Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heavy metal rich stone-processing wastewater inhibits the growth and development of plants

Abstract Large amounts of wastewater are generated from stone processing, which are toxic and cause serious environmental and health risks. To quantify the content of stone processing wastewater and estimate its effects on plant growth, we collected water samples from sewage outfall of four stone processing factories and nearby water bodies. The concentration of potential toxic metals were much higher in the wastewater than background controls. Wastewater inhibited plant primary root elongation, lateral root formation, and growth of aerial part. Seedlings treated with the effluents were unhealthy with deep purple leaves and usually died before flowering. Chlorophyll a/b contents and chloroplast number were reduced in those abnormal mesophyll cells. Transcriptional levels were decreased for chloroplast formation genes, but increased for those participated in chloroplast degradation and catabolism. Six out of nine tested senescence-associated genes were up-regulated. Furthermore, our results show that endogenous toxic metal levels indeed increased after wastewater treatment. Altogether, these results indicated that the potential toxic metals rich wastewater had significant inhibition on plant growth and led to senescence-associated program cell death, which could be helpful for the government and enterprises to understand the environmental risks and formulate reasonable wastewater emission standards for the stone processing industry.
Linear Electromechanical Actuator for Low Frequency Oscillations Excitation in Oil Tubing String

Elastic waves excited in the oil layer are used to intensify oil production. In order to pass from the source above the well to the layer, it is necessary to use low-frequency waves with a low attenuation coefficient. To transfer the highest power into the layer, the waves must be in the mechanical resonance with oil tubing string. The comparative analysis of four types of low-frequency linear electromechanical actuator is presented. The most effective design for use under conditions of high mechanical load is selected. The analysis of dynamic characteristics is carried out by macro modeling. The actuator prototype for increase oil productivity of well is designed and tested at an oil field.
Design Optimization of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors using Multilevel Ant Algorithm

A multilevel ant algorithm is developed to optimize the design process of a surface mounted permanent magnet synchronous motor. The motor properties are calculated using an exact magnetic equivalent circuit based analytical model. This model takes into account the iron saturation, the slot stray fluxes and the spatial harmonics of rotor and stator fluxes. The effectiveness of the proposed analytical model is verified in comparison with measurement of a handmade prototype. Based on this analytical model the air gap flux density, torque and induced voltage of the prototype motor are predicted. For an effective selection of motor parameters, a multipurpose optimization algorithm is developed, which is based on the distributed multilevel ant-stigmergy algorithm. The analytical model together with the optimization algorithm represents a very effective tool for design of permanent magnet synchronous motor without any need for time consuming finite element programs.
Optical Design and Analysis of the Submillimeter-Wave Instrument on JUICE

The submillimeter-wave instrument on the Jupiter icy moons explorer spacecraft is a passive dual-beam heterodyne radiometer operating in the frequency bands 530–625 and 1080–1275 GHz. The instrument will observe Jupiter's atmosphere as well as the atmosphere and surface properties of its moons. This paper presents the optical design and analysis of the instrument that has been carried out using Gaussian beam mode analysis and physical optics simulations. The optics consists of a 29-cm mechanically steerable off-axis Cassegrain telescope, relay optics, and two feedhorns. Frequency-independent operation of the 600-GHz channel is predicted by the simulations. The 1200-GHz channel shows some frequency dependency because of the selected feedhorn type. The steering of the telescope affects mainly its cross-polarization level. The manufacturing and mounting tolerances, as well as distortion and misalignment by thermoelastic effects, will cause the performance of a real instrument to deviate from that of an ideal one. Physical optics simulations combined with data from finite-element method simulations and measurements of optical surface profiles show that these factors affect, in particular, the instrument pointing. The induced pointing error is up to several arcminutes, whereas the specification is less than 0.5 arcmin. The pointing error can be reduced by adjusting the alignment of the telescope secondary mirror and the feedhorns.
Signal-to-Noise Ratio of True-Time Delay Beamformers Based on Microwave Photonic Links Using an Incoherent Broadband Optical Source

The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of true-time delay beamformers based on microwave photonic links using an incoherent broadband optical source (IBOS) is investigated. A comprehensive theory considering the bias angle of the Mach–Zehnder modulator employed in the microwave photonic link is presented to analyze the SNR. When the RF signal at the fundamental frequency is fed by the beamformer, the SNR is a function of the bias angle, the frequency of the applied RF signal, the modulation index, the system dispersion, and the shape of the IBOS. We find that by biasing the MZM near the minimum transmission point, the SNR at the fundamental frequency is maximized. On the other hand, by exactly biasing the MZM at the minimum transmission point, the RF signal at the double frequency can be fed by the beamformer with maximum power. The maximum SNR at the double frequency is a function of the frequency of the applied RF signal, the system dispersion, and the shape of the IBOS while its dependence on the modulation index is eliminated. In both cases, the relationship between the SNR and the frequency of the RF signal, the system dispersion, and the shape of the IBOS is also investigated. An experiment is carried out to verify the theoretical analysis, and the experiment results agree well with the calculation.
Contractility kits promote assembly of the mechanoresponsive cytoskeletal network

