Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Energy Storage Economic Analysis of Multi-Application Scenarios in an Electricity Market: A Case Study of China

Energy storage has attracted more and more attention for its advantages in ensuring system safety and improving renewable generation integration. In the context of China’s electricity market restructuring, the economic analysis, including the cost and benefit analysis, of the energy storage with multi-applications is urgent for the market policy design in China. This paper uses an income statement based on the energy storage cost–benefit model to analyze the economic benefits of energy storage under multi-application scenarios (capacity, energy, and frequency regulation markets) in China’s future electricity market. The results show that the economic benefits of energy storage can be improved by joining in the capacity market (if it exists in the future) and increasing participation in the frequency regulation market. Nevertheless, the benefits under multi-application scenarios can hardly guarantee the cost recovery of energy storage under the current market mechanism or at the current price levels. Moreover, the economic benefits under different subsidy policies are studied, and the results show that energy storage can recover the cost with appropriate subsidy policies (the subsidy of 0.071 USD/kWh for pumped storage power stations is sufficient while the subsidy of 0.142 USD/kWh is required for electrochemical power stations). Finally, the sensitivity analysis of an energy storage power station to different price levels is carried out considering the difference in electricity price between China and the United States.
Review of progress with integrated coastal management in South Africa since the advent of democracy

Worldwide, coastal environments are recognised as complex systems of immense biophysical, socioeconomic and cultural value. In South Africa, the promulgation of the Coastal White Paper in 2000, and the Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) Act of 2008, signalled a significant paradigm shift in coastal management and governance. This article reports on progress with ICM in South Africa from 1994 to the present time, and draws on information gathered from a comprehensive review of the published ICM literature, as well as various technical reports, an online survey, and information gleaned from participation in various meetings and workshops. Here, we review the enabling legal and institutional framework for ICM in South Africa, examine the various programmes, plans, strategies and guidelines developed to support implementation of the ICM Act, discuss institutional developments, and reflect on preconditions for effective and sustained ICM implementation. Despite significant progress, key challenges to implementing this progressive ICM agenda include lack of political support, inadequate institutional capacity, lack of human and financial resources, uncertainty regarding ICM functions across different spheres of government, conflicting policy frameworks, lack of clarity regarding the application of ICM provisions on private and communal land, limited civil-society involvement in decision-making, and persistence of state-centric approaches. Issues requiring urgent action are the establishment of a National Coastal Committee with broad representation, revitalisation of public interest in the coast, declaration of coastal public property and coastal access land, improved cooperation across relevant government agencies, allocation of funds for ICM, and greater commitment to a more deliberative and collaborative style of governance.
SecHMS- A Secure Hybrid Monitoring Scheme for Cloud Data Monitoring

Cloud computing enables the data owners to store and host their data on the cloud storage servers, which is to accessed by data consumers from the cloud storage servers whenever needed. The approach provides not only better accessibility but also unlimited storage capacity to the users. Even though there are numerous benefits of the approach, but security remains the prime concern for cloud computing and cloud service users. There are few solutions that provide protection in cloud computing, but even after having these solution, trust in cloud service providers remains the prime concern for cloud users. To overcome such a situation and to enhance the faith amongst the user and cloud service provider, a hybrid monitoring scheme (SecHMS) have been proposed and evaluated in this paper. The hybrid monitoring scheme (SecHMS) uses public-key cryptography and hashing technique to provide data security in cloud computing. The hybrid scheme (SecHMS) constantly monitors the stored data on behalf of end-users. As user’s data is getting continuously monitored, it leads to the enhancement of trust for the end-user in cloud computing systems. A thorough analysis has been done on different size files, and results have been demonstrated to show the correctness of SecHMS scheme.
Industry 4.0 Readiness Factor Calculation and Process Planning: State-of-the-Art Review

