Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nanostructured Architectures for Colloidal Quantum Dot Solar Cells

This thesis introduces a novel ordered bulk heterojunction architecture for colloidal quantum dot (QD) solar cells. Quantum dots are solution-processed nanocrystals whose tunable bandgap energies make them a promising active-layer candidate for next-generation optoelectronic devices, including solar cells and light-emitting diodes. Despite rapid advances in performance, however, modern QD solar cells remain limited by a fundamental trade-off between light absorption and photocarrier collection due to poor electronic transport. Vertically aligned arrays of ZnO nanowires can decouple absorption and collection: The nanowires penetrate into the QD film and serve as highly-conductive channels for extracting photogenerated electrons from deep within the film. After optimizing the nanowire growth and device fabrication processes, we find that incorporating nanowires boosts the photocurrent and the efficiency of planar QD photovoltaic devices by 50% and 35%, respectively. The demonstrated AM1.5G power conversion efficiency of 4.9% is among the highest ever reported for a ZnO-based QD solar cell. We further show that graphene can serve as a viable alternative to tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) as a transparent conductive electrode for thin-film optoelectronics. We grow ZnO nanowires on graphene and fabricate prototype graphene-based ordered bulk heterojunction QD devices with photovoltaic performance approaching that of ITO-based solar cells. Our work shows that nanostructured architectures can substantially improve QD solar cell performance, and that a simple, low-temperature, bottom-up solution growth process can produce nanowire alignment and device performance matching that of top-down synthetic processes, with the added advantage of compatibility with a variety of rigid and flexible substrates. The 1-D nanostructure design principles we propose and apply here can be generalized to a broad range of optoelectronic device applications. This study of scalable bottom-up processing of ZnO nanowire-based QD solar cells suggests that 1-D nanostructures may be the key to enhancing the efficiency and hence the economic viability of quantum dot photovoltaics. Thesis Supervisor: Vladimir Bulović Title: Professor of Electrical Engineering
The Idunn Mons-Olapa Chasma system as the candidate site for studying ongoing volcanotectonic activity on Venus

Previous works have identified Idunn Mons – the 200 km diameter large volcano located at Imdr Regio – as the possible site of recent volcanism on Venus [1,2]. Here, we investigate with greater detail the geology of this area, with a particular focus on the tectonic interaction between Idunn Mons and Olapa Chasma, the rift zone where the volcano is located. In fact, the first indications from our mapping suggest that – being a site of recently active volcanism – Idunn Mons would consequently be a site of active tectonism as well. The close relation between an eventual ongoing volcanic activity and active tectonism makes Idunn Mons as a credible candidate site for future missions, whose goal is that of studying volcanism and surface geochemistry [3,4] as well as the seismic activity [5] on Venus.
A multi-wave model for the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation: Plumb’s model extended

In the Earth’s stratosphere, equatorial zonal winds reverse from easterlies to westerlies with a period of roughly 28 months. This phenomenon, known as Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO), is driven by internal gravity waves (IGWs) propagating in the stratosphere and interacting with the ambient large-scale flow. Those waves are generated by the turbulent motions of the troposphere. In 1977, an idealised model describing the generation of a reversing large-scale flow by two counter-propagating monochromatic internal gravity waves was developed by Plumb [1]. In 1978, the famous Plumb & McEwan’s experiment [2] validated this model using oscillating membranes to force a standing wave pattern at the boundary of a linearly stratified salty-water layer in a cylindrical shell container.
A Novel Immunocompetent Mouse Model for Testing Antifungal Drugs Against Invasive Candida albicans Infection

Disseminated infection by Candida species represents a common, often life-threatening condition. Increased resistance to current antifungal drugs has led to an urgent need to develop new antifungal drugs to treat this pathogen. However, in vivo screening of candidate antifungal compounds requires large numbers of animals and using immunosuppressive agents to allow for fungal dissemination. To increase the efficiency of screening, to use fewer mice, and to remove the need for immunosuppressive agents, which may interfere with the drug candidates, we tested the potential for a novel approach using in vivo imaging of a fluorescent strain of Candida albicans, in a mouse strain deficient in the host defense peptide, murine β-defensin 1 (mBD-1). We developed a strain of C. albicans that expresses red fluorescent protein (RFP), which exhibits similar infectivity to the non-fluorescent parent strain. When this strain was injected into immunocompetent mBD-1-deficient mice, we observed a non-lethal disseminated infection. Further, we could quantify its dissemination in real time, and observe the activity of an antifungal peptide mimetic drug by in vivo imaging. This novel method will allow for the rapid in vivo screening of antifungal drugs, using fewer mice, and increase the efficiency of testing new antifungal agents.
Prevalence of sinus floor elevation procedures and survival rates of implants placed in the posterior maxilla

