Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Statistical Mechanical Theory for and Simulations of Charged Fluids and Water

Title of dissertation: STATISTICAL MECHANICAL THEORY FOR AND SIMULATIONS OF CHARGED FLUIDS AND WATER Jocelyn Michelle Rodgers, Doctor of Philosophy, 2008 Dissertation directed by: Professor John D. Weeks Department of Chemistry Institute for Physical Science Technology Treatment of electrostatic interactions in simulations remains a topic of current research. These interactions are present in most biomolecular simulations, and they remain an expensive part of the simulation. Herein we explore the application of local molecular field (LMF) theory to this problem. Local molecular field theory splits the Coulomb potential 1/r into short-ranged and long-ranged components. The short-ranged component may be treated explicitly in simulations and the long-ranged component is contained in a mean-field-like average external electrostatic potential. In this thesis, the derivations and approximations inherent in using the previously developed LMF theory are explored, and connections to classical electrostatics are made. Further the approach is justified for molecular systems. The application of LMF theory to several systems is explored. First, a simple system of uniformly charged walls with neutralizing counterions is treated via simulations using LMF theory. We then explore systems involving molecular water at ambient conditions. A simple approximation to LMF theory using only the short-ranged component of 1/r is quite powerful for bulk water. A full treatment using LMF theory extends the validity of such spherical truncations to nonuniform systems. This thesis studies the successful treatment of water confined between hydrophobic walls with and without an applied electric field – a system which is a classic example of the failings of spherical truncations in molecular simulations. Additional results exemplify the applicability of LMF simulations to more molecularly realistic simulations. Connection is also made between these simulations of confined water and a related theory of hydrophobicity due to Lum, Chandler, and Weeks (1999). STATISTICAL MECHANICAL THEORY FOR AND SIMULATIONS OF CHARGED FLUIDS AND WATER
The Proteostasis Network: A Global Therapeutic Target for Neuroprotection after Spinal Cord Injury

Proteostasis (protein homeostasis) is critical for cellular as well as organismal survival. It is strictly regulated by multiple conserved pathways including the ubiquitin-proteasome system, autophagy, the heat shock response, the integrated stress response, and the unfolded protein response. These overlapping proteostasis maintenance modules respond to various forms of cellular stress as well as organismal injury. While proteostasis restoration and ultimately organism survival is the main evolutionary driver of such a regulation, unresolved disruption of proteostasis may engage pro-apoptotic mediators of those pathways to eliminate defective cells. In this review, we discuss proteostasis contributions to the pathogenesis of traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Most published reports focused on the role of proteostasis networks in acute/sub-acute tissue damage post-SCI. Those reports reveal a complex picture with cell type- and/or proteostasis mediator-specific effects on loss of neurons and/or glia that often translate into the corresponding modulation of functional recovery. Effects of proteostasis networks on such phenomena as neuro-repair, post-injury plasticity, as well as systemic manifestations of SCI including dysregulation of the immune system, metabolism or cardiovascular function are currently understudied. However, as potential interventions that target the proteostasis networks are expected to impact many cell types across multiple organ systems that are compromised after SCI, such therapies could produce beneficial effects across the wide spectrum of highly variable human SCI.
Methotrexate-Induced Alteration of Renal Aquaporins 1 and 2, Oxidative Stress and Tubular Apoptosis Can Be Attenuated by Omega-3 Fatty Acids Supplementation

