Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigation of VN/TiN Multilayer Coatings on AZ91D Mg Alloys

There is an increasing need of light material in automative, aerospace, biomedical applications and electronic industries. Due to the low density and low price, magnesium and magnesium alloys have been widely used as structural materials in these industries [1]. However, the application of magnesium and its alloys is limited because of their low corrosion and wear resistance. Coating the magnesium alloy surface with transition metal nitrides based on Ti, Cr and V using magnetron sputter is an effective method to overcome these problems[1, 2]. 20 30 40 50 60 70
Periodic H~2 Synthesis for Spacecraft Attitude Control with Magnetorquers

A control synthesis for a spacecraft equipped with a set of magnetorquer coils is addressed. The electromagnetic actuation is particularly attractive for small low-cost spacecraft missions, due to their relatively low price, high reliability, light weight, and low power consumption. The interaction between the Earth’s magnetic field and an artificial magnetic field generated by the coils produces a control torque. The magnetic attitude control is intrinsically periodic due to cyclic variation of the geomagnetic field in orbit. The control performance is specified by the generalized H2 operator norm. A linear matrix inequality-based algorithm is proposed for attitude control synthesis. Simulation results are provided, showing the prospect of the concept for onboard implementation. Nomenclature
DETERMINING THE COST OF EQUITY IN THE CONDITIONS OF CRISIS 33

Summary Changes on financial markets caused by subprime crisis in the United States and related problems in the real sphere of many European economies have initiated a discussion on the factors of business value, also in the area of methods of determining the cost of equity. Known and commonly used, especially on poorly developed markets, methods in the period of a traditional business cycle required many adjustments. This situation could have caused increase in the role of subjective factors in business valuation. The article, apart from known methods, presents a new concept of determining the cost of equity, adequate to the present turbulent market conditions. It allows determining more precisely the cost of equity of companies operating in the conditions of unstable economies. In these economies the use of known methods of calculating the cost of equity is either impossible or requires the application of many adjustments that often do not guarantee correct result. An advantage of the presented method over other models (even Bond Yield Plus) is that risk premium, related to investments in equity, is determined in a manner preventing discretional adoption of its amount. The previous practice indicates that often the amount of this premium was determined at a level expected by the customers. The proposed method limits impact of subjective factors on business value, which often distort the actual business value.
The thesaurus approach to information retrieval

An article by Dr. Vannevar Bush (1) which appeared in 1945 can be considered as the beginning of the literature on mechanised information retrieval. In this article Dr. Bush described an imaginary machine, the "Memex", in which a research worker would store his personal library (principally on microfilm) together with other reports, papers, and records, and from which he would be able to select instantly all references relevant to the information he desired.
Hormonal priming and salt treatments effects on germination percentage and antioxidant activities in O . majorana ( Majoram ) seedlings

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of salt on the antioxidant activity, the total phenolic flavonoid and tannins contents and the possible protective effects of marjoram seedling on lipid peroxidation GPX and Catalase activity. Thus, antioxidant activity was evaluated by using different assays, total antioxidant, 2,2-diphenlyl-1picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical by bleaching of the purple-colored solution of DPPH radical. Seeds of Marjoram (O. majorana L.) showed a difference of salt sensitivity with different NaCl concentrations (0, 50, 100, 150 mM) for a period of 15 days. Germination percentage was improved at 50 mM, decreased at 100 mM and absence at 150 mM. Many research studies have shown that seed priming is an efficient method for increasing plant growth and yield in saline condition. For this reason, this experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of priming with (1, 5, 10 mM) and non-primed seeds in presence and absence of salt, we conclude that proline decreased germination percentage. So, concentration of 75 mM NaCl, kept for the continuation of these experiences for determination of antioxidant capacity. The overall results showed that salinity could influence the performance of polyphenols and flavonoids by increasing the concentration of these metabolites in their tissues. An increase in phenolic contents, flavonoids, tannins, total antioxydant activity and DPPH were observed. Salt increased protein content, GPX and Catalase activity. There are advise to germinate marjoram seeds at NaCl 75 mM, because it richness in secondary metabolites and enzymatic antioxidant.
Feeding by the newly described heterotrophic dinoflagellate Aduncodinium glandula : having the most diverse prey species in the family Pfiesteriaceae

