Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interfacial Properties of Oligo (ethylene glycol)-Terminated Self-Assembled Monolayers on Stainless Steel 316L

The implantation of SS316L stento in an artery is associated with a number of problems, including restenosis and thrombosis, due to non-specific protein and cell attachment to the biomaterial. One way to reduce non-specific attachment is to alter the interfacial properties of these materials. This may be done using self-assembled monolayers. Model gold surfaces have been extensively studied and oligo(ethylene glycol) monolayers are the standard for protein and cell mitigation. In this study, selfassembled monolayers were formed on the native oxide surface of stainless steel 316L using synthesized and commercially available phosphonic and carboxylic acids terminated with methyl and triethylene glycol moieties to investigate their ability to mitigate non-specific attachment of 3T3 Swiss fibroblast cells over a twenty four hour time period. Results indicate that methyl-terminated phosphonic acids provided the greatest mitigation of cells which is analogous to two studies on model gold substrates but not to most studies comparing the two modifications.
Effect of charged mutation on aggregation of a pentapeptide: Insights from molecular dynamics simulations

Aggregation of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) can negatively affect their chemistry, manufacturing, and control attributes and lead to undesirable immune responses in patients. Therefore, optimization of lead mAb drug candidates during discovery stages to mitigate aggregation is increasingly becoming an integral part of their developability assessments. The disruption of short sequence motifs called aggregation prone regions (APRs) found in amino acid sequences of mAb candidates can potentially mitigate their aggregation. In this work, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations to study the aggregation of an APR (VLVIY) found in λ light chains of human antibodies and its single point mutant KLVIY. Eighteen different multicopy peptide simulation systems of “VLVIY” and “KLVIY” were constructed by varying their concentrations, temperatures, termini capping, and flanking gate‐keeper regions. Within 20 ns of the simulation, peptide “VLVIY” formed an aggregate of 100 peptides at ~0.1 M concentration with a 60% reduction in solvent accessible surface area (SASA). Furthermore, analysis of the SASA change, peptide cluster distribution, and water residence time demonstrated how Val ➔ Lys mutation resists aggregation and improves solubility. Presence of Lys slows down aggregation kinetics via charge–charge repulsions and by raising the kinetic barrier to formation of large oligomers. However, the effect of the Val ➔ Lys mutation is dependent on sequence and structural contexts around the APR. This mutation also alters the solvation shell around the peptide by favoring solute‐solvent interactions, thereby increasing its solubility. This work has provided a detailed mechanistic explanation of how APR disruption can mitigate aggregation in biotherapeutics and improve their developability.
Nitrogen fertilization to attenuate the damages caused by salinity on yellow passion fruit seedlings

ABSTRACT The study aimed to evaluate the mitigating effect of nitrogen (N) on the damages caused by irrigation water salinity, in the production of yellow passion fruit seedlings. A randomized block design in split plots was used, with five levels of irrigation water salinity (plot) (0.3, 1.0, 1.7, 2.4 and 3.1 dS m-1) and five doses of N fertilization (sub-plot) (180, 240, 300, 360 and 420 mg of N dm-3), with five replicates, totaling 125 experimental units, with one plant per plot. The seedlings were produced in 3.780 mL tubes, used as drainage lysimeter, which received a daily irrigation depth based on water balance. Growth and contents of chlorophyll and carotenoids were evaluated at 85 days after sowing. The increase in irrigation water salinity reduced stem diameter, plant height, number of leaves, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll; increasing N doses also led to linear decline in stem diameter and plant height. Application of increasing doses of N did not attenuate the effect of salinity on growth and pigment contents.
Protein‐Sized Dye‐Loaded Polymer Nanoparticles for Free Particle Diffusion in Cytosol

