Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Soil-embedded optical fiber sensing cable interrogated by Brillouin optical time-domain reflectometry (B-OTDR) and optical frequency-domain reflectometry (OFDR) for embedded cavity detection and sinkhole warning system

A soil-embedded optical fiber sensing cable is evaluated for an embedded cavity detection and sinkhole warning system in railway tunnels. Tests were performed on a decametric structure equipped with an embedded 110 m long fiber optic cable. Both Brillouin optical time-domain reflectometry (B-OTDR) and optical frequency-domain reflectometry (OFDR) sensing techniques were used for cable interrogation, yielding results that were in good qualitative agreement with finite-element calculations. Theoretical and experimental comparison enabled physical interpretation of the influence of ground properties, and the analysis of embedded cavity size and position. A 5 mm embedded cavity located 2 m away from the sensing cable was detected. The commercially available sensing cable remained intact after soil collapse. Specificities of each technique are analyzed in view of the application requirements. For tunnel monitoring, the OFDR technique was determined to be more viable than the B-OTDR due to higher spatial resolution, resulting in better detection and size determination of the embedded cavities. Conclusions of this investigation gave outlines for future field use of distributed strain-sensing methods under railways and more precisely enabled designing a warning system suited to the Ebersviller tunnel specificities.
CRISPR/Cas9-based Engineering of Immunoglobulin Loci in Hybridoma Cells

Development of the hybridoma technology by Köhler and Milstein (1975) has revolutionized the immunological field by enabling routine use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in research and development efforts, resulting in their successful application in the clinic today. While recombinant good manufacturing practices production technologies are required to produce clinical grade mAbs, academic laboratories and biotechnology companies still rely on the original hybridoma lines to stably and effortlessly produce high antibody yields at a modest price. In our own work, we were confronted with a major issue when using hybridoma-derived mAbs: there was no control over the antibody format that was produced, a flexibility that recombinant production does allow. We set out to remove this hurdle by genetically engineering antibodies directly in the immunoglobulin (Ig) locus of hybridoma cells. We used clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) and homology-directed repair (HDR) to modify antibody’s format [mAb or antigen-binding fragment (Fab’)] and isotype. This protocol describes a straightforward approach, with little hands-on time, leading to stable cell lines secreting high levels of engineered antibodies. Parental hybridoma cells are maintained in culture, transfected with a guide RNA (gRNA) targeting the site of interest in the Ig locus and an HDR template to knock in the desired insert and an antibiotic resistance gene. By applying antibiotic pressure, resistant clones are expanded and characterized at the genetic and protein level for their ability to produce modified mAbs instead of the parental protein. Finally, the modified antibody is characterized in functional assays. To demonstrate the versatility of our strategy, we illustrate this protocol with examples where we have (i) exchanged the constant heavy region of the antibody, creating chimeric mAb of a novel isotype, (ii) truncated the antibody to create an antigenic peptide-fused Fab’ fragment to produce a dendritic cell–targeted vaccine, and (iii) modified both the constant heavy (CH)1 domain of the heavy chain (HC) and the constant kappa (Cκ) light chain (LC) to introduce site-selective modification tags for further derivatization of the purified protein. Only standard laboratory equipment is required, which facilitates its application across various labs. We hope that this protocol will further disseminate our technology and help other researchers. Graphical abstract
Improved minimax optimisation algorithms and their application in the design of recursive digital filters

A technique that can improve the performance of available optimisation algorithms, in applications where the objective function involves the sampling of a function with respect to an independent variable, is proposed. The technique is then applied in conjunction with two well known minimax algorithms for the design of recursive digital filters. Extensive experimental results show that the new technique reduces the approximation error significantly and eliminates the problem of spikes in the error function. Although the amount of computation needed to carry out a design for a fixed density of grid points is increased somewhat, improved robustness is achieved, which allows a reduced density of grid points and eliminates waste of computational effort in unsuccessful designs.
FD-TD analysis of scattered fields excited by a high energy pulsed beam of charged particles using point charge responses

In this paper, we show a finite-difference time-domain (FD-TD) analysis of scattered fields excited by a pulsed beam using point charge responses and convolution. The advantages of this approach are easy handling of arbitrary beam trajectories and waveforms; efficient absorption for excited fields on open boundaries; and small amount of incident field calculation. In addition, we describe the relation between the temporal resolution and the allowable aliasing error since the point charge field as an incident field has very high frequency spectrum.
Using Lyapunov matrices for sliding mode design

In this manuscript, a property of Lyapunov matrices is proposed and its application to sliding mode design is addressed. It will be shown that the sliding modes which guarantee the desired sliding behavior can be obtained by manipulating Lyapunov matrices associated with the full order systems. The proposed approach enables us to adopt a variety of Lyapunov- (or Riccati-) based approaches for the sliding mode design. Applications to uncertain systems, systems with uncertain state delay, pole-clustering problems, multi-objective approach etc. are discussed.
Foot Cooling between Interval Bouts Enhances Repeated Lower Limb Power Performance: The Role of Delaying Fatigue

