Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characteristics of the marine boundary layers during two Lagrangian measurement periods. 2. Turbulence structure

Characteristics of turbulence mixing in remote marine boundary layers are analyzed using aircraft measurements from six flights during the two intensive Lagrangian measurement periods of ACE1 (the southern hemisphere Aerosol Characterization Experiment). The six cases studied here represent a variety of boundary layer conditions in the region south of Tasmania, Australia. Our study indicated that (1) Lagrangian A (LA) had stronger turbulence mixing and entrainment compared to Lagrangian B (LB) due to greater shear generation of turbulence kinetic energy (TKE), (2) strong mesoscale variation in boundary layer turbulence and thus turbulence mixing existed in the ACE1 region during LB due to variations in sea surface temperature (SST), (3) stable thermal stratification in the boundary layer was found during the last flight of each Lagrangian, consequently, TKE decreased rapidly with height resulting in small or near-zero entrainment rate in spite of strong shear forcing at the surface and in the boundary layer; and (4) the buffer layer, which lies above the boundary layer and below the main inversion, had weak and intermittent turbulence mostly associated with cloud bands and cumulus. Evidence of entrainment was found in the buffer layer. However, it is difficult to quantify by flux measurements due to the weak and intermittent nature of the turbulence field.
Drying system via solar energy and heat accumulator for almond's cocoa

The traditional method of drying cocoa almonds occurs through barges: wooden or masonry structures where almonds are placed and drying takes place by direct solar incidence. During the night period or in instances of low solar incidence, burning fuels are employed to produce heat for the drying process. Nevertheless, this burning generates residues that contaminate the almonds, reducing their commercial value and their acceptance in the market. The objective of this work was to develop a system that captures solar energy through a series of semi-cylindrical mirrors and transfers the heat to an accumulator tank containing solid NaCl. The accumulated thermal energy is used to heat airflow during the night period, which will conduct a uniform drying and clean of the cocoa almonds. The simulations of the system were performed using COMSOL Multiphysics ® software and showed that for the average solar incidence of Ilhéus-BA. Six semi-cylindrical mirrors of 0.30 m in diameter and 1.00 m in length are required, sequentially arranged, to heat and maintain the temperature around 50°C during the daytime, demonstrating that this system can adequately provide the necessary thermal energy for almond drying within the ideal temperature range.
Net surface solar irradiance variability in the central equatorial pacific during 1982-1985

Abstract This paper examines the evolution of the net surface solar irradiance from March 1982 to October 1985 in an important region of the equatorial Pacific where the TROPIC HEAT Experiment took place (4.6°N to 7.4°S, 142.6° to 117.17°W). The investigation, which focuses on the dramatic modification of radiative processes as a consequence of the 1982-83 El Nino episode, analyzes annual and monthly net surface solar irradiance fields computed from geostationary satellite observations. An annual mean for the year October 1984-September 1985, the year most distant from the El Nino event during the study, is computed and compared with existing climatologies. It is found that, while our values compare well with those of Weare et al., they are significantly higher than those of Esbensen and Kushnir and those of Chou. In the case of Esbensen and Kushnir, a climatology often used to force numerical ocean circulation models, the discrepancy reaches 40 W m−2. Among the three annual fields computed, the two non-E.
Bat-wing elimination algorithm based on the CNN in white-light interferometry

White Light Scanning Interferometry (WLSI) is a mature and key method of non-contact three-dimensional (3D) morphometry. However, bat-wing is an inherent problem with WLSI, introducing systematic errors to the measurement results. In this paper, we proposed a filtering algorithm based on the convolutional neural networks (CNN) to solve the problem. A 450 nm standard step is tested to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm. The results show that the method can effectively suppress the batwing effect.
Self-repairing elastomer based on imidazole π–π stacking interaction

Most self-healing materials have complex chemical structures and require cumbersome preparation processes, which seriously limit their large-scale application in the fields of electronic skins, wearable devices, biomedical applications and soft robotics. In this study, self-healing elastomers based on π–π stacking between imidazole groups were prepared by simpler and faster photo-polymerization with butyl acrylate (BA) and 1-vinyl imidazole (VIM), coded as BVn. Due to the imidazole groups in the side chains, the prepared elastomers had excellent self-repairing properties. After healing at 60 °C for 24 h, the strength and elongation at break of the repaired sample recovered to 97.2% and 95.4% of the original values, respectively. Importantly, the BVn based elastomers relied on π–π stacking interactions between imidazole groups rather than covalent crosslinks and could be recycled. These new self-repairing composite elastomers with high thermal stabilities, high elongations at break, good recoverabilites and high self-repairing efficiencies have great application potentials.
A unique cell population expressing the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition-transcription factor Snail moderates microglial and astrocyte injury responses