2Advanced Institutes of Convergence Technology, Suwon 16229, Korea To explore the feeding ecology of the newly described heterotrophic dinoflagellate Aduncodinium glandula in the family Pfiesteriaceae, its feeding behavior and prey species were investigated. Additionally, the growth and ingestion rates of A. glandula on the mixotrophic dinoflagellates Heterocapsa triquetra and Akashiwo sanguinea, its optimal and suboptimal prey, respectively were measured. A. glandula fed on prey through a peduncle after anchoring to the prey using a tow filament. A. glandula ate all algal prey and perch blood cells tested and had the most diverse prey species in the family Pfiesteriaceae. Unlike for other pfiesteriacean species, H. triquetra and A. sanguinea support the positive growth of A. glandula. However, the cryptophytes Rhodomonas salina and Teleaulax sp. and the phototrophic dinofla gellate Amphidinium carterae did not support the positive growth of A. glandula. Thus, A. glandula may have a unique kind of prey and its optimal prey differs from that of the other pfiesteriacean dinoflagellates. With increasing mean prey concentration, the growth rates of A. glandula on H. triquetra and A. sanguinea increased rapidly and then slowed or became saturated. The maximum growth rates when feeding on H. triquetra and A. sanguinea were 1.004 and 0.567 d -1 , respectively. Further, the maximum ingestion rates of A. glandula on H. triquetra and A. sanguinea were 0.75 and 1.38 ng C predator -1 d -1 , respectively. There is no other pfiesteriacean species having H. triquetra and A. sanguinea as optimal and suboptimal prey. Thus, A. glandula may be abundant during blooms dominated by these species not preferred by the other pfiesteriacean dinoflagellates.
Modeling early stage bone regeneration with biomimetic electrospun fibrinogen nanofibers and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract The key events of the earliest stages of bone regeneration have been described in vivo although not yet modeled in an in vitro environment, where mechanistic cell-matrix-growth factor interactions can be more effectively studied. Here, we explore an early-stage bone regeneration model where the ability of electrospun fibrinogen (Fg) nanofibers to regulate osteoblastogenesis between distinct mesenchymal stem cells populations is assessed. Electrospun scaffolds of Fg, polydioxanone (PDO), and a Fg:PDO blend were seeded with adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) and grown for 7-21 days in osteogenic differentiation media or control growth media. Scaffolds were analyzed weekly for histologic and molecular evidence of osteoblastogenesis. In response to osteogenic differentiation media, ASCs seeded on the Fg scaffolds exhibit elevated expression of multiple genes associated with osteoblastogenesis. Histologic stains and scanning electron microscopy demonstrate widespread mineralization within the scaffolds, as well as de novo type I collagen synthesis. Our data demonstrates that electrospun Fg nanofibers support ASC osteogenic differentiation, yet the scaffold itself does not appear to be osteoinductive. Together, ASCs and Fg recapitulate early stages of bone regeneration ex vivo and presents a prospective autologous therapeutic approach for bone repair.
AUTOMATIC FAULT RECOGNITION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES BASED ON STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF UAV THERMOGRAPHY

Abstract. As a malfunctioning PV (Photovoltaic) cell has a higher temperature than adjacent normal cells, we can detect it easily with a thermal infrared sensor. However, it will be a time-consuming way to inspect large-scale PV power plants by a hand-held thermal infrared sensor. This paper presents an algorithm for automatically detecting defective PV panels using images captured with a thermal imaging camera from an UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). The proposed algorithm uses statistical analysis of thermal intensity (surface temperature) characteristics of each PV module to verify the mean intensity and standard deviation of each panel as parameters for fault diagnosis. One of the characteristics of thermal infrared imaging is that the larger the distance between sensor and target, the lower the measured temperature of the object. Consequently, a global detection rule using the mean intensity of all panels in the fault detection algorithm is not applicable. Therefore, a local detection rule based on the mean intensity and standard deviation range was developed to detect defective PV modules from individual array automatically. The performance of the proposed algorithm was tested on three sample images; this verified a detection accuracy of defective panels of 97 % or higher. In addition, as the proposed algorithm can adjust the range of threshold values for judging malfunction at the array level, the local detection rule is considered better suited for highly sensitive fault detection compared to a global detection rule.
A POU3F2-MITF-SHC4 Axis in Phenotype Switching of Melanoma Cells

