Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intensified Warming and Aridity Accelerate Terminal Lake Desiccation in the Great Basin of the Western United States

Terminal lakes in the Great Basin (GB) of the western US host critical wildlife habitat and food for migrating birds and can be associated with serious human health and economic consequences when they desiccate. Water levels have declined dramatically in the last 100+ years due to diversion of inflows, drought and climate change. Satellite‐derived environmental science data records (ESDRs) from the MODerate‐resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (snow cover, evapotranspiration (ET) and land surface temperature (LST)), enable a unique approach to evaluate the effects of aridification on terminal lakes and to study their individual vulnerabilities. Surface and air temperatures in the GB are rising dramatically, with a sharp rise in the rate of increase observed beginning around 2011, while the number of days of snow cover is declining especially in the western mountainous part of the GB as exemplified in Mono Basin, California. Rising temperatures coincide with fewer days of snow cover, a decrease of inflow to the lakes and greater evaporation of water from the lakes. MODIS ESDRs show strong and statistically significant increasing surface temperature (LST) in the GB, a reduction in the number of days of snow cover, and mixed results in ET. ET declined slightly in the more arid parts of the GB due to greater moisture restrictions to evaporation from extended drought, while ET increased in the more‐vegetated, wetter, mountainous northeastern parts as temperatures have risen. Severe and costly ecological, human health and economic consequences are expected if the lakes continue to decline as predicted.
The Buildup of a Tightly Bound Comet Cloud around an Early Sun Immersed in a Dense Galactic Environment: Numerical Experiments

We simulate numerically the buildup of a comet reservoir around the early Sun assumed to be still immersed in the placental molecular gas that gave birth to it, and to be gravitationally bound to other young stars formed out of the same gas. We show that under certain reasonable assumptions about the early galactic environment of the Sun, an inner core of the Oort cloud of radius from a few 102 AU to a few 103 AU forms on a time scale of a few million year. Jupiter and Saturn are the main scatterers of matter to this inner core, though a significant fraction of the matter scattered by these two planets (perhaps more than 50%) might originally come from the accretion zones of Uranus and Neptune. If the formation process of the jovian planets left unaccreted an amount of solid material of the same order of their own planet masses (the rock-icy cores for the cases of Jupiter and Saturn), then a few M⊕ of the scattered solid material might have been trapped in the Oort reservoir, most of it in the inner core.
Metamaterial Based Ku-Band Antenna for Low Earth Orbit Nanosatellite Payload System

The concept of nanosatellite technology becomes a viable platform for earth and space observation research to minimize cost and build time for the payload. The communication approach is the essential fundamental attribute of a satellite, of which the antenna is a crucial component for forming a communication link between the nanosatellite and the earth. The nanosatellite antenna must comply with some special requirements like compact size, lightweight, and high gain with a space-compatible structure. This paper proposes a compact metamaterial-based Ku-band antenna with circular polarization for the nanosatellite communication system. The designed antenna obtained an impedance bandwidth of 2.275 GHz with a realized gain of 6.74 dBi and 3 dB axial beamwidth of 165° at 12.10 GHz. The overall antenna size of the designed is 0. 51λ × 0. 51λ × 0. 17λ, which is fabricated on Rogers 5880 substrate material. The antenna results performance has been examined with a 1 U nanosatellite structure and found suitable to integrate with metallic and nonmetallic surfaces of any miniature nanosatellite structure.
Investigation of the effects of metal oxide nanoparticle mixtures on Danio rerio and Xenopus laevis embryos

ABSTRACT In this study, the toxic effects of single TiO2, ZnO and Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) and their binary and ternary combinations on the embryonic development of Xenopus laevis and Danio rerio were evaluated. It was aimed to determine the median lethal concentrations, growth retardation and developmental malformation effects and the effects of mixed nanoparticle exposure to selected enzyme biomarkers resulting from the exposure of embryos to NPs. The results showed that ZnO NPs, which are the most toxic according to the highest lethality level, cause developmental delay and malformations. The Fe2O3 and TiO2 NPs caused growth retardation only in D. rerio embryos. It was determined that double and triple combinations of NPs did not cause significant lethality in both species. Biochemical markers showed that mixed NPs could lead to greater toxicity compared to single exposures. The results also revealed that TiO2 or Fe2O3 NPs caused an increase in toxicity when co-existing with ZnO NP due to additive effects. Overall, the results showed that D. rerio was more susceptible to NP exposure in terms of growth and mortality than X. laevis. However, studies that are more comprehensive are needed to better understand the toxicity mechanism of metal oxide NP mixtures.
Assessment of emotion word vocabulary and its contribution to reading comprehension

