Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Flexible millimeter‐wave Butler matrix based on the low‐loss substrate integrated suspended line patch hybrid coupler with arbitrary phase difference and coupling coefficient

In this paper, a millimeter‐wave Butler matrix with flexible phase differences is proposed using the substrate integrated suspended line technology. To begin with, a low‐loss substrate integrated suspended line (SISL) circular patch coupler consisting of four circular sectors is presented, achieving arbitrary phase difference and coupling coefficient by adjusting the angle and radii of the sectors. Based on the proposed coupler, two prototypes of the SISL Butler matrix are designed, fabricated and measured for the demonstration. In prototype I, the crossovers are removed and a flexible phase difference is obtained with an area size of 2.5 λg × 2.8 λg. In prototype II, both the crossovers and 45° phase shifters are removed and the phase differences of ±45° and ±135° are obtained with an area size of 1.86 λg × 2.24 λg. Low crosstalk between components and minimal radiation loss can be achieved by the SISL self‐packaged characteristic and electromagnetic shielding. For both prototypes, the measured insertion losses are less than 2 dB at 26 GHz, including the loss of transitions and connectors, and the measured phase errors are less than ±10° within a bandwidth of more than 10%. The proposed Butler matrix shows the advantages of compact size, low loss and high integration.
Nitrate Supply Routes and Impact of Internal Cycling in the North Atlantic Ocean Inferred From Nitrate Isotopic Composition

In this study we report full‐depth water column profiles for nitrogen and oxygen isotopic composition (δ15N and δ18O) of nitrate (NO3−) during the GEOTRACES GA01 cruise (2014). This transect intersects the double gyre system of the subtropical and subpolar regions of the North Atlantic separated by a strong transition zone, the North Atlantic Current. The distribution of NO3− δ15N and δ18O shows that assimilation by phytoplankton is the main process controlling the NO3− isotopic composition in the upper 150 m, with values increasing in a NO3− δ18O versus δ15N space along a line with a slope of one toward the surface. In the subpolar gyre, a single relationship between the degree of NO3− consumption and residual NO3− δ15N supports the view that NO3− is supplied via Ekman upwelling and deep winter convection, and progressively consumed during the Ekman transport of surface water southward. The co‐occurrence of partial NO3− assimilation and nitrification in the deep mixed layer of the subpolar gyre elevates subsurface NO3− δ18O in comparison to deep oceanic values. This signal propagates through isopycnal exchanges to greater depths at lower latitudes. With recirculation in the subtropical gyre, cycles of quantitative consumption‐nitrification progressively decrease subsurface NO3− δ18O toward the δ18O of regenerated NO3−. The low NO3− δ15N observed south of the Subarctic Front is mostly explained by N2 fixation, although a contribution from the Mediterranean outflow is required to explain the lower NO3− δ15N signal observed between 600 and 1500 m depth close to the Iberian margin.
Driver propensity to fatigue and drowsiness: a probabilistic approach

Abstract This analysis is aimed at quantification, on the probabilistic basis, of the significance of driver fatigue and drowsiness (DD) in automated and manual driving conditions; the impact of driving time on the probability of an accident, because of the driver’s fatigue and possible drowsiness, and the observation that age groups of 20–25 and 65–70 are more prone to making a human fatigue and/or DD related error than the 26–64 old group. Our analyses are based on the application of the recently suggested double exponential probability distribution function (DEPDF), and on using entropy and adequate-trust based considerations. The general concepts are illustrated by numerical examples. It is concluded that analytical modeling technique employed in this study should complement, whenever possible, statistical analyses and computer simulations in challenging ergonomics tasks, including those of the type in question.
The influence of whole body cryotherapy on plasma concentration of melatonin and serotonin in patients with osteoarthrosis of the lumbar spine

