Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of free-stream turbulence intensity on laminar separation bubbles

The effects of free-stream turbulence intensity on the flow over a NACA 0018 airfoil are studied experimentally in a wind tunnel facility. A parametric study is performed over a range of chord Reynolds numbers from 100 000 to 200 000, angles of attack from 0° to 20°, and free-stream turbulence intensities from 0.09% to 2.03% in order to unravel the effects of each parameter on suction side laminar separation bubble topology and the resulting changes in airfoil lift. In order to investigate the effects of free-stream turbulence intensity on the streamwise and spanwise flow development within a separation bubble, flow field measurements are made using planar Particle Image Velocimetry for an angle of attack of 4°, chord Reynolds numbers of 80 000 and 125 000, and free-stream turbulence intensities between 0.10% and 1.94%. The results show that increasing the level of free-stream turbulence intensity leads to a reduction in the length of the separation bubble formed over the suction side of the airfoil. The reduction in bubble length is a result of a downstream shift in mean separation as well as an upstream shift in mean transition and, consequently, mean reattachment. At low angles of attack, the reduction in separation bubble length leads to a slight reduction in airfoil lift, while at pre-stall angles of attack the reduction in separation bubble length alleviates the loss of suction at the location of the suction peak, thereby increasing lift, and can delay stall. While the effects of turbulence intensity and chord Reynolds number on the mean flow are shown to be similar, their effects on transition are shown to be notably different. The upstream shift in mean transition with increasing turbulence intensity is shown to be the result of disturbances reaching higher amplitudes earlier upstream as the level of turbulence intensity is increased, despite increased bubble stability. This result suggests that the increased initial perturbation amplitude at elevated turbulence intensity levels is solely responsible for the upstream shift in mean transition. In contrast, the upstream shift in mean transition with increasing Reynolds number is a result of decreased bubble stability. Wavenumber-frequency spectra of velocity fluctuations in the separated shear layer show that disturbances become more broadband in both time and space with increasing turbulence intensity. In addition, the results show that as the level of free-stream turbulence intensity is increased, the spanwise coherence of shear layer rollers decreases at the location of roll-up, leading to earlier vortex breakdown. At elevated levels of turbulence intensity, streamwise streaks of low speed fluid are observed, and originate in the boundary layer upstream of the separation bubble. These streaks form as a result of the onset of bypass transition, leading to significant changes in bubble dynamics, particularly at the highest level of turbulence intensity investigated. The results suggest that the transition mechanism in the separation bubble at the highest level of turbulence intensity investigated is altered.
Hermeneutic-phenomenological study of the teaching practice of polyvalent teachers

Studies in Math Education have, in the last twenty years, presented substantial results regarding the teaching methodologies used in elementary education. Thus, considering the context of the training of pedagogue teachers who teach Mathematics, we seek with this paper to present a study carried out with a group of polyvalent teachers about their methodological understandings concerning the teaching of fractions. For that, we used the hermeneutic-phenomenological methodology for data analysis, considering the alectic process as an instrument of extraction and interpretation. As results obtained in this study, we highlight the cultural aspects that stress the methodological choice by the teacher, here named cultural crystallization, as well as the gap between the mathematical concept of fraction and the methodological choice for its teaching. In addition to the results obtained through the hermeneutic-phenomenological analysis, the present paper brings possibilities and limitations regarding its use in research in Math Education.
Materialism and envy as mediators between upward social comparison on social network sites and online compulsive buying among college students

Upward social comparison on Social Network Sites (SNS) might be positively related to online compulsive buying; however, there is little understanding of the mechanism of this relationship. In this study, we explored the effect of upward social comparison on SNS on online compulsive buying, and whether this effect is mediated by materialism and envy. A total of 568 Chinese undergraduates (mean age = 19.58 years, SD = 1.43) were recruited to complete a survey that included Upward social comparison on SNS Scale, Materialism Scale, Envy Scale, and Online compulsive buying Scale. The results revealed that upward social comparison was positively linked to online compulsive buying. Additionally, materialism and envy completely mediated this relationship. Our findings suggest that upward social comparison has a positive influence on college students’ online compulsive buying and that this influence is formed through a combination of cognitive factors (materialism) and affective factors (envy). This discovery not only clarifies the underlying mechanism but also proposes a potential way of alleviating online compulsive buying.
Exploring and Deepening the Facets of Mentalizing: The Integration of Network and Factorial Analysis Approaches to Verify the Psychometric Properties of the Multidimensional Mentalizing Questionnaire (MMQ)

