Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat allele tagging SNPs: Associations with ALS risk and longevity

C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion is a common cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The C9orf72 locus may harbor residual risk outside the hexanucleotide repeat expansion, but the evidence is conflicting. Here, we first compared 683 unrelated amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cases and 3,196 controls with Finnish ancestry to find best single nucleotide polymorphisms that tag the C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion and intermediate-length alleles. Rs2814707 was the best tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms for intermediate-length alleles with ≥7 repeats (p = 5 × 10−307) and rs139185008 for the hexanucleotide repeat expansion (p = 7 × 10−114) as well as alleles with ≥20 repeats. rs139185008*C associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis after removing cases with the hexanucleotide repeat expansion, especially in the subpopulation homozygous for the rs2814707*T (p = 0.0002, OR = 5.06), which supports the concept of residual amyotrophic lateral sclerosis risk at the C9orf72 haplotypes other than the hexanucleotide repeat expansion. We then leveraged Finnish biobank data to test the effects of rs2814707*T and rs139185008*C on longevity after removing individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis / frontotemporal dementia diagnoses. In the discovery cohort (n = 230,006), the frequency of rs139185008*C heterozygotes decreased significantly with age in the comparisons between 50 and 80 years vs. >80 years (p = 0.0005) and <50 years vs. >80 years (p = 0.0001). The findings were similar but less significant in a smaller replication cohort (2-sided p = 0.037 in 50–80 years vs. >80 years and 0.061 in <50 years vs. >80 years). Analysis of the allele frequencies in 5-year bins demonstrated that the decrease of rs139185008*C started after the age of 70 years. The hexanucleotide repeat expansion tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms decreasing frequency with age suggests its’ association with age-related diseases probably also outside amyotrophic lateral sclerosis / frontotemporal dementia.
Magneto-electrogyration in cubic Sr(NO3)2, Ba(NO3)2, and Pb(NO3)2

The simultaneous application of electric and magnetic fields on single crystals of Sr-, Ba-and Pb-dinitrate yields an additional term to the pure electrogyration and Faraday effect. The symmetric part of the fourth-rank tensor of this magneto-electrogyration has been completely determined with the aid of a high-resolution computer-aided polarimetric device. In Pb(NO3)2 a maximum magneto-electrogyration of about 10% of the magnitude of electrogyration is observed when a magnetic field of 1000 kA/m (1.2 Tesla) is applied along [111]. The effects in Sr(NO3)2 and Ba(NO3)2 are much smaller. Index of refraction, electrogyration, Faraday effect, and the new magneto-electrogyration obey the same sequence: Pb(NO3)2 > Ba(NO3)2 > Sr(NO3)2.
Impact of empowerment and ICT on quality of work life: The mediating effect of trust climate

Abstract Aim of the study is to examine the impact of employee empowerment and ICT support on the employees’ work life quality with the mediating effect of the hospitality firms’ trust climate. Operational employees (n = 123) of the three star hotels of Bangladesh participated in the study. A partial least squares structural equation model (PLSSEM) was utilized in order to test a hypothesized model. Data were validated by a measurement model and hypotheses were tested by a structural equation model using the SmartPLS 3.0 software. Results indicate that climate of trust partially mediates the relationship between employee empowerment and quality of work life, and ICT support and quality of work life. The study also found that employee empowerment (β = 0.299), ICT support (β = 0.326), and climate of trust (β = 0.192) have strong effects (p < .05) on employees’ quality of work life with a variance (R2) of 42.1%, while employee empowerment (β = 0.358) and ICT support (β = 0.393) have significant influences (p < .05) on firm’s climate of trust with a variance (R2) of 38.1%. These findings may be utilized cautiously since the study was undertaken on the operational employees of the three star hotels in Bangladesh. This study provides new insights by defining the role of the hospitality firms in enriching the operators’ life at work and the strategies that the hospitality managers can formulate to empower their staff, allow them effective technological support, and build an atmosphere with mutual trust for attaining positive employee focused outcomes.
dc field and temperature dependent acoustic resonances in parallel-plate capacitors based on SrTiO3 and Ba0.25Sr0.75TiO3 films: Experiment and modeling

Experimentally observed resonant absorption peaks in frequency dependent loss tangent in thin film parallel-plate SrTiO3 and Ba0.25Sr0. 75TiO3 capacitors are explained by electrostriction and piezoelectric effects. A simple theory (linear approximation) is proposed to model the electric field and temperature dependences of the acoustic resonant frequencies, and the intensities of the microwave into acoustic transformations. The electric field dependence of the acoustic resonant frequencies may be used to develop tunable thin film bulk acoustic wave resonators (TFBARs) operating at frequencies up to 10GHz and above. The expected tuneability of the TFBARs is more than 5%.
Study of nano-architecture of the wings of Paris Peacock butterfly

