Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fractional Variability—A Tool to Study Blazar Variability

Active Galactic Nuclei emit radiation over the whole electromagnetic spectrum up to TeV energies. Blazars are one subtype with their jets pointing towards the observer. One of their typical features is extreme variability on timescales, from minutes to years. The fractional variability is an often used parameter for investigating the degree of variability of a light curve. Different detection methods and sensitivities of the instruments result in differently binned data and light curves with gaps. As they can influence the physics interpretation of the broadband variability, the effects of these differences on the fractional variability need to be studied. In this paper, we study the systematic effects of completeness in time coverage and the sampling rate. Using public data from instruments monitoring blazars in various energy ranges, we study the variability of the bright TeV blazars Mrk 421 and Mrk 501 over the electromagnetic spectrum, taking into account the systematic effects, and compare our findings with previous results. Especially in the TeV range, the fractional variability is higher than in previous studies, which can be explained by the much longer (seven years compared to few weeks) and more complete data sample.
Physiological Quality of Cowpea Beans (Vigna unguiculata L.) Seeds in the Function of Cultivars and Planting Times

Germination and vigour evaluation of improved cultivars and creole of cowpea bean seeds as a function of different planting seasons. A completely randomized design in a factorial scheme, with six treatments and two planting periods, with four replications, each repetition with 25 seeds. The treatments consisted of six cowpea bean (Vigna unguiculata L.) cultivars, and two improved (BRS Tumucumaque, BRS Guariba) and four creoles, (Governor, Passagem, Chico Joaquim and Espírito Santo). The experiment place and timing was carried out under greenhouse on a riparian zone of the Federal Rural Semi-Arid University (UFERSA), located in the municipality of Mossoró-RN, Brazil. The first sowing season comprised the period from April 3 to April 18, 2017, and the second one from January 15 to 30, 2018. The sowing was done in plastic trays. Was used the sand washed and sterilized as a substrate. The trays were kept in a greenhouse at room temperature. Two irrigations were realized daily. In order to avoid the local effect, the trays were changed position each day. The evaluated characteristics were: Germination percentage, emergence speed index, seedling height, leaf number, root length, stem diameter, fresh and dry mass of seedlings. Creole cultivars showed superior quality to those improved in the second season. In the first season, the cultivars BRS Guariba and BRS Tumucumaque were the most outstanding. It was concluded that the physiological quality of cowpea beans is directly influenced by the cultivars and the planting season, as well as by the interaction of these two factors.
Legend Layouts for Thematic Maps: A Case Study Integrating Usability Metrics with the Thinking Aloud Method

Abstract The legend is a critical tool in reading and interpreting a thematic map. The goal of the study reported here is to understand how the legend works as a map is read. The methodology combined usability performance metrics with the thinking aloud method. Subjects were asked to perform two sets of tasks using two thematic maps with different legend layouts. While latency and accuracy of answers for the first set of tasks did not differ significantly between users of the different layouts, users clearly preferred legends that were simple or familiar. The thinking aloud protocols from the second part of the study revealed different patterns of legend comprehension for each legend design. In addition, the study identified four problem-solving strategies that were adopted by the subjects. Finally, some principles for designing legends were developed from the results of the study.
Ukrainian and Foreign Experience in Applying Biographical Method to Study Prominent Figures in Pedagogy

Abstract The article analyzes the term “biographical method”, which consists in the idea of a biography being one’s life journey. Its essence was disclosed through the views of the leading Ukrainian and foreign scholars. The origins of the biographical method as the main tool for studying prominent figures in pedagogy were specified. The article contains the domain-specific classification of biographical sources including autobiographies, biographies, life stories, personal experience stories, surveys and interviews, public and private archival materials, printed and hand-written heritage of authors, memoirs of their contemporaries, etc. Specific attention is paid to the fact that biographical researches can characterize the course of life of a particular figure in pedagogy, the era in which he/she lived and worked, the process of shaping and developing his/her worldview and pedagogical views. Consequently, one can highlight the main stages in the pedagogue’s life, better understand the essence of his/her cultural, educational activities, grasp his/her unique identity, reveal certain patterns in various facts of his/her biography that have caused the emergence and development of particular educational and pedagogical ideas. Based on theoretical analysis of the works by Ukrainian and foreign scholars, it was concluded that the biographical method could determine the influence of society on the development of the individual, his/her life position, values and ideals, different moments of the society’s life at one time period or another, social contexts, rules and norms. It was found that when studying the biographies of prominent figures in pedagogy one should be able to balance the given material on the pedagogue’s activities, the description of his/her works and theoretical analysis and understanding of the trends in the development of his/her views and a reasonable assessment of his/her contributions.
Serum Alpha-2-Macroglobulin as an intrinsic radioprotective factor in patients undergoing thoracic radiation therapy

