Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Elucidation of Microstructural and Mechanical Properties of Coconut Husk Mortar as a Sustainable Building Material for Ferrocement

The main objective of this study is to use coconut husk to produce mortar for ferrocement. Mortar mix proportions are selected per ACI codes’ recommendation and the WRD Handbook. Four types of mortars: Cement and River Sand mortar (CSM), Cement, River Sand and Steel fibre mortar (CSSFM), Cement and Coconut Husk mortar (CCHM), and Cement, River Sand (60%), Coconut Husk (40%), and Steel fibre mortar (CSCHSFM) are used for this study Microstructural studies like SEM, EDX, XRD, and FTIR analysis on cement mortar constituents and mortar mixes are studied and reported. At 3, 7, and 28 days tests of hardened mortar, such as compressive, split tensile, flexural strength, and impact strength resistance, were studied. Test results revealed that the coconut husk is innovative and sustainable and could be an alternative fine aggregate that can be utilized in place of river sand, which in turn can be used for mortar production. Since it has a lesser density which proves to be an advantage for developing lightweight mortar, it can be used for ferrocement applications.
Altered glutamate–glutamine and amide proton transfer-weighted values in the hippocampus of patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment: A novel combined imaging diagnostic marker

Background and purpose Early diagnosis of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and timely management to delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD) would benefit patients. Pathological metabolic changes of excitatory/inhibitory neurotransmitters and abnormal protein deposition in the hippocampus of aMCI may provide a new clue to imaging diagnosis. However, the diagnostic performance using these hippocampal metabolite measurements is still unclear. We aimed to quantify right hippocampal glutamate–glutamine (Glx) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels as well as protein-based amide proton transfer-weighted (APTw) signals of patients with aMCI and investigate the diagnostic performance of these metabolites. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 20 patients with aMCI and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HCs) underwent MEGA Point Resolved Spectroscopy (MEGA-PRESS) and APTw MR imaging at 3 T. GABA+, Glx, and APTw signals were measured in the right hippocampus. The GABA+ levels, Glx levels, Glx/GABA+ ratios, and APTw values were compared between the HCs and aMCI groups using the Mann–Whitney U test. Binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to evaluate MEGA-PRESS and APTw parameters' diagnostic performance. Results Compared with HCs, patients with aMCI had significantly lower Glx levels in the right hippocampus (7.02 ± 1.41 i.u. vs. 5.81 ± 1.33 i.u., P = 0.018). No significant changes in the GABA+ levels were observed in patients with aMCI (HCs vs. aMCI: 2.54 ± 0.28 i.u. vs. 2.47 ± 0.36 i.u., P = 0.620). In addition, Glx/GABA+ ratios between the two groups (HCs vs. aMCI: 2.79 ± 0.60 vs. 2.37 ± 0.55, P = 0.035) were significantly different. Compared with HCs, patients with aMCI showed higher APTw values in the right hippocampus (0.99 ± 0.26% vs. 1.26% ± 0.28, P = 0.006). The ROC curve analysis showed that Glx, GABA+, Glx/GABA+, and APTw values had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.72, 0.55, 0.70, and 0.75, respectively, for diagnosing aMCI. In the ROC curve analysis, the AUC of the combination of the parameters increased to 0.88, which is much higher than that observed in the univariate analysis (P < 0.05). Conclusion The combination of right hippocampal Glx levels and APTw values improved the diagnostic performance for aMCI, indicating it as a promising combined imaging diagnostic marker. Our study provided a potential imaging diagnostic strategy of aMCI, which may promote early detection of aMCI and facilitate timely intervention to delay the pathological progress toward AD.
Water channel experiments of dynamic stall on Darrieus wind turbine blades

An experimental study of periodic vortex phenomena was performed on a model of a two straight-bladed Darrieus wind turbine under controlled-rotation conditions in the Institute de Mechanique et Statistique de la Turbulence (IMST) water channel. The study focused on the tip-speed ratios at which dynamic stall appears. Observations of this phenomenon were made using dye emission and the hydrogen bubbles and photographs, movies, and video recordings were made. Velocity measurements were obtained using the laser-doppler velocimeter and the components of velocity fluctuations were determined quantitatively.
The radio galaxy IC 4296 (PKS 1333-33). II - Spectroscopy, surface photometry, X-ray imaging, and infrared photometry