Butterflies are one of the most colorful creatures in animal Kingdom. Wings of the male butterfly are brilliantly colored to attract females. Color of the wings plays an important role in camouflage. Study of structural colors in case of insects and butterflies are important for their biomimic and biophotonic applications. Structural color is the color which is produced by physical structures and their interaction with light. Paris Peacock or Papilio paris butterfly belongs to the family Papilionidae. The basis of structural color of this butterfly is investigated in the present study. The upper surface of the wings in this butterfly is covered with blue, green and brown colored scales. Nano-architecture of these scales was investigated with scanning electron microscope (SEM) and environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). Photomicrographs were analyzed using image analysis software. Goniometric color or iridescence in blue and green colored scales of this butterfly was observed and studied with the help of gonio spectrophotometer in the visible range. No iridescence was observed in brown colored scales of the butterfly. Hues of the blue and green color were measured with spectrophotometer and were correlated with nano-architecture of the wing. Results of electron microscopy and reflection spectroscopy are used to explain the iridescent nature of blue and green scales. Sinusoidal grating like structures of these scales were prominently seen in the blue scales. It is possible that the structure of these wings can act as a template for the fabrication of sinusoidal gratings using nano-imprint technology.
Generalized dimensions applied to speaker identification

This paper describes an application of fractal dimensions to speech processing and speaker identification. There are several dimensions that can be used to characterize speech signals such as box dimension, correlation dimension, etc. We are mainly concerned with the generalized dimensions of speech signals as they provide more information than individual dimensions. Generalized dimensions of arbitrary orders are used in speaker identification in this work. Based on the experimental data, the artificial phase space is generated and smooth behavior of correlation integral is obtained in a straightforward and accurate analysis. Using the dimension D(2) derived from the correlation integral, the generalized dimension D(q) of an arbitrary order q is calculated. Moreover, experiments applying the generalized dimension in speaker identification have been carried out. A speaker recognition dedicated Chinese language speech corpus with PKU-SRSC, recorded by Peking University, was used in the experiments. The results are compared to a baseline speaker identification that uses MFCC features. Experimental results have indicated the usefulness of fractal dimensions in characterizing speaker's identity.
Tertiary Education Performance Influenced by Administrative Leadership, Entrepreneurial Orientation with Moderating Role of Managerial Ties

The professionals, researchers, scientists and specialists contribute in innovative initiatives for generating and utilizing knowledge through tertiary institutes that play a vital role in national development. World-class universities are required in today’s dynamic environment to accomplish the goals of knowledge excellence that further upsurge the role of educational institutions in the development of human capital and overall performance-related consequences. The appropriate leadership is necessary for higher education institutions that strong leadership has the potential to enhance the performance and mitigate the negative impact of events that may damage the performance of educational perspective. This research effort focused on the appropriate leadership style to handle the issues, challenges and problems occurred on routine basis from prime stakeholders that hinder the performance of universities in the public sector specifically. This study incorporated the role of administrative leadership, Entrepreneurial orientation, and managerial ties to explain the phenomenon of the performance of universities. The study proposed to investigate the moderation role of managerial ties between the exogenous and endogenous constructs. The research used a quantitative research method and collected data from university leaders through proportionate random sampling from the public sector universities of Punjab, Pakistan. Partial Least Squares (PLS) was utilized for data analysis and results generation, the results of the collected data implied that administrative leadership, and managerial ties significantly influence the university performance. The moderation role of managerial ties has been assessed and results revealed that managerial ties significantly moderate the relationship between administrative leadership and universities, between the relationship of Entrepreneurial orientation and university performance. The findings of the study suggested to higher education institutes to ensure the appropriate leadership style, effective practices for Entrepreneurial orientation to ensure the effective relationship between colleagues and supervisors in order to grasp the corporate’s strategic goals of higher education sector. The limitation and future research avenues are incorporated in the study.
A Numerical Study of Skid Marks on the Slabs in a Walking-Beam Type Slab Reheating Furnace

Three-dimensional simulations are performed for the turbulent reactive flow and radiation heat transfer in a walking-beam type slab reheating furnace. The temperature nonuniformity of the slab, which causes skid marks later during the rolling process, is explored and its improvement is investigated by varying either the distance between two static beams or the height of the skid buttons. The numerical model built takes care of the true geometry and all components of a real furnace. The temperature distributions of the slab and the gas mixture are obtained through a coupled calculation. The investigation shows the skid mark is mainly caused by the radiation shielding effect of the walking-beam system and worsened by the cooling system. The skid mark above the static beam near the furnace wall is more serious than above the other static beam because of poor mixing of fuel and air, and thus less combustion there. To improve the skid mark, the static beams should be moved outward in the soaking zone and the height of the skid button should be increased.
Use of remote sensing data to assist crop modeling

