Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of neutronic parameter's uncertainties obtained within the reactor dosimetry framework: development and application of the stochastic methods of analysis

One of the main objectives of reactor dosimetry is the determination of the physical parameters characterizing the neutronic field in which the studied sample is irradiated. The knowledge of the associated uncertainties represents a significant stake for nuclear industry as shows the high uncertainty value of 15% (k=1) commonly allowed for the calculated neutron flux (E> 1MeV) on the vessel and internal structures. The study presented in this paper aims at determining then reducing uncertainties associated with the reactor dosimetry interpretation process. After a brief presentation of the interpretation process, input data uncertainties identification and quantification are performed in particular with regard to covariances. Then uncertainties propagation is carried out and analyzed by deterministic and stochastic methods on a representative case. Finally, a Monte Carlo sensitivity study based on Sobol indices is achieved on a case leading to derive the most penalizing input uncertainties. This paper concludes rising improvement axes to be studied for the input data knowledge. It highlights for example the need for having realistic variance-covariance matrices associated with input data (cross sections libraries, neutron computation code’s outputs,…). Lastly, the methodology principle presented in this paper is enough general to be easily transposable for other measurements data interpretation processes.
The Use of Sugar Cane Waste (Molasses) in the Production of Lactic Acid by L. paracasei CAU 9836 and its Identification by Infrared Spectrum (FT.IR)

A total of twelve bacterial isolates from different samples of yoghurt and milk purchased from local markets in Diwaniyah Governorate. The preliminary screening was carried out all bacterial isolates by gram staining. The six isolates were selected based on the intensity of colour variation in the fermentation medium and were identified according to phenotypic, microscopic, and biochemical examinations, which included twelve isolates of Lactobacillus spp . Vitek II Compact instrument was used with all isolates to confirm the initial identification. The secondary screening was performed for isolates of Lactobacillus spp . species. Given the amount of the produced lactic acid, the L.casei strain 1859 had the highest lactic acid production, which was 64.32 g/L. The 16S rRNA test allowed the identification of this isolate. The results showed that the best conditions for acid production were 62.76 mg/L and the L.casei strain 9836 grown on the alternative medium containing 50 % whey, 7% molasses, and pH 6.9, incubated on an orbital shaker at 38°C for 24 hours, and agitated at 250 rpm. FTIR techniques were used to identify the nucleus of the hydrogen atom (proton) 1 H and the carbon atoms 13 C in the presence of standard lactic acid for comparison. The results revealed the peaks and bands of the produced acid were some similar to that of the standard acid.
Adherence to Tumor Board Recommendations in the Treatment of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a heterogeneous disease that typically arises in the setting of chronic liver disease, making treatment selection complex. Multidisciplinary liver tumor boards (MDLTB) have been shown to improve outcomes in patients with HCC. However, in many cases, patients evaluated by MDLTBs ultimately do not receive the board’s recommended treatment. Purpose This study aims to assess adherence to MDLTB recommendations for the treatment of HCC, the reasons for non-adherence, and the survival of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) Stage A patients treated with curative treatment compared to palliative locoregional therapy. Patients and Methods A single-site, retrospective cohort study was conducted of all patients with treatment-naïve HCC who were evaluated by an MDLTB at a tertiary care center in Connecticut between 2013 and 2016, of which 225 patients met inclusion criteria. Investigators conducted a chart review and recorded adherence to the MDLTB’s recommendations, and in cases of discordance, evaluated and recorded the underlying cause; investigators assessed MDLTB recommendations’ compliance with BCLC guidelines. Survival data was accrued through February 1st of 2022 and analyzed via Kaplan–Meier analysis and multivariate Cox regression. Results Treatment adherent to MDLTB recommendations occurred in 85.3% of patients (n=192). The majority of non-adherence occurred in the management of BCLC Stage A disease. In cases where adherence was possible but the recommendation was not followed, most discrepancies were whether to treat with curative or palliative intent (20/24), with almost all discrepancies occurring in patients (19/20) with BCLC Stage A disease. For patients with Stage A unifocal HCC, those who received curative therapy lived significantly longer than patients who received palliative locoregional therapy (5.55 years vs 4.26 years, p=0.037). Conclusion Most forms of non-adherence to MDLTB recommendations were unavoidable; however, treatment discordance in the management of patients with BCLC Stage A unifocal disease may present an opportunity for clinically significant quality improvement.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AMONG HEALTH SCIENCES UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN SELANGOR

