Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Summer Russian heat waves and their links to Greenland’s ice melt and sea surface temperature anomalies over the North Atlantic and the Barents–Kara Seas

In this paper, we examine what leads to the onset of summer Russian heat waves. The reanalysis data show that summer heat waves over west Russia have two types of spatial patterns: mid-latitude heat waves related to mid-latitude Ural blocking Ural blocking (UB) events occurring at the longitudes of 30°–70°E and at the midlatitudes of 40°–60°N, and high-latitude heat waves related to high-latitude UB events occurring at the longitudes of 50°–100°E and at the high latitudes of 50°–75°N. It is found that the two types of UB events have different dynamic origins. While the high-latitude UB results from the propagation of Rossby wave trains due to the decay of Greenland blocking, mainly related to strong ice melting over Greenland’s land, the mid-latitude UB originates from the decay of North Atlantic blocking mainly related to positive extratropical North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies associated with a positive Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO+). We demonstrate that the sign of the SST anomaly over the Barents–Kara Sea (BKS) influences the UB in position and strength. In particular, the impact of a positive BKS SST anomaly on the high-latitude UB is strong, which leads to a high-latitude UB through an anticyclonic anomaly over the BKS and its combination with the UB anticyclone resulting from the decay of Greenland blocking. By comparison, the effect of a BKS SST anomaly on the mid-latitude UB is relatively weak. It is further revealed that a strong Greenland ice melt, a positive BKS SST anomaly and a strong negative North Atlantic Oscillation are the precursors of high-latitude UB, whereas an extratropical AMO+ SST anomaly and a negative BKS SST anomaly are the precursors of mid-latitude UB.
New MGDI-based full adder cells for energy-efficient applications

ABSTRACT In this paper, we present two new logic schemes to implement full adder cell using XOR-XNOR and NOR gates. Gate diffusion input (GDI) and modified GDI (MGDI) cells help to design low power circuits using less number of transistors. In this work, we design two new NOR gates based on MGDI cell. Then, using one of them and MGDI XOR-XNOR gates, two low-power and energy-efficient full adders which also meet full-swing property are proposed. The performance of our new full adders is evaluated and compared with some of the familiar full adders. Post-Layout simulations using Cadence Virtuoso tools in TSMC 0.18 μm CMOS process technology are carried out and the results show almost 24%–56% (22%–55%) and 36%–66% (28%–62%) improvements in the features power consumption and power-delay product (PDP), respectively. Also, full-swing property of our new adders are proved when they are subjected to all possible input combinations and transitions.
How Does Climate Change Affect Rice Yield in China?

The global warming phenomenon has undoubtedly brought unprecedented challenges to rice production, vital for food security in Southeast Asian countries and China. Most studies on this topic have focused narrowly on the direct effect of climate change on rice yield, neglecting the indirect effect. Using panel data from 30 provinces in China from 1990 to 2016, in this paper, we propose and test a mediational effect model to examine the mechanisms of how climate change affects rice yield. We find that climate change leads to changes in functional irrigation areas, farmers’ fertilizing behavior, and agricultural labor supply, and it is these mediating factors that effectively transmit the impact of climate change to China’s rice production. The positive indirect impact of climate change on the factors of production often partially or overly compensates for the adverse direct effect of climate change on rice yield, leading to a surprising observation of the association of climate change with increased rice yield, at least in the short run. We also provide some preliminary policy advice based on the analysis.
Describing the experiences of older persons with visual impairments during COVID-19 in rural Ghana

Purpose: This study aims to describe the lived experiences among older persons with disability during the coronavirus pandemic in rural Ghana Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on a qualitative methodology consistent with a phenomenological approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants Thematic analysis was used for data analysis Findings: During the pandemic, care rendered to older persons with disabilities by their caregivers easily declined because of the lockdown measure This made the participants suffer in profound loneliness and hunger, and forced some to generate suicidal thoughts On the other hand, the participants who lived with their family members were also kept indoors for several weeks to reduce their chances of contracting the virus This was because participants’ family members loosed confidence in the Ghanaian health-care system in protecting their older relatives Originality/value: To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to explore the experiences of older persons with disabilities during coronavirus disease 2019 in rural Ghana The Ghanaian Government should consider formalized care to ensure continued care of older persons with disabilities especially during pandemics and future related uncertainties © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited
Symptoms of anxiety and depression in surgical patients at the hospital, 6 weeks and 6 months postsurgery: A questionnaire study

