Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Terahertz Radio Waves Specific Attenuation Due to Rain with Small Raindrops

It is pointed out, that raindrop size distributions widely used to estimate theoretically the radio waves specific attenuation due to rain in the microwave range, inadequately represent the quantity of small raindrops. According to experimental data for some geographical regions (for example, Japan) the quantity of these raindrops is too large. This fact restricts the use of well known distributions in the terahertz range. So, taking into account small raindrops, the new distribution is proposed and the radio waves specific attenuation due to rain is estimated more precisely for mentioned and some other geographical regions.
A note on static output‐feedback for affine nonlinear systems

In this paper we present sufficient conditions for the solvability of the static‐output feedback stabilization problem for affine nonlinear systems using a factorization approach. We extend the results of (IEEE Trans. Autom. Control, Vol. 47, No. 12, pp. 2038–2041 (2002)) to include disturbance‐attenuation and singular control. The sufficient conditions given are also less stringent than the ones given in (IEEE Trans. Autom. Control Vol. 47, No. 12, pp. 2038–2041 (2002)). The usefulness of the results are also illustrated with some examples.
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Impedes Fetal Lung Development Through Exosome-Dependent Crosstalk Between Trophoblasts and Lung Epithelial Cells

Background Fetal lung underdevelopment (FLUD) is associated with neonatal and childhood severe respiratory diseases, among which gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) play crucial roles as revealed by recent prevalence studies, yet mechanism underlying GDM-induced FLUD, especially the role of trophoblasts, is not all known. Methods From the perspective of trophoblast-derived exosomes, we established in vitro, ex vivo, in vivo and GDM trophoblast models. Utilizing placenta-derived exosomes (NUB-exos and GDMUB-exos) isolated from normal and GDM umbilical cord blood plasma and trophoblast-derived exosomes (NC-exos and HG-exos) isolated from HTR8/SVneo trophoblasts medium with/without high glucose treatment, we examined their effects on fetal lung development and biological functions. Results We found that, compared with the NUB-exos group, the exosome concentration increased in GDMUB-exos group, and the content of exosomes also changed evidenced by 61 dysregulated miRNAs. After applying these exosomes to A549 alveolar type II epithelial cells, the proliferation and biological functions were suppressed while the proportion of apoptotic cells was increased as compared to the control. In ex vivo studies, we found that GDMUB-exos showed significant suppression on the growth of the fetal lung explants, where the number of terminal buds and the area of explant surface decreased and shrank. Besides, the expression of Fgf10, Vegfa, Flt-1, Kdr and surfactant proteins A, B, C, and D was downregulated in GDMUB-exos group, whilst Sox9 was upregulated. For in vivo studies, we found significant suppression of fetal lung development in GDMUB-exos group. Importantly, we found consistent alterations when we used NC-exos and HG-exos, suggesting a dominant role of trophoblasts in placenta-derived exosome-induced FLUD. Conclusion In conclusion, GDM can adversely affect trophoblasts and alter exosome contents, causing crosstalk disorder between trophoblasts and fetal lung epithelial cells and finally leading to FLUD. Findings of this study will shine insight into the theoretical explanation for the pathogenesis of FLUD.
Angle-Constrained Formation Maneuvering of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

In a global positioning system (GPS)-denied environment, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) rely on local sensing-based formation maneuvering approaches for collective motion. To improve mission efficiency by reducing the total sensing requirements on all UAVs, this article proposes a leader–follower formation maneuvering framework with two leaders, where the followers will track the two leaders and maintain a desired angle-constrained formation with respect to the leaders using direction-only measurements, i.e., removing the need for inter-UAV distance measurements for the followers. To enable the UAV formation to maneuver in translation, rotation, and scaling simultaneously, the desired formation shape is specified by a set of interior angle constraints. By assigning each UAV’s yaw angle and position as the four controllable variables, an estimation-based attitude control algorithm is designed. For the UAVs’ position control, the designed formation maneuvering algorithm consists of a velocity tracking part and a formation shape control part that enables the first leader UAV to control the translational maneuvering, the second leader UAV to control the rotational and scaling maneuvering, and all the follower UAVs to maintain the formation shape. Simulations and experiments on UAVs’ formation maneuvering are conducted to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Adaptive fault-tolerant robust control for a linear system with adaptive fault identification

