Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
(CuO)X*(CoO)Y*(NiO)Z*(Fe2O3)K*(MoO3)M/HSZ CATALYZER AND STUDYING IT WITH PHYSICOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS METHODS

The analysis of the physicochemical and operational characteristics of two industrial catalysts for the synthesis of nanocarbon has been carried out. Various methods: X-ray phase, chemical, and IR spectroscopy were used to investigate the composition of the catalysts. It was shown that the main component of industrial catalysts is iron molybdate (67.27%). The catalyst contains about 31% МоО3, and 1-2% of molybdenum oxide is included in the lattice of iron molybdate, forming a solid solution. The presence of acid sites of the type on the surface of the catalysts was detected by IR spectroscopy. Lewis and Bronsted acids are the main centres of varying strength. The catalysts are highly active: their formaldehyde productivity reaches a value (12.5-13 mmol/g.s). The surface area of industrial contacts is (7-9 m/g); the size of the mesopores is 2-40 nm. Thus, industrial catalysts for the synthesis of nano carbons are of high quality, which ensures their high performance throughout the entire period of operation. No 6 (96) июнь, 2022 г. АННОТАЦИЯ Проведен анализ физико-химических и эксплуатационных характеристик двух промышленных катализаторов синтеза наноуглеродов. Для исследования состава катализаторов использовались различные методы: рентгенофазовый, химический, ИК-спектроскопия. Показано, что основным компонентом промышленных катализаторов является молибдат железа (67,27%). Катализатор содержит около 31 % МоО3, а 1-2 % оксида молибдена включается в решетку молибдата железа, образуя твердый раствор. Наличие на поверхности катализаторов кислотных центров типа фиксировали методом ИК-спектроскопии. Кислоты Льюиса и Бренстеда являются основными центрами различной силы. Катализаторы обладают высокой активностью: их формальдегидная продуктивность достигает величины (12,5-13 ммоль/г.с). Площадь промышленных контактов составляет (7-9 м/г); размер мезопор 2-40 нм. Таким образом, промышленные катализаторы синтеза наноуглеродов отличаются высоким качеством, что обеспечивает их высокую работоспособность на протяжении всего периода эксплуатации.
A Map of 3′ DNA Transduction Variants Mediated by Non-LTR Retroelements on 3202 Human Genomes

Simple Summary During the transcription of non-LTR retroelements, such as LINEs and SVAs, the transcriptional termination signal at the 3′ end might be ignored by RNA polymerase. As a result, the transcription terminates at another downstream signal, creating a chimeric transcriptional readthrough. Termed 3′ DNA transduction, this process copies the 3′ flanking region along with the retroelement sequence to a new genomic locus, which influences the structure of the genome and occasionally possesses a functional impact. To discover putative non-LTR retroelement-driven 3′ DNA transductions, we analyzed the new dataset (n = 3202) of the 1000 Genomes Project. Our results indicate that 3′ transduction derived by non-LTR retroelements is a relatively common phenomenon in the human genome and that their discovery needs to be more appreciated in genome projects. Abstract As one of the major structural constituents, mobile elements comprise more than half of the human genome, among which Alu, L1, and SVA elements are still active and continue to generate new offspring. One of the major characteristics of L1 and SVA elements is their ability to co-mobilize adjacent downstream sequences to new loci in a process called 3′ DNA transduction. Transductions influence the structure and content of the genome in different ways, such as increasing genome variation, exon shuffling, and gene duplication. Moreover, given their mutagenicity capability, 3′ transductions are often involved in tumorigenesis or in the development of some diseases. In this study, we analyzed 3202 genomes sequenced at high coverage by the New York Genome Center to catalog and characterize putative 3′ transduced segments mediated by L1s and SVAs. Here, we present a genome-wide map of inter/intrachromosomal 3′ transduction variants, including their genomic and functional location, length, progenitor location, and allelic frequency across 26 populations. In total, we identified 7103 polymorphic L1s and 3040 polymorphic SVAs. Of these, 268 and 162 variants were annotated as high-confidence L1 and SVA 3′ transductions, respectively, with lengths that ranged from 7 to 997 nucleotides. We found specific loci within chromosomes X, 6, 7, and 6_GL000253v2_alt as master L1s and SVAs that had yielded more transductions, among others. Together, our results demonstrate the dynamic nature of transduction events within the genome and among individuals and their contribution to the structural variations of the human genome.
Combination of Long-Term and Short-Term Features for Age Identification from Voice

