Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Broadband and Incident-Angle-Modulation Near-Infrared Polarizers Based on Optically Anisotropic SnSe

Optical anisotropy offers an extra degree of freedom to dynamically and reversibly regulate polarizing optical components, such as polarizers, without extra energy consumption and with high modulating efficiency. In this paper, we theoretically and numerically design broadband and incident-angle-modulation near-infrared polarizers, based on the SnSe, whose optical anisotropy is quantitatively evaluated by the complete dielectric tensor, complex refractive index tensor, and derived birefringence (~|Δn|max = 0.4) and dichroism (~|Δk|max = 0.4). The bandwidth of a broadband polarizer is 324 nm, from 1262 nm to 1586 nm, with an average extinction ratio above 23 dB. For the incident-angle-modulation near-infrared polarizer, the high incident angles dynamically and reversibly modulate its working wavelength with a maximum extinction ratio of 71 dB. Numerical simulations and theoretical calculations reveal that the considerable absorption for p light and continuously and relatively low absorption of s light lead to the broadband polarizer, while the incident-angle-modulation one mainly arises from the blue shift of corresponding wavelength of p light’s minimum reflectance. The proposed novel design of polarizers based on SnSe are likely to be mass-produced and integrated into an on-chip system, which opens up a new thought to design polarizing optical components by utilizing other low-symmetry materials.
Screening and Druggability Analysis of Marine Active Metabolites against SARS-CoV-2: An Integrative Computational Approach

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections have triggered a recent pandemic of respiratory disease and affected almost every country all over the world. A large amount of natural bioactive compounds are under clinical investigation for various diseases. In particular, marine natural compounds are gaining more attention in the new drug development process. The present study aimed to identify potential marine-derived inhibitors against the target proteins of COVID-19 using a computational approach. Currently, 16 marine clinical-level compounds were selected for computational screening against the 4 SARS-CoV-2 main proteases. Computational screening resulted from the best drug candidates for each target based on the binding affinity scores and amino acid interactions. Among these, five marine-derived compounds, namely, chrysophaentin A (−6.6 kcal/mol), geodisterol sulfates (−6.6 kcal/mol), hymenidin (−6.4 kcal/mol), plinabulin (−6.4 kcal/mol), and tetrodotoxin (−6.3 kcal/mol) expressed minimized binding energy and molecular interactions, such as covalent and hydrophobic interactions, with the SARS CoV-2 main protease. Using molecular dynamic studies, the root-mean-square deviation (RMSD), root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF), radius of gyration (ROG), and hydrogen bond (H-Bond) values were calculated for the SARS-CoV-2 main protease with a hymenidin docked complex. Additionally, in silico drug-likeness and pharmacokinetic property assessments of the compounds demonstrated favorable druggability. These results suggest that marine natural compounds are capable of fighting SARS-CoV-2. Further in vitro and in vivo studies need to be carried out to confirm their inhibitory potential.
The possibilities of compressed-sensing-based Kirchhoff prestack migration

An approximate subsurface reflectivity distribution of the earth is usually obtained through the migration process. However, conventional migration algorithms, including those based on the least-squares approach, yield structure descriptions that are slightly smeared and of low resolution caused by the common migration artifacts due to limited aperture, coarse sampling, band-limited source, and low subsurface illumination. To alleviate this problem, we use the fact that minimizing the L1-norm of a signal promotes its sparsity. Thus, we formulated the Kirchhoff migration problem as a compressed-sensing (CS) basis pursuit denoise problem to solve for highly focused migrated images compared with those obtained by standard and least-squares migration algorithms. The results of various subsurface reflectivity models revealed that solutions computed using the CS based migration provide a more accurate subsurface reflectivity location and amplitude. We applied the CS algorithm to image synthetic data from a fault model using dense and sparse acquisition geometries. Our results suggest that the proposed approach may still provide highly resolved images with a relatively small number of measurements. We also evaluated the robustness of the basis pursuit denoise algorithm in the presence of Gaussian random observational noise and in the case of imaging the recorded data with inaccurate migration velocities.
Response surface methodology for optimization of the extraction of polysaccharide from the roots of onosma hookeri clarke. var. longiforum duthie and its antioxidant capacity and immune activity