An integrated design of the adaptive robust control and the fault identification for a linear system with actuator faults is proposed. When actuators suffer from unpredicted faults, the proposed control strategy can track the actuator fault parameters adaptively without any prior fault information, and guarantee the robustness of the faulty system. An unknown input observer is designed to decouple the disturbance and the actuator faults. Then an adaptive control law with projection is presented to track the fault parameters. A new definition of robust H ∞-like performance is proposed to ensure that the system is robust for both exogenous disturbance and unpredicted faults. Then the adaptive robust control law is designed to guarantee the system satisfying the robust H ∞-like performance. Finally, the effectiveness of this control strategy is illustrated through the fault-tolerant longitudinal control of the simplified F-18 aircraft model.
Simulating deformable particle suspensions using a coupled lattice-Boltzmann and finite-element method

A novel method is developed to simulate suspensions of deformable particles by coupling the lattice-Boltzmann method (LBM) for the fluid phase to a linear finite-element analysis (FEA) describing particle deformation. The methodology addresses the need for an efficient method to simulate large numbers of three-dimensional and deformable particles at high volume fraction in order to capture suspension rheology, microstructure, and self-diffusion in a variety of applications. The robustness and accuracy of the LBM–FEA method is demonstrated by simulating an inflating thin-walled sphere, a deformable spherical capsule in shear flow, a settling sphere in a confined channel, two approaching spheres, spheres in shear flow, and red blood cell deformation in flow chambers. Additionally, simulations of suspensions of hundreds of biconcave red blood cells at 40% volume fraction produce continuum-scale physics and accurately predict suspension viscosity and the shear-thinning behaviour of blood. Simulations of fluid-filled spherical capsules which have red-blood-cell membrane properties also display deformation-induced shear-thinning behaviour at 40% volume fraction, although the suspension viscosity is significantly lower than blood.
The Impact of Household Debt on the Health of the Elderly in China: Evidence from China Family Panel Studies

With the aging of China’s population and the expansion of household debt, the health of the elderly has become an important social issue. Based on the 2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) database, we explored the impact of household debt on the health of older adults and the mechanism of transmission. The Oprobit and IV-Oprobit models were employed for our analysis. Results: (1) Household debt had a significant negative impact on both the physical and mental health of older adults. (2) Female older adults were more sensitive to the impact of household debt. Additionally, a higher education level led to an increasing impact of debt on mental health, but physical health was only affected in the low-education group. (3) The impact of household debt had an inverted U-shape relationship with household income, indicating that, as household income increases, the impact on health level first rises and then reduces after peaking at a middling level of income. (4) According to the mechanism analysis, household debt affects the health of the elderly by causing them to return to work and reducing their medical expenditures. Considering the above conclusions, we put forward some policy implications to alleviate the health problems of the elderly.
Pharmacometabolomics for the Study of Lipid-Lowering Therapies: Opportunities and Challenges

Lipid-lowering therapies are widely used to prevent the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and related mortality worldwide. “Omics” technologies have been successfully applied in recent decades to investigate the mechanisms of action of these drugs, their pleiotropic effects, and their side effects, aiming to identify novel targets for future personalized medicine with an improvement of the efficacy and safety associated with the treatment. Pharmacometabolomics is a branch of metabolomics that is focused on the study of drug effects on metabolic pathways that are implicated in the variation of response to the treatment considering also the influences from a specific disease, environment, and concomitant pharmacological therapies. In this review, we summarized the most significant metabolomic studies on the effects of lipid-lowering therapies, including the most commonly used statins and fibrates to novel drugs or nutraceutical approaches. The integration of pharmacometabolomics data with the information obtained from the other “omics” approaches could help in the comprehension of the biological mechanisms underlying the use of lipid-lowering drugs in view of defining a precision medicine to improve the efficacy and reduce the side effects associated with the treatment.
A Dual Mode Nondestructive Evaluation Sensor With Simultaneous Inductive and Capacitive Outputs

Conventional electromagnetic non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques are usually sensitive to either conductors or insulators. The emerging non-destructive assessment of “insulator–conductor” composite structures is thus faced with cost and efficiency problems due to this limitation. In this article, a novel detection technique that combines inductive and capacitive methods is proposed for the inspection of “insulator–conductor” composite structures. A new structure of a planar inductive-capacitive dual-mode sensor in which the inductive and capacitive modes can be excited simultaneously with a single excitation signal without the need for mode switching is developed. The output signal of this sensor is analyzed in relation to the spatial electromagnetic field using equivalent circuit analysis and finite element (FE) simulation. A signal conditioning module for the proposed sensor is designed and a dual-mode test system that simultaneously detects signals from both modes is built. Experimental results from the test system show that the proposed detection method is sensitive to defects in both the insulating and conducting layers of the “insulator–conductor” composite structure and thus can detect corrosion under the insulation, surface cracks on the conductor and interface debonding with the detected signals able to reflect the size of the defects. The detection information of the two modes is complementary, proving that the method is able to comprehensively evaluate “insulator–conductor” composite structures.
Evaluation of position sensitive avalanche photodiodes for PET