In this paper, we propose to use Gaussian mixture model (GMM) supervectors in a feed-forward deep neural network (DNN) for age identification from voice. The GMM is trained with short-term mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC). The proposed GMM/DNN method is compared with a feed-forward DNN and a recurrent neural network (RNN) in which the MFCC features are directly used. We also make a comparison with the classical GMM and GMM/support vector machine (SVM) methods. Baseline results are obtained with a set of long-term features which are commonly used for age identification in previous studies. A feed-forward DNN and an SVM are trained using the long term features. All the systems are tested using a speech database which consists of 228 female and 156 male speakers. We define three age classes for each gender; young, adult and senior. In the experiments, the proposed GMM/DNN significantly outperforms all the other DNN types. Its performance is only comparable to the GMM/SVM method. On the other hand, experimental results show that age identification performance is significantly improved when the decisions of the short-term and long-term systems are combined together. We obtain approximately 4% absolute improvement with the combination compared to the best standalone system.
Three-Stage Fuzzy Coordinator for Dynamic Stability Enhancement of Multi-Machine Power System Considering Various Penetration Levels of Wind Turbines

Abstract Disconnection of large wind turbine generators (WTGs) in renewable-integrated power systems has been well-recognized as one of the main origins of system instability. The ongoing study aims at establishing a three-stage fuzzy coordinator (TSFC) intended to enhance the power system stability encountering with major outages of large WTGs. The new TSFC employs wide area measurement system (WAMS) for a global coordination in multi-machine power system. The proposed TSFC founds a fuzzy logic coordination basis for tuning the interactions of multiple control devices. To this end, the WAMS-based TSFC is devised to end in performance harmonization of multiple control devices including automatic voltage regulator (AVR), power system stabilizer (PSS), and static var compensator (SVC). The TSFC receives the normalized voltage and rotor angle deviations of all machines and also the penetration level of wind farms as the input signals. The penetration level as the input signal determines the coordination strategy in three stages. In the sequel, based on the expert knowledge and analyzing the established rules, the TSFC generates output control signals broadcasted to the AVR, PSS, and SVC concurrently. Considering different penetration levels of WTGs, extensive numerical studies have been conducted to evaluate performance of the new coordinator.
Quantifying Spatial Heterogeneity of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes to Predict Survival of Individual Cancer Patients

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), identified on HE-stained histopathological images in the cancer area, are indicators of the adaptive immune response against cancers and play a major role in personalized cancer immunotherapy. Recent works indicate that the spatial organization of TILs may be prognostic of disease-specific survival and recurrence. However, there are a limited number of methods that were proposed and tested in analyses of the spatial structure of TILs. In this work, we evaluated 14 different spatial measures, including the one developed for other omics data, on 10,532 TIL maps from 23 cancer types in terms of reproducibility, uniqueness, and impact on patient survival. For each spatial measure, 16 different scenarios for the definition of prognostic factor were tested. We found no difference in survival prediction when TIL maps were stored as binary images or continuous TIL probability scores. When spatial measures were discretized into a low and high category, a higher correlation with survival was observed. Three measures with the highest cancer prognosis capability were spatial autocorrelation, GLCM M1, and closeness centrality. Most of the tested measures could be further tuned to increase prediction performance.
Optimizing Buildings’ Life Cycle Performance While Allowing Diversity in the Early Design Stage

The main considerations in the early stage of architectural design are usually related to form and function. At the same time, with the growing concern regarding energy saving and carbon emission reduction, the parameters for the construction and physical quality of buildings are receiving more attention at the conceptual and schematic design stages. Diverse design options can emerge with the large number of variables to be considered in these stages. Moreover, the combined efforts to reduce buildings’ life cycle environmental impacts and cost, as well as the non-linear and often tradeoff relationship between the two objectives, make finding optimal design solutions for buildings’ life cycle performance complicated. Previous studies have established workflows to optimize buildings’ life cycle energy consumption, GWP, and/or cost; however, architectural design diversity has not been sufficiently discussed at the same time. In this study, a parametric optimization design process is established, aiming at minimizing the building’s operational energy consumption, life cycle environmental impacts, and life cycle cost. The setting of variables, as well as the workflows of the optimization process, is discussed from the perspective of both life cycle performance and architectural design diversity. A small-scale exhibition hall in China’s cold climate zone is selected as a case study. To approach the best design process applicable to this case, the optimal solution sets from different workflows under different variable settings are compared. The results show that by setting geometric and material variables in different steps in the entire optimization process, the resulting solutions can be a balance of architectural design and performance. In this case study, optimizing all of the design variables in one-step turned out to provide the best balance between design diversity and life cycle performance in the early design stage.
A comparison of simple side-channel analysis countermeasures for variable-base elliptic curve scalar multiplication

