Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Combination of Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials with Metal Oxide Nanoparticles for Gas Sensors: A Review

Metal oxide nanoparticles have been widely utilized for the fabrication of functional gas sensors to determine various flammable, explosive, toxic, and harmful gases due to their advantages of low cost, fast response, and high sensitivity. However, metal oxide-based gas sensors reveal the shortcomings of high operating temperature, high power requirement, and low selectivity, which limited their rapid development in the fabrication of high-performance gas sensors. The combination of metal oxides with two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials to construct a heterostructure can hybridize the advantages of each other and overcome their respective shortcomings, thereby improving the sensing performance of the fabricated gas sensors. In this review, we present recent advances in the fabrication of metal oxide-, 2D nanomaterials-, as well as 2D material/metal oxide composite-based gas sensors with highly sensitive and selective functions. To achieve this aim, we firstly introduce the working principles of various gas sensors, and then discuss the factors that could affect the sensitivity of gas sensors. After that, a lot of cases on the fabrication of gas sensors by using metal oxides, 2D materials, and 2D material/metal oxide composites are demonstrated. Finally, we summarize the current development and discuss potential research directions in this promising topic. We believe in this work is helpful for the readers in multidiscipline research fields like materials science, nanotechnology, chemical engineering, environmental science, and other related aspects.
Plethysmography-derived gas trapping lacks utility in predicting response to bronchial thermoplasty

There is a paucity of literature on measurable baseline parameters predicting response and guiding selection for bronchial thermoplasty. This study examines whether baseline gas trapping, as assessed by plethysmography, is associated with a response to bronchial thermoplasty at 12 months. 43 consecutive patients with severe asthma (mean±sd age 57.6±13.3 years) were evaluated at baseline and 12 months post bronchial thermoplasty. Data collected at both time points included spirometry, body plethysmography and four clinical outcome measures, namely Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) score, annual exacerbation frequency, maintenance oral corticosteroid requirement and short-acting β-agonist use. At baseline, participants had severe airflow obstruction (forced expiratory volume in 1 s 49.1±15.8%) with marked gas trapping (residual volume (RV) 150.3±40.8%, RV/total lung capacity (TLC) 51.3±10.5%), poor symptom control (ACQ 3.3±1.0) and frequent exacerbations (median 4, interquartile range 8). 12 months after bronchial thermoplasty, significant improvements were observed in all four clinical outcome measures. However, baseline RV and RV/TLC were not significantly associated with changes in ACQ nor any other clinical outcome measure, and changes in RV and RV/TLC did not significantly correlate with a change in any clinical outcome measure. Plethysmography-derived gas trapping does not demonstrate utility in predicting response and guiding selection for bronchial thermoplasty. An improvement in gas trapping was not associated with positive clinical outcomes, suggesting that this may not be the dominant mode of action of bronchial thermoplasty in generating clinical improvement. This study examined whether measuring gas trapping by plethysmography could be used to predict response to bronchial thermoplasty; no association was found https://bit.ly/3tJN1X8
Miocene Nautilus (Mollusca, Cephalopoda) from Taiwan, and a review of the Indo‐Pacific fossil record of Nautilus

The fossil record of the cephalopod genus Nautilus has been obscured because a few influential taxonomists during the 20th Century decided that fossils similar to Nautilus were instead other genera. We now recognize fossils once classified as species of other genera as species of Nautilus. This includes fossils from Miocene rocks of Taiwan that were previously described as Kummelonautilus taiwanum but herein recognized instead as being the northernmost Neogene record of Nautilus in the Indo‐Pacific region. The name is corrected to Nautilus taiwanus, and now known to occur in two formations in central Taiwan, the early Miocene Shihmentsun and early to middle Miocene Houdongkeng formations. Miocene fossils from Indonesia that were placed in other genera are now considered to represent Nautilus as they were originally assigned, in addition to several Miocene species from Australia, which provide the southernmost Neogene fossil record for the genus. Some of these Indo‐Pacific fossils may represent the same species, but more specimens are needed to determine the amount of variability within these Neogene taxa.
Time‐Lapse Record of an Earthquake in the Dry Felsic Lower Continental Crust Preserved in a Pseudotachylyte‐Bearing Fault

