Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hydrogeochemical characteristics of the Indus river water system

ABSTRACT The Indus River is the most prominent freshwater source of the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. Glacier/snow melting during the summer season is the main source of water. Here, we are presenting the major ion chemistry of the Indus river water, its tributary rivers, including small streams (nallahs), mainly in the territory of India, to know the overall quality of water, and geochemical processes controlling the solute acquisition and sources of elements in the catchment region. The analytical results indicate that the water samples are mildly acidic to alkaline in nature and have Ca2+ and Mg2+ dominance in cationic and HCO3 - and Cl- in anionic composition. Overall, alkaline-earth elements (Ca2+ + Mg2+) dominate over alkalis (Na+ + K+), and weak acids (HCO3 -) exceed strong acids (SO4 2- + Cl-) in the river/stream water samples. The hydrogeochemical diagrams, molar ratios, and statistical analysis suggest that carbonate and silicates minerals’ weathering mainly control the solute acquisition process with negligible contribution from marine or anthropogenic sources. Most of the surface water samples are fit for drinking and domestic uses except the hot spring and saline lake waters.
Tryptophan Metabolism in Bipolar Disorder in a Longitudinal Setting

Immune-mediated inflammatory processes and oxidative stress are involved in the aetiopathogenesis of bipolar disorder (BD) and weight-associated comorbidities. Tryptophan breakdown via indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-1 (IDO-1) along the kynurenine axis concomitant with a pro-inflammatory state was found to be more active in BD, and associated with overweight/obesity. This study aimed to investigate tryptophan metabolism in BD compared to controls (C), stratified by weight classes, in a longitudinal setting, dependent on the incidence of BD episodes. Peripheral tryptophan, kynurenine, and neopterin were assessed in the serum of 226 BD individuals and 142 C. Three samples in a longitudinal assessment were used for 75 BD individuals. Results showed a higher kynurenine/tryptophan in both BD compared to C and overweight compared to normal weight persons. Levels remained stable over time. In the longitudinal course, no differences were found between individuals who were constantly euthymic or not, or who had an illness episode or had none. Findings indicate that tryptophan, kynurenine, and IDO-1 activity may play a role in pathophysiology in BD but are not necessarily associated with clinical manifestations. Accelerated tryptophan breakdown along the kynurenine axis may be facilitated by being overweight. This may increase the risk of accumulation of neurotoxic metabolites, impacting BD symptomatology, cognition, and somatic comorbidities.
Synthesis of Copper Nitride Layers by the Pulsed Magnetron Sputtering Method Carried out under Various Operating Conditions

Copper nitride shows various properties that depend on the structure of the material and is influenced by the change in technical parameters. In the present work, Cu–N layers were synthesized using the pulsed magnetron sputtering method. The synthesis was performed under different operating conditions: direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC) power supply, and various atmospheres: pure Ar and a mixture of Ar + N2. The structural properties of the deposited layers were characterized by X-ray diffraction measurements, and Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy have been performed. Optical properties were also evaluated. The obtained layers showed tightly packed columnar grain features. The kinetics of the layer growth in the AC mode was lower than that observed in the DC mode, and the layers were thinner and more fine-grained. The copper nitride layers were characterized by the one-phase and two-phase polycrystalline structure of the Cu3N phase with the preferred growth orientation (100). The lattice constant oscillates between 3.808 and 3.815 Å for one-phase and has a value of 3.828 Å for a two-phase structure. Phase composition results were correlated with Raman spectroscopy measurements. Raman spectra exhibited a broad, diffused, and intense signal of Cu3N phase, with Raman shift located at 628–635 cm−1. Studies on optical properties showed that the energy gap ranged from 2.17 to 2.47 eV. The results showed that controlling technical parameters gives a possibility to optimize the structure and phase composition of deposited layers. The reported changes were discussed and attributed to the properties of the material layers and technology method.
A Taxonomy of Machine-Learning-Based Intrusion Detection Systems for the Internet of Things: A Survey

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging technology that has earned a lot of research attention and technical revolution in recent years. Significantly, IoT connects and integrates billions of devices and communication networks around the world for several real-time IoT applications. On the other hand, cybersecurity attacks on the IoT are growing at an alarming rate since these devices are vulnerable because of their limited battery life, global connectivity, resource-constrained nature, and mobility. When attacks on IoT networks go undetected within a speculated period, such security attacks may prompt severe threats and disruptive behavior inside the network and make the network unavailable to the end user. Hence, it is quintessential to design an intelligent and robust security approach that promptly detects potential attack surfaces in a dynamic IoT network. This article investigates a comprehensive survey of machine learning, deep learning, and reinforcement learning-based intelligent intrusion detection techniques for securing IoT. Also, this article thoroughly illustrates the implementation of various categories of security threats in IoT with a neat diagram. Significantly, we classify the threats into two broad categories: 1) wireless sensor networks (WSNs) inherited security attacks and 2) routing protocol for low power and lossy networks (RPL) specific security attacks in IoT. Finally, we present potential research opportunities and challenges in intelligent intrusion detection approaches in future IoT security.
Journalists' use of freedom of information in Tasmania