Background: ‪Osteoarthrosis (OA) is the most common disease affecting mankind. There are many physiotherapeutic methods of treating OA symptoms. One of them is whole body cryotherapy (WBCT). The aim of this study was to present the impact of WBCT combined with kinesiotherapy on functional efficiency and changes in plasma concentrations of serotonin and melatonin in patients with lumbar spine OA. Material and methods: ‪60 patients underwent a series of WBCT combined with kinesiotherapy (group A). 60 patients underwent a series of kinesiotherapy alone (group B). Before and after the therapy patients were examined by Rolland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), and blood samples were collected for laboratory assessment. Results: ‪Following therapy, the functional efficiency (RMDQ) improved by 33% in both study groups (p < 0.0001). After the therapy, both in the group of patients undergoing WBCT combined with exercises (group A, p = 0.032) and the cryotherapy alone (group B, p < 0.0001), the plasma melatonin concentration significantly increased. The rise of plasma serotonin concentrations was higher in group B as compared to group A, but in both study groups the increase in plasma serotonin was statistically significant (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: ‪WBCT combined with therapeutic exercises as well as kinesiotherapy used alone resulted in an increase in melatonin and serotonin plasma levels and an improvement in functional efficiency in patients with lumbar spine OA.
Characteristics of Atmospheric Speciated Gaseous Mercury in Chuncheon, Korea

Atmospheric speciated mercury concentrations including total gaseous mercury (TGM) and reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) were measured in Chuncheon from March 2006 to November 2008. Average concentrations were 2.10 1.50 ng/ and 3.00 3.14 pg/ for TGM and RGM, respectively. RGM concentrations were higher during daytime than nighttime probably because of high photochemical activities. We found that RGM concentration considerably increased as ozone increased when fog occurred, indicating that ozone was the important oxidant for in aqueous phase. TGM concentration showed positive correlations with CO and which can transport in long-range, but there was no correlation with . Considering that major source of mercury is combustion process, this result showed that local sources did not significantly impact on TGM concentration in Chuncheon. Five-day backward trajectories were calculated for the samples representing high and low concentrations of TGM, and determined that industrialized area of China including Shenyang and Beijing influenced TGM concentrations in Chuncheon.
Effects of waste tire textile fibres on geotechnical properties of compacted lime-stabilized low plastic clays

ABSTRACT In this research, concurrent employment of Waste Tire Textile Fibres (WTTFs) and lime in two types of low plastic clays (soil A and soil B) is investigated by performing various tests, namely, standard Proctor compaction, Direct Shear, UCS, CBR and Split Tensile Strength (STS). Fibre inclusion with an optimum weight content of 1.5% led to an improvement in strength parameters of soils. Cohesion and internal friction angle were enhanced as a result of lime-stabilization. Simultaneous employment of 1.5% of fibres and 6% of lime increased the UCS by 10.66 and 7.95 times in the examined clays. It was demonstrated that fibres compensated for the brittleness induced in the soil by lime admixture. Therefore, concurrent addition of lime and fibres produced excellent specimens in terms of both strength and ductility. Soil mixtures with an optimum fibre content of 1.5% increased the CBR value of soils A and B by 4.9% and 3%, respectively. Moreover, the concurrent addition of 1.5% fibres and 4% and more lime increased the CBR value by more than 100%. STS was also enhanced by fibres and lime addition. Concurrent reinforcement by 1.5% of fibres and stabilization by 6% of lime in soils A and B increased STS by 23.6 and 14.5 times, respectively.
Improving the Protective Properties of Shellac-Based Varnishes by Functionalized Nanoparticles