A gamma ray detector for PET, consisting of an array of mixed lutetium oxyorthosilicate (MLS) scintillator crystals coupled to a position sensitive avalanche photodiode (PSAPD), was evaluated. The scintillator array was constructed from individual MLS crystals with dimensions of 1.5 mm/spl times/1.5 mm/spl times/15 mm. The assembled 7/spl times/7 array, including inter-crystal reflector material, had a pitch of 1.79 mm. The low noise, high gain PSAPD had dimensions of 14 mm/spl times/14 mm. Peaks associated with each of the 49 scintillator crystals were readily identifiable in flood histograms, and most of the crystals demonstrated energy resolution in the range of 15% to 20% at 511 keV. Preliminary measurements of the timing of the PSAPD in coincidence with a fast-scintillator/PMT detector indicated a timing resolution of approximately 4 ns. The operating characteristics and design attributes, such as compactness and reduced readout channel requirements, of the PSAPD make it attractive for high resolution PET applications.
Editorial: Focus issue on 2D materials for neuromorphic computing

Neuromorphic computing aims at mimicking the synapses, dendrites, and neurons in the brain as well as their associated connected networks to perform a variety of complex tasks including sensing, computing, perception, sometimes by directly utilizing the physical properties of materials. Their functionality diversity and performance highly depend on the use of materials. Compared to the conventional materials, 2D materials exhibit many unique physical properties and the research of 2D materials has reshaped the field of neuromorphic computing. This special issue presents some of the innovations in using devices based on 2D materials to emulate the biological synapses or generate noise injection to hardware neural networks. The issue also provides a comprehensive analysis of recent advances in exploiting the unique physical properties of 2D materials for neuromorphic computing. These innovations and analysis may serve as a useful guide to further advance 2D materials for practical applications. This special issue includes two research articles and four review articles, with contents briefly summarized in the following paragraphs.
Metal-glass nanocomposite for optical storage of information

We demonstrate an all-optical data storage and readout technique on a medium that has proved to be stable over centuries—glass containing metallic nanoparticles. Using ultra-short laser pulses to persistently change the shapes of the nanoparticles dependent of the laser polarization, well-defined local dichroism in the focal volume can be produced. The latter could be utilized for multi-bit encoding in spot sizes down to the diffraction limit, where the information can be read out very fast by wavelength- and polarization-sensitive detection of the transmitted light. The storage capacity of the proposed technique is comparable with that of blu-ray discs.
Digital-Twin-Based Real-Time Optimization for A Fractional Order Controller for Industrial Robots

Digital twins are applied in smart manufacturing towards a smarter cyber-physical manufacturing system for effective analysis, fault diagnosis, and system optimization of a physical system. In this paper, a framework applying a digital twin to industrial robots is proposed and realizes the real-time monitoring and performance optimization of industrial robots. This framework includes multi-domain modeling, behavioral matching, control optimization, and parameter updating. The properties of the industrial robot are first modeled in a digital environment to realize the strong interactive and all-around 3D visual monitoring. Then, behavioral matching is performed to map the virtual system to the physical system in real time. Furthermore, the control performance of the system is improved by using a fractional order controller based on the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm. This framework is applied to the experimental verification of real-time control optimization on an industrial robot. The time-domain performance is improved in the simulation and experimental results, where the overshoot is promoted at least 42%, the peak time is promoted at least 32%, and the settling time is promoted at least 33%. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework for a digital twin combined with fractional order control (FOC).
Distributed Thermal Cracking of AC Pavement with Frictional Constraint

This paper develops a model to simulate the distributed thermal cracking of concrete structures with frictional constraint. This model is developed primarily for the thermal cracking asphalt-concrete (AC) pavement structures; however, with some modifications, it is also applicable to similar problems such as shrinkage cracking of concrete and cracking of reinforced concrete in uniaxial tension. This model reflects the multiscale nature of these problems: microcracking or damage on the mesoscale and localization or redistribution on the macroscale. Randomly distributed fictitious cracks are introduced to represent the inhomogeneities and damage in the material at the mesoscale. Friction is recognized as the mechanism leading to stress redistribution and, therefore, damage localization on the macroscale. When the problem is assumed to be one-dimensional and Coulomb friction is used, a semianalytical numerical scheme is developed. The formation of stress-free open cracks is due to the combination of continuous crack growth and unstable jumps, which involve a nonlinear stability analysis. Equilibrium solutions and stability conditions are given in the paper. Displacement controlled analysis is used to follow the unstable equilibrium path after the structure has lost stability. Numerical simulations clearly show that, with slight mesoscale inhomogeneities and in the presence of a constraining frictional force, microcracking or damage on the mesoscale localizes and finally leads to open cracks distributed at a spacing on the order of the macroscale.
Pushing the doors open: Nonviolent action and inclusion in peace negotiations