Side-channel attacks are a growing threat to implementations of cryptographic systems. This article examines the state of the art of algorithmic countermeasures against simple side-channel attacks on elliptic curve cryptosystems defined over prime fields. We evaluate the security versus computation cost trade-offs of SSCA countermeasures for variable-base scalar multiplication algorithms without precomputation. The expected performance impact of each countermeasure is analyzed regarding their computational cost in terms of finite field operations.
A Device-Independent, Shape Preserving Retinal Optical Coherence Tomography Image Alignment Method Applying TV-Unet for RPE Layer Detection

Retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) images are widely used in diagnosis of ocular conditions. However, random shift and orientation changes of the retinal layers in OCT B-scans yield to appearance variations across the scans. These variations reduce the accuracy of the algorithms applied in the analysis of OCT images. In this study, we propose a preprocessing step to compensate these variations and align B-scans. At first, by incorporating total variation (TV) loss in the well-known Unet model, we propose a TV-Unet model to accurately detect the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer in each B-scan. Then, we use the detected RPE layer in the alignment method to form a curvature curve and a reference line. A novel window transferring-based alignment approach is applied to force the curve points to form a straight line, while preserving the shape and size of the pathological lesions. Since the detection of RPE layer is a crucial step in the proposed alignment method, we utilized various datasets to train and test the TV-Unet and provided a multimodal, device-independent OCT image alignment method. The TV-Unet localizes the RPE layer in OCT images with low boundary error (maximum of 1.94 pixels) and high Dice coefficient (minimum of 0.98). Quantitative and qualitative results indicated that the proposed method can efficiently detect the RPE layer and align OCT images while preserving the structure and size of the retinal lesions (biomarkers) in the OCT scans.
Protein fraction and digestibility of marandu, xaraes and campo grande grasses in monocropping and intercropping systems under different sowing methods - doi: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v35i1.15134

A study was carried out to evaluate the protein fraction and in vitro dry matter digestibility of marandu, xaraes grasses and campo grande in monocropping and intercropping systems under different planting methods, for a period of two years. The experimental design was a complete randomized block with four replications. The treatments consisted of the following crop systems: campo grande in monocropping; xaraes grass in monocropping; marandu grass in monocropping; xaraes intercropped with campo grande in rows; xaraes intercropped with campo grande, broadcast; marandu grass intercropped with campo grande in rows; and marandu intercropped with campo grand, broadcast. The evaluations were conducted for two years, consisting of seasonal evaluations (autumn, winter, spring and summer) in the same plots, with repeated measurements over time. The results showed that xaraes and marandu grasses were similar between crop systems, indicating that both can be intercropped with campo grande. The intercropping of campo grande with Brachiaria brizantha cultivars improved the protein fraction and digestibility. The row method of planting provided better protein fractions and in vitro dry matter digestibility.
No Difference in Tolerance between Wheat and Spelt Bread in Patients with Suspected Non-Celiac Wheat Sensitivity

Individuals with suspected non-celiac wheat sensitivity (NCWS) often report better tolerance of spelt (Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta) compared to wheat (Triticum aestivum ssp. aestivum) bakery products. This experience has neither been validated nor explained on a molecular level. Therefore, we performed blinded wheat and spelt bread challenge in this patient group. Twenty-four adults with a history of NCWS but suspected spelt tolerance were challenged in a single-blinded crossover design over six weeks with six different study breads each at 300 g per day for 4 days followed by a washout phase of 3 days. Study breads comprised spelt and wheat breads made either after a traditional (T) or a current (C) recipe, resulting in four bread types plus a gluten-free bread with 1.5% added oligosaccharides (+FODMAP) and a gluten-free bread with 5% added wheat gluten (+Gluten). The main outcome parameter was the Irritable Bowel Syndrome—Severity Scoring System, which was higher than self-estimated by the participants after spelt bread consumption (p = 0.002 for T; p = 0.028 for C) and lower for wheat bread (p = 0.052 for T; p = 0.007 for C), resulting in no difference between wheat and spelt bread tolerance. The +FODMAP bread was better tolerated than both T breads (p = 0.003 for spelt; p = 0.068 for wheat) and equally well tolerated as both C breads and +Gluten breads after normalization to the washout scores. Neither signs of inflammation nor markers for intestinal barrier integrity were influenced. Our data do not confirm, on an objective basis, the differences in expected symptoms resulting from wheat and spelt products, suggesting a strong nocebo effect for wheat and a placebo effect for spelt.
Assisting Dumbbell Curls via Interactive Sonification of Arm Movement and Muscular Signals