Mentalization is a complex and multifaceted trans-theoretical and trans-diagnostic construct that has found increasing application in the clinical context. This research aimed at deepening the psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Mentalizing Questionnaire (MMQ), a 33-item theoretically based self-report questionnaire allowing for a comprehensive assessment of mentalizing, by integrating factor analysis and network analysis approaches. A sample of 1640 participants (Mage = 33 years; SD = 13.28) was involved in the research. The six-factor structure was confirmed for the MMQ, and both the total and the subdimensions demonstrated good reliability. The network analysis has further enriched these results, showing the central role of the items attributable to Emotional Dysregulation or Reflexivity in influencing the network as well as the contribution of aspects related to Relational Discomfort in managing the flow of communication flow. Such findings may have useful clinical implications and emphasize the usefulness of the MMQ in both research and clinical practice.
Exopolysaccharides from Lactic Acid Bacteria: A Review on Functions, Biosynthesis and Applications in Food Industry

Lactic acid bacteria are the substantial source for producing polysaccharides used in technological applications as thickeners and viscosifiers in the food industry. A broad variety of lactic acid bacteria species secrete structurally diverse exopolysaccharides that contribute to their surface attachment, protection against abiotic or biotic stress factors and nutrient uptake. The exopolysaccharides are produced naturally during fermentation process by living lactic acid bacteria cells and accepted as postbiotic for these metabolites having various physiological health-promoting effects. Exopolysaccharide producer lactic acid bacteria encode a great number of enzymes and regulatory proteins involved exopolysaccharide biosynthesis process. This process is a complex and occurs through presence of multiple genes. However, it is crucial the understanding of structure, composition, function, chemical, and physical properties of exopolysaccharides which vary from one type of bacteria to another via chemical analysis methods. In this review, the use of lactic acid bacteria exopolysaccharides, their structures, genetic modules and biosynthesis, and the use of exopolysaccharides derived from lactic acid bacteria in the food industry are described, discussed and focused on recent developments.
Whole-Exome Sequencing in Family Trios Reveals De Novo Mutations Associated with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Simple Summary Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic autoimmune condition in which the immune system destroys insulin-making cells in the pancreas. Many advances have been made in the past decade to understand the pathophysiology of T1DM. With an estimated heritability risk of 50%, the strong genetic component plays an important role in the discovery of novel disease pathways and identification of new targets for therapeutic purposes. In this study, we aim to identify new (de novo) genetic markers for T1DM patients by sequencing the genes of the affected individual and their parents (trio family). This is a powerful approach to identify causal mutations for inherited diseases, such as T1DM, to improve our understanding of the condition. With 13 trio families, we identified 32 new (de novo) genetic mutations. Of these, 12 variants that were linked to T1DM, and the remaining 20 variants were linked to endocrine, metabolic, or autoimmune diseases. The findings of this study have allowed us to identify the genetic markers associated with the development of T1DM, to be able to improve diagnosis through therapeutic advancements. Abstract Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by insulin deficiency and loss of pancreatic islet β-cells. The objective of this study is to identify de novo mutations in 13 trios from singleton families that contribute to the genetic basis of T1DM through the application of whole-exome sequencing (WES). Of the 13 families sampled for this project, 12 had de novo variants, with Family 7 having the highest number (nine) of variants linked to T1DM/autoimmune pathways, whilst Family 4 did not have any variants past the filtering steps. There were 10 variants of 7 genes reportedly associated with T1DM (MST1; TDG; TYRO3; IFIHI; GLIS3; VEGFA; TYK2). There were 20 variants of 13 genes that were linked to endocrine, metabolic, or autoimmune diseases. Our findings demonstrate that trio-based WES is a powerful approach for identifying new candidate genes for the pathogenesis of T1D. Genotyping and functional annotation of the discovered de novo variants in a large cohort is recommended to ascertain their association with disease pathogenesis.
Joint Upsampling for Refocusing Light Fields Derived With Hybrid Lenses

As a 3-D world sensing instrument, the light field camera provides an effective measure to perceive the depth information, which enables the fascinating function to refocus after exposure. However, existing light field cameras suffer from limited spatial resolution. Recently, hybrid imaging systems have been widely explored to overcome this limitation, where only the central sub-view (sub-aperture image) has a high resolution. In this article, we propose a novel refocus scheme for the hybrid imaging system, which derives the central-view refocused image at low resolution, then jointly upsamples it under the guidance of the high-resolution central sub-view. The state-of-the-art joint upsampling methods are based on the local-linear-relation (LLR) or the consistent-structure (CS) assumptions, which are barely valid for our application scenario. We propose a linear fusion block (LFB) and stack the proposed blocks into a lightweight fully convolutional network named linear fusion network (LFN) for refocused image upsampling. We have conducted extensive experiments to evaluate the proposed method. Both qualitative and quantitative measures are explored. Experimental results indicate that LFN outperforms existing methods on the task of refocused image upsampling and shows that the proposed refocus scheme is practical.
Radiation from mixed multi-planar wire arrays