Process planning is confronting changes in terms of Industry 4.0. If the strategy and the investment plan are not defined properly, changes might cause loss. This emphasizes the importance of the readiness factor calculation. The factor expresses the current stage of development and enables the definition of a plan of action with respect to a goal. This paper gives a state-of-the-art preview of existing readiness factor calculation methods both within scientific and commercial approaches. Relation between the Industry 4.0, process planning and readiness factor calculation methods is examined and the scientific gap in the field is detected. This has enabled to create a framework of the new readiness factor calculation method, specialized for process planning in Industry 4.0.
Wear analysis of abrasive waterjet nozzle using suprathreshold stochastic resonance technique

The performance of an abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) process is mainly dependent on the jet diameter, which is prone to change with time due to the nozzle wear. The present study is aimed to monitor the nozzle wear during operation using vibrational spectrum. Experiments are conducted with four focusing nozzles of different diameters under same parameters considering water and water-abrasive mixture as the jet. The obtained vibration spectrum through an accelerometer and data acquisition system are analyzed by Suprathreshold Stochastic Resonance (SSR) technique using MATLAB. The results obtained shows that SSR technique is easy to implement and gives a better performance in monitoring and analyzing the wear severity.
Honey activity on the proliferation and migration of oral squamous cell carcinoma: In vitro and bioinformatic analysis

This study aimed to investigate, in oral squamous carcinoma cells (OSCC), the antineoplastic effect of Apis mellifera honey produced from Aroeira and wildflower, in the region of Jequitinhonha River Valley, Brazil. Furthermore, we investigate the molecular mechanism of honey performance through bioinformatic analysis. Honey and OSCC-related gene list were screened using GeneCards. The online tool STRING was used to identify the potential interaction networks of protein products of these genes. The genes with the highest weighted number of links (WNL) were called leader genes. GO and KEGG pathway analysis was performed to classify the genes. We use a search tool STITCH for interactions of chemicals-proteins. The chemical characterization of honey and its antiproliferative and antimigratory effects in SCC-9 cell lines was evaluated in vitro. The analysis of the interaction network obtained from the STRING database indicated by the following leader genes: TNF, IL6 and HDAC1. GO analysis for the honey, and OSCC-related proteins revealed that leader genes-regulated cancers genes were markedly enriched in some functions. Through the chemical characterization, the bioactive classes: steroids/triterpenoids, flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, and tannins were identified. Polyphenols act in activating CASP3 and TP53 and inhibit the action of DNMT1. The honey produced from Aroeira and wildflower reduced proliferative phenotype and migration of OSCC cells. Key words: Aroeira honey, Myracrodruon urundeuva, wild honey, Apis mellifera, therapeutic, Jequitinhonha River Valley.
The Intersection between Leadership and Identity: Managing as a Counseling Center Director of Color

ABSTRACT Directors of color at college counseling centers face many challenges. In this article, three directors of color will describe the issues they face on a daily basis working in predominantly white institutions to illustrate how racial identities intersect with leadership. Included among the dynamics explored are the external pressures of unattainable expectations held by supervisors; microaggressions and negative stereotyping among peers; stereotype threat; and internal pressures around being undermined in racialized ways by staff; and managing projections and over-identifications among staff. We highlight the ways it can feel like walking a tightrope around serving the needs of a diverse staff. The article concludes by offering suggestions and next steps for supervisors of directors of color, staff of directors of color, and directors of color themselves.
Mesocorynespora sinensis gen. & sp. nov. from southern China

A new anamorphic genus and species, Mesocorynespora sinensis collected on decaying culms of bamboo in China, is described and illustrated. The fungus is distinguished by short, unbranched, clavate conidiophores with monotretic, conidiogenous cells that produce solitary, acrogenous, obclavate, euseptate conidia. A key to Mesocorynespora and morphologically similar genera is provided.
Influence of Acacia mangium on Soil Fertility and Bacterial Community in Eucalyptus Plantations in the Congolese Coastal Plains