Abstract Onosma hookeri Clarke. var. longiforum Duthie (OHC-LD), one of the traditional Tibetan medicine, has been found many functions, including removing heat to cool blood, nourishing lung and inhibiting bacteria. In order to study the polysaccharides in OHC-LD water extract, the optimal extraction progress of polysaccharides of the roots of OHC-LD by response surface method designed with three-factor three-level Box-Behnken method and the antioxidant capacity and immune activity of the crude polysaccharide were studied in this investigation. Under the best conditions, the extraction yield of polysaccharide was 3.19±0.09% (n = 3). After purification, the crude polysaccharide was obtained with polysaccharide contents of 42.57%, which demonstrated stronger DPPH scavenging activity than BHT at low concentrations (<625 µg/mL), and comparable ABTS radical scavenging activity as BHT at high concentrations (≥1250 µg/mL). Additionally, it also exhibited a certain cell proliferation activity and an enhancement of the phagocytic ability of RAW264.7 cells. This study revealed that the crude polysaccharide from the roots of OHC-LD might be exploited as a natural antioxidant and immune enhance agent in the future in both medical and food industry.
Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator using High-Acoustic-Impedance Electrodes

A bulk acoustic wave filter composed of piezoelectric thin-film resonators has many features superior to those of other small filters such as a surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter and a ceramic filter. A high-Q factor and low loss are big advantages for a film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR). The electrode material that is selected is very important for maintaining a high-Q and appropriate coupling factor. An analysis of the effects of acoustic impedance on AlN-based FBAR performance is described. The electromechanical coupling factor (k2) and filter loss were found to be influenced by acoustic impedance and to be mainly dominated by Young's modulus. Ru was found by analysis and experiments to be a suitable material for the electrode. Finally, a 2 GHz wide band code division multiple access (WCDMA) filter was demonstrated to have a good performance.
Aedes aegypti Strain Subjected to Long-Term Exposure to Bacillus thuringiensis svar. israelensis Larvicides Displays an Altered Transcriptional Response to Zika Virus Infection

Bacillus thuringiensis svar. israelensis (Bti) larvicides are effective in controlling Aedes aegypti; however, the effects of long-term exposure need to be properly evaluated. We established an Ae. aegypti strain that has been treated with Bti for 30 generations (RecBti) and is still susceptible to Bti, but females exhibited increased susceptibility to Zika virus (ZIKV). This study compared the RecBti strain to a reference strain regarding: first, the relative transcription of selected immune genes in ZIKV-challenged females (F30) with increased susceptibility detected in a previous study; then, the whole transcriptomic profile using unchallenged females (F35). Among the genes compared by RT-qPCR in the ZIKV-infected and uninfected females from RecBti (F30) and the reference strain, hop, domeless, relish 1, defensin A, cecropin D, and gambicin showed a trend of repression in RecBti infected females. The transcriptome of RecBti (F35) unchallenged females, compared with a reference strain by RNA-seq, showed a similar profile and only 59 differentially expressed genes were found among 9202 genes analyzed. Our dataset showed that the long-term Bti exposure of the RecBti strain was associated with an alteration of the expression of genes potentially involved in the response to ZIKV infection in challenged females, which is an important feature found under this condition.
On-Chip Photonic Synapses with All-Optical Memory and Neural Network Computation

Inspired by the human brain, neural network computing was expected to break the bottleneck of traditional computing, but the integrated design still faces great challenges. Here, a readily integrated membrane-system photonic synapse was demonstrated. By pre-pulse training at 1064 nm (cutoff wavelength), the photonic synapse can be regulated both excitatory and inhibitory at tunable wavelengths (1200–2000 nm). Furthermore, more weights and memory functions were shown through the photonic synapse integrated network. Additionally, the digital recognition function of the single-layer perceptron neural network constructed by photonic synapses has been successfully demonstrated. Most of the biological synaptic functions were realized by the photonic synaptic network, and it had the advantages of compact structure, scalable, adjustable wavelength, and so on, which opens up a new idea for the study of the neural synaptic network.
The relative daily variability of f0F2 and hmF2 and their implications for HF radio propagation

