Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stress evolution due to electromigration in confined metal lines

Electromigration is an important concern in very large scale integrated circuits. In narrow, confined metal interconnects used at the chip level, the electromigration flux is resisted by the evolution of mechanical stresses in the interconnects. Solutions for the differential equation governing the evolution of back stresses are presented for several representative cases, and the solutions are discussed in the light of experimental as well as theoretical developments from the literature.
Disinfection By-Products and Human Health. Edited by Steve E. Hrudey and Jeffrey W.A. Charrois, IWA Publishing, 2012; 304 pages. Price: US178.20/£ 99.00 ISBN 978–1–843–39519–5

The following paragraphs are reproduced from the website of the publisher [1]. Disinfection By-Products and Human Health is based on contributions from speakers who participated in May 2011 workshops on Disinfection By-Products (DBPs) and Human Health at Ozwater 11 in Adelaide, Australia or at an AWA sponsored workshop at the Curtin Water Quality Research Centre, Perth, Australia.The contributions are prepared to facilitate communication with practitioners, rather than researchers, making use of overview illustrations rather than dense text or data tables. Each chapter concludes with up to 5 key findings that are take-home messages for practitioners. [. ]
Antidisturbance Control for Helicopter Stochastic Systems

In this paper, an antidisturbance controller is presented for helicopter stochastic systems under disturbances. To enhance the antidisturbance abilities, the nonlinear disturbance observer method is applied to reject the time-varying disturbances. Then, the antidisturbance nonlinear controller is designed by combining the backstepping control scheme. And the stochastic theory is used to guarantee that the closed-loop system is asymptotically bounded in mean square while the proposed control method is shown via some traditional nonlinear control techniques, which still show some common issues such as “dimension explosion” or others. The result of this paper can be regarded as a typical case of the nonlinear control method to help and promote the generation of advanced methods.
Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser diodes at 1.55 /spl mu/m with large output power and high operation temperature

Improved 1.55 µm InGaAlAs/InP vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers were fabricated in the buried tunnel junction technology yielding sub-mA threshold currents, 0.9 V threshold voltage, 10–40 Ω series resistance, output power up to 7 mW (20°C, CW) and CW operation up to > 110°C.
NC 4.0, a Novel Approach to Nonconformities Management: Prioritizing Events With Risk Management Tools

Quality 4.0, the correspondent quality practice fit to address the Industry 4.0 mindset, is expected to provide models and processes endorsed by continuous improvement and data-driven proofs, especially given the exponential growth in available data. The research consolidates the reality of big data availability (part of Quality 4.0) with a generic aspect of quality—managing nonconformities. Its purpose is to suggest a model to improve the initiation step for dealing with nonconformity by prioritizing these events. The new concept in the model suggested is incorporating the risk management method of prioritizing into the nonconformity’s management. These tools are designed to transform qualitative data into quantitative ones and enable easier decision-making, in this case, choosing which issue to deal with first. The research approach is developing and testing the suggested model as a pilot in a real production environment to establish its impact and define key guidelines for utilizing it in various processes and, in addition, to conduct a survey among quality experts from different organizations for reference. Two main outcomes were achieved during the research: The quality experts’ survey welcomed the model concept as a structured tool based on the solid risk management methodology. Implementing the model on actual production lines resulted in a significant reduction of NC financial impact as the events were solved as per their impact.
The Pilling-Bedworth Ratio of Oxides Formed From the Precipitated Phases in Magnesium Alloys

The Pilling-Bedworth ratio of oxides preferentially formed from the precipitated phases in magnesium alloys were calculated. The results showed that the PBR value of Nd2O3 preferentially formed from Mg12Nd was 1.0584, and the PBR value of Y2O3 preferentially formed from Mg24Y5 was 1.1923. Both the Nd2O3 and Y2O3 would provide a good protection to the Mg matrix. The Gd2O3 preferentially formed from Mg3Gd, whereas the MgO preferentially formed from MgNi2. The PBR value of these two oxides were both larger than 2. The corresponding oxides formed from the common precipitated phases Mg17Al12, MgZn2, MgCu2, Mg2Ca, Mg12Ce, and MgAg were all less than 1. The oxide films formed on surfaces of pure Mg and Mg-xY (x = 3, 5, 7 wt.%) alloys at high temperatures were analyzed. The results showed that the oxide films were composed of a Y2O3/MgO outer layer and an inner layer rich with Y2O3. The formation of Y2O3 was mainly caused by the oxidation of Mg24Y5. The more Y2O3 existed in the composite oxidation film, the better corrosion resistance of the Mg-Y samples.
Quality of Information Flow in the Backend of a Product Development Process: a Case Study

