Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Employing phase modulation and second harmonic nulling to eliminate the interference fringes from the spectrum of a portable coherent frequency-domain THz spectrometer

Interpreting the spectrum from a continuous wave frequency domain terahertz spectrometer that employs coherent detection can be challenging due to the presence of an interference pattern. We report on the continued progress of a portable, battery-operated frequency domain terahertz spectrometer with an integrated, fiber-coupled, lithium-niobate optical phase-modulator and how we achieve interference fringe elimination using phase modulation and second harmonic nulling. The implications for both transmission and reflection measurements are discussed and data on the explosive compound RDX will be presented.
Review on new spending of United States Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill

The US Infrastructure Investment and Job Act (IIJA), also commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, passed in 2021, has drawn international attention. It aims to help to rebuild US infrastructure, including transportation networks, broadband, water, power and energy, environmental protection and public works projects. An estimated $1.2 trillion in total funding over ten years will be allocated. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill is the largest funding bill for US infrastructure in the recent history of the United States. This review article will specifically discuss funding allocations for roads and bridges, power and grids, broadband, water infrastructure, airports, environmental protection, ports, Western water infrastructure, electric vehicle charging stations and electric school buses in the new spending of the Infrastructure Investment and Job Act and why these investments are urgently necessary. This article will also briefly discuss the views of think tank experts, the public policy perspectives, the impact on domestic and global arenas of the new spending in the IIJA, and the public policy implications.
Experimental study of dispersion and miscible viscous fingering of initially circular samples in Hele-Shaw cells

Experimental studies are conducted to analyze dispersion and miscible viscous fingering of initially circular samples of a given solution displaced linearly at constant speed U by another solution in horizontal Hele-Shaw cells (two glass plates separated by a thin gap). In the stable case of a dyed water sample having the same viscosity as that of displacing nondyed water, we analyze the transition between dispersive and advective transport of the passive scalar displaced linearly. At low displacement speed and after a certain time, the length of the sample increases as a square root of time allowing to compute the value of a dispersion coefficient. At larger injection speed, the displacement remains advective for the duration of the experiment, with a length of the sample increasing linearly in time. A parametric study allows to gain insight into the switch from one regime to another as a function of the gap width of the cell. In the unstable case of viscous glycerol samples displaced by dyed water, the .
UAVM: Towards Unifying Audio and Visual Models

Conventional audio-visual models have independent audio and video branches. In this work, we <italic>unify</italic> the audio and visual branches by designing a <underline>U</underline>nified <underline>A</underline>udio-<underline>V</underline>isual <underline>M</underline>odel (UAVM). The UAVM achieves a new state-of-the-art audio-visual event classification accuracy of 65.8% on VGGSound. More interestingly, we also find a few intriguing properties of UAVM that the modality-independent counterparts do not have. Code at <uri>github.com/yuangongnd/uavm</uri>.
An Intestinal Symbiotic Bacterial Strain of Oscheius chongmingensis Modulates Host Viability at Both Global and Post-Transcriptional Levels

A rhabditid entomopathogenic nematode (EPN), Oscheius chongmingensis, has a stable symbiotic relationship with the bacterial strain Serratia nematodiphila S1 harbored in its intestines and drastically reduced viability when associated with a non-native strain (186) of the same bacterial species. This nematode is thus a good model for understanding the molecular mechanisms and interactions involved between a nematode host and a member of its intestinal microbiome. Transcriptome analysis and RNA-seq data indicated that expression levels of the majority (8797, 87.59%) of mRNAs in the non-native combination of O. chongmingensis and S. nematodiphila 186 were downregulated compared with the native combination, including strain S1. Accordingly, 88.84% of the total uniq-sRNAs mapped in the O. chongmingensis transcriptome were specific between the two combinations. Six DEGs, including two transcription factors (oc-daf-16 and oc-goa-1) and four kinases (oc-pdk-1, oc-akt-1, oc-rtk, and oc-fak), as well as an up-regulated micro-RNA, oc-miR-71, were found to demonstrate the regulatory mechanisms underlying diminished host viability induced by a non-native bacterial strain. Oc-rtk and oc-fak play key roles in the viability regulation of O. chongmingensis by positively mediating the expression of oc-daf-16 to indirectly impact its longevity and stress tolerances and by negatively regulating the expression of oc-goa-1 to affect the olfactory chemotaxis and fecundity. In response to the stress of invasion by the non-native strain, the expression of oc-miR-71 in the non-native combination was upregulated to downregulate the expression of its targeting oc-pdk-1, which might improve the localization and activation of the transcription factor DAF-16 in the nucleus to induce longevity extension and stress resistance enhancement to some extent. Our findings provide novel insight into comprehension of how nematodes deal with the stress of encountering novel potential bacterial symbionts at the physiological and molecular genetic levels and contribute to improved understanding of host–symbiont relationships generally.
Serum Proteins Associated with Blood–Brain Barrier as Potential Biomarkers for Seizure Prediction

