of parasitic elements during the design process are demonstrated. Moreover, suitable gain and return loss are optimized due to the following CPW-fed compact antenna systems at usable frequencies of 1592 - 1701 MHz, 2264 - 2442 MHz, 3678.2 - 4011.5 MHz, 4229.9 - 4321.8 MHz, and 6462.6 - 6597.7 MHz. The highest gain of 7.34 dBi is observed at an operating frequency of 3.86 GHz where the antenna is modeled using the Rogers R03003 substrate with a dielectric constant of 3 and a tangent loss of 0.0013 which is compatible with a low-cost easy fabrication solution for the antenna. The finite element method is utilized to simulate the $34\ \text{mm} \times 28\ \text{mm}$ antenna structure which is suitable for low-bandwidth, battery-powered devices along with low bit rates over long distances.
TCE-IDS: Time Interval Conditional Entropy- Based Intrusion Detection System for Automotive Controller Area Networks

Intelligent connected vehicle is rapidly growing with the 5-G technology; the diversity of functional interfaces has significantly expanded the avenues of attack, making automotive controller area network (CAN) more vulnerable to cyberthreats. Automotive CAN network attacks are a direct threat to traffic safety, and in this study, we explore the use of intrusion detection techniques for mitigating cyberattacks. However, most automotive CAN network intrusion detection technologies are not capable of defending against sophisticated attacks, making it extremely challenging for detecting intrusions in practice. In this article, we propose a novel time interval conditional entropy method for detecting intrusions in automotive CAN networks. The time interval conditional entropy intrusion detection method is not susceptible to interference and is capable of detecting a variety of attacks. In our experiments, the conditional entropy values of regular communication messages are collected and utilized to distinguish and detect the attacks. The time interval conditional entropy detection method is implemented and evaluated in our controller area net-work bus (CAN-BUS) network platform. The experiments show that our method has higher detection accuracy and is easier to deploy compared to existing automotive CAN network intrusion detection methods.
Reciprocal Effects of Teacher Autonomy Support and Student Academic Engagement in Blended Synchronous Learning Environment: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Study

Previous research has clearly shown that teacher autonomy support is positively related to student academic engagement. However, most studies use cross-sectional studies, limiting insight into the direction of effects, and most of the subjects in the study came from the face-to-face teaching environment. The correlation between teachers' autonomy support and students' academic engagement in the blended synchronous teaching environment is unclear. The present study examined lagged reciprocal relationships between teacher autonomy support and academic engagement. We assumed that teacher autonomy support is prospectively and positively related to academic engagement and that, conversely, academic engagement is prospectively and positively associated with teacher autonomy support. We tested our hypotheses with a longitudinal study of 500 individuals assessed 2 times over 4 months. The results did not support the possibility of a reciprocal relationship. Teacher autonomy support did not predict subsequent academic engagement, and academic engagement predicted subsequent teacher autonomy support. We believe that this finding is precisely in line with blended or pure online teaching and learning characteristics. The results are not only theoretical but also of practical importance.
The Ferroptosis Molecular Subtype Reveals Characteristics of the Tumor Microenvironment, Immunotherapeutic Response, and Prognosis in Gastric Cancer

Ferroptosis is a relatively new form of programmed cell death, which can enhance the efficacy of tumor immunotherapy by regulating the tumor microenvironment (TME). In the face of the dilemma of a great difference in the efficacy of immunotherapy for gastric cancer (GC) patients, the exploration of ferroptosis may assist us in predicting immunotherapy efficacy prior to treatment. The potential role of ferroptosis in TME still needs further elucidation. Based on ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs), we systematically evaluated ferroptosis molecular subtypes in gastric cancer. Additionally, the association between these molecular subtypes and the characteristics of TME was examined. A ferroptosis score was constructed to further explore the predictive efficacy of ferroptosis on the immunotherapy response in gastric cancer. There were also 32 other cancers that were evaluated. Three molecular subtypes of ferroptosis in gastric cancer were identified. The three immunophenotypes of tumor immune inflamed, immune excluded, as well as immune desert were mostly in agreement with the TME features of these three subtypes. The individual tumor genetic variation, TME characteristics, immunotherapy response, and prognosis could be assessed by a ferroptosis score. High ferroptosis scores in gastric cancer suggest stromal activation and immunosuppression. It is noted that tumors with a low ferroptosis score are characterized by extensive tumor mutations as well as an immune activation, which are associated with an enhanced immunotherapy response and an improved prognosis. This study reveals that ferroptosis plays an integral role in the regulation of the tumor immune microenvironment. The ferroptosis score may serve as an independent prognostic factor for GC and will deepen our understanding of the TME infiltration mechanisms as well as lead to more rational immunotherapy regimens.
Effect of Radiation Quality and Relative Humidity on Intumescence Injury and Growth of Tomato Seedlings

