Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computational Modeling of Fine Sediment Relocation Within a Dam Reservoir by Means of Artificial Flood Generation in a Reservoir Cascade

Sediment relocation is a process where water turbulence moves deposits from shallower to deeper zones of a lake or reservoir. Additionally, in the context of a reservoir cascade relocation is a one of the possible sediment management strategies used to maintain the operational capacity of reservoirs. Numerical modeling tools applied to sediment dynamics can help to better understand the reservoir sedimentary processes and enhance the design of management strategies. This paper describes the detailed analysis of the cohesive sediment dynamics within a reservoir and a methodology for the calibration of numerical models for the management of sediment deposits through dam operation and upstream generation of artificial floods. The calibration process was based on an accumulated sediment volume curve and the usage of simplified models for an initial parameter estimation. The calibrated model has been applied to analyze different possibilities of sediment relocation strategies.
A Cell-Penetrating Peptide Improves Anti-HER2 Single-Chain Variable Fragment Internalization and Antitumor Activity against HER2-Positive Breast Cancer In Vitro and In Vivo

Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are invaluable tools for delivering various substances into cells by crossing biological membranes. However, the effects of cell-penetrating peptide fusion proteins on the biological activity of antibodies remain to be fully understood. Here, we engineered a recombinant protein, LP-scFv, which combines the single-chain variable region of anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 with a novel and non-oxic cell-penetrating peptide as a leader peptide. The introduction of this leader peptide led to a more than twofold increase in the internalization efficiency of the single-chain antibody, as confirmed using microscopic analysis and flow cytometry. The effects of the single-chain antibodies and LP-scFv on cell viability were evaluated using the MTT assay. Both the single-chain antibodies and LP-scFv reduced the viability of BT474 and NCI-N87 cells in a dose-dependent manner while exhibiting minimal toxicity towards MCF-7 and MCF-10A cells. Further investigation into LP-scFv’s mechanism revealed that the induced leader peptide does not alter the MAPK-ERK1/2 and PI3K/AKT pathways of single-chain antibodies. An enhanced antitumor activity was also confirmed in an NCI-N87 tumor xenograft model in mice with a reduction of 45.2% in tumor growth inhibition (vs. 23.1% for scFv) with a 50 mg/kg dose after orthotopic injection administration, which was equivalent to that of trastuzumab (vs. 55.7% for trastuzumab). Overall, these results indicate that LP-scFv exhibits significant permeation activity in HER2-positive cells to enhance the intracellular dose effect on antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo. This research lays the foundation for designing novel antibody-based therapies for cancer.
Direct One-Bit DOA Estimation Robust in Presence of Unequal Power Signals

Direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation is a crucial task in wireless communication and radar systems, with applications spanning beamforming, localization, and target tracking. Conventional methods often require high-resolution quantization, imposing challenges and complexities, particularly in large-scale antenna arrays. One-bit DOA estimation has emerged as a groundbreaking alternative, aiming to achieve accurate results without the need for high-resolution measurements. However, state-of-the-art approaches either require reconstruction of an unquantized covariance matrix or sparse signal recovery, or are based on restrictive assumptions such as the equality of power of signal sources. In this paper, a novel approach for direct one-bit DOA estimation is presented, overcoming the limitations of previous methods by introducing a generalized one-bit covariance matrix and smoothing it. Through analytical and numerical analyses, we reveal the shortcomings of the direct application of the one-bit covariance matrix, particularly in scenarios with unequal signal powers. Comparative simulations demonstrate the superiority of the proposed approach, especially in scenarios with significant signal-to-noise ratio differences and a limited number of snapshots.
ISO-Compatible Personal Temperature Measurement Using Visual and Thermal Images With Facial Region of Interest Detection

Disease outbreaks and pandemics show us how important it is to limit the spread of diseases. One common indicator of many ailments is body temperature. It’s a measurement that can be taken quickly, also using contactless methods. However, it is necessary to ensure the methodological correctness, repeatability and reliability of such measurement. In this manuscript, we introduce a non-intrusive approach for individual body temperature assessment that adheres to the stipulated criteria outlined by ISO/IEC 80601–2-59 standard. The measurements are performed at specific regions of interest (ROIs) of a human face, at the inner canthi of both eyes, which show high robustness to the environment temperature change. The method utilises the fusion of RGB-D (red, green, blue and depth) and thermal cameras. The system detects the ROIs on the RGB image employing deep learning methods and transfers them to the thermal image, from which the temperature can be read. The system was tested on our validation dataset consisting of 210 individuals, achieving ROI’s position identification mean error below 3 mm and temperature measurement error below 0.5°C, which is in line with the ISO norm requirements.
Character Education Management in Improving Students' Spiritual Intelligence

