Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
X-Ray Absorption in Active Galaxies: Constraints on the Broad-Line Emitting Regions

X-ray observations of intrinsic absorption in active galactic nuclei (AGN) provide direct information concerning the amount and physical properties of cool (unionized) material along the line of sight. The X-ray absorption is assumed to occur in the broad-line emitting gas, so that the X-ray data can be used to probe the conditions in the broad-line regions of AGN. The results of Einstein Observatory solid state spectrometer observations are used to derive detailed physical constraints concerning the geometry of the broad-line region. Physical implications of these constraints are also discussed.
Influence of lysozyme utilization with lactic acid bacteria in yoghurt on some foodborne pathogens

Despite the existence of many different food preservation methods, foodborne pathogens are still the most common related problems to dairy products. Developing naturally alternative techniques to control such problems is necessary. This research was planned to assess the bacteriological quality of yoghurt samples commercially available in Kafr El-Sheikh city, Egypt. Also to study the impact of natural antibacterial agents on the inhibition of selected foodborne pathogens artificially inoculated in yoghurt samples. The obtained results revealed poor bacteriological quality of the examined yoghurt samples, as total staphylococci and coliforms were detected in 80% and 90% yoghurt samples, with mean values of 2.4 ×103±0.13× 103cfu/gm and 3.6×105± 2.4×105 MPN/gm, respectively. S. aureus was noticed in 4% of examined samples, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmed the pres­ence of virulence adhesion gene (clfA) in one isolate. E. coli was detected in 14% of yoghurt samples, then serologically identified as O146:H5 (2), O111:H2 (2), O125:H11 (1), O26:H10 (1) and O158:H7 (1). Artificially inoculated yoghurt with S. aureus (7.39 log cfu/gm) and E. coli (8.3 log cfu/gm), were used to investigate the ability of hen egg-white lysozyme either with LAB classic or with ABT-5 (L. acidophilus LA5+ S. thermophiles + Bifidobacterium Bb12) starter cultures to inhibit the growth of these pathogens. During refrigerated storage, all yoghurt batches showed a reduction in pH value. It was observed that both pathogens couldn't be detected in the yoghurt batch containing LAB classic starter + heated lysozyme. Furthermore, S. aureus was completely inhibited in that containing ABT-5 cultures alone, while E. coli decreased by 6.23 log. Conversely, there was not complete inhibition in other batches containing (LAB classic starter, LAB classic starter+ native lysozyme, ABT-5 culture+ native lysozyme and ABT-5 culture+ heated lysozyme) as the reduction rate during all storage periods for S. aureus count was 1.66, 2.63, 4.47 and 4.19 log, While for E. coli count was 3.3, 3.81, 5.53 and 4.89 log, respectively. This study highlighted the importance of adding natural antibacterial agents like lysozyme with LAB culture to yoghurt as a bio-control strategy to overcome foodborne pathogens that cause a public health hazard.
Addendum to ‘Sharp inequalities that generalize the divergence theorem: an extension of the notion of quasi-convexity’

The paper ‘Sharp inequalities that generalize the divergence theorem: an extension of the notion of quasi-convexity’ published in Proc. R. Soc. A 2013, 469, 20130075 (doi:10.1098/rspa.2013.0075) is clarified. Notably, much more general boundary conditions are given under which sharp lower bounds on the integrals of certain quadratic functions of the fields can be obtained. More precisely, if the quadratic form is Q*-convex then any solution of the Euler–Lagrange equations will necessarily minimize the integral. As a consequence, strict Q*-convexity is found to be an appropriate condition to ensure uniqueness of the solutions of a wide class of linear Euler–Lagrange equations in a given domain Ω with appropriate boundary conditions.
Direct and Large-Eddy Simulation of the Compressible Turbulent Mixing Layer