The study of radiation from different wire materials in wire array Z-pinch plasma is a very challenging topic because it is almost impossible to separate different plasmas at the stagnation. A new approach is suggested based on planar wire array (PWA) loads to assess this problem. Multi-planar wire arrays are implemented that consist of few planes, each with the same number of wires and masses but from different wire materials, arranged in parallel rows. In particular, the experimental results obtained with triple PWAs (TPWAs) on the UNR Zebra generator are analyzed with Wire Ablation Dynamics Model, non-local thermodynamic equilibrium kinetic model, and 2D radiation magneto-hydrodynamic to illustrate this new approach. In TPWAs, two wire planes were from mid-atomic-number wire material and another plane was from alloyed Al, placed either in the middle or at the edge of the TPWA. Spatial and temporal properties of K-shell Al and L-shell Cu radiations were analyzed and compared from these two configurations of TPWAs. Advantages of the new approach are demonstrated and future work is discussed.
Selective feeding of the mullet larvae Liza haematocheila during ontogeny in Laizhou Bay, Bohai Sea, China: The importance of small copepods in mesozooplankton as prey

The mullet Liza haematocheila is widely distributed in low-salinity waters around the world and has high economic value. However, details regarding the foraging ecology of mullet larvae remain unclear. Larvae of L. haematocheila were sampled in Laizhou Bay of the Bohai Sea, China, in May 2016, and diet composition was detected using gut content analysis to compare differences in feeding parameters and diet shift in dominant prey during ontogeny. The results showed no linear relationship between gape size (GS) and standard length (SL) at larva length <7 mm (flexion larvae, FL), but linear increase was observed for SL >7 mm (post-flexion larvae, PFL). Maximum prey size (MPS) overlapped with GS during the FL stage but was never higher than GS during the PFL stage. Trends of increasing MPS and prey size range (PSR) during the PFL stage were lower than those during the FL stage, but prey number (PN) increased significantly during the PFL stage. Diet composition analyses in mullet larvae showed a total of 10 mesozooplankton species (or categories), of which 8 species were copepods (including copepods nauplii and copepodites), and showed the dominance of 4 small copepods (<1 mm). Analyses of the numerical proportion of dominant copepods showed that the largest prey (Paracalanus parvus) gradually increased as GS increased; conversely, the smallest prey (nauplii of Calanus sinicus) decreased. Collectively, these results suggest that PFL tends to exhibit increased PN but not prey size or size range, and diet shifts from smaller to larger prey during ontogeny in mullet larvae. All these indicate that PFL has higher prey selection ability compared with FL, specifically switching the diet to include larger small copepods during the PFL stage and increasing the prey number instead of increasing prey size. These determine the importance of small copepods in mesozooplankton as dominant prey and facilitate predictions of the impact of climate change on mesozooplankton and fish larvae.
The Predictable Leading Monomial Property for Linearized Polynomials and Gabidulin List-Decoding

We show how Gabidulin codes can be list decoded by using a parametrization approach. Our decoding algorithm computes a list of all closest codewords to a given received word. We consider a certain module, called the interpolation module, over the ring of linearized polynomials with respect to composition of polynomials. The Predictable Leading Monomial property for minimal bases of this interpolation module is stated and proved, which is then used as a key ingredient for our parametrization. The parametrization is based on a minimal basis for the interpolation module, which is why we furthermore formulate two subalgorithms, one using the extended Euclidean algorithm and an iterative one, for finding such a basis.
Bioactive Extracts from Salicornia ramosissima J. Woods Biorefinery as a Source of Ingredients for High-Value Industries

Salt-tolerant plants, also known as halophytes, could provide a novel source of feedstock for biorefineries. After harvesting fresh shoots for food, the lignified fraction of Salicornia ramosissima J. Woods could be used to produce bioactive botanical extracts for high-value industries such as nutraceuticals, cosmetics, and biopharmaceuticals. The residual fraction after extraction can be further used for bioenergy or lignocellulose-derived platform chemicals. This work analysed S. ramosissima from different sources and growth stages. After pre-processing and extractions, the obtained fractions were analysed for their contents of fatty acids, pigments, and total phenolics. Extracts were also evaluated for their in vitro antioxidant properties and inhibitory effect towards enzymes related to diabetes, hyperpigmentation, obesity, and neurogenerative diseases. The ethanol extract from the fibre residue and the water extract from completely lignified plants showed the highest concentration of phenolic compounds along with the highest antioxidant potential and enzyme-inhibitory properties. Hence, they should be further explored in the context of biorefinery.
Optimal active particle navigation meets machine learning