Shellac is a natural varnish still known as one of the most elegant finishes for furniture and musical instruments, and currently used for restoration and refinishing of wooden antiques. However, it displays some limitations such as (i) sensitivity to alcoholic solvents (ii) softness of the coating, and (iii) considerable weathering due to photo- and bio-degradation. Hence, the main aim of this study was to improve the properties of shellac-based finish by introducing functionalized nanoparticles. Two inorganic nano-sized materials were considered: ZnO that was expected to reduce photo- and bio-degradation problems, and ZrO2 that was expected to improve the hardness of the varnish. Nanoparticles were synthesized and treated with a bifunctional silane coupling agent. Both plain and functionalized nanoparticles were extensively characterized using different experimental techniques. Functionalized nanoparticles were grafted on shellac through a reaction involving the epoxy-rings introduced on their surface. The resulting modified varnishes were applied on maple wood specimens according to traditional procedures. Different instrumental techniques and testing methods were used to characterize both nano-sized materials and the corresponding nanocomposites, as well as to evaluate the performance of the new coatings. The investigated composite materials display the same aesthetic appearance as plain shellac, while some other properties were improved. In particular, both nanocomposites are distinctly less soluble in alcohols than plain shellac and display antifungal properties. Moreover, coating containing functionalized ZnO nanoparticles displays photo-protection behavior, while shellac modified with ZrO2 nanoparticles exhibits a higher hardness when compared to the traditional varnish.
Green Synthesis of Graphene/Pt Nanocomposites with Vitamin C

Graphene/Pt(GNS/Pt) nanocomposites were fabricated via a green and facile method, which employed graphene oxide(GO) as a precursor of graphene, H2PtCl6 as a precursor of Pt nanoparticles, and Vitamin C as an environmentally friendly reducing agent. The as-prepared GNS/Pt was characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), Scanning electron microscopy(SEM), Transmission electron microscopy(TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) and Raman Spectra(RS). The results indicate that graphite oxide is completely reduced to graphene, and platinum ions are reduced by Vitamin C simultaneously. The average grain size of the sample decreases gradually and the degree of sample disorder increases. The amount of H2PtCl6 influences the size range of the Pt nanoparticles, and face-to-face aggregation of graphene sheets is arrested by 7~10 nm Pt crystallites on the graphene surface under a certain concentration of platinum ions. In addition, stable suspensions of GNS/Pt can be prepared in some solvents, such as water, N,N-dimethylformamide(DMF) or N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone(NMP) and the electrical conductivity of the GNS/Pt film is up to 12630 S-m-1.
Embracing Ensemble Species Distribution Models to Inform At-Risk Species Status Assessments

Conservation planning depends on reliable information regarding the geographic distribution of species. However, our knowledge of species' distributions is often incomplete, especially when species are cryptic, difficult to survey, or rare. The use of species distribution models has increased in recent years and proven a valuable tool to evaluate habitat suitability for species. However, practitioners have yet to fully adopt the potential of species distribution models to inform conservation efforts for information-limited species. Here, we describe a species distribution modeling approach for at-risk species that could better inform U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's species status assessments and help facilitate conservation decisions. We applied four modeling techniques (generalized additive, maximum entropy, generalized boosted, and weighted ensemble) to occurrence data for four at-risk species proposed for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (Papaipema eryngii, Macbridea caroliniana, Scutellaria ocmulgee, and Balduina atropurpurea) in the Southeastern United States. The use of ensemble models reduced uncertainty caused by differences among modeling techniques, with a consequent improvement of predictive accuracy of fitted models. Incorporating an ensemble modeling approach into species status assessments and similar frameworks is likely to benefit survey efforts, inform recovery activities, and provide more robust status assessments for at-risk species. We emphasize that co-producing species distribution models in close collaboration with species experts has the potential to provide better calibration data and model refinements, which could ultimately improve reliance and use of model outputs.
Does Crude Oil Price Affect the Inflation Rate and Economic Growth in India? A New Insight Based on Structural VAR Framework

