Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiscale Analysis and Prediction of Sea Level in the Northern South China Sea Based on Tide Gauge and Satellite Data

Under the influence of global warming, the problem of sea-level rise is becoming increasingly prominent. The northern part of the South China Sea (SCS) is low lying, with intense economic development, and densely populated. These characteristics make the region extremely sensitive to the consequences of rising sea levels. This study aims to reveal the trends of sea-level changes in the northern SCS and provide scientific insights into the potential flooding risks in low-lying areas. To achieve this, the Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) method is used to analyze the water level time series data from three tide gauges along the coast of Hong Kong. This analysis reveals the multidimensional change characteristics and response mechanisms of the sea level in the SCS. The findings reveal distinct seasonal, interannual, decadal, and interdecadal variations in sea-level changes. Furthermore, we explore the impact of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on sea-level changes in the study area, finding a 6-month lagged correlation between the sea level and ENSO. Spatially, the rate of sea-level change is faster in nearshore areas than in the open ocean and higher in the northern regions than in the southern regions. The Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MF-DFA) method is employed to analyze the sea-level change time series, revealing long-range correlations and multifractal characteristics. In addition, we propose a sea-level prediction method that combines EEMD with Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks and conducts empirical research on sea-level changes in the northern South China Sea. The results indicate that the EEMD-LSTM model outperforms the standalone LSTM model in terms of predictive accuracy, effectively eliminating noise from signals and providing a valuable reference. In summary, this research delves into the multiscale characteristics and influencing factors of sea-level changes in the northern SCS, proposing an improved sea-level prediction method that integrates EEMD and LSTM. The findings lay the groundwork for evaluating the risks of sea-level rise in low-lying regions of the northern SCS and inform future response strategies.
RAPID DECREASING IN THE ORBITAL PERIOD OF THE DETACHED WHITE DWARF–MAIN SEQUENCE BINARY SDSS J143547.87+373338.5

SDSS J143547.87+373338.5 is a detached eclipsing binary that contains a white dwarf with a mass of 0.5 M⊙ and a fully convective star with a mass of 0.21 M⊙. The eclipsing binary was monitored photometrically from 2009 March 24 to 2015 April 10, by using two 2.4-m telescopes in China and in Thailand. The changes in the orbital period are analyzed based on eight newly determined eclipse times together with those compiled from the literature. It is found that the observed–calculated (O–C) diagram shows a downward parabolic change that reveals a continuous period decrease at a rate of P ˙ = − 8.04 × 10 − 11 ? > s s−1. According to the standard theory of cataclysmic variables, angular momentum loss (AML) via magnetic braking (MB) is stopped for fully convective stars. However, this period decrease is too large to be caused by AML via gravitational radiation (GR), indicating that there could be some extra source of AML beyond GR, but the predicted mass-loss rates from MB seem unrealistically large. The other possibility is that the O–C diagram may show a cyclic oscillation with a period of 7.72 years and a small amplitude of 0. ͩ000525. The cyclic change can be explained as the light-travel-time effect via the presence of a third body because the required energy for the magnetic activity cycle is much larger than that radiated from the secondary in a whole cycle. The mass of the potential third body is determined to be M 3 sin i ′ = 0.0189 ( ± 0.0016 ) ? > M⊙ when a total mass of 0.71 M⊙ for SDSS J143547.87+373338.5 is adopted. For orbital inclinations i ′ ≥ 15 &fdg; 9 ? > , it would be below the stable hydrogen-burning limit of M3 ∼ 0.072 M⊙, and thus the third body would be a brown dwarf.
The Newmark scheme as velocity–stress time-staggering: an efficient PML implementation for spectral element simulations of elastodynamics

