Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The in-plane metal contacted 5.1 nm Janus WSSe Schottky barrier field-effect transistors

Edge contact between two-dimensional materials and metal can achieve small contact resistance because of strong interaction. In this work, we investigated the electronic transport of in-plane (IP) heterojunctions based on Ti/WSSe and Sn/WSSe using first-principle calculations. The results showed the interface bonding and metallization on the IP Ti/WSSe and Sn/WSSe contact interface, indicating the Ohmic contacts between Ti, Sn and WSSe. Then, we constructed a double-gate model to investigate the performance of the IP Ti and Sn contacted 5.1 nm WSSe Schottky barrier field-effect transistors (SBFETs). The calculated on-state current of the IP Ti contacted 5.1 nm WSSe SBFETs is 406.3 μA μm−1. However, the on-state current of the Sn contacted 5.1 nm WSSe SBFETs reaches up to 1104.2 μA μm−1, which is far beyond the requirements of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductor HP application targets. Our study will provide a guide for high-performance transistors based on IP metal/WSSe configurations in the future.
Effect of limestone addition on radiative heat transfer during co-firing of high-sulfur content lignite with biomass in fluidized bed combustors

ABSTRACT In this study, influence of limestone addition on radiative heat transfer during co-firing of high-sulfur content lignite with olive residue in the freeboard of 300 kWt Atmospheric Bubbling Fluidized Bed Combustor (ABFBC) is investigated by using an in-house developed radiation code based on Method of Lines (MOL) solution of Discrete Ordinates Method (DOM). The freeboard is treated as a 3D rectangular enclosure containing gray, absorbing, emitting gas with absorbing, emitting, anisotropically scattering particles surrounded by black/gray diffuse walls. Radiative properties of combustion gases and particles are evaluated by using Leckner’s correlations and Mie theory, respectively. Input data required for the model are provided from four combustion tests which were previously carried out sequentially for lignite only, lignite with limestone addition followed by 30 and 50 wt % shares of olive residue in the fuel mixture for the same Ca/S ratio. The results show that addition of limestone affects the radiative properties of the particles in the freeboard through the change of particle size distribution and load rather than optical properties and decreases the radiative wall heat fluxes along the freeboard. On the other hand, co-firing with biomass compensates this decrease as less limestone is utilized in almost direct proportion to the coal replacement.
Boridene: Two-dimensional Mo4/3B2-x with ordered metal vacancies obtained by chemical exfoliation

Boridene: a 2D boride A range of two-dimensional (2D) materials, including graphene and hexagonal boron nitride, have been synthesized and studied because of the unusual properties that occur when one dimension becomes very small. MXenes are a family of materials made of layers of inorganic transition metal carbides and nitrides that are a few atoms thick and are manufactured by selective etching. Attempts to make similar boridene materials have been challenging because of the reactive nature of boride phases and because the parent materials tend to dissolve rather than selectively etch. Zhou et al. synthesized boridene in the form of single-layer 2D molybdenum boride sheets by selective etching in aqueous hydrofluoric acid to produce sheets with ordered metal vacancies, opening up an additional family of materials for study. Science, abf6239, this issue p. 801 A two-dimensional transition metal boride is synthesized by removal of select layers in laminated borides. Extensive research has been invested in two-dimensional (2D) materials, typically synthesized by exfoliation of van der Waals solids. One exception is MXenes, derived from the etching of constituent layers in transition metal carbides and nitrides. We report the experimental realization of boridene in the form of single-layer 2D molybdenum boride sheets with ordered metal vacancies, Mo4/3B2-xTz (where Tz is fluorine, oxygen, or hydroxide surface terminations), produced by selective etching of aluminum and yttrium or scandium atoms from 3D in-plane chemically ordered (Mo2/3Y1/3)2AlB2 and (Mo2/3Sc1/3)2AlB2 in aqueous hydrofluoric acid. The discovery of a 2D transition metal boride suggests a wealth of future 2D materials that can be obtained through the chemical exfoliation of laminated compounds.
Susceptibility of Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus), and Their Commercially Cultured Hybrid to Metazoan Parasite Infection in Earthen Pond Aquaculture

