Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamically orthogonal field equations for stochastic flows and particle dynamics

Abstract : In the past decades an increasing number of problems in continuum theory have been treated using stochastic dynamical theories. This is because dynamical systems governing real processes always contain some elements characterized by uncertainty or stochasticity. Uncertainties may arise in the system parameters, the boundary and initial conditions, and also in the external forcing processes. Also, many problems are treated through the stochastic framework due to the incomplete or partial understanding of the governing physical laws. In all of the above cases the existence of random perturbations, combined with the complex dynamical mechanisms of the system often leads to their rapid growth which causes distribution of energy to a broadband spectrum of scales both in space and time, making the system state particularly complex. Such problems are mainly described by Stochastic Partial Differential Equations and they arise in a number of areas including fluid mechanics elasticity, and wave theory, describing phenomena such as turbulence, random vibrations, flow through porous media, and wave propagation through random media. This is but a partial listing of applications and it is clear that almost any phenomenon described by a field equation has an important subclass of problems that may profitably be treated from a stochastic point of view. In this work, we develop a new methodology for the representation and evolution of the complete probabilistic response of infinite-dimensional, random, dynamical systems. More specifically, we derive an exact, closed set of evolution equations for general nonlinear continuous stochastic fields described by a Stochastic Partial Differential Equation. The derivation is based on a novel condition, the Dynamical Orthogonality (DO), on the representation of the solution.
Serene Business Environment Moderated by Competitive Intensity on Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia

Effect of business environment on the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has been widely studied. However, researches on the effect of serene business environment, as well as moderator on performance of SMEs are lacking. Therefore, this research investigated effect of competitive intensity on the relationship between serene business environment and performance of SMEs in Malaysian context. Accordingly, a cross sectional survey design was adopted, and data of 148 respondents was collected and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics – frequencies, percentages and partial least square – structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). From the findings, Malaysia’s serene business environment is an important driver of SMEs’ performance. Yet, the research found that competitive intensity is an important factor that strengthened causal relationship between economic environment and performance, as well as between regulatory environment and performance. However, the effect of competitive intensity in strengthening causal relationship between financial market environment and performance, as well as between technological environment and performance was not found. The current results brought a new insight in this field of study. Therefore, several research implications and recommendations to business managers and policy makers were highlighted.
Heavy Ion Beam Probe for the Study of Plasma Confinement in Nagoya Bumpy Torus

The heavy ion beam probing system has been constructed for the study of plasma confinement in Nagoya Bumpy Torus (NBT-1/1M). Not only the plasma space potential but also the electron density multiplied by a function of the electron temperature nf(Te) can be measured with good spatial resolution. The feedback controlled detection technique and the time resolved fast detection technique are used, depending on the operation mode. The effects of the hot electron beta and the potential on the beam orbit are analyzed. It was confirmed that these effects on the observation points are usually small, and that the hot electron beta can be estimated from the shifts of the primary beam orbits of many cords.
A Pitch-Matched Low-Noise Analog Front-End With Accurate Continuous Time-Gain Compensation for High-Density Ultrasound Transducer Arrays

This article presents a compact analog front-end (AFE) circuit for ultrasound receivers with linear-in-dB continuous gain control for time-gain compensation (TGC). The AFE consists of two variable-gain stages, both of which employ a novel complementary current-steering network (CCSN) as the interpolator to realize continuously variable gain. The first stage is a trans-impedance amplifier (TIA) with a hardware-sharing inverter-based input stage to save power and area. The TIA’s output couples capacitively to the second stage, which is a class-AB current amplifier (CA). The AFE is integrated into an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) in a 180-nm high-voltage BCD technology and assembled with a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$100~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-pitch PZT transducer array of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$8\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> 8 elements. Both electrical and acoustic measurements show that the AFE achieves a linear-in-dB gain error below ±0.4 dB within a 36-dB gain range, which is <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$> 2\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> better than the prior art. Per channel, the AFE occupies 0.025 mm 2 area, consumes 0.8 mW power, and achieves an input-referred noise density of 1.31 pA / <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\surd $ </tex-math></inline-formula> Hz.
Expanding the Substrate Scope of Native Amine Dehydrogenases through In Silico Structural Exploration and Targeted Protein Engineering