Spectroscopic and photometric observations of the radio jet galaxy IC 4296 are presented. The major axis rotation velocities are initially consistent with solid body rotation of angular velocity about 3 km/s/arcsec. Beyond a radius of roughly 20 deg, the rotation is approximately constant at 60 + or - 30 km/s. The velocity dispersion along the major axis shows a maximum of 340 + or - 30 km/s in the nucleus which then decreases with radius. A mass-to-light ratio of (13.2 + or - 3)h in solar units and a mass of (7.3 + or - 3) x 10 to the 11th solar masses are obtained. Color maps show U-B and B-V gradients interior to radius of roughly 10 arcsec. A partialy resolved X-ray source is coincident with IC 4296. 46 references.
Multiwavelength thermal lens determination of fluorescence quantum efficiency of solids: Application to Nd3+-doped fluoride glass

A multiwavelength thermal lens (TL) method was developed to determine the fluorescence quantum efficiency of solids. The experiments have been performed in Nd3+-doped fluoride glasses, using five different excitation wavelengths: 514, 576, 741, 796, and 867 nm. In this work, the absolute value of fluorescence quantum efficiency can be obtained by the linear dependence of the TL signal with the excitation wavelength. Our results suggest that the method can be applied to study a wide range of fluorescent materials, with a special ability to be used for measurements of highly transparent materials with very low TL effect.
Evaluating the Use of Surface Plasmon Resonance-Based Sensing for Colorectal Mucosa Cancer Detection

This article presents an in silico and in vitro study concerning the application of a trapezoidal prism-based surface plasmon resonance chip to detect colorectal cancer (CRC) by analyzing the mucosa tissue. The sensor is a multilayered structure and works in the wavelength interrogation mode (WIM). Performance parameters related to the metallic film characteristics, such as thickness and type of metal, were determined. For the analyzed noble metals, the silver film of 40 nm has the highest sensitivity of 6454.12 nm/RIU, and the 60-nm thick presents the best values for full width at half maximum (FWHM) and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\chi $ </tex-math></inline-formula> parameter (20.20 nm and 286.63 RIU<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{-1}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>). The palladium (Pd) nanolayer deposition enhanced the sensitivity by 10.81% for copper film and peaks at 6497.04 nm/RIU for the silver film. The Pd nanolayer also provokes deeper dips in the reflectance spectrum. Tissue phantoms were used to study the sensor response to solid surrounding medium to show the feasibility and the correctness of the proposed methodology.
Shock capturing using a pressure-correction method

A new pressure-correction scheme has been developed, which is suitable for the calculation of a flow containing a wide range of Mach numbers such as a transonic impinging jet. The method uses equations based on properties per unit volume so that momentum is retained as a basic dependent variable rather than velocity. This simplifies the discretization of the time-dependent flow equations and allows a direct relationship to be determined between pressure and mass flux. The hyperbolic nature of the system of equations is obtained by using the retarded pressure approach. This is a transformation of the real pressure based on local Mach number and is used in the momentum and pressure-correction equations. The shocked quasi-one-dimensional flow in a nozzle is used as a test of shock capturing properties and speed of computation. The new method gives precise shock capturing over two nodes with no over or under-shoots; it is also significantly faster than the MacCormack and Jameson explicit schemes tested for this problem. Finally, a turbulent, under-expanded, axisymmetric, impinging jet calculation is presented. The correct periodic under/over-expansions of the jet are predicted, and the normal standoff shock is cleanly captured.
Clinical utility of paced finger tapping assessment in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus

Background The Finger Tapping (F-T) test is useful for assessing motor function of the upper limbs in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH). However, quantitative evaluation of F-T for iNPH has not yet been established. The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of the quantitative F-T test and optimal measurement conditions as a motor evaluation and screening test for iNPH. Methods Sixteen age-matched healthy controls (mean age 73 ± 5 years; 7/16 male) and fifteen participants with a diagnosis of definitive iNPH (mean age 76 ± 5 years; 8/15 male) completed the study (mean ± standard deviation). F-T performance of the index finger and thumb was quantified using a magnetic sensing device. The performance of repetitive F-T by participants was recorded in both not timing-regulated and timing-regulated conditions. The mean value of the maximum amplitude of F-T was defined as M-Amplitude, and the mean value of the maximum velocity of closure of F-T was defined as cl-Velocity. Results Finger Tapping in the iNPH group, with or without timing control, showed a decrease in M-Amplitude and cl-Velocity compared to the control group. We found the only paced F-T with 2.0 Hz auditory stimuli was found to improve both M-Amplitude and cl-Velocity after shunt surgery. Conclusion The quantitative assessment of F-T with auditory stimuli at the rate of 2.0 Hz may be a useful and potentially supplemental screening method for motor assessment in patients with iNPH.
Exclusionary Behaviors Reinforce Historical Biases and Contribute to Loss of Talent in the Earth Sciences

Geosciences remain one of the least diverse fields. Efforts to diversify the discipline need to address the role of hostile and exclusionary work and learning environments. A workplace climate survey distributed to five professional organizations illustrates varied experiences of earth and space scientists over a 12‐month period (pre‐COVID). A majority experienced positive interactions in the workplace. However, scientists of color, women and non‐binary individuals, scientists with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, pansexual, and asexual (LGBQPA+) scientists more frequently experienced negative interactions, including interpersonal mistreatment, discriminatory language, and sexual harassment. Geoscientists of color were more likely to experience devaluation of their work than white scientists. More than half of women and non‐binary respondents, as well as those who identify as LGBQPA+ experienced identity‐based discriminatory remarks. Disabled geoscientists were more likely to hear negative identity‐based language than those who did not disclose a disability. Overall, 14% of all respondents experienced sexual harassment in the previous year. Rates were greatest for historically excluded groups: non‐binary (51%), LGBQPA+ (33%), disabled (26%), women (20%), and geoscientists of color (17%). A majority of geoscientists reported avoiding their colleagues and almost a third considered leaving their institution or a career change. Historically excluded groups were more likely to report opting out of professional activities with potential career consequences. To address continued exclusion and low retention in the earth and space sciences, recruitment is not enough. We need to create environments that ensure opportunities for all to thrive.
Dynamic Properties of Disordered Phases of Carbon Studied by an Empirical Potential: Stringent Tests toward Hybrid Approach with the Density-Functional Theory

The dynamic properties of the liquid and the amorphous carbon are studied by empirical-potential molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations as well as ab initio MD methods based on the density-functional theory. As the empirical potential, the environment-dependent interatomic potential (EDIP) proposed recently by Marks is used. Detailed investigations on the density–density time correlation function, known as van Hove correlation functions, are given. It is shown that the EDIP is extremely transferable in the sense that the dynamic properties, as well as the static properties, of the disordered phases of carbon are well reproduced using the EDIP. It is also shown that the EDIP is usable for the hybrid ab initio /empirical-potential MD simulation, by applying the hybrid method to a graphite sheet (graphen) for investigating the dynamic properties such as the heat transfer.
Multisource Information Fusion for Autoformer: Soft Sensor Modeling of FeO Content in Iron Ore Sintering Process

As a key thermal-state indicator of the iron ore sintering process, the content of ferrous oxide (FeO) in the finished sinter is directly related to product quality. Based on the massive data of sintering process, the data-driven soft sensor model provides a good choice for real-time FeO content detection. However, the complex characteristics of the data, including dynamics, nonlinearity, and multisource heterogeneity, are still the main obstacles to improving the modeling accuracy. To solve this problem, in this article, a multisource information fusion autoformer (MIF-Autoformer) model is introduced. First, feature-level information fusion and data-level information fusion are implemented based on the MIF strategy. Then, the comprehensive information of the sintering process is fed to the downstream autoformer model in a serial manner, which not only improves the information capacity but also provides additional prior information about the FeO content grade. This is helpful for autoformer to capture the complex temporal distributions in the sintering process. Finally, the proposed model is applied to a real sintering plant. Experimental results show that the hybrid image features provided by the MIF strategy have a general optimization effect on different competitive models, and MIF-Autoformer exhibits the lowest prediction error on the test set.
Succinic acid production from softwood with genome-edited Corynebacterium glutamicum using the CRISPR-Cpf1 system.

