Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RQNet: Residual Quaternion CNN for Performance Enhancement in Low Complexity and Device Robust Acoustic Scene Classification

Acoustic Scene Classification aims to recognize the unique acoustic characteristics of an environment. Recently, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have boosted the accuracy of ASC algorithms. However, the focus of ASC system designers has shifted from improving accuracy to incorporating real-world considerations like device robustness and model complexity. In this paper, we address the problem of developing a low complexity system for ASC which can generalize across multiple recording devices. We propose to employ residual quaternion CNNs for low complexity, device-robust ASC. The proposed model RQNet uses quaternion encoding to increase the accuracy with fewer parameters. To further enhance the performance of RQNet, we employ a variant of log-mel spectrogram called multi-scale mel spectrogram (ms2) to represent the acoustic signal. Experiments on two benchmark ASC datasets indicate that RQNet outperforms a log-mel spectrum-based baseline by more than twofold. In addition, it has a good measure of separability between the individual classes, as indicated by an AUC (Area Under the ROC Curve) scores of 0.906 and 0.994. Furthermore, it reduces the model size by 82.19% and floating-point operations by 23.25%. Consequently, RQNet is suitable for deployment in context-aware devices.
PREDICTION OF RADIATIVE PROPERTIES OF PATTERNED SILICON WAFERS BY SOLVING MAXWELL'S EQUATIONS IN THE TIME DOMAIN

A rigorous electromagnetic model is developed to predict the radiative properties of patterned silicon wafers. For nonplanar structures with characteristic length close to the wavelength of incident radiation, Maxwell's equations must be used to describe the associated radiative interaction and they are solved by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. In the die area, only one period of the structure is modeled, due to its periodicity in geometry. To truncate a computational domain, both the Mur condition and perfectly matched layer (PML) technique are available to absorb outgoing waves. With the steady-state time-harmonic electromagnetic field known, the Poynting vector is used to calculate the radiative properties. Due to its importance, the reflection error is checked at first for two absorbing boundary conditions. As expected, the PML technique yields much lower errors than the Mur condition and it is thus used in this study. To validate the present model, radiative interactions with a planar structure and a nonplanar structure are investigated, and predicted reflectivities are found to match available other solutions very well. To demonstrate the importance of the present study, a patterned wafer consisting of periphery and die area is also investigated. While the thin film theory is accurate for the wafer periphery, the rigorously electromagnetic model described in this study is found to be necessary to predict the radiative properties in the die area accurately.
New Insights Into Crustal Deformation of the Indonesia–Australia–New Guinea Collision Zone From a Broad‐Scale Kinematic Model

The Indonesia‐Australia‐New Guinea collision zone comprises a complex system of tectonic blocks whose relative motion accommodates convergence of the Sunda Block, Pacific, Australian, and Philippine Sea plates. Previous studies have considered either the western or eastern ends of this system, in eastern Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, respectively. However, these studies had limited ability to characterize either the kinematics of the central part of the system or transitions in tectonic regime across it. In this study, we perform a simultaneous inversion of 492 earthquake slip vectors and 267 GPS velocities to quantify the block movement spanning the Sunda‐Banda Arc, Western New Guinea, and Papua New Guinea. Our best‐fitting kinematic block model comprises 23 elastic blocks, for which we estimate the rotation rates and block boundary slip rates. We show how the Cenderawasih Bay sphenochasm was likely formed by a combination of both rotations (2.82 ± 0.11°/Myr anticlockwise) of the Bird's Head Block and southwest‐directed convergence (39.9 ± 1.7 mm/yr) along the Lowlands fault. Our estimated relative slip vectors across the New Guinea Fold‐and‐Thrust Belt indicate a transition in the tectonic regime of the block boundary from predominately thrust faulting at its western segment, with a convergence rate up to 19.5 ± 0.6 mm/yr, to predominately sinistral motion in the center segment with slip rate ∼7 mm/yr, and returning to thrust in the eastern segment with a convergence rate up to 9.0 ± 0.5 mm/yr, implying the combined effect of multiple driving mechanisms.
Exosomes from Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Alleviate Dexamethasone-Induced Bone Loss by Regulating the Nrf2/HO-1 Axis