The question of how “smart” active agents, like insects, microorganisms, or future colloidal robots need to steer to optimally reach or discover a target, such as an odor source, food, or a cancer cell in a complex environment has recently attracted great interest. Here, we provide an overview of recent developments, regarding such optimal navigation problems, from the micro- to the macroscale, and give a perspective by discussing some of the challenges which are ahead of us. Besides exemplifying an elementary approach to optimal navigation problems, the article focuses on works utilizing machine learning-based methods. Such learning-based approaches can uncover highly efficient navigation strategies even for problems that involve, e.g., chaotic, high-dimensional, or unknown environments and are hardly solvable based on conventional analytical or simulation methods.
Associations Between Peer Relationships and Cyber Aggression: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT Results of associations between positive or negative peer relationships and cyber aggression are inconclusive. Thus, this study performed two separate three-level meta-analytic models to synthesize existing researches with the goal of obtaining reliable estimates of effect sizes and conducting moderator analyses. The results revealed a significant negative association between positive dimension and cyber aggression, and a significant positive correlation between negative dimension and cyber aggression. Furthermore, publication prestige moderated the association between positive dimension and cyber aggression. The age, culture, measurements for cyber aggression and study design were found to be significant moderators of the association between negative dimension and cyber aggression. In summary, positive peer relationships may be protective factors for cyber aggression, while negative peer relationships might be risk factors for developing cyber aggression.
On reducing the bit rate of a CELP-based speech coder

For a code excited linear prediction (CELP)-based coder, coarse quantization usually results in the degradation of speech quality. Spectrum and gain were found to have the least sensitivity to quantization errors and were efficiently quantized. The frame period and number of subframes per frame were also appropriately selected for the purpose of bit-rate reduction. The performance of four possible excitations, namely, stochastic excitation, binary pulse excitation, self-excitation and repeat excitation were investigated. Using signal-to-noise ratio as a quality measure, the coder at 3076 b/s was found to have a performance very close to that of the federal standard at 4800 b/s. <<ETX>>
A method for computing acoustic fields based on the principle of wave superposition

A method for computing the acoustic fields of arbitrarily shaped radiators is described that uses the principle of wave superposition. The superposition integral, which is shown to be equivalent to the Helmholtz integral, is based on the idea that the combined fields of an array of sources interior to a radiator can be made to reproduce a velocity prescribed on the surface of the radiator. The strengths of the sources that produce this condition can, in turn, be used to compute the corresponding surface pressures. The results of several numerical experiments are presented that demonstrate the simplicity of the method. Also, the advantages that the superposition method has over the more commonly used boundary‐element methods are discussed. These include simplicity of generating the matrix elements used in the numerical formulation and improved accuracy and speed, the latter two being due to the avoidance of uniqueness and singularity problems inherent in the boundary‐element formulation.
Response of nutrients and primary production to high wind and upwelling-favorable wind in the Arctic Ocean: A modeling perspective

Both remote sensing and numerical models revealed increasing net primary production (NPP) in the Arctic Ocean due to declining sea ice cover and increasing ice-free days. The NPP increases in some parts of the Arctic Ocean are also hypothesized to link to high wind (>10 m/s) and upwelling-favorable wind, however, the mechanism remains unclear. Using Regional Arctic System Model (RASM) to investigate the relationship between NPP and wind, we found that the seasonal NPP are statistically correlated to high wind frequency (HWF) in the Barents (Br) and Southern Chukchi Seas (SC) due to their high subsurface nutrients in the 20-50 m layer. Five high and five low HWF years along a zonally averaged section were chosen to understand the spatial variation of the correlation between HWF, NO3, and NPP in the SC. During high HWF years, the decrease in subsurface NO3 exceeds its increase in surface, implying the utilization by biological productivity. A more positive response of NPP to HWF in north SC than south was also found because more subsurface nutrients were entrained into the surface by higher HWF. The NPP are statistically correlated to easterly wind frequency (EWF) in the Beaufort and Canada Basin (BC), where the stronger EWF-induced upwelling could bring up higher nutrients from >100 m depth. While the nutrients and NPP in the south BC are normally higher than in the north, an increase of EWF can further enhance the nutrients and NPP in the south much more than those in the north. Differences between five high and five low EWF years reveal that the increase of EWF is most important around the shelf break region, where NO3 and NPP are also most enhanced. The enhancement of NPP by higher HWF in the Br and SC is less than that by higher ice-free days ratio (IFR), while the enhancement of NPP by higher EWF in BC is of similar magnitude to that by IFR. As the trend of declining sea ice cover continues, it’s necessary to advance our understanding on the nutrients and NPP response to changing wind regimes in different Arctic regions.
Tellurite glass lasers operating close to 2 μm

Recent work in the area of Tm3+ and Ho3+-doped tellurite fibre and bulk glass lasers operating close to 2 μm is reviewed. Spectroscopic properties of these doped glasses are discussed as well as the relevant pump schemes and energy transfer processes involved. Results of continuous wave (CW) and Q-switched Tm3+ and Ho3+-doped tellurite fibre lasers are then presented and discussed. Finally, the results of tellurite bulk glass laser experiments conducted to date are reported.