Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An enhanced worst-case end-to-end evaluation method for SpaceWire networks

The SpaceWire network is scheduled to be used as the sole on-board network for future ESA satellites. However, at the moment, network designers do not have tools to ensure that critical temporal deadlines are met when using best-effort wormhole networks like SpaceWire. In a previous paper, we have presented a first method to compute an upper-bound on the worst-case end-to-end delay of flows traversing such networks. However, its scope was limited by restrictive assumptions on the traffic patterns. Thus, in this paper, we propose a new network model that removes those limitations and allows worst-case delay analysis on SpaceWire networks with any traffic pattern.
An In Vivo Stable Isotope Labeling Method to Investigate Individual Matrix Protein Synthesis, Ribosomal Biogenesis, and Cellular Proliferation in Murine Articular Cartilage

Abstract Targeting chondrocyte dynamics is a strategy for slowing osteoarthritis progression during aging. We describe a stable-isotope method using in vivo deuterium oxide labeling and mass spectrometry to measure protein concentration, protein half-life, cell proliferation, and ribosomal biogenesis in a single sample of murine articular cartilage. We hypothesized that a 60-d labeling period would capture age-related declines in cartilage matrix protein content, protein synthesis rates, and cellular proliferation. Knee cartilage was harvested to the subchondral bone from 25- to 90-wk-old female C57BL/6J mice treated with deuterium oxide for 15, 30, 45, and 60 d. We measured protein concentration and half-lives using targeted high resolution accurate mass spectrometry and d2ome data processing software. Deuterium enrichment was quantified in isolated DNA and RNA to measure cell proliferation and ribosomal biogenesis, respectively. Most collagen isoforms were less abundant in aged animals, with negligible collagen synthesis at either age. In contrast, age altered the concentration and half-lives of many proteoglycans and other matrix proteins, including several with greater concentration and half-lives in older mice such as proteoglycan 4, clusterin, and fibronectin-1. Cellular proteins were less abundant in older animals, consistent with reduced cellularity. Nevertheless, deuterium was maximally incorporated into 60% of DNA and RNA by 15 d of labeling in both age groups, suggesting the presence of two large pools of either rapidly (<15 d) or slowly (>60 d) proliferating cells. Our findings indicate that age-associated changes in cartilage matrix protein content and synthesis occur without detectable changes in the relative number of proliferating cells.
Numerical analyses of axial tension mechanisms of 3D orthogonal woven E-glass/epoxy composites with drilled holes

As an auspicious composite material, three-dimensional orthogonal woven E-glass/epoxy composites (3DOWC) are associated with drilling processes to assemble the parts for obtaining the desired shape and for the improvement of the component’s quality. This study investigated the axial tensile properties of 3DOWC with 6 mm drilled holes (DH). For comparison, two-dimensional woven E-glass/epoxy laminated composites (2DWC) with the same drilled hole size were also tested. To analyze the effects of holes on the microstructure properties, the ﬁnite element (FE) software ABAQUS/Standard was employed to simulate the tensile properties of composites. Hashin damage criteria were used to predict the failure modes of the composite. The stress and strain curves were obtained to compare the numerical and experimental results at the same load condition. The comparisons illustrated the existence of a good agreement between the experimental and finite element method (FEM) results. In addition, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images were used to analyze failure modes and fracture mechanisms. Various degradation phenomena were observed especially fiber fracture, matrix cracking, and tow debonding also less delamination was noticed in 3DOWC than 2DWC.
Multirobot Collaborative Pursuit Target Robot by Improved MADDPG