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of sinus-lifting procedures and survival rates of implants placed in the posterior maxilla. This retrospective chart review examined consecutive patients with tooth/teeth loss in the posterior maxilla between 2008 and 2012 treated with sinus lift, when needed, and implant insertion. Demographic variables, health status, residual alveolar bone height, augmentation types, the implant position, diameter and height, and implant failure, prosthesis types, and the marginal bone loss were recorded. The study included 302 patients at a mean age of 5.2 years, who received a total of 609 dental implants. A total of 380 (62.3%) implants were inserted in native areas, 203 (33.3%) ones in external sinus-lifted areas and 26 (4.4%) ones in internal lifted areas. The survival rate in native or internal lifted areas were 100% and 95.6% in external sinus lifted ones (10 implant failures/203 implants). Almost half of the implants were examined radiologically with a mean duration of 30 months and the mean marginal bone loss was 0.64 ± 1.2 mm. The results showed that the survival rates of native bone and the internal sinus lifting were slightly higher than that of external sinus lifting. Implants placed with sinus augmentation exhibited more marginal bone loss than implants in native bone.
ENERGY-PRESERVING TIME-VARYING SCHROEDER ALLPASS FILTERS

In artificial reverb algorithms, gains are commonly varied over time to break up temporal patterns, improving quality. We propose a family of novel Schroeder-style allpass filters that are energypreserving under arbitrary, continuous changes of their gains over time. All of them are canonic in delays, and some are also canonic in multiplies. This yields several structures that are novel even in the time-invariant case. Special cases for cascading and nesting these structures with a reduced number of multipliers are shown as well. The proposed structures should be useful in artificial reverb applications and other time-varying audio effects based on allpass filters, especially where allpass filters are embedded in feedback loops and stability may be an issue.
Differentially expressed genes related to oxidoreductase activity and glutathione metabolism underlying the adaptation of Phragmites australis from the salt marsh in the Yellow River Delta, China

The common reed (Phragmites australis) is a dominant species in the coastal wetlands of the Chinese Yellow River Delta, where it tolerates a wide range of salinity. Recent environmental changes have led to the increase of soil salinity in this region, which has degraded much of the local vegetation. Clones of common reeds from the tidal marsh may have adapted to local high salinity habitat through selection on genes and metabolic pathways conferring salt tolerance. This study aims to reveal molecular mechanisms underlying salt tolerance in the tidal reed by comparing them to the salt-sensitive freshwater reed under salt stress. We employed comparative transcriptomics to reveal the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between these two types of common reeds under different salinity conditions. The results showed that only three co-expressed genes were up-regulated and one co-expressed gene was down-regulated between the two reed types. On the other hand, 1,371 DEGs were exclusively up-regulated and 285 DEGs were exclusively down-regulated in the tidal reed compared to the control, while 115 DEGs were exclusively up-regulated and 118 DEGs were exclusively down-regulated in the freshwater reed compared to the control. From the pattern of enrichment of transcripts involved in salinity response, the tidal reed was more active and efficient in scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) than the freshwater reed, with the tidal reed showing significantly higher gene expression in oxidoreductase activity. Furthermore, when the reeds were exposed to salt stress, transcripts encoding glutathione metabolism were up-regulated in the tidal reed but not in the freshwater reed. DEGs related to encoding glutathione reductase (GR), glucose-6-phosphate 1-dehydrogenase (G6PDH), 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PD), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and L-ascorbate peroxidase (LAP) were revealed as especially highly differentially regulated and therefore represented candidate genes that could be cloned into plants to improve salt tolerance. Overall, more genes were up-regulated in the tidal reed than in the freshwater reed from the Yellow River Delta when under salt stress. The tidal reed efficiently resisted salt stress by up-regulating genes encoding for oxidoreductase activity and glutathione metabolism. We suggest that this type of common reed could be extremely useful in the ecological restoration of degraded, high salinity coastal wetlands in priority.
Satirical political communication 2019 Indonesia’s presidential election on social media

