Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Investigation of Two-Phase Expansion Performance with Indicator Diagram in a Twin-Screw Expander

Volumetric expanders are proven to be more suitable for small-scale waste heat recovery applications because of their simplicity, reliability, lower rotational speed and lower cost. Unlike turbines, volumetric expanders can work in the two-phase fluid state, which broadens their application fields. To investigate the two-phase performance of volumetric expanders, a specific twin-screw expander was chosen and modeled. The leakage loss and the suction pressure loss were primary concerns in this research. The two-phase expansion process in the expander is presented in detail using the developed mathematical model with an indicator diagram. The influence of several factors, including inlet vapor quality, rotational speed and intake pressure, are investigated. The influence mechanism of the vapor phase and the liquid phase on expander performance is clarified. In brief, this paper presents an illustrative understanding of the two-phase expansion process in twin-screw expanders.
THE MODAL μ-CALCULUS In memory of Zoltán

For a regular cardinal κ, a formula of the modal μ-calculus is κ-continuous in a variable x if, on every model, its interpretation as a unary function of x is monotone and preserves unions of κ-directed sets. We define the fragment Cא1(x) of the modal μ-calculus and prove that all the formulas in this fragment are א1-continuous. For each formula φ(x) of the modal μ-calculus, we construct a formula ψ(x) ∈ Cא1(x) such that φ(x) is κ-continuous, for some κ, if and only if φ(x) is equivalent to ψ(x). Consequently, we prove that (i) the problem whether a formula is κ-continuous for some κ is decidable, (ii) up to equivalence, there are only two fragments determined by continuity at some regular cardinal: the fragment Cא0(x) studied by Fontaine and the fragment Cא1(x). We apply our considerations to the problem of characterizing closure ordinals of formulas of the modal μ-calculus. An ordinal α is the closure ordinal of a formula φ(x) if its interpretation on every model converges to its least fixed-point in at most α steps and if there is a model where the convergence occurs exactly in α steps. We prove that ω1, the least uncountable ordinal, is such a closure ordinal. Moreover, we prove that closure ordinals are closed under ordinal sum. Thus, any formal expression built from 0, 1, ω, ω1 by using the binary operator symbol + gives rise to a closure ordinal.
Single-Charge Tunneling in Codoped Silicon Nanodevices

Silicon (Si) nano-electronics is advancing towards the end of the Moore’s Law, as gate lengths of just a few nanometers have been already reported in state-of-the-art transistors. In the nanostructures that act as channels in transistors or depletion layers in pn diodes, the role of dopants becomes critical, since the transport properties depend on a small number of dopants and/or on their random distribution. Here, we present the possibility of single-charge tunneling in codoped Si nanodevices formed in silicon-on-insulator films, in which both phosphorus (P) donors and boron (B) acceptors are introduced intentionally. For highly doped pn diodes, we report band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) via energy states in the depletion layer. These energy states can be ascribed to quantum dots (QDs) formed by the random distribution of donors and acceptors in such a depletion layer. For nanoscale silicon-on-insulator field-effect transistors (SOI-FETs) doped heavily with P-donors and also counter-doped with B-acceptors, we report current peaks and Coulomb diamonds. These features are ascribed to single-electron tunneling (SET) via QDs in the codoped nanoscale channels. These reports provide new insights for utilizing codoped silicon nanostructures for fundamental applications, in which the interplay between donors and acceptors can enhance the functionalities of the devices.
Exploring the Possibility of Measuring Vertebrae Bone Structure Metrics Using MDCT Images: An Unpaired Image-to-Image Translation Method

