Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impacts of Cloud‐Processing on Ice Nucleation of Soot Particles Internally Mixed With Sulfate and Organics

Soot particles are one of the major aerosol components (in particle number concentration) in the troposphere and can impact cirrus formation. Depending on their physicochemical properties, soot particles can nucleate ice in the cirrus regime via pore condensation and freezing (PCF) at a lower ice saturation threshold than that of the homogeneous freezing of solution droplets. Soot aerosol undergoing multiple cloud cycles can change its porosity and surface wettability, thus modulating its PCF ability. In this study, organic‐rich and ‐lean size‐selected propane flame soot particles were coated with different thicknesses of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and exposed to thermodynamic conditions under 228 K and relative humidity with respect to water 104% to simulate contrail formation. Ice‐activated soot particles from the mimicked contrail were sublimated before being tested for ice nucleation (IN) at T ≤ 233 K. Additionally, soot particle size and mass distribution as well as morphology were characterized. The results demonstrate that the increase in mesopore availability induced by cloud‐processing plays a key role in regulating soot IN. All cloud‐processed soot become more compacted, however, only if more PCF relevant mesopores are generated, can the compacted soot exhibit promoted IN. If a H2SO4 coating and/or enriched organics occupy the pore volume, inhibition of PCF is observed for the cloud‐processed soot. Notably, a thick H2SO4 coating enhances the PCF of 400 nm organic‐lean soot particles because the partially engulfed but collapsed soot‐core may have new mesopores produced by compaction. Therefore, the mesopore abundance plays the key role in evaluating aged soot IN ability.
A nutritional intervention for moderate altitude endurance preparation: A case report

ABSTRACT Background Moderate altitudes carry physiological and metabolic changes that can dampen exercise performance. Fortunately, these changes can be modulated by an optimal nutritional intervention. This case study represents the first nutritional intervention of a moderate altitude athlete. These results may help to establish well-designed nutritional guidelines for moderate altitude sports athletes. Case presentation This case study examined the effects of a 11-week nutritional intervention on body composition, muscle strength, cardiorespiratory fitness, resting and exercise nutrient oxidation, and subjective sleep quality, in a male high-level moderate altitude athlete with a very light non-exercise activity thermogenesis. During the 11-week of nutritional intervention, 2800-3500 kcal/day, 6.8-8.9 g/kg/day of carbohydrates, 1.2-1.7 g/kg/day of protein, and 1-2.5 g/kg/day of fat were prescribed. Different specific considerations were also included, such as: iron supplementation, antioxidants increment in different phases, and ergogenic aids (i.e. creatine and beta-alanine). Our results demonstrated a decrease in adiposity and an increase in fat-free mass. In parallel, the athlete improved muscle strength, and therefore endurance adaptations after a maximal effort test (i.e. enhancement of the heart rate recovery). After the intervention, the athlete not only increased the carbohydrate oxidation during exercise and resting conditions but also improved his subjective sleep quality. Conclusions Our results suggest that a nutritional intervention based on the endurance nutritional recommendations and adapted to the altitude physiological peculiarities can induce body re-composition, improve physiological adaptations to effort, and upgrade the substrate oxidation in a moderate altitude high-level athletes.
Ultrafast Laser Nanostructured ITO Acts as Liquid Crystal Alignment Layer and Higher Transparency Electrode

Electrodes with higher transparency that can also align liquid crystals (LCs) are of high importance for improved costs and energy consumption of LC displays. Here we demonstrate for the first time alignment of liquid crystals on femtosecond laser nanostructured indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass exhibiting also higher transparency due to the less interface reflections. The nano paterns were created by fs laser directlly on ITO films without any additional spin coating materials or lithography procces. Nine regions of laser-induced nanostructures were fabricated with different alignment orientations and various pulse energy levels on top of the ITO. The device interfacial anchoring energy was found to be comparable to the anchoring energy of nematic LC on photosensitive polymers. The device exhibits contrast of 30:1 and relaxation time of 330ms expected for thick LC devices. The measured transparency of the LC device with two ITO nanograting substrates is 10% higher than the uniform ITO film based LC devices. The alignment methodology presented here paves the way for improved LC displays and new structured LC photonic devices.
Warmer temperatures are linked to widespread phenological mismatch among native and non‐native forest plants