To describe prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression in surgical patients at three time points: at hospital postsurgery (T1), 6 weeks (T2) and 6 months (T3) postdischarge from hospital; and detect situations and experiences that predict symptoms of anxiety and depression at T2 and T3.
Wavelength-Tunable Nonlinear Mirror Mode-Locked Laser Based on MgO-Doped Lithium Niobate

We present a high-power, wavelength-tunable picosecond Yb3+: CaGdAlO4 (Yb:CALGO) laser based on MgO-doped lithium niobate (MgO:LN) nonlinear mirror mode locking. The output wavelength in the continuous wave (CW) regime is tunable over a 45 nm broad range. Mode locking with a MgO:LN nonlinear mirror, the picosecond laser is tunable over 23 nm from 1039 to 1062 nm. The maximum output power of the mode-locked laser reaches 1.46 W, and the slope efficiency is 18.6%. The output pulse duration at 1049 nm is 8 ps. The laser repetition rate and bandwidth are 115.5 MHz and 1.7 nm, respectively.
Pose Estimation of Objects Using Digital Image Processing for Pick-and-Place Applications of Robotic Arms

Robot Vision is one of the most important applications in Image processing. Visual interaction with the environment is a much better way for the robot to gather information and react more intelligently to the variations of the parameters in that environment. A common example of an application that depends on robot vision is that of Pick-And-Place objects by a robotic arm. This work presents a method for identifying an object in a scene and determines its orientation. The method presented enables the robot to choose the best-suited pair of points on the object at which the two-finger gripper can successfully pick the object. The scene is taken by a camera attached to the arm’s end effector which gives 2D images for analysis. The edge detection operation was used to extract a 2D edge image for all the objects in the scene to reduce the time needed for processing. The methods proposed showed accurate object identification which enabled the robotic to successfully identify and pick an object of interest in the scene.
Determination of diazolidinyl urea in cosmetic formulations by capillary electrophoresis

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is demonstrated for the determination of the preservative diazolidinyl urea in cosmetic formulations. The extremely high resolving power of CE separates the compound from other detectable formulation components. This direct method is an improvement over traditionally used methods, which involve derivatization/degradation reactions. Due to complex matrices, the method of standard additions is used for quantitation. A negative charge is effected by the use of borate buffer (pH 9.3), and diazolidinyl urea elutes at ca. 4 minutes with detection at 215 nm
The mitochondrial genome of the long-billed plover, Charadrius placidus (Charadriiformes: Charadriidae)

Abstract The present study provides the first full mitochondrial genome sequence of a long-billed plover from South Korea. This mitogenome is 16,895 bp in length and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal-RNA genes, 22 transfer-RNA genes, and a non-coding control region. Overall, base composition was: A, 31.4%; C, 31.1%; G, 13.8%; and T, 23.8%. A frameshift mutation in the ND3 gene was identified and a tandem repeat (AACA) was observed in the D-loop region. The phylogenetic analysis based on concatenated coding genes indicated Charadriidae’s monophyly. These results contribute to further understanding of long-billed plover phylogenetic relationships and species identification.
Deep Learning with Augmented Kalman Filter for Single-Channel Speech Enhancement