As 30% of epileptic patients remain drug-resistant, seizure prediction is vital. Induction of epileptic seizure is a complex process that can depend on factors such as intrinsic neuronal excitability, changes in extracellular ion concentration, glial cell activity, presence of inflammation and activation of the blood–brain barrier (BBB). In this study, we aimed to assess if levels of serum proteins associated with BBB can predict seizures. Serum levels of MMP-9, MMP-2, TIMP-1, TIMP-2, S100B, CCL-2, ICAM-1, P-selectin, and TSP-2 were examined in a group of 49 patients with epilepsy who were seizure-free for a minimum of seven days and measured by ELISA. The examination was repeated after 12 months. An extensive medical history was taken, and patients were subjected to a follow-up, including a detailed history of seizures. Serum levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, CCL-2, and P-selectin differed between the two time points (p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p = 0.0035, respectively). General linear model analyses determined the predictors of seizures. Levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, and CCL-2 were found to influence seizure count in 1, 3, 6, and 12 months of observation. Serum levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, and CCL-2 may be considered potential biomarkers for seizure prediction and may indicate BBB activation.
IMCSA: Providing Better Sequence Alignment Space for Industrial Control Protocol Reverse Engineering

Nowadays, with the wide application of industrial control facilities, industrial control protocol reverse engineering has significant security implications. The reverse method of industrial protocol based on sequence alignment is the current mainstream method because of its high accuracy. However, this method will incur a huge time overhead due to unnecessary alignments during the sequence alignment process. In this paper, we optimize the traditional sequence alignment method by combining the characteristics of industrial control protocols. We improve the frequent sequence mining algorithm, Apriori, to propose a more efficient Bag-of-Words generation algorithm for finding keywords. Then, we precluster the messages based on the generated Bag-of-Words to improve the similarity of the message within a cluster. Finally, we propose an industrial control protocol message preclustering model for sequence alignment, namely, IMCSA. We evaluate it over five industrial control protocols, and the results show that IMCSA can generate clusters with higher message similarity, which will greatly reduce the invalid alignments existing in the sequence alignment stage and ultimately improve the overall efficiency.
Identification of the Inner Cell Mass and the Trophectoderm Responses after an In Vitro Exposure to Glucose and Insulin during the Preimplantation Period in the Rabbit Embryo

The prevalence of metabolic diseases is increasing, leading to more women entering pregnancy with alterations in the glucose-insulin axis. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of a hyperglycemic and/or hyperinsulinemic environment on the development of the preimplantation embryo. In rabbit embryos developed in vitro in the presence of high insulin (HI), high glucose (HG), or both (HGI), we determined the transcriptomes of the inner cell mass (ICM) and the trophectoderm (TE). HI induced 10 differentially expressed genes (DEG) in ICM and 1 in TE. HG ICM exhibited 41 DEGs involved in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and cell number regulation. In HG ICM, proliferation was decreased (p < 0.01) and apoptosis increased (p < 0.001). HG TE displayed 132 DEG linked to mTOR signaling and regulation of cell number. In HG TE, proliferation was increased (p < 0.001) and apoptosis decreased (p < 0.001). HGI ICM presented 39 DEG involved in OXPHOS and no differences in proliferation and apoptosis. HGI TE showed 16 DEG linked to OXPHOS and cell number regulation and exhibited increased proliferation (p < 0.001). Exposure to HG and HGI during preimplantation development results in common and specific ICM and TE responses that could compromise the development of the future individual and placenta.
STAY GREEN GENES FRAGMENT HOMOLOGY ANALYSIS OF INDONESIAN SORGHUM

Stay-green (SGR) is an essential trait in sorghum associated with grain yield under drought and high-temperature stress conditions. The study sought to analyze the homology of the stay-green gene fragment in Indonesian sorghum cultivars, comparing it with the SGR gene sequences in the GenBank database. Two primer pairs, designated as SGR_1 and SGR_2, got designed from the SGR gene of Sorghum bicolor and used to amplify seven sorghum genotypes. The DNA fragments of 300 bp and 1000 bp produced by SGR_1 and SGR_2, respectively, underwent sequencing. Amino acid analysis of the seven sorghum genotypes resulted in high homology with senescence-inducible chloroplast SGR-protein 1 from Zea mays and SGR-chloroplastic of Setaria italica. An observation on a conservative region with the SGR domain noticed SGR genes, derived from sorghum genotypes, clustered separately with those from other SGR genes available in the GenBank database. The first group consisted of a sorghum genotype (Samurai 2), the second group consisted of Super 2, Numbu, and Kawali, while the third group consisted of PI-150-20-A, Pahat, and B69 with coefficient similarity of 10%, 14%, and 30%, respectively. Although Indonesian sorghum has a different group in GenBank, it has similar nucleotide and amino acid sequences, with identity values of 95%-100% and 51%-100%, respectively. The amino acid diversity of the DNA fragments of the SGR gene is highly potential to develop molecular markers, especially the stay green character. The finding will support a sorghum breeding efficiently and precisely, especially for yield improvement under drought-stress conditions.
Design and characterization of avalanche photodiodes in submicron CMOS technologies

