Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimates of Arab world research productivity associated with desalination: a bibliometric analysis

Arab world is facing severe water scarcity. This hot issue is the driving force behind investing heavily in desalination, the backbone of the water sector. A bibliometric analysis based on databases from Scopus has been conducted to track research activities in this field. This study aimed to dissect research productivity, collaboration, citations and fields of interests. A total of 1075 documents about ‘desalination’ were published from Arab world, which represents 16·0% of the global research. The highest number of articles was from Saudi Arabia (28·1%), followed by Egypt (15·6%). The total number of citations was 9922. The average was 9·23 citations/document. h-index was 42, and the highest one was 24 for Saudi Arabia. The most productive journal was Desalination. The study identified 270 (25·1%) documents with 31 countries in Arab–foreign country collaborations. The most productive institution was King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. The present data reveal a promising rise and renaissance in desalinat.
The application of 'loss-free resistors' in power processing circuits

Applications of loss-free elements with resistive characteristics in power processing systems are discussed. The synthesis of this kind of element is based on the control of a two port which has a transformer or gyrator matrix. Both of the controlled two ports can be realized by means of switched-mode circuits. The loss-free resistor can be applied to the stabilization of unstable systems, for damping oscillatory waveforms, and for balancing of power flow in AC-DC conversion systems. This kind of element has been applied to the stabilization of a gas laser system. It replaced a conventional resistive element which was applied for this purpose. <<ETX>>
Predicting Income-Decreasing Forced Financial Restatement

This study explored the varied characteristics of misstatement firms, which serve as the foundation to develop a model that predicts income-decreasing forced restatement (IDFR). Multivariate logit regression was performed on 4,698 firm-years of Malaysian listed firms from 2002 to 2012. The results were tested for robustness using a stepwise logit model and a penalised likelihood logit model. Several factors, such as share price volatility, independent board of directors, company’s internal fund, and political connection, emerged as the main predictors for IDFR. This study proposes a prediction model that synthesises financial and non-financial aspects in terms of scaled probability (F-score), which may function as a red flag of income-increasing misstatement firms that warrant further investigation.
A new digital signal processing technique for applications in nuclear spectroscopy

A multichannel pulse-height-analysis system based on digital signal processing techniques was developed and tested for nuclear spectroscopy. The system digitizes gaussian-shaped pulses with widths greater than 2 /spl mu/s. Input pulses are completely processed in real time on a single PC-AT bus board that replaces the standard analog pulse-height analyzer boards. Using a modified sliding-scale method, differential nonlinearity has been reduced to 1 to 2% for 4096 channels. A 30% increase in pulse throughput rate at 1 kHz has been achieved by reducing overall system dead time. Other potential advantages will be explored in future work.
The Role of an Inert Electrode Support in Plasmonic Electrocatalysis

Plasmonic nanostructures loaded onto catalytically inert conductive support materials are believed to be advantageous for maximizing photocatalytic effects in photoelectrochemical systems due to the increased efficiency of Schottky barrier-free architectures in collecting hot charge carriers. However, the systematic mechanistic investigation and description of the inert electrode support contribution to plasmonic electrocatalysis is missing. Herein, we systematically investigated the effect of the supporting electrode material on the observed photocatalytic enhancement by comparing photoelectrocatalytic properties of AuNPs supported on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and on indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes using electrocatalytic benzyl alcohol (BnOH) oxidation as a model system. Upon illumination, only ~(3 ± 1)% enhancement in catalytic current was recorded on the AuNP/ITO electrodes in contrast to ~(42 ± 6)% enhancement on AuNP/HOPG electrodes. Our results showed that the local heating due to light absorption by the electrode material itself independent of localized surface plasmon effects is the primary source of the observed significant photo-induced enhancement on the HOPG electrodes in comparison to the ITO electrodes. Moreover, we demonstrated that an increased interfacial charge transfer at elevated temperatures, and not faster substrate diffusion is the main source of the enhancement. This work highlights the importance of systematic evaluation of contributions of all parts, even if they are catalytically inert, to the light-induced facilitation of catalytic reactions in plasmonic systems.
Clinical Features, Diagnosis, Management, and Outcomes of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis in Korea: Analysis of the Korea IPF Cohort (KICO) Registry