Native Amine Dehydrogenases (nat‐AmDHs) are NAD(P)H‐enzymes performing reductive amination, mainly active towards small aliphatic aldehydes and cyclic ketones, due to active site volumes limited by the presence of several bulky amino acids. Herein, inspired by the diversity of residues at these positions among the family, we report the implementation of mutations F140A and W145A in CfusAmDH and their transposition in nine other members. Moderate to high conversions were obtained with substrates not accepted by the native enzymes, notably n‐alkylaldehydes (44.6 %–99.5 % for hexanal to nonanal) and n‐alkylketones (16.0 %–53.7 % for hexan‐2‐one to nonan‐2‐one) with retention of excellent (S)‐enantioselectivity (>99 % ee). Complementary to the reported (R)‐selective AmDHs, the promising mutant CfusAmDH−W145A was further characterized for its synthetic potential. Crystal structure resolution and molecular dynamics gave insights into the cofactor and substrate specificity and the whole structural dynamics, thus providing keys for mutagenesis work on this enzyme family.
Individual thermal comfort models based on optimized BP neural network algorithms

Thermal comfort plays an important role in human life and it affects occupant satisfaction, health, and productivity. Individual differences are not considered in traditional control strategies based on temperature setpoints. The reality is that operators often expend more energy to maintain the indoor environment and the thermal satisfaction of occupancy is not as well as expected. Thus, individual thermal comfort models based on physiological parameters and environmental parameters were presented using the back-propagation (BP) neural network. Moreover, we used three training algorithms including Levenberg-Marquardt (L-M), Bayesian Regularization, and Scaled Conjugate. We observed that using the L-M algorithm resulted in slightly better performance (R=0.96) than other algorithms. The precision results suggest that the BP network algorithm is an effective approach for real-time predicting thermal comfort. In the follow-up study, we would focus on feature engineering (feature selection) and introduce appropriate variables (e.g., heart rate) to improve the model’s accuracy.
Evaluation of Salmonella Typhimurium Lacking fruR, ssrAB, or hfq as a Prophylactic Vaccine against Salmonella Lethal Infection

Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) is one of the primary causes of foodborne gastroenteritis; occasionally, it causes invasive infection in humans. Because of its broad host range, covering diverse livestock species, foods of animal origin pose a critical threat of NTS contamination. However, there is currently no licensed vaccine against NTS infection. FruR, also known as Cra (catabolite repressor/activator), was initially identified as the transcriptional repressor of the fructose (fru) operon, and then found to activate or repress the transcription of many different genes associated with carbon and energy metabolism. In view of its role as a global regulator, we constructed a live attenuated vaccine candidate, ΔfruR, and evaluated its prophylactic effect against NTS infection in mice. A Salmonella Typhimurium mutant strain lacking fruR was defective in survival inside macrophages and exhibited attenuated virulence in infected mice. Immunization with the ΔfruR mutant stimulated the production of antibodies, including the IgG, IgM, and IgG subclasses, and afforded a protection of 100% to mice against the challenge of lethal infection with a virulent Salmonella strain. The prophylactic effect obtained after ΔfruR immunization was also validated by the absence of signs of hepatosplenomegaly, as these mice had comparable liver and spleen weights in comparison with healthy mice. These results suggest that the ΔfruR mutant strain can be further exploited as a promising vaccine candidate against Salmonella lethal infection.
A study of surfaces using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM)

Sweeping/scanning microscopes have become an experimental scientist's hands and eyes in this century; they have become a powerful and necessary tool for nanoscale characterisation in education and research laboratories all around the world. This article presents the modifications made in the mechanical (isolation or designing an antivibration system) and electrical (piezoelectric and scanning system characterisation) implementation of a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM), thereby allowing nanoscale surfaces to be visualised and modified. A methodology for visualising and characterising surfaces using the aforementioned instrument is described, bidimensional quantification of up to 1,300 nm2, with ~15 nm resolution being reached. This experimental methodology took critical parameters for tunnelling current stability into account, such as scanning speed and microscope tip geometry and dimensions. This microscope's versatility allowed defects in highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) samples to be modified and visualised by applying a voltage between the tip and the sample. The concepts of topography scanning and lithography can be easily understood by using the instrument implemented here.
Prime Editing: An All-Rounder for Genome Editing