Tasmania's journalists have not been educated in use of the Freedom of Information Act 7997, and they have never embraced it as a journalistic tool. Undergraduate studies addressing journalists' use of Freedom of Information legislation (Fol), beginning just five months after the Act was first implemented in 1993, have consistently shown that journalists are under-educated in Fol usage; they find the process complicated and plagued by time delays; they are discouraged by the expense; and governments use contentious issues management to frustrate them. In 2004 things have not improved. Government support for Fol users has diminished: the Fol Unit has been absorbed into the under-resourced and preoccupied Ombudsman's Office, the Fol Users' Guide is no longer printed, and the discouraging effects of contentious issues management have taken a toll. Following a brief period of optimism when the Act was first introduced, most Tasmanian journalists have given up on Fol. When it comes to the media, the legislation is on its last legs in Tasmania. But there is hope. A resurgence of usage can be seen nationally in a few highprofile users and attention to the successes of interstate journalists could prompt Tasmanian journalists to take up the Fol tool that has always rated as an important feature of their journalistic toolkit (even though they have never used Fol to its full potential). Tasmanian journalists need support if there is to be renewed confidence in Fol. They need to be educated by journalists who have had success using Fol, develop an understanding of what the legislation is, what their rights are, and learn some tips and tricks to make it work for them in the current climate. It is important in a small state like Tasmania that is dominated by the public service, that journalists provide the community with the chance to understand the processes of government - not just the aspects to government that spin doctors want to promote, but all aspects of government, aspects that can be revealed by journalists' skilled use of Fol legislation.
Spontaneous Pulse Formation in Bistable Systems

This dissertation considers localized spontaneous pulse formation in non-linear, dissipative systems that are far from equilibrium and which exhibit bistability. It is shown that such pulses can form in systems that are dominated by the combined effects of: 1) a saturable amplifying or gain region; 2) a saturable absorbing or loss region; and 3) cavity effects. Analysis is based upon novel models for both an inertia-less material in which the absorber responds instantaneously and inertial material in which there is temporal delay in the response. Additionally, we include the situation where the material does not fully relax between pulses; i.e., memory effects. The results are shown to be generic but direct application is made to pulse formation and stability as observed and exploited in a colliding pulse mode-locked (CPM) dye laser in which the saturable gain and absorber are spatially localized. Bifurcation from a steady, pulsing state to one of several possible other states (laser dropout phenomena) is observed to occur in these systems and will also be addressed. Key results arising from the inclusion of memory effects are as follows: the existence of highly degenerate bifurcation scenarios, implying hysteresis-like behavior in drop-out/drop-in transitions; damped period-two oscillations; and much lower frequency damped oscillations – reminiscent of breathing modes.
Enriching Conventional Ensemble Learner with Deep Contextual Semantics to Detect Fake News in Urdu

Increased connectivity has contributed greatly in facilitating rapid access to information and reliable communication. However, the uncontrolled information dissemination has also resulted in the spread of fake news. Fake news might be spread by a group of people or organizations to serve ulterior motives such as political or financial gains or to damage a country’s public image. Given the importance of timely detection of fake news, the research area has intrigued researchers from all over the world. Most of the work for detecting fake news focuses on the English language. However, automated detection of fake news is important irrespective of the language used for spreading false information. Recognizing the importance of boosting research on fake news detection for low resource languages, this work proposes a novel semantically enriched technique to effectively detect fake news in Urdu—a low resource language. A model based on deep contextual semantics learned from the convolutional neural network is proposed. The features learned from the convolutional neural network are combined with other n-gram-based features and are fed to a conventional majority voting ensemble classifier fitted with three base learners: Adaptive Boosting, Gradient Boosting, and Multi-Layer Perceptron. Experiments are performed with different models, and results show that enriching the traditional ensemble learner with deep contextual semantics along with other standard features shows the best results and outperforms the state-of-the-art Urdu fake news detection model.
Contractors’ Transformation Strategies for Adopting Building Information Modeling

