Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Occurrence of Oligochaeta species (Annelida: Clitellata) in Rivers in the State of São Paulo (Brazil)

The knowledge about the diversity and fauna distribution in tropical freshwater ecosystems is of extreme ecological importance, however studies on this theme still scarce. Organisms belonging to the Oligochaeta Class are considered important bioindicators for environmental quality analysis, but detailed knowledge about these organisms is still insufficient. This study aims to investigate the occurrence of oligochaeta species in eight rivers of the State of São Paulo (Brazil), to expand the species catalogue and identify the its relationship with the trophic state of sampled environments. The samples were collected by the Environmental Company of the State of São Paulo (CETESB) from 2014 to 2016 and include areas with different land uses, ranging from conservation, agricultural and industrial. We used species richness estimator (Bootstrap) and accumulation curves of randomized species (collector curve), in order to evaluate the efficiency of samples collected. Rivers were classified according to the trophic state, ranging from oligotrophic to hypereutrophic. As a result, we identified a total of 7,398 oligochaetes distributed in 25 taxa, which belong to the families: Alluroididae, Naididae and Opistocystidae. The most frequent species registered in this research, present in seven of the eight sampled rivers was Bothrioneurum sp. , followed by Pristina synclites registered in six of the eight sampled rivers.
Efficient Tm:LuYAG laser resonantly pumped by an Er:LuYAG laser

Abstract. We demonstrate an efficient continuous-wave (CW) and Q-switched Tm:LuYAG laser that was resonantly pumped by an Er:LuYAG laser. The maximum CW output power was 3.12 W, and the corresponding slope efficiency relative to the incident pump power was 51.4%. In the Q-switched mode, a stable laser pulse was achieved from 1 to 10 kHz repetition frequency under the maximum incident pump power of 7 W. The narrowest pulse width of 94 ns with a pulse energy of 2.12 mJ was obtained at 1 kHz, resulting in the highest single pulse peak power of 22.5 kW. The Tm:LuYAG laser was centered at 2018.37 nm with a high-beam quality M2 < 1.2.
Speckle spatial-correlations accelerate optical transmission matrix retrieval: the smoothed Gerchberg-Saxton single-iteration algorithm

Recovering the transmission matrix of a disordered medium is a challenging problem in disordered photonics. Usually, its reconstruction relies on a complex inversion that aims at connecting a fully-controlled input to the deterministic interference of the light field scrambled by the device. At the moment, iterative phase-retrieval protocols provide the fastest reconstructing frameworks, converging in a few tens of iterations. Exploiting the knowledge of speckle correlations, we construct a new phase retrieval algorithm that reduces the computational cost to a single iteration. Besides being faster, our method is effective also using less measurements than state-of-the-art protocols. Thanks to reducing computation time by one order of magnitude, our result can be groundbreaking for real-time optical operations in medical imaging.
Characterization of Chitin Synthase A cDNA from Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae) and Its Response to Diflubenzuron

Simple Summary The transcriptional level of chitin synthase A (DcCHSA) was investigated in Diaphorina citri Kuwayama at various developmental stages and tissues in this work. The survival and molting of D. citri nymphs were negatively impacted by high concentrations of DFB, which could also cause DcCHSA to express itself significantly. We also looked into how CHS knockout affected nymph development and eclosion. The findings revealed that DcCHSA was critical for the eclosion and molting of D. citri nymphs. This study provides a solid theoretical foundation for D. citri management in China. Abstract Diaphorina citri Kuwayama is the vector of HLB and one of the most common pests in citrus orchards in southern China. One of the most significant genes in D. citri’s growth and development is the chitin synthase gene. In this study, the CHS gene (DcCHSA) of D. citri was cloned and analyzed by bioinformatics. According to RT-qPCR findings, DcCHSA was expressed at many growth processes of D. citri, with the greatest influence in the fifth-instar nymph. The molting failure rate and mortality of D. citri rose as DFB concentration increased in this research, as did the expression level of DcCHSA. Feeding on DcCHSA caused a large drop in target gene expression, affected nymph molting, caused failure or even death in freshly eclosion adults, increased mortality, and reduced the molting success rate over time. These findings showed that DcCHSA was involved in nymph to adult development and may aid in the identification of molecular targets for D. citri regulation. It provided new ideas for further control of D. citri.
Development of Hydroxamic Acid Compounds for Inhibition of Metallo-β-Lactamase from Bacillus anthracis