Objective To investigate the impact of alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M), a suspected intrinsic radioprotectant, on radiation pneumonitis and esophagitis. Additionally, we establish multifactorial predictive models for pneumonitis and esophagitis. Materials/Methods Baseline A2M levels were obtained for 258 patients prior to thoracic radiotherapy (RT). Dose-volume characteristics were extracted from treatment plans. Spearman’s correlation (Rs) test was used to correlate A2M levels, smoking status and dosimetric variables with toxicities. Esophagitis and pneumonitis prediction models were built using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) logistic regression on 1000 bootstrapped datasets. Models were built using 2/3 of the data for training and 1/3 for validation. Results There were 36 (14.0%) patients with grade ≥2 pneumonitis and 61 (23.6%) with grade ≥2 esophagitis. The median A2M level was 191 mg/dL (range: 94-511). Never/former/current smoker status was 47 (18.2%)/179 (69.4%)/32 (12.4%). We found a significant correlation between baseline A2M levels and esophagitis (Rs=-0.18/p=0.003) and between A2M and smoking status (former or current) (Rs=0.13/p=0.04) but not between A2M and pneumonitis. On univariate analysis, significant parameters for grade ≥2 esophagitis included number of fractions (Rs=0.47/p<0.0001), treatment days (Rs=0.44/p<0.0001), chemotherapy use (Rs=0.40/p<0.0001), dose per fraction (Rs=-0.34/p<0.0001), total dose (Rs=0.29/p<0.0001), age (Rs=-0.22/p=0.0003), and several dosimetric variables in esophagus with Rs>0.5 (p<0.0001). For pneumonitis, significant clinical parameters were treatment days (Rs=0.24/p=0.0001), chemotherapy use (Rs=0.22/p=0.0004), number of fractions (Rs=0.21/p=0.0007), dose per fraction (Rs=-0.18/p=0.0035), and total dose (Rs=0.15/p=0.013). The most significant dosimetric variable in lung and heart was D70 (Rs=0.28/p<0.0001) and max dose (Rs=0.27/p<0.0001), respectively. LASSO bootstrap logistic regression models on the validation data resulted in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.84 and 0.75 for esophagitis and pneumonitis, respectively. Conclusion Our findings show an association of higher A2M values with lower risk of radiation esophagitis and smoking status. Multivariate predictive models also confirmed a role of heart dose in the risk of pneumonitis.
Assessing Curcumin Solubility in Food-Grade Solvents

A curcumina e extraida de rizomas de acafrao (Curcuma longa L), usada como condimento, corante natural e tem demonstrado atividades farmacologicas. A curcumina e agente bioativo e antioxidante, mas e praticamente insoluvel em agua, tendo baixa biodisponibilidade. O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar a solubilidade da curcumina em agua, etanol, glicerol e em misturas com etanol ou glicerol em agua. Para as analises de solubilidade, a curcumina em excesso foi adicionada nos solventes, homogeneizada, filtrada e, em seguida, foram determinadas as concentracoes. Nos testes realizados, a curcumina apresentou maior solubilidade em glicerol e etanol do que em agua e maior solubilidade em etanol do que em glicerol. As interacoes intermoleculares da curcumina com etanol e agua e com glicerol e agua proporcionaram aumento significativo da solubilidade da curcumina nas misturas dos solventes, quando comparados com a agua pura. Sugere-se que solucoes saturadas de curcumina em glicerol ou em etanol podem ser adicionadas em alimentos ou medicamentos de base aquosa, de modo a aumentar a concentracao de curcumina solubilizada no meio.
Avaliação de usabilidade em materiais interativos de ensino a distância da UFRN-SEDIS

