Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Statistical theory of selectivity and conductivity in narrow biological ion channels:studies of KcsA

Biological ion channels are essential for maintaining life, and appear as a seemingly paradoxical combination of both large conductivity and strong selection between ionic species. This process involves many complicated interactions, and their inclusion in a multi-species conduction model remains a fundamental theoretical challenge. In this thesis, we derive the theory of multi-species ionic conduction through narrow biological channels, taking into account ion-ion, ion-water and ion-channel interactions. The theories we derive lead to new results that describe multi-species conduction in and far from equilibrium in KcsA, including the resolution of the conductivity-selectivity paradox. The thesis builds on existing research on the physiological properties and structures of biological ion channels in deriving a first-principles, multi-species statistical and kinetic theory. The development of the statistical theory includes the derivation of the free energy, distribution and partition functions, as well as the statistical properties within the grand canonical ensemble. The conductivity of the channels is also derived using linear response theory and the generalised Einstein relation. The development of the kinetic theory involves the analysis of the transition rates, and the calculation of current and selectivity ratios. The kinetic model is then validated by comparing the theoretical currents with the currents measured experimentally for the Shaker and KcsA potassium channels in five different external data sets. The main results of this thesis are: a derivation of the grand canonical ensemble for narrow channels with multiple binding sites and mixed-species bulk solutions; a derivation of the linear response theory of multi-species conduction in such channels; development of non-equilibrium multi-species kinetic equations, that describe the conductivity; the validation of the kinetic theory through comparison with experimental data sets; and the joint application of these derived theories to the multi-species conduction of KcsA in and far from equilibrium, which demonstrates the resolution of the conductivity-selectivity paradox. These results should be applicable to other narrow voltage-gated ion channels, and can describe multi-species conduction of neutral particles through zeolites.
Development of the Beidou Ionospheric Observation Network in China for space weather monitoring

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) beacon has been widely used in ionospheric monitoring. The Chinese Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) started to operate in 2012, with three kinds of constellations: the medium Earth orbit, the inclined geosynchronous satellite orbit, and the geosynchronous Earth orbit. A compact, portable, and low‐power GNSS observation instrument which is named BG2 GNSS ionospheric monitor was developed at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is capable of tracking BDS, Global Positing System, and Global Navigation Satellite System signals with a sampling rate up to 5 Hz. To use the unique BDS GEO signals for ionospheric monitoring, the Beidou Ionospheric Observation Network (BION) utilizing the BG2 GNSS ionospheric monitor was established recently in China with a total of 30 sites. This paper describes the development of the GNSS ionospheric monitor, the construction of the network, data processing, and preliminary scientific research. As demonstrated in the following paper, the BDS GEO total electron content data have shown unique value in some specific ionospheric studies due to the fact that it is not influenced by the mixed effect of spatial and temporal ionospheric variability as observed with other GNSS signals.
Notas sobre una propuesta para el diagnóstico de violencia digital de género en las universidades

En el marco del proyecto de investigación Autocuidado Digital para combatir y erradicar la violencia digital de género entre mujeres universitarias, se construyó, como parte de la primera etapa de investigación, el instrumento de investigación que se presenta en este artículo. Por tanto, el objetivo fue dar a conocer cómo se construyó el cuestionario para compartirlo con la comunidad académica. En el primer apartado se muestra la revisión que se llevó a cabo con respecto a otras investigaciones que indagaron el tema. Estas revisiones permitieron ubicar categorías centrales de análisis y tomar decisiones sobre lo que era útil para la investigación propuesta. El apartado que continúa presenta la estructura del cuestionario, el cual comprende seis secciones: 1) presentación, 2) datos generales, 3) ciberviolencia, 4) repercusiones de la agresión, 5) acciones socioeducativas y alfabetización digital, y 6) nivel socioeconómico. En cada una de ellas se detalla la manera en que se construyó, las categorías y subcategorías de análisis que se indagaron, así como los indicadores utilizados, y los objetivos que se pretenden con cada sección.
Exploring the dynamics of ‘2P’ wakes with reflective symmetry using point vortices