The existing augmented Kalman filter (AKF) suffers from poor LPC estimates in real-world noise conditions, which degrades the speech enhancement performance. In this paper, a deep learning technique exploits the LPC estimates for the AKF to enhance speech in various noise conditions. Specifically, a deep residual network is used to estimate the noise PSD for computing noise LPCs. A whitening filter is also implemented with the noise LPCs to pre-whiten the noisy speech signal prior to estimating the speech LPCs. It is shown that the improved speech and noise LPCs enable the AKF to minimize the residual noise as well as distortion in the enhanced speech. Experimental results show that the enhanced speech produced by the proposed method exhibits higher quality and intelligibility than the benchmark methods in various noise conditions for a wide-range of SNR levels.
Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activity of Flavonoids from Ontario Grown Onions by Pressurized Low Polarity Water Technology

Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activity of Flavonoids from Ontario Grown Onions by Pressurized Low Polarity Water Technology Cynthya Maria Manohar Advisor: University of Guelph Professor S. Neethirajan Naturally occurring plant flavonoids are in great demand in both nutra-pharmaceutical and biomedical industries. Flavonoids are a group of phytochemicals that have shown various potential health benefits and are found abundantly in onion. The present study is to screen Ontario grown onion varieties, namely Stanley, Ruby Ring, Safrane, Fortress and Lasalle, and test their antioxidant and antiproliferative capacities. Pressurized low polarity water technology is an eco-friendly technique used for extracting polyphenolic compounds from these onion varieties, followed by quantification and analysis using High performance liquid chromatography. The antioxidant activities in the test samples were measured using various antioxidant assays. Ruby Ring a red onion variety exhibited high phenolic and antioxidant activities when compared to the other yellow onion varieties tested. The antiproliferative activity of onion extracts against Caco-2 cancer cells were assessed through cytotoxic, apoptosis and anti-migratory assays. Stanley a yellow onion variety showed the highest anticancer activity against Caco-2 cells. Since there was an increase in both radical scavenging activity and total phenolic compounds by Ruby Ring, this red onion variety may be chosen as a preferred variety for developing functional food products.
Pre-assembled Ca2+ entry units and constitutively active Ca2+ entry in skeletal muscle of calsequestrin-1 knockout mice

Mice lacking calsequestrin-1 have reduced levels of releasable Ca2+ in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of their skeletal muscles. Michelucci et al. reveal that this is compensated by constitutive assembly of STIM1 and Orai1 into Ca2+ entry units, promoting both constitutive and store-operated Ca2+ entry.
Global Carbon Cycle and Climate Feedbacks in the NASA GISS ModelE2.1

We present results from the NASA GISS ModelE2.1‐G‐CC Earth System Model with coupled climate‐carbon cycle simulations that were submitted to the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) Coupled Climate‐Carbon Cycle MIP (C4MIP). Atmospheric CO2 concentration and carbon budgets for the land and ocean in the historical simulations were generally consistent with observations. Low simulated atmospheric CO2 concentrations during 1850–1950 were due to excess uptake from prescribed land cover change, which erroneously replaced arid shrublands with higher biomass crops, and assumed high 2004 LAI values in vegetated lands throughout the historical simulation. At the end of the historical period, slightly higher simulated CO2 than observed resulted from the land being an insufficient net carbon sink, despite the net effect of CO2 fertilization and warming‐induced increases to leaf photosynthetic capacity. The global ocean carbon uptake agreed well with the observations with the largest discrepancies in the low latitudes. Future climate projection at 2091–2100 agreed with CMIP5 models in the northward shift, of temperate deciduous forest climate and expansion across Eurasia along 60°N latitude, and dramatic regional biome shifts from drying and warming in continental Europe. Carbon feedback parameters were largely similar to the CMIP5 model ensemble. For our model, the variation of land feedback parameters within the uncertainty arises from the fertilization feedback being less sensitive due to lack of increased vegetation growth, and the comparably more negative ocean carbon‐climate feedback is due to the large slowdown of the Atlantic overturning circulation.
(Invited) Stress Simulations of Fins, Wires, and Nanosheets