Policy formulation is one of the main problems in multirobot systems, especially in multirobot pursuit-evasion scenarios, where both sparse rewards and random environment changes bring great difficulties to find better strategy. Existing multirobot decision-making methods mostly use environmental rewards to promote robots to complete the target task that cannot achieve good results. This paper proposes a multirobot pursuit method based on improved multiagent deep deterministic policy gradient (MADDPG), which solves the problem of sparse rewards in multirobot pursuit-evasion scenarios by combining the intrinsic reward and the external environment. The state similarity module based on the threshold constraint is as a part of the intrinsic reward signal output by the intrinsic curiosity module, which is used to balance overexploration and insufficient exploration, so that the agent can use the intrinsic reward more effectively to learn better strategies. The simulation experiment results show that the proposed method can improve the reward value of robots and the success rate of the pursuit task significantly. The intuitive change is obviously reflected in the real-time distance between the pursuer and the escapee, the pursuer using the improved algorithm for training can get closer to the escapee more quickly, and the average following distance also decreases.
The US-China trade war and the emergence of market power in commodity markets

ABSTRACT The article explores the indirect link between the trade war between China-US and deforestation in Brazil. China imposed tariffs that have eliminated American soy exports by November 2018. Higher soybean prices usually increase deforestation in Brazil. We estimate nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag models combined with multiple breakpoint tests to analyze price transmission changes over time. We show that market power emerges in the short run, while long-run price pass-through is close to complete. Extra profits from unexpected market power should induce land clearing for expanding soy production, a problem compounded by lax regulation, and reduced budgets for combating deforestation in Brazil. Results also suggest that effects on deforestation rates should be temporary. Given that the covid19 pandemic brings about a similar shock to global food markers, particularly demand for Brazilian soy, we expect a similar pattern of emergence of market power in the short but not long-run.
The Pattern of Hemoglobin A1C Trajectories and Risk of Herpes Zoster Infection: A Follow-Up Study

To investigate the risks of herpes zoster (HZ) infection among heterogeneous HbA1C trajectories of patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, this cohort study used data from the Chang Gung Research Database (CGRD), from the 10-year period of 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2017. We applied group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) to identify the patterns of HbA1C trajectories, and multiple Cox proportional hazards regressions were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) for the risk of HZ infection with adjustment of age, sex, and comorbidities. This study enrolled 121,999 subjects to perform the analysis. The GBTM identified four HbA1C trajectories: ‘good control’ (58.4%), ‘high decreasing’ (8.9%), ‘moderate control’ (25.1%), and ‘poor control’ (7.6%) with the mean HbA1C of 6.7% (50 mmol/mol), 7.9% (63 mmol/mol), 8.4% (68 mmol/mol), and 10.7% (93 mmol/mol) respectively. The risk of HZ was significantly higher in the poor control with an HR = 1.44 (95% CI 1.26–1.64) after adjustment for confounders and comorbidities. The risk of HZ infection for the high decreasing group (initially poor then rapidly reaching optimal control) was nonsignificant compared to the good control group. In conclusion, the patients with poor glycemic control (mean HbA1C = 10.7%) had the highest risk of HZ infection. The patients with initial hyperglycemia then reaching optimal control could have a lower risk of HZ infection.
High Power Ku-Band T/R and SP4T Switches in SOI CMOS

This paper presents silicon-on-insulation (SOI) CMOS T/R and SP4T switches with high-power handling capability. The CMOS transistors are stacked and their sources and drains are biased for the high-power handling capability. The TQ trench of 0.18-m SOI CMOS process is properly placed to improve the substrate isolation between transistors. For the T/R switch, the measured insertion loss of Tx and Rx modes are 1.1 and 1.7 dB, respectively, in Ku-band (12–18 GHz). The measured isolation between Tx and Rx ports is 24 dB in the same frequency band. To author’s knowledge, this T/R switch shows the highest input 1-dB compression point of 34 dBm in Ku-band CMOS switches. The SP4T switch operates in DC-18 GHz, and the measured insertion loss and isolation are 2.4 and 19.5 dB, respectively, with the return loss of 9.3 dB. This chip sizes are 0.11 mm for the T/R switch and 0.12 mm for the SP4T switch.
The polar orbit of the warm Neptune GJ 436b seen with VLT/ESPRESSO