Malignant melanoma is one of the most aggressive human cancers. Metastatic melanoma is highly resistant to genotoxic radiotherapy and chemotherapeutic treatments and patients have a median survival of under a year from diagnosis. As primary melanoma tumours can metastasise very early in tumour development (Chin et al., 2006), rapid diagnosis and curative surgery remain the best hopes for control of the disease. Early surgery that removes radial growth phase tumours that have not yet initiated vertical growth phase can be very effective and prevent further development. However, once the primary tumour has begun to invade the local epidermal and dermal environment treatment becomes much more complicated Why melanoma has such a high propensity to invade and metastasize is not well understood, but may be related to the developmental characteristics of the melanocyte lineage. Melanocytes derive from pluripotent neural crest cells as non-pigmented melanoblasts (Dupin et al., 2007; Dupin et al., 2006; Thomas and Erickson, 2008). During embryogenesis melanoblasts migrate via the dorso-lateral pathway to populate the basal layer of the epidermis and hair follicles, as well as a number of other sites including the inner ear and the heart (Yajima and Larue, 2008). The ability of transformed melanoma cells to rapidly invade and migrate away from the primary tumour perhaps reflects an inherent characteristic inherited from their embryonic state. Neural crest-derived cells are specified as melanoblasts by expression of MIcrophthalmiaassociated Transcription Factor (MITF), a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor belonging to the MYC superfamily (Goding, 2000a; Goding, 2000b; Hemesath et al., 1994). The MITF locus encodes multiple isoforms generated by alternate splicing and use of internal promoters (Steingrimsson, 2008). The MITF-M isoform (hereafter designated simply as MITF) is produced specifically in the melanocyte lineage from an intronic promoter. MITF is required for melanoblast survival and differentiation of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) (Hou and Pavan, 2008; McGill et al., 2002). Consequently, MITF-null mice exhibit a white coat colour due to the loss of the melanocyte lineage and a small (microphthalmic) eye phenotype due to loss of the RPE (Hodgkinson et al., 1993; Hughes et al., 1993; Moore, 1995; Steingrimsson et al., 1994). In humans, mutation of the MITF gene is responsible for Waardenburg syndrome type 2 (WS2) ((Tassabehji et al., 1994), a syndrome characterised by pigmentary defects and hearing loss highlighting the important role of the
Segmentation of Corneal Endothelial Cells Contour by Means of a Genetic Algorithm

Corneal images acquired by in-vivo microscopy provide clinical in- formation on the cornea endothelium health state. The reliable estimation of the clinical morphometric parameters requires the accurate detection of cell con- tours in a large number of cells. Thus for the practical application of this analy- sis in clinical settings an automated method is needed. We propose the automat- ic segmentation of corneal endothelial cells contour through an innovative technique based on a genetic algorithm, which combines information about the typical regularity of endothelial cells shape with the pixels intensity of the actu- al image. Ground truth values for the clinical parameters were obtained from manually drawn cell contours. Results show that an accurate automatic estima- tion is achieved: for each parameter, the mean difference between its manual estimation and the automated one is always less than 4%, and the maximum difference is always less than 7%. The normal human corneal endothelium is a single layer of uniformly sized cells with a predominantly hexagonal shape, but this regular tessellation is affected by age and pathologies (1). Thus, the analysis of the main morphometric parameters of corneal endothelium provides clinical information capable to describe the cornea health state. Namely, endothelial cell density (ECD), polymegethism (differences in cell size ex- pressed as fractional standard deviation of cell areas), and pleomorphism or hexago- nality coefficient (fraction of hexagonal cells over the total number of cells) are commonly used as parameters to quantitatively characterize the endothelial cells' condition. In order to make this analysis practical in clinical settings, a computerized method that fully automates the segmentation procedure would be needed. The fundamental problem with automated endothelial analysis is to correctly identify the cells' contour, a necessary prerequisite for the estimation of the clinical parameters (2). The automat- ic recognition of the cell boundaries is a challenging task because of the noise that make the contour difficult to be distinguished even by an expert, and the substantial differences between an image and the other as regards size and appearance of the
DROSOPHILA SUZUKII (MATSUMURA, 1931) (DIPTERA: DROSOPHILIDAE), A NEW INVASIVE PEST IN SERBIA

During October and November 2014, a survey was conducted in order to establish the presence of the invasive pest Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931) on the territory of Serbia. Survey revealed the presence of this fly in four districts (Rasinski, Macvanski, Raski and Pcinjski), in sampled raspberry and blackberry ripe fruits, as well as in common fig and grape. Collected fruits were used for the rearing of Drosophilid larvae to adults, which were subsequently subjected to morphological and molecular characterization. The presence of D. suzukii was confirmed in all surveyed districts, as well as in Zemun (City of Belgrade). This is the first report of the highly invasive fruit pest D. suzukii on the territory of Serbia.
Stable water isotope tracing through hydrological models for disentangling runoff generation processes at the hillslope scale

Hillslopes are the dominant landscape components where incoming precipitation becomes groundwater, streamflow or atmospheric water vapor. However, directly observing flux partitioning in the soil is almost impossible. Hydrological hillslope models are therefore being used to investigate the processes involved. Here we report on a modeling experiment using the Catchment Modeling Framework (CMF) where measured stable water isotopes in vertical soil profiles along a tropical mountainous grassland hillslope transect are traced through the model to resolve potential mixing processes. CMF simulates advective transport of stable water isotopes 18 O and 2 H based on the Richards equation within a fully distributed 2-D representation of the hillslope. The model successfully replicates the observed temporal pattern of soil water isotope profiles ( R 2 0.84 and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) 0.42). Predicted flows are in good agreement with previous studies. We highlight the importance of groundwater recharge and shallow lateral subsurface flow, accounting for 50 and 16% of the total flow leaving the system, respectively. Surface runoff is negligible despite the steep slopes in the Ecuadorian study region.
Quantifying preferential trading in the e-MID interbank market