Abstract The contribution of vocabulary to academic achievements in general and to reading comprehension (RC) in particular has led to the development of various tools for vocabulary assessment. However, existing assessments do not distinguish between word types, and specifically, they do not target emotion vocabulary, despite growing recognition of the importance of emotional processing to RC ability. In this study, we first describe the development of a novel vocabulary assessment in Hebrew – Herut – and examine its validity and sensitivity. This assessment includes both emotion words and nonemotion words, and is based on curriculum. Next, we studied the contribution of the emotion and nonemotion words subscales of the Herut to RC in a sample of 1,333 Hebrew-speaking fourth- and fifth-grade students. Both types of vocabulary knowledge made significant independent contributions to RC, and the contribution of emotion words was slightly larger than that of nonemotion words. Finally, the Herut measure was found to be more predictive of RC than a general vocabulary measure in Hebrew.
Contact Angle Hysteresis on a Heterogeneous Surface: Solution in the Limit of a Weakly Distorted Contact Line

In the case of a weakly distorted contact line, we construct a one-variable equation giving the metastable configurations of a fluid interface in contact with a heterogeneous solid surface. In this limit it is possible to study the contact angle hysteresis created by semi-concentrated assemblies of individual defects. The results exhibit many collective effects, some of which can be described by a convenient renormalization of the hysteresis threshold and of the defect density. They are consistent with available experimental data.
Optical absorption in silicon layers in the presence of charge inversion/accumulation or ion implantation

We determine the optical losses in gate-induced charge accumulation/inversion layers at a Si/SiO2 interface. Comparison between gate-induced charge layers and ion-implanted thin silicon films having an identical sheet resistance shows that optical losses can be significantly lower for gate-induced layers. For a given sheet resistance, holes produce higher optical loss than electrons. Measurements have been performed at λ = 1550 nm.
The relationship between vowel variation and vowel‐to‐vowel coarticulation across languages

The amount of coarticulatory vowel variation within a language may be dependent on the size and distribution of the vowel inventory within the vowel formant space [P. A. Keating and M. K. Huffman, Phonetica 41, 191–207 (1984)]. Similarly, it has been suggested that the extent of vowel‐to‐vowel coarticulation in a language varies in proportion to the degree of vowel variation within the language [S. Y. Manuel and R. A. Krakow, Haskins Status Report No. 77/78, 69–78 (1984)]. Manuel and Krakow supported this idea with evidence comparing Swahili and Shona (5‐vowel systems) to English (12‐vowel system). The present study compares vowel‐to‐vowel anticipatory and carryover coarticulation in Japanese and Hausa (10‐vowel systems, with different vowel distributions) to German (14‐vowel system). Three speakers of each language read bVbV “words” in lists and in frame sentences. The effects of phonemic vowel length and phrasal context on coarticulatory vowel distribution are also considered.
Thermally Induced Microcracks in Granite and Their Effect on the Macroscale Mechanical Behavior

Understanding the thermal effects on rock is critical for the exploration of geothermal resources and the temperature‐driven evolution of Earth. The macroscale mechanical behavior of granite under thermal loading can be complicated due to microcracking and the heterogeneity of minerals. In this study, the thermally induced microcrack propagation of granite was first observed in real time by an ultrahigh‐temperature instrument on an optical microscope. The previous investigation believed that the α–β quartz transition at approximately 573°C leads to a sharp decrease in macroscale mechanical behavior. However, the present experimental results revealed that microcracks initiate at 300°C and coalesce between 400 and 600°C, which is the main reason for the sharp decrease in macroscale mechanical properties of granite. Additionally, an accurate grain‐based model based on the mineralogical morphology of granite samples adopted mechanical parameters of minerals obtained from microscale rock mechanical techniques. It is able to well reproduce the process of microcracking and the strength evolution of granite during heating. The numerical results show that the heterogeneity of thermal expansion and mechanical properties of minerals produce local thermal stress concentrations in granite. The uneven tensile‐compressive stress between feldspar and quartz and the shear stress around biotite result in the initiation and propagation of microcracks. The present work is potentially useful for understanding and predicting the mechanical behavior of granites under thermal loading with different mineral compositions and microstructures.
Lake Aggregate Mesoscale Disturbances. Part I: Linear Analysis

Abstract The steady boundary-layer responses that occur over the Great Lakes region during wintertime cold air outbreaks are examined using a two-dimensional, linear, analytic model. The planetary boundary layer (PBL) is modeled as an idealized, constantly stratified, viscous, rotating Boussinesq fluid that moves uniformly between two horizontally infinite, rigid, stress-free plates. The heat from the lakes is parameterized in terms of a specified diabatic forcing function. Solution of the governing differential equation yields an integral expression for the vertical motion of the general response. Further assessment of the response is gained by examining closed-form analytic solutions to several limiting cases. Four response types are identified that depend upon the values of the Froude number Fr, the mechanical Ekman number Ex, the thermal Ekman number Ex, and the eddy Prandtl number Pr. Four different flow regimes are found. When 0 ≤ Fr < 1 and Pr ≥ 1, there is a purely exponentially damped response th.
Research on the Evolution of Journal Topic Mining Based on the BERT-LDA Model