The widespread use of therapeutic glucocorticoids has increased the incidences of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP). Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction are major causes of GIOP; therefore, alleviation of excess oxidative stress in osteoblasts is a potential therapeutic strategy for osteoporosis. Exosomes derived from ADSCs (ADSCs-Exos), as novel cell-free therapeutics, can modulate various biological processes, such as immunomodulation, reduce oxidative damage, and promote tissue repair as well as regeneration. In this study, ADSCs-Exos restored the viability and osteogenic potential of MC3T3-E1 cells by attenuating apoptosis, oxidative damage, intracellular ROS generation, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Moreover, after pretreatment with ADSCs-Exos, Nrf2 expressions were upregulated in Dex-stimulated osteoblasts. Inhibitory assays showed that silencing Nrf2 partially eliminated the protective effects of ADSCs-Exos. The rat model assays confirmed that ADSCs-Exos alleviated the Dex-induced increase in oxidation levels, restored bone mass of the distal femur, and increased the expressions of Nrf2 and osteogenic markers in bone tissues. Thus, ADSCs-Exos alleviated apoptosis and oxidative stress by regulating Nrf2/HO-1 expressions after Dex and prevented the development of GIOP in vivo.
Histological and Molecular Characterization of the Inferior Olivary Nucleus and Climbing Fibers in the Goldfish, Carassius auratus

The cerebellum receives inputs via the climbing fibers originating from the inferior olivary nucleus in the ventral medulla. In mammals, the climbing fibers entwine and terminate onto both major and peripheral branches of dendrites of the Purkinje cells. In this study, the inferior olivary nucleus and climbing fiber in the goldfish were investigated with several histological techniques. By neural tracer application to the hemisphere of the cerebellum, labeled inferior olivary neurons were found in the ventral edge of the contralateral medulla. Kainate stimulated Co + + uptake and gephyrin immunoreactivities were found in inferior olivary neurons, indicating, respectively, that they receive both excitatory (glutamatergic) and inhibitory (GABAergic or glycinergic) inputs. Inferior olivary neurons express vglut2.1 transcripts, suggesting they are glutamatergic. Around 85% of inferior olivary neurons were labeled with anti-calretinin antiserum. Calretinin immunoreactive (ir) climbing fiber terminal-like structures were distributed near the Purkinje cells and in the molecular layer. Double labeling immunofluorescence with anti-calretinin and zebrin II antisera revealed that the calretinin-ir climbing fibers run along and made synaptic-like contacts on the major dendrites of the zebrin II-ir Purkinje cells. In teleost fish, cerebellar efferent neurons, eurydendroid cells, also lie near the Purkinje cells and extend dendrites outward to intermingle with dendrites of the Purkinje cells within the molecular layer. Here we found no contacts between the climbing fiber terminals and the eurydendroid cell dendrites. These results support the idea that Purkinje cells, but not eurydendroid cells, receive strong inputs via the climbing fibers, similar to the mammalian situation.
Two new species of European Microgaster Latreille, 1804 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Microgastrinae), with host data on some further species

Two new European species of Microgaster are described from reared material. Microgaster nervosae sp. nov. parasitizes Agonopterix species (Depressariidae) on Ulex and Genista in Britain, and a key is provided to separate it from two other British Microgaster species that parasitize other Agonopterix, with host information. Microgaster monetae sp. nov., a parasitoid of Polychrysia monetae (Noctuidae), is described from Austrian specimens. The host repertoires of Microgaster nobilis and M. australis, two European species that are regular parasitoids of Hesperiidae: Pyrginae in the Mediterranean region, are discussed on the basis of reared material in NMS. Some new country records (France, Israel, Portugal, Spain) of already established Microgaster species are given.
Relationship between the order of rotation symmetry in perforated apertures and terahertz transmission characteristics