Bone structure metrics are vital for the evaluation of vertebral bone strength. However, the gold standard for measuring bone structure metrics, micro-Computed Tomography (micro-CT), cannot be used in vivo, which hinders the early diagnosis of fragility fractures. This paper used an unpaired image-to-image translation method to capture the mapping between clinical multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and micro-CT images and then generated micro-CT-like images to measure bone structure metrics. MDCT and micro-CT images were scanned from 75 human lumbar spine specimens and formed training and testing sets. The generator in the model focused on learning both the structure and detailed pattern of bone trabeculae and generating micro-CT-like images, and the discriminator determined whether the generated images were micro-CT images or not. Based on similarity metrics (i.e., SSIM and FID) and bone structure metrics (i.e., bone volume fraction, trabecular separation and trabecular thickness), a set of comparisons were performed. The results show that the proposed method can perform better in terms of both similarity metrics and bone structure metrics and the improvement is statistically significant. In particular, we compared the proposed method with the paired image-to-image method and analyzed the pros and cons of the method used.
Membrane Phenotypic, Metabolic and Genotypic Adaptations of Streptococcus oralis Strains Destined to Rapidly Develop Stable, High-Level Daptomycin Resistance during Daptomycin Exposures

The Streptococcus mitis-oralis subgroup of viridans group streptococci are important human pathogens. We previously showed that a substantial portion of S. mitis-oralis strains (>25%) are ‘destined’ to develop rapid, high-level, and stable daptomycin (DAP) resistance (DAP-R) during DAP exposures in vitro. Such DAP-R is often accompanied by perturbations in distinct membrane phenotypes and metabolic pathways. The current study evaluated two S. oralis bloodstream isolates, 73 and 205. Strain 73 developed stable, high-level DAP-R (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] > 256 µg/mL) within 2 days of in vitro DAP passage (“high level” DAP-R [HLDR]). In contrast, strain 205 evolved low-level and unstable DAP-R (MIC = 8 µg/mL) under the same exposure conditions in vitro (“non-HLDR”). Comparing the parental 73 vs. 73-D2 (HLDR) strain-pair, we observed the 73-D2 had the following major differences: (i) altered cell membrane (CM) phospholipid profiles, featuring the disappearance of phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and cardiolipin (CL), with accumulation of the PG-CL pathway precursor, phosphatidic acid (PA); (ii) enhanced CM fluidity; (iii) increased DAP surface binding; (iv) reduced growth rates; (v) decreased glucose utilization and lactate accumulation; and (vi) increased enzymatic activity within the glycolytic (i.e., lactate dehydrogenase [LDH]) and lipid biosynthetic (glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase [GPDH]) pathways. In contrast, the 205 (non-HLDR) strain-pair did not show these same phenotypic or metabolic changes over the 2-day DAP exposure. WGS analyses confirmed the presence of mutations in genes involved in the above glycolytic and phospholipid biosynthetic pathways in the 73-D2 passage variant. These data suggest that S. oralis strains which are ‘destined’ to rapidly develop HLDR do so via a conserved cadre of genotypic, membrane phenotypic, and metabolic adaptations.
Identification of Highlighted Cells in Low-Variance Raster Data Application to Digital Elevation Models

This study describes a new algorithm developed to detect local cells of minimum or maximum heights in grid Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). DEMs have a low variance in digital levels due to the spatial continuity of the data. Traditional algorithms, such as SIFT, are based on statistical variance, which present issues to determine these highlighted cells. However, one of the main purposes of this identification is the use of these points (cells) to assess the positional accuracy of these products by comparing those extracted from the DEM with those obtained from a more accurate source. In this sense, we developed an algorithm based on a moveable window composed of variable sizes, which is displaced along the image to characterize each set of cells. The determination of highlighted cells is based on the absolute differences of digital levels in the same DEM and compared to those obtained from other DEMs. The application has been carried out using a great number of data, considering four zones, two spatial resolutions, and different definitions of height surfaces. The results have demonstrated the feasibility of the algorithm for the identification of these cells. Thus, this approach expects an improvement in traditional procedures. The algorithm can be used to contrast DEMs obtained from different sources or DEMs from the same source that have been affected by generalization procedures.
Empirical Model for Estimating Solar Radiation Based on Air Temperature for Sarajevo Area, Bosnia and Herzegovina