The emergence of resistant bacteria takes place, endangering the effectiveness of antibiotics. A reason for antibiotic resistance is the presence of lactamases that catalyze the hydrolysis of β-lactam antibiotics. An inhibitor of serine-β-lactamases such as clavulanic acid binds to the active site of the enzymes, thus solving the resistance problem. A pressing issue, however, is that the reaction mechanism of metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) hydrolyzing β-lactam antibiotics differs from that of serine-β-lactamases due to the existence of zinc ions in the active site of MBLs. Thus, the development of potential inhibitors for MBLs remains urgent. Here, the ability to inhibit MBL from Bacillus anthracis (Bla2) was investigated in silico and in vitro using compounds possessing two hydroxamate functional groups such as 3-chloro-N-hydroxy-4-(7-(hydroxyamino)-7-oxoheptyl)benzamide (Compound 4) and N-hydroxy-4-(7-(hydroxyamino)-7-oxoheptyl)-3-methoxybenzamide (Compound 6). In silico docking and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that both Compounds 4 and 6 were coordinated with zinc ions in the active site, suggesting that the hydroxamate group attached to the aromatic ring of the compound plays a crucial role in the coordination to the zinc ions. In vitro kinetic analysis demonstrated that the mode of inhibitions for Compounds 4 and 6 were a competitive inhibition with Ki values of 6.4 ± 1.7 and 4.7 ± 1.4 kcal/mol, respectively. The agreement between in silico and in vitro investigations indicates that compounds containing dihyroxamate moieties may offer a new avenue to overcome antibiotic resistance to bacteria.
Multi-agent team for engineering: a machining plan in intelligent manufacturing systems

This paper explores the modelling of technical expertise in metal-cutting processes in a form suitable for the development of computer-aided process planning (CAPP) in intelligent manufacturing systems using agent-oriented software technologies. Focusing on the selection of tools and cutting parameters in the design of machining operations, the ontology for the knowledge domain was first introduced, and then in that context identify and analyse some of the challenges that CAPP presents to the multi-agent system architect. In particular, interactions between operation design and setup design was investigated, issues arising from global impacts of local decisions in plan construction were examine, and differences between software agents and humans in comparable planning roles were discuss. The analysis leads to several multi-agent design patterns that help capture domain-specific know-how and integrate it into efficient team behaviour. A pattern is illustrated with a concrete scenario.
Development of electrical conductivity measurement technology for key plant physiological information using microneedle sensor

Impedance measurement is a widely used technique for monitoring ion species in various applications. In plant cultivation, the impedance system is used to measure the electrical conductivity (EC) of nutrient solutions. Recent research has shown that the quality and quantity of horticultural crops, e.g. tomato, can be optimized by controlling the salinity of nutrient solutions. However, understanding the detailed response of a plant to a nutrient solution is not possible until the fruit is fully grown or by sacrificing the stem. To overcome this issue, horticultural crop cultivation requires real-time monitoring of the EC inside the stem. Using this data, the growth model of a plant could be constructed, and the response of the plant to external environment determined. In this paper, we propose an implantable microneedle device equipped with a micro-patterned impedance measurement system for direct measurement of the EC inside the tomato stem. The fabrication process includes silicon-based steps such as microscale deposition, photolithography, and a deep etching process. Further, microscale fabrication enables all functional elements to fulfill the area budget and be very accurate with minimal plant invasion. A two-electrode geometry is used to match the measurement condition of the tomato stem. Real-time measurement of local sap condition inside the plant in which real-time data for tomato sap EC is obtained after calibration at various concentrations of standard solution demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed device.
The Dynamic Properties at Elevated Temperature of the Thermoplastic Polystyrene Matrix Modified with Nano-Alumina Powder and Thermoplastic Elastomer