How small should nanoparticles be in order to travel freely through the cytosol similar to proteins? Answering this question remains a challenge, because the majority of nanoparticles are relatively large and their size cannot be finely tuned to match that of proteins. Here, poly(methyl methacrylate) copolymers with varied fraction and type of charged groups (carboxylate, sulfonate, and trimethylammonium) are developed, yielding nanoparticles with controlled sizes from 50 to 7 nm through nanoprecipitation. Loading these nanoparticles with a rhodamine dye/bulky counterion pair at 10wt% makes them highly fluorescent. After their coating with polyethylene glycol groups for preventing non‐specific protein binding and microinjection into living cells, the first systematic study of the size effect on diffusion in the cytosol for solid nanoparticles of the same nature is realized. Single‐particle‐tracking data provide evidence for distinct particle sieving in the cytosol, suggesting that only nanoparticles below a critical size of 23 nm exhibit free diffusion and spreading. These findings show the size limitations imposed by intracellular crowding and compartmentalization, which is critical for applications of nanomaterials in the cytosol. The proposed concept of polymer design opens the route to organic nanoparticles of ultrasmall sizes and high loading for bioimaging and drug‐delivery applications.
User function approach in modelling of nitrogen oxides in commercial CFD code FIRE

Dramatic improvements in computer hardware performance and advance in a science of NOx chemical reaction mechanisms have made modelling of NOx formation a valuable tool that can be used to investigate and improve understanding of the NOx formation in practical combustion systems. This paper presents a review of modelling work performed at Power Engineering Department (PED) regarding the NOx formation in combustion systems. The NOx prediction model has been implemented through the user functions in commercial CFD code FIRETM. This model is based on three different formation mechanisms: thermal, prompt and fuel NO, which are outlined. The effects of the turbulent fluctuations on the reaction rates when predicting NO concentrations are modelled by using the presumed Probability Density Function (PDF) approach. The model has been applied to the turbulent non-premixed jet diffusion flame (Sandia flame D) and the predicted NO mass fractions are compared to results obtained by a Steady Laminar Flamelet Model (SLFM) and to experimental data.
Figuras de acção como interfaces tangiveis para a criação de filmes de animação

Resumo Figuras de acção utilizadas como interfaces tangíveis possibilitam uma interacção fácil, e intuitiva para crianças que pretendam animar personagens virtuais. Discutimos a experiência da concepção e desenvolvimento do sistema Voodoo, um sistema onde as crianças assumem o papel de um “realizador de cinema”, animando personagens virtuais através de figuras de acção. Este sistema transforma os movimentos e gestos executados sobre a figura de acção em animações, tendo por base padrões de movimentos e o contexto narrativo de uma história bem conhecida. Discutimos sobre uma avaliação preliminar do Voodoo, descrevemos algumas lições apreendidas, e reflectimos sobre o futuro deste tipo de sistemas.
Focused microwave irradiation-assisted synthesis of N-cyclohexyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole derivatives with antitumor activity

Abstract A facile synthesis of 3,5-disubstituted 1,2,4-oxadiazole derivatives under focused microwave irradiation (FMWI) is reported. Arylamidoximes 1a–i and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) were carried out in DMF under FMWI to obtain 1,2,4-oxadiazoles 2a–i in 61–81% yields. All compounds exhibited antiproliferative activities in vitro against three human cancer cell lines HCT-116, PC-3, and SNB-19. Graphical Abstract
Modeling the chemistry in the icy mantles of interstellar grains

Abstract The diffusion and photoprocessing of molecules within interstellar ices has been verified experimentally but often not fully included in astrochemical models. With models that consider photodissociation, binary reactions, and diffusion for molecules on the surface and in bulk ice, we explored the chemistry of interstellar and circumstellar ices in gravitationally contracting low-mass starless and prestellar cores, and a protostellar envelope. Results. Photoprocessing gradually converts mixed H2O and CO ices into CO2 and allows for a late synthesis of icy organic species. Different layers within a single icy mantle favor the synthesis different species. Deuterium-rich molecules are concentrated on the outer surface of ice. Formation of organic molecules in bulk ice lowers their average deuterium content. The abundances of major icy species can be changed by about 25-50 % because of ice photoprocessing. Inter-layer diffusion of icy species allows sequential evaporation in protostellar envelopes, which occurs over a prolonged period.
The confined hydrogen atom