Prime editing (PE), as a “search-and-replace” genome editing technology, has shown the attractive potential of versatile genome editing ability, which is, in principle, currently superior to other well-established genome-editing technologies in the all-in-one operation scope. However, essential technological solutions of PE technology, such as the improvement of genome editing efficiency, the inhibition of potential off-targets and intended edits accounting for unexpected side-effects, and the development of effective delivery systems, are necessary to broaden its application. Since the advent of PE, many optimizations have been performed on PE systems to improve their performance, resulting in bright prospects for application in many fields. This review briefly discusses the development of PE technology, including its functional principle, noteworthy barriers restraining its application, current efforts in technical optimization, and its application directions and potential risks. This review may provide a concise and informative insight into the burgeoning field of PE, highlight the exciting prospects for this powerful tool, and provide clues for questions that may propel the field forward.
Brain Waves Reflect Cognition-Emotion State as a Diagnostic Tool for Intervention in Dysfunctional States: A Real-World Evidence

Objective: This study aims to characterize electrical signals to establish a diagnosis of cognitive-emotional dysfunction and guide a successful therapeutic intervention. Therefore, the present study aimed to observe these frequency bands in a sample of dysfunctional neurological behaviors to establish a neural marker of neural dysfunction that helps diagnose and monitor treatment. Methods: A descriptive retrospective (extracted from the database) observational study design based on real-world historical data from routine clinical practice. According to DSM-5, low academic achievement (n =70), disruptive behavior (externalizing behavior problems) (n=70), and somatic syndrome disorder (n=70) were the subjects. The mean age of the sample was 14.13 (SD = 1.46; range 12-18), 31.5% women. The measuring instrument was the NeXus-10, which is suitable for acquiring a wide range of physiological signals. Brain electrical activity was recorded by using the quantitative electroencephalograph (qEEG) in accordance with the 10-20 International Electrode Placement System. In particular, the specific form of miniQ (mini-qEEG) was used. Results: A pattern record present in all cases were identified. The record refers to (a) activity along the midline, namely, Fz-Cz-Pz, (b) activity from the center (Cz) to back, namely, Pz-O1 and O2, (c) activity from the center (Cz) forward (Fz), and (d) comparison between hemispheres. The characteristics of theta, alpha, and beta waves define the characteristic pattern of neurological dysfunction. The reversal of the dysfunctional pattern coincided with the remission of the clinical symptoms after treatment, which occurred in 87,6% of the subjects. We define remission as not meeting DSM-5 criteria. Conclusion: This study suggests that miniQ register could be considered a simple and objective tool for studying neurological dysfunction. This dysfunction is explained according to current neurological knowledge of interactive cognition-emotion processing. MiniQ may be a cheap and reliable method and a promising tool for the investigation in the field.
Vulnerability and Structural Capacity Assessment of Historic Glass Facades under Bird-Strike

Bird-strike analysis is of particular relevance for aircraft engineering applications, where major wing or fuselage components may suffer for possible collision during flying stage and result in serious structural damage. To this aim, the Federal Aviation Regulations requires dedicated bird-strike resistance assessment tests and certifications. In building applications, glass is also largely used for vertical and horizontal load-bearing components. In such a kind of structural design context, major attention is given to wind pressure, seismic loads, impact due to crowd and human body (i.e., to prevent falling out), or even explosions, and rather null consideration is posed for bird-strike analysis, due to their expected limited impact forces and effects on glass. This paper investigates such a topic giving evidence of the dynamic response of an existing glass facade built in 60 s as a part of a museum in Italy. The vulnerability analysis is carried out with computationally efficient Finite Element (FE) numerical models of consolidated use for bird-strike, based also on preliminary mechanical characterization from in-field geometrical inspection and Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) experiments. Local and global dynamic effects due to localized bird-strike on the examined glass facade are discussed based on parametric numerical analysis from Coupled Eulerian Lagrangian (CEL) method.
Simultaneous Metabarcoding and Quantification of Neocallimastigomycetes from Environmental Samples: Insights into Community Composition and Novel Lineages

Anaerobic fungi from the herbivore digestive tract (Neocallimastigomycetes) are primary lignocellulose modifiers and hold promise for biotechnological applications. Their molecular detection is currently difficult due to the non-specificity of published primer pairs, which impairs evolutionary and ecological research with environmental samples. We developed and validated a Neocallimastigomycetes-specific PCR primer pair targeting the D2 region of the ribosomal large subunit suitable for screening, quantifying, and sequencing. We evaluated this primer pair in silico on sequences from all known genera, in vitro with pure cultures covering 16 of the 20 known genera, and on environmental samples with highly diverse microbiomes. The amplified region allowed phylogenetic differentiation of all known genera and most species. The amplicon is about 350 bp long, suitable for short-read high-throughput sequencing as well as qPCR assays. Sequencing of herbivore fecal samples verified the specificity of the primer pair and recovered highly diverse and so far unknown anaerobic gut fungal taxa. As the chosen barcoding region can be easily aligned and is taxonomically informative, the sequences can be used for classification and phylogenetic inferences. Several new Neocallimastigomycetes clades were obtained, some of which represent putative novel lineages such as a clade from feces of the rodent Dolichotis patagonum (mara).
Responses to Take-Over Request in Autonomous Vehicles: Effects of Environmental Conditions and Cues