ABSTRACT Cellular contractility is governed by a control system of proteins that integrates internal and external cues to drive diverse shape change processes. This contractility controller includes myosin II motors, actin crosslinkers and protein scaffolds, which exhibit robust and cooperative mechanoaccumulation. However, the biochemical interactions and feedback mechanisms that drive the controller remain unknown. Here, we use a proteomics approach to identify direct interactors of two key nodes of the contractility controller in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum: the actin crosslinker cortexillin I and the scaffolding protein IQGAP2. We highlight several unexpected proteins that suggest feedback from metabolic and RNA-binding proteins on the contractility controller. Quantitative in vivo biochemical measurements reveal direct interactions between myosin II and cortexillin I, which form the core mechanosensor. Furthermore, IQGAP1 negatively regulates mechanoresponsiveness by competing with IQGAP2 for binding the myosin II–cortexillin I complex. These myosin II–cortexillin I–IQGAP2 complexes are pre-assembled into higher-order mechanoresponsive contractility kits (MCKs) that are poised to integrate into the cortex upon diffusional encounter coincident with mechanical inputs. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper. Summary: Cytosolic complexes of myosin II, cortexillin I and IQGAPs define the assembly and feedback mechanisms of a mechanoresponsive contractility controller.
More Accurate Estimation of Shortest Paths in Social Networks

The shortest distance query between two given nodes is a fundamental but critical operation over social networks. Due to the computational efficiency of accurate methods is too low to be adopted for large-scale networks, recent researches about the shortest distance estimation mainly focus on approximate methods, in particular using landmark-based indexing strategy. A proper balance between computation rate and precision is greatly needed as the error of conventional landmark-based strategy is intolerable. In this paper, we analyze the deficiency in existing landmark embedding approaches. This paper mainly presents Local Subgraph Query (LSQ) algorithm for calculating the shortest path by dint of landmark embedding information. Besides, we propose an improved version of LSQ, termed Batch Subgraph Query (BSQ) algorithm, by aggregating landmarks and query nodes to raise accuracy. Experimental results on real-world datasets show that our methods outperform most of the state-of-the-art algorithms with significant estimation error decrease and few time penalty increases in social networks.
Dependability Analysis of Smart Distribution Grid Architectures Considering Various Failure Modes

The future smart distribution grid will be consisting of new components and technologies with enhanced capability whose failure behaviour can not be determined with certainty. In studying the reliability of these distribution grids, it is important to look into various possible failure semantics of the new components and how would they possibly affect the reliability of the distribution grid. This paper aims to investigate/study how the various failure modes of the new components affect the reliability of distribution grids. The focus is on (limited to) reliability evaluation of the feeder protection function of next generation distribution grids considering omission and value type failure semantics. A generic and modular modeling framework based on a stochastic activity networks is used to model the distribution grid. An IEC61850 based automation/substation communication network (SCN) is considered. And, for illustration, different scenarios with different SCN architectures are investigated.
Association of Increased Receptor-Binding Avidity of Influenza A(H9N2) Viruses with Escape from Antibody-Based Immunity and Enhanced Zoonotic Potential

We characterized 55 influenza A(H9N2) viruses isolated in Pakistan during 2014–2016 and found that the hemagglutinin gene is of the G1 lineage and that internal genes have differentiated into a variety of novel genotypes. Some isolates had up to 4-fold reduction in hemagglutination inhibition titers compared with older viruses. Viruses with hemagglutinin A180T/V substitutions conveyed this antigenic diversity and also caused up to 3,500-fold greater binding to avian-like and >20-fold greater binding to human-like sialic acid receptor analogs. This enhanced binding avidity led to reduced virus replication in primary and continuous cell culture. We confirmed that altered receptor-binding avidity of H9N2 viruses, including enhanced binding to human-like receptors, results in antigenic variation in avian influenza viruses. Consequently, current vaccine formulations might not induce adequate protective immunity in poultry, and emergence of isolates with marked avidity for human-like receptors increases the zoonotic risk.
Maritime Border Security using Sensors, Processing, and Platforms to Detect Dark Vessels