Stress simulations are presented for fins, nanowires and nanosheets with 5nm-technology dimensions. About 50-70% higher channel stress is reported in nanowires than in fins. The stress is found to depend strongly on the original fin/wire length, the position of the device along the structure, and the position of the wire (top, middle or bottom in the case of three wires). Scaling of gate length enhances channel stress, while decreasing poly and fin/wire pitch reduces it. Scaling from the 8nm- to the 3nm-node decreases nanowire stress by about 35%. Stress in nanosheets is lower than in wires, partially owing to their smaller source/drain epi-to-channel volume ratio. In case of imperfect source/drain epi stressors, the channel stress can completely vanish or reverse, in particular for the case the epi growth fronts coming from neighboring gates do not join perfectly.
Atomic diffusion behavior and diffusion mechanism in Fe–Cu bimetal casting process studied by molecular dynamics simulation and experiment

A molecular dynamics (MD) method with an embedded atomic method (EAM) was proposed to study the atomic diffusion behavior and diffusion mechanism in the Fe–Cu bimetal casting process. The results indicated that the diffusion coefficient of the Cu atoms was larger than that of the Fe atoms at the same temperature, but the Fe atoms predominantly diffused into the Cu side in the process of diffusion bonding. Moreover, the relationship between diffusion distance and temperature was predicted by the established model, and the optimal temperature for interface diffusion bonding of Fe–Cu bimetal ranged from 1473K to 1753 K. The diffusion behavior was mainly due to vacancies, which played a key role in the formation of the Cu cluster, and the accumulation of Cu atoms decreased the system energy. Finally, FeAcknowledgmentsCu bimetal casting was prepared to validate the simulated results of the diffusion behavior and diffusion distance, and the simulated results were consistent with the experimental ones.
Differences between colonies and chick-rearing stages in Imperial Cormorant (Phalacrocorax atriceps) diet composition: implications for trophic studies and monitoring

ABSTRACT We assessed differences in diet composition between Imperial Cormorants (Phalacrocorax atriceps) breeding at Isla Arce and Isla Vernaci Este, Golfo San Jorge, Argentina. Both colonies are located within the Patagonia Austral marine park, and commercial trawl fisheries operate in adjacent waters, thus knowledge of their food requirement is fundamental to assess potential conflicts and monitor interactions. We obtained stomach samples from 63 adult Imperial Cormorants during the chick-rearing period in 2014: 32 at Isla Arce and 31 at Isla Vernaci Este. We recorded 27 and 30 prey taxa in stomach samples at Isla Arce and Isla Vernaci Este, respectively, and at least 21 were common to both islands. Significant differences in diet composition in terms of importance by mass were found between young and old chick stages at Isla Arce but not at Isla Vernaci Este. Rock cod (Patagonotothen spp.) were dominant at Isla Vernaci Este during both chick stages (75.7% and 86.5%, respectively). At Isla Arce, rock cod, Argentine anchovy (Engraulis anchoita), and Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi) contributed similarly to their diet (26–33%) during the young chick stage, whereas Argentine anchovy dominated during the old chick stage (76.6%). Diet composition in terms of importance by mass was significantly different between colonies. Imperial Cormorant consumed benthic, demersal, and pelagic prey, confirming plasticity in feeding habits, but their contribution differed depending on the site and chick stage. Our results suggest that diet assessments and monitoring the potential interaction between Imperial Cormorant and fisheries should not be based on information from a single breeding stage or location, but requires the analysis of diet composition throughout the breeding cycle with a representative sampling of the 17 colonies within the marine park.
Biologicky aktivní látky mořských a sladkovodních řad

Searching for alternative sources of nourishment for the human population as well as for livestock is a topical issue and algae appear to be a very promising one. Nowadays, algae are referred to as functional foods. This means that not only did they perform nutritional value of selected substances, but also have beneficial health effects. However, it is necessary to determine whether commercially available products made from algae contain a sufficient quantity of selected biologically active agents compared with fresh algae. Ph.D. thesis deals with determination of selected biologically active substances of freshwater and marine algae to clarify their chemical composition. After analyzes being performed, appropriate species of freshwater and marine algae will be selected according to their potential use in the food industry.
OPTIMIZATION PRODUCTION CONDITIONS OF ANTIBACTERIAL METABOLITE FROM STREPTOMYCES SP.