Scientific papers are an important form for researchers to summarize and display their research results. Information mining and analysis of scientific papers can help to form a comprehensive understanding of the subject. Aiming at the ignorance of contextual semantic information in current topic mining and the uncertainty of screening rules in association evolution research, this paper proposes a topic mining evolution model based on the BERT-LDA model. First, the model combines the contextual semantic information learned by the BERT model with the word vectors of the LDA model to mine deep semantic topics. Then construct topic filtering rules to eliminate invalid associations between topics. Finally, the relationship between themes is analyzed through the theme evolution, and the complex relationship between the themes such as fusion, diffusion, emergence, and disappearance is displayed. The experimental results show that, compared with the traditional LDA model, the topic mining evolution model based on BERTLDA can accurately mine topics with deep semantics and effectively analyze the development trend of scientific and technological paper topics.
Shock/Vortex Interactions Induced by Blast Waves

The problem of blast-wave propagation in an open-ended duct with a 90-deg sharp convex (expansion) corner is numerically investigated by the use of a high-resolution Euler solver. The complicated e owe elds induced by the blast-wave diffraction around the corner and by a secondary shock/vortex interaction are explored. Both a two-dimensional case and an axisymmetric case are considered. It is found that two vortices near the corner in the two-dimensionalcase(ortwo ring vorticesin theaxisymmetriccase) areinduced by theblast-wavediffraction.One vortexisstrongerandislocatedfartherdownstream thantheother.Thesetwovorticesrotatein oppositedirections. In the axisymmetric e ow, the major ring vortex is located farther downstream than that for the corresponding two-dimensional case, resulting in a lower pressure at the vortex centers. This is due to the relieving effect that is represented by an extra nonvanishing term in the vorticity transport equation in the axisymmetric case. The trajectories of the major planar vortex or ring vortex induced by different blast intensities are explored. Basically, the planar major vortex (or the major ring vortex in the axisymmetric case) moves downstream before a critical time and then turns toward the duct centerline after the critical time. The critical time roughly corresponds to the formation of a minor vortex.
Projection-Based Partitioning for Large, High-Dimensional Datasets

Recent work in the field of cluster analysis has focused on designing algorithms that address the issue of ever growing datasets and provide meaningful solutions for data with high cardinality and/or dimensionality, under the natural restriction of limited resources. Within this line of research, we propose a method drawing on the principles of projection pursuit and grid partitioning, which focuses on reducing computational requirements for large datasets without loss of performance. To achieve that, we rely on procedures such as sampling of objects, feature selection, and quick density estimation using histograms. The present algorithm searches for low-density points in potentially favorable one-dimensional projections, and partitions the data by a hyperplane passing through the best split point found. Tests on synthetic and reference data indicate that our method can quickly and efficiently recover clusters that are distinguishable from the remaining objects on at least one direction; linearly nonseparable clusters are usually subdivided. The solution is robust in the presence of noise in moderate levels, and when the clusters are partially overlapping. An implementation of the algorithm is available online, as supplemental material.
Design and Fabrication of Quartz Micro-Electro-Mechanical System-Based Double-Ended Tuning Fork with Variable Sections

In this paper, we report a novel double-ended tuning fork (DETF) with variable sections. The DETF is fabricated using a quartz micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) technique and packaged using the flip chip technique. The central part of the vibration beam is thinned to enhance the force-frequency sensitivity but not decrease the vibration frequency. The mechanical quality factor (Q value) can also be maintained, which determines the mechanical noise performance. Three types of DETF are designed and fabricated with a fixed beam length of 4 mm. The vibration characteristics (vibration frequency, Q value, and equivalent circuit parameters) are evaluated using an impedance analyzer 4294A. The finite element method (FEM) is used to simulate the natural frequency and force-frequency sensitivity. For the natural frequencies, the experimental results agreed well with the simulation results. High Q values are achieved for all the DETFs, which are 9924, 7083, and 6335. By multiplying the force-frequency sensitivity (ΔF) by the measured Q values, the performance of the new DETF structure can be improved by 1.9 times.
The Role of Emotional Intelligence and Metacognition in Teachers’ Stress during Pandemic Remote Working: A Moderated Mediation Model