Maritime security is critical to national prosperity, but with a large area to be secured and limited resources available, our current maritime situational awareness is not sufficient to secure our borders. This challenge is compounded by the fact that many bad actors intentionally avoid using transponders to obscure their location and actions for nefarious purposes. New solutions are required to detect these “dark” vessels in the expansive maritime domain and thereby enable increased maritime situational awareness and security. In this paper, we present a concept for increased maritime situational awareness, specifically designed to secure our borders against dark vessels using a novel combination of existing technologies. Our concept is Sensors and Platforms for Unmanned Detection of Dark Ships (SPUDDS), which consists of our intelligent ship detection and classification software integrated onboard our autonomous long-duration sensor buoy, which provides long-range passive detection of non-emitting dark vessels for maritime situational awareness.
The Giant Geriatric Syndromes Are Intensified by Diabetic Complications

By 2015, diabetes has affected more than 415 million people over the world. It is anticipated that 640 million adults will suffer from diabetes in 2040. The elongation of the life expectancy, as the result of better general health care, extends also the time when diabetic complications may develop together with other senility-specific problems. The Giant Geriatric Syndromes (Geriatric Giants) have been qualified by the original Nascher’s criteria defined more than 100 years ago, but they are becoming more and more relevant in connection with the aging of societies. The criteria comprise the older age, commonness of the health problem, multifactorial etiology, functional or cognitive impairment, worsened outcome, and increased morbidity and mortality. We described the impact of diabetes on Geriatric Giants including cognitive dysfunction, depression, malnutrition, incontinence, falls and fractures, chronic pain, and the loss of senses. The association of diabetes with Geriatric Giants reveals as a vicious circle with the background of neurovascular complications. However, diabetes influence on the incidence of cancer in elderly was also discussed, since neoplastic diseases associate with Geriatric Giants, for example, chronic pain and depression. The knowledge about these aspects of functional decline in geriatric population is crucial to improve patient care.
A Web-Based Coping Intervention by and for Parents of Very Young Children With Type 1 Diabetes: User-Centered Design

Background Management of type 1 diabetes (T1D) among children aged <6 years is exceptionally challenging for parents and caregivers. Metabolic and psychosocial outcomes among very young children with T1D (YC-T1D) are tightly associated with their parents’ ability to meet these challenges. There is scant research testing interventions targeting these issues and few resources to equip health care providers with feasible and effective coping strategies for these parents. User-centered design (UCD) of a continuously accessible Web-based resource could be a mechanism for helping parents of YC-T1D cope more effectively with the complex challenges they face by providing them with information, solutions, and emotional support. Objective The objectives of this paper are to (1) describe the application of UCD principles to the development of a Web-based coping intervention designed by and for parents of very young children (<6 years old) with T1D; (2) illustrate the use of crowdsourcing methods in obtaining the perspectives of parents, health care providers, and Web development professionals in designing and creating this resource; and (3) summarize the design of an ongoing randomized controlled trial (RCT) that is evaluating the effects of parental access to this resource on pertinent child and parent outcomes. Methods This paper illustrates the application of UCD principles to create a Web-based coping resource designed by and for parents of YC-T1D. A Web-based Parent Crowd, a Health Care Provider Crowd, and a Focus Group of minority parents provided input throughout the design process. A formal usability testing session and design webinars yielded additional stakeholder input to further refine the end product. Results This paper describes the completed website and the ongoing RCT to evaluate the effects of using this Web-based resource on pertinent parent and child outcomes. Conclusions UCD principles and the targeted application of crowdsourcing methods provided the foundation for the development, construction, and evaluation of a continuously accessible, archived, user-responsive coping resource designed by and for parents of YC-T1D. The process described here could be a template for the development of similar resources for other special populations that are enduring specific medical or psychosocial distress. The ongoing RCT is the final step in the UCD process and is designed to validate its merits.
Reciprocal regulation among TRPV1 channels and phosphoinositide 3-kinase in response to nerve growth factor

Although it has been known for over a decade that the inflammatory mediator NGF sensitizes pain-receptor neurons through increased trafficking of TRPV1 channels to the plasma membrane, the mechanism by which this occurs remains mysterious. NGF activates phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), the enzyme that generates PIP3, and PI3K activity is required for sensitization. One tantalizing hint came from the finding that the N-terminal region of TRPV1 interacts directly with PI3K. Using 2-color total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, we show that TRPV1 potentiates NGF-induced PI3K activity. A soluble TRPV1 fragment corresponding to the N-terminal Ankyrin repeats domain (ARD) was sufficient to produce this potentiation, indicating that allosteric regulation was involved. Further, other TRPV channels with conserved ARDs also potentiated NGF-induced PI3K activity whereas TRP channels lacking ARDs did not. Our data demonstrate a novel reciprocal regulation of PI3K signaling by the ARD of TRPV channels.
FineReg: Fine-Grained Register File Management for Augmenting GPU Throughput