The Large-Eddy Simulation technique of compressible flows and the effect of compressibility on mixing layers are the main subjects of this thesis. Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) and Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) of the temporal compressible mixing layer at various Mach and Reynolds numbers have been conducted to investigate these subjects. With respect to the LES technique, Large-Eddy Simulations have been performed at convective Mach numbers 0.2, 0.6 and 1.2 and the results have been compared with filtered DNS-data. It appeared that the dynamic subgrid-models lead to relatively accurate results compared to the other models tested. The dynamic approach turned out to yield acceptable results too in LES of a mixing layer that currently cannot be simulated using DNS. Care has to be taken to ensure that the numerical errors in LES are sufficiently small. It was found that these errors are usually sufficiently small if the filter width equals twice the grid-spacing. In addition to modelling the turbulent stress tensor, compressible LES formally requires the modelling of the subgrid-terms in the energy equation, which do not occur in incompressible LES. However, the compressible Large- Eddy Simulations demonstrated that the turbulent stress tensor is the dominant subgrid-term, even at convective Mach number 1.2. This important subgrid-term was also investigated from a theoretical point of view and realizability conditions for this tensor were derived. Regarding compressibility effects in the mixing layer, shock-waves were found in the three-dimensional DNS at convective Mach number 1.2. Furthermore, we have investigated the cause of the mixing layer growth rate reduction with increasing compressibility, using four DNS-databases covering the range of convective Mach numbers from 0.2 to 1.2. It was found that the growth rate reduction cannot be explained by the dilatational terms, but rather by the reduced pressure fluctuations, leading to reduced pressure strain and turbulent production terms.
Confining hot spots in 3C 196 - Implications for QSO-companion galaxies

VLBI observations of the extremely compact hot spot in the northern radio lobe of the QSO 3C 196 reveal the angular size of its smallest substructure to be 0.065 arcsec x 0.045 arcsec or about 300 pc at the redshift distance. The morphology of the hot spot and its orientation relative to the more diffuse radio emission suggest that it is formed by an oblique interaction between the nuclear QSO jet and circum-QSO cloud. The inferred density in this cloud, together with its apparent size, imply that the cloud contains a galactic mass, greater than a billion solar masses of gas. The effect of the jet will be to hasten gravitational collapse of the cloud. If many QSOs such as 3C 196 are formed or found in gas-rich environments, the QSO radio phase may commonly stimulate the metamorphosis of circum-QSO gas to QSO-companion galaxies or it may play a significant part in catalyzing star formation in existing companions. 30 references.
Fungal-Bacterial Interactions in the Human Gut of Healthy Individuals

Most studies of the microbiota in the human gut focus on the bacterial part, but increasing information shows that intestinal fungi are also important for maintaining health. This can be either by directly influencing the host or by indirectly influencing the gut bacteria that link to host health. Studies of fungal communities in large cohorts are scarce; therefore, this study aims at obtaining more insight into the mycobiome of healthy individuals and how this mycobiome interacts with the bacterial component of the microbiome. For this purpose, ITS2 and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was performed on fecal samples from 163 individuals which were available from two separate studies to analyze the fungal and bacterial microbiome, respectively, as well as the cross-kingdom interactions. The results showed a much lower fungal, as compared to bacterial, diversity. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the dominant fungal phyla across all the samples, but levels varied enormously between individuals. The ten most abundant fungal genera were Saccharomyces, Candida, Dipodascus, Aureobasidium, Penicillium, Hanseniaspora, Agaricus, Debaryomyces, Aspergillus, and Pichia, and here also extensive inter-individual variation was observed. Correlations were made between bacteria and fungi, and only positive correlations were observed. One of the correlations was between Malassezia restricta and the genus Bacteroides, which have both been previously described as alleviated in IBD. Most of the other correlations found were with fungi that are not known as gut colonizers but originate from food and the environment. To further investigate the importance of the observed correlations found, more research is needed to discriminate between gut colonizers and transient species.
Suportando Execuções Paralelas no Bft-SmaRt