Wakes formed behind bluff bodies frequently reveal complex patterns of coherent vortical structures, with emergence of streamwise spatial periodicity particularly in the mid-wake region. In some cases, the vortex positions also maintain symmetry about the wake centreline. For the case in which two pairs of vortices are generated per shedding cycle, thereby constituting the so-called ‘2P’ mode wake, assumptions of spatial periodicity and symmetry allow for development of a mathematically tractable model using the point-vortex approximation. Our previous work (Basu & Stremler, Phys. Fluids, vol. 27 (10), 2015, 103603) considered staggered 2P wake configurations with two glide-reflective pairs of vortices shed in each period. Here we investigate the dynamics of a spatially periodic point-vortex street consisting of two pairs of vortices arranged with reflective symmetry about the streamwise centreline. Because of the symmetry, it is possible to model the spatially periodic point-vortex dynamics as an integrable Hamiltonian system. For a particular choice of initial condition, the topological structure of the Hamiltonian level curves is determined by location in a circulation–impulse parameter space. These Hamiltonian level curves delineate multiple regimes of motion, with all vortex motions within one regime being qualitatively identical. This approach thus enables identification and a full classification of all possible vortex motions in this constrained system. There also exist a limited number of equilibrium configurations with no relative vortex motion; some of these relative equilibria are neutrally stable to (appropriate) perturbations. Only one such neutrally stable equilibrium configuration continues to preserve the distinct four-vortex array, and numerical experiments indicate that these configurations are also neutrally stable to small perturbations that break the spatial symmetry. We apply this analysis to identify the parameter values necessary for co-existence of two closely spaced, neutrally stable Kármán vortex streets that preserve the assumed symmetry. Finally, comparison of the model dynamics to a wake pattern reported in the literature suggests that the classification of exotic wakes should be based on more details than just the number of vortices periodically shed by the body.
Novel GO/silica composite aerogels with enhanced mechanical and thermal insulation properties prepared at ambient pressure

ABSTRACT Novel graphene oxide (GO)/silica composite aerogels were fabricated to strengthen the nanostructure and overcome inherent fragility of silica aerogels by a sol-gel method using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and low concentration of graphene oxide solution as the main materials, followed by an environmentally friendly ambient pressure drying (APD). The interaction between GO nanosheets and silica matrix was investigated by using FTIR and SEM. Meanwhile, the mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of aerogels were also studied. The results showed that GO were uniformly dispersed in the silica aerogel, and there is a good physico-chemical combination between GO and silica matrix. The addition of GO can enhance the mechanical of the composite aerogels, and when the GO content is increased from 0 to 3wt%, the mechanical strength is improved from 0.04 MPa to 0.65 MPa. Meanwhile, the thermal conductivity of composite aerogels first decreases and then increases with increasing GO content, and the optimal value is 0.018 W/m K. The composites with outstanding properties prepared by APD are potential for insulation applications.
Weak convergence of the least concave majorant of estimators for a concave distribution function

We study the asymptotic behavior of the least concave majorant of an estimator of a concave distribution function under general conditions. The true concave distribution function is permitted to violate strict concavity, so that the empirical distribution function and its least concave majorant are not asymptotically equivalent. Our results are proved by demonstrating the Hadamard directional differentiability of the least concave majorant operator. Standard approaches to bootstrapping fail to deliver valid inference when the true distribution function is not strictly concave. While the rescaled bootstrap of Dümbgen delivers asymptotically valid inference, its performance in small samples can be poor, and depends upon the selection of a tuning parameter. We show that two alternative bootstrap procedures—one obtained by approximating a conservative upper bound, the other by resampling from the Grenander estimator—can be used to construct reliable confidence bands for the true distribution. Some related results on isotonic regression are provided. MSC 2010 subject classifications: Primary 62G09, 62G20.
A NOVEL REGION FILLING ALGORITHM FOR DISCONTINUOUS CONTOURS