Productivity and sustainability of tropical forest plantations greatly rely on regulation of ecosystem functioning and nutrient cycling, i.e., the link between plant growth, nutrient availability, and the microbial community structure. So far, these interactions have never been evaluated in the Acacia and Eucalyptus forest planted on infertile soils in the Congolese coastal plains. In the present work, the soil bacterial community has been investigated by metabarcoding of the 16S rRNA bacterial gene in different stands of monoculture and mixed-species plantation to evaluate the potential of nitrogen-fixing trees on nutrient and bacterial structure. At the phylum level, the soil bacterial community was dominated by Actinobacteria , followed by Proteobacteria , Firmicutes , and Acidobacteria . A principal coordinate analysis revealed that bacterial communities from pure Eucalyptus, compared to those from plantations containing Acacia in pure and mixed-species stands, showed different community composition (beta-diversity). Regardless of the large variability of the studied soils, the prevalence of Firmicutes phylum, and lower bacterial richness and phylogenic diversity were reported in stands containing Acacia relative to the pure Eucalyptus . Distance-based redundancy analysis revealed a positive correlation of available phosphorus (P) and carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio with bacterial community structure. However, the Spearman correlation test revealed a broad correlation between the relative abundance of bacterial taxa and soil attributes, in particular with sulfur (S) and carbon (C), suggesting the important role of soil bacterial community in nutrient cycling in this type of forest management. Concerning mixed plantations, a shift in bacterial community structure was observed, probably linked to other changes, i.e., improvement in soil fertility (enhanced P and C dynamics in forest floor and soil, and increase in soil N status), and C sequestration in both soil and stand wood biomass with the great potential impact to mitigate climate change. Overall, our findings highlight the role of soil attributes, especially C, S, available P, and C/N ratio at a lesser extent, in driving the soil bacterial community in mixed-species plantations and its potential to improve soil fertility and to sustain Eucalyptus plantations established on the infertile and sandy soils of the Congolese coastal plains.
Anthropometric indices and cardiometabolic risk factors in a Ghanaian adolescent population

Abstract Objectives Adolescent overweight and obesity is a public health concern globally, especially in lower- and middle- income countries where there is an additional burden of undernutrition. The prevalence of adolescent overweight/2obesity has increased markedly over the past three decades. The transition in dietary habits coupled with reduced physical activity has been blamed for the increasing trend. Overweight/obesity in adolescence is complicated by cardiometabolic, respiratory, musculoskeletal and psychosocial disorders. Additionally, adolescent obesity is a predictor of future development of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders. The burden of cardiometabolic risk factors associated with adolescent overweight/obesity in Ghana is lacking, the project, therefore, was undertaken to add to the existing knowledge. Methods The study was undertaken in adolescent students of a tertiary institution in Ghana. Two hundred and one students consented to participate in the study. Questionnaires on sociodemographic characteristics, dietary and substance abuse habits were self-administered. Blood pressure, height, weight and waist circumference measures were performed and venous blood drawn for the determination of fasting serum total/LDL/HDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Body mass indices were determined as the weight per square of their heights. Results The prevalence of obesity was determined to be 15.81% generally, 27.71% in the females and 7.08% in the males. Diastolic blood pressure was the only cardiometabolic risk factor significantly associated with obesity in our study. Conclusion Overweight/obesity is common in Ghanaian adolescents, with the prevalence highest in the female population.
IronNet : détection de fers apparents au sein de structures en béton armé

Dans cet article, nous nous interessons a la segmentation automatique des fers apparents sur des images d'infrastructures de genie civil. Nous proposons une methode basee sur l'architecture neuronale U-net, adaptee de maniere a prendre en compte des images obtenues a differentes echelles. Le modele est appris a partir d'une base de 134 images acquises a l'entree d'un tunnel pieton. Les premiers resultats obtenus sur trois jeux de donnees, independants de la base d'apprentissage, montrent que la majorite des pixels "fers apparents" sont identifies, avec cependant, selon les bases, un nombre parfois consequent de fausses alarmes. L'utilisation de methodes d'apprentissage profond plus sophistiquees pourrait permettre d'ameliorer ces performances.
Dysrégulations de la production et de la clairance des lipoprotéines riches en triglycérides