Methotrexate (MTX) is a potent anti-cancer drug, commonly associated with nephrotoxicity via the induction of oxidative stress and apoptosis with alteration of renal water channel proteins, namely aquaporins (AQPs). Omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) have shown cytoprotective effects through their anti-oxidant and antiapoptotic activities. The present study aims for the first time to explore the role of LC-PUFA against MTX-induced nephrotoxicity. Rats were divided into the following groups: saline control, LC-PUFA control, MTX, MTX + LC-PUFA (150 mg/kg), or MTX + LC-PUFA (300 mg/kg). Then, H&E staining and immunohistochemical staining for the anti-apoptosis marker B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2), the apoptosis marker BCL2-Associated X Protein (BAX), the proinflammatory marker Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB), AQPs 1 and 2 were performed in kidney sections with an assessment of renal oxidative stress. The MTX caused a renal histopathological alteration, upregulated renal BAX and NF-kB, downregulated Bcl-2 and AQP1, altered the distribution of AQP2, and caused oxidative stress. The LC-PUFA attenuated the pathological changes and decreased renal BAX and NF-kB, increased BCL-2 and AQP1, restored the normal distribution of AQP2, and decreased the oxidative stress. Therefore, LC-PUFA is a good adjuvant to MTX to prevent its adverse effects on kidneys through its antiapoptotic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effect and its role in the restoration of the expression of AQPs 1 and 2.
21cm absorption signal from charge sequestration

The unexpectedly strong 21cm absorption signal detected by the EDGES experiment suggests that the baryonic gas was colder at redshift $z\sim 17$ than predicted in the standard scenario. We discuss a mechanism to lower the baryon temperature after recombination. We introduce a stable, negatively-charged particle with a non-negligible cosmological abundance, such that the universe remains charge-neutral but the electron and proton numbers are no longer equal. The deficit of electrons during recombination results in an earlier decoupling of the baryon gas temperature from that of the CMB. This implies a smaller ratio of the gas and CMB temperature at $z\sim 17$. The parameter space of the mechanism where the 21 cm absorption signal is significantly enhanced is probed by the CMB spectrum, cooling of stars and supernovae, and colliders. Nevertheless, we find viable regions corresponding to sub-eV or MeV-scale milli-charged particles, or to TeV-scale multi-charged particles.
A Paraconsistent Approach to Quantum Computing

We propose a method to define axiomatic theories for deterministic Turing machine computations. This method, when applied to axiomatizing computations in non-deterministic Turing machines, produces (in some cases) contradictory theories, therefore trivial theories (considering classical logic as the underlying logic). Substituting in such theories the underlying logic by the paraconsistent logic LFI1 permits us to define a new model of computation which we call paraconsistent Turing machine. We show that this initial model of computation allows the simulation of important quantum computing features. In particular, it allows to simulate the quantum solution of the well-known Deutsch’s and Deutsch-Jozsa problems. However, we show that this initial model of computation does not adequately represent the notion of entangled states, a key feature in quantum computing. In this way, the construction is refined by defining a paraconsistent logic with a connective expressing entangled states in a logical fashion, and this logic is used to define a more sharpened model of paraconsistent Turing machines, better approaching the quantum computing features. Finally, we define complexity classes for the models introduced and establish some surprising relationships with classical complexity classes.
Global Asymptotics for Meixner‐Pollaczek Polynomials with a Varying Parameter

In this paper, we study the uniform asymptotics of the Meixner‐Pollaczek polynomials Pn(λn)(z;ϕ) with varying parameter λn=(n+12)A as n→∞ , where A > 0 is a constant. Two asymptotic expansions are obtained, which hold uniformly for z in two overlapping regions which together cover the whole complex plane. One involves parabolic cylinder functions, and the other is in terms of elementary functions only. Our approach is based on the steepest descent method for oscillatory Riemann‐Hilbert problems first introduced by Deift and Zhou [1].
Mechanisms of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Prevention of Dispase-Induced PVR by Delivery of an Antioxidant αB Crystallin Peptide

Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is a refractory retinal disease whose primary pathogenesis involves the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. At present, there is no effective treatment other than surgery for PVR. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of αB crystallin peptide (αBC-P) on EMT in PVR. We have previously shown that this peptide is antiapoptotic and regulates RPE redox status. Subconfluent primary human RPE (hRPE) cells were stimulated by TGFβ2 (10 ng/mL) with or without αBC-P (50 or 75 μg/mL) for 48 h and expression of EMT/mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) markers was determined. Mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) generation in hRPE cells treated with TGFβ2 was analyzed. The effect of TGFβ2 and αBC-P on oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and glycolysis in hRPE was studied. RPE cell migration was also assessed. A PVR-like phenotype was induced by intravitreal dispase injection in C57BL/6J mice. PVR progression and potential therapeutic efficiency of αBC-Elastin-like polypeptides (ELP) was studied using fundus photography, OCT imaging, ERG, and histologic analysis of the retina. αSMA, E-cadherin, Vimentin, Fibronectin and, RPE65, and CTGF were analyzed on Day 28. Additionally, the amount of VEGF-A in retinal cell lysates was measured. The EMT-associated αSMA, Vimentin, SNAIL and SLUG showed a significant upregulation with TGFβ2, and their expression was significantly suppressed by cotreatment with αBC-P. The MET-associated markers, E-cadherin and Sirt1, were significantly downregulated by TGFβ2 and were restored by αBC-P. Incubation of hRPE with TGFβ2 for 24 h showed a marked increase in mitochondrial ROS which was noticeably inhibited by αBC-ELP. We also showed that after TGFβ2 treatment, SMAD4 translocated to mitochondria which was blocked by αBC-ELP. Mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate increased with TGFβ2 treatment for 48 h, and αBC-P co-treatment caused a further increase in OCR. Glycolytic functions of RPE were significantly suppressed with αBC-P (75 μg/mL). In addition, αBC-P significantly inhibited the migration from TGFβ2 treatment in hRPE cells. The formation of proliferative membranes was suppressed in the αBC-ELP-treated group, as evidenced by fundus, OCT, and H&E staining in dispase-induced PVR in mice. Furthermore, ERG showed an improvement in c-wave amplitude. In addition, immunostaining showed significant suppression of αSMA and RPE65 expression. It was also observed that αBC-ELP significantly reduced the expression level of vimentin, fibronectin, and CTGF. Our findings suggest that the antioxidant αBC-P may have therapeutic potential in preventing PVR by reversing the phenotype of EMT/MET and improving the mitochondrial function in RPE cells.
R-parity violation and non-abelian discrete family symmetry

We investigate the implications of R-parity violating operators in a model with family symmetry. The family symmetry can determine the form of R-parity violating operators as well as the Yukawa matrices responsible for fermion masses and mixings. In this paper we consider a concrete model with non-abelian discrete symmetry Q6 which contains only three R-parity violating operators. We find that ratios of decay rates of the lepton flavor violating processes are fixed thanks to the family symmetry, predicting BR(τ → 3e)/BR(τ → 3μ) ~ 4mμ2/mτ2.
Development of an Online Adaptive Parameter Tuning vSLAM Algorithm for UAVs in GPS-Denied Environments

In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been applied in many fields owing to their mature flight control technology and easy-to-operate characteristics. No doubt, these UAV-related applications rely heavily on location information provided by the positioning system. Most UAVs nowadays use a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) to obtain location information. However, this outside-in 3rd party positioning system is particularly susceptible to environmental interference and cannot be used in indoor environments, which limits the application diversity of UAVs. To deal with this problem, in this paper, a stereo-based visual simultaneous localization and mapping technology (vSLAM) is applied. The presented vSLAM algorithm fuses onboard inertial measurement unit (IMU) information to further solve the navigation problem in an unknown environment without the use of a GNSS signal and provides reliable localization information. The overall visual positioning system is based on the stereo parallel tracking and mapping architecture (S-PTAM). However, experiments found that the feature-matching threshold has a significant impact on positioning accuracy. Selection of the threshold is based on the Hamming distance without any physical meaning, which makes the threshold quite difficult to set manually. Therefore, this work develops an online adaptive matching threshold according to the keyframe poses. Experiments show that the developed adaptive matching threshold improves positioning accuracy. Since the attitude calculation of the IMU is carried out based on the Mahony complementary filter, the difference between the measured acceleration and the gravity is used as the metric to online tune the gain value dynamically, which can improve the accuracy of attitude estimation under aggressive motions. Moreover, a static state detection algorithm based on the moving window method and measured acceleration is proposed as well to accurately calculate the conversion mechanism between the vSLAM system and the IMU information; this initialization mechanism can help IMU provide a better initial guess for the bundle adjustment algorithm (BA) in the tracking thread. Finally, a performance evaluation of the proposed algorithm is conducted by the popular EuRoC dataset. All the experimental results show that the developed online adaptive parameter tuning algorithm can effectively improve the vSLAM accuracy and robustness.
Statistical Properties of the Returns of Stock Prices of International Markets