Background The Korea Interstitial Lung Disease Study Group has made a new nationwide idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) registry because the routine clinical practice has changed due to new guidelines and newly developed antifibrotic agents in the recent decade. The aim of this study was to describe recent clinical characteristics of Korean IPF patients. Methods Both newly diagnosed and following IPF patients diagnosed after the previous registry in 2008 were enrolled. Survival analysis was only conducted for patients diagnosed with IPF after 2016 because antifibrotic agents started to be covered by medical insurance of Korea in October 2015. Results A total of 2,139 patients were analyzed. Their mean age at diagnosis was 67.4±9.3 years. Of these patients, 76.1% were males, 71.0% were ever-smokers, 14.4% were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis, and 56.9% were at gender-age-physiology stage I. Occupational toxic material exposure was reported in 534 patients. The mean forced vital capacity was 74.6% and the diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide was 63.6%. Treatment with pirfenidone was increased over time: 62.4% of IPF patients were treated with pirfenidone initially. And 79.2% of patients were treated with antifiboritics for more than three months during the course of the disease since 2016. Old age, acute exacerbation, treatment without antifibrotics, and exposure to wood and stone dust were associated with higher mortality. Conclusion In the recent Korean IPF registry, the percentage of IPF patients treated with antifibrotics was increased compared to that in the previous IPF registry. Old age, acute exacerbation, treatment without antifibrotics, and exposure to wood and stone dust were associated with higher mortality.
Excitable Madden–Julian Oscillation like behaviour of a simple model of equatorial moist dynamics results from a time step that is too large

A recent article by Vallis and Penn (2020) in this journal presented the behaviour of a simple single‐layer model of moist dynamics, identifying an “excitable” behaviour in which a feedback between condensational heating and gravity waves sustained high values of kinetic energy and, when the model was an equatorial β ‐plane configuration, a sustained Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO)‐like disturbance, eastward‐propagating and including a localised region of condensational heating. Evidence is presented here that both the excitable and MJO‐like behaviours are artificial, in the sense that they result from a choice of time step Δt that it is too large to allow a satisfactory solution of the partial differential equations defining the model.
NT1-Tau Is Increased in CSF and Plasma of CJD Patients, and Correlates with Disease Progression

This study investigates the diagnostic and prognostic potential of different forms of tau in biofluids from patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Extracellular tau, which is molecularly heterogeneous, was measured using ultra-sensitive custom-made Simoa assays for N-terminal (NT1), mid-region, and full-length tau. We assessed cross-sectional CSF and plasma from healthy controls, patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and CJD patients. Then, we evaluated the correlation of the best-performing tau assay (NT1-tau) with clinical severity and functional decline (using the MRC Prion Disease Rating Scale) in a longitudinal CJD cohort (n = 145). In a cross-sectional study, tau measured in CSF with the NT1 and mid-region Simoa assays, separated CJD (n = 15) from AD (n = 18) and controls (n = 21) with a diagnostic accuracy (AUCs: 0.98–1.00) comparable to or better than neurofilament light chain (NfL; AUCs: 0.96–0.99). In plasma, NT1-measured tau was elevated in CJD (n = 5) versus AD (n = 15) and controls (n = 15). Moreover, in CJD plasma (n = 145) NT1-tau levels correlated with stage and rate of disease progression, and the effect on clinical progression was modified by the PRNP codon 129. Our findings suggest that plasma NT1-tau shows promise as a minimally invasive diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of CJD, and should be further investigated for its potential to monitor disease progression and response to therapies.
Numerical Analysis of Two-Dimensional Experiment of Shipping Water on Deck Using Particle Method

A two-dimensional computer code is developed for shipping water on deck using a particle method. The method used in Moving Particle Semi-implicit (MPS) method which can be applied to incompressible flow with free surfaces. Since grids are nor necessary, fluid separation and merging are calculated without grid distortion. Numerical diffusion does not take place due to Lagrangian description of the moving particles. An experiment is carried out in two dimensions in order to verify the code. The developed code is applied to this experiment. A linear wave of 7cm height and 69cm width is generated with the average depth of 30cm. A rectangular step of 32cm height is located in front of the wave. The step is covered with water when the wave impinges on the step. The calculated water behaviour agrees well with that of the experiment. The volume of shipping water is also in good agreement with the experiment. Sensitivities with respect to spatial resolution, the number of waves and the wave height are studied.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
GUIDANCE CONTROL OF AGRICULTURAL VEHICLES AT HIGH FIELD SPEEDS

The main objective of this study was to develop an automated agricultural vehicle guidance system capable of controlling the vehicle during high-speed agricultural field operations. The posture sensor used in the study was a kinematic differential Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. Experimental frequency response tests were used to develop models of steering equipment and vehicle dynamics. Classical feedback control was developed based on these models. Guidance controller effectiveness was evaluated with experimental step response tests. Frequency response tests of vehicle dynamics showed that the transfer function relating vehicle lateral deviation to steering angle was a double integrator. The dynamics of the automatic steering were within the same frequency range as desired vehicle dynamics. Guidance controller design had to compensate for both vehicle and steering equipment dynamics. When the GPS sensor was mounted above the front axle of the vehicle, guidance control to within 16 cm of the desired path was demonstrated at speeds up to 6.8 m/s. Moving the sensor rearward to a more practical location added phase lag to the system, and guidance control was less effective.
Evaluating the Series or Parallel Structure Assumption for System Reliability