Abstract. We investigate the terahertz (THz) transmission characteristics of complex slot arrays with various order of rotation symmetry. Our experimental results reveal that an asterisk-shaped aperture with sixfold rotational symmetry is the most appropriate shape for realizing polarization-independent, highly efficient, and frequency-selective transmission of THz radiation. A systematic understanding of the THz transmission characteristics is useful for achieving versatile platforms and custom-designed metallic devices with specific electromagnetic responses.
Extension of the universal equation of state for solids in high-pressure phases

The defects in applying the universal equation of state (UEOS) presented by Vinet et al. to the analysis of the experimental isothermal compression data of solids in high-pressure phases are that the fitting parameters have actually little physical meaning and have been increased from the original two to three. In this paper, assuming the isothermal bulk modulus varies linearly with pressure we derive the UEOS with an arbitrary reference point from the UEOS presented by Vinet et al. that will eliminate the defects mentioned above. The test on the isothermal compression of ten metal halides as well as cerium shows that the UEOS in the form given by the paper describes the isothermal behavior of solids in high-pressure phases very well.
Magnetic field sensors based on undoped In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As/InP heterostructures fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

In this paper we, describe the design and fabrication process of Hall and magnetoresistor cross-shaped sensors using In0.53Ga0. 47As/InP layer structures as active media. The influence of geometric correction factor GH on sensitivity parameters of these devices has been investigated. The results have been used in order to optimize the structure design behavior at temperatures ranging from 3 to 300 K. The large changes of the galvanomagnetic parameters vs. magnetic field and temperature allow these devices to be used as signal and measurement magnetic field sensors.
Position and velocity control of sensorless synchronous reluctance motor using disturbance observer based on high frequency current

Synchronous reluctance motors (SynRMs) are studied because of sturdiness, and sensorless control of SynRMs is desired. Several methods have been proposed and in their methods, the flux generated by the current is estimated and the position is estimated from the flux. Therefore, it is necessary that the currents unrelated to the torque flow at light load. At low speed, the voltages for estimation of flux are small. The stability of estimation is not guaranteed. In this paper, a new position estimation method is proposed using the disturbance observer based on high frequency currents. It is possible to estimate the position without the currents which do not generate torque at low speeds and at light loads using high frequency currents. The stability of estimation is guaranteed by a disturbance observer using high frequency voltages and currents. The simulation results show that the proposed method is very useful.
A Portable Eddy Covariance System for the Measurement of Ecosystem–Atmosphere Exchange of CO2, Water Vapor, and Energy

Abstract To facilitate the study of flux heterogeneity within a region, the authors have designed and field-tested a portable eddy covariance system to measure exchange of CO2, water vapor, and energy between the land surface and the atmosphere. The combination of instrumentation used in this system allows high precision flux measurements without requiring on-site infrastructure such as prepositioned towers or line power. In addition, the system contains sensors to measure a suit of soil, climatic, and energy-related parameters that are needed to quality control the fluxes and to characterize the flux footprint. The physical design and instrument packaging used in the system allows for simple transport (fits in a standard minivan) and for rapid deployment with a minimal number of field personnel (usually less than a day for one person). The power requirement for the entire system (instruments and data loggers) is less than 35 W, which is provided by a companion solar power system. Side-by-side field compa.
Optimized and Efficient Image-Based IoT Malware Detection Method