We investigate statistical properties of daily international market indices of seven countries, and high-frequency $S&P500$ and KOSDAQ data, by using the detrended fluctuation method and the surrogate test. We have found that the returns of international stock market indices of seven countries follow a universal power-law distribution with an exponent of $\zeta \approx 3$, while the Korean stock market follows an exponential distribution with an exponent of $\beta \approx 0.7$. The Hurst exponent analysis of the original return, and its magnitude and sign series, reveal that the long-term-memory property, which is absent in the returns and sign series, exists in the magnitude time series with $0.7 \leq H \leq 0.8$. The surrogate test shows that the magnitude time series reflects the non-linearity of the return series, which helps to reveal that the KOSDAQ index, one of the emerging markets, shows higher volatility than a mature market such as the {S&P} 500 index.
Experiencing double silence: sexuality education of south Asian minority youth in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT Awareness of culturally diverse young people’s rights and needs to sexuality education has been raised internationally. However, existing literature has generally focused more on how culturally diverse young people navigate western mainstream societies, leaving the Asian context underexamined. This paper explores the experiences and views of South Asian minority youth of sexuality education at home and in school in Hong Kong, informed by rights-based and cultural competence perspectives of sexuality education, and using a qualitative descriptive methodology. The findings identified four themes: (1) the double silence experienced at home and school; (2) marriage within the same religion and caste; (3) gender role expectations to be caring women and protective men, and (4) the need for culturally targeted sexuality education. This paper contributes to scholarship on sexuality education by advancing the knowledge base by means of a case study conducted in Hong Kong, an Asian multicultural context that differs from western multicultural societies. It elucidates the meaning of cultural sensitivity and cultural competence by stressing the negotiability of cultural norms and taboos and identifying the practical implications for conducting sexuality education in a multicultural city like Hong Kong.
The symplectic origin of conformal and Minkowski superspaces

Supermanifolds provide a very natural ground to understand and handle supersymmetry from a geometric point of view; supersymmetry in d = 3, 4, 6, and 10 dimensions is also deeply related to the normed division algebras. In this paper we want to show the link between the conformal group and certain types of symplectic transformations over division algebras. Inspired by this observation we then propose a new realization of the real form of the 4 dimensional conformal and Minkowski superspaces we obtain, respectively, as a Lagrangian supermanifold over the twistor superspace ℂ4|1 and a big cell inside it. The beauty of this approach is that it naturally generalizes to the 6 dimensional case (and possibly also to the 10 dimensional one) thus providing an elegant and uniform characterization of the conformal superspaces.
Characteristic Modes for a Slot in a Conducting Plane.

Abstract : In this report, the theory of characteristic modes for slots is used to solve the problem of an infinitely long slot in a conducting plane in an unbounded medium illuminated by either a transverse electric or a transverse magnetic uniform plane wave. The characteristic currents are defined as the eigenfunctions of a certain generalized eigenvalue equation involving the admittance operator and its real part. The theory is general, applicable to wide as well as narrow slots, and gives a modal expansion of all quantities and parameters of interest usually encountered in electromagnetic compatibility problems. This modal expansion converges rapidly when the slot is narrow. The characteristic currents and fields, the equivalent magnetic current, and the radiation pattern are computed for different slot widths. Analytic expressions for the special case of a narrow slot are also given. Key words: Aperture admittance; Characteristic modes; Electromagnetic transmission; Slot in a plane; Two dimensional slot.
Tetratrichomoniasis in the Geese Flock—Case Report