The performance improvement of advanced electronic packaging material is an important topic to meet the stringent demands of modern semiconductor devices. This paper studies the incorporation of nano-alumina powder and thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) into thermoplastic polystyrene matrix to tune the thermal and mechanical properties after injection molding process. In the sample preparation, acetone was employed as a solvent to avoid the powder escape into surrounding during the mechanical mixing in a twin-screw mixer. The pressure and shear force were able to mix the composite with good uniformity in compositions. The samples with different compositions were fabricated using injection molding. The measured results showed that adding 5 wt. % of TPE into the simple polystyrene was able to raise the melt flow index from 12.3 to 13.4 g/10 min while the thermal decomposition temperature remained nearly unchanged. Moreover, the addition of small amount of nano-alumina powder could quickly improve the mechanical property by raising its storage modulus. For example, the addition of 3 wt. % of nano-alumina powder had an increase of 7.3% in storage modulus. Over doping of nano-alumina powder in the composite, such as 10 wt. %, on the other hand, lowered the storage modulus from 2404 MPa to 2069 MPa. The experimental study demonstrated that the tuning in the polystyrene’s thermal and mechanical properties is feasible by composition modification with nano-alumina powder and TPE. The better concentration of the additives should be determined according to the specific applications.
Computational fluid dynamics analysis on orifice structure inside valve core of pilot-control angle globe valve

A novel pilot-control angle globe valve is proposed, and it has an obvious advantage of energy conservation during its opening and closing process. In pilot-control angle globe valve, the opening and closing forces are related to the orifice located inside the valve core. In this paper, the effects of orifice diameter are thoroughly studied under different working conditions such as valve core displacements and inlet velocities. To begin with, the numerical model is validated by comparing similar angle valves, and then the flow and loss coefficients under different orifice diameters are discussed. It is found that the effects of orifice diameter on force acting on valve core depend on valve core displacement and inlet velocity. Thus different valve core displacements and inlet velocities combined with different orifice diameters are further studied. It is also found that when the orifice diameter is larger than 12 mm, pilot-control angle globe valve cannot be used under small inlet velocity or large valve core displacement. In addition, formulas to calculate forces on valve core are proposed for further orifice design. This work can be referred in process industries especially in a piping system with orifice plates or globe valves.
Is there a P-wave bound state of W sub L W sub L On the dynamical generation of a. rho. meson in the. sigma. model

We investigate the possibility that the Higgs lagrangian predicts the existence of a P-wave W{sub L}W{sub L} resonance. This problem is equivalent to studying the formation of the {rho} meson by the dynamics contained in the {sigma} model. Using the Pade approximation, Basdevant and Lee had claimed that {rho} is generated dynamically. We show that their result, while computationally correct, is not significant, because of the position of the Landau ghost. For the same reason, a W{sub L}W{sub L} P-wave resonance below 2 TeV is not expected, unless the standard model is violated. 10 refs., 8 figs.
Prevalence and Correlates of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Components in Chinese Children and Adolescents Aged 7–17: The China National Nutrition and Health Survey of Children and Lactating Mothers from 2016–2017