Abstract Insults to the central nervous system (CNS) elicit common glial responses including microglial activation evidenced by functional, morphological, and phenotypic changes, as well as astrocyte reactions including hypertrophy, altered process orientation, and changes in gene expression and function. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms that initiate and modulate such glial response are less well-defined. Here we show that an adult cortical lesion generates a population of ultrastructurally unique microglial-like cells that express Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transcription factors including Snail. Knockdown of Snail with antisense oligonucleotides results in a postinjury increase in activated microglial cells, elevation in astrocyte reactivity with increased expression of C3 and phagocytosis, disruption of astrocyte junctions and neurovascular structure, increases in neuronal cell death, and reduction in cortical synapses. These changes were associated with alterations in pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. By contrast, overexpression of Snail through microglia-targeted an adeno-associated virus (AAV) improved many of the injury characteristics. Together, our results suggest that the coordination of glial responses to CNS injury is partly mediated by epithelial-mesenchymal transition-factors (EMT-Fsl).
Exploring college students’ continuance learning intention in data analysis technology courses: the moderating role of self-efficacy

Introduction In today’s digital economy, data resources have gained strategic recognition. Enterprises view data analytic capabilities as a core organizational competitiveness. This study explored factors influencing college students’ continuance learning intention in data analysis technology courses to inform the role of self-efficacy on the relationship between interactivity and continuance learning intention. Methods The research model underpinning the study was based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response model and flow theory. The model was validated using SmartPLS. A total of 314 valid questionnaires were collected via the standard online survey approach. Results Among internal factors, study results showed both cognitive interest and self-efficacy had significant positive effects on continuance learning intention. Also, cognitive interest had a significant positive effect on self-efficacy. Among external stimuli, content quality, software quality, and interactivity had significant positive effects on self-efficacy. Software quality did not have a significant effect on cognitive interest. Importantly, self-efficacy registered a significant moderating role on the relationship between interactivity and continuance learning intention.
A Compact RF Energy Harvesting System With an Improved Impedance Matching Network

This letter presents a compact RF energy harvesting (RFEH) system with an improved impedance matching network. The antenna includes a matching network consisting of periodic stubs, making it possible not only to adjust <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$S_{11}$</tex-math></inline-formula> when it changed due to fabrication errors but also to design the antenna to be more compact. We initially analyzed the effects of the fabrication errors and variations of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$S_{11}$</tex-math></inline-formula> with respect to an adjustment of the matching network using an EM simulation. The antenna dimensions overall are 14.5 × 18.5 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{mm}^{\text{2}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>, and it is integrated with an RFEH circuit consisting of a rectifier and power management unit, which compose the RFEH system. The proposed system was implemented, charging a load capacitor at the received power of −15 and −5 dBm; therefore, the proposed system with the impedance matching network contributes to compactness and can be utilized as the power source for compact Internet of Things sensors.
The application and revision of a new relationship to calculate effective porosity from specific capacity on a well database in the Pacific Northwest

: Previous unpublished research led to the establishment of a relationship between effective porosity and specific capacity, based on well construction data in a series of laboratory experiments. In this paper the relationship was tested on a regional aquifer system using data from 609 wells which met certain criteria. The relationship was applied to each well, with results showing that the relationship needed revision. The relationship was thus reevaluated and revised to produce results that reflected the conditions in the aquifer system which consisted of 9 layers of aquifers and aquitards of various lithologic descriptions, ranging from unconsolidated sediments to volcanic rocks. Average values of effective porosity could be calculated and the distribution of effective porosity was determined for each unit and compared with the original estimates. The result was a new relationship to determine effective porosity directly from specific capacity, which can be applied without detailed information on well construction or lithology. The new relationship is useful for distributing effective porosity within 2 or 3 dimensional groundwater and particle tracking models on a cell-by-cell basis. More importantly, the new relationship can be used to determine effective porosity for contaminant transport models.
How important is intraseasonal surface wind variability to real‐time ENSO prediction?

