Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Silicone Modifier on the Physical Properties of Flexible Silica Aerogels

Research on the development of flexible silica aerogels (FSAs) has been ongoing due to their excellent thermal insulation, low density, and high elasticity. However, the physical properties of FSAs, such as density, thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, and surface wettability, are highly dependent on the preparation conditions. To achieve the desired properties of FSAs for various applications, it is necessary to develop a method to fine-tune their physical properties. In this paper, two modifiers of methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS)/trimethylethoxysilane (TMES) were employed to fine-tune the bulk density of a series of flexible silica aerogels (FSAs), reflecting a series of FSAs with fine-tunable physical properties. First, the precursor was synthesized by a click reaction between vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS) and 2,2′ (ethylenedioxy) diethanethiol (EDDET). The VTMS, EDDET, and the as-prepared precursor were characterized by FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy. Subsequently, the precursor was converted into a series of FSAs (denoted by FSA, FSA-M, and FSA-T) through conventional sol-gel reactions with/without MTMS/TMES. Chemical structures of synthesized FSAs were confirmed by 13C and 29Si solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The porous structure of FSAs was identified by BET and SEM, respectively. Physical properties, such as thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, and surface wettability of FSAs were determined by a Hot Disk, durometer/DMA in compression mode, and contact angle measurements, respectively. This study found FSAs containing none, 1 wt%, 5 wt%, and 10 wt% of MTMS increase the density of FSAs from 0.419 g/cm3 (FSA), 0.423 g/cm3 (FSA-M1), 0.448 g/cm3 (FSA-M5), and 0.456 g/cm3 (FSA-M10). It should be noted that the thermal conductivity, surface hardness, bulk mechanical strength, and hydrophobicity of FSA-Ms of increasing MTMS loading were all found to show a rising trend, while FSA-Ts exhibited lower density. FSA-T10 exhibited lower thermal conductivity, surface hardness, and bulk mechanical strength as compared to FSA. However, it was found to show higher hydrophobicity as compared to that of FSA.
A system of population estimates compiled from administrative data only

This paper presents a novel system of annual Population Estimates Compiled from Administrative Data Only (PECADO) for Ireland in the absence of a Central Population Register. The system is entirely based on data originated from administrative sources, so that population estimates can be produced even without purposely designed coverage surveys or a periodic census to recalibrate estimates. It requires several extensions to the traditional Dual System Estimation (DSE) methodology, including a restatement of the underlying assumptions, a trimmed DSE method for dealing with erroneous enumerations in the administrative register, and a test for heterogeneous capture probabilities to facilitate the choice of blocking in applications. The PECADO estimates for years 2011 - 2016 are compared to the Census counts in 2011 and 2016. We demonstrate how the system can be used to investigate the Census 2016 undercount in Ireland, in place of the traditional approach of deploying additional population coverage surveys.
Stability Constraints on Reliability-Oriented Control of AC Microgrids – Theoretical Margin and Solutions

Reliability is of importance for operation maintenance and cost reduction in power electronics and systems. Based on the reliability models of power devices, reliability-oriented power sharing in microgrids enforces the redistribution of power among converters to prolong the lifetime of the entire system, and droop control is typically used herein. However, this could affect the system stability, which contradicts the prerequisite of secure operation. In light of the above, this article is aimed to reveal this limitation of reliability-oriented droop control and emphasize its impact on system stability. Accordingly, a framework of stability-constrained reliability-oriented droop control is proposed, together with solutions that can help to enhance the stability. With this, the reliability of the system could be further improved without violating the stability criteria. Moreover, experimental tests and long-term reliability evaluations are included, which demonstrates that the aforementioned issues can be effectively addressed alongside with the proposed framework and solutions.
Nation-state strategies for human capital development: the case of sports mega-events in Qatar

Abstract The paper makes an original contribution to knowledge in three ways. First, through interviews with experts in Qatar, we uncover the role major sports events seek to play in the development of Qatar’s indigenous population. Our findings show that, alongside seeking to achieve various international objectives, these events are also intended to have a positive impact on the state’s human capital development at home. Specifically, in this regard, there is a desire to use sports events to address issues related to the health of Qataris, and to try to engage citizens in a process of maturity, whereby they are encouraged to confront the outside world, and become less reliant on the state. Second, our paper adds to understanding the role of aspirations, motivation and ambition in the human capital development process, which, as we show, is an area to which a growing literature is devoted. Third, the paper is the first academic analysis to provide insight into how sports events can be used in an attempt to overcome the ‘resource curse’, referring to the evidential long-term human capital development deficiencies that are commonly experienced by natural resource-rich states across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
The predictive significance of umbilical cord bilirubin and bilirubin/albumin ratio for neonatal jaundice in healthy term newborns