GJ436b might be the prototype of warm Neptunes that have undergone late migration induced by an outer companion. Precise determination of the orbital architecture of such systems is critical to constraining their dynamical history and evaluating the role of delayed migration in the exoplanet population. To this purpose we analyzed the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) signal of GJ436 b in two transits - recently observed with ESPRESSO - using three different techniques. The high level of precision achieved in radial velocity (RV) measurements allows us to detect the deviation from the Keplerian orbit, despite the slow rotation of the M dwarf host (vsini = 272.0+40.0-34.0 m/s), and to measure the sky-projected obliquity ($\lambda$ = 102.5+17.2-18.5$^{\circ}$). The Reloaded RM technique, which allows the stellar RV field along the transit chord to be analyzed, yields $\lambda$ = 107.5+23.6-19.3$^{\circ}$ and vsini = 292.9+41.9-49.9 m/s. The RM Revolutions technique, which allows us to fit the spectral profiles from all planet-occulted regions together, yields $\lambda$ = 114.1+22.8-17.8$^{\circ}$ and vsini = 300.5+45.9-57.0 m/s. The consistent results between these three techniques, and with published results from HARPS/HARPS-N data, confirm the polar orbit of GJ436b and support the hypothesis that its origin lies in Kozai migration. Results from a joint RM Revolutions analysis of the ESPRESSO, HARPS, and HARPS-N datasets ($\lambda$ = 113.5+23.3-17.3$^{\circ}$; vsini = 293.5+43.7-52.2 m/s) combined with a revised stellar inclination ($i_\star$ = 35.7+5.9-7.6$^{\circ}$ or 144.2+7.6-5.9$^{\circ}$) lead us to constrain the 3D obliquity $\Psi$ to 103.2+12.8-11.5$^{\circ}$.
The Detection of Continuing Current in Lightning Using the Geostationary Lightning Mapper

Lightning with continuing current may have current durations that last for hundreds of milliseconds, resulting in continuous optical emission that coincides with the uninterrupted current flow. The space‐based Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) is an optical sensor that allows for the detection of continuous optical emission. In this study, the optical properties associated with GLM flashes over North Alabama are characterized as continuing current flashes based on current durations estimated from electrostatic measurements. The GLM optical attributes associated with each flash are utilized to train a logistic regression model to predict the presence of continuing current across the GLM field of view. GLM flashes with higher probabilities of continuing current tend to cover a longer distance, a brighter maximum optical energy, and a larger maximum area over the span of the continuous optical emission. The continuing current model has a probability of detection (POD) of about 78% and a false alarm rate (FARate) of about 6% in North Alabama. Assuming these scores are applicable to other regions, about 13.3% of flashes detected by GLM in 2018 contain continuing current. The spatial distribution of GLM flashes reveals that continuing current flashes tend to occur over oceanic areas, while seasonal and diurnal analyses show that continuing current flashes tend to occur during wintertime and nighttime storms, which is consistent with previous Lightning Imaging Sensor results. Additionally, if the flash is known to be a cloud‐to‐ground flash, the continuing current model has a POD of approximately 80% and a FARate of about 4%.
Passing the baton? Handing over digital data from the project to operations

ABSTRACTFrom fieldwork conducted ahead of the London Olympic Games, we develop new understanding of how organizations hand over digital data from the project to operations. Prior research explains how practitioners negotiate meaning across boundaries in ongoing work. However, it gives little attention to hand-over, where one group disengages as another engages. We use the analogy of the baton pass in a relay race to articulate how hand-over requires attention to sequence, timing, passing technique and communication within a time-constrained window of opportunity. In our case study, the project delivery team transfer responsibility for sports venues and other facilities, and their associated digital data, to Games operators. We show how delivery professionals both project the nature of future work; and probe how meanings will be interpreted. They seek to extend the window to discuss and negotiate meaning with operators. Our study contributes to research on engineering projects and on the coordination of kn.
Statistical Methods for Assessing the Explained Variation of a Health Outcome by a Mixture of Exposures