This study aimed to investigate whether interbout foot cooling (FC) may enhance repeated lower limb power performance and the corresponding physiological responses based on interset FC, which has been demonstrated to enhance leg-press performance. In a repeated-measures crossover design, ten active men (aged 21.5 ± 1.5 years, exercising >3 times per week) performed four bouts of 10-s cycle ergometer sprints with interbout FC at 10°C water for 2.5 min or non-cooling (NC) with a 5-day interval. The results indicated that FC elicited higher total work (27.57 ± 5.66 kJ vs. 26.55 ± 5.76 kJ) and arousal scores than NC (p < 0.05). Furthermore, under the NC condition, participants decreased mean power (p < 0.05) with no alteration of vastus lateralis (VL) electromyography (EMG) activities after the second bout; whereas under the FC condition, participants maintained steady mean power accompanied by increased VL EMG activities in the last two bouts (p < 0.05). Jointly, participants had higher mean power ([3rd = 10.14 ± 1.15 vs. 9.37 ± 1.30; 4th = 9.79 ± 1.22 vs. 9.23 ± 1.27] W/kg) and VL EMG activities in the last two bouts under the FC than NC condition (p < 0.05). However, perceived exertion and the heart rate were comparable between the two conditions (p > 0.05). In conclusion, interbout FC elicited a higher arousal level and repeated lower limb power performance, which could be explained by delaying peripheral fatigue via increasing excitatory drive and recruiting additional motor units to compensate for fatigue-related responses and power decrements.
Cathodoluminescence study of the spatial distribution of electron‐hole pairs generated by an electron beam in Al0.4Ga0.6As

We use the cathodoluminescence mode of a scanning electron microscope to investigate the depth and lateral dependencies of the electron‐hole pairs generation by the electron beam in Al0.4Ga0. 6As semiconducting material. A multiquantum well structure acts as a detector to measure the relative number of generated minority carriers by their radiative recombination, allowing a direct assessment of the generation volume in the sample. In contrast to electron‐beam induced current which was used in former studies, the method avoids the effect of carrier diffusion for direct band gap materials. This novel technique can be readily applied to other III‐V and II‐VI semiconductors. The results may be used for the quantitative interpretation of cathodoluminescence and electron‐beam induced current measurements.
Collapse of a Cavitating Vortex Ring

On developpe une theorie asymptotique pour le comportement d'un anneau de bulles dans un champ de pression variable. On donne une equation dynamique pour les oscillations du rayon de la section transversale du tore lorsque le rapport entre ce rayon et le rayon du tore est faible. Solutions numeriques pour l'effondrement d'un tore de vapeur du a une augmentation brusque de la pression ambiante. Le mouvement tourbillonnaire induit une cavitation plus precoce et simultanement amortit l'effondrement
CONTROL OF TURBULENCE

▪ Abstract We discuss a few applications of active control of turbulent fluid flow and their implications for the economy and the environment. We outline a conceptual basis for control, sketching sensors, actuators, and the algorithm. The control of turbulence requires an understanding of turbulent flows beyond our present capabilities, but we describe the physical basis for control of the boundary layer: coherent structures and bursts, the connection between burst frequency and friction velocity, the change of burst frequency and drag reduction possible with polymers or active control, and other effects on burst frequency (e.g. streamline curvature, pressure gradients, and extra rates of strain). Given that the state of the flow must be sensed from the surface, and that this information is necessarily incomplete and aliased, sophisticated techniques may be required to interpret the signals. A control strategy, an algorithm, is necessary, and we express the need for a model of the flow as an interpretor a.
Mitochondrial dysfunction as a target in spinal cord injury: intimate correlation between pathological processes and therapeutic approaches