This research analyses character education management in increasing students' spiritual and spiritual intelligence. The method used is qualitative with a qualitative descriptive design with data collection techniques through observation, interviews, and documentation. Next, data analysis was carried out using a descriptive qualitative study. The research results show that: 1. character education management at SMPN 1 Mojowarno Jombang starts from the planning process, including character education, which is made at the beginning of the school year meeting and involves all stakeholders. The organizing process prepares an organizational structure with its objectives, resources and environment. The implementation process is an action or implementation of a plan crafted carefully and in detail. Implementation is usually carried out after the plan is considered ready. The evaluation process determines the value of everything in the world of education, namely everything related to or occurs in the field of education. 2. Students' spiritual intelligence is awareness of practising the teachings of the Islamic religion, proven by the fact that when it is time for prayer, they immediately do it, as well as discipline, especially in carrying out religious teachings. Manners. Compassion for others, Having empathy and concern for others, Respecting and respecting others. Character education management starts with planning, organizing, implementing, and evaluating.
Juridical analysis of entry and exit points for animal and plant quarantine carrier media

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the legal arrangements for the place of entry and release of animal and plant quarantine carrier media, and the factors, constraints, solutions, and implementation of the place of entry and release of animal and plant quarantine carrier media. Methodology: The research method of this thesis is normative juridical (legal research) through a literature study with an empirical juridical approach (sociological juridical) through field studies aimed at empirically obtaining legal knowledge. Results: The results showed that the legal regulation of the place of entry and release of animal and plant quarantine carrier media is Article 86 and Article 87 of Law Number 21 of 2019 concerning Animal, Fish and Plant Quarantine, which regulates the prohibition of entering or removing animal and plant quarantine carrier media other than the place of entry and release determined by the Central Government. The implementation of animal and plant quarantine entry and exit points at the Batam Class I Agricultural Quarantine Center reflects serious efforts to maintain the integrity of the national biological security. However, there are obstacles, such as limited human resources, inadequate facilities, and challenges in inter-stakeholder coordination. However, by applying the latest technology, increasing the capacity of human resources through training, and improving coordination and communication with related parties, the Batam Quarantine Center found a strategic solution to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its services in carrying out quarantine duties.
PCGIMA: developing the web server for human position-defined CpG islands methylation analysis

Introduction: CpG island (CGI) methylation is one of the key epigenomic mechanisms for gene expression regulation and chromosomal integrity. However, classical CGI prediction methods are neither easy to locate those short and position-sensitive CGIs (CpG islets), nor investigate genetic and expression pattern for CGIs under different CpG position- and interval- sensitive parameters in a genome-wide perspective. Therefore, it is urgent for us to develop such a bioinformatic algorithm that not only can locate CpG islets, but also provide CGI methylation site annotation and functional analysis to investigate the regulatory mechanisms for CGI methylation. Methods: This study develops Human position-defined CGI prediction method to locate CpG islets using high performance computing, and then builds up a novel human genome annotation and analysis method to investigate the connections among CGI, gene expression and methylation. Finally, we integrate these functions into PCGIMA to provide relevant online computing and visualization service. Results: The main results include: (1) Human position-defined CGI prediction method is more efficient to predict position-defined CGIs with multiple consecutive (d) values and locate more potential short CGIs than previous CGI prediction methods. (2) Our annotation and analysis method not only can investigate the connections between position-defined CGI methylation and gene expression specificity from a genome-wide perspective, but also can analysis the potential association of position-defined CGIs with gene functions. (3) PCGIMA (http://www.combio-lezhang.online/pcgima/home.html) provides an easy-to-use analysis and visualization platform for human CGI prediction and methylation. Discussion: This study not only develops Human position-defined CGI prediction method to locate short and position-sensitive CGIs (CpG islets) using high performance computing to construct MR-CpGCluster algorithm, but also a novel human genome annotation and analysis method to investigate the connections among CGI, gene expression and methylation. Finally, we integrate them into PCGIMA for online computing and visualization.
Teaching Geography in Higher Education: A Manual of Good Practice

Introduction 1. The Lecture 2. Fieldwork 3. Practicals and Projects 4. Learning by Discussion 5. Resource Based Learning 6. Computer-Assisted Teaching and Learning 7. Assessing Students 8. Course Evaluation and Improvement 9. Designing a Geography Curriculum 10. Towards Better Geography Teaching About the Authors.
Evaluating the effectiveness of a Performance Management System to enhance sustainable development: a case study of Boikhutsong