A replicação Máquina de Estados é uma das abordagens mais usadas na implementação de sistemas tolerantes a falhas, tanto por parada quanto bizantinas. Esta abordagem consiste em replicar os servidores e coordenar as interações entre os clientes e as réplicas dos servidores, com o intuito de que as várias réplicas apresentem a mesma evolução em seus estados. Para isso, as requisições dos clientes devem ser ordenadas e executadas seguindo esta ordem em todas as replicas. Este requisito fez com que a maioria dos trabalhos utilizassem uma única thread de execução em cada réplica. Com o objetivo de melhorar o desempenho do sistema, novas abordagens foram introduzidas para suportar varias threads de execução por réplica. Dando seguimento a estes trabalhos, este artigo descreve como um protocolo que possibilita o emprego de varias threads de execução nas réplicas foi adaptado e implementado no BFT-SMART, além de analisar uma série de experimentos realizados.
Parkinson's Disease: The Dirty Truth about the Air

Parkinson’s Disease: The Dirty Truth about the Air Polymers (Basel) 2020;12:2901. 18. Faraj MK, Hoz SS, Mohammad AJ. The use of three‐dimensional anatomical patient‐specific printed models in surgical clipping of intracranial aneurysm: A pilot study. Surg Neurol Int 2020;11:381. 19. Joseph FJ, Weber S, Raabe A, Bervini D. Neurosurgical simulator for training aneurysm microsurgery‐A user suitability study involving neurosurgeons and residents. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 2020;162:2313‐21. 20. Lan Q, Zhu Q, Xu L, Xu T. Application of 3D‐printed craniocerebral model in simulated surgery for complex intracranial lesions. World Neurosurg 2020;134:e761‐70.
Coercivity in hard magnets based on Sm2Co17 (abstract)

Despite the research devoted to new compounds, the Sm‐Co‐Cu‐Fe‐Zr alloys with the 2:17 type are, as yet, the only hard magnets to be used above 200 °C. However, these materials are not optimized because their coercivity mechanism is not clearly understood. Their typical microstructure consists of a network of 2:17 cells separated by 1:5 boundaries. Their coercivity is ascribed to the domain wall pinning by the 1:5 cell boundaries. The compositions of the 1:5, 2:17 phases during the cell microstructure genesis were recently evaluated for the alloy Sm(Co0.66Fe0.25Cu0.06Zr0.03)7.6. In the present work, the coercivity behavior of this alloy is analyzed from the comparison of the domain wall energies γ 1:5, γ 2:17. Sintered samples, heat‐treated in various conditions, are characterized by transmission electron microscopy and hysteresis curves. γ 2:17 and γ 1:5 are calculated from measured and published data of magnetization and anisotropy. The different treatments generate similar cell microstructures but two .
Two-Phase Vessel Blowdown of an Initially Saturated Liquid—Part 1: Experimental

Experimental blowdown results for initially isothermal, saturated water from a small pressure vessel containing internal geometry are presented. This experiment simulated a break in a large duct of approximately three diameters in length which exited from the vessel. Choking only occurred at the exit of the discharge duct, and the instantaneous internal vessel pressure distribution was nearly uniform. Most of the fluid within the vessel immediately after the initiation of the blowdown became superheated liquid. This thermodynamic state together with the activated wall cavities inside the vessel maintained a nearly constant internal vessel pressure history early in the blowdown. However, in the latter stage of the depressurization, the remaining fluid within the vessel was essentially in thermodynamic equilibrium. A nonuniform distribution of fluid quality within the vessel was also detected in this experiment. In addition, this experiment illustrates that transient, two-phase, critical flow in large diameter ducts is similar to steady, two-phase, critical flow in small diameter ducts.
Stacking Faults as Quantum Wells for Excitons in Wurtzite GaN

A model of the exciton bound to stacking faults (SF) in GaN is suggested. It is shown that SFs are potential wells (depth ≈120 meV and width ≈10 A) for electrons and potential barriers (height ≈60 meV and width ≈10 A) for holes. The binding energy of excitons at SF found from variational calculation is 45 meV. The 364 nm line in GaN photoluminescence at 4 K is attributed to excitons bound to SFs.
Near-Infrared Imaging Spectrophotometry of the Gravitational Mirage Q2237+0305