L’hypertriglyceridemie (HTG) correspond a une accumulation des lipoproteines riches en triglycerides (LRTG) dans la circulation plasmatique, consequence d’une augmentation de leur synthese ou plus classiquement decrit, d’une diminution de leur catabolisme. Dans pres de 50% des cas, aucune cause genetique n’est identifiee chez les patients presentant une presentant une HTG severe, aussi bien dans le cadre du syndrome de chylomicronemie familiale (FCS) que dans celui du syndrome de chylomicronemie multifactorielle (MCS). Pour ameliorer nos connaissances et la caracterisation de ces patients, la conduction de correlations phenotypes-genotypes precises grâce a une collaboration clinico-biologique etroite, ainsi que le developpement d’outils de diagnostic moleculaire performants, demeurent un enjeu majeur. Premierement, l’evaluation de la concentration pre-heparinique en LPL et l’activite post-heparinique 60 minutes apres l’injection d’heparine chez 62 patients MCS caracterises genetiquement a permis la mise en evidence deux sous-groupes chez ces patients. Deuxiemement, le developpement d’une strategie sequencage de nouvelle generation permettant d’explorer simultanement les 9 genes les plus prevalents dans les hypercholesterolemies, les hypocholesterolemies et les hypertriglyceridemies, a permis de detecter les variants nucleotidiques avec une sensibilite equivalente au sequencage Sanger mais aussi de detecter des grands rearrangements. L’ensemble des resultats souligne la complexite des mecanismes de regulation du metabolisme des LRTG et l’interet de l’etude des interactions gene-gene. Ainsi, ces travaux ont permis de mettre en evidence de nouvelles hypotheses a explorer pour la comprehension des mecanismes physiopathologiques des HTG severes et d’ameliorer les outils disponibles pour les etudes de correlation genotype-phenotype
Soluble curcumin prevents cadmium cytotoxicity in primary rat astrocytes by improving a lack of GFAP and glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase

Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal which is widespread in various environmental components. Moreover several occupational diseases have the complications that are related to Cd cytotoxicity. Low doses of Cd exposure could induce pathogenetic disturbances in several sensitive cells as result of its long biological half-life and accumulation in vital tissue types. Prolonged Cd exposure was determined as main factor in accumulation of this metal ion over time in the liver, kidneys and neural tissue cells. The neurotoxic effect of Cd was presented in several articles which reported both in vivo and in vitro study. One of the main causes of Cd neurotoxicity is the ability of this ion to increase the permeability of the blood brain barrier. Despite a focus of attention on Cd cytotoxicity over the last few decades, the effect of Cd in neural tissue cells has been presented in a limited number of articles. The neurotoxic effect of Cd is accompanied by biochemical changes as well as a lack of functional activity of the central nervous system. Taking into account that the cytotoxic effect of Cd is associated with oxidative stress, inflammation and selective cell death, antioxidants could be used to protect neural tissue cells against both chronic and acute Cd exposure. Antioxidants protect diverse cell types against metal induced cytotoxicity. Curcumin is a natural polyphenol which exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect. Soluble forms of cucrcumin can penetrate the blood brain barrier and protect neural tissue cells against detrimental effects of cytotoxic compounds. Glial cells are the most numerous cell population in CNS. Astrocytes possess the ability to protect the neuronal cells against cytotoxicity and maintain CNS functions. The cytoskeleton of astrocytes is constructed with glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). GFAP is involved in essential functions of astrocytes and reflects astrocyte reactivity. The molecular mechanisms of the neurotoxic effect of Cd on glial cytoskeleton remain unknown. Primary astrocyte cell culture was used as model to assess the gliotoxic effect of Cd as well as the potency of low doses of soluble curcumin to ameliorate the neurotoxic effect of Cd. The obtained results demonstrated depletion of GFAP and glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase (G6PD) in astrocytes treated with 10 µM Cd. The exposure to 5 µM curcumin ameliorated the expression both of GFAP and G6PD in Cd suppressed astrocytes. Moreover, low doses of soluble curcumin significantly prevented the detrimental effects of Cd on cell viability and indices of oxidative stress. The obtained results are evidence that soluble forms of curcumin improve astrocyte viability, cytoskeleton depletion and glucose utilization pathway. Thus, soluble curcumin possesses a neuroprotective effect directed on astrocyte cytoskeleton and metabolic energy production.
Narrowband Bragg filters based on subwavelength grating waveguides for silicon photonic sensing.