ABSTRACT: We herein document the metazoan parasite component communities of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus), and their commercially cultured hybrid (female I. punctatus × male I. furcatus) communally stocked as parasite-free fingerlings into each of 3 experimental earthen ponds (each pond harbored channel catfish, blue catfish, and hybrid catfish). The fundamental objective of this work was to test the hypothesis that hybrid catfish exhibit less susceptibility to infection by metazoan parasites than do their parental species. Fingerlings of each catfish species from each pond were parasitologically examined monthly for 1 yr. A total of 112 channel catfish, 74 blue catfish, and 209 hybrid catfish were necropsied; collectively resulting in the detection of 14 metazoan parasite species. Channel catfish had the most diverse component community (12 species: 3 myxozoans, 2 monogenoids, 3 cestodes, 1 nematode, 1 unionid, and 2 copepods) followed by hybrid catfish (11 species: 3 myxozoans, 2 monogenoids, 2 cestodes, 1 nematode, 1 unionid, and 2 copepods) and blue catfish (6 species: 1 myxozoan, 2 monogenoids, 2 cestodes, and 1 copepod). These results do not support the assertion that hybrid catfish are demonstrably more resistant to parasitic infection than either parental species. New host–parasite records herein comprise Corallotaenia intermedia (Fritts, 1959) Freze, 1965, and Corallotaenia parafimbriata (Befus and Freeman, 1973) Scholz, de Chambrier, Mariaux, and Kucha, 2011 for channel catfish; Henneguya sp. , C. parafimbriata, and Neoergasilus japonicus (Harada, 1930) Yin, 1956 for blue catfish; and Henneguya adiposa Minchew, 1977, Henneguya bulbosus Rosser, Griffin, Quiniou, Khoo, and Pote, 2014, Ligictaluridus mirabilis (Mueller, 1937) Beverley-Burton, 1985, Ligictaluridus pricei (Mueller, 1936) Beverley-Burton, 1984, Essexiella fimbriata (Essex, 1928) Scholz, de Chambrier, Mariaux, and Kucha, 2011, C. parafimbriata, Spiroxys sp. , Pyganodon sp. , N. japonicus, and Achtheres sp. for hybrid catfish. To our knowledge, this is the most extensive parasitological study of this particular hybrid catfish, or any hybrid catfish, published to date.
Inflammatory factors in alveolar lavage fluid from severe COVID-19 pneumonia: PCT and IL-6 in epithelial lining fluid

Dear Editor, The research article “Clinical Significance of Cellular Immunity and Inflammatory Factors Assays in Alveolar Lavage Fluid for Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia” by Liao and Yang [1] reported that the concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT) in the alveolar lavage fluid and in the serum of survivors were lower compared to those of non-survivors. Levels of IL-6, CRP, and PCT were higher in samples of alveolar lavage than in the serum, indicating that viral infections lead to abnormal oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange in the alveoli and to a secondary inflammationmediated immune response disorder. In the testing indicators, the authors indicated that the alveolar lavage operation technique was in accordance with the Expert Consensus of the Chinese Medical Association Respiratory Branch Regarding Pulmonary Infectious Disease Bronchial Alveolar Lavage Pathogen and Specimen Collection [2]. A short information on the applied technique, especially how much volume of saline solution was used in the alveolar lavage operation is lacking. We want to draw the attention to our previous published article on alveolar neopterin, PCT, and IL-6 in relation to serum levels and severity of lung injury in ARDS [3]. PCT levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were not different between ARDS and acute lung injury (ALI). Concentrations of PCT in serum were significantly higher in patients with ARDS than in patients with ALI. Levels of IL-6 in BALF and in serumwere higher in ARDS than in ALI. BAL (routine protocol for microbiological culture with 100mL of 0.9% saline solution sequentially instilled and suctioned in 20mL portions) was performed in s subsegment of the right middle lobe of lung within 12 and 24 h after the onset of ALI/ARDS. We determined the concentrations of PCT and IL-6 in the lung epithelial lining fluid (ELF) by using the urea-dilution method for estimating the volume of ELF in the lavaged lung segment [4]. Upon evaluating the combined group of patients with ALI/ARDS, the levels of PCT in ELF were significantly lower than in serum, whereas the levels of IL-6 in ELF exceeded significantly than that in serum. Our results are different from the results of the paper by Liao and Yang [1]. Concentrations of PCT and IL-6 were not statistically different between survivors and non-survivors, and only PCT in BALF (p = 0.0759) and IL-6 in serum (i = 0.0630) tended to be higher in nonsurvivors [3]. Tsantes et al. evaluated plasma and BALF levels of PCT and IL-6 in discriminating septic from nonseptic causes of ARDS [5]. They concluded that early plasma, but non-BALF-PCT concentrations can help to distinguish between septic and non-septic ARDS causes and are associated with the severity of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in septic patients.
Full multiple scattering analysis of XANES at the Cd L3 and O K edges in CdO films combined with a soft-x-ray emission investigation