Interbank markets allow credit institutions to exchange capital for purposes of liquidity management. These markets are among the most liquid markets in the financial system. However, liquidity of interbank markets dropped during the 2007–2008 financial crisis, and such a lack of liquidity influenced the entire economic system. In this paper, we analyse transaction data from the e-MID market which is the only electronic interbank market in the Euro Area and US, over a period of 11 years (1999–2009). We adapt a method developed to detect statistically validated links in a network, in order to reveal preferential trading in a directed network. Preferential trading between banks is detected by comparing empirically observed trading relationships with a null hypothesis that assumes random trading among banks doing a heterogeneous number of transactions. Preferential trading patterns are revealed at time windows of 3-maintenance periods. We show that preferential trading is observed throughout the whole period of analysis and that the number of preferential trading links does not show any significant trend in time, in spite of a decreasing trend in the number of pairs of banks making transactions. We observe that preferential trading connections typically involve large trading volumes. During the crisis, we also observe that transactions occurring between banks with a preferential connection occur at larger interest rates than the complement set—an effect that is not observed before the crisis.
ret2spec: Speculative Execution Using Return Stack Buffers

Speculative execution is an optimization technique that has been part of CPUs for over a decade. It predicts the outcome and target of branch instructions to avoid stalling the execution pipeline. However, until recently, the security implications of speculative code execution have not been studied. In this paper, we investigate a special type of branch predictor that is responsible for predicting return addresses. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to study return address predictors and their consequences for the security of modern software. In our work, we show how return stack buffers (RSBs), the core unit of return address predictors, can be used to trigger misspeculations. Based on this knowledge, we propose two new attack variants using RSBs that give attackers similar capabilities as the documented Spectre attacks. We show how local attackers can gain arbitrary speculative code execution across processes, e.g., to leak passwords another user enters on a shared system. Our evaluation showed that the recent Spectre countermeasures deployed in operating systems can also cover such RSB-based cross-process attacks. Yet we then demonstrate that attackers can trigger misspeculation in JIT environments in order to leak arbitrary memory content of browser processes. Reading outside the sandboxed memory region with JIT-compiled code is still possible with 80% accuracy on average.
White-Tailed Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) Die-Off Due to Infection with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus, Subtype H5N8, in Germany

In contrast to previous incursions of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAIV) H5 viruses, H5N8 clade 2.3. 4.4b viruses caused numerous cases of lethal infections in white-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) affecting mainly young eagles (younger than five years of age) in Germany during winter 2016/2017. Until April 2017, 17 HPAIV H5N8-positive white-tailed sea eagles had been detected (three found alive and 14 carcasses) by real-time RT-PCR and partial nucleotide sequence analyses. Severe neurological clinical signs were noticed which were corroborated by immunohistopathology revealing mild to moderate, oligo- to multifocal necrotizing virus-induced polioencephalitis. Lethal lead (Pb) concentrations, a main factor of mortality in sea eagles in previous years, could be ruled out by atomic absorption spectrometry. HPAIV H5 clade 2.3. 4.4b reportedly is the first highly pathogenic influenza virus known to induce fatal disease in European white-tailed see eagles. This virus strain may become a new health threat to a highly protected species across its distribution range in Eurasia. Positive cloacal swabs suggest that eagles can spread the virus with their faeces.
Crosslinked polydimethylsiloxane exposed to oxygen plasma studied by neutron reflectometry and other surface specific techniques

Spin-coated specimens of crosslinked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) exposed to radio-frequency (RF) and microwave (MW) oxygen plasma were studied by specular neutron reflectometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Wilhelmy balance, contact angle measurements, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Neutron reflectometry and XPS showed that the oxygen plasma led to the formation of a smooth ( ,10 nm), oxidised surface layer with a thickness of 130–160 nm. The oxidised layer contained a mixture of the original polymer and silicon bonded to three or four oxygen atoms (SiO x). The oxidised layer was thinner after longer plasma exposure, indicating a decrease in specific volume due to a conversion of the polymer structure to an inorganic SiO x-rich structure. The formation of the SiOx-containing layer with low segmental mobility was further confirmed by the small hysteresis in the Wilhelmy balance measurements. The similarity in the hydrophobicity recovery kinetics of specimens aged in dry air, dry argon and vacuum and XPS data showed that the hydrophobicity recovery is not due to contamination through adsorption from the atmosphere but due to migration of low molar mass PDMS species to the surface. Scanning electron microscopy also showed the presence of surface cracks in heavily oxidised specimens. q 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.