This paper presents results of a study investigating the potential for improvement of a physically-based model approach, when the static input data is enhanced by dynamic remote sensing information. The model PROMET (PROcess of Radiation Mass and Energy Transfer), which is normally used to simulate the water and energy fluxes at the landscape level, was applied on a field scale to simulate crop growth and yield. The remote sensing input data was derived from hyperspectral images of the CHRIS (Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) sensor, which is operated by ESA (European Space Agency). PROMET was set up for a field scale model run for two test fields grown with winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) mapping the crop development of the seasons 2004 and 2005. During the model runs, information on the absorptive capacity of the leaves for two canopy layers (sunlit and shaded layer) was updated using remotely sensed chlorophyll measurements. The chlorophyll contents of these two vegetation layers were assessed using angular CHRIS data. Control data were acquired through field measurements, which were conducted throughout the growing periods of both years and also accompanying the satellite overpasses. The stand-alone model was able to reproduce the average development of the crop and yield reasonably well, but the spatial heterogeneity was severely underestimated and yield was overestimated by approximately 20%. The combination of remote sensing data with the model led to an improvement of the spatial heterogeneity of the crop development and yield. The use of ground truth data to improve the modeling accuracy can be made possible.
Construction of a fatty acid metabolism-related gene signature for predicting prognosis and immune response in breast cancer

Background: Breast cancer has the highest incidence among malignant tumors in women, and its prevalence ranks first in global cancer morbidity. Aim: This study aimed to explore the feasibility of a prognostic model for patients with breast cancer based on the differential expression of genes related to fatty acid metabolism. Methods: The mRNA expression matrix of breast cancer and paracancer tissues was downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The differentially expressed genes related to fatty acid metabolism were screened in R language. The TRRUST database was used to predict transcriptional regulators related to hub genes and construct an mRNA–transcription factor interaction network. A consensus clustering approach was used to identify different fatty acid regulatory patterns. In combination with patient survival data, Lasso and multivariate Cox proportional risk regression models were used to establish polygenic prognostic models based on fatty acid metabolism. The median risk score was used to categorize patients into high- and low-risk groups. Kaplan–Meier survival curves were used to analyze the survival differences between both groups. The Cox regression analysis included risk score and clinicopathological factors to determine whether risk score was an independent risk factor. Models based on genes associated with fatty acid metabolism were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curves. A comparison was made between risk score levels and the fatty acid metabolism-associated genes in different subtypes of breast cancer. The differential gene sets of the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes for screening high- and low-risk populations were compared using a gene set enrichment analysis. Furthermore, we utilized CIBERSORT to examine the abundance of immune cells in breast cancer in different clustering models. Results: High expression levels of ALDH1A1 and UBE2L6 prevented breast cancer, whereas high RDH16 expression levels increased its risk. Our comprehensive assessment of the association between prognostic risk scoring models and tumor microenvironment characteristics showed significant differences in the abundance of various immune cells between high- and low-risk breast cancer patients. Conclusions: By assessing fatty acid metabolism patterns, we gained a better understanding of the infiltration characteristics of the tumor microenvironment. Our findings are valuable for prognosis prediction and treatment of patients with breast cancer based on their clinicopathological characteristics.
Lattice thermal conductivity of crystalline and amorphous silicon with and without isotopic effects from the ballistic to diffusive thermal transport regime

Thermal conductivity of a material is an important physical parameter in electronic and thermal devices, and as the device size shrinks down, its length-dependence becomes unable to be neglected. Even in micrometer scale devices, materials having a long mean free path of phonons, such as crystalline silicon (Si), exhibit a strong length dependence of the thermal conductivities that spans from the ballistic to diffusive thermal transport regime. In this work, through non-equilibrium molecular-dynamics (NEMD) simulations up to 17 μm in length, the lattice thermal conductivities are explicitly calculated for crystalline Si and up to 2 μm for amorphous Si. The Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) is solved within a frequency-dependent relaxation time approximation, and the calculated lattice thermal conductivities in the BTE are found to be in good agreement with the values obtained in the NEMD. The isotopic effects on the length-dependent lattice thermal conductivities are also investigated both in the crystalline and amorphous Si.
Stray Voltage