X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) at the cadmium L3 and oxygen K edges for CdO thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition method, is interpreted within the real-space multiple scattering formalism, FEFF code. The features in the experimental spectra are well reproduced by calculations for a cluster of about six and ten coordination shells around the absorber for L3 edge of Cd and K edge of O, respectively. The calculated projected electronic density of states is found to be in good agreement with unoccupied electronic states in experimental data and allows to conclude that the orbital character of the lowest energy of the conductive band is Cd-5s-O-2p. The charge transfer has been quantified and not purely ionic bonding has been found. Combined XANES and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering measurements allow us to determine the direct and indirect band gap of investigated CdO films to be {approx}2.4-eV and {approx}0.9-eV, respectively.
Mathematical Modelling of the Fruit-Stone Culture Seeds Calibration Process Using Flat Sieves

Abstract The paper provided describes a mathematical model of calibration process of fruit-stone culture seeds of cherry, sweet cherry, cherry-plum, apricot and almond using flat sieves with impact shock ball cleaners oscillating in the horizontal plane. It has been defined that the mathematical expectation of time of knocking out the fruit-stone from the sieve opening T⌢ \mathord{\buildrel{\lower3pt\hbox{$\scriptscriptstyle\frown$}}\over T} is the minimum value of ratio of average time of complete ball motion cycle in space under sieve to the probability of knocking out the stone by a ball with the kinetic energy level of 2 Mj. The dependences of energy distribution density of ball on impact on the sieve have been obtained, based on which the intervals of ball cleaner parameters have been determined, i.e. the ball diameter D belongs to the interval 25–35 mm; the space height H under sorting sieve belongs to the interval 1.2D–1.4D mm; the value range for distance between rods t belongs to the interval 0.5D–0.7D mm. Using the method of golden section, the following parameters of ball cleaner were obtained: D = 33 mm, t = 23 mm, H = 40 mm. The parameters obtained provide mathematical expectation of time of knocking out the fruit-stone from the sieve opening T⌢ \mathord{\buildrel{\lower3pt\hbox{$\scriptscriptstyle\frown$}}\over T} = 0.03 s. Consequently, the average ball velocity v⌢ \mathord{\buildrel{\lower3pt\hbox{$\scriptscriptstyle\frown$}}\over v} is = 0.4 m∙s-1, and the average ball path is L⌢ \mathord{\buildrel{\lower3pt\hbox{$\scriptscriptstyle\frown$}}\over L} = 0.006 m.
Effect of Basil Seed and Xanthan Gums Coating on Colour and Surface Change Kinetics of Peach Slices During Infrared Drying