Whereas previous research shows that peace agreements which include a broad segment of society are more likely to lead to sustainable peace, little effort has gone into explaining inclusion itself. We address this gap in the literature by providing the first large-N study to examine the causes of inclusive peace negotiations across civil wars. We argue that civil society actors can gain leverage through mobilization of civilian protest, or build trust through dialogue efforts, thereby enhancing the chances of inclusion of non-warring actors at the negotiation table. The argument is examined by analysing unique and new monthly data on peacemaking efforts in all intrastate armed conflicts in Africa and the Americas, 1989–2018, including measures beyond mere nominal participation, such as whether civil society actors or political parties had substantive roles as either mediators or full participants at the peace talks. Our findings show that protests by civil society actors increase the likelihood that non-warring actors will have a seat at the negotiation table, whereas we find no such effect concerning dialogue efforts. The article contributes by providing new insights into how nonviolent action can shape peace processes by opening the doors to negotiations and is thus part of an emerging research agenda that seeks to bring together the fields of civil resistance and inclusive peace processes.
Comparison of Remimazolam Tosilate and Etomidate on Hemodynamics in Cardiac Surgery: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Background Remimazolam tosilate (RT) is a new ultrashort-acting γ-aminobutyric acid subtype A (GABAA) agonist, with the characteristics of rapid onset and offset, minimal cardiorespiratory depression. Currently, few studies have compared the effect of RT and etomidate on hemodynamics during anesthesia induction. Here, we aimed to compare the hemodynamic effects of different doses of RT and etomidate for anesthesia induction in patients undergoing cardiac surgeries. Methods Patients were recruited from January to September 2022 in this single-center, prospective, randomized, double-blind trial. A total of 117 patients undergoing selective valve replacement surgery were randomly divided into low-dose RT (0.2 mg/kg) group (group LR), high-dose RT (0.3 mg/kg) group (group HR), or etomidate (1.5 mg/kg) group (group E), respectively. The primary outcome was hemodynamic fluctuations (mean arterial pressure fluctuation value [∆MAP]; heart rate fluctuation value [∆HR]) during anesthesia induction. Secondary outcomes included the incidence of adverse drug reactions (injection pain and myoclonus) and adverse cardiovascular events, vital signs at different time points and the cumulative doses of vasoactive drugs. Results The hemodynamic fluctuations (∆MAP) in group LR and group E were significantly lower than that in group HR. In addition, the incidence of hypotension and the cumulative norepinephrine doses in group E and group LR were also significantly lower than that in group HR. Furthermore, the incidence of injection pain and myoclonus in group LR and group HR were less frequently recorded compared with group E. There were no significant differences in terms of ∆HR, tachycardia, hypertension, severe bradycardia, vital signs at different time points, lactic acid and blood glucose between both groups. Conclusion Compared with etomidate, low-dose RT (0.2mg/kg) can not only provide stable hemodynamic parameters but also cause fewer adverse reactions when used for anesthesia induction in patients with cardiac disease.
Effective Return, Risk Aversion and Drawdowns

We derive two risk-adjusted performance measures for investors with risk averse preferences. Maximizing these measures is equivalent to maximizing the expected utility of an investor. The first measure, Xeff, is derived assuming a constant risk aversion while the second measure, Reff, is based on a stronger risk aversion to clustering of losses than of gains. The clustering of returns is captured through a multi-horizon framework. The empirical properties of Xeff, Reff are studied within the context of real-time trading models for foreign exchange rates and their properties are compared to those of more traditional measures like the annualized return, the Sharpe Ratio and the maximum drawdown. Our measures are shown to be more robust against clustering of losses and have the ability to fully characterize the dynamic behaviour of investment strategies.
Implementation of Statistics in Business and Industry

Statisticians have devised many tools for application and these are available to be utilized for general business improvement and industrial problem solving. However, there is a wide gap between the available tools and what are practiced in business and industrial organizations. Thus it is important for statisticians to direct serious attention to bridging this gap if statistics is to be relevant in business and industry and to the society at large. In this paper we look at some ideas for implementation of statistical methods in business and industry.