This is a new algorithm which can be applied to contours having discontinuous boundaries in order to obtain its1-pixel thickness equivalent and complete the shape of the contour which can be followed by region filling operation. The conventional thinning algorithm often modifies the shape of the contour and the obtained skeleton will not resemble the original image and hence the thinning operation is not used in the proposed algorithm. After reducing the thickness of the boundary to 1 pixel, the shape is completed by traversing along the boundary and joining each black pixel (if there is no black pixel in N8 (p)) to its nearest black pixel. The completion of the shape is necessary because if region filling algorithm is applied directly it will result in blackening of the entire image or may have no effect depending on the algorithm being used. Hence after linking the discontinuities an existing region filling algorithm such as Boundary Fill is employed to fill the region.
“Real‐Time Polygonal‐Light Shading with Linearly Transformed Cosines”の実装報告

概要:筆者は、ACM SIGGRAPH 2016 で Eric Heitz らが発表した技術論文“Real-Time Polygonal-Light Shading with Linearly Transformed Cosines”を Unreal Engine 4 上に実装し,リアルタイムゲームへの導入を考慮して,追実験を行っ ている. この技術論文の目的は,エリアライトなど,面積を持つポリゴン形状の光源と BRDF で,リアルタイムに物 理ベースの照明を実現する,というものだ. 本来, ,面光源の照明には,球面方程式を解く必要があり,リアルタイ ムの照明は困難だった. この技術論文では,リアルタイムで実現するために,オリジナルの光源分布から事前積分で 導出した少数パラメタの Linearly Trasnformed Cosine(LTC)を導入することで,面積を持った光源でのリアルタイム 照明を実現した.
Mixing Nonlocality and Mixing Anisotropy in an Idealized Western Boundary Current Jet

AbstractMotivated by the key role of western boundary currents in shaping water mass distribution and gyre water exchanges, this study characterizes mixing in an idealized western boundary current jet using a barotropic quasigeostrophic model with numerical particles deployed. Both the nonlocality of mixing, depicted by nonlocality ellipses, and mixing anisotropy, depicted by mixing ellipses, are estimated. Mixing is more nonlocal within the jet compared to the jet flanks. In general, the size of nonlocality ellipses, a metric of the degree of mixing nonlocality, scales with the eddy velocity magnitude and the equilibration time for diffusivity. The tilt and eccentricity of the nonlocality ellipses, a characterization of the anisotropy of mixing nonlocality, agree with those of momentum flux ellipses in the regions where mixing nonlocality is small. Mixing ellipse characteristics are flow regime dependent. In regions dominated by wave radiation, the mixing ellipses align with the contours of the wave stre.
Cadmium Priming Alleviates Salinity Induced Oxidative Stress in Pigeon Pea

Plants are regularly exposed to an adverse environment due to their sessile nature which has negative impacts on plant development and productivity. In this study, the effect of seeds priming with 50 µM CdCl2 in ameliorating the salinity (200 mM NaCl) induced oxidative stress in pigeon pea was assessed. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content was reduced in Cd+SS (50 µM CdCl2 primed followed by 200 mM NaCl treatment) tissues as compared to salt stressed (SS) tissues. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), and guaicol peroxidase (GPX) were increased in Cd+SS tissues as compared to SS tissues. Moreover, the concentrations of ascorbic acid (ASC) and proline were also increased in Cd+SS tissues as compared to SS tissues. Thus, a low dose Cd priming provided tolerance to pigeon pea seedlings by activating the antioxidant machinery.
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF PULSIN-CAP CHRONOMODULATED DRUG DELIVERY OF SELECTIVE ANTI-ANGINAL DRUG: AN IN VITRO AND IN VIVO EVALUATION