Intumescence is a physiological disorder that affects some tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cultivars grown in environments lacking ultraviolet radiation. Both far-red (FR) radiation and blue light have been shown to help mitigate this disorder. Thus, the objectives of this study were to characterize and compare intumescence injury and growth of various tomato cultivars propagated under different radiation qualities (Expt. 1) and to evaluate plant responses to the interactive effect of radiation quality and relative humidity (RH) (Expt. 2). Seedlings of six cultivars in Expt. 1 were grown under broad band white light (W), W and blue with (WBFR) or without (WB) FR radiation, and blue and red light with FR radiation (BRFR). Seedlings of four cultivars in Expt. 2 were grown under W or WBFR and a low (≈50%) or high (≈95%) RH. In both experiments, seedlings were grown under a daily light integral of ≈13 mol·m‒2·d‒1 (200 ± 4 μmol·m‒2·s‒1 for 18 h·d−1). FR radiation was provided using 20 ± 2 μmol·m−2·s−1 delivered throughout the entire photoperiod or at the end-of-day (EOD) in Expts. 1 or 2, respectively. Intumescence was generally suppressed when seedlings in Expt. 1 were grown under BRFR and WBFR, which also corresponded with the general response to stomatal conductance (gs). In contrast, seedlings grown under W had the highest incidence of intumescence, ranging from 23% to 69% across cultivars. The high blue photon flux (PF) ratio in WB was not effective at suppressing intumescence injury without FR radiation, although incidence and severity were lower compared with W. In Expt. 2, intumescence incidence was generally lower in seedlings grown under WBFR, and RH had small effects on intumescence. In both experiments, younger leaves were relatively less affected by intumescence, suggesting that a developmental factor is associated with the disorder. As expected, providing FR radiation resulted in a general increase in stem height across cultivars and in both experiments. The high RH provided in Expt. 2 also resulted in an increase in stem height. However, seedlings under low RH produced larger leaves, lower specific leaf area, and more shoot dry mass than those under high RH. Overall, our findings show that applying FR radiation helps suppress intumescence, but strategies are needed to minimize issues with excessive stem elongation.
Research on Maneuvering Decision Algorithm Based on Improved Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient

Autonomous maneuvering decisions of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in short-range air combat remain a challenging research topic, and a decision method based on an improved deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) is proposed. First, the problem model is improved from the perspective of energy–air combat, and a decision model with engine thrust, angle of attack, and roll angle as control variables is established. The normal and tangential overloads are determined by these control variables, and the decision is constrained by the flight stability and threshold range. Subsequently, the decision learning algorithm of the maneuver command is designed based on the DDPG framework. According to the energy air combat, speed is introduced into the return function in some states to make the return value more in line with reality. In view of the slow learning speed of the DDPG algorithm, the winning rate is introduced into the $\varepsilon $ -greedy strategy to adjust the exploration and application probabilities in real time. In view of the decrease in computational efficiency caused by the large amount of empirical data, a similar empirical exclusion was carried out based on the vector distance. The simulation results show that the DDPG-based algorithm realizes autonomous decisions of engine thrust, roll angle, and attack angle under constraints, and the comparative simulation shows that the improvement measures are effective.
Fault Detection for Wind Turbine System Using Fractional Extended Dispersion Entropy and Cumulative Sum Control Chart

Reliable and quick fault detection is crucial for the wind turbine system (WTS) to detect any potential abnormalities and early faults in time. However, constructing sensitive indicators to reflect the operation state of WTS is still a challenging work. In view of the conceptions of fractional calculus and dispersion entropy (DE), this article proposes a novel indicator called fractional extended DE (FrEDE) to cope with the challenge. Specifically, a connection block with an information factor is first applied to enhance the utilization of information in the raw signals. Moreover, fractional calculus is integrated into entropy calculation to support a constructive interplay in the fault detection of complex WTS. The experiments on simulated data investigate the effect of parameters on FrEDE and verify its ability to detect the dynamic changes of complex system. Finally, FrEDE is further applied to two real-world datasets. Comparative experimental results show that FrEDE is able to accurately differentiate normal between faulty states, and a detection scheme fusing FrEDE and cumulative sum control chart (CUSUM) is accessible to detect abnormal states and provide early failure alarm effectively.
Structure and microwave dielectric properties of Bi- and Ge-doped calcium molybdate

The powders of Ca1–2xBi2xMo1–xGexO4 solid solutions weresynthesized by the conventional solid state method and investigated by X–ray powder diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The Ca1–2xBi2xMo1–xGexO4 compositions crystallize in scheelite structure (sp. gr. I41/a) at 0 x 0.4, but traces of bismuth germanates are detected by scanning electron microscopy. The x = 0.5 composition contains several phases with BiVO4- type structures. Raman spectroscopy detected the deformation of [BO4]2– polyhedra and changes in B–O bond length (B = Mo, Ge). The energy gaps were calculated from the diffuse scattering spectra by the Kubelka-Munk method. Energy gap (Eg) values decrease with x from 3.29 eV to 2.91 eV, probably due to 6s2 electrons of bismuth in the valence band and changes of the conductivity band by electrons of germanium. Such values of Eg can provide photocatalytical activity of powders under UV and visible light. The electrodynamic parameters of the ceramic sample of Ca1–2xBi2xMo1–xGexO4 were measured by the transmission line method. The average permittivity increases with x from ~10 to ~18 which correlates with theoretical ε, Vmol and total polarizability of samples. An increase in the concentration of bismuth and germanium leads to the additional resonant peaks in the spectra of ε, S11 and S21. These resonant peaks can be probably caused by the appearance of irregular structural domains of Bi atoms or induced by the increased size of grains in the ceramic samples.