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are injuries or pain that affect the human locomotor system and may affect everyone at least once in a lifetime. The accompanying chronicity, pain and disability are usually associated with mental health impairment. This study was carried out to examine the prevalence of MSDs and its relationship with psychological distress among undergraduate students from several health sciences programs. A set of self-administered questionnaires consisting of the Standardised Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) was given out to 330 undergraduate students of a public university in Malaysia. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis on the relationship between MSDs and psychological distress (depression, stress, and anxiety). The prevalence of MSDs during the past 12 months was found to be high (86.6%), with lower back pain being the most common symptom (63.3%), followed by neck pain (53.6%) and shoulder pain (50.6%). Half of the students (57.0%) reported depression, 37.3% reported anxiety, and 28.2% reported stress. The occurrence of MSDs in the regions of the shoulder, and hips or thighs or buttock regions have significant positive relationship with stress and anxiety scores of the students (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the occurrence of MSDs in the region of the wrists or hands, knees, and shoulders have significant positive relationship with the depression score (p < 0.05). In conclusion, MSDs in the shoulder, hips or thighs or buttock regions wrists or hands, and knees regions were significantly associated with psychological distress. Further intervention programs should be implemented to reduce psychological distress associated with MSDs among the students.
Development of a microencapsulated probiotic containing Pediococcus acidilactici WU222001 against avian pathogenic Escherichia coli

Background and Aim: Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms for humans and animals. In this study, we developed a microencapsulated probiotic with antibacterial activity against avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC). Materials and Methods: Alignment of the 16S rRNA sequences of the isolate WU222001 with those deposited in GenBank revealed that the isolate was Pediococcus acidilactici with 99.6% homology. This bacterium was characterized as a probiotic based on its tolerance toward in vitro gastrointestinal tract (GIT) conditions, hydrophobicity, and auto-aggregation. The antibacterial activity of the probiotic’s culture supernatant against APEC was investigated using a broth microdilution assay. Pediococcus acidilactici was microencapsulated using sodium alginate and agar with diameters ranging from 47 to 61 μm. Then, physicochemical characteristics and stability of the microcapsules were determined. Results: The isolate was characterized as a probiotic based on its resistance to low pH, bile salts, and pancreatin, with relative values of 79.2%, 70.95%, and 90.64%, respectively. Furthermore, the bacterium exhibited 79.56% auto-aggregation and 55.25% hydrophobicity at 24 h. The probiotic’s culture supernatant exhibited strong antibacterial activity against clinical APEC isolates with minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration of 12.5% and 25% v/v, respectively. Microencapsulation-enhanced bacterial viability in GIT compared to free cells. Moreover, 89.65% of the encapsulated cells were released into the simulated intestinal fluid within 4 h. The viable count in microcapsules was 63.19% after 3 months of storage at 4°C. Conclusion: The results indicated that the culture supernatant of P. acidilactici inhibited the growth of APEC. In addition, microencapsulation extends the viability of P. acidilactici under harsh conditions, indicating its potential application in the feed production.
A Deep Generative Model with Multiscale Features Enabled Industrial Internet of Things for Intelligent Fault Diagnosis of Bearings

Effective condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of bearings can not only maximize the life of rolling bearings and prevent unexpected shutdowns caused by equipment failures but also eliminate unnecessary costs and waste caused by excessive maintenance. However, the existing deep-learning-based bearing fault diagnosis models have the following defects. First of all, these models have a large demand for fault data. Second, the previous models only consider that single-scale features are generally less effective in diagnosing bearing faults. Therefore, we designed a bearing fault data collection platform based on the Industrial Internet of Things, which is used to collect bearing status data from sensors in real time and feed it back into the diagnostic model. On the basis of this platform, we propose a bearing fault diagnosis model based on deep generative models with multiscale features (DGMMFs) to solve the above problems. The DGMMF model is a multiclassification model, which can directly output the abnormal type of the bearing. Specifically, the DGMMF model uses 4 different variational autoencoder models to augment the bearing data and integrates features of different scales. Compared with single-scale features, these multiscale features contain more information and can perform better. Finally, we conducted a large number of related experiments on the real bearing fault datasets and verified the effectiveness of the DGMMF model using multiple evaluation metrics. The DGMMF model has achieved the highest value under all metrics, among which the value of precision is 0.926, the value of recall is 0.924, the value of accuracy is 0.926, and the value of F1 score is 0.925.
Birds of the National Park of Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania: A Panel on Ecosystem Services