The effect of the daily variability of f0F2 and hmF2 on the propagation conditions of an HF communication circuit has been studied in an empirical manner. The daily variability of f0F2 and hmF2 was determined by a detailed statistical analysis and the results were incorporated into a three-dimensional ionospheric model and ray-tracing program. During hours surrounding local noon, the relative day-to-day changes seen in both f0F2 and hmF2 are comparable while at all other times the daily variability of f0F2 substantially exceeds that of hmF2. In terms of HF propagation changes resulting from these changes in f0F2 and hmF2, it can be concluded that a knowledge of the critical frequency of the F2 region is much more important than that of hmF2 if account must be taken of the propagation changes resulting from the normal daily variability of the F2 region.
First Report of Leaf Spot of Chlorophytum comosum caused by Thielavia terrestris from Pakistan

In efforts to record pathogenic fungal diversity on ornamental plants of Pakistan, infected leaves of Chlorophytum comosum plants were collected from commercial nursery in Lahore, Pakistan. Investigation of leafspot symptoms led to identification of an ascomycete fungus, Thielavia terrestris. Analysis for fungal identification involved morphological, microscopic and molecular methods. ITS-nrDNA sequence data were used to construct molecular phylogenetic tree of Thielavia with allied species. The fungus was confirmed as T. terrestris. This is the first report of T. terrestris causing disease in C. comosum and it is also a new record for Pakistan.
Target PCA: Transfer Learning Large Dimensional Panel Data

This paper develops a novel method to estimate a latent factor model for a large target panel with missing observations by optimally using the information from auxiliary panel data sets. We refer to our estimator as target-PCA. Transfer learning from auxiliary panel data allows us to deal with a large fraction of missing observations and weak signals in the target panel. We show that our estimator is more efficient and can consistently estimate weak factors, which are not identifiable with conventional methods. We provide the asymptotic inferential theory for target-PCA under very general assumptions on the approximate factor model and missing patterns. In an empirical study of imputing data in a mixed-frequency macroeconomic panel, we demonstrate that target-PCA significantly outperforms all benchmark methods.
Characterization of Multilayer Coupling Based on Square Complementary Split Ring Resonator for Multiport Device Implementation

The advent of context-aware environments and related applications demands a high degree of connectivity, with new spectral bands and related radio resource management functionalities in the current 5G bands and foreseen in future 6G wireless communication systems. This, in turn, poses new challenges in the implementation of wireless transceivers and radiating systems, in terms of device integration, miniaturization and element isolation, among others. High-performance miniature devices are presented and studied in this work, aided by metamaterial-inspired complementary resonators. A single particle is used to build a single layer, double layer, double frequency resonators and power dividers. A complete characterization of each equivalent circuit is also analyzed, showing great agreement between analytical circuit models and full-wave electromagnetic simulations. By adding more particles, different diplexers and triplexers in the multi-layer configuration are proposed. The flexibility in the design is the key advantage, as all devices are easily tunable and the output lines can be built in different layers, enabling frequency scalability from RF to millimeter wave ranges. Nevertheless, they are only a sample of all possible combinations of devices that can be designed for integration in future wireless communication systems.
Development of Sound Experimentation Tool using Android-Based Sound Analysis Oscilloscope Software