There are number of correlations and methods have been developed to estimate global solar radiation (GSR) based on the readily available meteorological parameters like sunshine duration, temperature and relative humidity which are used as the input for radiation models at any location. The most widely used parameter to estimate GSR is sunshine duration, but sunshine data and cloud observations are not easily available in all locations. There are number of mathematical and Clear sky models are available which are not suitable to estimate the GSR during foggy months or cloudy sky. In Sarajevo area around three months in a year are polluted, foggy and cloudy. It is very difficult to estimate the accurate results of solar radiation using a clear sky model. Therefore it is necessary to develop some precise solar radiation model which use commonly available measured parameter such as air temperature. The temperature based models can be used to estimate monthly average daily GSR for Sarajevo area.
Research on Improving Energy Storage Density and Efficiency of Dielectric Ceramic Ferroelectric Materials Based on BaTiO3 Doping with Multiple Elements

In order to promote the research of green energy in the situation of increasingly serious environmental pollution, dielectric ceramic energy storage materials, which have the advantages of an extremely fast charge and discharge cycle, high durability, and have a broad use in new energy vehicles and pulse power, are being studied. However, the energy storage density of ordinary dielectric ceramic ferroelectric materials is low, so, in this paper, we have divided eight components based on BaTiO3 (BT). Through the traditional solid phase sintering method, AB positions were replaced with various elements of different proportions to improve their energy storage density and the energy storage efficiency of BT-based ferroelectric materials. In this paper, we studied the results of XRD, Raman, ferroelectric, dielectric, and impedance tests of doped samples, and the best components were determined. The (1−x)BT−xBi(Mg1/3Zn1/3Ta1/6Nb1/6)O3 series of ceramics are made by the incorporation of five elements, Bi3+, Mg2+, Zn2+, Ta5+, and Nb5+. With the rising electric hysteresis loop of the doping amount x thin, the saturation polarization strength and residual polarization strength decrease, and the energy storage density rises first and then decreases. The dielectric characteristic after x = 0.08 showed a flat dielectric peak, indicating that the ferroelectric relaxation had been formed. The energy storage density and efficiency of the best component x = 0.12 reached 1.75 J/cm3 and 75%, respectively, and the Curie temperature was about −20 °C, so it has the potential to be used at room temperature.
Can Brain–Computer Interfaces Replace Virtual Reality Controllers? A Machine Learning Movement Prediction Model during Virtual Reality Simulation Using EEG Recordings

Brain–Machine Interfaces (BMIs) have made significant progress in recent years; however, there are still several application areas in which improvement is needed, including the accurate prediction of body movement during Virtual Reality (VR) simulations. To achieve a high level of immersion in VR sessions, it is important to have bidirectional interaction, which is typically achieved through the use of movement-tracking devices, such as controllers and body sensors. However, it may be possible to eliminate the need for these external tracking devices by directly acquiring movement information from the motor cortex via electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. This could potentially lead to more seamless and immersive VR experiences. There have been numerous studies that have investigated EEG recordings during movement. While the majority of these studies have focused on movement prediction based on brain signals, a smaller number of them have focused on how to utilize them during VR simulations. This suggests that there is still a need for further research in this area in order to fully understand the potential for using EEG to predict movement in VR simulations. We propose two neural network decoders designed to predict pre-arm-movement and during-arm-movement behavior based on brain activity recorded during the execution of VR simulation tasks in this research. For both decoders, we employ a Long Short-Term Memory model. The study’s findings are highly encouraging, lending credence to the premise that this technology has the ability to replace external tracking devices.
Cyanobacteria: A Promising Source of Antifungal Metabolites

Cyanobacteria are a rich source of secondary metabolites, and they have received a great deal of attention due to their applicability in different industrial sectors. Some of these substances are known for their notorious ability to inhibit fungal growth. Such metabolites are very chemically and biologically diverse. They can belong to different chemical classes, including peptides, fatty acids, alkaloids, polyketides, and macrolides. Moreover, they can also target different cell components. Filamentous cyanobacteria have been the main source of these compounds. This review aims to identify the key features of these antifungal agents, as well as the sources from which they are obtained, their major targets, and the environmental factors involved when they are being produced. For the preparation of this work, a total of 642 documents dating from 1980 to 2022 were consulted, including patents, original research, review articles, and theses.
Extraction, Isolation, Characterization, and Bioactivity of Polypropionates and Related Polyketide Metabolites from the Caribbean Region