Exposures to environmental pollutants are often composed of mixtures of chemicals that can be highly correlated because of similar sources and/or chemical structures. The effect of an individual chemical on a health outcome can be weak and difficult to detect because of the relatively low level of exposures to many environmental pollutants. To tackle the challenging problem of assessing the health risk of exposure to a mixture of environmental pollutants, we propose a statistical approach to assessing the proportion of the variation of an outcome explained by a mixture of pollutants. The proposed approach avoids the difficult task of identifying specific pollutants that are responsible for the effects and may also be used to assess interactions among exposures. Extensive simulation results demonstrate that the proposed approach has very good performance. Application of the proposed approach is illustrated by investigating the main and interaction effects of the chemical pollutants on systolic and diastolic blood pressure in participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Performance Assessment of a Single-Layer Metasurface Resonator for 3 T MRI

Metamaterials, in particular 2D metasurfaces, offer great potential to advance measurement efficiency in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to overcome some limitations due to physiological restrictions that hamper technically feasible developments. In particular, the signal-to-noise ratio in MRI can be improved significantly in many applications. One major drawback, however, of MRI-compatible metamaterials is their usually bulky structure, which limits possible applications and does not allow for flexible or conformally fitted metamaterial layers. This problem can be overcome by flat stripe-shaped resonator unit cells in linear metasurfaces. Such unit cells need to be coupled capacitively, which implies multilayer designs. Here, we take the next step and investigate the use of interdigital capacitors to electrically elongate the wires composing a single-layer metasurface resonator. A comprehensive study of the fundamental mode, which is of particular interest for MRI, is presented. To that end, the on-bench performance of three prototypes are compared, two of which are designed with the help of structural parallel-plate capacitors on two layers, and the last using the interdigital, single-layer approach. Although the adoption of interdigital capacitors simplifies prototyping, we observe that the quality factor drops significantly. However, MRI experiments show promising results, leading to significant enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio in the region of interest. Ultimately, single-layer structures open the possibility of flexible and conformal designs to optimally adapt to the patient’s body in MRI.
How do we deepen our story reservoir by designing, developing, and writing instructional cases for teaching evaluation?

Practicing evaluators' professional stories can serve as rich resources for training novice evaluators. However, converting professional stories into a written teaching case requires more than simply writing down a narrative. This article discusses the components of well written cases present in the literature, and provides guidance on how to design, develop, and write four types of cases using instructional design principles that address aspects of pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. Additionally, this article discusses the development of instructor resources that can accompany a case narrative and support the use of the case as an instructional tool.
A machine learning for environmental noise classification in smart cities

The sound at the same decibel (dB) level may be perceived either as annoying noise or as pleasant music. Therefore, it is necessary to go beyond the state-of-the-art approaches that measure only the dB level and also identify the type of the sound especially when the sound is recorded using a microphone. This paper presented a case study that considers the ability of machine learning models to identify sources of environmental noise in urban areas and compares the sound levels with the recommended levels by the World Health Organization (WHO). The approach was evaluated with a dataset of 44 sound samples grouped in four sound classes that are highway, railway, lawnmowers, and birds. We used mel-frequency cepstral coefficients for feature extraction and supervised algorithms that are Support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbors (KNN), bootstrap aggregation (Bagging), and random forest (RF) for noise classiﬁcation. We evaluated performance of the four algorithms to determine the best one for the classification of sound samples in the data set under consideration. The findings showed that the noise classification accuracy is in the range of 95%-100%. Furthermore, all the captured data exceeded the recommended levels by WHO which can cause adverse health effects.
Fertility-Sparing Approaches in Atypical Endometrial Hyperplasia and Endometrial Cancer Patients: Current Evidence and Future Directions