We present and discuss near-infrared broadband and spectrophotometric images (λ/Δλ = 60) of the gravitationally lensed quadruple image of Q2237+0305 obtained with the MONICA camera at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994. The spectrophotometric observations cover the wavelength range 1700 < λ (nm) < 2400, which includes the Hα emission redshifted to 1770 nm. Our results show that microamplification was achromatic from 1992 to 1994 and had similar amplitudes in the Hα and continuum emission. On the other hand, a comparison of our near-infrared continuum data with visible data from the literature shows a striking wavelength dependence of the relative amplification of components A and B at epoch 1991 September. This provides strong support to the thermal accretion disk model as a source of the UV-visible continuum emission of quasars. The Hα line profile changed between 1992 and 1994 but, at each epoch, differences in line profile between components are not significant (<5%). Since the time delays between images is less than one day, this sets a limit of <3% per day for profile evolution.
Robust estimation of third-order cumulants in applications of higher-order statistics

A number Of robust estimation of location algorithms are employed to estimate the third order cumulants of various lags from simulated signals representing the zero mean triangular, uniform and Gaussian distributions (as examples of symmetric distributions). Similar simulations have been performed on the output of AR, MA and ARMA systems that are being driven with random Gaussian input. Results appear to suggest that the (median), (weighted) biweight, and (weighted) wave estimators provide cumulant estimates consistent with expectations and of less variance than the mean estimator. This solves the problem with regard to symmetric distributions as these robust estimators have been designed for symmetric distributions. When these are applied to contaminated and asymmetric distributions (weighted) biweight and (weighted) wave estimators appear to give encouraging results. For asymmetric probability distributions, the various location parameters like the mean, median etc. are different, and further work with the particular emphasis on the estimation from asymmetric distributions is needed.
Preventive and Therapeutic Effects of Punica granatum L. Polyphenols in Neurological Conditions

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is a polyphenol-rich food and medicinal plant containing flavonols, anthocyanins, and tannins. Ellagitannins (ETs) are the most abundant polyphenols in pomegranate. A growing body of research shows that polyphenol-rich pomegranate extracts and their metabolites target multiple types of brain cell and support their redox balance, proliferation and survival, as well as cell signaling. Independent studies have demonstrated that the significant neuroprotective effects of ETs are mediated by their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, their chelating properties, by their ability to activate various signaling pathways, as well as the ability to influence mitochondrial damage, thus regulating autophagy, apoptosis and neurotransmitter signaling. The multitude of in vitro and in vivo studies summarized in the present review suggest that pomegranate polyphenols act on both neuronal and glial cells directly, and also affect blood–brain barrier function, restoring redox balance in the blood and brain and increasing blood flow to the brain.
The Ultraviolet and Optical Spectra of Metal‐deficient O Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud

An ultraviolet and optical spectral atlas of 15 O stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is presented and described. The echelle data have resolving powers of order 104; they were obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph in the UV, and at the Anglo‐Australian Telescope or the European Southern Observatory 3.6 m in the optical. The ultimate objective is to develop metal‐deficient templates for the interpretation of distant starbursts, but here we discuss interesting new properties of the SMC stars themselves, revealed by the high quality of these data. The SMC metal deficiency produces anomalously weak stellar‐wind profiles along the entire O main sequence, as well as at intermediate luminosities; the first intermediate Si iv λ1400 wind profile in the SMC is shown. The second known Of star in the SMC displays wind peculiarities that are identical to those of its spectral classmate, again likely due to the low systemic metallicity. Several objects display marked CNO anomalies, including the first cases of C iii λ4650 emission without N iii λ4640 in O‐type spectra. The N/C ratio appears to increase with mass, extent of evolution away from the zero‐age main sequence, and/or rotational velocity in the young cluster NGC 346. In addition, the first examples of Onfp (Oef) and Of? p spectra in the SMC have been found (the latter being only the fourth member of its peculiar shell category known anywhere). The UV wind characteristics of these objects correlate with their optical peculiarities. All these spectroscopic phenomena provide diagnostics of the evolutionary status of metal‐deficient massive stars.
Progress in color night vision