Este estudo tem por finalidade avaliar a usabilidade de Materiais Interativos desenvolvidos para os cursos oferecidos pela UFRN-SEDIS na modalidade de ensino a distância (EaD), por meio das tecnicas de grupo de foco, avaliacao cooperativa e avaliacao de satisfacao. Os Materiais Interativos tem como proposito servir como uma via pela qual o conteudo do curso chegue ate o aluno de forma didatica, estimulante e auto instrutiva o suficiente para que o aluno se engaje e nao encontre dificuldades em utiliza-lo. Apos o levantamento de dados deste contexto foram selecionados quatro Materiais Interativos (“Introducao ao Calculo Aplicado”, “Ciencia, Tecnologia e Sociedade”, “Estudos do Semiarido” e “Geografia Cultural”) que adotam a estrutura estabelecida pela UFRN-SEDIS para serem avaliados quanto a sua usabilidade. Inicialmente foi realizado um teste preliminar a partir de avaliacao cooperativa com uma aluna interagindo com os quatro Materiais Interativos no intuito de revelar e mapear as principais falhas de usabilidade, subsidiando questionamentos mais aprofundados posteriormente. As gravacoes deste teste preliminar foram analisadas por um grupo de foco composto por dois designers graficos e dois designers de multimidia, sendo estes os desenvolvedores responsaveis pelos Materiais Interativos, o que contribuiu para analisar o desvio entre “o que foi projetado” e “como foi usado”, estruturando e complementando o roteiro para a avaliacao cooperativa e avaliacao de satisfacao posteriores. A avaliacao cooperativa foi aplicada individualmente a dez alunos de cursos de graduacao da UFRN, que testaram cada um dos quatro materiais. Ao final todos preencheram um questionario de avaliacao de satisfacao adaptado do formulario Quis (Questionnaire for User Interaction Satisfaction). A analise dos dados coletados na presente pesquisa revelou pontos positivos, negativos e apontamentos a serem considerados para nortear o desenvolvimento de futuros materiais didaticos interativos, no contexto da UFRN-SEDIS, retroalimentando o processo de design e avaliacao com a participacao do usuario
L'arte della persuasione: seduzioni del pensiero

Anzitutto, ci pare necessario chiarire e delimitare il campo d’indagine relativo al concetto di persuasione. Persuadere significa influenzare la mente dell’interlocutore con argomenti, ragioni, suggerimenti, per far si che cambi l’atteggiamento nei confronti di un oggetto, di una persona, di un’idea politica o filosofico-religiosa, etc.Talora, nel linguaggio corrente, adoperiamo il termine convincere come se fosse un sinonimo di persuadere. In effetti, convincere vuol dire superare degli ostacoli logici e razionali, con dei mezzi che hanno la parvenza della logica e della razionalita, per vincere le resistenze ed i dubbi con la forza logica delle argomentazioni. Persuadere, al contrario, fa appello a meccanismi anche emotivi e passionali, si serve delle stesse arti che vediamo all’opera nella seduzione.
Development and Validation of a New Method for Determination of Pb and Cr in Marine Organisms by Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TXRF) Spectroscopy

Lead and chromium contamination represents one of the most serious problems in the aquatic environments. The aim of this work was to develop and validate an accurate, sensitivity, and rapid method for the simultaneous determination of Pb and Cr at trace levels in tissues and fat of marine organisms such as turtle (Chelonia mydas), shark (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae), and dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), utilizing the total reflection X-Ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectroscopy. Working solutions were prepared in 10 mL of a solution 0.005 mol·L−1 EDTA and 1 mol·L−1 HNO3. In order to correct possible instrument drifts, 20 μg·L−1 of gallium was used as internal standard (IS). The results showed that TXRF method was linear over the concentration ranges of 5.242–100 μg·L−1 for Pb and 2.363–100 μg·L−1 for Cr. Limits of detection (LOD) achieved were 1.573 and 0.709 μg·L−1 for Pb and Cr, respectively, while limits of quantification achieved were 5.242 μg·L−1 for Pb and 2.363 μg·L−1 for Cr. The validated method was accurate and precise enough for determination of these heavy metals in samples of marine organisms as indicated by acceptable values of recovery between 90–101%. In addition, a certified reference material (BCR-279, sea lettuce) and a Centrum tablet were satisfactory analyzed, and the T-test for comparison of means revealed that there were no significant differences at the 95% confidence level between the values obtained with the proposed TXRF method and the certificated values. The repeatability of the method, expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD), was 5.1% and 4%, for Pb and Cr, respectively. In addition, other features of the developed method were a low sample volume of 10 μL, and the sample frequency achieved was 20 h−1.
Segmentation 3D et analyse de bancs de poissons à partir d'une séquence d'images acquise par un sonar multi-faisceaux