Background/aim The aim of this study is to determine the value of the questions asked in routine follow-up, the cord blood bilirubin (CBB) and bilirubin/albumin (B/A) ratio in estimating the risk of developing hyperbilirubinemia. Materials and methods Term and healthy 217 newborns whose CBB and albumin could be obtained and whose needed to be measured bilirubin level at the 24th and 72nd hours of life were included. Nutrition, sex and nationality, consanguinity between parents, jaundice in the sibling (s), mother’s medications were questioned. CBB and albumin, serum total bilirubin (STB), serum albumin and transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) at the 24th and 72nd hours of life, were recorded. Results CBB and cord B/A ratio, STB and serum B/A ratio, and TcB at the 24th and 72nd hours were found to be higher in the babies who received the phototherapy (p < 0.001 for all). The moderate positive correlation (correlation coefficient 0.383) at the 24th hour and strong positive correlation (correlation coefficient 0.759) at the 72nd hour between STB and TcB measurements was detected. In estimating the need for phototherapy the sensitivity and specificity of CBB were 74.2% and 56.5%, the sensitivity and specifity of cord B/A was 74.2%, and 61.8%. The cut-off value of CBB in estimating the need for phototherapy is 1.8, and the cut-off value of the cord B/A ratio is 0.56. When the cut-off value is 1.8 for the CCB and the cord B/A ratio is 0.56, the positive predictive values are low, but the negative predictive values are significantly high (92.9% and 93.5%, respectively) in determining the need for phototherapy. Conclusion CBB and B/A ratio are important in predicting the possibility of indirect hyperbilirubinemia (IHB) development. Babies should be followed closely in terms of IHB development when their CBB value is 1.8 mg/dL and above, and the cord blood B/A ratio is 0.56 and above.
Methodology for experimental study of soil microrelief on ruts in bridge farming

The study of issues related to the study of the state of the soil on the surface of the most constant technological track is relevant, since the movement of the running wheels along narrow tracks determines the traction and coupling properties of machine-tractor units, their vibrations, the stability of movement and the controllability of movement. The рurpose of this study was to increase the efficiency of the process of profiling microroughnesses of the soil surface located in areas that form a track along which the running wheels of machine-tractor units will move, by substantiating a new scheme of an automated profilograph and developing methods for its use. For this study, modern methods of experimental research based on IT technologies were used. In particular, an automated complex has been developed for measuring and evaluating the microprofile of soil surface irregularities on the very track of the tramline. The results of the experimental studies in this matter showed that the standard deviation of the soil surface irregularities reaches ±0.84 cm. This gives reason to consider the harmonic components of these functions as damped, having normalized correlation functions. The graphs constructed using PC showed that most of the dispersions of soil surface irregularities on the ruts themselves are concentrated in the range of 0…0.3 sm−1. It was established that the generator of the formation of irregularities in the longitudinal profile of traces of a permanent technological track is the parameters of the treads of the wheels of the machines moving along it. The obtained results of the study can be used in the selection of protectors of pneumatic tires of the running wheels of machine-tractor units moving on two tracks
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS IN MULTIVARIATE METHODS

The present paper discusses principles and methods of sensitivity analysis in multivariate methods such as principal component analysis and correspondence analysis, which are formulated as eigenvalue problems, and in various methods of exploratory factor analysis, which containeigenvalue problems in their determinating equations.Major mathematical tools are influence function introduced by Hampel(1974)and perturbation theory of eigenvalue problems.Theoretical influence functions, empirical influence functions and deleted empirical influence functions are used for detecting influential observations in those multivariate methods. Numerical examples are shown for illustration.
Parallel region growing for image segmentation based on SVM with rejection