In order for any discussion on stray voltage to be meaningful we first have to define what is meant by stray voltage. For the purposes of this paper I will use the definition found in the USDA Handbook 696, "EFFECTS OF ELECTRICAL VOLTAGE/ CURRENT ON FARM ANIMALS -- How To Detect and Remedy Problems. "1 That definition reads as follows: "Stray voltage is a small voltage (less than 10V) that can be measured between two possible contact points. If these two points are contacted by an animal or person, a current will flow. The amount of current depends on the voltage and the circuit impedance, which includes the source, contact and body impedances. Animals or persons respond to the resulting current flow and not the applied voltage. " From this definition there are two things I want you to notice: First, stray voltage is found at cow contact points. It is not voltage found between a reference ground rod and the service entrance neutral wire (neutral to earth voltage [nev]) or the water bowl or any other contact point in the barn. Voltage between those points may indicate possible stray voltage but they are not stray voltage in themselves.1 Second, it is not the voltage, but the current, which the animal reacts to so any stray voltage investigation should determine current as well as voltage. We will discuss these points in more detail later.
Design and parameterization of M-band orthonormal wavelets

The authors generalize the parameterization of 2-band (or dyadic) wavelet to the M-band case. A complete characterization of M-band wavelets is given, including a recipe for constructing such wavelets. It is shown that M-band wavelets can be constructed from a perfect reconstruction filter bank with added regularity conditions. The regularity conditions are important both for the numerical stability of the resulting approximation procedures and for increased compactness of the signal representations with such wavelets. <<ETX>>
SARS-CoV-2 Lysate Stimulation Impairs the Release of Platelet-like Particles and Megakaryopoiesis in the MEG-01 Cell Line

SARS-CoV-2 infection causes a considerable inflammatory response coupled with impaired platelet reactivity, which can lead to platelet disorders recognized as negative prognostic factors in COVID-19 patients. The virus may cause thrombocytopenia or thrombocytosis during the different disease stages by destroying or activating platelets and influencing platelet production. While it is known that several viruses can impair megakaryopoiesis by generating an improper production and activation of platelets, the potential involvement of SARS-CoV-2 in affecting megakaryopoiesis is poorly understood. To this purpose, we explored, in vitro, the impact of SARS-CoV-2 stimulation in the MEG-01 cell line, a human megakaryoblastic leukemia cell line, considering its spontaneous capacity of releasing platelet-like particles (PLPs). We interrogated the effect of heat-inactivated SARS-CoV-2 lysate in the release of PLPs and activation from MEG-01, the signaling pathway influenced by SARS-CoV-2, and the functional effect on macrophagic skewing. The results highlight the potential influence of SARS-CoV-2 in the early stages of megakaryopoiesis by enhancing the production and activation of platelets, very likely due to the impairment of STATs signaling and AMPK activity. Overall, these findings provide new insight into the role of SARS-CoV-2 in affecting megakaryocyte–platelet compartment, possibly unlocking another avenue by which SARS-CoV-2 moves.
High Absorptivity and Ultra-Wideband Solar Absorber Based on Ti-Al2O3 Cross Elliptical Disk Arrays

Perfect metamaterial absorbers have attracted researchers’ attention in solar energy harvesting and utilization. An ideal solar absorber should provide high absorption, be ultra-wideband, and be insensitive to polarization and incident angles, which brings challenges to research. In this paper, we proposed and optimized an ultra-wideband solar absorber based on Ti-Al2O3 cross elliptical disk arrays to obtain the ultra-wideband absorption of solar energy. The addition of a cavity greatly improves the energy-absorbing effect in the operating band, which has research value. The absorption spectrum and field distribution were analyzed by the finite difference time domain method. For the physical mechanism, the electric and magnetic field distribution indicates that ultra-wideband absorption is caused by propagation surface plasmon resonance (SPR), localized SPR and Fabry–Perot (F-P) resonance excited between Ti and Al2O3 disks. The results demonstrate that the absorption bandwidth with the absorption rate beyond 90% reaches 1380 nm (385–1765 nm), and the average absorption reaches an astonishing 98.78%. The absorption bandwidth matches the main radiation bandwidth of the solar energy, which is approximately 295–2500 nm according to the data from the literature, and the total thickness of the structure is only 445 nm. Moreover, the ultra-wideband solar absorber is insensitive to the polarization angle and oblique incidence angle. The proposed ultra-wideband solar absorber has research and application value in solar energy harvesting, photothermal conversion and utilization.
Phenomenological model for two‐tone suppression

A model relating discharge rate in single auditory‐nerve fibers to parameters of a two‐tone stimulus is presented. We consider cases where one tone is at fiber characteristic frequenfcy (CF) and the other tone produces two‐tone suppression. The last stage in the model is a saturating nonlinearity. For the CF tone presented alone, the input to this nonlinearity is the CF amplitude; in the two‐tone case, the CF amplitude is attenuated by a factor which depends only on the suppressor‐tone amplitude and frequency. The model serves to relate a number of two‐tone studies. In particular, it predicts our recently reported differences in two‐tone suppression for the cases of suppressor frequencies above and below fiber CF.Subject Classification: [43]65.35, [43]65.42.