AbstractThe construction industry is beginning to utilize building information modeling (BIM), benefiting from the improved visualization and productivity, better coordination of construction drawings, building documents that contain embedded links to virtual information, faster delivery, and lower costs. However, construction companies often find it challenging to reorganize their company’s organizational structure to take full advantage of these benefits of BIM adoption and implementation. This study explores contractors’ transformation strategies that will enable them to successfully adopt and implement BIM for major construction projects. In-depth case studies from large contractors capture the benefits of BIM implementation, the appropriate organizational structure, the training and education program, the cost related to BIM implementation, including software and hardware investment, the relationship with other stakeholders, and the future recommendations to implement BIM for their construction proje.
Molecular dynamics study of the internalization of cell-penetrating peptides containing unnatural amino acids across membranes

Peptide-based delivery systems that deliver target molecules into cells have been gaining traction. These systems need cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), which have the remarkable ability to penetrate into biological membranes and help internalize different cargoes into cells through the cell membranes. The molecular internalization mechanism and structure–function relationships of CPPs are not clear, although the incorporation of nonproteinogenic amino acids such as α-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) has been reported to increase their helicity, biostability and penetration efficiencies. Here, we used molecular dynamics to study two Aib-containing CPPs, poly(LysAibAla)3 (KAibA) and poly(LysAibGly)3 (KAibG), that previously showed high cell internalization efficiency. KAibA and KAibG displayed the lowest internalization energies among the studied CPPs, showing distinct internalization mechanisms depending on the lipid composition of the model membranes. The presence of Aib residues allows these CPPs to adopt amphipathic folding to efficiently penetrate through the membranes. Elucidating how Aib incorporation affects CPP–membrane binding and interactions is beneficial for the design of CPPs for efficient intracellular delivery.
A heuristic complex probabilistic neural network system for partial discharge pattern classification

Partial discharge (PD) pattern classification has recently become popular since the automated acquisition of PD signals has become vital and cogent. A novel method for identification of defects due to partial discharge is described in this paper. Starting from different PD families of specimen, several sets of characteristic vectors are determined and then used as input variables to the proposed neural network. The innovative trend of using probabilistic neural network (PNN) towards classification of PD patterns is coherent and perceptible. The paper elucidates the structure of PNN, which has been appropriately customized for determining the optimum value of smoothing parameter. PD is measured using the conventional discharge detector and previously developed statistical tools that processed the PD patterns. Satisfactory results in the past have revealed that the analysis of the properties of the phase position distributions can be made using mathematical descriptors. The ability of PNN to classify these descriptors in addition to classifying the inputs derived from the measures based on central tendency, dispersion, and maximum and minimum values are investigated. The classification of single-type insulation defects has been envisaged. The paper also expounds a novel complex technique adopted for precise PD classification.
Energy Losses in Irregular Channels

Energy losses in irregular channels are due only partly to boundary shear and additional energy loss results from the effects of bends, irregularities, and changes in the cross section. Experiments which were designed to clarify some aspects of energy losses in irregular channels are described. It is demonstrated that a certain type of irregularity in form, i.e., one in which the cross-sectional area of flow is kept constant or varies in such manner that there is no flow separation, does not contribute to energy losses.
Aerodynamic design of the wing-fuselage junction for the high-performance sailplane Mu-31

An analysis and design process is described for a new wing-fuselage junction to be applied in the high performance sailplane Mu-31 of Akaflieg Muinchen. First, wind-turmel geometries that were previously tested are analysed with a panel code. The mathematical background is described which enables the interpretation and understanding of the unexpected experimental data. The new design is developed on the basis of one of the previous wind-tunnel geometries, taking construction guidelines and limitations into account. The wing center section and the fuselage are changed iteratively to improve the configuration in potential flow first, i.e. with respect to induced drag. The integral design process is extended with viscous calculations to identify transition and areas prone to separation. The MU-31 is a sailplane prototype aiming at an improved wing-fuselage design described in the present work. With a wingspan of 1.5 meters and camber changing flaps, the MU-31 fulfils all requirements of the FAI 15-Meter Class that is flown at all major championships. To reduce cost and time, existing moulds of the ASW-27 - manufactured by Alexander Schleicher Segelflugzeugbau GmbH in Germany - will be used for the cockpit, the outer wings and the stabilizers. The center section of the wing and the fuselage contain the new approach in wing fuselage design. In the first chapter of this paper, the unexpected outcome of the wind tunnel measurements has been explained. The large differences in drag between the three wind tunnel models can be primarily addressed to different circulation distributions, resulting in different induced drag contributions. It has been shown that the boundary layer on the wing-fuselage juncture is also highly influenced by interference effects creating areas of separation especially on the pylon. With an iterative integral design process taking inviscid- and virous flow into consideration, it is possible to reduce the interference problems. A combination of changing fuselage sections, wing sections and, in particular, wing twist, led to a substantial reduction in induced drag: the final design has an almost elliptical circulation distribution and corresponding minimum induced drag. Viscous flow calculations indicate that separation on the fuselage-pylon or the upper and lower wing side at the juncture will not occur. The actual drag reduction, however, need to be verified by future wind tunnel tests and compared to previous results.
Mapping elements of assessment for learning within a global design studio