Deciduous trees, shrubs and forest wildflowers may be advancing their leaf‐out phenology at different rates in response to a warming climate. A mismatch between understory and overstory phenology may lead to a reduction of understory light levels in the early spring, which is a critical period when many spring‐blooming wildflowers achieve highest photosynthetic rates. However, the extent of this phenomenon beyond a single site or region is largely unknown. Using 3083 herbarium specimens collected between 1870 and 2019 across eastern North America, we assessed leaf‐out and flowering times of 10 tree species (6 native, 4 non‐native), 4 shrub species (2 native, 2 non‐native) and 7 wildflower species (6 native, 1 non‐native). We paired phenological data with historical climate data to quantify differences in phenological sensitivity to spring temperature across canopy strata, across species' geographical ranges and between native and non‐native species. Predicted phenological mismatches between native trees and wildflowers differed across large spatial scales, with wildflower populations in warmer regions of North America more likely to be affected. Overall, native tree species leafed out 3.6 days earlier per °C spring warming, while native wildflower species advanced their flowering times by 3.2 days per °C, resulting in phenological mismatch as wildflowers experience fewer days before tree leaf‐out at warmer temperatures. Native trees and wildflowers in the warmer, southern part of their ranges advanced their spring phenology 2 and 1.5 times faster, respectively, than those in colder, northern locations. The phenological sensitivity of non‐native plants was less variable across their ranges. Non‐native trees and shrubs exhibited greater phenological sensitivity than native wildflowers. Notably, phenological sensitivities differed substantially among wildflower species, suggesting that certain species are more likely to be affected by phenological mismatch as climate warming progresses. Synthesis: Our results provide new insight into novel phenological responses within and among species across a wide geographical range and the potential impact of competition and interactions with non‐native invasive species. This research highlights the value of newly‐available digitized museum collections in phenological research to cover longer time periods, wider spatial areas and a greater diversity of species than otherwise possible.
Effective spin-spin interactions in bilayers of Rydberg atoms and polar molecules

We show that indirect spin-spin interactions between effective spin-1/2 systems can be realized in two parallel 1D optical lattices loaded with polar molecules and/or Rydberg atoms. The effective spin can be encoded into low-energy rotational states of polar molecules or long-lived states of Rydberg atoms, tightly trapped in a deep optical lattice. The spin-spin interactions can be mediated by Rydberg atoms, placed in a parallel shallow optical lattice, interacting with the effective spins by charge-dipole (for polar molecules) or dipole-dipole (for Rydberg atoms) interaction. Indirect XX, Ising and XXZ interactions with interaction coefficients $J^{\bot}$ and $J^{zz}$ sign varying with interspin distance can be realized, in particular, the $J_{1}-J_{2}$ XXZ model with frustrated ferro-(antiferro-)magnetic nearest (next-nearest) neighbor interactions.
Ethical Considerations and Checklist for Affective Research With Wearables

As the popularity of wearables increases, so does their utility for studying emotions. Using new technologies points to several ethical challenges to be considered to improve research designs. There are several ethical recommendations for utilizing wearables to study human emotions, but they focus on emotion recognition systems applications rather than research design and implementation. To address this gap, we have developed a perspective on wearables, especially in daily life, adapting the ReCODE Health - Digital Health Framework and companion checklist. Therefore, our framework consists of four domains: (1) participation experience, (2) privacy, (3) data management, and (4) access and usability. We identified 33 primary risks of using wearables to study emotions, including research-related negative emotions, collecting, processing, storing, sharing personal and biological information, commercial technology validity and reliability, and exclusivity issues. We also proposed possible strategies for minimizing risks. We consulted the new ethical guidelines with members of ethics committees and relevant researchers. The judges (N = 26) positively rated our solutions and provided useful feedback that helped us refine our guidance. Finally, we summarized our proposals with a checklist for researchers’ convenience. Our guidelines contribute to future research by providing improved protection of participants’ and scientists’ interests.
Modelling the human cochlea

One of the salient features of the human cochlea is the incredible dynamic range it possesses—the loudest bearable sound is 10,000,000 times greater than the softest detectable sound; this is in part due to an active process. More than twelve thousand hairlike cells known as outer hair cells are believed to expand and contract in time to amplify cochlear motions. However, the cochlea's response is more than just the sum of its parts: the local properties of outer hair cells can have unexpected consequences for the global behavior of the system. One such consequence is the existence of otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), sounds that (sometimes spontaneously! ) propagate out of the cochlea to be detected in the ear canal. In this doctoral thesis, a classical, lumped-element model is used to study the cochlea and to simulate click-evoked and spontaneous OAEs. The original parameter values describing the microscopic structures of the cochlea are re-tuned to match several key features of the cochlear response in huma.
Universal Grammar: Its Existence, Composition, and Evolution