Objective: In the current work, an attempt was made to formulate the chrono pharmaceutical drug delivery of Ivabradine HCl to the colon. A time-delayed capsule was prepared by sealing the micro particles inside a gelatin capsule made up of erodible hydrogel plug. Methods: The microparticles were formulated by counter-ion elicited aggregation methodology. A natural polymer such as chitosan was chosen as polycation and smaller molecular electrolytes like sodium citrate, sodium sulphate and sodium tripolyphosphate were chosen as poly-anions. The formulated aggregate microparticles were tested for surface morphology, size distribution, in vitro un-harness and drug excipient interaction. Optimized microparticles formulations were carefully chosen on the basis on dissolution studies. The whole device was enteric coated and hydrogel plug was placed in the capsule opening. Results: The pulsatile capsule was found to be acceptable to delay the drug release in small intestinal fluid and eject out the plugin colonic fluid, thus releasing the microparticles into colonic fluid after a lag time criterion of 5 h. To mimic the pH changes along the GI tract, three dissolution media with pH 1.2, 6.8 and 7.4 were sequentially used. FT-IR study established that there was no interaction between the drug and polymer. Among all the formulations, Ivabradine HCl prepared with sodium tripolyphosphate showed prolonged release for a period of 12 h. Conclusion: The obtained results revealed the system's capability to defer the drug release for a programmable period and prevent a sharp increase in blood pressure during the early morning hours when the risk of heart attack is the greatest.
Genomic versus phenotypic selection to improve corn borer resistance and grain yield in maize

Introduction The study of yield and resistance/tolerance to pest are related traits fundamental for maize breeding programs. Genomic selection (GS), which uses all marker information to calculate genomic breeding values, is presented as an emerging alternative to phenotypic and marker-assisted selections for improving complex traits controlled by many genes with small effects. Therefore, although phenotypic selection (PS) has been effective for increasing resistance and yield under high infestation with maize stem borers, higher genetic gains are expected to be obtained through GS based on the complex architecture of both traits. Our objective was to test whether GS is more effective than PS for improving resistance and/or tolerance to maize stem borers and grain yield. Methods For this, we compared different selection programs based on phenotype and genotypic value for a single trait, resistance or yield, and for both traits together. Results and discussion We obtained that GS achieved the highest genetic gain for yield, meanwhile phenotypic selection for yield was the program that achieved the highest reduction of tunnel length, but was ineffective for increasing yield. However, phenotypic or genomic selection for increased resistance may be more effective in improving both traits together; although the gains per cycle would be small for both traits.
TOP ORDER QUERY ANALYSIS ON UNCONDITIONAL CROWD DATA

Our analysis of confide upon four regal-world data curdle established that belief and ratings were complementary to one another, and both axial for additional just recommendations. Computational complexity of TrustBSM shown its profession of scaling as much as huge-dish data sets. An analysis of social trust data from four real-world data sets bestow that not just the specific but the implied influence of both ratings and charge should be respect inside a testimonial model. One option explanation is the performance that these believe-supported fork center an excessive amount of around the advantageous of user trust but ignore the authority of innuendo ratings themselves. The control could be clear or implicit. We deliberate TrustBSM, a expectation-supported matrix factorization moving of recommendations. TrustBSM therefore builds on the top of the condition-of-the-artifice esteem formula, BSM , by further incorporating both clear and implicit control of reliable and possession faith in users around the supposition of products to have an alert user. The suggested strategy is the first one to spread BSM with friendly confidence intelligence.
Fixed-Time Consensus of Nonlinear Multi-Agent Systems With General Directed Topologies

In this brief, the authors study the fixed-time consensus problem for a class of first-order nonlinear multi-agent systems where the communication topologies are general directed. Both fixed-time tracking consensus and fixed-time leaderless consensus problems are investigated. For the leader–follower situation, the communication topology is only required to contain a directed spanning tree. As for the leaderless situation, the topology is required strongly connected. Simulations are finally provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.
Flared SIW antenna design and transceiving experiments for W‐band SAR