Objectives: The paper aimed to isolate Streptomyces strain having the ability to produce antibacterial metabolites and optimize some environmental parameters for excellent antibiotic production. Methods: Different soil samples were collected from extreme environments of desert regions at Karbala Province, Iraq. Actinomycetes were isolated using different media. The primary screening for antibacterial production was accomplished, and the antibacterial activities were tested against pathogenic bacteria, including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . The most potent strain was chosen for optimizing some of environmental parameters to increase the bioactive metabolite production. Different parameters were studied such as culture media, temperature, pH, and agitation rate. Results: About eight Streptomyces strains were isolated from soil samples. All isolates appeared variable levels of antibiotic productions against Gram-positive and negative pathogenic bacteria, and the best one was Streptomyces sp. LHR 9. The antibacterial metabolite production from Streptomyces sp. LHR 9 was affected by various cultural parameters. Glucose soybean meal broth as a fermentation medium at pH 7 yielded the highest antibiotic production under the optimal fermentation conditions, including the temperature at 35°C with 200 rpm (revolution/min) agitation rate and 7 days incubation period. Conclusion: The Streptomyces sp. LHR 9 showed antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and negative pathogenic bacteria. It may consider as a potential source of drug production. Further study needs to purification and characterization of antibiotic and analyzes the mechanism for the antimicrobial activity of this bioactive compound.
A VOHE System for Underwater Communications

This paper presents a new method for encrypting holographic information based on optical and acoustic signals called a Virtual Optical Holographic Encryption (VOHE) system for underwater communications that can be applicable for communications between deep submergence research vehicles. The transmission medium is composed of a combination of optical signals and acoustic signals together to form the VOHE system for transmitting system information. The optical encryption system provides essential parameters for constructing secure communications such as the propagation wavelength (λ) and focal length (f) of the Fourier lens, which are considered as keys for implementing encryption and decryption processes. An expanded RSA (ERSA) algorithm using a complex function sends system information (λ, f) as a message to a receiver. To determine accuracy of the information retrieved by the proposed technique, the minimum mean square error (MSE) was conducted to evaluate the accuracy of the received signal. The VOHE system employs virtual optical encryption system was simulated based on COMSOL Multiphysics simulation software. Finally, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) method and Pollard’s rho method were separately applied to evaluate the proposed ERSA algorithm. Obtained results showed that ERSA is able to achieve a more significant security level than RSA.
Predicting Aircraft Landing Time in Extended-TMA Using Machine Learning Methods

Accurate prediction of aircraft arrival times is one of the fundamental elements for air traffic controllers to manage an optimal arrival and departure sequencing on the runway, reduce flight delays, and achieve a good collaboration with airports and airlines. In this work, we analyze the feature engineering problem to predict Aircraft Landing Time (LDT) in Extended-TMA with machine learning models. Two main contributions are highlighted in this work. First, the impact of different features in LDT prediction is investigated. Second, a machine learning prediction model is presented to predict LDT. Our case of study is the E-TMA of Singapore Changi Airport (WSSS) with a radius of 100NM. Firstly, data analysis is conducted to check the availability of different resource data, as well as cleaning the raw trajectory data. Then, feature construction and extraction are discussed in details, machine learning prediction models are proposed to address the LDT prediction. The experimental results show that 4 sets of features play a significant impact on LDT prediction for primary runway-in-use, they are: (1) Control intent: traffic demand, current traffic density, and adjacent flow; (2) Weather: surface wind; (3) Trajectory: the position of aircraft; (4) Seasonality: parts of a day and a week. Moreover, comparing three Machine Learning algorithms, in our study case, Extra-Trees is the best prediction algorithm compared with other machine learning models in terms of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE). It is also found that Machine learning models perform much better than the current operational system. In summary, two main conclusions are drawn from the present work. First, predicting the aircraft LDT is strongly correlated with the TMA density at the flight operation time. Second, feature selection with domain knowledge and expert opinions is very important, and with good features, the model is less sensitive to the choice of machine learning algorithm.