Graphics processing units (GPUs) include a large amount of hardware resources for parallel thread executions. However, the resources are not fully utilized during runtime, and observed throughput often falls far below the peak performance. A major cause is that GPUs cannot deploy enough number of warps at runtime. The limited size of register file constrains the number of cooperative thread arrays (CTAs) as one CTA takes up a few tens of kilobytes of registers. We observe that the actual working set size of a CTA is much smaller in general, and therefore there is room for additional CTAs to run. In this paper, we propose a novel GPU architecture called FineReg that improves overall throughput by increasing the number of concurrent CTAs. In particular, FineReg splits the monolithic register file into two regions, one for active CTAs and another for pending CTAs. Using FineReg, the GPU begins normal executions by allocating all registers required by active CTAs. If all warps of a CTA become stalled, FineReg moves the live registers (i.e., working set) of CTA to the pending-CTA region and launches an additional CTA by assigning registers to the newly activated CTA. If the registers of either active or pending-CTA region are used up, FineReg stops introducing additional CTAs and simply performs context switching between active and pending CTAs. Thus, FineReg increases the number of concurrent CTAs by reducing the effective size of per-CTA registers. Experiment results show that FineReg achieves 32.8% of performance improvement over a conventional GPU architecture.
Deep Cross-View Label Embedding with Correlation and Structure Preserved for Multi-Label Classification

Label embedding is an important family of multi-label classification algorithms which can jointly extract the information of all labels for better performance. However, few works have been done on label embedding methods which consider the structure information of original feature and label space simultaneously. We propose a novel deep neural network (DNN) based model for learning an effective deep latent space, namely Deep Cross-view label space Embedding with Correlation and Structure preserved (DCECS). In DCECS, the latent space correlates with feature and label spaces closely by virtue of the deep cross-view embedding. Meanwhile, the latent space is also learned under the guidance of label correlation and local structure of feature space which are exploited by hypergraph and graph regularizations. The overall framework achieves the complementarity and correspondence between information of feature and label space, therefore the feature-aware deep latent space we learned has strong predictability and discriminant ability. Extensive experimental results on datasets with many labels demonstrate that our proposed approach is significantly better than the existing label embedding algorithms.
Aging‐Related Expression of Twinfilin‐1 Regulates Cholangiocyte Biological Response to Injury

Disorders of the biliary tree develop and progress differently according to patient age. It is currently not known whether the aging process affects the response to injury of cholangiocytes. The aim of this study was to identify molecular pathways associated with cholangiocyte aging and to determine their effects in the biological response to injury of biliary cells. A panel of microRNAs (miRs) involved in aging processes was evaluated in cholangiocytes of young and old mice (2 months and 22 months of age, respectively) and subjected to a model of sclerosing cholangitis. Intracellular pathways that are common to elevated miRs were identified by in silico analysis. Cell proliferation and senescence were evaluated in Twinfilin‐1 (Twf1) knocked‐down cells. In vivo, senescence‐accelerated prone mice (Samp8, a model for accelerated aging), Twf1‐/‐, or their respective controls were subjected to DDC (3,5‐diethoxycarbonyl‐1,4‐dihydrocollidine). Cholangiocytes from DDC‐treated mice showed up‐regulation of a panel of aging‐related miRs. Twf1 was identified by in silico analysis as a common target of the up‐regulated miRs. Twf1 expression was increased both in aged and diseased cholangiocytes, and in human cholangiopathies. Knock‐down of Twf1 in cholangiocytes reduced cell proliferation. Senescence and senescence‐associated secretory phenotype marker expression increased in Twf1 knocked‐down cholangiocytes following pro‐proliferative and pro‐senescent (10‐day lipopolysaccharide) stimulation. In vivo, Samp8 mice showed increased biliary proliferation, fibrosis, and Twf1 protein expression level, whereas Twf1‐/‐ had a tendency toward lower biliary proliferation and fibrosis following DDC administration compared with control animals. Conclusion: We identified Twf1 as an important mediator of both cholangiocyte adaptation to aging processes and response to injury. Our data suggest that disease and aging might share common intracellular pathways.
O-Shooting: An Orientation-based Basketball Shooting Mixed Reality Game Based on Environment 3D Scanning and Object Positioning

Most of the existing AR applications utilize the builtin camera on a mobile device for pose estimation to display 3D objects in a virtual space. In this paper, an environment 3D infomation is scanned by a depth camera with an object positioning capability for pose estimation, providing reliable 3D object displaying results between a virtual space and a real space. A prototype mixed reality (MR) basketball game called “O-Shooting” is proposed to demonstrate the displaying effect in a mixed reality scenario on a mobile device.