Based on a structural vector autoregressive framework on the monthly data from April 1997 to July 2016, this study is an attempt to show the impact of crude oil price on the rate of inflation and economic growth in India. The results showed that the crude oil price has a positive impact on the rate of inflation whereas an inverse relation exists between crude oil price and economic growth. Further, we segregated the crude oil price into two components, that is, positive and negative partial sum of oil price through the nonlinear and asymmetric autoregressive distribution lag framework. A similar kind of result is derived in the case of positive partial sum of oil price on the rate of inflation and economic growth, while a significant negative relationship is found in the negative partial sum of crude oil price on economic growth. From the policy perceptive, we suggest that policymakers may focus on reducing the consumption of crude oil and using renewable energy for accelerating the economic growth. This would not only prevent the domestic economy from international oil price fluctuations and inflation but also assist in achieving sustainable environmental goal of reduced crude oil use. JEL Classification Codes: C3, O4, Q4
Erasure-Coding-Based Storage and Recovery for Distributed Exascale Storage Systems

Various techniques have been used in distributed file systems for data availability and stability. Typically, a method for storing data in a replication technique-based distributed file system is used, but due to the problem of space efficiency, an erasure-coding (EC) technique has been utilized more recently. The EC technique improves the space efficiency problem more than the replication technique does. However, the EC technique has various performance degradation factors, such as encoding and decoding and input and output (I/O) degradation. Thus, this study proposes a buffering and combining technique in which various I/O requests that occurred during encoding in an EC-based distributed file system are combined into one and processed. In addition, it proposes four recovery measures (disk input/output load distribution, random block layout, multi-thread-based parallel recovery, and matrix recycle technique) to distribute the disk input/output loads generated during decoding.
Recent Applications of Vibrational Spectroscopic Techniques in the Grain Industry

ABSTRACT Classical methods for assessing the quality of food grains are still in vogue, however, these methods are either destructive or time-consuming which demands an alternative. Spectroscopic techniques such as Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR), Near-infrared (NIR) and Raman spectroscopic techniques are intensively researched in evaluating their efficiency for determining the end-quality of grains and grain-based products. The present review focuses on the working principle of these techniques and their recent applications in grain industry, including authentication and quality discrimination, adulterant and contaminant determination, process optimization, and production monitoring. Furthermore, the challenges, limitations, and advantages along with future trends are also highlighted.
535 Vitamin C in the Management of Burn Patients: A Review of Benefits and Risks

Burns are global public health problem. Micronutrients play an essential role in defense mechanisms and immunity. Vitamin C has fostered a growing interest. We reviewed current evidence regarding the effects of Vitamin C on management of burn patients and aims to understand its benefits and risks. A narrative review was performed from January 2000 through September 2020 via PubMed by searching the terms “vitamin C”, “ascorbic acid” and “burns”. The search yielded a total of 170 journal articles. The following were excluded: commentaries, experimental research and studies on non-human subjects. Ultimately, 20 articles qualified for review. A total of 924 patients were studied. The literature collectively endorsed a difference in patient outcomes when vitamin C is administered on the first day of admission. The average age across the studies was 15–45 years old. Only 10% of studies included vulnerable age groups (2–15 years old). The Mean Total Body Surface Area (TBSA) of patients was 31%. Most of the studies excluded patients with co-morbidities. The benefits of vitamin C in various aspects of burn management were documented in 70% of studies. Patients who were given vitamin C exhibited a decrease in fluid requirement in 42% of the studies when compared to controls. Additionally, a decrease in wound healing time was reported in 35% of studies, a decreased rate of post-burn infections was reported in 28%, and 14% of studies state that patients given vitamin C had reduced edema. The effect of vitamin C dosing methods on outcomes was also examined. It was reported by 14% of Studies that low-dose Vitamin C infusion does not improve outcomes, while 50% of studies that used high-dose infusion revealed improved results. Additionally, when comparing oral route of administration 20 % of studies used high-dose with favorable results. In regards to risk, oxalate nephropathy, acute kidney injury, and renal failure was documented by six studies. Our review concludes that there is decreased fluid requirement, improvement in edema, healing time and post burn infections when high-dose vitamin C (66mg/kg/hr) is given to adults on first day of admission and continuously infused for 24 hours in 1st and 2nd degree burn involving 10 to 40% TBSA. However, there is an associated risk of acute kidney injury and renal failure.
Batch and Semi-Continuous Anaerobic Digestion of Industrial Solid Citrus Waste for the Production of Bioenergy