: Universal Grammar assumes that all human languages share the same fundamental principles despite their superficial differences. Since it was first proposed by the American linguist Noam Chomsky, there have been a lot of controversies surrounding it and the contents of Universal Grammar have gone through some significant changes. This paper first presents a few arguments for the existence of Universal Grammar. Then, it focuses on the contents of Universal Grammar that have been proposed from the Aspects Model to Minimalism. Simply put, the change has been from a maximized Universal Grammar to a minimized Universal Grammar. Finally, this paper dwells on the debate about Universal Grammar, namely whether it contains only Merge and whether it arises gradually or suddenly.
Efficient determination of optimal regularization parameter for inverse problem in EXAFS spectroscopy

This paper presents a method for choosing the optimal regularization parameter in EXAFS analysis based on the L-curve-criterion without any external parameter. The L-curve is a log-log plot of the norm of regularized solution versus the norm of the corresponding residual norm. The optimal regularization parameter is chosen as a maximum of the L-curve curvature. We apply this method in two experimental cases: crystalline Cu with well-known structure and aqua-ion Cm+3 with unknown structure. The optimal regularization parameter leads to a stable solution with a good convergence of the iterative process.
Reprogramming the Canine Glioma Microenvironment with Tumor Vaccination plus Oral Losartan and Propranolol Induces Objective Responses

Purpose: Malignant gliomas have a highly immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) which renders them largely unresponsive to conventional therapeutics. Therefore, the current study evaluated a therapeutic protocol designed to overcome the immune barrier by combining myeloid cell–targeted immunotherapy with tumor vaccination. Experimental Design: We utilized a spontaneously occurring canine glioma model to investigate an oral TME modifying immunotherapy in conjunction with cancer stem cell (CSC) vaccination. Dogs were treated daily with losartan (monocyte migration inhibitor) and propranolol (myeloid-derived suppressor cell depleting agent) plus anti-CSC vaccination on a biweekly then monthly schedule. Tumor volume was monitored by MRI and correlated with patient immune responses. Results: Ten dogs with histologically confirmed gliomas were enrolled into a prospective, open-label clinical trial to evaluate the immunotherapy protocol. Partial tumor regression was observed in 2 dogs, while 6 dogs experienced stable disease, for an overall clinical benefit rate of 80%. Overall survival times (median = 351 days) and progression-free intervals (median = 163 days) were comparable with prior studies evaluating surgical debulking followed by immunotherapy. Dogs with detectable anti-CSC antibody responses had an increased overall survival time relative to dogs that did not generate antibody responses (vaccine responder MST = 500 days; vaccine nonresponder MST = 218 days; P = 0.02). Conclusions: These findings suggest that combining myeloid cell–targeted oral immunotherapy with tumor vaccination can generate objective tumor responses, even in the absence of conventional therapy. Overall, this approach has promise as a readily implemented therapeutic strategy for use in patients with brain cancer. Significance: In a pilot study of 10 dogs with glioma, we found that orally administered losartan and propranolol plus vaccination induced durable tumor responses in 8 of 10 treated dogs. The immunotherapy protocol was well tolerated, without systemic or local toxicities. These findings indicate that continuous oral immunotherapy plus tumor vaccination is a promising new strategy for glioma management that can be readily applied in clinical trials.
An adaptive nonlinear genetic algorithm for numerical optimization

Through the mechanism analysis of simple genetic algorithm (SGA), we find that every genetic operator can be considered as a linear transform. So some disadvantages of SGA may be solved if genetic operators are modified to a nonlinear transform. According to the above method, a nonlinear genetic algorithm is introduced, and different nonlinear genetic operators with some probabilities are designed and applied to numerical optimization problems. The optimization computing of some examples is made to show that the new genetic algorithm, is useful and simple.
Organizational Performance of a Public Higher Education Institution: An Analysis from the Perspective of Absorptive Capacity and Innovation

This article aims to identify the perception of students of Administration and Accounting Sciences about Perceived Organizational Performance from the perspective of Absorptive Capacity and Innovation within the UFCG. To this end, a quantitative, exploratory-descriptive approach was used, using the survey technique, together with the students of the UFCG Administration and Accounting Science courses. Out of 362 students (172 in the Administration course and 190 in the Accounting Science course), a sample of 223 responses was obtained. For data collection, the model of Oliveira et al. was adapted (2018). The questionnaire was applied from September to November 2019. For the construct, a Likert scale from 1 to 5 points was used. Factor analysis was applied. The results indicate that the Perceived Organizational Performance of the UFCG exerts positive influences on both Perceived Absorptive Capacity and Innovation, unlike what was found in the study of Oliveira et al. (2018). The results found demonstrate that the Organizational Performance perceived by students within the UFCG may be positively impacted by Perceived Innovation and Absorptive Capacity, reflecting the institution's abilities to identify and acquire knowledge in the external environment, assimilate it, internalize it, transform it and apply it, resulting in valuable products and services as advocated by Cohen and Levinthal (1990), Zahra & George (2002).
Grooming Time Predicts Survival: American Kestrels, Falco sparverius, on a Subtropical Island