Conditional autonomous vehicles have attracted significant attention, and their wide-spread use is expected to further increase in the near future. However, such vehicles can send take-over requests (TORs) to a driver who may struggle to accommodate the request while immersed in non-driving-related tasks. Previous studies have focused on TOR times and cues; however, the effects of environmental conditions have not been examined rigorously. This study, with the aim of addressing the aforementioned issue, is divided into two parts: in Study 1, we examine driver responses to TORs under different environmental conditions (i.e., sunny, rainy, snowy, foggy, and night-time), and in Study 2, we examine the effects of the proposed TOR cues (augmented reality + smartphone alert) under different environmental conditions. For this investigation, a driving simulator was used for the participants’ safety. Each study involves 33 participants. The results of Study 1 indicate significant differences in the take-over time, lane-change time, time-to-collision, maximum acceleration, and subjective mental workload corresponding to different environmental conditions. Furthermore, the results of Study 2 suggest that the proposed TOR cues significantly reduce the effects of environmental conditions on various take-over performances. We discuss the implication of these results in terms of the improvements in responses to TORs and investigation of the effects of environmental conditions on the responses to TORs.
Exploring the Formation of Polymers with Anti-Amyloid Properties within the 2′3′-Dihydroxyflavone Autoxidation Process

Amyloid-β and α-synuclein aggregation into amyloid fibrils is linked to the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. While there are only a few disease-modifying drugs, it is essential to search for new, more effective ways to encounter these neurodegenerative diseases. Multiple research articles have shown that the autoxidation of flavone is a critical factor for activating the inhibitory potential against the protein aggregation. Despite this, the structure of the newly-formed inhibitors is unknown. In this research, we examined the autoxidation products of 2′,3′-dihydroxyflavone that were previously shown to possess one of the most prominent inhibitory effects against amyloid-β aggregation. Their analysis using HPLC suggested the formation of polymeric molecules that were isolated using a 3 kDa cut-off. These polymeric structures were indicated as the most potent inhibitors based on protein aggregation kinetics and AFM studies. This revelation was confirmed using MALDI-TOF and NMR. We also show that active molecules have a tendency to reduce the Amyloid-β and α-synuclein aggregates toxicity to SH-SY5Y cells.
Fault Diagnosis of Rolling Bearing Based on Knowledge Graph With Data Accumulation Strategy

The fault diagnosis of rolling bearing plays an important role in ensuring the safe and stable operation and maintenance of rotating machinery. Traditional bearing fault diagnosis methods fail to consider the correlation between faults and characteristics and do not take full advantage of the ever-increasing monitoring data. Thus, a bearing fault diagnosis framework based on knowledge graph (KG) and data accumulation strategy is proposed. First, the entities of the KG are defined based on multiple features extracted from the time domain, frequency domain, and time–frequency domain of bearing vibration data collected by the vibration sensors. Then, the feature-fault correlation as the edges is designed and calculated to establish a KG framework together with the entities. In addition, a weighted random forest algorithm is proposed as a reasoning algorithm for the KG, making full use of the feature-fault correlation to improve the accuracy of bearing fault classification. Finally, a data accumulation strategy is designed to continuously increase the size of the training dataset of KG. Relevant parameters are updated in the process to make the results produced by the inference algorithm more accurate. The advantage of the proposed method was demonstrated by a comparison with several models for the same circumstance. The test results showed that the proposed method was promising and it had good prediction accuracy and robustness for different working conditions.
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy of Biological Structures: An Elusive Goal for Many Years

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is a technique that can be used to directly observe individual biomolecules at near-molecular scale. Within this framework, STM is of crucial significance because of its role in the structural analysis, the understanding the imaging formation, and the development of relative techniques. Four decades after its invention, it is pertinent to ask how much of the early dream has come true. In this study, we aim to overview different analyses for DNA, lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. The relevance of STM imaging is exhibited as an opportunity to assist measurements and biomolecular identification in nanobiotechnology, nanomedicine, biosensing, and other cutting-edge applications. We believe STM research is still an entire science research ecosystem for joining several areas of expertise towards a goal settlement that has been elusive for many years.