We consider the confined hydrogen atom (CHA) in position and momentum space. To this end, we calculate numerically the wavefunctions and energies for various confinement radii and quantum numbers. We show breaking of degeneracy in CHA for n states. In the limit of an infinite confinement radii the well-known results for the non-confined hydrogen atom are recovered. In addition, the static polarizability and pressure are obtained.
Visualisation of Students’ Academic Performance Using Human Learning System

- Data miming (DM) is the technique employed in extracting relevant knowledge from data. While Educational data mining (EDM) is concerns with developing methods that will learn from the extracted knowledge that come from educational environment. The main objective of this paper is to design and develop programs and give recommendations based on the outcomes to help the University management take proactive measures on the causes of students’ poor performance based on the discoveries made. We extracted seven hundred and forty-three (743) records collected from four sampled schools: School of Physical Sciences, (SPS), School of Environmental Studies (SES), School of Technology and Science Education (STSE), School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology (SAAT) all from the Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola Nigeria. The Human Learning (HL) system in our model ‘Framework for Evaluating Academic Performance (FEAP) to come up in our paper titled’ in London Journal of Research in Computer Science and Technology, was made use of in this paper for the DM task which charts: Performance (in percentage) below/above average departmentally, Performance (in percentage) by class of degree departmentally, Performance of students (in percentage) by Mode of Entry departmentally. It made use of SQL server for the extraction of knowledge and Visual studio for charting the extracted knowledge for human visualisation. We were able to improve on how WEKA visualise data; from displaying single query charts to displaying multiple queries charts for a better performance evaluation in an inter phase that enable a user to select either WEKA GUI or HL GUI.
A lightweight network model for human activity classifiction based on pre-trained mobilenetv2

Radar-based human activity classification has attracted more and more attention in the fields of anti-terrorism maintenance, post-disaster search and rescue, medical monitoring and smart homes, which not only has the advantage of detecting in harsh environments but also can protect personal privacy to the greatest extent. The combination of deep learning methods and micro-Doppler spectrograms for radar human activity recognition is becoming more and more popular, but the general network model has many parameters and long training time, making it difficult to train a better network model. Therefore, we have designed an efficient and lightweight network model, which is based on the Mobilenetv2 model pre-trained on the ImageNet dataset. The model we proposed can learn the micro-doppler information and can automatically identify tasks of different types of human movements. We use the micro-Doppler spectrogram as the training data of the network model. The model has a small number of parameters. It can train a model very quickly. At the same time, it can trace-off the accuracy and resource requirements. It can be run on the embedded in the system, it can meet the requirements of the human activity recognition system. We have shown very good performance on the experimental data provided by the official, which can not only ensure the accuracy of the model to predict human activities, but also save a lot of training time. At the same time, our experiments found that a single human actvitiy can be quickly and accurately recognized, however, the complex human behavior composed of a series of single actions still needs to continue to work
Motion Control, Mechatronics Design, and Moore's Law

Technology in a broad sense is driven by developments in semiconductor technology, particularly with respect to the computational power of devices and systems, as well as sensor technology. The progress of semiconductor technology has demonstrated an exponential curve since the middle of the previous century, representing Moore’s Law. Consequently, it is of utmost importance to bridge the gaps between disciplines in the ﬁelds of control, automation, and robotics. Moreover, data-driven approaches need to be combined with model-based design. This will lead to new digital twinning and automated design approaches that provide major opportunities. Furthermore, this necessitates the redeﬁnition of our university system.
Assessing Nutrient Elements as Indicators
for Soil Active Organic Carbon in Topsoil
of Karst Areas