With the widespread use of IoT applications, malware has become a difficult and sophisticated threat. Without robust security measures, a massive volume of confidential and classified data could be exposed to vulnerabilities through which hackers could do various illicit acts. As a result, improved network security mechanisms that can analyse network traffic and detect malicious traffic in real-time are required. In this paper, a novel optimized machine learning image-based IoT malware detection method is proposed using visual representation (i.e., images) of the network traffic. In this method, the ant colony optimizer (ACO)-based feature selection method was proposed to get a minimum number of features while improving the support vector machines (SVMs) classifier’s results (i.e., the malware detection results). Further, the PSO algorithm tuned the SVM parameters of the different kernel functions. Using a public dataset, the experimental results showed that the SVM linear function kernel is the best with an accuracy of 95.56%, recall of 96.43%, precision of 94.12%, and F1_score of 95.26%. Comparing with the literature, it was concluded that bio-inspired techniques, i.e., ACO and PSO, could be used to build an effective and lightweight machine-learning-based malware detection system for the IoT environment.
On determining initial conditions and parameters in a simple coupled atmosphere-ocean model by adjoint data assimilation

The general problem of retrieving both initial conditions and model parameters for coupledatmosphere-ocean models by the adjoint data assimilation method was formulated. In particular,for a simple coupled equatorial model, where the atmosphere and the ocean were eachrepresented by a linear shallow water model, retrieval of 3 oceanic initial conditions (the sealevel height (SLH) and the 2 horizontal current components) together with 6 (damping andcoupling) parameters was performed. Identical twin experiments assimilating wind and SLHdata were conducted to test (i) the mutual influence of initialization and parameter estimation,(ii) the information transfer efficiency between the atmosphere and the ocean during retrieval,and (iii) the effect of initial guess on retrieving the initial conditions and parameters. By assimilatingthe wind and SLH data once per day at every grid point, retrieving both the parametersand initial conditions together was found to be more difficult than retrieving either of themseparately. Assimilating the same data once per day in the TAO array yielded a much poorerbut still acceptable retrieval, as the amount of information might be insufficient. The wind andSLH data were comparable in importance when retrieving the initial conditions, but not sowhen retrieving parameters, the wind data being more helpful for retrieving the atmosphericdamping coefficients, and the SLH data for the oceanic damping coefficients. Errors in theinitially guessed values of the parameters or the initial conditions generally affected the retrievalquality. The initial condition retrieval was more sensitive to errors in the guessed initial conditions,especially to phase errors, while the parameter estimation was more sensitive to errorsin the guessed parameters. DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0870.1998. 00011.x
Chatbots, ChatGPT, and Scholarly Manuscripts: WAME Recommendations on ChatGPT and Chatbots in relation to scholarly publications.

Journals have begun to publish papers in which chatbots such as ChatGPT are shown as co-authors. The following WAME recommendations are intended to inform editors and help them develop policies regarding chatbots for their journals, to help authors understand how use of chatbots might be attributed in their work, and address the need for all journal editors to have access manuscript screening tools. In this rapidly evolving field, we expect these recommendations to evolve as well.
Anti-resonant reflecting photonic crystal vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Anti-resonant reflecting photonic crystal structure is employed in vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) to achieve photon confinement in lateral direction. Such a design is promising in supporting large aperture single-mode emission. In the configuration, a hexagonal array of high-index cylinders which run vertically in the cladding region are introduced in the top of the VCSEL p-type DBR mirror region. The transverse modal property of the proposed structure, especially leakage loss, has been investigated. An optimum design for the minimum radiation loss while maintaining single-mode operation has been discussed in this paper.
Development of L-Lysine-Loaded PLGA Microparticles as a Controlled Release System for Angiogenesis Enhancement