Experimental activities are part of physics learning process with the aim of gaining knowledge and having good understanding of physics concepts. Sound and organ pipes are the main subjects discussed in physics and engineering lessons. These materials contain facts accompanied by actualization in everyday life in social life. However, the fact in high school (SMA) physics learning is that experimental activities in supporting students’ learning and understanding have not been widely carried out. This is due to the lack of practical support tools. The purposes of this research are to design a sound experimentation tool design of an open and closed organ pipes and to determine the value of the speed of sound which propagates through air medium using a data acquisition technique assisted by sound analysis oscilloscope software. This type of research is a Research and Development research with five stages referring to the ADDIE model. The first stage was analysis, that was done by conducting a study of the problems of physics learning at senior high school level, especially in sound chapter. The second stage was design, namely designing experimentation tools. The third stage was development, that was done by providing materials that were used in the experiment. The fourth stage was implementation, that was testing the tool which had been made combined with sound analysis oscilloscope software, and the fifth was conducting an evaluation and feasibility test based on the validity of the experimental data. The data analysis technique used average and linear regression by utilizing the results of data from frequency analysis using sound analysis oscilloscope software. The results showed that the experimentation tool in this study was able to be used as learning media for the sound and open and closed organ pipes materials. The experimental results obtained that the speed of the sound waves propagation in air for an open organ pipe was v = 332.19 m/s with an accuracy rate of 97.70%. While the value of the speed of the sound waves in air for a closed organ pipe was v = 334.69 m/s with an accuracy rate of 98.44%.
Blood feeding patterns of the Culex pipiens complex in equestrian land uses and their implications for arboviral encephalitis risk in temperate Argentina

Blood feeding patterns of mosquitoes are a key component in the dynamics of arboviral encephalitides transmission. In temperate Argentina, the members of the Culex pipiens complex include Cx. pipiens molestus, Cx. quinquefasciatus and their hybrids. To characterize their blood feeding patterns, adult resting mosquitoes were collected monthly during the warm season in urban and rural equestrian fields. The availability of birds and domestic mammals per site was characterized. The blood source and the complex member were successfully identified for 89 specimens using PCR. Blood of 19 vertebrate species was isolated including four mammals (most common feeds from dog, Canus lupus 19% of the blood meals; and horse, Equus caballus 18%) and 15 birds (picazuro pigeon, Patagioenas picazuro 11%; eared dove, Zenaida auriculata 10%; chicken, Gallus gallus 9%). The Forage Ratio (FR), calculated as the proportion of feeds taken from a given host species with respect to that host availability in the environment, suggested preference for dog by all members of the complex (FR ≥4.5). On the contrary, FR values suggested avoidance for horse by Cx. quinquefasciatus and the hybrid (FR ≤0.8), and a use proportional to its abundance by Cx. pipiens molestus (FR = 1.1–1.2 in urban and rural sites, respectively). FR values suggesting preference were obtained for avian species of the orders Passeriformes (7 species in total) and Columbiformes (5) by all members of the complex (FR ≥ 3.3), whereas values for monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus, Psiitaciformes) suggested avoidance by Cx. quinquefasciatus in urban sites (FR = 0.4) and by Cx. pipiens molestus in rural sites (FR = 0.3) but not in urban sites (FR = 1.4). A mammal‐bird index (MBI, from −1 all avian to +1 all mammalian blood meals) was calculated for each member of the complex and urbanization category. Values were negative for Cx. quinquefasciatus (MBIurban = −0.60, MBIrural = −0.33) and positive for Cx. pipiens molestus (MBIurban = 0.20, MBIrural = 0.60), indicating a higher proportion of feeds taken on birds and mammals, respectively, regardless of the urbanization category. In temperate Argentina, the members of the Cx. pipiens complex fed both on horses and on birds, thus representing a real risk of transmission of arboviral encephalitides from avian enzootic cycles to horse epizootics.
Effects of Learning with Ethnoscience Context on Learning Outcomes in Cognitive Aspects of Prospective Physics Teacher Students