Abstract. We present an overview of our recent progress and the current state-of-the-art techniques of color image fusion for night vision applications. Inspired by previously developed color opponent fusing schemes, we initially developed a simple pixel-based false color-mapping scheme that yielded fused false color images with large color contrast and preserved the identity of the input signals. This method has been successfully deployed in different areas of research. However, since this color mapping did not produce realistic colors, we continued to develop a statistical color-mapping procedure that would transfer the color distribution of a given example image to a multiband nighttime image. This procedure yields a realistic color rendering. However, it is computationally expensive and achieves no color constancy since the mapping depends on the relative amounts of the different materials in the scene. By applying the statistical mapping approach in a color look-up-table framework, we finally achieved both color constancy and computational simplicity. This sample-based color transfer method is specific for different types of materials in a scene and can be easily adapted for the intended operating theatre and the task at hand. The method can be implemented as a look-up-table transform and is highly suitable for real-time implementations.
Single-particle interference only when imperfect path detectors click simultaneously

We address particle interference in a Young interferometer with observation of the path by means of imperfect detectors. With a suitably chosen reading of the imperfect detectors we find that interference would be recorded only when both path detectors click simultaneously, while the interference is completely lost when only one detector clicks. We draw as many parallels as possible with classical-optics interference.
The off-axis moiré effect in double-layered cylinder

ABSTRACT The study presents the off-the-axis theory of the moiré patterns in a double-layered (coaxial) cylinder. The theory is based on the projected period and confirmed by the experiments with two devices. The results can be applied to moiré measurements, nanoparticles, and visual displays, particularly, to minimization of the moiré effect in curved/flexible displays (including 3D autostereoscopic displays).
A theoretical framework for granular suspensions in a steady simple shear flow

We focus our attention on granular suspensions made up of noncolloidal spherical particles within a Newtonian fluid. The main objective of this paper is to provide a general framework for the formulation of the bulk stress tensor. The bulk stress within granular suspensions is mainly generated at the particle level by strong interactions between particles, such as friction, collision, and lubricated contact. The existence of a few local mechanisms is a major cause of behavior complexity at the macroscopic scale. A direct consequence is that the constitutive equation is only known for some flow conditions and given types of mixture. Here we have used a microstructural approach, which consists of considering the mixture as an effective continuum at the macroscopic level and inferring the bulk stress tensor from averaging of local interactions and local stresses. The bulk stress tensor may be split into elementary contributions pertaining to particle interactions. A complementary equation standing for the bu.
Outcomes Following Carotid Endarterectomy and Carotid Artery Stenting in Patients with Carotid Artery Stenosis: A Retrospective Study from a Single Center in South Korea

Background Previous randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses comparing carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and carotid artery stenting (CAS) included a large number of patients, but the diagnosis, treatment selection, and performance were heterogeneous. This retrospective study from a single center in South Korea aimed to evaluate outcomes following CEA and CAS in patients with carotid artery stenosis. Material/Methods A retrospective analysis was performed using the data of patients who underwent carotid revascularization between September 2016 and June 2021 at a single institution. The primary outcomes were stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), and death during the periprocedural period. Results We enrolled a total of 61 (44 symptomatic and 17 asymptomatic) patients who underwent CEA or CAS. Among them, 36 (59%) underwent CEA and 25 (41%) underwent CAS. Statistically significant differences were found between the groups in degree of carotid stenosis (CEA: 87.0±9.1, CAS: 80.5±9.3, P=0.007). All patients with confirmed plaque ulceration before carotid revascularization underwent CEA. Two (3.3%) periprocedural strokes occurred, 1 in each group, on the ipsilateral side. There were no significant differences between CEA and CAS in the event-free survival rate for stroke during the follow-up (log-rank test=0.806). Conclusions Favorable outcomes in terms of periprocedural stroke were observed. We found no significant difference between the 2 carotid revascularization techniques in the incidence of periprocedural stroke in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. To confirm our findings, further studies involving a larger number of patients and continuous follow-up are necessary.