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the fourth most common cancer in women in developed countries. Although it is usually diagnosed in postmenopausal women, its incidence has increased in young women, as well in recent decades, with an estimated rate of 4% in those under 40 years of age. Factors involved in this increase, particularly in resource-rich countries, include delayed childbearing and the rise in obesity. The new molecular classification of EC should help to personalize treatment, through appropriate candidate selection. With the currently available evidence, the use of oral progestin either alone or in combination with other drugs such as metformin, levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine devices and hysteroscopic resection, seems to be feasible and safe in women with early-stage EC limited to the endometrium. However, there is a lack of high-quality evidence of the efficacy and safety of conservative management in EC. Randomized clinical trials in younger women and obese patients are currently underway.
Preliminary Comparison of Transseptal Microscopic Versus Endoscopic Transsphenoidal Surgery in a University Teaching Hospital

Background Transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) is an increasing preferred treatment for sella lesions. In a university teaching hospital, the novel endoscopic TSS was adopted with ongoing resident teaching. We evaluated a single institutional series of preliminary comparisons of transseptal microscopic with endoscopic TSS. Methods A retrospective data analysis included 37 patients and 19 patients who underwent microscopic and endoscopic TSS, respectively. The demographic characteristics of the patients, intra-operative analyses, morbidity, mortality and visual assessments were included in this analysis. Results The study included 31 men and 25 women, and median age at surgery was 49 years old (range 14–70 years old). There were no differences between the rates of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistula, sinus complications, anterior pituitary hormone deficiency and diabetes insipidus between the groups. Total length of stay and intensive care unit stay were similar between the groups. Patients who underwent endoscopic TSS were at significantly increased risk of epistaxis (P = 0.010), respiratory event (P = 0.014) and post-operative visual deterioration prior to discharge (P = 0.032). Conclusion Endoscopic TSS is a promising procedure that allows sufficient visualisation of the surgical field and adequate tumour removal. It is comparable to microscopic TSS but has a higher complication rate notably due to steep learning curve required to gain the expertise.
A Hybrid Deep Learning Approach for COVID-19 Diagnosis via CT and X-ray Medical Images

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a global health problem since December 2019. To date, the total number of confirmed cases, recoveries, and deaths has exponentially increased on a daily basis worldwide. In this paper, a hybrid deep learning approach is proposed to directly classify the COVID-19 disease from both chest X-ray (CXR) and CT images. Two AI-based deep learning models, namely ResNet50 and EfficientNetB0, are adopted and trained using both chest X-ray and CT images. The public datasets, consisting of 7863 and 2613 chest X-ray and CT images, are respectively used to deploy, train, and evaluate the proposed deep learning models. The deep learning model of EfficientNetB0 consistently performed a better classification result, achieving overall diagnosis accuracies of 99.36% and 99.23% using CXR and CT images, respectively. For the hybrid AI-based model, the overall classification accuracy of 99.58% is achieved. The proposed hybrid deep learning system seems to be trustworthy and reliable for assisting health care systems, patients, and physicians.
Performance improvement by transmit diversity technique for implant ultra-wideband communication

In implant body area networks (BANs), an ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is a promising candidate to accomuplish high data rate. However, due to its frequency, the UWB signals suffer from large attenuation in the implant communication link. This fact suggests the difficulty on achieving reliable communication. For achieving reliable communication, it is well known that a spatial diversity technique is efficient. In this study, the authors pay attention to the fact that it is possible to further miniaturise the UWB antenna due to its very high frequency. Then, the authors aim to develop a transmit polarisation diversity antenna for implant UWB communications, and apply the developed transmit diversity system to a UWB-impulse radio (UWB-IR) scheme and a multiband-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MB-OFDM) scheme, respectively. For evaluating the proposed system, the authors first analyse the propagation characteristics in the implant UWB channel, using the finite difference time domain numerical analysis technique. Then, the authors evaluate and discuss the communication performances of the both modulation schemes for the transmit polarisation diversity. As a result, at a communication distance of 7 cm, the throughputs have accomplished to 300 Mbps for the MB-OFDM scheme and 30 Mbps for UWB-IR scheme, respectively.