The increasing need for products that are able to reliably deliver complex functionality with a high degree of innovation presents a major challenge to the modern day product creation processes. In order to be able to use information on the field behaviour of previous products in the design of new products, increasingly detailed information needs to be retrieved from the market in an increasingly shorter time. The purpose of this study is to analyse, in a typical case in the consumer electronics industry, whether the underlying business process is able to generate this information with adequate quality sufficiently quickly. Information models of the company's service centre and call centre were developed using the concepts of maturity index on reliability. The results showed that the structure of the information handling process resulted in a massive data loss (up to 60% of the data gathered by the service centres) and also in serious data quality degradation. Would this information have not been lost, it could have been used by development teams for preventive and corrective actions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The comparison of differentially expressed microRNAs in Bag-1 deficient and wild type MCF-7 breast cancer cells by small RNA sequencing

The multifunctional BAG-1 (Bcl-2 athanogene-1) protein promotes breast cancer survival through direct or indirect interaction partners. The number of the interacting partners determines its cellular role in different conditions. As well as interaction partner variability, the amount of BAG-1 protein in the cells could cause dramatic alterations. According to previous studies, while the transient silencing of Bag-1 enhanced drug-induced apoptosis, deletion of BAG-1 could induce stemness properties and Akt-mediated actin remodeling in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Considering the heterogeneity of breast cancer and the variability of BAG-1 -mediated cell response, it has become essential to determine microRNA (miRNA) functions in breast cancer depending on Bag-1 expression level. This study aims to compare microRNA expression levels in wt and Bag-1 knockout (KO) MCF-7 breast cancer cells. hsa-miR-429 was selected as a potential miRNA in BAG-1KO MCF-7 cells because of the downregulation both in bioinformatics and validation qRT-PCR assay. According to predicted mRNA targets and functional enrichment analysis the ten hub proteins that are phosphatidylinositol-4,5-biphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA), kinase insert domain receptor (KDR), GRB2 associated binding protein 1 (GAB1), Rac family small GTPase1 (RAC1), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), Cbl proto-oncogene (CBL), syndecan 2 (SDC2), phospholipase C gamma 1 (PLCG1), E1A binding protein p300 (EP300), and CRK like proto-oncogene, adaptor protein (CRKL) were identified as targets of hsa-miR-429. The functional enrichment analysis showed that the most significant proteins were enriched in PI3K/Akt, focal adhesion, cytoskeleton regulation, proteoglycans in cancer, and Ras signaling pathways. It was determined that hsa-miR-429 targeted these pathways in Bag-1 deficient conditions and could be used as a potential therapeutic target in future studies.
Nascent adhesions differentially regulate lamellipodium velocity and persistence

Cell migration is essential to physiological and pathological biology. Migration is driven by the motion of a leading edge, in which actin polymerization pushes against the edge and adhesions transmit traction to the substrate while membrane tension increases. How the actin and adhesions synergistically control edge protrusion remains elusive. We addressed this question by developing a computational model in which the Brownian ratchet mechanism governs actin filament polymerization against the membrane and the molecular clutch mechanism governs adhesion to the substrate (BR-MC model). Our model predicted that actin polymerization is the most significant driver of protrusion, as actin had a greater effect on protrusion than adhesion assembly. Increasing the lifetime of nascent adhesions also enhanced velocity, but decreased the protrusion’s motional persistence, because filaments maintained against the cell edge ceased polymerizing as membrane tension increased. We confirmed the model predictions with measurement of adhesion lifetime and edge motion in migrating cells. Adhesions with longer lifetime were associated with faster protrusion velocity and shorter persistence. Experimentally increasing adhesion lifetime increased velocity but decreased persistence. We propose a mechanism for actin polymerization-driven, adhesion-dependent protrusion in which balanced nascent adhesion assembly and lifetime generates protrusions with the power and persistence to drive migration.
Chondrosarcoma of Sphenoid Sinus: A Case Report