This paper explores the utility of an Assessment for Learning discourse for articulating the curriculum design, delivery and assessment strategies employed in a Design Studio module currently being delivered in the UK. Our focus is on the Global Studio, a design module conducted at Northumbria University. Using a case study methodology with the aim of compiling rich, practice-based knowledges [1, 2], we draw on data gathered throughout the development and delivery of a this module in order to undertake our analysis. We suggest that many Assessment for Learning elements were implicitly embedded in the Global Studio. We propose that Assessment for Learning may provide a useful conceptual frame for exploring pedagogical practices and student learning experiences in the Design Studio.
Natural Language to SPARQL Query Builder for Semantic Web Applications

SPARQL is a powerful query language for an evergrowing number of Semantic Web applications. Using it, however, requires familiarity with the language which is not to be expected from the general web user. This drawback has led to the development of Question-Answering (QA) systems that enable users to express their information needs in natural language. This paper presents a novel dependency-based framework for translating natural language queries into SPARQL queries, which is built on the idea of syntactic parsing. The translation process involves the following steps: extraction of the entities, extraction of the predicate, categorization of the query’s type, resolution of lexical and semantic gaps between user query and domain ontology vocabulary, and finally construction of the SPARQL query. The proposed framework was tested on our closed-domain student advisory application intended to provide students with advice and recommendations about curriculum and scheduling matters. The advantage of our approach is that it requires neither any laborious feature engineering, nor complex model mapping of a query expressed in natural language to a SPARQL query template, and thus it can be easily adapted to a variety of applications.
Employment Status and Work Ability in Adults with Cystic Fibrosis

Improvements in the survival and clinical outcomes of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients raised questions about their workforce participation and capacity to work. One hundred and ninety-six outpatients, attending the Adult CF Center of an Italian University Hospital, were enrolled between May 2020 and March 2021. The patients’ personal and clinical characteristics, employment status, and profession were assessed. The Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire—Revised and the work ability index (WAI) were employed to assess CF health-related quality of life and the employee’s perception of their ability to work, respectively. Among the enrolled patients, 98 (50%) were employed. The non-working subjects were significantly younger (mean age ± standard deviation: 30 ± 10 vs. 37 ± 10 years) and were diagnosed with CF significantly earlier (9 ± 13 vs. 17 ± 18 years) than the employed subjects. The vast majority of CF workers (82.6%) were employed in tertiary professions. A general good work ability perception was determined in the employed population. Aging and being employed for >15 years could significantly predict a reduction in work ability, while a better quality of life was a positive predictor for its enhancement. Although further research is necessary, these results may introduce interdisciplinary CF healthcare management that includes a work function assessment, formal career counseling, and job guidance to support the personal, social and professional lives of CF patients.
Architectures for Collaborative Applications

The architecture of a collaborative application is characterized by the modules, layers, replicas, threads, and processes into which the application is decomposed; the awareness in these components of collaboration functions; and the interaction among these components. It influences the function, fairness, fault tolerance, ease of modification, and performance of the application, the amount of programming effort required to implement the application, and the reuse of existing single-user code. This chapter presents a design space of existing and potential collaboration architectures and discusses the consequences of choosing different points in this space.
Preparation and Stabilization of High Molecular Weight Poly (acrylonitrile-co-2-methylenesuccinamic acid) for Carbon Fiber Precursor

Bifunctional comonomer 2-methylenesuccinamic acid (MLA) was designed and synthesized to prepare acrylonitrile copolymer P (AN-co-MLA) using mixed solvent polymerization as a carbon fiber precursor. The effect of monomer feed ratios on the structure and stabilization were characterized by elemental analysis (EA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), proton nuclear magnetic (1H NMR), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for the P (AN-co-MLA) copolymers. The results indicated that both the conversion and molecular weight of polymerization reduce gradually when the MLA content is increased in the feed and that bifunctional comonomer MLA possesses a larger reactivity ratio than acrylonitrile (AN). P (AN-co-MLA) shows improved stabilization compared to the PAN homopolymer and poly (acrylonitrile-acrylic acid-methacrylic acid) [P (AN-AA-MA)], showing features such as lower initiation temperature, smaller cyclic activation energy, wider exothermic peak, and a larger stabilization degree, which are due to the ionic cyclization reaction initiated by MLA, confirming that the as-prepared P (AN-co-MLA) is the potential precursor for high-performance carbon fiber.