SUMMARY Perfectly matched layers (PMLs) provide an exponential decay, independent of the frequency, of any propagating field along an assigned direction without producing spurious reflections at the interface with the elastic volume. For this reason PMLs have been applied as absorbing boundary conditions (ABCs) and their efficiency in attenuating outgoing wave fields on the outskirts of numerical grids is more and more recognized. However, PMLs are designed for first-order differential equations and a natural extension to second-order Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) involves either additional variables in the time evolution scheme or convolutional operations. Both techniques are computationally expensive when implemented in a spectral element (SE) code and other ABCs (e.g. paraxial or standard sponge methods) still remain more attractive than PMLs. Here, an efficient second-order implementation of PMLs for SE is developed from interpreting the Newmark scheme as a time-staggered velocity–stress algorithm. The discrete equivalence with the standard scheme is based on an L2 approximation of the stress field, with the same polynomial order as the velocity. In this case, PMLs can be introduced as for first-order equations preserving the natural second-order time stepping. Subsequently, a non-classical frequency-dependent perfectly matched layer is introduced by moving the pole of the stretching along the imaginary axis. In this case, the absorption depends on the frequency and the layer switches from a transparent behaviour at low frequencies to a uniform absorption as the frequency goes to infinity. It turns out to be more efficient than classical PMLs in the absorption of the incident waves, as the grazing incidence approaches, at the cost of a memory variable for any split component. Finally, an extension of PMLs to general curvilinear coordinates is proposed.
Constructing Two-Dimensional Multi-Wavelet for Solving Two-Dimensional Fredholm Integral Equations

In this paper, a two-dimensional multi-wavelet is constructed in terms of Chebyshev polynomials. The constructed multi-wavelet is an orthonormal basis for 22 [0,1] L space. By discretizing two-dimensional Fredholm integral equation reduce to a algebraic system. The obtained system is solved by the Galerkin method in the subspace of 22 [0,1] L by using twodimensional multi-wavelet bases. Because the bases of subspaces are orthonormal, so the above mentioned system has a small dimension and also high accuracy in approximating solution of integral equations. For one-dimensional case, a similar works are done in [4, 5], which they have small dimension and high accuracy. In this article, we extend one-dimensional case to twodimensional by extending and by choosing good functions on two axes. Numerical results show that the above mentioned method has a good accuracy.
Heavy-light mesons in lattice HQET and QCD

We present a study of a combination of HQET and relativistic QCD to extract the b-quark mass and the Bs-meson decay constant from lattice quenched simulations. We start from a small volume, where one can directly simulate the b-quark, and compute the connection to a large volume, where finite size effects are negligible, through a finite size technique. The latter consists of steps extrapolated to the continuum limit, where the b-region is reached through interpolations guided by the effective theory. With the lattice spacing given in terms of the Sommer's scale r0 and the experimental Bs and K masses, we get the final results for the renormalization group invariant mass Mb = 6.88(10) GeV, translating into mb(mb) = 4.42(6) GeV in the MSbar scheme, and fBs = 191(6) MeV for the decay constant. A renormalization condition for the chromo-magnetic operator, responsible, at leading order in the heavy quark mass expansion of HQET, for the mass splitting between the pseudoscalar and the vector channel in mesonic heavy-light bound states, is provided in terms of lattice correlations functions which well suits a non-perturbative computation involving a large range of renormalization scales and no valence quarks. The two-loop expression of the corresponding anomalous dimension in the Schroedinger functional (SF) scheme is computed starting from results in the literature; it requires a one-loop calculation in the SF scheme with a non-vanishing background field. The cutoff effects affecting the scale evolution of the renormalization factors are studied at one-loop order, and confirmed by non-perturbative quenched computations to be negligible for the numerical precision achievable at present.
The Mediating Role of Body Mass Index in the Association between Dietary Inflammatory Index and 10-year risk of CVD: a counterfactual mediation analysis