Corynebacterium glutamicum is a useful microbe that can be used for producing succinic acid under anaerobic conditions. In this study, we generated a knock-out mutant of the lactate dehydrogenase 1 gene (ΔldhA-6) and co-expressed the succinic acid transporter (Psod:SucE- ΔldhA) using the CRISPR-Cpf1 genome editing system. The highly efficient HPAC (hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid) pretreatment method was employed for the enzymatic hydrolysis of softwood (Pinus densiflora) and subsequently utilized for production of succinic acid. Upon evaluating a 1%-5% hydrolysate concentration range, optimal succinic acid production with the ΔldhA mutant was achieved at a 4% hydrolysate concentration. This resulted in 14.82 g L-1 succinic acid production over 6 h. No production of acetic acid and lactic acid was detected during the fermentation. The co-expression transformant, [Psod:SucE-ΔldhA] produced 17.70 g L-1 succinic acid in 6 h. In the fed-batch system, 39.67 g L-1 succinic acid was produced over 48 h. During the fermentation, the strain consumed 100% and 73% of glucose and xylose, respectively. The yield of succinic acid from the sugars consumed was approximately 0.77 g succinic acid/g sugars. These results indicate that the production of succinic acid from softwood holds potential applications in alternative biochemical processes.
Maternal Exposure to Cigarette Smoke during Pregnancy and Testicular Cancer in Offspring: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Maternal exposure to cigarette smoke in pregnancy may play a role in the development of testicular cancer in offspring. An updated and comprehensive systematic review of the available evidence is needed. Objective: To identify and evaluate current evidence on maternal exposure to cigarette smoke during pregnancy and testicular cancer in offspring. Methods: A systematic search of English peer-reviewed original literature in PubMed through a block search approach. Publications were considered if assessing maternal exposure to cigarette smoke and the risk of testicular cancer in offspring. Results: Among the 636 identified records, 14 publications were eligible for review and 10 for meta-analysis. Quality assessment of the publications was conducted. Most included publications were case-control studies (n = 11, 79%), while the remaining were ecological studies (n = 3, 21%). Completeness of reporting was high, but more than half were considered subject to potential bias. The trend synthesis showed that half (n = 7) of the included publications demonstrated a higher risk of testicular cancer in the sons of mothers exposed to cigarette smoke during pregnancy. The meta-analysis generated an overall summary risk estimate of 1.00 (95% CI: 0.88; 1.15) (n = 10 publications), with a lower risk for seminoma (0.79, 95% CI: 0.59; 1.04) and nonseminoma (0.96, 95% CI: 0.74; 1.26) (n = 4 publications). Conclusions: This systematic review did not provide evidence of an association between maternal exposure to cigarette smoke and risk of testicular cancer in offspring. An overall positive trend was suggested, but it had low statistical precision. The methodological limitations across publications encourage further research based on valid exposure data.
Zero-Waste Approach for Heavy Metals’ Removal from Water with an Enhanced Multi-Stage Hybrid Treatment System

The aim of the work was to develop a zero-waste technological solution for hybrid removal of heavy metals from river sediments. The proposed technological process consists of sample preparation, sediment washing (a physicochemical process for sediment purification), and purification of the wastewater produced as a by-product. A suitable solvent for heavy metal washing and the effectiveness of heavy metal removal were determined by testing EDTA and citric acid. The process for removing heavy metals from the samples worked best with citric acid when the 2% sample suspension was washed over a 5-h period. The method was chosen of the adsorption of heavy metals from the exhausting washing solution on natural clay. Analyses were performed of the three main heavy metals, Cu(II), Cr(VI), and Ni(II), in the washing solution. Based on the laboratory experiments, a technological plan was prepared for the purification of 100,000 tons of material per year.
On algorithmic aspects of the l-torsion of Brauer groups