Background: The National Park of Banc d’Arguin (PNBA, Mauritania) was founded in 1976 to preserve the largest West African wintering area for shorebirds. In the face of increasing pressures, the PNBA’s authorities have launched an appeal to determine the park’s socio-economic value to adjust its management plan better. Methods: In this context, we have created an exhaustive inventory of known characteristics of bird species present in the PNBA to investigate their potential in terms of ecosystem services for local populations. Two regulating and supporting services were also valued based on data availability: nutrients input and carcasses removal. Results: We found that 53% of the 233 bird species associated with the PNBA are highly dependent on the park and its coastal and marine ecosystems for their life cycle. We were also able to identify services with a high potential for the park, such as nutrient cycling and bird-watching. We finally valued nutrients input and carcasses removal at € 1.8 to € 133.7 million/year and € 2900 to € 4800/year, respectively. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of protecting the PNBA’s birds beyond the sole ornithological interest behind its creation and reinforces the argument about the importance of this protected area in terms of conservation.
Circuit Theory of Time Domain Adjoint Sensitivity

It was originally stated that convolution operations were required to implement adjoint sensitivity in the time domain. In this article, we revisit time-domain adjoint sensitivity with a circuit theoretic approach and an efficient solution is clearly stated in terms of device level. Key is the linearization of the energy storage elements (e.g., capacitance and inductance) and nonlinear memoryless elements (e.g., MOS, BJT DC characteristics) at each time step. Due to the finite precision of computation, numerical errors that accumulate across timesteps can arise in nonlinear elements. A methodology to suppress that error is introduced. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves accuracy while significantly reducing computational runtime.
Intelligent digital redesign for non-linear systems: observer-based sampled-data fuzzy control approach

In this study, an intelligent digital redesign (IDR) technique is proposed for an observer-based sampled-data fuzzy controller of non-linear systems. By using a Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy model, the pre-designed analog and sampled-data fuzzy controllers are supposed, and these discretised closed-loop systems are obtained, respectively. Based on the IDR problem, the authors guarantee both stability and state-matching conditions. Unlike the previous techniques, the proposed IDR not only improves the state-matching performance using the state-matching error cost function, but is also derived in the strict linear matrix inequality format. In a numerical example, the effectiveness of the proposed technique and the results of the improved performance are shown.
Study on a improved tangential angle and the corresponding landslide pre-warning criteria

The displacementtime curve deformation of slope includes three stages:initial deformation stage,constant deformation stage and accelerative deformation stage.According to former researches on different slope of the curve,definition of displacement tangential angle has already been put forward,based on which corresponding landslide prewarning criteria has been set up also.However,due to different coordinate dimension of the horizontal and lateral axis,it is very difficult to make sure the accuracy of tangential angles.Based on displacement-time curve,by means of coordinate transformation,this paper has introduced a brand-new method to obtain tangential angles.By utilizing the improved tangential angles,the subdivided quantitative criteria for different stages and early pre-warning criteria for landslide are put forward.Furthermore,practical result has been achieved in terms of landslide monitoring and pre-warning by this method.
Evaluation of a Porcine Endogenous Reference Gene (Internal Sample Control) in a Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus RT-qPCR

Simple Summary Endogenous reference genes in diagnostic specimens are used to monitor sample quality in a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), i.e., serve the role of internal sample controls (ISC). However, there is little information on the consistency of ISC expression among specimen types or the interpretation of ISC results. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of a porcine-specific ISC in serum, oral fluid, and fecal specimens collected from pigs of known porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection status and tested using a commercial PRRSV reverse transcription-qPCR. The ISC was detected in 100% of the specimens tested and was not affected by PRRSV infection status of the pigs, but ISC concentration varied between specimen types. Thus, reference limits were established for each specimen to provide guidelines for ISC interpretation. Overall, the ISC evaluated herein can be used to accurately monitor sample quality in swine specimens tested for PRRSV. In particular, failure to detect the ISC indicates an irregularity with the sample or the testing procedures. Abstract Endogenous reference genes are used in gene-expression studies to “normalize” the results and, increasingly, as internal sample controls (ISC) in diagnostic quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Three studies were conducted to evaluate the performance of a porcine-specific ISC in a commercial porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) reverse transcription-qPCR. Study 1 evaluated the species specificity of the ISC by testing serum from seven non-porcine domestic species (n = 34). In Study 2, the constancy of ISC detection over time (≥42 days) was assessed in oral fluid (n = 130), serum (n = 215), and feces (n = 132) collected from individual pigs of known PRRSV status. In Study 3, serum (n = 150), oral fluid (n = 150), and fecal samples (n = 75 feces, 75 fecal swabs) from commercial herds were used to establish ISC reference limits. Study 1 showed that the ISC was porcine-specific, i.e., all samples from non-porcine species were ISC negative (n = 34). In Study 2, the ISC was detected in all oral fluid, serum, and fecal samples, but differed in concentration between specimens (p < 0.05; mixed-effects regression model). The results of Study 3 were used to establish ISC reference limits for the 5th, 2.5th and 1.25th percentiles. Overall, the ISC response was consistent to the point that failure in detection is sufficient justification for re-testing and/or re-sampling.
Direct measurement of the maximum detection range of an automotive lidar with a table-top setup for series production