Abstract The article presented conducts the research of infrared radiation power effect on the colour and surface changes of peach slices coated with basil seeds gum (BSG) and xanthan gum during drying. The colour indices include redness (a*), yellowness (b*), lightness (L*), and total colour difference (∆E), which were used for the purposes of colour change calculation. As the IR radiation power increased from 150 W to 375 W, the average values of L*, a* and b* of uncoated and coated peach slices decreased from 67.45 to 65.41; 7.95 to 5.89; and 49.21 to 38.52, respectively. The lowest ∆E and surface change values were observed in peach samples coated with BSG. The modelling results showed that the MMF model was the best model to describe the total colour difference of uncoated and coated peach slices (the average correlation coefficient was equal to 0.991 and the average standard error was equal to 1.791). The surface area change (%) of uncoated and coated peach slices increased with the progression of drying time, but the rate of changes was lower for the coated peach slices with BSG. The current research indicated that BSG coating has the potential to improve surface colour and appearance quality of dried peach slices.
Pricing American Put Option using RBF-NN: New Simulation of Black-Scholes

Abstract The present work proposes an Artificial Neural Network framework for calculating the price and delta hedging of American put option. We consider a sequence of Radial Basis function Neural Network, where each network learns the difference of the price function according to the Gaussian basis function. Based on Black Scholes partial differential equation, we improve the superiority of Artificial Neural Network by comparing the performance and the results achieved used in classic Monte Carlo Least Square simulation with those obtained by Neural networks in one dimension. Thus, numerical result shows that the Artificial Neural Network solver can reduce the computing time significantly as well as the error training.
Using Technology to Increase the Use of Evidence-Based Behavioral Interventions With Students With High-Incidence Disabilities

Educators of students with disabilities who frequently display challenging behaviors are expected to deliver high-leverage practices and evidence-based behavioral interventions to improve student academic engagement and appropriate behaviors. For these practices and interventions to be successful, educators need innovative, accessible, and sustainable tools to efficiently and effectively implement these practices and interventions as part of their classroom and behavior management routines. Using technology as a delivery platform can fit this need. The Journal of Special Education Technology special issue presents three experimental studies where teachers used technology to deliver behavioral interventions and one qualitative study examining teachers’ perspectives of using technology for behavior management.
Overview: Exploring the onto-politics of cannabis

The composition, use, policies, and the societal position of cannabis are changing and diversifying internationally. Cannabis has emerged as an object of much controversy and is subject to varying forms of regulation. Its role and regulation are also debated in the Nordic countries. To shed light on such developments, this special issue sets out to explore how the phenomenon of cannabis, and related policies and subjectivities, are currently made, unmade, and transformed in multiple ways through discourses, practices, and materiality, and with different consequences.
Maternal Emotional Distress Following the Birth of a Preterm Baby: The Case of Bedouin Mothers Living in Southern Israel

Mothers of preterm infants are at higher risk for postpartum emotional distress (PPED). In this study, we investigated PPED among Bedouin mothers, an ethnic minority group living in Israel. Our aim was to understand how maternal acculturation style and birth order were related to mothers’ PPED following a premature birth. Three hundred twenty-one Bedouin mothers and their babies (preterm: n = 66; full-term: n = 255) participated in the study. Data were collected in the maternity ward and the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) of a large general hospital in Southern Israel providing medical care to all populations in the southern region. Mothers completed questionnaires on maternal postpartum depression and anxiety. Additionally, maternal acculturation style was assessed using the acculturation questionnaire and information on child birth order. Mothers of preterm infants indicated having more symptoms of PPED than mothers of full-term infants. Additionally, both maternal acculturation style as well as birth order (i.e., whether the preterm was first- or later-born) were found to act as moderators in the link between prematurity and PPED. Specifically, we found that among the preterm group, low levels of Westernized acculturation style and the birth of a preterm infant who was later-born predicted higher levels of PPED. Our findings indicate that ethnicity, acculturation, and birth order are important variables that need to be considered when studying PPED and premature birth. Results highlight the fact that mothers from an ethnic minority group who have had a premature birth are at higher risk for experiencing PPED. However, individual differences emerged when examining maternal acculturation style and birth order. Culturally—informed clinical implications are proposed.
Does Electoral Reform Change MPs’ Behavior? Evidence from Romania