Case Report Chondrosarcoma is a highly destructive malignant tumor of cartilaginous, bone and mesenchymal origin. Its localization in the head and neck is rare while localization in the nasal sinus site is even rarer. Only about 20 such cases have been reported in the literature, and they were located in the maxillary and sphenoidal sinuses. Its clinical presentation is non-specific. It poses a therapeutic problem because of its location at the base of the skull. We hereby present a case of grade II chondrosarcoma of shenoid sinus. The aim of our work is to describe the epidemiological, clinical, radiological and anatomopathological profile as well as the therapeutic management of this pathological entity through a review of the literature.
Prevalence of Calf Mortality in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background Calf mortality has been a major cause of economic losses in the dairy industry in Ethiopia. The condition results in a significant drop in the number of replacing heifers and bulls for sustainable dairy business. Reports on calf mortality with a wide range of prevalence are rising in the country; however, a pooled prevalence of this condition has not been established. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to quantitatively estimate the pooled prevalence of calf mortality in Ethiopia. Methods Meta-analysis was carried out to obtain the pooled prevalence of calf mortality in Ethiopia. A comprehensive literature search was carried out on PubMed, African Journals Online, CAB, Web of Science Direct, and Google Scholar. Eligible studies were selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Moderators such as the study area, breed of calf, study design, agroecology, and year of study article published were used as a milestone of data extraction. The random-effect model was used to estimate pooled prevalence. Publication bias and the variation in prevalence estimates attributed to heterogeneity were also assessed. Results Twenty-five original research papers on the prevalence of calf mortality in various parts of Ethiopia were included. The reported prevalence of calf mortality was between 0.9% and 37%. The pooled prevalence of calf mortality in the country was 14.79%, and the pooled calf mortality estimate across studies for the entire period regarding 1991 to 2000, 2001 to 2010, 2011 to 2016, and 2017 to 2020 was 26.54%, 17.03%, 14.21%, and 11.23%, respectively. Analysis of study subgroups and location revealed significant variations in prevalence. High heterogeneity was observed in the pooled estimates and even after the subgroup meta-analysis. The funnel plots and Egger's regression asymmetry coefficient (b = −1.0434) (95% CI = −1.49, −0.59; p value of 0.012) did suggest the presence of publication bias. There was also an indication of missing studies that could be incorporated by Duval and Tweedie's trim and fill method where they might fall on a funnel plot and visualize them in an attempt to increase the plot's symmetry. Analyses also suggest that calf breed, sample size, and study location are likely to be moderators of calf mortality prevalence in Ethiopia. Conclusion This finding shows that calf mortality is widespread and could result in considerable economic losses for the dairy industry in Ethiopia. Inevitably, a significant reduction in calf mortality prevalence has been observed in recent years since 2010, but the reduction has not yet reached an economically tolerable level. Calf breed susceptibility contributed to the high prevalence. Therefore, interventions for increasing calf health and performance should be focused on minimizing calf mortality on farm and animal levels.
MEASURING STUDENT’S LOGICAL REASONING SKILLS OF CHINESE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL USING RASCH MEASUREMENT MODEL

This study aims to develop an evaluation tool to evaluate the overall logical reasoning core literacy skill and understand the differences in logical reasoning skills between students of different classes and genders. The quality of the developed evaluation tool is tested and optimized based on the Rasch model. The measured sample data are processed and analyzed by winsteps software and SPSS software. 122 senior three students from different classes were evaluated by the developed logical reasoning literacy level evaluation tool with good reliability and validity. It was found that the overall logical reasoning skills of senior high school students was concentrated in Level II, and some students could reach Level III; there are obvious differences in the level of logical reasoning skills between the experimental class and the ordinary class. The overall level of the experimental class is higher than that of the ordinary class; there is little difference in the distribution of male and female at the low level, but compared with male, female' literacy Level Is obviously limited after reaching a certain level, so it is difficult to break through and rise to the third level.
Bisdemethoxycurcumin Reduces Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Expression of Virulence-Related Exoproteins and Inhibits the Biofilm Formation

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major pathogen of nosocomial infection, which is resistant to most antibiotics. Presently, anti-virulence therapy and anti-biofilm therapy are considered to be promising alternatives. In the current work, we investigated the influence of bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) on the virulence-related exoproteins and the biofilm formation using a reference strain and clinic isolated strains. Western blotting, quantitative RT-PCR, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) release assay were performed to assess the efficacy of BDMC in reducing the expression of Staphylococcus enterotoxin-related exoproteins (enterotoxin A, enterotoxin B) and α-toxin in MRSA. The anti-biofilm activity of BDMC was evaluated through a biofilm inhibition assay. The study suggests that sub-inhibitory concentrations of BDMC significantly inhibited the expression of sea, seb, and hla at the mRNA level in MRSA. Moreover, the expression of virulence-related exoproteins was significantly decreased by down-regulating accessory gene regulator agr, and the inhibition of biofilms formation was demonstrated by BDMC at sub-inhibitory concentrations. Consequently, the study suggests that BDMC may be a potential natural antibacterial agent to release the pressure brought by antibiotic resistance.
Experimental estimation of wide‐band radio channel parameters with the use of a spectrum analyzer and the Hilbert transform

In this Letter a method is presented for measuring the main parameters required to estimate the capacity of the radio channel for wide‐band communications as the root‐mean‐square time delay and the coherence bandwidth. This method is based on the possibility of estimating the power‐delay profile from the knowledge of only the module of the transfer function of the channel in conjunction with the Hilbert transform. The major advantages of the method are first, the possibility to experimentally characterize the wide‐band channel performance by employing widely used and low‐cost instrumentation, and second, the possibility to extend the technique to outdoor radio channels. The error associated with the approximated method is quantified, so that it can be used from an engineering point of view in the planning and development of wide‐band wireless communications systems. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 34: 393–397, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.10472
Research on physical activity variability and changes of metabolic profile in patients with prediabetes using Fitbit activity trackers data.