III OPSOMMING . IV LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS . XVIII GLOSSARY . XXI CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Background . 1 1.2 Problem statement . 1 1.3 Research Questions . 2 1.4 Research objectives . 2 1.5 Delineation of study area . 3 1.6 Research methodology . 3 1.6. 1 Literature study . 4 1.6. 2 Databases consulted . 4 1.6. 3 Empirical study . 4 1.6. 4 Data-collection techniques . 5 1.7 Limitations of this research . 5 1.8 Research hypothesis . 6 1.9 Chapter overview . 6
Frequency of Thyroid Microcarcinoma in Patients Who Underwent Total Thyroidectomy with Benign Indication—A 5-Year Retrospective Review

Background and Objectives: Incidental thyroid cancers (ITCs) are often microcarcinomas. The most frequent histologic type is a papillary microcarcinoma. Papillary thyroid microcarcinomas are defined as papillary thyroid tumours measuring less than 10 mm at their greatest diameter. They are clinically occult and frequently diagnosed incidentally in histopathology reports after a thyroidectomy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the rate of papillary thyroid microcarcinomas (PTMC) in patients who were thyroidectomised with indications of benign disease. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the histological incidence of PTMC in 431 consecutive patients who, in a 5 year period, underwent a thyroidectomy with benign indications. Patients with benign histology and with known or suspected malignancy were excluded. Results: Histopathology reports from 540 patients who underwent a total thyroidectomy in our department between 2016 and 2021 were reviewed. A total of 431 patients were thyroidectomised for presumed benign thyroid disease. A total of 395 patients had confirmed benign thyroid disease in the final histopathology, while 36 patients had incidental malignant lesions (33 PTMC—7.67%, one multifocal PTC without microcarcinomas—0.23%, two follicular thyroid carcinoma—0.46%). Out of the PTMC patients, 29 were female and four were male (7.2:1 female–male ratio). The mean age was 54.2 years old. A total of 24 out of 33 patients had multifocal lesions, 11 of which co-existed with macro PTC. Nine patients had unifocal lesions. A total of 21 of these patients were initially operated on for multinodular goitre (64%), while 13 were operated on for Hashimoto/Lymphocytic thyroiditis (36%). Conclusions: PTMC—often multifocal—is not an uncommon, incidental finding after thyroidectomy for benign thyroid lesions (7.67% in our series) and often co-exists with other incidental malignant lesions (8.35% in our series). The possibility of an underlying papillary microcarcinoma should be taken into account in the management of patients with benign—especially nodular—thyroid disease, and total thyroidectomy should be considered.
SHAPER: A General Architecture for Privacy-Preserving Primitives in Secure Machine Learning

Secure multi-party computation and homomorphic encryption are two primary security primitives in privacy-preserving machine learning, whose wide adoption is, nevertheless, constrained by the computation and network communication overheads. This paper proposes a hybrid Secret-sharing and Homomorphic encryption Architecture for Privacy-pERsevering machine learning (SHAPER). SHAPER protects sensitive data in encrypted or randomly shared domains instead of relying on a trusted third party. The proposed algorithm-protocol-hardware co-design methodology explores techniques such as plaintext Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) and fine-grained scheduling, to minimize end-to-end latency in various network settings. SHAPER also supports secure domain computing acceleration and the conversion between mainstream privacy-preserving primitives, making it ready for general and distinctive data characteristics. SHAPER is evaluated by FPGA prototyping with a comprehensive hyper-parameter exploration, demonstrating a 94x speed-up over CPU clusters on large-scale logistic regression training tasks.
A Sequence of up to 11 Seismic Discontinuities Down to the Midmantle Beneath Southeast Asia

The Earth's mantle exhibits a layered structure seismically characterized by sudden velocity changes or strong gradients. Several seismic boundaries have been identified in the mantle, and a large number of theoretical calculations and laboratory experiments have contributed to the debate on their origin. We analyze P‐to‐S converted phases generated at such interfaces to image the velocity structure within the sublithospheric mantle beneath Indonesia. Our study confirms the existence of various layer boundaries in the upper and lower mantle revealing up to 11 consecutive discontinuities down to ~1,700‐km depth. We detect Ps phases from the Lehmann and the X discontinuities originating at ~245 and ~294 km, respectively, followed by the top of a low‐velocity layer (LVL‐410) at ~368 km. The transition zone discontinuities are imaged at average depths of 408 and 665 km, respectively, which indicates the absence of significant temperature anomalies. In the midmantle we find vague indications for another interface at ~970‐km depth. At ~1,220 km a negative phase is observed followed by a sequence of converting structures of unknown origin at ~1,320, ~1,460, and ~1,500 km. We interpret these interfaces as compositional anomalies related to persisting fragments of subducted lithosphere. A further boundary is observed at ~1,700 km. Even though different causes exist to explain the observed seismic discontinuities including mineral phase transitions, partial melt, and chemical changes, most of them require additional mineral components. Thus, our findings provide clear evidence for significant compositional alteration of the mantle beneath Indonesia as a result of recurring subduction.
Field spectroradiometer and simulated multispectral bands for discriminating invasive species from morphologically similar cohabitant plants