The fabrication of Avalanche Photodiodes (APDs) in CMOS processes can be exploited in several application domains, including telecommunications, time-resolved optical detection and scintillation detection. CMOS integration allows the realization of systems with a high degree of parallelization which are competitive with hybrid solutions in terms of cost and complexity. In this work, we present a linear-mode APD fabricated in a 0. 15μm process, and report its gain and noise characterization. The experimental observations can be accurately predicted using Hayat dead-space noise model. Device simulations based on dead-space model are then used to discuss the current status and the perspectives for the integration of high-performance low-noise devices in standard CMOS processes.
Enhancement of butt-coupling pump efficiency in a new Nd-doped large core double clad fiber laser cavity adiabatically tapered at both ends

Summary form only given. A new clad pumped fiber laser cavity structure has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Double adiabatic tapers included in the cavity provided inherent highly mode-selective attenuation to the lasing photons guided through the core with an improved butt-coupling efficiency for the pump light. Filtering of high order modes at the lasing wavelength was confirmed by measurement of the far-field pattern of the laser output. Output power 820 mW was achieved for the coupled pump power of 5.8 W which could be further improved by reduction of helical waves in pump light.
A State‐Space Based New Approach To The Directional Interpolation Problem

Directional interpolation plays an important role in robust control, system realization and model reduction. Several solutions to various directional interpolation problems have been proposed. In this paper, we consider the directional interpolation problem in a general setting and present a statespace based new approach to solving the problem. The solution is simple, and its exposition is as self‐contained as possible. We describe all the (strictly) bounded real rational matrix functions that satisfy the directional interpolation requirements by means of linear fractional transformation. Moreover, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for the interpolating function to be unique and show that the unique interpolating function is an inner (a co‐inner). The main procedures used to generate the interpolating function consist of standard matrix operations consisting of easy numerical computations, so the present solution is significant from the numerical viewpoint as well as the analytical viewpoint.
Assigning membership degrees to points of fuzzy boundaries

There has been a growing interest in the field of geographic information systems (GIS) to model vague and uncertain regions for which information about a given property is available (e.g. soil structure). Vague and uncertain mean in general that some knowledge is available about the position and the circumference of such a region, but that the information is mostly imprecise or lacks certainty. Either this lack of precise data is inherent to the property (e.g. the degree of soil pollution), or it is due to physical limitations in making accurate measurements (e.g. temperature). There has been some research in modeling such regions using fuzzy regions. Fuzzy regions are modeled by means of broad boundaries. A broad boundary is defined as the area enclosed between two non-intersecting crisp edges including these edges, one completely located within the other. Inside and on the inner edge lay the points for which the definition of the property is completely met; outside and on the outer edge lay the points for which the definition of the property is not at all met. Points of the broad boundary meet the definition of the property up to a certain extent. Up to now, mainly the applicability of the traditional set operators on fuzzy regions (intersection, inclusion and union) has been addressed in the literature. Furthermore, almost no contributions treat the degree to which the points in the fuzzy region come up to the given definition of a property. We present two methods to solve the latter problem, both from a theoretical as well as from a practical point of view.
Cesàro Summability of Two-Parameter Walsh-Fourier Series

A new atomic decomposition of the two-parameter dyadic martingale Hardy spacesHpdefined by the quadratic variation is given. We introduceHp-quasi-local operators and prove that if a sublinear operatorVisHp-quasi-local and bounded fromL2toL2then it is also bounded fromHptoLp(0
Research Productivity among Filipino Neurologists Associated with Socioeconomic, Healthcare, and Disease Burden Factors: A Bibliometric Analysis

Philippine research productivity in neurology has not been fully characterized. We investigated the research output of adult and child neurologists in the Philippines and correlated this to the Philippine socioeconomic and healthcare indices among different regions. We used electronic databases to retrieve studies published by Filipino neurologists using the 2022 Philippine Neurological Association website as reference. We included all studies published until December 2021. Official government region-specific socioeconomic indices were used. Correlational analysis was completed on bibliometric indices and collected data. We retrieved 746 articles from 274 of 526 Filipino neurologists which were published in 245 publications over 45 years with 12,409 citations. The National Capital Region (NCR) had the most publications (n = 662, 88.7%) and citations (n = 10,377, 83.6%). Research productivity was positively correlated with population, gross domestic product (GDP), health expenditure, number of healthcare establishments, neurologists, and research personnel. The Philippine research landscape is dominated by articles of neurologists belonging to institutions in the NCR, which has the greatest number of neurologists, training institutions, and highest GDP. There is a need to address the disparity seen in other regions to bridge gaps in healthcare, health human resources, and health information through research.
Analysis of Combustion Characteristics of Coaxial Jet Diffusion Flame with Steam Addition