We developed an interactive sonification system that lets users listen to their own hand/arm movement and bicep muscle signals as sonic feedback during biceps curls exercise. The system aims to improve the exercise quality and user motivation. Based on two studies, we found that the sonification was more effective in providing temporal cues to slow down the repetition but not as effective as hoped in extending the vertical movement range and increasing repetition amount. The studies provide some design guidelines for multivariate sonification and also reflect a wider potential for applications that include general fitness, physiotherapy, and sports training.
Advertisement Call Variation of Two Frog Species along an Urban–Rural Gradient in Shanghai, China

Urbanization has a significant influence on amphibian communities, populations, and individuals because of habitat loss, degradation of habitat quality, and habitat fragmentation. Advertisement calls of anurans are used for communication and play an important role in reproduction; however, how anthropogenic noise and habitat change caused by urbanization affect anuran advertisement calls is less well known. In this study, we examined changes in the advertisement calls of two frog species, the ornamented pygmy frog (Microhyla fissipes) and rice frog (Fejervarya multistriata), during the breeding season along an urban–rural gradient in Shanghai, China. We used the percentage of impervious area (including buildings and roads) in each 2 km-radius landscape to represent the urbanization index of 34 study sites. We then measured five advertisement call parameters (call duration, call interval, call rate, pulse rate, and dominant frequency) of these two species (100 males of F. multistriata and 89 males of M. fissipes) in each study site from May to July in 2020 and 2021. We explored how the urbanization index and other variables (air temperature, snout–vent length and calling situation (one frog species calling, or two frog species calling together)) in each study site affected these call parameters. The results showed that the dominant frequency of M. fissipes was significantly negatively related to urbanization index, and call duration and call interval were significantly negatively related to air temperature; furthermore, call rate and pulse rate were significantly positively related to air temperature, and call duration was also significantly positively related to snout–vent length. For F. multistriata, pulse rate was significantly negatively related to urbanization index, snout–vent length, and situation (two frog species calling together), but significantly positively related to air temperature; by contrast, call interval was significantly positively related to snout–vent length. We suggested that these two frog species had different responses to urbanization, which could help us to better understand the change of anuran breeding behaviors and reproductive life-history strategies in the face of rapid urbanization.
Suppressing the Dielectric Loss in Superconducting Qubits through Useful Geometry Design

Dielectric loss from different interfacial layers in the superconducting circuit and from external environment may cause superconducting qubit decoherence. Compared to modeling the entire device at once with a numerical solver, quantitatively formulating the dielectric loss can both describe all loss mechanisms and make the optimization more transparent. In this paper, we first analyze the expression formula of dielectric loss, and obtain a design scheme that can reduce the dielectric loss of qubits. That is, we replace the straight junction wires with the tapered junction wires. Based on this scheme, we perform a simulation to optimize the design of junction wires. Finally, a real experiment is conducted to verify our design. The results show that both the T1 time and T2 time of qubits are significantly improved.
Experimental evidence that induced defenses promote coexistence of zooplanktonic populations

Theoretical predictions suggest that adaptive phenotypic plasticity, and induced defenses in particular, exert a stabilizing effect on ecological systems and increase the likelihood of species coexistence. Nonetheless, up to now, there is little empirical support for this hypothesized mechanism of diversity preservation. We experimentally assessed the effects of induction of plastic morphological responses triggered by a predator kairomone, on patterns of co-occurrence of two herbivore populations of rotifers (Brachionus calyciflorus and B. havanaensis) sharing resources (Chlorella vulgaris) and predators (Asplanchna brightwelli). To our knowledge, this is the first experimental work conducted at the population level where noninduced and induced states of same prey species are obtained through manipulating the level of predator signal. Our objective was to assess the consequences of induced defenses on the mean population density, population variability, evenness and likelihood of persistence of competitor populations. Our results show that induced defenses promote species coexistence through increasing the likelihood of persistence and evenness of competing populations, over a gradient of resource availability.
Recent Developments in the Field of Optical Immunosensors Focusing on a Label-Free, White Light Reflectance Spectroscopy-Based Immunosensing Platform

Optical immunosensors represent a research field of continuously increasing interest due to their unique features, which can mainly be attributed to the high-affinity and specific antibodies they use as biorecognition elements, combined with the advantageous characteristics of the optical transducing systems these sensors employ. The present work describes new developments in the field, focusing on recent bioanalytical applications (2021–2022) of labeled and label-free optical immunosensors. Special attention is paid to a specific immunosensing platform based on White Light Reflectance Spectroscopy, in which our labs have gained specific expertise; this platform is presented in detail so as to include developments, improvements, and bioanalytical applications since the mid-2000s. Perspectives on the field are been briefly discussed as well, highlighting the potential of optical immunosensors to eventually reach the state of a reliable, highly versatile, and widely applicable analytical tool suitable for use at the Point-of-Care.