In this article, the design of a small and light‐weight antenna and transceiving experiments for W‐band UAV‐mounted synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is presented. The antenna requirements i.e. gain, beam width, and antenna dimension are determined from the parameters of the radar system under implementation in our lab. To meet the requirements, 24‐by‐4 SIW slot array antennas have been designed. The antenna design includes a waveguide‐to‐microstrip transition for connection to circuits and metal flares for gain enhancement. Transceiving experiments are carried out by integrating the designed antennas with a SAR system prototype. Corner reflectors having various radar cross sections (RCS) are used as radar targets. Additionally, experiments with standard horn antennas are also carried out for a comparison. From the results, the designed SIW slot array antennas gives acceptable performance while maintaining small and light‐weight characteristics which are crucial for compact SAR.
Adaptive Motion Control for an Autonomous Mobile Robot Based on Space Risk Map

To make mobile robot move considerately, an adaptive motion control method integrated potential field method is proposed. Risk map is firstly defined to show the magnitude of risks in the empty spaces around objects, then the considerate path is generated based on based on risk map. The robot is controlled by using integrated potential field method. The robot can automatically move with a considerate path to avoid disturbing others without make multiple moving rules, and areas with medium level risk are still passable, when there is no better choice. Besides, the robot will still make the users feel conformable by using effective interactions, like moving slowly to make sure safety or warning the users by sound. By comparing the experimental results with those controlled by conventional potential field method, the proposed method can control the robot move more adaptively and considerately with appropriate interactions.
New Assessment Tool—Postpartum Functional Assessment Questionnaire

Background and Objectives: Functional status of the mother after delivery is crucial for performing activities of daily living and caring for the newborn. It is important to assess functional abilities after childbirth in order to improve the quality of postpartum care. The aim of this study is to determine the psychometric properties of the questionnaire and assess the functional abilities after childbirth. Materials and Methods: This study is observational. Postpartum Functional Assessment Questionnaire includes eleven items. 301 women after childbirth, 234 after vaginal birth and 67 after caesarean section participated in the study. An assessment of pain intensity and functional abilities was performed on the first and third day after childbirth. The Factor and Cronbach’s alpha analyses were performed to determine the factor structure and internal consistency. Results: The analysis reveals two factors, with seven items loading on factor 1 and four on factor 2. Cronbach’s alpha for construct I (Mobility) at the first day was 0.927 and at the third day was 0.913; and for Factor II (Self-care) at the first day was 0.846 and at the third day was 0.894. All between-group differences in pain intensity and functional abilities were highly statistically significant (p < 0.001). Differences between the first and third postpartum day were statistically significant for all variables and all subgroups (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Postpartum Functional Assessment Questionnaire has good psychometric properties and is a valuable tool for use in clinical practice.
Multilevel Tower Observations of Vertical Eddy Diffusivity and Mixing Length in the Tropical Cyclone Boundary Layer during Landfalls

This study analyzes the fast-response (20 Hz) wind data collected by a multilevel tower during the landfalls of Tropical Storm Lionrock (1006), Typhoon Fanapi (1011), and Typhoon Megi (1015) in 2010. Turbulent momentum fluxes are calculated using the standard eddy-correlation method. Vertical eddy diffusivity Km and mixing length are estimated using the directly measured momentum fluxes and mean-wind profiles. It is found that the momentum flux increases with wind speed at all four levels. The eddy diffusivity calculated using the direct-flux method is compared to that using a theoretical method in which the vertical eddy diffusivity is formulated as a linear function of the friction velocity and height. It is found that below ~60 m, Km can be approximately parameterized using this theoretical method, though this method overestimates Km for higher altitude, indicating that the surface-layer depth is close to 60 m in the tropical cyclones studied here. It is also found that Km at each level varies with wind direction during landfalls: Km estimated based on observations with landward fetch is significantly larger than that estimated using data with seaward fetch. This result suggests that different parameterizations of Km should be used in the boundary layer schemes of numerical models forecasting tropical cyclones over land versus over the ocean.