Abstract We study the algorithmic aspects of the l-torsion of the Brauer group Br(K) of a field K which contains the l-th roots of unity µ l, only provided with basic operations on the elements of K. We use a primitive root of unity and nonzero elements in K to represent elements of Br(K)[l]. An algorithm is given to compute the invariant homomorphism on Br(Ql (µ l))[l] for an odd prime l. We also give a remark on potential application of Brauer groups to solve the discrete logarithm problem of multiplicative groups of finite fields.
Effect of light coherence on depth of focus in head-mounted retinal projection displays

We discuss the impact of spatial coherence on the defocusing properties of a retinal projection display. The paper demonstrates that there is an optimum degree of spatial coherence that significantly increases the depth of focus as compared with a fully incoherent or a fully coherent illumination. To this end, a theoretical analysis of the effect of light coherence on image contrast is presented and the influence of coherence effects on image quality is discussed. Measurements of both the contrast function (CF) and the text readability when defocusing are presented using a bench model of the display system. The text readability is evaluated using a combination of objective image quality criteria and human experiments. The results reveal that for reading text targets the best depth of focus can be achieved not by fully coherent illumination, but by partially coherent light of a spatial coherence level between about 0.35 and 0.5. Further, it is shown that the optimum level depends slightly on the targeted text size.
Echocardiographic measurements and cardiac anatomy in healthy Western hognose snakes (Heterodon nasicus)

This study aims to describe the most important cardiac structures in the Heterodon nasicus through echocardiography and anatomical dissection. Echocardiographic and echo-Doppler measurements were performed on twenty healthy adult Heterodon nasicus (10.10). The values of the ventricular length, aortic diameter, pulmonary trunk diameter, the mean thickness of the interventricular septum, and thicknesses of the wall of the cavum pulmonale (Cav. P) and cavum arteriosum (Cav. A), were measured. The aortic flow and pulmonary trunk flow were recorded. Two dead specimens (1.1) were dissected. The male’s pulmonary trunk diameter was bigger compared to the female’s in both the long and short axis. The reproductive ecology of Heterodon nasicus has yet to be fully elucidated upon, however, male territorialism and dispersal from the hibernacula, and multiple male courtships toward a single female were described, hence, the more active reproductive activity of the male and the consequent sexual selection toward a higher aerobic performance can be hypothesised. A moderate interventricular right to left shunt was noticed in the Cav. V of all the specimens, which is considered normal and should not confuse the clinician. Congenital defects, cardiomyopathies, valvulopathies, and pericardial diseases are known to occur in ophidians and other reptiles. Reliable data and profound knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the ophidian heart are fundamental for the in vivo diagnosis of cardiac diseases in snakes.
Beyond average: are the yield and income impacts of adopting drought-tolerant maize varieties heterogeneous?

ABSTRACT Assessing the benefits of adopting climate-resilient farming technologies without considering the heterogeneity among farmers, may not provide a sufficient evidence base for policy. Yet, most empirical studies do not go beyond documenting the average effects of climate-resilient technologies. Using farm household survey data from Nigeria, this paper examines whether and to what extent the yield and income impacts of adopting drought-tolerant maize varieties are heterogeneous. We used the stratification-multilevel, matching-smoothing and smoothing-differencing econometric methods to analyse the heterogeneous effects of the varieties on maize yield, crop income and household income. Our results show that the adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties significantly increased maize yield, crop and household income. In addition, we find that the yield and income impacts of the adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties are heterogeneous and depend on the farm households’ propensity to adopt the drought tolerant maize varieties. Specifically, we find that the estimated yield effects of the drought-tolerant maize varieties are larger for farmers with the highest propensity to adopt the varieties, which suggests a positive selection. Our results emphasize the need for proper targeting of interventions to incentivize the uptake of climate-resilient farming technologies in order to improve the outcomes of households in drought-prone areas.