One of the challenges in fighting plant invasions is the inefficiency of identifying their distribution using field inventory techniques. Remote sensing has the potential to alleviate this problem effectively using spectral profiling for species discrimination. However, little is known about the capability of remote sensing in discriminating between shrubby invasive plants with narrow leaf structures and other cohabitants with similar ecological niche. The aims of this study were therefore to (1) assess the classification performance of field spectroradiometer data among three bushy and shruby plants (Artemesia afra, Asparagus laricinus, and Seriphium plumosum) from the coexistent plant species largely dominated by acacia and grass species, and (2) explore the performance of simulated spectral bands of five space-borne images (Landsat 8, Sentinel 2A, SPOT 6, Pleiades 1B, and WorldView-3). Two machine-learning classifiers (boosted trees classification and support vector machines) were used to classify raw hyperspectral (n = 688) and simulated multispectral wavelengths. Relatively high classification accuracies were obtained for the invasive species using the original hyperspectral bands for both classifiers (overall accuracy, OA = 83–97%). The simulated data resulted in higher accuracies for Landsat 8, Sentinel 2A, and WorldView-3 compared to those computed for bands simulated to SPOT 6 and Pleiades 1B data. These findings suggest the potential of remote-sensing techniques in the discrimination of different plant species with similar morphological characteristics occupying the same niche.
Assessing the role of structure, location and emissions in the impact of megacities on air quality in Europe

Our works focused on the impact of megacities on oxidating pollution in Europe, depending on the size, location and possible structural evolution of the cities. By means of anthropogenic emissions sensitivity studies, we showed that the existence of high emitting countries/regions in Europe (BeNeLux in particular) prevails over the existence of large and dense cities for the determination of pollution gradients in Europe. Our results also indicate that the concentration of the urban built (by opposition to city spreading) may reinforce secondary pollution locally (through fast ozone production). However it has limited impact on the total quantity of oxidants produced over Europe. Finally, simulations with passive tracer emissions allowed us to conclude that city spreading over new territories could alter the geographical export pathways of pollutants from cities towards the rest of the continent.
Microfluidic Synthesis of Nano-Liposomal Anesthetics

Topical anesthesia has the ability to provide painless application of pain management medications for minor procedures such as venipuncture, particularly in the pediatric population. Liposomes have been proposed as a highly advantageous nanocarrier for dermal transport of drugs. Unlike conventional liposome preparation methods, which yield polydisperse populations of liposomes which are too large to passively transverse dermal layers (typically >80 nm), the recently developed microfluidic method for liposome synthesis provides an approach for producing nearly-monodisperse vesicles of tunable size which can achieve a range of size not achievable by traditional methods (approximately 40 nm and below). In this study, we have utilized a previously-demonstrated microfluidic method for continuous-flow synthesis of small, nearlymonodisperse liposomes and demonstrated size-dependent passive uptake into porcine dermal tissue.
An approach to compare the environmental conditions of Acer in the Miocene and in the modern flora of Turkey, based on wood anatomy

Abstract In this study, xeromorphy ratios were calculated for Acer L. (maple) fossil woods in order to infer the precipitation conditions in the Miocene at the sites of the fossils, based on a comparison with the xeromorphy ratios of selected extant Acer species. The four studied petrified wood samples came from three localities of the Galatean Volcanic Province in Turkey: Kozyaka village (Bolu Province, Seben District), İnözü Valley (Ankara Province, Beypazarı District), and Kıraluç precinct between Nuhhoca and Dağşeyhler villages (Ankara Province, Beypazarı District). The calculated xeromorphy ratios ranged from 3 to 18 for the present-day wood and from 13 to 19 for the early Miocene wood. Values over 10 (11–18) represent xeric conditions; the lower values (3–7) indicate mesic conditions in modern Acer woods. The xeromorphy ratios of the Miocene wood indicate xeric conditions; we conclude that the sites of the fossil Acer woods were xeric, very similar to the modern Acer woodlands of central and southern Anatolia.