Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wing Shape Variation between Terrestrial and Coastal Populations of the Invasive Box Tree Moth, Cydalima perspectalis, in Croatia

Featured Application Use of Geometric morphometrics tools to understand invasiveness patterns of invasive species. Simple Summary The box tree moth is an invasive species that originated in Asia. Its presence causes damage by defoliating plants, to the point of causing their death. The presence of silk barriers and threads, covering plants during intense attacks, allows for species recognition. Cydalima perspectalis was first detected in 2007 in Germany and the Netherlands, after which it spread widely to other regions of Europe. In Croatia, its presence was first recorded in 2012 and it caused notable damage in 2013. This study analyzed the wing morphological variability of C. perspectalis in Croatia and its invasive character. This technique uses a mathematical approach in which the combination of geometry and statistics is essential to understand the morphology of invasive organisms; principally, how the wings adapt to allow the moth to colonize new environments. To achieve this, 269 moths from different areas were collected, and the wings of both males and females were evaluated. Significant differences in wing shape were found between terrestrial and coastal populations, with no sexual dimorphism established. The implications of this variability with regard to the invasive capacity and spread of the species are discussed. Abstract The box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis Walker, 1859; Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is an invasive species naturally distributed in Asia. The caterpillars in all developmental stages cause damage through defoliation of plants, and ultimately the death of the plant itself may occur. It is possible to recognize this species by its silk barriers and threads, and in the case of an intense attack, the entire plant will be covered with them. In Europe, this species’ presence was first recorded in 2007 in Germany and the Netherlands, and it is now widely distributed. In Croatia, its existence was first recorded in 2012, in Istria, while substantial damages were recorded in 2013. This work aimed to determine the morphological variability of C. perspectalis from Croatia and assess its invasive character, the possibility of flight, and the risk of further spread. The methods of geometric morphometrics were used as the analysis of wing shape. A total of 269 moths from different locations in Croatia were collected, the upper wings of males and females were analyzed using 14 landmarks. Significant differences in wing shapes between terrestrial and coastal populations were found, as well as subtle wing shape sexual dimorphism. The implications of this variability in species invasiveness and capacity of spread are discussed in this paper. We also extrapolate the usefulness of our results and suggest strategies for predicting and managing invasive species.
Challenges and Opportunities of Implementing Differentiated Instruction amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from a Qualitative Exploration

Differentiated instruction (DI) has been introduced as a viable approach for accommodating the diverse learning needs of students in the same classroom. Despite the significant advantages attributed to this approach, it can still be a challenge for teachers to incorporate DI into practice. This study examined the lived experiences and perceptions of teachers regarding the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on their differentiation practices. Purposive sampling was used, and 40 in-service primary and secondary school teachers in Hong Kong were recruited. Hybrid thematic analysis was implemented to examine data from the semi-structured interviews carried out in both face-to-face and online formats. Drawing on the five-dimensional model of differentiation as a conceptual framework, the findings were organized into five thematic areas: (1) teaching arrangements, (2) learning environment, (3) teaching methods, (4) support materials, and (5) assessment. The perceptions of teachers, both positive and negative, regarding the impact of the pandemic on DI were categorized into sub-themes. The results indicated that while the pandemic brought about considerable obstacles for educators in practicing DI, it also opened up opportunities for new approaches to meeting the diverse needs of students.
Channel Coding at Finite Blocklength and Its Application in 6G URLLC

To support mission-critical applications, such as factory automation and autonomous driving, the ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) is adopted in the fifth generation (5G) mobile communications network, which requires high level of reliability and low latency. Naturally, URLLC in the future 6G is expected to have a better capability than its 5G version which poses an unprecedented challenge to us. Fortunately, the potential solution can still be found in the well-known classical Shannon information theory. Since the latency constraint can be represented equivalently by blocklength, channel coding at finite blocklength plays an important role in the theoretic analysis of URLLC. Applying these achievements in rapidly development of massive MIMO techniques gives rise to a new theory on space time exchanging. It tells us that channel coding can also be performed in space domain, since it is capable of providing the same coding rate as that in time domain. This space time exchanging theory points out an exciting and feasible direction for us to further reduce latency in 6G URLLC.
Modeling thermal stability of 1.5-m AMTD ULE® mirror using ‘as-built’ CTE data