A multiple-object parallel growing algorithm based on two-layer support vector machines with rejection feature is proposed to solve the difficulty in feature selection and region growing rule in the conventional region growing image segmentation algorithm.Initial seeds in each object are selected by interactive manual operation.At the same time the blocks that belong to or don't belong to the object region are interactively selected.Then the two-layer support vector classifier is trained by the training data collected in the first step.In region growing process,firstly the first layer of support vector classifier(SVC) with maximum margin between two classes is used for classifying the input block;then the sphere support vectors of this object region to describe the distribution of the sample are obtained by searching all the sphere boundaries containing the samples of this region.Then the input pattern of no-object classes could be rejected by the second support vector domain description(SVDD). In order to make results independent of the processing order and the initial growing seeds,multiple-object parallel growing is employed.Experimental results show that this algorithm is feasible and it performs better than conventional region growing algorithm.
What to Expect When You’re Expecting: Perinatal Sexual Education Is Linked with Couples’ Sexual Well-Being in Pregnancy and the Postpartum

ABSTRACT Up to 88% of expectant and new parents report problems with their sexual well-being, yet less than 30% of individuals receive information about potential sexual problems from health-care professionals. Lack of information may contribute to difficulty adjusting to sexual challenges, and in turn, to poorer sexual well-being. The current study examined the following: 1) the amount of perinatal sexual health information individuals receive/access; 2) gaps between desired and received information; 3) barriers to accessing information; and 4) links between the quantity of information received/accessed and sexual well-being outcomes in one sample of pregnant couples (N = 102) and another sample of couples in the postpartum (N = 102). Results revealed that most participants reported receiving/accessing little-to-no sexual health information, despite most participants wanting to receive a variety of information related to their perinatal sexuality. On average, expectant and new parents were indifferent regarding how easy/comfortable they felt discussing their sexuality with health-care professionals. Overall, when gestational parents received/accessed more pregnancy-related sexual health information and when either parent received/accessed more postpartum-related sexual health information, both members of the couples reported greater sexual well-being. Access to information might not only address couples’ needs and concerns but may also bolster sexual well-being during a vulnerable period.
Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Therapy in Pulmonary Hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive disease characterized by elevated artery pressures and pulmonary vascular resistance. Underlying mechanisms comprise endothelial dysfunction, pulmonary artery remodeling and vasoconstriction. Several studies have shown evidence of the critical role of oxidative stress in PH pathophysiology. Alteration of redox homeostasis produces excessive generation of reactive oxygen species, inducing oxidative stress and the subsequent alteration of biological molecules. Exacerbations in oxidative stress production can lead to alterations in nitric oxide signaling pathways, contributing to the proliferation of pulmonary arterial endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells, inducing PH development. Recently, antioxidant therapy has been suggested as a novel therapeutic strategy for PH pathology. However, the favorable outcomes observed in preclinical studies have not been consistently reproduced in clinical practice. Therefore, targeting oxidative stress as a therapeutic intervention for PH is an area that is still being explored. This review summarizes the contribution of oxidative stress to the pathogenesis of the different types of PH and suggests antioxidant therapy as a promising strategy for PH treatment.
Utilidad de la terapia dialéctica conductual abreviada para dificultades de regulación emocional en estudiantes mexicanos: Casos clínicos

La terapia dialéctica conductual (TDC) es un tratamiento con sustento empírico dirigido a personas con trastornos de salud mental complejos y considerados de difícil tratamiento; su meta final es que el paciente pueda construir una vida que valga la pena vivir. El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar la utilidad de la TDC para reducir la sintomatología del trastorno límite de personalidad, la depresión, la ansiedad y el estrés, y para aumentar la salud mental general y la atención plena en un grupo de estudiantes universitarios mexicanos. En una clínica universitaria de la Ciudad de México se identificaron a estudiantes que presentaron dificultades de regulación emocional y asistieron a una intervención basada en la TDC comprehensiva adaptada para una duración de seis meses. De los 19 pacientes enrolados en el programa, seis lo culminaron en su totalidad. Se encontraron mejoras en todas las variables. Los resultados sugieren que esta versión abreviada de la TDC podría ser efectiva para ayudar a estudiantes con dificultades de regulación emocional. Palabras clave: Terapia dialéctica conductual; regulación emocional; trastorno límite de personalidad; estrés.
Molecular Characterization of Germin-like Protein Genes in Zea mays (ZmGLPs) Using Various In Silico Approaches