The Caribbean region is a hotspot of biodiversity (i.e., algae, sponges, corals, mollusks, microorganisms, cyanobacteria, and dinoflagellates) that produces secondary metabolites such as polyketides and polypropionates. Polyketides are a diverse class of natural products synthesized by organisms through a biosynthetic pathway catalyzed by polyketide synthase (PKS). This group of compounds is subdivided into fatty acids, aromatics, and polypropionates such as macrolides, and linear and cyclic polyethers. Researchers have studied the Caribbean region to find natural products and focused on isolation, purification, structural characterization, synthesis, and conducting biological assays against parasites, cancer, fungi, and bacteria. These studies have been summarized in this review, including research from 1981 to 2020. This review includes about 90 compounds isolated in the Caribbean that meet the structural properties of polyketides. Out of 90 compounds presented, 73 have the absolute stereochemical configuration, and 82 have shown biological activity. We expect to motivate the researchers to continue exploring the Caribbean region’s marine environments to discover and investigate new polyketide and polypropionate natural products.
O/Zp OCTONION ALGEBRA AND ITS MATRIX REPRESENTATIONS

Since O is a non-associative algebra over R, this real division algebra can not be algebraically isomorphic to any matrix algebras over the real number eld R. In this study using H with Cayley-Dickson process we obtain octonion algebra. Firstly, We investigate octonion algebra over Zp. Then, we use the left and right matrix representations of H to construct representation for octonion algebra. Furthermore, we get the matrix representations ofO/Zp with the help of Cayley-Dickson process.
Mixture toxicity study of metal oxide nanoparticles and chlorpyrifos on earthworms at low concentrations: a short-term exposure approach

Marcela I. Cáceres-Wenzel (  marcelacw@hotmail.com ) Universidad de Buenos Aires Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales https://orcid.org/0000-00021356-7407 Florencia N. Bernassani Universidad de Buenos Aires Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales Julio S. Fuchs Universidad de Buenos Aires Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales Eduardo Cortón Universidad de Buenos Aires Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales Adriana C. Cochón Universidad de Buenos Aires Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales
Computational Study of Stiffness-Tuning Strategies in Anguilliform Fish

Biological evidence demonstrates that fish can tune their body stiffness to improve thrust and efficiency during swimming locomotion. However, the stiffness-tuning strategies that maximize swimming speed or efficiency are still unclear. In the present study, a musculo-skeletal model of anguilliform fish is developed to study the properties of variable stiffness, in which the planar serial-parallel mechanism is used to model the body structure. The calcium ion model is adopted to simulate muscular activities and generate muscle force. Further, the relations among the forward speed, the swimming efficiency, and Young’s modulus of the fish body are investigated. The results show that for certain body stiffness, the swimming speed and efficiency are increased with the tail-beat frequency until reaching the maximum value and then decreased. The peak speed and efficiency are also increased with the amplitude of muscle actuation. Anguilliform fish tend to vary their body stiffness to improve the swimming speed and efficiency at a high tail-beat frequency or small amplitude of muscle actuation. Furthermore, the midline motions of anguilliform fish are analyzed by the complex orthogonal decomposition (COD) method, and the discussions of fish motions associated with the variable body stiffness and the tail-beat frequency are also presented. Overall, the optimal swimming performance of anguilliform fish benefits from the matching relationships among the muscle actuation, the body stiffness, and the tail-beat frequency.
Dynamic Microscopic Optical Coherence Tomography as a New Diagnostic Tool for Otitis Media