The purpose of this paper is to analyse shery resources based on a sequence of images acquired by multi-beam sonar. We present some 3D image processing methods for the segmentation, extraction, visualisation and analysis of sh schools and sea bottom. Firstly, the sonar characteristics and the image resolution are presented. Then, the data volume is registrated taking into account the ship motion during the acquisition (the pitch, roll, heave,. parameters). Two algorithms are also presented to segment and extract the sea bottom and the sh schools in the entire sequence. Finally, the analysis of the extracted sh schools is realized with the extraction of 3D features for bio-statistical studies on sheries resources.
OPTIMAL CONTROL INTERVENTION STRATEGIES USING AN N‐PATCH WATERBORNE DISEASE MODEL

Waterborne diseases are an important concern in public health, especially in communities with limited access to clean water. Different community subpopulations can require different copping strategies for the same diseases. Modeling is one method to assist understanding and the development of effective strategies. To this end, we investigated the use of meta‐population models with three types of control interventions: vaccination, treatment, and water purification. Important mathematical features of the model are determined and examined. Optimal control, applied to the model, is also formulated to determine the effective strategies to reduce the spread of the disease. For example, using optimal control, a four‐fold reduction in infected individuals is possible. The value of such an improvement to the communities involved would be significant.
AB0649 Serum GDF-15 Level in Behçet's Disease: Relationship Between the Disease Activity and Clinical Parameters

Background Growth differentiation factor (GDF)-15, a member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily of cytokines, plays an important role in cell growth, signal transduction, and apoptosis regulation. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate serum GDF-15 levels and their relationship with disease-related variables in patients with Behçet's disease (BD). Methods Forty-six patients diagnosed with BD and 30 demographically matched healthy control subjects participated in the study. GDF-15 levels were measured in blood samples from patients and controls. Behçet's Disease Current Activity Form (BDCAF) was used to evaluate the disease activity of BD. Results There were no significant differences between the two groups in regard to C-reactive protein (CRP), mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate, age, body mass index and mean GDF-15 levels (p>0.05). The serum GDF-15 levels were positively correlated with peripheral arthritis, CRP, BDCAF erythema nodosum, BDCAF arthralgia, and BDCAF arthritis scores. The patients with BD were divided into twogroups according to the presence of peripheral arthritis; nine subjects (20%) were positive for peripheral arthritis. Serum ESR, CRP, white blood cell, and GDF-15 levels were significantly higher in the group that was positive for peripheral arthritis (p<0.05). Conclusions GDF-15 may play a role in the progression and pathway of Behçet's joint involvement and erythema nodosum independent of classic inflammatory response measures. References Wong RC, Ellis CN, Diaz LA et al Behcet's disease. Int J Dermatol 1984; 23: 25–32. Takeuchi M, Keino H, Suzuki J et al. Possibility of inducing anterior chamber-associated immune deviation by TGF-beta 2 treatment of monocytes isolated from Behcet's patients. Exp eye res 2006; 83: 981–988 Yazmalar L, Batmaz I, Sarıyıldız MA et al. Sleep quality in patients with Behçet's disease. Int J Rheum Dis 2014; doi: 10.1111/1756-185X.12459. Canete JD, Celis R, Noordenbos T et al. Distinct synovial immunopathology in Behçet disease and psoriatic arthritis. Arthritis res ther 2009; 11: R17 Disclosure of Interest None declared
Deep vein thrombosis: risk factors and location of