Germin (GER) and germin-like proteins (GLPs) play an important role in various plant processes. Zea mays contains 26 germin-like protein genes (ZmGLPs) located on chromosomes 2, 4, and 10; most of which are functionally unexplored. The present study aimed to characterize all ZmGLPs using the latest computational tools. All of them were studied at a physicochemical, subcellular, structural, and functional level, and their expression was predicted in plant development, against biotic and abiotic stresses using various in silico approaches. Overall, ZmGLPs showed greater similarity in their physicochemical properties, domain architecture, and structure, mostly localized in the cytoplasmic or extracellular regions. Phylogenetically, they have a narrow genetic background with a recent history of gene duplication events on chromosome 4. Functional analysis revealed novel enzymatic activities of phosphoglycolate phosphatase, adenosylhomocysteinase, phosphoglycolate phosphatase-like, osmotin/thaumatin-like, and acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase largely mediated by disulfide bonding. Expression analysis revealed their crucial role in the root, root tips, crown root, elongation and maturation zones, radicle, and cortex with the highest expression being observed during germination and at the maturity levels. Further, ZmGLPs showed strong expression against biotic (Aspergillus flavus, Colletotrichum graminicola, Cercospora zeina, Fusarium verticillioides, and Fusarium virguliforme) while limited expression was noted against abiotic stresses. Concisely, our results provide a platform for additional functional exploration of the ZmGLP genes against various environmental stresses.
Automatic Coastline Extraction Based on the Improved Instantaneous Waterline Extraction Method and Correction Criteria Using SAR Imagery

Coastlines with different morphologies form boundaries between the land and ocean, and play a vital role in tourism, integrated coastal zone management, and marine engineering. Therefore, determining how to extract the coastline from satellite images quickly, accurately, and intelligently without manual intervention has become a hot topic. However, the instantaneous waterline extracted directly from the image must be corrected to the coastline using the tide survey station data. This process is challenging due to the scarcity of tide stations. Therefore, an improved instantaneous waterline extraction method was proposed in this paper with an integrated Otsu threshold method, a region-growing algorithm, Canny edge detection, and a morphology operator. Based on SAR feature extraction and screening, the multi-scale segmentation method and KNN classification algorithms were used to achieve object-oriented automatic classification. According to different types of ground features, the correction criteria were presented and used in correcting the instantaneous waterline in biological coasts and undeveloped silty coasts. As a result, the accurate extraction of the coastline was accomplished in the area of the Yellow River Delta. The coastline was compared with that extracted from the GF-1 optical image. The result shows that the deviation degree was less than the field distance represented by three pixels.
Alterations of Systemic and Hepatic Metabolic Function Following Exposure to Trans-nonachlor in Low and High Fat Diet Fed Male Sprague Dawley Rats

The overall prevalence of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D) and associated co-morbidities have increased at an alarming rate in the United States and worldwide. There is a growing body of epidemiological evidence implicating exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including legacy organochlorine (OC) pesticides and their bioaccumulative metabolites, in the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to determine if exposure to trans-nonachlor, a bioaccumulative OC pesticide contaminant, in concert with high fat diet intake induced metabolic dysfunction. Briefly, male Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to trans-nonachlor (.5 or 5 ppm) in either a low fat (LFD) or high fat diet (HFD) for 16 weeks. At 8 weeks of intake, trans-nonachlor decreased serum triglyceride levels in LFD and HFD fed animals and at 16 weeks compared to LFD fed animals. Interestingly, serum glucose levels were decreased by trans-nonachlor (5 ppm) in LFD fed animals at 16 weeks. Serum free fatty acids were increased by trans-nonachlor exposure (5 ppm) in LFD fed animals at 16 weeks. HFD fed animals displayed signs of hepatic steatosis including elevated liver triglycerides, liver enzymes, and liver lipid peroxidation which were not significantly altered by trans-nonachlor exposure. However, there was a trans-nonachlor mediated increase in expression of fatty acid synthase in livers of LFD fed animals and not HFD fed animals. Thus, the present data indicate exposure to trans-nonachlor in conjunction with LFD or HFD intake produces both diet and exposure dependent effects on lipid and glucose metabolism.
A Primer on the Use of Canonical Forms and Transformations in the Linear Regression Model

compounded by the fact that the scope of econometrics includes much in "pure" statistics, numerical analysis and computer science. In this expository paper we hope to unlock some of the secrets and dispel some of the mystery surrounding an analytical tool and expository device that has become common in the modern econometric/statistical world. By doing so we hope to open the doors for nonspecialists in econometrics to important new literature on the regression model. "Canonical" or "reparameterized" forms of the linear regres sion model are now widely used to simplify analysis and exposition without much, if any, explanation. This is especially true in the areas of hypothesis testing, "improved" estimation techniques for the regression model such as