Traumatic spinal cord injuries interrupt the connection of all axonal projections with their neuronal targets below and above the lesion site. This interruption results in either temporary or permanent alterations in the locomotor, sensory, and autonomic functions. Damage in the spinal tissue prevents the re-growth of severed axons across the lesion and their reconnection with neuronal targets. Therefore, the absence of spontaneous repair leads to sustained impairment in voluntary control of movement below the injury. For decades, axonal regeneration and reconnection have been considered the opitome of spinal cord injury repair with the goal being the repair of the damaged long motor and sensory tracts in a complex process that involves: (1) resealing injured axons; (2) reconstructing the cytoskeletal structure inside axons; (3) re-establishing healthy growth cones; and (4) assembling axonal cargos. These biological processes require an efficient production of adenosine triphosphate, which is affected by mitochondrial dysfunction after spinal cord injury. From a pathological standpoint, during the secondary stage of spinal cord injury, mitochondrial homeostasis is disrupted, mainly in the distal segments of severed axons. This result in a reduction of adenosine triphosphate levels and subsequent inactivation of adenosine triphosphate-dependent ion pumps required for the regulation of ion concentrations and reuptake of neurotransmitters, such as glutamate. The consequences are calcium overload, reactive oxygen species formation, and excitotoxicity. These events are intimately related to the activation of necrotic and apoptotic cell death programs, and further exacerbate the secondary stage of the injury, being a hallmark of spinal cord injury. This is why restoring mitochondrial function during the early stage of secondary injury could represent a potentially effective therapeutic intervention to overcome the motor and sensory failure produced by spinal cord injury. This review discusses the most recent evidence linking mitochondrial dysfunction with axonal regeneration failure in the context of spinal cord injury. It also covers the future of mitochondria-targeted therapeutical approaches, such as antioxidant molecules, removing mitochondrial anchor proteins, and increasing energetic metabolism through creatine treatment. These approaches are intended to enhance functional recovery by promoting axonal regeneration-reconnection after spinal cord injury.
Nonconvex Quadratic Programming via Generalized Polars

A new approach is proposed to linearly constrained nonconvex quadratic programming. The approach is based on generalized polar sets, and is akin to the convex analysis approach to integer programming. We construct a generalized polar of the Kuhn–Tucker polyhedron associated with a quadratic program. This generalized polar is a convex polyhedral cone whose interior contains no complementary feasible solution better than the best known one. This and other properties are used to generate cutting planes similar to the outer polar cuts used in 0-1 programming. An algorithm is then proposed, which does not use cutting planes, but constructs a polytope containing the feasible set and contained in the polar of the latter. This is done by starting with a simplex defined by a subset of the problem constraints, and successively activating other problem constraints, until the resulting polytope is contained in the polar of the feasible set. When this is achieved, the best complementary solution found in the process i.
Iterative feedback control of snake-like robot based on principal fibre bundle modelling

This paper is concerned with point-to-point control of a simple 3-link snake robot, which is a typical example of non-holonomic drift-free systems with complicated controllability structure. First, we give a mathematical model of the snake robot in the form of a system on a principal fibre bundle with the structure Lie group SE (2). Then we propose a set of piecewise-linear/sinusoidal periodic input, and an algorithm which determines its design parameters so that the net effect of the input is approximately equal to the desired displacement. Finally, we give an idea of improving this approximation by an online iterative tuning of the design parameters. Effectiveness of the proposed method is evaluated by numerical simulations.
Two-stage RBF network construction based on particle swarm optimization

The conventional radial basis function (RBF) network optimization methods, such as orthogonal least squares or the two-stage selection, can produce a sparse network with satisfactory generalization capability. However, the RBF width, as a nonlinear parameter in the network, is not easy to determine. In the aforementioned methods, the width is always pre-determined, either by trial-and-error, or generated randomly. Furthermore, all hidden nodes share the same RBF width. This will inevitably reduce the network performance, and more RBF centres may then be needed to meet a desired modelling specification. In this paper we investigate a new two-stage construction algorithm for RBF networks. It utilizes the particle swarm optimization method to search for the optimal RBF centres and their associated widths. Although the new method needs more computation than conventional approaches, it can greatly reduce the model size and improve model generalization performance. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is confirmed by two numerical simulation examples.
Design and Fabrication of Bistratal Functional Anionic Polyurethane Membrane on the Surface of Cashmere Fiber Based on Foaming Micro-Coating and the Studies of its Structure–Activity Relationships

This research aims to reinforce the hand-feeling and washing fastness of anti-pilling and antistatic cashmere textiles based on a traditional “addition” technique. The technical proposal that effectively controls the distribution of polymer on cashmere textiles, based on foaming micro-coating technology, is studied and compared to prevent the superabundant polymer being fixed in the gaps between yarns/fibers and to ensure the graphene is semi-embedded in the membrane of “Table coating. ” A couple of flexible hydrophilic anionic polyurethanes are used in micro-coating processing of cashmere purposefully. The effects of different coating technique on pilling, static, anti-ultraviolet, and washing resistance of coated cashmere textiles are studied. The results show that the semi-embedded graphene in the table coating membrane is meaningful to the static resistance. The pilling resistance of cashmere textile covered by polymer membranes is enhanced from grade 1–2 to grade 4–5 when the weight gain rate of “Bottom coating” polyurethane reaches 1.5% (o.w.f.), and its static voltage half-life decreases from 170 s to less than 2 s. In addition, the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) value of coated cashmere is doubled, and anti-pilling and anti-static effects can withstand five washings.
Triple-pendulum Model for Studying the Vibration of Multi-Degree-of-freedom Systems