The article illustrates that legislators’ constituency orientation can be enhanced through electoral system personalization, even in political systems that have used the party-centered closed list proportional representation for several elections. Leveraging a quasi-natural experiment, created by the 2008 electoral reform in Romania, the study investigates the frequency and determinants of parliamentary questions dealing with constituency issues and whether the reform has stimulated different forms of responsiveness toward constituents. The analyses run on a matched sample of legislators show that while the reform has not modified the proportion of all constituency questions, it has increased substantially the share of questions inspired by allocation responsiveness. Moreover, the effects of some determinants of constituency orientation changed after the reform: previous socialization in local politics loses its significance while we also observe an increased negative effect of non-local candidatures.
Drag on a spheroidal particle at clean and surfactant-laden interfaces: effects of particle aspect ratio, contact angle and surface viscosities

Abstract Translation of a non-spherical particle trapped at a membrane or at a complex interface between fluids is a relevant situation occurring in biological, technological and everyday life systems. Here, we consider prolate spheroidal particles, translating at a clean or (insoluble) surfactant-laden planar interface located between a viscous fluid and air, protruding into the surrounding subphase. Both the subphase and monolayer contribute to the total resistance experienced by the particle, which in turn is a function of interface and bulk viscosities, particle size and aspect ratio as well as the immersion depth of the particle. We explore how the drag on a spheroidal particle at a viscous interface can both rise or decrease with particle size depending on the dimensionless Boussinesq and Marangoni numbers. For a surfactant-laden interface, the surfactant distribution in the vicinity of the moving spheroid is significantly affected by the particle's immersion depth. When a particle sinks more in the viscous fluid, as determined by the involved surface tensions, the difference in surfactant concentration between front and rear of the particle decreases. For the drag coefficient of a spherical particle at an incompressible interface at low shear Boussinesq numbers, we propose a correction to previously reported analytic expressions. We probe both parallel and perpendicular friction coefficients as they are significantly different depending on particle shape, qualitatively different depending on surface shear viscosity, and we resolve the full three-dimensional distortion of the flow field around the moving particle.
Visualizing Conformational Space of Functional Biomolecular Complexes by Deep Manifold Learning

The cellular functions are executed by biological macromolecular complexes in nonequilibrium dynamic processes, which exhibit a vast diversity of conformational states. Solving conformational continuum of important biomolecular complexes at atomic level is essential to understand their functional mechanisms and to guide structure-based drug discovery. Here we introduce a deep learning framework, named AlphaCryo4D, which enables atomic-level cryogenic electron microscopy reconstructions of conformational continuum. AlphaCryo4D integrates 3D deep residual learning with manifold embedding of energy landscapes, which simultaneously improves 3D classification accuracy and reconstruction resolution via an energy-based particle-voting algorithm. By applications of this approach to analyze five experimental datasets, we demonstrate its generality in breaking resolution barrier of visualizing dynamic components of functional complexes, in choreographing continuous inter-subunit motions and in exploring their ‘hidden’ conformational space. Our approach expands the realm of structural ensemble determination to the nonequilibrium regime at atomic level, thus potentially transforming biomedical research and therapeutic development.
Age and sex dependent variability of type 2 dopamine receptors in the human brain: A large-scale PET cohort

BACKGROUND The dopamine system contributes to a multitude of functions ranging from reward and motivation to learning and movement control, making it a key component in goal-directed behavior. Altered dopaminergic function is observed in neurological and psychiatric conditions. Numerous factors have been proposed to influence dopamine function, but due to small sample sizes and heterogeneous data analysis methods in previous studies their specific and joint contributions remain unresolved. METHODS In this cross-sectional register-based study we investigated how age, sex, body mass index (BMI), as well as cerebral hemisphere and regional volume influence striatal type 2 dopamine receptor (D2R) availability in the human brain. We analyzed a large historical dataset (n=156, 120 males and 36 females) of [11C]raclopride PET scans performed between 2004 and 2018. RESULTS Striatal D2R availability decreased through age for both sexes and was higher in females versus males throughout age. BMI and striatal D2R availability were weakly associated. There was no consistent lateralization of striatal D2R. The observed effects were independent of regional volumes. These results were validated using two different spatial normalization methods, and the age and sex effects also replicated in an independent sample (n=135). CONCLUSIONS D2R density is dependent on age and sex, which may contribute to the vulnerability of neurological and psychiatric conditions involving altering D2R expression.