Student learning outcomes in the cognitive aspect need attention because it is the professional competence of prospective teachers related to mastery of learning materials. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of learning in the context of ethnoscience on learning outcomes in the cognitive aspects of prospective physics teacher students. The research method used is quantitative with two stages. First, a limited trial study with a one-group pretest-posttest design at Hamzanwadi University with a total of 9 students. Second, experimental research with a post-test only group design was conducted at the University of Mataram, with a total of 77 students. In a limited trial study, an N-gain test analysis was carried out to determine the success rate of treatment with the minimum category being in the "medium" criteria. In experimental research, the effect of treatment was tested. The research sample includes all students who take the High School Physics Studies course at the Physics Education Study Program, University of Mataram, in the 2021/2022 Academic Year. The class is divided into 3 groups consisting of a class that uses an LMS with an ethnoscience context (Group A) totaling 27 people, a class using an LMS with a module (Group B) totaling 23 people, and a class using an LMS with PowerPoint (Group C) totaling 27 people. Cognitive learning outcomes data were obtained from giving essay tests after treatment. Analysis of the data used to test the hypothesis is a one-way ANOVA with SPSS 25 calculation. The results show that the average value of Group A is 78.00, Group B is 70.70, and Group C is 70.96. Lectures in Group A have a significant influence on student cognitive learning outcomes. The conclusion of this study is that learning in the context of ethnoscience has a positive effect on the professional competence of prospective physics teachers
Natural Products as Outstanding Alternatives in Diabetes Mellitus: A Patent Review

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic syndrome that can be considered a growing health problem in the world. High blood glucose levels are one of the most notable clinical signs. Currently, new therapeutic alternatives have been tackled from clinicians’ and scientists’ points of view. Natural products are considered a promising source, due to the huge diversity of metabolites with pharmaceutical applications. Therefore, this review aimed to uncover the latest advances in this field as a potential alternative to the current therapeutic strategies for the treatment of DM. This purpose is achieved after a patent review, using the Espacenet database of the European Patent Office (EPO) (2016–2022). Final screening allowed us to investigate 19 patents, their components, and several technology strategies in DM. Plants, seaweeds, fungi, and minerals were used as raw materials in the patents. Additionally, metabolites such as tannins, organic acids, polyphenols, terpenes, and flavonoids were found to be related to the potential activity in DM. Moreover, the cellular transportation of active ingredients and solid forms with special drug delivery profiles is also considered a pharmaceutical technology strategy that can improve their safety and efficacy. From this perspective, natural products can be a promissory source to obtain new drugs for DM therapy.
Analyzing specklegrams of plastic optical fiber using convolutional neural network for weight recognition

Abstract. A weight recognition scheme is proposed based on the analysis of plastic optical fiber (POF) specklegrams. A simple experiment is performed for data acquisition comprising specklegram images corresponding to different external applied weights ranging from 0 to 3 kg in steps of 0.5 kg on the POF. These specklegram images are further split into training, validation, and test datasets for employment in the convolutional neural network (CNN). The model is trained and validated with a sufficient number of epochs (iterations) to obtain optimal training and validation accuracies (>90 % ); it is then used for recognizing (classifying) the unseen test dataset images. A user-defined CNN model is optimized using four different optimizers: Adam, AdaMax, Nadam, and RMSProp. The recognition (or test) accuracy of these optimizers is compared. The Nadam optimizer has the highest recognition accuracy of 93.1% for increasing weights and 91.9% for decreasing weights. Furthermore, we investigate the impact of two parameters, namely temperature effect and information loss of specklegrams, on the model’s weight recognition accuracy. The temperature effect is studied for finite temperatures ranging from 29°C to 35°C with 3°C step fluctuations around the ambient temperature of 25°C. We find that the maximum deviation in recognition accuracy is about 1.2%. To quantify the information content (speckles) in each blocked specklegram, Shannon entropy (SE) is estimated. These images are then used in our existing CNN model with the Nadam optimizer to evaluate recognition performance with blocking. With increasing blocking, we observe a decrease in SE and recognition accuracy. This analysis suggests that, even with information loss in the specklegrams at ≤20 % blocking, a good representation of weights with high recognition accuracy (>80 % ) can be obtained. The presence of a small physical obstacle in front of the imaging system can cause information loss in specklegrams to manifest in practical scenarios.