During the COVID-19 pandemic, in adapting to social and work changes and new technological methods for remote teaching, teachers were subjected to increased work pressure, which affected their well-being and led to increased negative stress and burnout. This study was designed to test whether dysfunctional outcomes resulting from adapting to new ways of teaching via technological tools can be mitigated by the protective factors of emotional intelligence and metacognition. The study involved 604 teachers in Sicily filling out a questionnaire consisting of four different scales: (1) the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SREIT); (2) the Metacognitive Functions Screening Scale (MFSS-30); (3) the Link Burnout Questionnaire (LBQ); and (4) the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale STSS-I. The results show that emotional intelligence mediates the relationship between certain remote work risk factors, as well as stress and burnout. In addition, metacognition was found to be a significant moderating factor in the relationship between risk factors and emotional intelligence. With regard to the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 Goals, our results emphasize the importance of teachers’ emotional and metacognitive skills in promoting quality of life and psychological well-being.
Postmorterm Computed Tomography and Autopsy to Confirm Sudden Death Due to Tracheal Compression by Mediastinal Fat Tissue in a Young Man With Obesity

A man in his early twenties with obesity was found dead in his apartment. The deceased was found naked and surrounded by empty bottles of electrolytes. An autopsy performed approximately 6 days postmortem and gross inspection revealed the absence of injury and no apparent extrinsic cause of death. It was decided to dissect to investigate the cause of death. The deceased had become morbidly obese (weight, 98 kg; height, 160 cm; body mass index, 38.3). Shortly before his death, he presented at a clinic complaining of gastric discomfort and heartburn, but other than hypertension (155/91 mmHg) no specific abnormality was found. He was normothermic (36.6℃), and his blood oxygen saturation was normal (97%). Postmortem computed tomography of the thorax revealed a mediastinal mass obstructing the trachea, an upper-airway obstruction, and a narrowed thoracic cavity due to upward compression by an enlarged fatty liver. Autopsy confirmed that the tracheal mass was fatty tissue within the thymus and that upward pressure from an enlarged fatty liver had compressed the thoracic cavity. The deceased likely developed nocturnal chronic hypoxia because of compression by the mediastinal fat mass as well as intermittent hypoxia because of obstructive sleep apnea when lying supine. Chronic and intermittent hypoxia, diabetes, and obesity activate the sympathetic nervous system, increasing the risk of hypertension, heart failure, and arrhythmias. Histological findings showed pulmonary congestion and edema, reflecting heart failure as well as myocardial fragmentation and waving, showing hyper-contraction and hyper-relaxation, respectively. Hypertension, feeling overheated, and myocardial hyper-contraction can be explained as sympathetic nerve over-activation. Intra-cardiac coagulation and a renal cortical pallor suggested subacute death from cardiogenic shock due to heart failure. Postmortem computed tomography before autopsy detected airway obstruction and revealed the cause and pathophysiology of unexpected death in a young man with morbid obesity. Therefore, this could be a potentially useful clinical practice for determining the cause of death postmortem.
New Insights into the Role of the Trypanosoma cruzi Aldo-Keto Reductase TcAKR

Chagas disease is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. It is distributed worldwide, affecting around 7 million people; there is no effective treatment, and it constitutes a leading cause of disability and premature death in the Americas. Only two drugs are currently approved for the treatment, Benznidazole and Nifurtimox, and both have to be activated by reducing the nitro-group. The T. cruzi aldo-keto reductase (TcAKR) has been related to the metabolism of benznidazole. TcAKR has been extensively studied, being most efforts focused on characterizing its implication in trypanocidal drug metabolism; however, little is known regarding its biological role. Here, we found that TcAKR is confined, throughout the entire life cycle, into the parasite mitochondria providing new insights into its biological function. In particular, in epimastigotes, TcAKR is associated with the kinetoplast, which suggests additional roles of the protein. The upregulation of TcAKR, which does not affect TcOYE expression, was correlated with an increase in PGF2α, suggesting that this enzyme is related to PGF2α synthesis in T. cruzi. Structural analysis showed that TcAKR contains a catalytic tetrad conserved in the AKR superfamily. Finally, we found that TcAKR is also involved in Nfx metabolization.
NGC 1333—Protostars, Dust Shells, and Triggered Star Formation

We present large (13′ × 18′) and sensitive continuum maps at 850 and 450 μm of the NGC 1333 star formation region. We identify 33 submillimeter sources, some of which are extended and may contain multiple condensations. Very few of the submillimeter sources have optical or near-IR counterparts. In addition to the previously known bright class 0 sources, this survey suggests that many of the fainter sources are also likely to be very young low-mass protostars. We find several dust ridges and shells formed by outflows in the cloud, and in two cases we identify protostellar sources whose formation is likely to have been triggered by powerful outflow bow shocks. Thus, outflows have influenced the structure and evolution of the cloud over the entire area we have mapped. We derive a shallow dust clump mass spectrum, with dN/dM ∝ M-1.4 down to rather low masses, suggesting a large population of dust clumps in the brown dwarf mass range.