Thermal wavefront stability of primary mirror segments may limit the ability of a potential Habitable Worlds Observatory to accomplish its science goals. To help bound the problem, we revisit the measured cryo-deformation of the 1.5-meter ULE® mirror manufactured by L3Harris under the AMTD-2 (Advanced Mirror Technology Development Phase 2) study. The AMTD-2 mirror’s measured thermal sensitivities (astigmatism and mid-spatial error) may bound the thermal stability needed to perform exo-Earth coronagraphy. But power sensitivity is currently unknown. Two different ‘as-built’ STOP (structural thermal optical performance) models were unable to correlate with the mirror’s measured cryo-performance. Measured performance is 50X larger than the 2018 uncorrelated model’s predicted performance. Measured performance is 2.5X larger than the 2023 ‘as-built’ uncorrelated model’s predicted performance. Correlation requires increasing the mirror’s facesheet CTE by 25 to 30 ppb/K above the boule CTE values provided by Corning. We have no physical explanation for why the facesheet CTE values might have changed as a function of fabrication processing. But the implication casts doubt on the ability of models to accurately predict actual mirror thermal stability performance. Or, maybe to produce an accurate prediction requires a model with many more than 11 CTE layers.
In Vitro Biological Properties of Cyclodextrin-Based Polymers: Interaction with Human Serum Albumin, Red Blood Cells and Bacteria

The aim of this work was to investigate the physico-chemical and biological properties of cyclodextrin-based polymers by the example of interaction with human serum albumin, erythrocytes, and bacteria to understand the prospects of their application as drug delivery systems. We synthesized polymers based on one of cyclodextrin derivatives with nonpolar (-CH3) or polar (-CH2CH(OH)CH3) substituents by crosslinking with 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate or succinic anhydride. The polymers form particles with an average size of ~200 nm in the aqueous solutions; their structures were confirmed by FTIR and 1H NMR. Cyclodextrin derivatives and their polymers did not affect the secondary structure content of human serum albumin, which might mean a mild effect on the structural and functional properties of the main blood plasma protein. Polymers extract drug molecules from albumin + drug complex by 8–10%, which was demonstrated using ibuprofen and bromophenol blue as model bioactive molecules for site I and site II in protein; thus, the nanoparticles might slightly change the drug’s pharmacokinetics. Using the hemolysis test, we found that polymers interact with red blood cells and can be assigned to non-hemolytic and slightly hemolytic groups as biocompatible materials, which are safe for in vivo use. The cyclodextrins and their polymers did not extract proteins from bacterial cell walls and did not demonstrate any antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains. Thus, the cyclodextrin-based polymers possess variable properties depending on the substituent in the monomer and linker type; demonstrated biocompatibility, biodegradability, and negligible toxicity that opens up prospects for their application in biomedicine and ecology.
Serum Glucocorticoid-Regulated Kinase-1 in Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: Blessing or Curse

The family of serum-glucocorticoid-regulated kinase (SGK) consists of three paralogs, SGK-1, SGK-2, and SGK-3, with SGK-1 being the better studied. Indeed, recognition of the role of SGK-1 in regulation of cell survival and proliferation has led to introduction of a number of small-molecule inhibitors for some types of cancer. In addition, SGK-1 regulates major physiologic effects, such as renal solute transport, and contributes to the pathogenesis of non-neoplastic conditions involving major organs including the heart and the kidney. These observations raise the prospect for therapeutic modulation of SGK-1 to reduce the burden of such diseases as myocardial infarction and acute kidney injury. Following a brief description of the structure and function of SGK family of proteins, the present review is primarily focused on our current understanding of the role of SGK-1 in pathologies related to ischemia-reperfusion injury involving several organs (e.g., heart, kidney). The essential role of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in cell death coupled with the pro-survival function of SGK-1 raise the prospect that its therapeutic modulation could beneficially impact conditions associated with ischemia-reperfusion injury. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Since the discovery of serum glucocorticoid-regulated kinase (SGK)-1, extensive research has unraveled its role in cancer biology and, thus, its therapeutic targeting. Increasingly, it is also becoming clear that SGK-1 is a major determinant of the outcome of ischemia-reperfusion injury to various organs. Thus, evaluation of existing information should help identify gaps in our current knowledge and also determine whether and how its therapeutic modulation could impact the outcome of ischemia-reperfusion injury.
Experimental study of the equilibrium between pollucite, albite and hydrothermal fluid in pegmatitic systems

Abstract Pollucite is a silicate mineral of the rare element caesium, occurring in granitic pegmatites. Experiments have been carried out at 450, 600, and 750°C, 1.5 kbar, to study the equilibrium between pollucite, albite and the co-existing hydrothermal solution. When pollucite co-exists with albite, the alkaline composition of the solution is buffered. The Cs/Na ratio of the solution has been determined to be 0.11 at 450°C 0.22 at 600°C and 0.23 at 750°C. Pollucite contains about 15 mol. % of sodium, whereas albite is almost purely sodic. In nature, pollucite with more than 82 mol. % caesium has never been found. This can be explained by the absence of solutions in granitic pegmatites having a higher Cs/Na ratio than those determined by us.
Modeling of Eyld2000-2d Anisotropic Yield Criterion Considering Strength Differential Effect and Analysis of Optimal Calibration Strategy