This descriptive study aimed to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components among Chinese children and adolescents aged 7–17 from 2016–2017 according to the Cook’s criteria modified for age on the basis of the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) and to evaluate the associations between the factors of interest (especially vitamin A, vitamin D and hyperuricemia) of MetS and its components, using data from the China National Nutrition and Health Survey of Children and Lactating Mothers from 2016–2017. A total of 54,269 school-aged children and adolescents were ultimately included in this study. Anthropometric measurements and laboratory examinations of the subjects and their relevant information were also collected. A multivariate logistic regression analysis model was applied to analyze the relationships between relevant factors associated with MetS and its components. In the present study, the prevalence of MetS in children and adolescents was 5.98%. Among the five components of MetS, elevated blood pressure (BP) and abdominal obesity were the most prevalent (39.52% and 17.30%), and 58.36% of the subjects had at least one of these components. In the multivariate logistic regression, an overweight condition, obesity and hyperuricemia were positively correlated with the incidence of MetS and all five components. There was also a positive association observed between vitamin A and the risk of MetS and some components of MetS (abdominal obesity and high triglycerides (TG)) and vitamin A was negatively associated with the risk of low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Subjects with vitamin D inadequacy had a higher risk of MetS (OR = 1.364, 95%CI: 1.240–1.500) and four of its components, excepting elevated FBG (fast blood glucose). Vitamin D deficiency was positively associated with MetS (OR = 1.646, 95%CI: 1.468–1.845) and all five of its components. Well-designed, large-scale prospective studies are also needed in the future.
An AI-Based Automatic Risks Detection Solution for Plant Owner’s Technical Requirements in Equipment Purchase Order

Maintenance activities to replace, repair, and revamp equipment in the industrial plant sector are gradually needed for sustainability during the plant’s life cycle. In order to carry out these revamping activities, the plant owners exchange many purchase orders (POs) with equipment suppliers, including technical and specification documents and commercial procurement content. As POs are written in various formats with large volumes and complexities, it is often time-consuming for the owner’s engineer to review them and it may lead to errors and omissions. This study proposed the purchase order recognition and analysis system (PORAS), which automatically detects and compares risk clauses between plant owners’ and suppliers’ POs by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI). The PORAS is a comprehensive framework consisting of two independent modules and four model components that accurately reflect on the added value of the PORAS. The table recognition and comparison (TRC) module is utilized for risk clauses in POs written in tables with its two components, the table comparison (TRC-C) and table recognition (TRC-R) models. The critical terms in general conditions (CTGC) module analyzes the patterns of risk clauses in general texts, then extracts them with a rule-based algorithm and compares them through entity matching. In the TRC-C model using machine learning (Ditto model), a few errors occurred due to insufficient training data, resulting in an accuracy of 87.8%, whereas in the TRC-R model, a rule-based algorithm, errors occurred in only some exceptional cases; thus, its F1 score was evaluated to be 96.9%. The CTGC module’s F2 score for automatic extraction performance was evaluated as 79.1% due to some data’s bias. Overall, the validation study shows that while a human review of the risk clauses in a PO manually took hours, it took only an average of 10 min with the PORAS. Therefore, this time saving can significantly reduce the owner engineer’s PO workload. In essence, this study contributes to achieving sustainable engineering processes through the intelligence and automation of document and risk management in the plant industry.
The Association Graph and the Multigraph for Loglinear Models

About the Author Series Editor's Introduction Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Structures of Association Chapter 3. Loglinear Model Review Chapter 4. Association Graphs for Loglinear Models Chapter 5. Collapsibility Conditions and the Association Graph Chapter 6. The Generator Multigraph Chapter 7. Fundamental Conditional Independencies for Nondecomposable Loglinear Models Chapter 8. Conclusions and Additional Examples Data Sets References Author Index Subject Index
Error estimates for variational regularization of inverse problems with general noise models for data and operator

This paper is concerned with variational regularization of inverse problems where both the data and the forward operator are given only approximately. We propose a general approach to derive error estimates which separates the analysis of smoothness of the exact solution from the analysis of the effect of errors in the data and the operator. Our abstract error bounds are applied to both discrete and continuous data, random and deterministic types of error, as well as Huber data ﬁdelity terms for impulsive noise.
Advokasi Public Relations dalam Program Pemberdayaan Penyandang Disabilitas