Introduction: Dietary with higher inflammatory potential are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk over the next decade, while studies have shown body mass index (BMI) to be one of the mediators between dietary inflammatory index (DII) and multiple diseases such as depression and diabetes. However, the role of BMI in the association between DII and 10-year risk of CVD is unclear. Methods: Study based on 14,355 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Participants' diet, obesity level and CVD risk were assessed using the DII, BMI and Framingham Risk Score (FRS). Linear regression and counterfactual model were used to analyze this relationship. Results: Participants on a pro-inflammatory diet had a higher risk of CVD over the next ten years compared to participants on an anti-inflammatory diet. Counterfactual models showed a 34.0% partial mediating role of BMI in this relationship, most particularly in males (17.3%) and non-elderly (28.6%-100%). Conclusion: Inflammatory diet adversely affects cardiovascular risk, a large part of which operates through BMI, especially in males and non-elderly populations. These findings are beneficial in facilitating research on the mechanisms of diet-related inflammation on CVD. Keywords: Inflammatory diet, body mass index, cardiovascular disease, NHANES, counterfactual mediation analysis
Multiple introductions and country-wide spread of DENV-2 genotype II (Cosmopolitan) in Brazil

Dengue virus serotype 2, genotype Cosmopolitan (DENV-2-GII) is one of the most widespread DENV strains in the globe. However, in the Americas, the first cases of DENV-2-GII were only described in 2019, in Peru, and in 2021 in the Brazilian states of Goias and Acre. To gain new information about the circulation of DENV-2-GII in Brazil, we sequenced 237 DENV-2 confirmed cases sampled between March 2021 and March 2023 and revealed that genotype II is already present in all geographic regions of Brazil. Phylogenetic analysis inferred that DENV-2-GII was introduced at least four times in the country, between May 2020 and August 2022, generating multiple clades that spread throughout the country with different success. Analyzing country-wide laboratory surveillance data showed that between 2018 and 2022, the Brazilian dengue epidemic was dominated by DENV-1 and DENV-2, with significant regional differences. This complex scenario might have created an heterogeneous population immune landscape, which could impose local barriers against transmission of DENV-2-GII in Brazil, leading to sustained cryptic circulation and localized outbreaks. In summary, our study stresses the importance of arboviral genomic surveillance to close monitoring and better understand the potential impact of DENV-2-GII in the coming years.
Square ice formation in CrOCl and graphene confinement

The structure and thermodynamic properties of water in nanoscale confinement environment are greatly involved in the research field of material science and nanotechnology. However, a complete picture of the ordered structure formation and thermodynamics behavior of the confined water inside two parallel nanosheets with different surface atomic arrangement is still lacking. In this paper, by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we study the structural variation and thermodynamics behavior for water molecules confined between two parallel CrOCl with a square surface atomic arrangement and two parallel graphene nanosheets with a hexagonal surface atomic arrangement. Square ice, with a lattice constant 2.1 and 2.0 Å, is observed inside the two parallel CrOCl and graphene nanosheets, respectively. By calculating the configuration entropy of the molecular dipoles St , it is found that, in the CrOCl confinement, St reaches a peak value and then is greatly reduced due to the square ice formation. On the other hand, in the graphene confinement, St continues to grow after the square ice formation and is then reduced after reaching its peak value. Interestingly, it is found that the square ice could be stable at a higher entropy state under the external pressure than the bulk water at ambient condition. By calculating the orientational order parameters M, it shows that the conventional tetrahedral geometry of hydrogen bonding between water molecules breaks due to the square ice formation. By analyzing the average number of hydrogen bonds of water molecules Nh , it is found that the hydrogen bond interaction of the square ice relies on the confinement environment, where Nh is reduced in the CrOCl confinement and increased in the graphene confinement. Probability distribution functions of the dipole orientation angles between the x- or z-axis and the projection of the oxygen atoms of the water molecules are also calculated. It is observed that the square ice structure is paralleled with the x-axis (unit cell axis) in the CrOCl confinement and tilted with the x-axis (the zigzag direction of graphene) at an angle 30° in the graphene confinement. Furthermore, the square ice formation is found to be insensitive to temperature. Our result reveals the peculiar ordered structure and thermodynamics behavior of water in different nanoscale confinement environments.
General Matrix Representations for B-Splines and Applications