In karst areas, in order to ascertain the relationship between soil active organic carbon fractions and soil nutrient elements, topsoil samples (the sampling points were set at 80-m intervals) were collected for the analysis of soil physicochemical properties. In the sampling area, land use was divided into upland, paddy, and shrub land. The results showed that dissolved organic C (DOC) and microbial biomass C (MBC) contents in shrub land soil were higher than those values in upland and paddy soils (p<0.05). The total nitrogen (TN) content in paddy was lower than in upland and shrub land (p<0.05). The mean value of total phosphorus (TP) in upland and shrub land was approximately 1.5 times higher than that in paddy. Available nitrogen (AN) in shrub land soil was higher than in upland, whereas Olsen-P was lowest in shrub land in all soils (p<0.05). The C:P and N:P ratios in upland and paddy were lower than in shrub land (p<0.05). At plot scale, random forest analysis revealed that pH and soil organic carbon (SOC) were the most important variables determining DOC content in croplands (upland and paddy) and shrub land, respectively. The accumulation of SOC accelerates the growth of microbial biomass in upland. In shrub land, increases in SOC and total nitrogen were in favor of microbial growth. At the small-watershed scale, C:P and N:P ratios had a significant and positive effect on the content of DOC and MBC, respectively. The results implied that high C and N availability, especially in combination with low P availability, is helpful for increasing soil microbial biomass.
The possible interaction of ammonium and auxin polar transport on root system architectures in the two ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana

ABSTRACT Plant growth requires mineral nutrients from soil environment. It is important for plant to develop its root to import mineral nutrient from environment. Both inorganic nitrogen source and plant hormone auxin influence the root system architecture (RSA). Previous study indicated that polar auxin transport is partly involved in ammonium-inhibition of primary root in an Arabidopsis ecotype, Columbia 0 (Col-0); however, the effect of auxin in other ecotypes remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to describe and examine the effect of TIBA, an inhibitor for the auxin polar transport, in ammonium supply-dependent changes of root development. Two Arabidopsis ecotypes, Col-0 and Landsberg erecta 2 (Ler-2), were used due to their different response to ammonium supply. The changes of the RSA in response to ammonium supply on vertical agar medium containing three levels of TIBA and four levels of ammonium were determined in two ecotypes. The primary root length of Ler-2 was markedly shortened by increasing ammonium concentration in the medium, while that of Col-0 was relatively insensitive to ammonium. Conversely, the lateral root length of Ler-2 was increased by ammonium supply. Both primary and lateral root of Col-0 were more sensitive to TIBA than those of Ler-2. ANOVA indicated the significant interaction of TIBA and ammonium in Col-0; however, no interaction in Ler-2. These results suggested the genetic diversity in the interactive effect of auxin and ammonium.
Model Distribution Effects on Likelihood Ratios in Fire Debris Analysis

Computational models for determining the strength of fire debris evidence based on likelihood ratios (LR) were developed and validated against data sets derived from different distributions of ASTM E1618-14 designated ignitable liquid class and substrate pyrolysis contributions using in-silico generated data. The models all perform well in cross validation against the distributions used to generate the model. However, a model generated based on data that does not contain representatives from all of the ASTM E1618-14 classes does not perform well in validation with data sets that contain representatives from the missing classes. A quadratic discriminant model based on a balanced data set (ignitable liquid versus substrate pyrolysis), with a uniform distribution of the ASTM E1618-14 classes, performed well (receiver operating characteristic area under the curve of 0.836) when tested against laboratory-developed casework-relevant samples of known ground truth.
Two-Dimensional Nanosheets by Rapid and Efficient Microwave Exfoliation of Layered Materials

Layered materials beyond graphene have generated renewed interests in numerous fields. Liquid-phase exfoliation methods face essential challenges in their universal application toward various two-dimensional materials (2DMs), short processing time, high yield, chemical stability, ultrathin thickness, and large lateral size of the nanosheets. To date, few reported methods are satisfactory in these requirements. We develop a general microwave-assisted, rapid (30 min), efficient (up to 50% yield), and potentially scalable approach to exfoliate 2DMs into mono- and few-layer nanosheets of superior chemical stability and large lateral size. 2DMs including h-BN, g-C3N4, BP, TMDs (MoS2, WS2, MoSe2), Zn2(bim)4, and Ti3C2Tx are tested for exfoliation in different fluid media including organic solvents and PF6–-containing ionic liquids (ILs). The nanosheets (e.g., BP) are surprisingly stable, probably attributed to solvation shells preventing the exfoliated sheets from reacting with water and oxygen. Theoretical simulations reveal that the dielectric constant of the fluid medium is a key factor determining the exfoliation efficiency. The preferred fluid media should be strongly polar (e.g., organic solvents with a high dielectric constant), which indicates materials’ ability to store electromagnetic energy via polarization. Finally, we demonstrate the 3D printing of nanosheet-based hybrids for potential applications. This general strategy paves a new promising pathway for the efficient liquid exfoliation of various 2DMs.
Investigation of the Heat Sink Effect During Microwave Ablation in Hepatic Tissue: Experimental and Numerical Analysis