The problem of imbalance between the abilities of people with disabilities and the needs of job providers is the reason for the Saujana NGO to create an empowerment program with the principle of a two way approach, namely people with disabilities and job providers. This is in line with the public relations advocacy function where the organization's activities aim to build understanding and awareness to gain support from both parties. Based on this background, this study seeks to determine public relations advocacy in the empowerment program for persons with disabilities. This research method uses a qualitative case study approach a data analysis technique using a flow analysis model. The results of the study explain the application of the principle of the twin path approach applied to all stages of advocacy in the empowerment program which consists of first, setting the objectives of the empowerment program. Second, analysis of targets obtained through discussions with both parties to produce program designs and session plans. Third, compiling the main message, namely the inclusion message. Fourth is the implementation of empowerment programs that involve all parties who can meet the needs of persons with disabilities and job providers. So that through the principle of the twin pathway approach, the objectives of the empowerment program can be achieved
DC and AC modeling of heterostructure bipolar transistors (HBTS)

DC and AC M odeling of H eterostructure Bipolar Transistors (HBTs) by Roxana Arvandi Dr. Rama Venkat, Examination Committee Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Nevada, Las Vegas Starting with a homo junction or graded hetero junction bipolar transistor, a complete model for the dc and ac performances of the device is developed based on the Ebers-Moll methodology. The formulation is modified to include the abrupt single HBT, by introducing the effects of the conduction band discontinuity at the base-emitter junction as an energy barrier for electrons flow resulting in transmis­ sion and reflection processes. Finally, using the same approach, the formulation is extended to the abrupt double HBT. The collector current as a function of collector-emitter voltage, the collector and base currents as a function of baseemitter voltage, the dc current gain as a function of collector current, the h pa­ rameters as a function of collector current, the ac current gain as a function of frequency, and flnally the unity current gain cut-off frequency as a function of the collector current are calculated for various graded and abrupt, single and double AlGaAs/GaAs HBTs. The results are in good agreement with the reported data.
Real‐Time THz Beam Profiling and Monitoring via Flexible Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Arrays

In terahertz (THz) quasi‐optical systems, the real‐time profiling and visualization of THz beams is of great importance for beam focusing and collimation applications. Herein, a cost‐effective and room‐temperature‐operated THz imaging device for this purpose is demonstrated experimentally using a flexible and broadband THz absorber based on a vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) array. Excellent THz absorption performances with an average power absorptance >96.8% are achieved within 0.1 and 2.5 THz. The energy of the incident THz wave is absorbed by the THz absorber and converted into heat that will re‐radiate and can be detected by an infrared (IR) camera as a result of the THz‐to‐IR conversion mechanism. Real‐time THz beam imaging and monitoring applications are demonstrated by a series of experiments at both 0.1 and 0.3 THz, providing an alternative approach for real‐time beam profiling and monitoring of THz waves.
Genotypes and Variants of BKPyV in Organ Donors after Brain Death

Kidney transplantation from a donor with latent BKPyV might be the cause of serious complications, such as BK virus-associated nephropathy. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of BKPyV infection in donors after brain death (DBDs), to analyse the molecular variation of BKPyV and to compare clinical and inflammation parameters of DBDs infected with various genotypes of BKPyV. BKPyV was investigated in blood and urine samples of 103 DBDs using PCR followed by sequencing and bioinformatic analysis, and the viral load was assessed by qPCR. Clinical parameters, including cellular markers of inflammation were assessed. The results confirm high prevalence of BKPyV (48%),and genotype IV (49%) over genotype I (43%) and the co-infection with genotypes I and IV in 8.2%. Viral load ranged from 102 to 107 copies/mL, with an average of 1.92 × 106 copies/mL. No specific markers for BKPyV infection were detected among the parameters tested. Infection with genotype I may be associated with the adverse impact on thekidney function, while infection with genotype IV was associated with the anemia Not only the viral load but also the genotype of BKPyV may have an impact on the course of infection.