Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Silver Nanourchins in Plasmonics: Theoretical Investigation on the Optical Properties of the Branches

Roughness is an important feature in plasmonics. Nanoparticles with a nanoscale surface buckling or with protrusions out of surfaces display higher absorption efficiencies and surface-enhanced Raman scattering activities with respect to smooth surfaces. In this work the effects of the branches and of their electromagnetic coupling on the near-field enhancement are investigated by considering urchins-like silver nanoparticles. The theoretical analysis here reported, performed in the framework of the discrete dipole approximation, shines light on the optical response of these multibranched objects in the near-field regime by varying the spines dimensions and their relative distances. Three important results are obtained: (i) a too large number of protrusions makes them electromagnetically interacting, thus reducing the field enhancement factors; (ii) increasing of the spines radius blue-shifts the resonances and reduces the absorption; (iii) growing the aculei height leads to an important red-shift of the s.
The optimization of the deep-fat frying process of coated zucchini pieces by response surface methodology

ABSTRACT The effect of Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) gum in three concentrations of 0.5, 1, and 1.5% (w/v) was investigated on the oil uptake and qualitative properties (moisture content, color, and overall acceptance) of zucchini during frying at 150, 165, and 180°C for 1, 3.5, and 6 min. To determine optimum conditions of frying operation, the response surface methodology (RSM) was used. Based on the modeling performed, the lowest oil uptake (1.93%) was determined for the coated samples with concentrations of higher than 0.75% of CMC gum and fried at temperatures less than 157.5°C for 2.25 min. The optimization results of RSM showed that oil uptake of zucchini coated with CMC gum during frying is decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with the reduction of operation time and temperature, and concentration of CMC gum. Optimum conditions for decreasing oil uptake of coated zucchini pieces were 153.46°C, 0.5%, 1.03 min for temperature, concentration and time, respectively.
Weakened Connection between East China Summer Rainfall and the East Asia-Pacific Teleconnection Pattern

The interdecadal change in the relationship between the East Asia-Pacific (EAP) teleconnection pattern and rainfall over East China during boreal summer (June–August) was investigated using observation and reanalysis datasets during 1951–2018. As proposed in a previous study, summer rainfall in the Yangtze-Huaihe River (YH-R) valley is below (above) normal when a positive (negative) EAP event occurs. Based on the close relationship with the rainfall anomalies, the EAP teleconnection pattern has been widely used in the prediction of summer rainfall variations in the YH-R valley. However, we found that the rainfall anomalies in the YH-R basin associated with the EAP pattern were weaker and less evident after the late 1980s. This finding indicates a decreased relationship between the EAP pattern and YH-R basin summer rainfall after the late 1980s, and a decrease in the quality and skill of seasonal predictions of YH-R basin summer rainfall related to the EAP pattern. This pronounced weakening in the YH-R summer rainfall-EAP pattern connection is attributed to the northeastward displacement of the Japanese action center of the EAP pattern after the late 1980s, which caused weaker anomalous vertical motion and moisture transportation over the YH-R valley. The present research reveals that the interdecadal expansion in the size of the Indo-Pacific warm pool in the late 1980s is likely responsible for the northeastward shift in the Japanese action center of the EAP teleconnection pattern by modulating anomalous convective activities and the northward propagation of the EAP pattern.
Examination of Organizational Culture Variables in Sports Organizations (Perspective from Turkey)

Organizational stagnation occurs in every system where basic cultural change slows down, and the current situation becomes the usual option until conscious and consistent cultural change initiatives are implemented. It is seen that sports organizations in our country cannot make the desired change in their organizations, although they apply modern management approaches to increase their performance.The study aims to determine the cultural variables and their sub-titles that affect the increase of sports organizations’ performance. This research was conducted according to qualitative research methods. In the research, 4 different types of culture emerged as Solidarity and Cooperation, Innovative, Being Competitive,and Emphasis on Hierarchy. It has been determined that these types of culture are similar to Clan, Adhocracy, Marketing,and Hierarchy Culture types defined as dominant cultural differences in Quinn and Cameron’s competitive values model.
Teaching Ichthyology Online with a Virtual Specimen Collection

For generations, organismal biologists have learned their craft in hands-on laboratories that teach anatomy, evolution, natural history, systematics, and functional morphology through specimen collection, observation, comparison, and manipulation. Though these activities teach the comparative method that lies at the heart of our discipline, students without access to specimen collections have been excluded from this foundational experience. To fill that gap, we developed a virtual collection of photographs and 3D specimen models and designed entirely online versions of courses in ichthyology and systematics of fishes. The virtualization allows students to illustrate and compare specimens in online labs, identify species from different habitats using dichotomous keys, contextualize the relationships of species, recognize synapomorphies using a phylogeny, take online specimen-based practical exams, and help each other recognize adaptations and diagnostic features on threaded discussion boards. The classes built around the collection educate and provide university credit to students lacking access to similar courses, and their infrastructure allowed face-to-face instruction to shift online rapidly after 2020's novel coronavirus shut down our brick-and-mortar campus. While we may never be able to replicate the aroma of oil-laden alcohol online, specimen virtualization opens access to experiential learning to an underserved and widespread audience; allows new generations of students to develop crucial skills in observation, comparison, and inference; and affords substantial instructional resiliency when unexpected challenges arise.
A Rotor Position and Speed Estimation Method Using an Improved Linear Extended State Observer for IPMSM Sensorless Drives