Variations with initial time in the prediction of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are analyzed based on the NCEP operational forecasts. It is found that the forecasted ENSO can be greatly affected by intraseasonal surface wind variability in the western Pacific (WPac), especially that associated with the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO). In the model forecasts, Kelvin waves forced by intraseasonal winds in the WPac propagate eastward and reach the eastern Pacific in about 60 days, where the induced surface temperature (SST) anomalies dissipate and expand westward. Differences in the forecasted Nino3.4 SSTs can be 0.5 K or larger depending on the phase and amplitude of the MJO. Variations in WPac surface winds are also found to have impacts on the spread of the forecasted Nino3.4 SSTs. Relevance of these results to the ensemble strategies currently used in the operational climate prediction centers is discussed.
Remote sensing and modeling the dynamics of soil moisture and vegetative cover of arid and semiarid areas

With the large volume of satellite remote sensing data of the earth terrestrial surface becoming available, precisely monitoring the dynamics of the land surface state variables for agricultural and land use management becomes possible. Currently, the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometers on board NASA’s Earth Observing Satellites (EOS) Terra and Aqua make it possible to derive a global coverage of land surface vegetation indices, leaf area index, and surface temperature data products at 1 km spatial resolution every day. The advanced microwave scanning radiometers (AMSR) on board Aqua and Japan's ADEOS satellites start sending back a global coverage of rainfall and land surface soil moisture data products at up to 25km spatial resolution every two to three days. It is also well known that these land surface remote sensing products contain uncertainties due to imperfect instrumentation calibration and inversion algorithms, geophysical noise, representativeness error, communication breakdowns, and other sources while land surface model can continuously simulate these land surface state or storage variables for all time steps and all covered areas. Therefore a combination of satellite remote sensing products and land surface model simulations may provide more continuous, precise and comprehensive depiction of the dynamics of the land surface states. This paper introduces the state-of-the-arts technologies in the development of NASA's Land Data Assimilation System, and then proposes a procedure to combine the simulations of a simple land surface model and the remote sensing products from MODIS and AMSR. After the results of testing the procedure for an arid area in Southwest USA are presented, the application of the procedure for the oases in Fukang Count of Xinjiang Autonomous Region is proposed.
The slaking of soil crumbs as influenced by clay mineral composition

The water adsorption and swelling of dry orientated flakes of a Ca-illite and a Ca-kaolinite have been measured at high relative vapour pressures and finally immersed in solution. Portions of the flakes equilibrated in the vapour phase were immersed in solution, either in air or under vacuum, and the degree of slaking observed. Whereas the pore space of illite was filled at p/po = 0.92 and slaking was inhibited, that of kaolinite was incompletely filled at p/po = 0.985 and the clay still slaked severely. Slaking of both clays only occurred if air was present initially in the flakes. The swelling of dry Ca-montmorillonite flakes in water was increased if the flakes were immersed in air rather than under vacuum. It is suggested that the pressures developed by entrapped air, and hence the amount of slaking due to this cause, depend not only on the initial size of the air-filled pores but also on how much the clay swells. Further, the thickness of the clay particles controls not only the pore size distribution but also how far the shear stresses due to swelling can be reduced by bending of the particles. Some of the observed properties of kaolinite flakes are explained in terms of a simple model. Two examples are given of kaolinitic soils which appear to slake and collapse to an appreciable depth on rapid wetting.
Protective Effect of Mycosporine-like Amino Acids Isolated from an Antarctic Diatom on UVB-Induced Skin Damage

Although it is well recognized that mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) are ultraviolet (UV) protective agents that can reduce UV damage, the specific biological mechanism of its role in the skin remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of MAAs extracted from Antarctic diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum ICE-H on UVB-induced skin damage using a mice model. The MAAs components identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry included 4-deoxygadusol, shinorine, and porphyra-334, which were purified using a Supledean Carboxen1000 solid phase extraction column. The antioxidant activities of these MAA compounds were tested in vitro. For UVB-induced skin photodamage in mice, MAAs alleviated skin swelling and epidermal thickening in this study. We detected the content of reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde, and collagen in skin tissue. In addition, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to detect nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-1β, cyclooxygenase-2, mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) family (extracellular signal-regulated kinase, c-Jun amino-terminal kinase, and p38 kinase), and matrix metalloproteinases. The expression of these cytokines and enzymes is related to inflammatory responses and collagen degradation. In comparison to the model group without MAA treatment, the MAA component decreased the concentration of ROS, the degree of oxidative stress in the skin tissue, and the expression of genes involved in the NF-κB and MAPK pathways. In summary, these MAA components extracted from Phaeodactylum tricornutum ICE-H protected against UVB-induced skin damage by inhibiting ROS generation, relieving skin inflammation, and slowing down collagen degradation, suggesting that these MAA components are effective cosmetic candidate molecules for the protection and therapy of UVB damage.
Origin of rutile needles in star garnet and implications for interpretation of inclusion textures in ultrahigh‐pressure metamorphic rocks