Sheet metals usually experience various loading paths such as uniaxial tension, uniaxial compression, biaxial tension, and simple shear during the forming process. However, the existing constitutive models cannot always accurately describe blanks’ anisotropic yield and plastic flow behavior of blanks under all typical stress states. Given this, this paper improves the Eyld2000-2d yield criterion by introducing hydrostatic pressure to the A-Eyld2000-2d yield criterion that can describe the strength differential effect of materials. Meanwhile, to control the curvature of the yield surface more effectively, the near-plane strain yield stresses were added in the parameter identification process to calibrate the exponent m, so that the exponent is no longer considered as a constant value. Taking the widely used AA6016-T4, AA5754-O, DP980, and QP980 blanks in the automotive stamping industry as an example, the effectiveness of the new model and different parameter identification methods was verified by predicting experimental data under various simple and complex loading paths. Subsequently, the new model employing the optimal parameter identification strategy was compared with four widely used asymmetric yield criteria under associated and non-associated flow rules, including CPB06, LHY2013, S-Y2004, and Hu & Yoon2021, to further verify the accuracy of the proposed constitutive model. The results indicate that parameter identification strategy with variable exponent can significantly improve the flexibility of the yield criterion in describing the plastic anisotropy of blanks. Compared to the other yield criteria examined in this work, the new model provides the best prediction accuracy for the yield stresses and plastic flows of all blanks, especially in the near-plane strain and simple shear stress states. Modeling under the concept of anisotropic hardening can more accurately capture the evolving plastic behavior of blanks than isotropic hardening.
Research Into Evidence-Based Psychological Interventions Needs a Stronger Focus on Replicability

Background It is a precondition for evidence-based practice that research is replicable in a wide variety of clinical settings. Current standards for identifying evidence-based psychological interventions and making recommendations for clinical practice in clinical guidelines include criteria that are relevant for replicability, but a better understanding as well refined definitions of replicability are needed enabling empirical research on this topic. Recent advances on this issue were made in the wider field of psychology and in other disciplines, which offers the opportunity to define and potentially increase replicability also in research on psychological interventions. Method This article proposes a research strategy for assessing, understanding, and improving replicability in research on psychological interventions. Results/Conclusion First, we establish a replication taxonomy ranging from direct to conceptual replication adapted to the field of research on clinical interventions, propose study characteristics that increase the trustworthiness of results, and define statistical criteria for successful replication with respect to the quantitative outcomes of the original and replication studies. Second, we propose how to establish such standards for future research, i.e., in order to design future replication studies for psychological interventions as well as to apply them when investigating which factors are causing the (non-)replicability of findings in the current literature.
Incorporation of Neural Network State Estimator for GPS Attitude Determination

The Global Positioning System (GPS) can be employed as a free attitude determination interferometer when carrier phase measurements are utilized. Conventional approaches for the baseline vectors are essentially based on the least-squares or Kalman filtering methods. The raw attitude solutions are inherently noisy if the solutions of baseline vectors are obtained based on the least-squares method. The Kalman filter attempts to minimize the error variance of the estimation errors and will provide the optimal result while it is required that the complete a priori knowledge of both the process noise and measurement noise covariance matrices are available. In this article, a neural network state estimator, which replaces the Kalman filter, will be incorporated into the attitude determination mechanism for estimating the attitude angles from the noisy raw attitude solutions. Employing the neural network estimator improves robustness compared to the Kalman filtering method when uncertainty in noise statistical knowledge exists. Simulation is conducted and a comparative evaluation based on the neural network estimator and Kalman filter is provided.
A Multimode GaN Doherty Power Amplifier MMIC With N-Scalable Amplifiers for Selective Back-Off Power Level

This article presents a multimode Doherty power amplifier (M-DPA) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC). The M-DPA comprises of a load network (LN) based on a combination of current- and voltage-combining methods. By arranging the turn-on transitions of four parallel amplifiers based on the input power level, two carrier and two peaking amplifiers (2C2P) mode for 6-dB output power back-off (OBO) or one carrier and three peaking amplifiers (1C3P) mode for 12-dB OBO can be configured. The performances between efficiency and gain can be balanced according to the selected mode. The M-DPA concept was theoretically expanded to a generalized structure based on <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$ </tex-math></inline-formula> (or = <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2^{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) scalable amplifiers in parallel that were simply modeled as current sources. This generalized M-DPA supports <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N-1$ </tex-math></inline-formula> different operation modes with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m$ </tex-math></inline-formula> different OBO levels. For verification, the M-DPA MMIC was implemented using a 0.25-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> gallium nitride (GAN)-HEMT process for 5G new radio (NR) applications (3.3–3.6-GHz band). Using a 5G NR downlink signal with a signal bandwidth of 100 MHz and a peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of 7.86 dB, at a frequency of 3.55 GHz, the drain efficiencies (DEs) of 37.7 and 33.8% and power gains of 8.3 and 6.4 dB were obtained for the 2C2P mode with an average output power of 37.0 dBm and for the 1C3P mode with an average output power of 31.0 dBm, respectively.
GATOR‐GCMM: 2. A study of daytime and nighttime ozone layers aloft, ozone in national parks, and weather during the SARMAP field campaign