ABSTRACT The structure of a system is important for specifying a mathematical form for calculating reliability from component level data. For some systems, full-system reliability data are expensive or difficult to obtain, and using component-level data to improve the estimation of system reliability can be highly beneficial. However, if the intended structure of the system during design does not match the actual implementation after production, using the component-level data to estimate system reliability can give misleading results. Hence, we propose a test for assessing the appropriateness of assuming both independence of component failure mechanisms and a series system structure for a system when data at both the system and components level are available. Estimates are given for component and system reliabilities under the assumption of a series system. The test can also be easily adapted to test the assumption of a parallel system. Examples for both series and parallel systems are illustrated.
How does weaning anticipation affect gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) larvae digestive capacity, growth and survival?

1 National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), Egypt; 2 IPMA – Portuguese Institute for the Ocean and Atmosphere / EPPO Aquaculture Research Station, Av. do Parque Natural da Ria Formosa s/n, 8700-194 Olhão, Portugal; 3 CIIMAR Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research of the University of Porto /NUTRIMU Nutrition and Immunobiology group, Novo Edifício do Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Avenida General Norton de Matos, s/n 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal *Corresponding author: drsalemniofaqua@gmail.com; am.salem@niof.sci.eg
Chirp reduction of directly modulated semiconductor lasers at 10 Gb/s by strong CW light injection

The influence of strong light injection on the reduction of the dynamical linewidth broadening of directly current-modulated semiconductor lasers at high bit rates is theoretically investigated and experimentally verified for 10 Gb/s NRZ pseudorandom modulation with a large current swing of 40 mA pp. Significant chirp reduction and single-mode operation are observed for bulk DFB, quantum well DFB lasers at 10 Gb/s and a weakly coupled bulk DFB laser at 8 Gb/s, so that an improvement of the transmission performance using standard monomode fibers in the 1.55 /spl mu/m low-loss wavelength region can be achieved for all these laser types, where dispersion otherwise causes severe penalties for long-haul transmission. The properties of injection-locked bulk DFB and quantum well DFB lasers with respect to high bit rate modulation have been systematically studied by the use of the rate equation formalism. A dynamically stable locking range of more than 30 GHz under modulation has been found for both laser types with injection ratios higher than 0.5. >
Painel de Proveniência: análise durante o treinamento de Redes Neurais Profundas

O treinamento de redes neurais profundas requer o ajuste de hiperparâmetros. Este processo é custoso e ainda que existam ferramentas para escolha automática da melhor configuração de hiperparâmetros, o usuário é responsável pela decisão final. Para isso, é necessário analisar o impacto de diferentes hiperparâmetros sobre métricas como acurácia e perda. A proveniência é uma forma de representar as relações de derivação de dados, que fornecem um suporte importante nesta análise de dados. Observando as dificuldades para análises de proveniência e aprendizado profundo, propusemos anteriormente uma ferramenta que coleta proveniência diretamente do Keras e permite análises em tempo de execução, chamada Keras-Prov. Para aperfeiçoar suas capacidades analíticas, apresentamos neste artigo uma integração dessa ferramenta com o Elasticsearch e o Kibana, criando um Painel de Proveniência para análise durante o treinamento. Apresentamos uma avaliação experimental dessa integração usando a CNN AlexNet.
Electromagnetic Nanocommunication Networks: Principles, Applications, and Challenges

Nanoscale devices, also called nanomachines, form communication networks and cooperate with each other so that they can be used to perform complicated tasks. Such networks of nanodevices, named nanonetworks, envisioned to serve the functionality and performance of today’s Internet. This paper presents a comparative review of the state-of-the-art electromagnetic (EM) nanonetworks highlighting their potentials and challenges in a comprehensive manner. We first introduce the promising areas of applications of nanonetworks; therein, we explain how it can be useful in biomedical fields, environmental domains, consumer products, military systems, and on-chip wireless communications. Then, the survey focuses on the basic principles of fundamental physical layer issues enabling nanonetworks; the discussion includes frequency bands, modulation and demodulation, and EM properties of nanoparticles. Subsequently, the study provides an overview of transmission characteristics including channels, channel coding, and energy constraint nature of nanonetworks. Furthermore, we provide an in-depth discussion on nanoantenna highlighting its variants and their characteristics; give an overview of network layer issues; and discuss the security issues in EM nanonetworks. The study argues that despite the significant recent development of EM communication as one of the most desired modes of nano communications, the limited capabilities of nanomachines introduce a new set of challenges and unique requirements and pose unseen characteristics that need to be deliberately addressed. On that, the review finally provides a critical discussion on the applicability of EM mode for nano communication networks highlighting the future challenges with a set of perspectives of possible solutions.
A retrospective review of pregnancy outcomes in women with uncomplicated mild to moderate chronic hypertension