A numerical simulation of a coaxial jet diffusion e ame with steam addition was performed by using an overall one-step chemical reaction. The effect of steam addition on the combustion characteristics, especially the effects of steam addition method on the decrease in the e ame temperature, was examined. The results assist in better understanding theeffectsofsteam additiononNO x reductionincoaxialjetdiffusione ame.Thee amestructureand the effects of the steam addition are found to be similar to the results of the countere ow diffusion e ame, simulated by meansof a detailed elementary chemical kinetics. The applicability of thelaminare ameletmodel forprediction of the local and occasional e ame structure in the turbulent jet e ame with steam addition has been considered.
Type-D solutions describing the collision of plane-fronted gravitational waves

Some exact solutions of the Einstein vacuum equations describing the collision of plane-fronted gravitational shock waves accompanied by impulsive waves which produces a type-D geometry in the region of interaction are presented. The collision results in the development of a null surface acting like an event horizon, and the metric has been analytically extended beyond it by using Kruskal coordinates properly adapted to the problem. The extension shows that all null rays emerging from the interaction region escape to infinity: no focusing is present on the horizon. The connection between focusing and creation of singularities has also been investigated by analysing the behaviour of a particular congruence of null geodesics.
Application of an adaptive stable GFEM for fracture propagation in plain concrete

Generalized ﬁnite element method (GFEM) has proven itself as a tool of choice over the conventional FEM in fracture analysis due to enhanced computational eﬃciency as well as allowing cracks to propagate independently of the domain mesh – Thanks to the use of enrichments chosen based on the a priori knowledge of the solution behavior. With the many versions of the method’s formulations in the literature, their stability issues, compared to the standard FEM, are often unresolved. This paper presents the use of an adaptive stable GFEM to plain concrete fracture propagation. Having veriﬁed the formulation’s accuracy and stability based on the Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics in previous studies and its two-scale (global-local) version on concrete fracture, the present work seeks to verify its capabilities in capturing the size eﬀect behavior in concrete. A set of fracture simulations in geometrically similar experimental concrete beams, under a 3-point bending regime, is presented based on a bilinear cohesive model. In addition to the GFEM’s agreement with the experimental load-displacement response and the eﬀect of the initial notch-to-depth ratio, the simulation successfully captures the size eﬀect behavior when presented on the popular Type II Size Eﬀect plot – the so-called Baˇzant’s law.
Calculated Size Distributions for Gas Bubble Migration and Coalescence in Solids

Bubble coalescence in solids is assumed to result when collisions occur between bubbles as they migrate by surface diffusion through the solid. The migration of an isolated pore is examined in detail and the results are applied in a finite‐difference approach, programmed for a digital computer, to predict the variation of the number of bubbles per unit volume as a function both of bubble size and of post‐irradiation annealing time. Two idealized models of bubble coalescence have been treated. The first model considers coalescence resulting from random migration of the bubbles, and the second considers coalescence resulting from unidirectional, biased migration, such as would result in the presence of a thermal gradient. Both models are based on surface diffusion migration of randomly distributed bubbles in a perfect, infinite solid. The results give the predicted variation with time of the entire distribution of bubble sizes, so that various parameters, including the mean bubble radius and volume change, .
An Offline Image Auditing System for Legacy Meter Reading Systems in Developing Countries: A Machine Learning Approach

The developing countries are challenged with overbilling and underbilling, due to manual meter reading, which results in consumer dissatisfaction and loss of revenue. The existing automated meter reading (AMR) solutions are expensive; hence, sample-based manual snap auditing systems are introduced to control such meter reading inaccuracies. In these systems, the meter reader, besides reading, also collects meter images, which are used to manually audit the meter’s accuracy. Although such systems are inexpensive, they are limited in their ability to be sustainable and ensure 100% accurate meter readings. In this paper, a novel offline optical character recognition (OCR) system-based Snap Audit system is proposed and tested for its efficient and real-time 100% accurate meter reading capabilities. The experimental results on 5,000 real-world instances show that the proposed approach processes an image in 0.05 seconds with 94% accuracy. Moreover, the developed approach is evaluated with four state-of-the-art algorithms: region convolution neural network (RCNN), nanonets, Fast-OCR, and PyTesseract. The results provide evidence that our new system design along with novel approach is more robust and efficient as compared to existing algorithms by 43.6%.