Hypothesis: Otitis media (OM) can be successfully visualized and diagnosed by dynamic microscopic optical coherence tomography (dmOCT). Background: OM is one of the most common infectious diseases and, according to the WHO, one of the leading health problems with high mortality in developing countries. Despite intensive research, the only definitive treatment of therapy-refractory OM for decades has been the surgical removal of inflamed tissue. Thereby, the intra-operative diagnosis is limited to the surgeon’s visual impression. Supportive imaging modalities have been little explored and have not found their way into clinical application. Finding imaging techniques capable of identifying inflamed tissue intraoperatively, therefore, is of significant clinical relevance. Methods: This work investigated a modified version of optical coherence tomography with a microscopic resolution (mOCT) regarding its ability to differentiate between healthy and inflamed tissue. Despite its high resolution, the differentiation of single cells with mOCT is often impossible. A new form of mOCT termed dynamic mOCT (dmOCT) achieves cellular contrast using micro-movements within cells based on their metabolism. It was used in this study to establish correlative measurements with histology. Results: Using dmOCT, images with microscopic resolution were acquired on ex vivo tissue samples of chronic otitis media and cholesteatoma. Imaging with dmOCT allowed the visualization of specific and characteristic cellular and subcellular structures in the cross-sectional images, which can be identified only to a limited extent in native mOCT. Conclusion: We demonstrated for the first time a new marker-free visualization in otitis media based on intracellular motion using dmOCT.
Optimization of Hempseed-Added Kombucha for Increasing the Antioxidant Capacity, Protein Concentration, and Total Phenolic Content

To enhance the effects of kombucha’s beneficial compounds and their functional properties, studies on kombucha fermentation using alternatives ingredients are needed. The aim of this study was to formulate and optimize kombucha using hempseed as a high antioxidant, phenolic compound, and protein contributor. An experimental central composite design (CCD) with response surface methodology (RSM) was used for maximizing the antioxidant capacity (AC), total phenolic content (TPC), and protein concentrations (PC) of this product. The optimized infusion concentrations were observed at 0.017% of hempseeds and 0.00046% of black tea leaves. AC was determined by the DPPH+ assay in microplate. TPC was determined in microplate using the Folin–Ciocalteu method. PC was determined by Peterson’s modification of the micro-Lowry method. The optimized kombucha results were 0.134 ± 0.002 mg Trolox Eq/mL for AC, 0.473 ± 0.027 mg GA Eq/mL for TPC, and 6.535 ± 0.477 μg/mL of PC. RSM can be developed to optimize the formulation of kombuchas to increase the amounts of desirables compounds. This study demonstrated that hempseeds added to kombucha have a higher antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, and protein concentration than traditional kombucha.
Trichoderma viride Isolate Tvd44 Enhances Potato Growth and Stimulates the Defense System against Potato Virus Y

Biological treatments may be employed to combat viral plant infections. In this study, Trichoderma viride was applied as a biocontrol agent to enhance the systemic resistance of potato plants against potato virus Y (PVY). T. viride isolate Tvd44 (OQ991378) was isolated and molecularly characterized before being used as an agent against PVY. The foliar application of Tvd44 on PVY-inoculated potatoes significantly promoted plant growth, height, roots, and number of leaves. Results also showed that the levels of peroxidase (POX), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), total proteins, and chlorophyll increased in potato leaves 21 days post-inoculation compared to untreated plants. Results of qPCR assays conducted on Tvd44-treated plants exhibited a reduction in PVY-CP accumulation levels up to 18.76-fold compared to untreated plants (101.82-fold). qPCR results also showed that defense-related genes (PR-1, POD, PAL, CHS, and HQT) were highly expressed in all Tvd44-treated plants. Three compounds: thiocarbamic acid, N,N-dimethyl, S-1,3-diphenyl-2-butenyl ester; 1,1-dicyano-2-methyl-4-(p-cyanophenyl) propane; and trans-[(2,3-diphenylcyclopropyl)methyl] phenyl sulfide were the most abundant compounds detected in the ethyl acetate extract of Tvd44-culture filtrate using GC–MS analysis. Our finding supports the efficacy of T. viride isolate Tvd44 as a potential agent that can successfully control PVY infections in potatoes and increase the productivity of the crop.