The aim of this paper is to describe a study of the anaerobic digestion of industrial citrus solid waste (ISCW) in both batch and semi-continuous modes for the production of bioenergy without the elimination of D-limonene. The study was conducted at the pilot plant level in an anaerobic reactor with a working volume of 220 L under mesophilic conditions of 35 ± 2 °C. Cattle manure (CM) was used as the inoculum. Three batches were studied. The first batch had a CM/ISCW ratio of 90/10, and Batches 2 and 3 had CM/ISCW ratios of 80/20 and 70/30, respectively. In the semi-continuous mode an OLR of approximately 8 g total chemical oxygen demand (COD)/Ld (4.43 gVS/Ld) was used. The results showed that 49%, 44%, and 60% of volatile solids were removed in the batch mode, and 35% was removed in the semi-continuous mode. In the batch mode, 0.322, 0.382, and 0.316 LCH4 were obtained at STP/gVSremoved. A total of 24.4 L/d (34% methane) was measured in the semi-continuous mode. Bioenergy potentials of 3.97, 5.66, and 8.79 kWh were obtained for the respective batches, and 0.09 kWh was calculated in the semi-continuous mode. The citrus industry could produce 37 GWh per season. A ton of processed oranges has a bioenergy potential of 162 kWh, which is equivalent to 49 kWh of available electricity ($3.90).
Toxicological profile for naphthalene, 1-methylnaphthalene, and 2-methylnaphthalene

DISCLAIMER The use of company or product name(s) is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. A Toxicological Profile for Naphthalene, 1-Methylnaphthalene, and 2-Methylnaphthalene, Draft for Public Comment was released in September 2003. This edition supersedes any previously released draft or final profile. Toxicological profiles are revised and republished as necessary. For information regarding the update status of previously released profiles, contact ATSDR at: Toxicological Profiles are a unique compilation of toxicological information on a given hazardous substance. Each profile reflects a comprehensive and extensive evaluation, summary, and interpretation of available toxicologic and epidemiologic information on a substance. Health care providers treating patients potentially exposed to hazardous substances will find the following information helpful for fast answers to often-asked questions. Chapter 1: Public Health Statement: The Public Health Statement can be a useful tool for educating patients about possible exposure to a hazardous substance. It explains a substance's relevant toxicologic properties in a nontechnical, question-and-answer format, and it includes a review of the general health effects observed following exposure. Chapter 3: Health Effects: Specific health effects of a given hazardous compound are reported by type of health effect (death, systemic, immunologic, reproductive), by route of exposure, and by length of exposure (acute, intermediate, and chronic). In addition, both human and animal studies are reported in this section. NOTE: Not all health effects reported in this section are necessarily observed in the clinical setting. Please refer to the Public Health Statement to identify general health effects observed following exposure. The following additional material can be ordered through the ATSDR Information Center: Case Studies in Environmental Medicine: Taking an Exposure History—The importance of taking an exposure history and how to conduct one are described, and an example of a thorough exposure history is provided. Other case studies of interest include Reproductive and Developmental viii NAPHTHALENE, 1-METHYLNAPHTHALENE, AND 2-METHYLNAPHTHALENE Hazards; Skin Lesions and Environmental Exposures; Cholinesterase-Inhibiting Pesticide Toxicity; and numerous chemical-specific case studies. Managing Hazardous Materials Incidents is a three-volume set of recommendations for on-scene (prehospital) and hospital medical management of patients exposed during a hazardous materials incident. Volumes I and II are planning guides to assist first responders and hospital emergency department personnel in planning for incidents that involve hazardous materials. Volume III— Medical Management Guidelines for Acute Chemical Exposures—is a guide for health care professionals treating patients exposed to hazardous materials. …