Objective: to determine a possible relation between different known medical risk factors for deep vein thrombosis and location of thrombus. Material and methods: we included consecutive patients diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis by the use of Doppler ultrasonography. Symptoms and signs, biochemical parameters and imagistic data were recorded and the presence or absence of comorbidities was noted. Results: a number of 192 patients were included in study. In univariate analysis, location of deep vein thrombosis was associated with age, immobility and unilateral calf edema. The multivariate analysis demonstrated the independent relation between location of thrombus and age (p=0.044), sex (p=0.014) and immobility (p=0.028). Conclusion: age, sex and immobility were correlated with location of deep vein thrombosis.
Broadband Dual Linear Polarized (DLP) Antenna Array for Energy Harvesting System

A broadband linear polarized antenna is designed for radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting. The antenna covers the frequency range from 1.35 GHz up to 6 GHz with relative impedance bandwidth of 126% at -6 dB reflection coefficient |S11| and extended from 1.1 GHz to 3.3 GHz. A 2×2 dual linear polarized (DLP) antenna array is designed based on the antenna element by using equal phase and Wilkinson equal power divider. The dual linear polarized antenna array covers the frequency band from 1.8 to 2.9 GHz. This frequency band covers a wide range of modern wireless communication standards, including GSM 1800, UMTS 2100, Wi-Fi 2.4, and most of LTE bands. The developed array prototype was then used to experimentally validate the simulation results. The horizontally polarized and vertically polarized gain of the designed array were found to be quite similar across the 1.8 to 2.9 frequency band with an average gain value of 5.5 dBi.
Broadband tunable terahertz cross-polarization converter based on Dirac semimetals

We have investigated a single-layer metamaterial based on bulk Dirac semimetals (BDSs) that features tunable, broadband terahertz cross-polarization conversion in transmission mode. This effect can be actively tuned by changing the Fermi energy of the BDSs with no change to the geometry of the resonators. Tunability of the broadband polarization conversion is observed in the 3.82–7.88 THz range, over which the polarization conversion rate mostly remains above 80%. The proposed design offers a potentially effective approach to developing active terahertz polarization control devices for terahertz imaging, sensing, and communications.
Analog-resistive networks for motion detection

In this paper we present two analog networks that implement an algorithm for motion detection in image sequences. The time consuming stochastic or suboptimal deterministic relaxation algorithms used by the initial Markov Random Field based model are replaced by the energy minimization of the analog network to its state of minimal power dissipation. We describe the elementary cell derived from the model equation and the network architectures. Possible application are motion remote control and motion coding at video rate.
A Novel Performance Tradeoff in Heterogeneous Networks: A Multi-Objective Approach

In this letter, we investigate the performance tradeoff between different tiers of heterogeneous networks (HetNets) consisting of a macrocell as the basic tier and small cells (e.g., picocells, femtocells, etc.) as the other tiers. Due to the interference among tiers in the HetNets, the performance of different cells are interactive. Maximizing the total performance in terms of data rate and energy efficiency (EE) of users in HetNets are both desirable system design objectives, however, it is expected that there is a non-trivial tradeoff between tiers due to the co-channel deployment. Thus, we formulate our resource allocation problem as a multiobjective optimization problem (MOOP) in which the performance of the macrocell and small cells are jointly maximized. Using the weighted Tchebycheff technique, we are able to transform the MOOP into a single objective optimization problem (SOOP). Then, an iterative algorithm is proposed to solve this SOOP which yields a locally optimal solution. Finally, our numerical results show this tradeoff among different tiers.
Fuzzy Multicriteria Analysis For EvaluationOf Risks In Complex Engineering ProjectsIn The Aeronautical Industry

This paper presents an application, in the aeronautical industry, of a risk management methodology based on Fuzzy Multicriteria analysis (FMA). The proposed methodology analyses external and internal risks factors, formulating indicators that can be evaluated in some levels of the decision-making process (operational, tactical and strategic). The results show a way to obtain a more holistic vision of the risk in projects, assisting managers in the coordination of all possible risk factors that can affect the final result. Moreover, the results also demonstrate great chances of profits in cost, because of the faster analysis and the possibility to use in preliminary phases of the project.