In this paper, the concept of basis matrix of B-splines is presented. A general matrix representation, which results in an explicitly recursive matrix formula, for nonuniform B-spline curves of an arbitrary degree is also presented by means of Toeplitz matrix. New recursive matrix representations for uniform B-spline curves and Bezier ones of an arbitrary degree are obtained as special cases of that for nonuniform B-spline curves. The recursive formula for basis matrix can be substituted for de Boor-Cox's one for B-splines, and it has better time complexity than de Boor-Cox's formula when used for conversion and computation of B-spline curves and surfaces between different CAD systems. Finally, some applications of the matrix representations are given in the paper.
Fully 3D-Printed Dry EEG Electrodes

Electroencephalography (EEG) is used to detect brain activity by recording electrical signals across various points on the scalp. Recent technological advancement has allowed brain signals to be monitored continuously through the long-term usage of EEG wearables. However, current EEG electrodes are not able to cater to different anatomical features, lifestyles, and personal preferences, suggesting the need for customisable electrodes. Despite previous efforts to create customisable EEG electrodes through 3D printing, additional processing after printing is often needed to achieve the required electrical properties. Although fabricating EEG electrodes entirely through 3D printing with a conductive material would eliminate the need for further processing, fully 3D-printed EEG electrodes have not been seen in previous studies. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of using a low-cost setup and a conductive filament, Multi3D Electrifi, to 3D print EEG electrodes. Our results show that the contact impedance between the printed electrodes and an artificial phantom scalp is under 550 Ω, with phase change of smaller than −30∘, for all design configurations for frequencies ranging from 20 Hz to 10 kHz. In addition, the difference in contact impedance between electrodes with different numbers of pins is under 200 Ω for all test frequencies. Through a preliminary functional test that monitored the alpha signals (7–13 Hz) of a participant in eye-open and eye-closed states, we show that alpha activity can be identified using the printed electrodes. This work demonstrates that fully 3D-printed electrodes have the capability of acquiring relatively high-quality EEG signals.
The Effect of Timeliness of Care on Lung Cancer Survival – A Population-Based Approach

Background: Timeliness of care is an important dimension of healthcare quality but it’s unclear whether it improves clinical outcomes in lung cancer (LC) patients. Objectives: This study aims to analyze treatment patterns, time-to-treatment (TTT) and the impact of treatment timeliness (TT) in overall survival (OS) of patients diagnosed with LC in 2009–2014 in a population-based registry from Southern Portugal. Materials and Methods: We estimated median TTT for overall population, treatment type and stage. The impact of treatment and TT on five-year OS was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression modelling to determine the hazard ratio (HR) of death associated with treatment and TT. Results: From the 11,308 cases diagnosed, 61.7% received treatment. Treatment rate decreased with increasing stage from 88% in stage I to 66.1% in stage IV. Overall median TTT was 49 days (IQR: 28–88) and 43.3% received TT. Surgery had a longer TTT than radiotherapy and systemic treatment. Patients in earlier stages had lower TT rates and longer TTT compared to more advanced, 24.7% and 80 days in stage I versus 51.3% and 42 days in stage IV (p < 0.0001). OS was 14.9% for total population and 19.6% and 7.1% for patients with and without treatment registered, respectively. TT had no observed impact on OS for stages I/II but a negative effect for stages III/IV. Relative to treated, the adjusted mortality risk was higher in untreated patients (HR = 2.240; 95%CI: 2.293–2.553). Contrary to treatment, TT had a negative impact on survival, with 11.3% in timely vs. 21.5% in untimely treated. Compared to untimely treated, the risk of death in TT patients was 46.6% higher (HR = 1.465; 95%CI: 1.381–1.555). Conclusions: LC survival is highly dependent on early diagnosis and adequate treatment. Time-to-treatment was longer than recommended for all treatment types but particularly for surgery. Overall TT results were paradoxical, as better survival was observed in patients untimely treated. The factors associated with TT were not possible to analyze and its impact on patient outcomes remains unclear. However, it is important to assess quality-of-care to improved LC management.
The Effect of Sexual Intercourse during Pregnancy on Preterm Birth: Prospective Single-Center Cohort Study in Japan