The asterism effect of star garnet has been attributed to the oriented distribution of needle‐like rutile inclusions. Rutile needles occur in garnet from a wide range of metamorphic settings and rock bulk compositions, and their origin has been ascribed to different mechanisms, such as exsolution, and used to interpret petrological and tectonic processes. Results from an optical and transmission electron microscopy of Idaho star garnet indicate a co‐precipitation origin. It was found that rutile needles are predominantly oriented along the <103>rt//<111>grt and <001>rt//<001>grt directions following multiple crystallographic orientation relationships (CORs); i.e. COR‐1, 2, 2′, 3, 4 and 5 in 6‐ray star garnet, and are oriented solely along the <103>rt//<111>grt directions following exclusively COR‐2 in 4‐ray star garnet. The sole presence of COR‐2 <111>grt needles in the common 4‐ray star garnet, in contrast to the presence of both <111>grt and <001>grt needles with multiple CORs in the rare 6‐ray star garnet, suggests that the COR‐2 <111>grt needle probably is the energetically most favoured variant, as is also supported by the coincidence site lattice considerations. The unique crystallography‐controlled microstructures of 4‐ray star garnet, including the cloudy domains behind the {111}grt or {100}grt fronts with abundant inclusions of rutile needle, rutile compound needle and multiple‐phase‐inclusion, as well as the clear domains behind the {110}grt fronts with only a few above inclusions concentrated exclusively within the linear, <110>grt‐oriented, continuous tube‐like domains, further suggest that the COR‐2 <111>grt needles in 4‐ray star garnet most likely have a growth‐in origin, co‐precipitating with garnet at its growth fronts close to thermodynamic equilibrium conditions. The 6‐ray star garnet, on the other hand, most likely formed under far‐from equilibrium conditions, thereby yielding a maximum of 99 crystallographic variants of rutile needles with multiple CORs in a single crystal. In the light of these findings, along with the common occurrences of the sole COR in many inclusion‐host systems owing to the requirement to minimize the energy barrier in an exsolution process, the presence of both <103>rt//<111>grt and <001>rt//<001>grt needles with multiple CORs in garnet of Sulu eclogite and Erzegebirge quartzofeldspathic rock would therefore cast doubt on the assertion of an exsolution origin of rutile needles in garnet from these ultrahigh‐pressure rocks.
Hyperstereo algorithms for the perception of terrain drop-offs

The timely detection of terrain drop-offs is critical for safe and efficient off-road mobility, whether with human drivers or with terrain navigation systems that use autonomous machine-vision. In this paper, we propose a joint tracking and detection machine-vision approach for accurate and efficient terrain drop-off detection and localization. We formulate the problem using a hyperstereo camera system and build an elevation map using the range map obtained from a stereo algorithm. A terrain drop-off is then detected with the use of optimal drop-off detection filters applied to the range map. For more robust results, a method based on multi-frame fusion of terrain drop-off evidence is proposed. Also presented is a fast, direct method that does not employ stereo disparity mapping. We compared our algorithm's detection of terrain drop-offs with time-code data from human observers viewing the same video clips in stereoscopic 3D. The algorithm detected terrain drop-offs an average of 9 seconds sooner, or 12m farther, than the human observers. This suggests that passive image-based hyperstereo machine-vision may be useful as an early warning system for off-road mobility.
Needle ice observations from the high Drakensberg, Lesotho

Near‐surface ground thermal conditions are a delayed response to changing air temperature and may result in needle ice development when air temperatures are above 0 °C and ground temperatures below 0 °C. It is difficult, therefore, to predict needle ice development based only on climatological data. Observations indicate that temporally restricted growth phases produce shorter needle ice lengths than longer growth phases. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fast Trajectory Tracking Control Algorithm for Autonomous Vehicles Based on the Alternating Direction Multiplier Method (ADMM) to the Receding Optimization of Model Predictive Control (MPC)

In order to improve the real-time performance of the trajectory tracking of autonomous vehicles, this paper applies the alternating direction multiplier method (ADMM) to the receding optimization of model predictive control (MPC), which improves the computational speed of the algorithm. Based on the vehicle dynamics model, the output equation of the autonomous vehicle trajectory tracking control system is constructed, and the auxiliary variable and the dual variable are introduced. The quadratic programming problem transformed from the MPC and the vehicle dynamics constraints are rewritten into the solution of the ADMM form, and a decreasing penalty factor is used during the solution process. The simulation verification is carried out through the joint simulation platform of Simulink and Carsim. The results show that, compared with the active set method (ASM) and the interior point method (IPM), the algorithm proposed in this paper can not only improve the accuracy of trajectory tracking, but also exhibits good real-time performance in different prediction time domains and control time domains. When the prediction time domain increases, the calculation time shows no significant difference. This verifies the effectiveness of the ADMM in improving the real-time performance of MPC.