This study aims to reveal how satirical political communication by three kinds of social media accounts that have a large followers in Indonesia in the theme of the 2019 Presidential Election. Using Van Dijk’s critical discourse analysis model, this study uncovered the discourse that underlies criticism of candidates for presidential and vice-presidential candidates 2019 on Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter. The research found Prabowo vs. Jokowi’s rap battle by skinnyindonesia24, nurhadi_aldo’s Instagram account, and #2019GantiPresiden as the most prominent accounts that distributed satire political communication. The owner of a social media account produces messages based on a lively and controversial issue on social media. Account #2019GantiPresiden even tends to criticize incumbent candidates because they see that the mainstream media does not do its role. Nurhadi_aldo’s account manager sees sharp polarization between supporters of two pairs and tends to criticize controversial incumbent candidate programs. Skinnyindonesia24 reduces the polarization that is getting stronger by more balanced criticizing the competition of two presidential candidates through rap music. This study convinces that the nature of satirical political communication work efficiently because the content does not cross agreed-upon political boundaries and cultural spaces. Fokus penelitian ini ada pada komunikasi politik yang terjadi di platform media sosial selama pemilihan presiden 2019 di Indonesia. Menggunakan model analisis wacana kritis Van Dijk, penelitian ini mengungkap wacana yang mendasari kritik terhadap calon pasangan president dan wakil presiden 2019 di Facebook, Twitter, dan Youtube. Hasil penelitian menemukan pertarungan rap Prabowo vs Jokowi oleh skinnyindonesia24, akun Instagram nurhadi_aldo, dan #2019GantiPresiden sebagai akun paling menonjol yang mendistribusikan komunikasi politik sindiran. Sindiran dan humor dapat menjadi bentuk komunikasi politik bagi publik untuk mengritisi kandidat dengan aman. Pemilik akun media sosial memproduksi pesan berdasarkan isu yang ramai dan kontroversial di media sosial. Akun #2019GantiPresiden bahkan cenderung mengritisi kandidat petahana karena melihat tidak netralnya media mainstream dalam memberitakan para kandidat. Pengelola akun nurhadi_aldo melihat polarisasi yang tajam di antara pendukung dua pasangan dan cenderung mengritisi program-program kandidat petahana yang kontroversi. Uskinnyindonesia24 meredam polarisasi yang semakin kuat dengan lebih seimbang mengritisi persaingan dua kandidat calon presiden melalui musik rap. Studi ini menunjukkan bahwa sifat komunikasi politik satir memungkinkan untuk bekerja secara efisien karena konten dan kemasan ide tidak melewati batas politik yang disepakati dan ruang budaya.
Willingness to Pay of Urban Households for the Conservation of Natural Resources and Cultural Heritage in a Neighboring Rural Area: A CVM Study

Koronadal households benefit from Lake Sebu’s natural resources (lakes, waterfalls, rivers and springs, forest land, agricultural land) and cultural heritage (arts and handicrafts such as T’nalak weaving, brass casting, beadwork, and wood carving; music and dances; festivals; and beliefs and traditions of the T’boli indigenous tribe) in terms of recreation, good image and sense of pride, tourism income generation, the supply of high-quality tilapia, agricultural products supply, potential hydroelectric power source, biodiversity, and climate change mitigation. These benefits are integrated into a single estimate using the contingent valuation method. In the study, a sample of 524 Koronadal households was asked for their willingness to pay (WTP) or contribute to natural resources and cultural heritage conservation efforts in Lake Sebu in the form of a lumpsum monthly amount collected together with their electricity bill payment. The mean WTP per month is estimated to be Php 52.42 (USD 1.04) using the probit regression estimates (parametric mean) and Php 64.39 (USD 1.27) using the Turnbull formula (non-parametric mean), both less than 1% (0.26–0.33%) of average monthly household income. Multiplying the annualized WTP by the number of households in Koronadal, total potential annual contributions from Koronadal City would range from Php 29.2–35.7M, about 3% of the City Government’s 2019 total revenues of Php 932.6M (Koronadal City Government Budget Office). Even just a fraction of this potential collection can support essential conservation efforts in Lake Sebu, which – up to the present – have been inadequate due to financial constraints. Moreover, the results of the regression analysis reveal that households are more likely to support the conservation program if the amount of required contribution is smaller and household income is higher. Older and more educated respondents are, likewise, more likely to support the program.
Site U1505