Several studies in Europe and the United States have shown that sexual intercourse (SI) during pregnancy is not associated with preterm birth. However, it is unclear whether these findings apply to pregnant Japanese women. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to elucidate the influence of SI during pregnancy on preterm birth in Japan. A total of 182 women who underwent antenatal care and delivery were included in this study. The frequency of SI was assessed using a questionnaire, and its association with preterm birth was analyzed. The results showed that SI during pregnancy was associated with a significantly higher cumulative preterm birth rate (p = 0.018), which was more pronounced for SI more than once a week (p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis showed that SI, bacterial vaginosis in the second trimester, previous preterm birth, and smoking during pregnancy were independent risk factors for preterm birth. The combination of SI and second trimester bacterial vaginosis was associated with a 60% preterm birth rate, whereas either factor alone was associated with a lower rate, suggesting a synergistic effect (p < 0.0001). Future studies are needed to investigate the effect of prohibiting SI in pregnant women with bacterial vaginosis on preterm birth.
The Motion Paradigm of Pre-Dock Zearalenone Hydrolase Predictions with Molecular Dynamics and the Docking Phase with Umbrella Sampling

Zearalenone (ZEN) is one of the most prevalent estrogenic mycotoxins, is produced mainly by the Fusarium family of fungi, and poses a risk to the health of animals. Zearalenone hydrolase (ZHD) is an important enzyme capable of degrading ZEN into a non-toxic compound. Although previous research has investigated the catalytic mechanism of ZHD, information on its dynamic interaction with ZEN remains unknown. This study aimed to develop a pipeline for identifying the allosteric pathway of ZHD. Using an identity analysis, we identified hub genes whose sequences can generalize a set of sequences in a protein family. We then utilized a neural relational inference (NRI) model to identify the allosteric pathway of the protein throughout the entire molecular dynamics simulation. The production run lasted 1 microsecond, and we analyzed residues 139–222 for the allosteric pathway using the NRI model. We found that the cap domain of the protein opened up during catalysis, resembling a hemostatic tape. We used umbrella sampling to simulate the dynamic docking phase of the ligand–protein complex and found that the protein took on a square sandwich shape. Our energy analysis, using both molecular mechanics/Poisson–Boltzmann (Generalized-Born) surface area (MMPBSA) and Potential Mean Force (PMF) analysis, showed discrepancies, with scores of −8.45 kcal/mol and −1.95 kcal/mol, respectively. MMPBSA, however, obtained a similar score to that of a previous report.
Role of Dual-Acquisition Noninvasive Cardiac CT Imaging for the Detection of Vasospastic Angina

Background: Vasospastic angina (VSA) is characterized by chest pain at rest with transient ischemic electrocardiographic changes in the ST segment, and a prompt response to nitrates. Vasospastic angina is among the most frequent of the coronary artery diseases in Asia, and coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) may become available as a non-invasive diagnosis method. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 100 patients with suspected vasospastic angina at two centers from 2018 to 2020. All patients underwent baseline CCTA without a vasodilator in the early morning followed by catheterized coronary angiography and spasm testing. CCTA with intravenous infusion of nitrate (IV) was repeated within 2 weeks of baseline CCTA. Vasospastic angina as detected by CCTA was defined as significant stenosis (≥50%) with negative remodeling without definite plaques or diffuse small diameter (<2 mm) of a major coronary artery with a beaded appearance on baseline CT that completely dilated on IV nitrate CT. We analyzed diagnostic performance of dual-acquisition CCTA for the detection of vasospastic angina. Results: The patients were categorized into three groups according to their provocation test result (negative, n = 36; probable positive, n = 18; positive, n = 31). The diagnostic accuracy in terms of CCTA per patient had a sensitivity of 55% (95% CI, 40–69), specificity of 89% (95% CI, 74–97), positive predictive value (PPV) of 87% (95% CI, 72–95), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 59% (95% CI, 51–67). Conclusions: Dual-acquisition CCTA can support the non-invasive detection of vasospastic angina with relatively good specificity and PPV. CCTA was helpful for non-invasive screening of variant angina.