The mechanisms of earthquake rupture in lower continental crust, below the usual frictional‐viscous transition, remain uncertain. In addressing this problem, the study of pseudotachylyte (quenched frictional melt produced during seismic fault slip) and related structures from deeply exhumed rocks can provide direct observational constraints. A felsic granulite from the Musgrave Ranges (central Australia) exceptionally preserves pristine microstructures spatially related to a pseudotachylyte. This sample remained dry, without introduction of hydrous fluids, during pseudotachylyte development and subsequent exhumation. It was therefore unaffected by alteration and metamorphic re‐equilibration. Fractures in the damage zone developed asymmetrically to either side of the pseudotachylyte and are marked by new, randomly oriented quartz, feldspar, and garnet grains. Pulverization of garnet occurred locally between intersecting fractures with powder injected into dilatant fractures in a quartz inclusion within the garnet host. Injection of pulverized material can explain the growth of new, compositionally different minerals (quartz, feldspar, kyanite, ilmenite, magnetite, and rutile) along dilatant fractures developed in a short‐lived seismic event. The pseudotachylyte contains only clasts of quartz, suggesting an unusually high melting temperature. The sequentially developed microstructures provide a time‐lapse record of thermomechanical processes during a single earthquake event, including initial rupture propagation with associated off‐fault damage and local pulverization during very dynamic fluctuations in the local stress field; frictional heating and eventual melting during fault slip; flow and injection of melt; and rapid solidification (quenching) and crystallization of new minerals. This occurred under lower continental crustal conditions of ca. 650°C and 1.2 GPa about 550 Myrs ago.
Characterization of a Novel Aspect of Tissue Scarring Following Experimental Spinal Cord Injury and the Implantation of Bioengineered Type-I Collagen Scaffolds in the Adult Rat: Involvement of Perineurial-like Cells?

Numerous intervention strategies have been developed to promote functional tissue repair following experimental spinal cord injury (SCI), including the bridging of lesion-induced cystic cavities with bioengineered scaffolds. Integration between such implanted scaffolds and the lesioned host spinal cord is critical for supporting regenerative growth, but only moderate-to-low degrees of success have been reported. Light and electron microscopy were employed to better characterise the fibroadhesive scarring process taking place after implantation of a longitudinally microstructured type-I collagen scaffold into unilateral mid-cervical resection injuries of the adult rat spinal cord. At long survival times (10 weeks post-surgery), sheets of tightly packed cells (of uniform morphology) could be seen lining the inner surface of the repaired dura mater of lesion-only control animals, as well as forming a barrier along the implant–host interface of the scaffold-implanted animals. The highly uniform ultrastructural features of these scarring cells and their anatomical continuity with the local, reactive spinal nerve roots strongly suggest their identity to be perineurial-like cells. This novel aspect of the cellular composition of reactive spinal cord tissue highlights the increasingly complex nature of fibroadhesive scarring involved in traumatic injury, and particularly in response to the implantation of bioengineered collagen scaffolds.
Quand l'académisme scientifique remet en cause l'académisme pédagogique : le cas des formations en entrepreneuriat

Entrepreneurship courses in business schools allot significant time to business plan design. These plans outlining business creation projects are generally paired with traditional pedagogy, where students summon up knowledge acquired in theoretical courses. Learning occurs in a predictable context where standard causal reasoning is perfectly well-adapted. Many authors presently question this approach which is disconnected from entrepreneurial practices. Based on these works, we show how this type of approach comes in contradiction with the context of entrepreneurship on three levels: the environment, the process and the decision models. We suggest overcoming this opposition by building new learning situations. To do so, we developed an experiment -the derive or drift- drawing on the works of the Internationale Situationniste. At the end of this paper we discuss how students can benefit from this experiment to learn entrepreneurship.
MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSIS OF THE DYNAMIC EFFECTS ON THE CROSSINGS

The turnouts are one of the key points of the railway routes. In particular, turnouts in the main tracks are passed relatively high speed. This paper is focused on measurement and analysis of dynamic effects on railway turnouts. The main rail turnouts which are passed in speed of 160 km·h-1 and with different wear condition were selected. Attention was focused mainly on the crossing panel of the turnout, where the highest dynamic impacts occur. The turnout was measured twice: before and after frog repair by welding. The point of the paper is comparison of the crossing part of turnout in term of dynamic behaviour and assessment of influence of the transition geometry (wearing depth) on dynamic effects. Because dynamic impact from the wheel sets during the transition from the wing rail to the nose of the crossing depending on the quality of the transition geometry and also on the overall stiffness of the rail superstructure, the appropriate methodology of the measurement was designed. The methodology is designed for in situ measurement in condition of full operation and consists of two parts. Measuring of vibration and measuring of shifts of the bearers in the crossing panel. Piezoelectric vibration acceleration sensors (the accelerometers) were attached to plastic handles and glued to the cleaned surface of the measured structure. Three-axis accelerometer B&K 4524 B001 was placed at the foot of the wing rail, five accelerometers B&K 4507 B001 were placed at the bearer and one accelerometer B&K 4507 B004 was placed at the measuring bar embedded in the ballast. Shifts of the bearers ware measured by inductive displacement sensors HBM WA-10 T which were attached through magnetic holders to special frames. Frames are made of two steel bars embedded in the structural layers of subgrade and steel cross members connecting the two poles. This method created referential zero-point shift. For evaluation of measured data were used time analysis, frequency analysis using the amplitude spectrum and time-frequency analysis.
Coherent Combining and Long Coherent Integration for BOC Signal Acquisition under Strong Interference