The GATORG-GCMM global- through urban-scale nested air pollution/weather forecast model was applied to study ozone layers aloft, ozone in national parks, and weather during the August 3-6, 1990, SARMAP field campaign in northern and central California. Predictions of meteorological variables and mixing ratios of 20 gases were compared with observations. With nesting, the normalized gross error in predicted near-surface Kelvin temperatures was 1.02% and that in near-surface ozone above 50 ppbv was 22.5%. Statistics from outer nested domains indicated that the coarser the grid spacing, the greater the underprediction of ozone. In the absence of nesting, statistics deteriorated but not a lot. The model-simulated observed nighttime ozone layers aloft and daytime ozone mixed layers in the San Joaquin Valley and San Francisco Bay Area. It also simulated observed daytime and nighttime ozone layers aloft over the San Francisco Bay near Hayward. The formation mechanism of these layers is discussed. The model was used to estimate that about 47-57% of peak daytime ozone in Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks during SARMAP was produced by anthropogenic gases, 13-3% was produced by biogenic hydrocarbons, and the rest (about 40%) was background.
Suppression of large earthquakes by stress shadows: A comparison of Coulomb and rate-and-state failure

Stress shadows generated by California's two most recent great earthquakes (1857 Fort Tejon and 1906 San Francisco) substantially modified 19th and 20th century earthquake history in the Los Angeles basin and in the San Francisco Bay area. Simple Coulomb failure calculations, which assume that earthquakes can be modeled as static dislocations in an elastic half-space, have done quite well at approximating how long the stress shadows, or relaxing effects, should last and at predicting where subsequent large earthquakes will not occur. There has, however, been at least one apparent exception to the predictions of such simple models. The 1911 M>6.0 earthquake near Morgan Hill, California, occurred at a relaxed site on the Calaveras fault. We examine how the more complex rate-and-state friction formalism based on laboratory experiments might have allowed the 1911 earthquake. Rate-and-state time-to-failure calculations are consistent with the occurrence of the 1911 event just 5 years after 1906 if the Calaveras fault was already close to failure before the effects of 1906. We also examine the likelihood that the entire 78 years of relative quiet (only four M≥6 earthquakes) in the bay area after 1906 is consistent with rate-and-state assumptions, given that the previous 7 decades produced 18 M≥6 earthquakes. Combinations of rate-and-state variables can be found that are consistent with this pattern of large bay area earthquakes, assuming that the rate of earthquakes in the 7 decades before 1906 would have continued had 1906 not occurred. These results demonstrate that rate-and-state offers a consistent explanation for the 78-year quiescence and the 1911 anomaly, although they do not rule out several alternate explanations.
Quantum mechanical aspects of cardiac arrhythmias: A mathematical model and pathophysiological implications

Cardiac arrhythmias are serious myocardial electrical disturbances that affect the rate and rhythm of heartbeats. Despite the rapidly accumulating data about the pathophysiology and the treatment, new insights are required to improve the overall clinical outcome of patients with cardiac arrhythmias. Three major arrhythmogenic processes can contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiac arrhythmias; 1) enhanced automaticity, 2) afterdepolarization-triggered activity and 3) reentry circuits. The mathematical model of the quantum tunneling of ions is used to investigate these mechanisms from a quantum mechanical perspective. The mathematical model focuses on applying the principle of quantum tunneling to sodium and potassium ions. This implies that these ions have a non-zero probability of passing through the gate, which has an energy that is higher than the kinetic energy of ions. Our mathematical findings indicate that, under pathological conditions, which affect ion channels, the quantum tunneling of sodium and potassium ions is augmented. This augmentation creates a state of hyperexcitability that can explain the enhanced automaticity, after depolarizations that are associated with triggered activity and a reentry circuit. Our mathematical findings stipulate that the augmented and thermally assisted quantum tunneling of sodium and potassium ions can depolarize the membrane potential and trigger spontaneous action potentials, which may explain the automaticity and afterdepolarization. Furthermore, the quantum tunneling of potassium ions during an action potential can provide a new insight regarding the formation of a reentry circuit. Introducing these quantum mechanical aspects may improve our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias and, thus, contribute to finding more effective anti-arrhythmic drugs.