The presence of a large blood vessel in the proximity of tumor masses during microwave ablation (MWA) can compromise the procedure success. Blood vessels cause convective heat dissipation (i.e., heat sink effect, HSE) in the tissue surrounding the vessel. In this scenario, cytotoxic temperatures may not be achieved within the target area, resulting in ineffective cancer removal. In this paper, we investigated HSE in hepatic tissue from both an experimental and numerical perspective. MWA was performed mimicking two clinical scenarios (i.e., with and without a blood vessel near the heat source). Fiber Bragg grating sensors measured tissue temperature during the procedure, whereas numerical simulations were carried out to evaluate temperature distribution theoretically. Temperature profiles obtained by simulations and experiments confirmed the influence of HSE with a significant cooling effect nearby the vessel. The proposed approach allowed to quantify the HSE impact on MWA outcomes, laying the foundations for optimizing the treatment parameters in terms of ablated volume and malignant cells destruction.
Detection System Development of Drill Pipe Thread Based on ACFM Technique

As an important connection method between drill pipes, the thread is prone to fatigue cracks and stress corrosion cracks due to long-term exposure to complex forces and corrosive environments. The thread crack detection system of drill pipe based on altering current field measurement (ACFM) is proposed. The crack detection model of the drill pipe thread using ACFM is developed by the finite element software COMSOL. The distribution of the induced magnetic field above the thread is extracted. The relationships between the characteristic signal and the depth and angle of the crack are analyzed. The drill pipe thread detection probes and the detection system are established, and different types of cracks on two different specifications of threads are detected. The experimental results show that the detection system can achieve full coverage detection of the thread crest and root, and cracks at different angle can be identified effectively on the thread.
Instabilities in nematic liquid crystal films and droplets

INSTABILITIES IN NEMATIC LIQUID CRYSTAL FILMS AND DROPLETS by Michael-Angelo Y. -H. Lam The dynamics of thin films of nematic liquid crystal (NLC) are studied. Nematic liquid crystals are a type of non-Newtonian fluid with anisotropic viscous effects (due to the shape of the molecules) and elasticity effects (due to interacting electrical dipole moments). Exploiting the small aspect ratio in the geometry of interest, a fourth-order non-linear partial differential equation is used to model the free surface of the thin films. Particular attention is paid to the interplay between the bulk elasticity and the preferred orientation (boundary condition) of NLC molecules at the two interfaces: the substrate and the free surface. This work is a collection of three previously published papers and some recent unpublished work. Two main topics are covered: 1) the flow of thin films of NLC down an inclined substrate under gravity, and 2) the stability of thin NLC films on a horizontal substrate under the influence of surface tension, internal elastic effects, and fluid/solid interactions. Using a combination of analytical and computational techniques allows for a novel understanding of relevant instability mechanisms, and of their influence on transient and fully developed fluid film morphologies. While the analytical results in this thesis focus on NLC films, these results may be extended to a variety of other thin film models. Finally, a numerical code that utilizes a graphics processor unit (GPU) is presented, and the significant performance gains are discussed. INSTABILITIES IN NEMATIC LIQUID CRYSTAL FILMS AND DROPLETS by Michael-Angelo Y. -H. Lam A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey–Newark in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematical Sciences Department of Mathematical Sciences, NJIT Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Rutgers–Newark