Subwavelength grating (SWG) waveguides have been shown to provide enhanced light-matter interaction resulting in superior sensitivity in integrated photonics sensors. Narrowband integrated optical filters can be made by combining SWG waveguides with evanescently coupled Bragg gratings. In this paper, we assess the sensing capabilities of this novel filtering component with rigorous electromagnetic simulations. Our design is optimized for an operating wavelength of 1310 nm to benefit from lower water absorption and achieve narrower bandwidths than at the conventional wavelength of 1550 nm. Results show that the sensor achieves a sensitivity of 507 nm/RIU and a quality factor of 4.9 × 104, over a large dynamic range circumventing the free spectral range limit of conventional devices. Furthermore, the intrinsic limit of detection, 5.1 × 10-5 RIU constitutes a 10-fold enhancement compared to state-of-the-art resonant waveguide sensors.
Therapeutic Potential of Baicalein in Parkinson’s Disease: Focus on Inhibition of α-Synuclein Oligomerization and Aggregation

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative diseases, which affects the people in old age. The neuropathological symptoms of PD include the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, and presence of intracellular inclusions of α -synuclein ( α -syn) aggregates. α -Syn, a natively unfolded protein, has been found to play a key role in PD pathology. Several mechanistic studies revealed the numerous aspects of α -syn fibrillation and aggregation process that lead to dopaminergic neurodegeneration in PD. Till to date, there is no complete cure of PD, but some therapeutic agents are able to halt the disease progression. Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi is a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used to treat the central nervous system diseases. Recently, it has been confirmed that root of S. baicalensis Georgi contains baicalein (5,6,7-trihy-droxyflavone) as a major bioactive flavone constituent. Baicalein possess numerous pharmacological properties such as antiaggregation of amyloid proteins including α -syn, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic. In the light of these properties, baicalein has potential therapeutic efficacy for PD. In this chapter, we explored the pharmacological protective actions of baicalein against α -syn fibrillation and aggregation that make it suitable for PD treatment and also discussed the possible mechanisms underlying the effects.
Cognitive relations in online learning: Change of cognitive presence and participation in online discussions based on cognitive style

This study aims at investigating the change of cognitive presence (CP), which is one of the basic variables for effective learning in online discussions, based on the cognitive style. Cognitive styles of the participants were identified based on the group embedded figures test (GEFT). The participants of the study took part in online discussions for seven weeks. Content analysis was used to measure cognitive presence in students’ online discussions. The analysis was based on practical inquiry (PI) model which defines four phases of cognitive presence. The data were also analysed using the nonparametric tests, Spearman Rhu correlation, and descriptive statistics. The findings indicate that, in regard to the cognitive presence of the participants, those phases with the highest frequency are found to be exploration and triggering event. It is also found that the CPs of the participants do not vary based on their cognitive styles. In addition, unlike what was reported by previous studies there are no significant differences between the number of words used by the participants and the rate of involvement in online discussions depending on their CPs. On the other hand, there are moderate and strong correlations between the participants’ CP phases suggesting that the CP phases may be developed in relation to one another. Based on the findings, some suggestions are developed in regard to the scope of learning analytics and discussion dynamics concerning the discussion environments in online learning.