Infections caused by tetratrichomonas are commonly observed in geese. Most cases are subclinical, and the clinical form of the disease manifests itself with a greater mortality and the presence of caseous content in ceca. We describe the case of tetratrichomoniasis in a geese flock caused by Tetratrichomonas gallinarum, with the genetic analysis of the isolate being based on the fragments of 18SrRNA and ITS1-5.8rRNA-ITS2.
Neutrino-nucleus interactions

Interactions of neutrinos with nuclei in the energy ranges relevant for the MiniBooNE, T2K, NO$\nu$A, MINER$\nu$A and MINOS experiments are discussed. It is stressed that any theoretical treatment must involve all the relevant reaction mechanisms: quasielastic scattering, pion production and DIS. In addition, also many-body interactions play a role. In this talk we show how a misidentification of the reaction mechanism can affect the energy reconstruction. We also discuss how the newly measured pion production cross sections, as reported recently by the MiniBooNE collaboration, can be related to the old cross sections obtained on elementary targets. The MiniBooNE data seem to be compatible only with the old BNL data. Even then crucial features of the nucleon-pion-Delta interaction are missing in the experimental pion kinetic energy spectra. We also discuss the meson production processes at the higher energies of the NO$\nu$A, MINER$\nu$A and MINOS experiments. Here final state interactions make it impossible to gain knowledge about the elementary reaction amplitudes. Finally, we briefly explore the problems due to inaccuracies in the energy reconstruction that LBL experiments face in their extraction of oscillation parameters.
Psychedelic-supportive psychotherapy: A psychotherapeutic model for, before and beyond the medicine experience

A renaissance is underway as research studies are substantiating psychotherapeutic and physiological benefits of psychedelic medicines, along with advancements towards legalization, expansion of professional training programs and a renewed cultural recognition of the healing qualities of the medicines. Pending legislation, a cadre of trained psychotherapists are poised to apply their expertise for those who might benefit however, they are currently largely blocked from doing so. There are also ranks of competent psychedelically informed psychotherapists who might provide support to clients engaging with the medicines but are lacking guidelines to do so. ‘Psychedelic-Supportive Psychotherapy’ is a proposed model which might be immediately implemented by qualified practitioners for working with clients adjacent to but not during a medicine experience without compromising ethical or legal risk. This model aimed at psychotherapists who are increasingly challenged to help clients already engaging with or considering psychedelics, draws from the current field of knowledge to respond to a moral imperative for practitioners to act in the service of client's best interests and expand access for diverse communities. It balances psychedelic harm reduction perspectives with support for the emotional, psychological, and spiritual gains to be had when clients use psychedelics outside of therapy and can process the experience within their therapy. The model of psychedelic-supportive psychotherapy,’ is transtheoretical, its core premise being centrality of the therapeutic relationship as a change agent even as the therapist is not physically present in the client's medicine journey. Here a foundational structure is presented along with criteria, parameters, and recommendations for practitioners in its application.
Magneto-Structural Transition and Refrigeration Property in All-D-Metal Heusler Alloys: A Critical Review

Abstract: All-d-metal Heusler alloys has attracted much attention due to its unique magnetic properties, martensite transformation behavior and related solid-state refrigeration performance. These unique type alloys are recently discovered in 2015 and have been widely studied; however, systematic reviews on their magneto-structural transition and refrigeration property are rare. In this review, we first summarize the preparation techniques and microstructure of the bulk alloys and ribbons. Then the magnetic transition and martensite transformation behavior are reviewed, focusing on the correlation between magneto-structural transition and refrigeration properties. The effects of element doping, external magnetic and mechanical fields on the martensite transformation and corresponding magnetic entropy change are summarized. We end this review by proposing the further development prospective in the field of all-d-metal Heusler alloys.