Recent development in the field of advanced driver assistant system (ADAS) has shown that Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) sensors are essential for 3D object detection. One of the key parameters of automotive lidar is the maximum detection range, which is dependent on background light as well as the lidar signal itself. To make lidar sensors widely accessible for the automotive market, high-volume series production becomes a necessity. Since today's sensors have a maximum detection range far beyond a hundred meters it is neither economically nor logistically viable to build a long-range setup for series production. In this work we will present a table-top setup with a length no longer than one meter, directly measuring the maximum detection range of a lidar sensor - with similar precision (about two meters for one sigma) compared to the long-range distance measurement. This setup can be used to verify the maximum detection range and execute other complementary tests like beam quality and straylight simultaneously. This is particularly important considering the cycle time restriction in series production of the automotive lidar. Our setup mainly consists of a triggerable laser and a background light source. Using the fact that the intensity of the back-scattered light is inversely proportional to the distance squared, it is possible to imitate a far-away object by tuning a laser to a reduced intensity.
Proteasomes of Autophagy-Deficient Cells Exhibit Alterations in Regulatory Proteins and a Marked Reduction in Activity

Autophagy and the ubiquitin proteasome system are the two major processes for the clearance and recycling of proteins and organelles in eukaryotic cells. Evidence is accumulating that there is extensive crosstalk between the two pathways, but the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. We previously found that autophagy 9 (ATG9) and 16 (ATG16) proteins are crucial for full proteasomal activity in the unicellular amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. In comparison to AX2 wild-type cells, ATG9−and ATG16− cells displayed a 60%, and ATG9−/16− cells a 90%, decrease in proteasomal activity. Mutant cells also showed a significant increase in poly-ubiquitinated proteins and contained large ubiquitin-positive protein aggregates. Here, we focus on possible reasons for these results. Reanalysis of published tandem mass tag-based quantitative proteomic results of AX2, ATG9−, ATG16−, and ATG9−/16− cells revealed no change in the abundance of proteasomal subunits. To identify possible differences in proteasome-associated proteins, we generated AX2 wild-type and ATG16− cells expressing the 20S proteasomal subunit PSMA4 as GFP-tagged fusion protein, and performed co-immunoprecipitation experiments followed by mass spectrometric analysis. The results revealed no significant differences in the abundance of proteasomes between the two strains. However, we found enrichment as well as depletion of proteasomal regulators and differences in the ubiquitination of associated proteins for ATG16−, as compared to AX2 cells. Recently, proteaphagy has been described as a means to replace non-functional proteasomes. We propose that autophagy-deficient D. discoideum mutants suffer from inefficient proteaphagy, which results in the accumulation of modified, less-active, and also of inactive, proteasomes. As a consequence, these cells exhibit a dramatic decrease in proteasomal activity and deranged protein homeostasis.
Analysis for the sustainability of intelligent transport systems in the United States

The economic, social, and ecological wellbeing of a society are all negatively impacted by the traffic congestion issue. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) have been used to better sustainable transportation systems across the globe, helping to lessen the unsustainable effects of the clogged highway issue. The goal may be reached by examining the positive effects ITS deployments have had on urban areas in the United States. In addition to the statewide findings, we also do in-depth research on the economies of seven major Florida communities. A fuzzy-data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique is used instead of the conventional DEA approach for sustainability performance analysis in order to take into account the uncertainty in benefit and cost evaluations. While all of the ITS investments are very successful when looking at the cost-benefit ratio, the findings from the fuzzy-DEA method show that some of them are less efficient than others. This research's TBL findings give a fuller picture of the societal and economic benefits of ITS-related congestion reduction, including its drawbacks, indirect indicators, and environmental advantages. In addition, decision makers had positive findings from TBL analysis of ITS investments and comparisons of sustainability performance of ITS initiatives.