Assorted real life examples are indispensable to teaching, however, most engineering vibration textbooks are deficient in such examples, and most of them are exclusively mass-spring systems, especially the multi-degree-of-freedom case. To enrich lecture content, some triple-pendulum instances are presented. The parameters of these instances are tuned to have closed-form solutions. The principal vibration and free vibration of one instance are presented. These examples can be illustrated clearly and promptly in limited time and writing space.
Augmenting Image-Guided Procedures through In Situ Visualization of 3D Ultrasound via a Head-Mounted Display

Medical ultrasound (US) is a commonly used modality for image-guided procedures. Recent research systems providing an in situ visualization of 2D US images via an augmented reality (AR) head-mounted display (HMD) were shown to be advantageous over conventional imaging through reduced task completion times and improved accuracy. In this work, we continue in the direction of recent developments by describing the first AR HMD application visualizing real-time volumetric (3D) US in situ for guiding vascular punctures. We evaluated the application on a technical level as well as in a mixed-methods user study with a qualitative prestudy and a quantitative main study, simulating a vascular puncture. Participants completed the puncture task significantly faster when using 3D US AR mode compared to 2D US AR, with a decrease of 28.4% in time. However, no significant differences were observed regarding the success rate of vascular puncture (2D US AR—50% vs. 3D US AR—72%). On the technical side, the system offers a low latency of 49.90 ± 12.92 ms and a satisfactory frame rate of 60 Hz. Our work shows the feasibility of a system that visualizes real-time 3D US data via an AR HMD, and our experiments show, furthermore, that this may offer additional benefits in US-guided tasks (i.e., reduced task completion time) over 2D US images viewed in AR by offering a vividly volumetric visualization.
CFD Simulation of Single-Phase and Dilute Particulate Turbulent Flows in 90° Duct Bends

Single-phase and two-phase (gas-solid) turbulent flow calculations are performed for 90° duct bends having radii of curvature ranging from 1.5 to 2.0 duct diameter, and with either a square or circular cross-section. The considered flow Reynolds number is between 6×104 and 3×105 , and the particulate flows examined pertain to two different solid mass loading ratios: 1.5×10−4 and 0.33. Numerous turbulence models have been utilized to simulate the turbulent fluid motion within the duct bend while particle trajectories are calculated on the basis of a Lagrangian approach. Reasonable agreement with the experimental data is achieved for the continuous phase in the cases tested. In contrast, significant disparities with the measurements arise in particle tracking calculations, especially in regions where particle rope dispersion is predominant. Results of this investigation indicate the need for more experimental testing of mill-duct flows of similar configuration in order to facilitate a better understanding and modeling of strongly curved gas-solid duct flows.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Efflux Pump (QacA, QacB, and QacC) and β-Lactamase Inhibitors? An Evaluation of 1,8-Naphthyridines against Staphylococcus aureus Strains

The bacterial species Staphylococcus aureus presents a variety of resistance mechanisms, among which the expression of β-lactamases and efflux pumps stand out for providing a significant degree of resistance to clinically relevant antibiotics. The 1,8-naphthyridines are nitrogen heterocycles with a broad spectrum of biological activities and, as such, are promising research targets. However, the potential roles of these compounds on bacterial resistance management remain to be better investigated. Therefore, the present study evaluated the antibacterial activity of 1,8-naphthyridine sulfonamides, addressing their ability to act as inhibitors of β-lactamases and efflux pump (QacA/B and QacC) against the strains SA-K4414 and SA-K4100 of S. aureus. All substances were prepared at an initial concentration of 1024 μg/mL, and their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined by the broth microdilution method. Subsequently, their effects on β-lactamase- and efflux pump-mediated antibiotic resistance was evaluated from the reduction of the MIC of ethidium bromide (EtBr) and β-lactam antibiotics, respectively. The 1,8-naphthyridines did not present direct antibacterial activity against the strains SA-K4414 and SA-K4100 of S. aureus. On the other hand, when associated with antibiotics against both strains, the compounds reduced the MIC of EtBr and β-lactam antibiotics, suggesting that they may act by inhibiting β-lactamases and efflux pumps such as QacC and QacA/B. However, further research is required to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying these observed effects.
Synthesis of Size- and Structure-Controlled Ge2Sb2Te5 Nanoparticles

Pulsed laser ablation of Ge2Sb2Te5 target materials at approximately 400 Pa of ambient argon gas produces amorphous nanoparticles with a size distribution of from 4 to 30 nm. Thermal treatment of the nanoparticles in their aerosol states crystallizes the particles to both a hexagonal structure and a face-centered cubic structure at 300°C, while only a face-centered cubic structure results at 400°C. The crystallized nanoparticles were then size-classified by a differential mobility analyzer to produce size- and structure-controlled Ge2Sb2Te5 nanoparticles. The particles are revealed to consist of germanium, antimony and tellurium by composition analysis using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.