BACKGROUND Monitoring physical activity with consumers wearables is one of the possibilities to control a patient's self-care and adherence to recommendations. However, clinically approved methods, software, and data analysis technologies to collect data and make it suitable for practical use for patient care are still lacking. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to analyze the potential of patient physical activity monitoring using Fitbit physical activity trackers and find solutions for possible implementation in the health care routine. METHODS Thirty patients with impaired fasting glycemia were randomly selected and participated for 6 months. Physical activity variability was evaluated and parameters were calculated using data from Fitbit Inspire devices. RESULTS Changes in parameters were found and correlation between clinical data (HbA1c, lipids) and physical activity variability were assessed. Better correlation with variability than with body composition changes shows the potential to include nonlinear variability parameters analysing physical activity using mobile devices. Less expressed variability shows better relationship with control of prediabetic and lipid parameters. CONCLUSIONS Evaluation of physical activity variability is essential for patient health, and these methods used to calculate it is an effective way to analyze big data from wearable devices in future trials.
Reframing Literacy in the Discipline of Science with the Disciplinary Literacy Observation Tool (DLOT)

This article explains how teams of special educators, science teachers, literacy consultants, and administrators can use the Disciplinary Literacy Observation Tool (DLOT) and accompanying planning tool to improve disciplinary literacy instruction in inclusive secondary science classrooms. The DLOT was developed in partnership with practitioners as a tool for professional development and coaching. First, the tool's development and five dimensions are described: (a) aspects of disciplinary literacy in science, (b) instructional grouping, (c) student engagement, (d) quality of pedagogy, and (e) overall quality. Then, an illustration is provided for how special educators can collaborate with science educators and other colleagues to use the DLOT to identify, document, reflect upon, and set goals regarding disciplinary literacy instruction in science in ways that benefit students with learning disabilities. With the DLOT, practitioners can approach literacy integration in science to address both general and discipline–specific strategies aligned synergistically to Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards through three–dimensional science learning.
Structure-Specific Scalar Intensity Measures for Near-Source and Ordinary Earthquake Ground Motions

Introduced in this paper are several alternative ground-motion intensity measures (IMs) that are intended for use in assessing the seismic performance of a structure at a site susceptible to near-source and/or ordinary ground motions. A comparison of such IMs is facilitated by defining the “efficiency” and “sufficiency” of an IM, both of which are criteria necessary for ensuring the accuracy of the structural performance assessment. The efficiency and sufficiency of each alternative IM, which are quantified via (i) nonlinear dynamic analyses of the structure under a suite of earthquake records and (ii) linear regression analysis, are demonstrated for the drift response of three different moderate- to long-period buildings subjected to suites of ordinary and of near-source earthquake records. One of the alternative IMs in particular is found to be relatively efficient and sufficient for the range of buildings considered and for both the near-source and ordinary ground motions.
Towards practical and resilient geometric routing for wireless sensor networks

Stateless routing protocol, based on geometric routing principles, have been proposed for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Such protocols use node locations to provide geometric navigation between a source and destination. This property is quite attractive to WSNs which are both resource limited and dynamic in nature. However, geometric routing protocols suffer a number of performance and security issues that limit their utility as general protocols. Routing on virtual coordinate systems (VCS) was proposed to overcome the problems of geographic routing. On the surface, VCS appears to overcome the two main problems with geographic routing, physical voids and vulnerability to location errors. But VCS suffers its own set of problems, leading to typical success rates significantly lower than those of geographical routing in a standard VCS implementation. In addition, the standard algorithms for bridging physical voids cannot be used to bridge VCS voids. The primary goal this research is isolating, characterizing and addressing the underlying reasons for the performance and security issues in geometric routing. First, the dissertation analyzes anomalies in VCS, and discovers the reason for them. Based on the analysis of virtual anomalies, we discover that virtual anomalies occur for different reasons (and at different locations) than physical anomalies. We propose HGR and SPGR as complementary routing. SPGR is both stateless and delivery guaranteed. SPGR outperforms all existing complementary routing algorithms such as perimeter routing of GPSR in terms of path quality, and is guaranteed to be successful. Most existing research work on geometric routing concentrates on how to improve the complementary routing. The greedy forwarding as the major part affecting the routing performance was ignored. We propose the aligned virtual ordinate systems (AVCS) to improve the greedy forwarding. The performance of the AGSP is not only better than all other geometric routing protocols on virtual coordinate system, but also outperforms GPSR. Finally, we also propose solution for location based attacks mostly to the geometric routing, as well as solutions to forwarding based attacks. Together, the contributions of this dissertation result in a highly efficient, robust, and secure geometric routing for use in Wireless Sensor Networks.