A coherent combining and long coherent integration (CCLCI) scheme is pre - sented for standalone direct acquisition of binary offset carrier (BOC) signals under strong radio frequency interference (RFI). To mitigate the ambiguity of BOC signals, a split-spectrum method extracts the upper and lower sidebands of a BOC signal, treats them separately as two binary phase shift keying (BPSK) signals, and finally combines the results to recover the loss due to splitting. The CCLCI scheme burns through strong interference by building up the desired weak signal while averaging out noise and interference. It exploits all information available (L1 and L2, upper and lower sidebands, odd and even chips, and I-and Q-components) by applying coherent combining across signal components and long coherent integration over time, followed by noncoherent accumulation if necessary. Issues and enabling techniques are described. The results of an embed - ded implementation in demonstration with a GPS RF simulator are analyzed.
HNF1A Mutations and Beta Cell Dysfunction in Diabetes

Understanding the genetic factors of diabetes is essential for addressing the global increase in type 2 diabetes. HNF1A mutations cause a monogenic form of diabetes called maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY), and HNF1A single-nucleotide polymorphisms are associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. Numerous studies have been conducted, mainly using genetically modified mice, to explore the molecular basis for the development of diabetes caused by HNF1A mutations, and to reveal the roles of HNF1A in multiple organs, including insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells, lipid metabolism and protein synthesis in the liver, and urinary glucose reabsorption in the kidneys. Recent studies using human stem cells that mimic MODY have provided new insights into beta cell dysfunction. In this article, we discuss the involvement of HNF1A in beta cell dysfunction by reviewing previous studies using genetically modified mice and recent findings in human stem cell-derived beta cells.
In Vitro Pharmacological Screening of Essential Oils from Baccharis parvidentata and Lippia origanoides Growing in Brazil

In this study, the in vitro antimicrobial, antiparasitic, antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities of essential oil from Baccharis parvidentata Malag. (EO-Bp) and Lippia origanoides Kunth (EO-Lo) were explored. The relevant effects were observed against the parasitic protozoans Plasmodium falciparum, Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania amazonensis (ranging 0.6 to 39.7 µg/mL) and malignant MCF-7, MCF-7/HT, 22Rv1, and A431 cell lines (ranging 6.1 to 31.5 µg/mL). In parallel, EO-Bp showed better selective indexes in comparison with EO-Lo against peritoneal macrophages from BALB/c mice and MRC-5 cell line. In conclusion, EO-Lo is known to show a wide range of health benefits that could be added as another potential use of this oil with the current study. In the case of EO-Bp, the wide spectrum of its activities against protozoal parasites and malignant cells, as well as its selectivity in comparison with non-malignant cells, could suggest an interesting candidate for further tests as a new therapeutic alternative.
Company Law and the Crash of the 1890s in Victoria

Weaknesses in company law played a part in the crash in the 1890s in Victoria that followed the great Australian boom of the 1880s, where the boom was most intense, and the subsequent depression most severe. This situation led to the development of innovative Victorian Companies Act of 1896.
Using Machine Learning for the Performance-Based Seismic Assessment of Slope Systems

Engineers often use analytical procedures, which estimate the amount of seismically induced slope displacements ( D ), to evaluate the seismic performance of earth structures and natural slopes. These procedures often use as inputs slope properties, earthquake parameters, and ground motion intensity measures ( IM s ). In this study, we propose a new set of machine learning (ML) based models to estimate D using the NGA-West2 shallow crustal ground motion database. Our findings suggest that the most efficient features to evaluate the seismic performance of slope systems are the slope’s yield coefficient ( k y ), its fundamental period ( T s ), the earthquake magnitude ( M w ), the peak ground velocity ( PGV ), and the degraded spectral acceleration at 1.3 T s . We assess the performance of the proposed models by evaluating cross-validation errors, their predictive performance in case histories, and comparisons against existing models. Based on the assessments, we recommend 6 ML-based models to estimate D in engineering practice.
The Pilodyn, an instrument for assessing the condition of waterlogged wooden objects