Vascularization is a highly conserved and considerably complex and precise process that is finely driven by endogenous regulatory processes at the tissue and systemic levels. However, it can reveal itself to be slow and inadequate for tissue repair and regeneration consequent to severe lesions/damages. Several biomaterial-based strategies were developed to support and enhance vasculogenesis by supplying pro-angiogenic agents. Several approaches were adopted to develop effective drug delivery systems for the controlled release of a huge variety of compounds. In this work, a microparticulate system was chosen to be loaded with the essential amino acid L-lysine, a molecule that has recently gained interest due to its involvement in pro-angiogenic, pro-regenerative, and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid), the most widely used FDA-approved biodegradable synthetic polymer for the development of drug delivery systems, was chosen due to its versatility and ability to promote neovascularization and wound healing. This study dealt with the development and the effectiveness evaluation of a PLGA-based microparticulate system for the controlled release of L-lysine. Therefore, in order to maximize L-lysine encapsulation efficiency and tune its release kinetics, the microparticle synthesis protocol was optimized by varying some processing parameters. All developed formulations were characterized from a morphological and physicochemical point of view. The optimized formulation was further characterized via the evaluation of its preliminary biological efficacy in vitro. The cellular and molecular studies revealed that the L-lysine-loaded PLGA microparticles were non-toxic, biocompatible, and supported cell proliferation and angiogenesis well by stimulating the expression of pro-angiogenic genes such as metalloproteinase-9, focal adhesion kinases, and different growth factors. Thus, this work showed the potential of delivering L-lysine encapsulated in PLGA microparticles as a cost-effective promoter system for angiogenesis enhancement and rapid healing.
Analytical Derivation of Scattering and Admittance Rational Functions From Coupling Matrix

The coupling matrix provides an immediate tool to describe a network, widely used in the context of microwave filters. While several techniques exist to obtain and manipulate the coupling matrix for a given response, the opposite is traditionally achieved by numerically evaluating the response of the network at each frequency of interest and fitting the response to obtain the rational expressions embedding poles and zeros. This brief instead proposes an analytic way to retrieve directly the admittance and scattering functions, as ratios of polynomials, from the coupling matrix. Applications include commercial software packages and more robust microwave filter optimizations during design.
Multigrid for the dual formulation of the frictionless Signorini problem

We examine the dual formulation of the frictionless Signorini problem for a deformable body in contact with a rigid obstacle. We discretize the problem by means of the finite element method. Since the dual formulation solves directly for the stress variable and is not affected by locking, it is very attractive for many engineering applications. However, it is hard to solve it efficiently, since many challenges arise. First, the stress belongs to the non‐Sobolev space Hdiv$$ {\mathbf{H}}_{\mathrm{div}} $$ . Second, the matrix block related to the stress is only semi‐positive definite in the incompressible limit. Third, global equality constraints and box‐constraints are enforced. In this paper, we propose a novel and optimal nonlinear multigrid method for the dual formulation of the Signorini problem, that works even in the incompressible limit. We opt for the combination of a truncation of the basis functions strategy and a nonlinear monolithic patch smoother with Robin conditions of parameter α$$ \alpha $$ . Numerical experiments show that multigrid performance is recovered if α$$ \alpha $$ is chosen properly. We propose an algorithm to dynamically update the parameter α$$ \alpha $$ during the multigrid process, in order to provide a near optimal value of α$$ \alpha $$ .
Transitioning to Telehealth during COVID-19: Experiences and Insights from Diabetes Prevention and Management Program Providers in Los Angeles County

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 accelerated the efforts of several organizations providing the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) and the Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) program to rapidly transition from in-person service delivery to program administration via telehealth. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 National DPP and DSMES experts and providers in Los Angeles County to gain a better understanding of the challenges and benefits associated with this transition. Interviews were completed during June to October 2021. Thematic analyses were performed using the Social-Ecological Model as a guiding framework. The analyses revealed several factors that influenced the transition, including at the individual (e.g., technology and health behaviors), interpersonal (e.g., social connections and support), organizational (e.g., provider workload and program enrollment and retention), community (e.g., recruitment), and policy (e.g., government support and reimbursement for telehealth services) levels. Findings suggest that the transition to telehealth was challenging for most National DPP and DSMES providers. However, because of its lower cost, ability to reach long distances virtually, and potential efficiency when employed as part of a hybrid approach, this delivery modality remains viable, offering benefits beyond the traditional program models.