Animals have evolved a variety of adaptations to care for their body surfaces, such as grooming behavior, which keeps the integument clean, parasite-free, and properly arranged. Despite extensive research on the grooming of mammals, birds, and arthropods, the survival value of grooming has never been directly measured in natural populations. We monitored grooming and survival in a population of marked American kestrels (Falco sparverius) on San Salvador Island, Bahamas. We found a strong association between time spent grooming and survival over a 2-year period. The quadratic relationship we show is consistent with stabilizing natural selection on grooming time. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence for a correlation between grooming time and survival in a natural population. Grooming time may predict the survival of many animal taxa, but additional studies are needed to determine the shape and strength of the relationship among birds, mammals, and arthropods.
Prospective associations between perceived social connection and alcohol use: a scoping review

Abstract Social connection consists of both the presence of and perceived closeness in social relationships. Perceptions of connection are thought to be particularly important in the development and treatment of excessive alcohol use. However, no review has delineated existing work regarding the prospective associations between perceived social connection and alcohol use and related problems. Therefore, the current study synthesized and qualitatively organized this area of research to inform theoretical models, clinical care, and future research. A Boolean search resulted in 2,356 articles and 70 met inclusion criteria, which consisted of a repeated measures design and the presence of a perceived social connection predictor variable and alcohol-related outcome variable. Study design features, methods of measurement, and main effects were extracted from included articles. Most studies used an observational design with an average follow-up period of 1.5 years. Variables related to perceived social connection were organized into four categories: perceived support, emotional intimacy, social rejection and acceptance, and social behaviors. Perceived support and intimacy were the most common predictor variables. Results suggested that perceptions of support, acceptance, and intimacy in close relationships may be salient vulnerability factors and/or intervention targets for excessive alcohol use and related difficulties. The findings also revealed gaps in the literature with regard to sample diversity and study design that warrant attention in future empirical work.
Interstellar medium composition through X-ray spectroscopy of low-mass X-ray binaries

Astronomical Institute, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80000, 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands.Received 2 October 2012 / Accepted 7 January 2013ABSTRACTContext.The diﬀuse interstellar medium (ISM) is an integral part of the evolution of the entire Galaxy. Metals are produced by starsand their abundances are the direct testimony of the history of stellar evolution. However, the interstellar dust composition is not wellknown and the total abundances are yet to be accurately determined.Aims. We probe ISM dust composition, total abundances, and abundance gradients through the study of interstellar absorption featuresin the high-resolution X-ray spectra of Galactic low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). Methods.We use high-quality grating spectra of nine LMXBs taken withXMM-Newton. We measure the column densities of O, Ne,Mg, and Fe with an empirical model and estimate the Galactic abundance gradients.Results. The column densities of the neutral gas species are in agreement with those found in the literature. Solids are a signiﬁca ntreservoir of metals like oxygen and iron. Respectively, 15–25% and 65–90% of the total amount of O iand Feiis found in dust.The dust amount and mixture seem to be consistent along all the lines-of-sight (LOS). Our estimates of abundance gradients andpredictions of local interstellar abundances are in agreement with those measured at longer wavelengths.Conclusions. Our work shows that X-ray spectroscopy is a very powerful method to probe the ISM. For instance, on a large scalethe ISM appears to be chemically homogeneous showing similar gas ionization ratios and dust mixtures. The agreement between theabundances of the ISM and the stellar objects suggests that the local Galaxy is also chemically homogeneous.Key words. ISM: abundances – ISM: dust, extinction – ISM: molecules – IS M: structure – X-rays: ISM
Anomalies and Their Short-Sale Costs

Short-sale costs eliminate the abnormal returns on asset pricing anomaly portfolios. While many anomalies persist out-of-sample, they cannot profitably be exploited due to stock borrow fees. Using a comprehensive sample of 162 anomalies, the average long-short portfolio return is a significant 0.15% per month before short-sale costs, and the returns are due to the short leg. However, the average is −0.02% once returns are adjusted for borrow fees. The anomalies are not profitable even before accounting for fees if the high-fee observations, 12% of stock dates, are excluded from the analysis. Thus, short sale costs explain why many anomalies persist. JEL Classification: G12, G13, G14