The Pilodyn is an instrument (supplied by Kai R. Spangenberg, 26 Hovedgaden DK 2970 Horsholm, Denmark) for measuring the resistance of wood originally developed to detect the extent of soft rot decay in telegraph poles. It operates by firing a blunt pin of known diameter into the wood by means of a spring of known energy. The fracture surface area created by a constant energy source is determined. The result is an interaction of the various wood properties involved in its strength characteristics. The instrument provides a simple and rapid means of assessing waterlogged wood giving an overall indication of the extent of deterioration and it can be used in environments where other test procedures are impracticable. Summary of article originally published in Studies in Conservation (See * 2AATA 23-750 ). -- AATA
The Prognostic Value of miR-125b, miR-200c and miR-205 in Primary Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma Is Independent of BRAF Mutational Status

Simple Summary Melanoma accounts for the majority of skin cancer-related deaths. On the one hand, most melanomas contain mutations in the BRAF gene (predominantly V600E), and on the other hand, miRNAs modulate different steps in melanoma development and progression, but there are no reports that study the relation between BRAF mutational status and the expression of miRNAs, which is important for an accurate patient prognosis. The aim of our retrospective study was to know whether BRAF mutations influence the prognostic value of miR-125b, miR-200c and miR-205 intratumoral expression in primary cutaneous melanomas. Globally, our results showed that miR-125b, miR-200c and miR-205 expression predicted the clinical outcome of primary melanomas independently of BRAF status. Thus, our findings support that BRAF mutations alone do not predict the risk of metastasis development or melanoma survival and that miR-125b, miR-200c and miR-205 may be considered as accurate prognostic biomarkers in melanoma regardless of BRAF mutational status. Abstract BRAF mutations are present in around 50% of cutaneous malignant melanomas and are related to a poor outcome in advanced-stage melanoma patients. miRNAs are epigenetic regulators that modulate different cellular processes in cancer, including melanoma development and progression. However, there are no studies on the potential associations of the genetic alterations of the BRAF gene with miRNA expression in primary cutaneous melanomas. Here, in order to analyze the influence of BRAF mutations in the ability of selected miRNAs to predict clinical outcome and patient survival at the time of diagnosis, we studied the prognostic value of miR-125b, miR-200c and miR-205 expression depending on the BRAF mutational status in fresh, frozen primary tumor specimens. For this purpose, RNA was extracted for studying both BRAF mutations by Sanger sequencing and miRNA expression. Our results indicate that, although there seems to be a slight preference for their predictive ability in the BRAF mutated group, the expression of these three miRNAs serves effectively to predict the clinical outcome of melanoma patients independently of BRAF mutational status at the time of primary tumor diagnosis.
Marketing #neurodiversity for well-being

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a bottom-up segmentation of people affected by neurodiversity using Twitter data. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory study uses content analysis of information shared by Twitter users over a three-month period. Findings Cultural currents affect how the label of “neurodiversity” is perceived by individuals, marketplace actors and society. The extent to which neurodiversity provides a positive or negative alternative to stigmatizing labels for mental disorders is shaped by differentiated experiences of neurodiversity. The authors identify five neurodiversity segments according to identifiable concerns and contextual dynamics that affect mental wellbeing. Analyzing Twitter data enables a bottom-up typology of stigmatized groups toward improving market salience. Originality/value To the authors knowledge, this study is the first to investigate neurodiversity using Twitter data to segment stigmatized consumers into prospective customers from the bottom-up.
New challenge: Voltage stability

Line and transformer thermal limits have become less restrictive as our networks have become more dense. Static VAR systems (SVSs) and excitation stabilizers have raised transfer limits in stability limited systems. The resulting transmission capacity is being used to ship economy purchases among neighbors, and to support new generation remote from load centers. Today, the average transmission line is loaded more heavily than ever before, and this has given rise to a new problem, voltage instability. The author discusses the problem of voltage instability. Techniques to improve voltage stability are presented.
Virtual Reality, a tool for safe testing of user experience in collaborative robotics

Collaborative robots (cobots) could help humans in tasks that are mundane, dangerous or where human contact carries risk, as it has been recently uncovered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the collaboration between humans and robots is severely limited by the aspects of safety and comfort of human operators. In this paper, we propose the use of virtual reality (VR) as a way to test collaboration with robots in situations that are difficult or even impossible to safely test in real life, such as those where it would be dangerous to perform testing. Using VR as a means to evaluate collaboration with robots would allow collecting human behavioral data, subjective self-reports, and biosignals signifying human comfort, stress and cognitive load during collaboration. The use of VR allows direct porting of results to real robotic control systems. This approach can revolutionize the way we design, train and test cobots, and open up a range of new design applications: from industry, through healthcare to space operations. The naturalistic collaborative and assistive robots will be also useful when human motor control is impaired, whether by disease (like cerebral palsy or paralysis) or damage (like amputation) or for the older adult population.