Abstract Objective To examine pregnancy complications in women with uncomplicated mild-moderate chronic hypertension (CHTN) treated with antihypertensives prior to 20 weeks compared to those not on antihypertensives. Study design This retrospective cohort study examined singleton pregnancies of women with mild-moderate CHTN who delivered from 01/2014-3/2019. Pregnancies complicated by hypertension at ≥ 20 weeks, end organ damage, preexisting diabetes mellitus, early-onset gestational diabetes, multifetal gestation, and fetal anomalies were excluded. Adjusted logistic regression analyses were performed for each of the outcomes. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) were reported along with associated 95% confidence intervals (CI) and p-values. Main outcome measures Primary outcome was superimposed preeclampsia with severe features. Additional maternal outcomes were superimposed preeclampsia without severe features, severe hypertension, indicated preterm delivery, placental abruption, and mode of delivery. Neonatal outcomes included composite perinatal outcomes (fetal growth restriction, intrauterine fetal demise, and small for gestational age neonate), low birth weight, very low birth weight, admission to the neonatal intensive care unit, and Apgar score <7 at 5-minutes. Results 345 women were identified: 232 (67.2%) were not taking antihypertensives and 113 (32.8%) were taking ≥1 antihypertensive. There was no significant difference in the primary outcome (p = 0.65; aOR = 0.88; 95% CI 0.51−1.52) among the group taking antihypertensive therapy as compared to those not taking antihypertensives. No statistically significant differences were seen for any of the other secondary maternal or neonatal outcomes. Conclusions Our data supports that the use of antihypertensive therapy in women with mild-moderate CHTN does not reduce the risk of developing superimposed preeclampsia.
Pre-Harvest MeJA Application Counteracts the Deleterious Impact of Al and Mn Toxicity in Highbush Blueberry Grown in Acid Soils

Volcanic ash-derived soils are characterized by low pH (pH ≤ 5.5) with increased concentrations of aluminum (Al3+) and manganese (Mn2+), which decreases plant growth, fruit quality, and yield. Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) improves abiotic stress tolerance. Our work aimed to evaluate the application of MeJA’s impact on the growth, antioxidant defense, and fruit quality of highbush blueberry grown under Al and Mn toxicity. A field assay was conducted with four-year-old bushes of highbush blueberry cultivar Legacy under eight treatments (Control, Al (87% of Al saturation), Mn (240 mg kg−1), and Al–Mn with and without MeJA application). Physiological, biochemical, and fruit quality parameters were measured. Growth rate significantly decreased with Al (20%), Mn (45%), and Al–Mn (40%). MeJA application recovered the growth rate. Photosynthetic parameters were not affected. Antioxidant activity increased under all treatments compared with controls, being higher with MeJA application. Total phenols (TP) were decreased in plants under Al (43%) and Mn (20%) compared with controls. MeJA application increased TP in all treatments. Fruits of bushes under Al and Mn toxicity with MeJA applications exhibited an increase in fruit firmness and weight, maintaining suitable contents of soluble solids. Our results provide insights about the beneficial effect of MeJA application on growth, antioxidant properties, and fruit quality of highbush blueberry plants grown in acid soils under Al and Mn toxicity.
Detection Method for Communities in Railway Demand and Flow Network

The railway demand and flow network is constructed in this study, and the detection method for communities in its structure analysis is put forward by the integrated combination of several methods. First, a spectral bisection analysis is used with a normal matrix to get vector forms and basic forms of possible communities. Next, the fuzzy c-means clustering method is used with the improved Mahalanobis distance under weighted multi-properties as a similarity index to create different community combinations. Finally, the extended modularity function is used to judge and choose the best community combination. The result of the example of a network with 309 main passenger stations and 2925 train services shows that this detection method for communities is effective in structure analysis.
The PropTech Revolution: The Imperatives for Nigeria’s Estate Surveying and Valuation Professionals to Catch Up or Get Left Behind

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become the bedrock of modern societies with activities being streamlined to technologically meet the needs of individuals willing to adopt it in their day-to-day lives. The emergence of ICT has influenced the activities of real estate practitioners all over the world. Despite sectoral shifts and the introduction of innovative technologies, real estate professionals have been quite conservative towards industry modernisation (whether it is information provision, transaction or management), which threatens to limit their influence in society. PropTech, or property technology, has commanded this movement by promising more efficient portfolio management, faster ways of renting accommodation and more accurate techniques of carrying out property appraisals. It has provided innovative solutions for an industry yearning for change. This paper, therefore, describes the emerging property technology industry known as PropTech. It illustrates how its development has brought changes to global perceptions of real estate. The paper also critically examines the challenges that Nigerian estate surveyors and valuers face in the advent of fast-paced information technology. It strongly proposes that professionals must learn to utilise this emerging trend or face becoming redundant in the real estate industry.