Zhimin Jian, Hans Christian Larsen, Carlos A. Alvarez Zarikian, Zhen Sun, Joann M. Stock, Adam Klaus, Jacopo Boaga, Stephen A. Bowden, Anne Briais, Yifeng Chen, Deniz Cukur, Kelsie A. Dadd, Weiwei Ding, Michael J. Dorais, Eric C. Ferré, Fabricio Ferreira, Akira Furusawa, Aaron J. Gewecke, Jessica L. Hinojosa, Tobias W. Höfig, Kan-Hsi Hsiung, Baoqi Huang, Enqing Huang, Xiao-Long Huang, Shijun Jiang, Haiyan Jin, Benjamin G. Johnson, Robert M. Kurzawski, Chao Lei, Baohua Li, Li Li, Yanping Li, Jian Lin, Chang Liu, Chuanlian Liu, Zhifei Liu, Antonio Luna, Claudia Lupi, Anders J. McCarthy, Geoffroy Mohn, Lachit Singh Ningthoujam, Michael Nirrengarten, Nobuaki Osono, David W. Peate, Patricia Persaud, Ning Qiu, Caroline M. Robinson, Sara Satolli, Isabel Sauermilch, Julie C. Schindlbeck, Steven M. Skinner, Susanne M. Straub, Xiang Su, Liyan Tian, Froukje M. van der Zwan, Shiming Wan, Huaichun Wu, Rong Xiang, Rajeev Yadav, Liang Yi, Cuimei Zhang, Jinchang Zhang, Yang Zhang, Ning Zhao, Guangfa Zhong, and Lifeng Zhong2
Agronomic and Environmental Implications of Substituting Pig Slurry for Synthetic Nitrogen in Mediterranean Wheat Systems

Using slurries as fertilizers is a promising strategy for the reuse of nutrients and striving towards a circular economy. This study aims to assess the agronomic productivity and the environmental effects on Mediterranean sprinkler-irrigated wheat during three consecutive years of (1) the use of pig slurry (PS) as a substitute for a synthetic fertilizer (urea, U) and (2) the addition of a urease inhibitor (monocarbamide dihydrogen sulfate, MCDHS) to pig slurry (PSI). A nitrogen (N) target rate of 120 kg NH4+-N ha−1 as U, PS, or PSI (main factor) was applied at tillering, and it was supplemented with N application at stem elongation (secondary factor). Grain yield, nitrogen use efficiency indexes, and nitrous oxide emissions were not significantly affected by the N source, U, or PS; in contrast to grain protein that was affected by the N source (lower protein content in PS). The higher unaccounted N from soil balance in PS compared to U fertilization could be associated with higher ammonia volatilization, although additional studies should confirm this hypothesis. Our study suggests that, under the considered cropping conditions, PS does not affect productivity or N2O losses compared to U. The addition of MCDHS to pig slurry did not display agronomic or environmental benefits under the evaluated agro-environmental conditions.
Levels After Iron Supplementation in atients With Chronic Kidney Disease

Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of iron supplementation on zinc distribution in ondialyzed chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Design: Prospective nonrandomized observational study. Setting: Outpatients of the Nephrology Division at Federal University of São Paulo. Patients: Zinc and iron status of 38 nondialyzed patients (63% male; creatinine clearance, 34.5 13.3 mL/min/ .73 m) was evaluated before and after 3 intramuscular injections of 100 mg iron each. Main outcome measures: The following parameters were analyzed: erythrocytes and plasma zinc, zinc rotoporphyrin (ZPP), plasma ferritin, transferrin saturation (TFS), and total iron. The patients’ diets were analyzed y the Association of Official Analytical Chemists method for macronutrients, and neutron activation analysis was sed for iron and zinc concentration determinations. Results: Ferritin and TFS increased from 86.3 67.5 ng/mL to 105.4 63.7 ng/mL and from 19.5 7.4% to 3.2 6.7% (P .05), respectively, after iron supplementation. Absolute iron deficiency (ferritin 100 g/L and TFS 20%) was present in 41% of the patients and decreased to 15.7% after iron treatment. In comparison with aseline values (76.4 16.7 g/dL), there were no significant changes in plasma zinc levels, but after supplemenation the number of patients with low plasma zinc levels decreased from 46.1% to 23.7% (P .08). At baseline, rythrocyte zinc was 49.0 7.6 g Zn/gHb, and 76.3% of the patients had high erythrocyte zinc concentration. After ron treatment, erythrocyte zinc decreased to 45.5 7.3 g Zn/gHb (P .001). No significant change was observed n ZPP concentration. The analysis of the diet showed energy and protein intakes of 26.2 7.1 kcal/kg/day and . 89 0.2 g/kg/day, respectively, and a low intake of both iron and zinc. Conclusions: This study suggests that iron deficiency may contribute to the inadequate distribution of zinc in atients with CKD and that iron supplementation may decrease the abnormal elevated erythrocyte zinc levels of hese patients. 2004 by the National Kidney Foundation, Inc.
DHFSlicer: double height-field slicing for milling fixed-height materials

Fig. 1. DHFSlicer partitions complex input shapes into bounded-height double-height-field (DHF) slices (a,e) that once packed (d) and augmented with automatically computed fixtures and registration patterns (f) can be milled out of fixed height slabs of material, and assembled to produce accurate replicas of the input (g). It first partitions the inputs into coarse blocks that satisfy a local DHF (LDHF) criterion with respect to their respective axes (b), and then cuts those into well-sized bounded-height slices (e). Using our DHF slices halves the milling time and reduces material waste by over 40% compared to using slices produced by a state-of-the-art alternative [Muntoni et al. 2018] (c). We render slices belonging to the same block using alternating same hue colors.
Path to solve conflicts in chats with the help of NLP

This thesis concerns the development and evaluation of Chattitude, whose purpose it is to influence textual conversations. To achieve this, modern Natural-Language-Processing(NLP) systems are integrated into Chattitude. The results of these analysis approaches, namely the emotional and profane contents of a message are then visualized in the user-interface, so that users are encouraged to reflect over the content they are about to send. Through a user study the user experience of Chattitude and the effect of its signature features, the visualizations of the integrated analysis systems, is evaluated. The results show that the user experience of Chattitude is sufficient enough to have no negative influence on the study. In one metric it even closes the gap between it and other commonly used applications. The effect of the signature features is not significant on the user experience of Chattitude, but improvements and fine-tuning is still needed to achieve a notable positive influence on conversations. Zusammenfassung Diese Arbeit befasst sich mit der Entwicklung und Evaluierung eines WebApplikations-Prototypen namens Chattitude, der die Aufgabe hat, textbasierte Gespräche zu beeinflussen. Um ein solches Ziel zu erreichen, wurden Analysen der Maschinellen Sprachverarbeitung in Chattitude integriert. Die Ergebnisse dieser Analysen, speziell Erkennung von Emotionen und Profanität in Textnachrichten, werden dann so visualisiert, dass Nutzer zu einer erneuten Reflexion über den Inhalt der zu sendenden Nachricht ermutigt werden. Durch eine Nutzerstudie wurde die Benutzererfahrung von Chattitude und der Effekt der Signatur Features, also der genannten Visualisierungen, evaluiert. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie zeigen, dass die Benutzererfahrung von Chattitude ausreichend ist, sodass sie keinen negativen Einfluss auf Diskussionen und deren Lösungen darstellt. In einer verwendeten Metrik, erreichte Chattitude Werte, die mit häufig verwendeten Chat Anwendungen vergleichbar sind. Die Auswirkungen der signatur features sind nicht signifikant bezogen auf die Benutzererfahrung, allerdings sind noch Anpassungen nötig um einen spürbar positiven Einfluss auf Chats zu erreichen.