A traditional linear extended state observer (LESO) does not have enough capacity to handle the rapidly-varying back electromotive force (EMF). This key weakness limits the application of LESO in the internal permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) sensorless control system. In this article, an IPMSM sensorless drive method using an improved LESO (ILESO) is proposed. The ILESO consists of a pure integral and rapidly-varying sinusoidal interference estimator. The rapidly-varying sinusoidal interference estimator is added to the unknown interference estimation loop to estimate rapidly-varying back EMF. And the frequency of the rapidly-varying sinusoidal interference estimator changes adaptively with the operating frequency of the motor to guarantee the desired estimation accuracy of back EMF in a wide-speed range. This design makes it possible to observe the back EMF in a relatively low bandwidth, thereby solving the tradeoff between LESO bandwidth and high-frequency noise filtering. Then, an enhanced phase-locked loop is presented to improve the ability of tracking the rapidly-changing speed. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified at a 2.0-kW IPMSM sensorless drive.
Effect of Mg2+/Li+ mixed electrolytes on a rechargeable hybrid battery with Li4Ti5O12 cathode and Mg anode

The rechargeable hybrid batteries with a Li+ insertion cathode, Mg anode and mixed Mg2+/Li+ electrolyte could synergistically exploit the advantages of Li+ and magnesium. Herein, we report the electrolyte dependencies on the performance of a hybrid battery containing a commercial Li4Ti5O12 cathode. Additionally, the performance is improved using a graphene based composite.
Teaching Science in Today’s Society: The Case of Particle Physics for Primary Schools

The rapid changes in science and technology witnessed in recent decades have significantly contributed to the arousal of the awareness by decision-makers and the public as a whole of the need to strengthen the connection between outreach activities of universities and research institutes and the activities of educational institutions, with a central role played by schools. While the relevance of the problem is nowadays unquestioned, no unique and fully satisfactory solution has been identified. In the present paper we would like to contribute to the discussion on the subject by reporting on an ongoing project aimed to teach Particle Physics in primary schools. We will start from the past and currently planned activities in this project in order to establish a broader framework to describe the conditions for the fruitful interplay between researchers and teachers. We will also emphasize some aspects related to the dissemination of outreach materials by research institutions, in order to promote the access and distribution of scientific information in a way suited to the different age of the target students.
Does financial development improve human capital accumulation in the Southeast Asian countries?

Abstract Financial development and human capital’s crucial roles in economic growth have been widely recognized in the literature. However, a direct link between financial development and human capital, in the long run, has not been investigated, in particular in emerging markets in Asia. This study investigates the nexus between financial development and human capital for a group of nine emerging markets in the Southeast Asian region over the period 1990–2018. Econometric techniques allowing for cross-sectional dependence and panel co-integration, such as the dynamic least squares (DOLS) and fully modified least squares (FMOLS), are used. We also use three indicators as the proxies for financial development: broad money supply, bank credit, and private sector credit. Empirical findings from this paper indicate that financial development contributes positively and significantly to human capital accumulation. We also find that economic growth enhances the formation of human capital. Results from our Granger causality tests confirm a bi-directional relationship between financial development and human capital. Policymakers from the Southeast Asian emerging markets may need to enhance and extend financial development which is closely linked with human capital accumulation.
Integral backstepping improvement versus classical and multiscalar backstepping controllers for water IM‐pump fed by backstepping MPPT PV source based on solar measurements in a tropical insular region

The work presented here deals with a comparison between integral, classical and multiscalar backstepping controllers applied for a PV water pumping system. The solar pumping system is controlled in its ﬁrst part by a backstepping maximum power point tracking approach in order to extract a maximum power from solar panels. The second part, composed mainly by induction motor–pump is controlled by backstepping structures. The integral backstepping control structure gives interesting features in terms of stability using recursive Lyapunov design, increases robustness despite parameters variation, and provides good tracking and optimization performance. In order to validate the study with a real solar data, a measured irradiance proﬁle is used to fed the PV system, based on solar measurements in tropical insular context. The measurements are collected at Sonapi site located in Haiti country. The fast variability of the tropical irradiance proﬁle will allow to test the robustness of the used control algorithms and determine their limits. Simulation of the proposed solution is validated under Matlab/Simulink. Results demonstrate clearly that integral backstepping provides the best solution with a good tracking, and optimization performance: fast dynamic response and stable static power output, even
Toward Bactericidal Enhancement of Additively Manufactured Titanium Implants

Implant-associated infections (IAIs) are among the most intractable and costly complications in implant surgery. They can lead to surgery failure, a high economic burden, and a decrease in patient quality of life. This manuscript is devoted to introducing current antimicrobial strategies for additively manufactured (AM) titanium (Ti) implants and fostering a better understanding in order to pave the way for potential modern high-throughput technologies. Most bactericidal strategies rely on implant structure design and surface modification. By means of rational structural design, the performance of AM Ti implants can be improved by maintaining a favorable balance between the mechanical, osteogenic, and antibacterial properties. This subject becomes even more important when working with complex geometries; therefore, it is necessary to select appropriate surface modification techniques, including both topological and chemical modification. Antibacterial active metal and antibiotic coatings are among the most commonly used chemical modifications in AM Ti implants. These surface modifications can successfully inhibit bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation, and bacterial apoptosis, leading to improved antibacterial properties. As a result of certain issues such as drug resistance and cytotoxicity, the development of novel and alternative antimicrobial strategies is urgently required. In this regard, the present review paper provides insights into the enhancement of bactericidal properties in AM Ti implants.
Image Captioning via Semantic Visual Feature Matching in Heavy Rain Condition

Image captioning methods for generating sentences from input images are being developed for high-quality images captured in clear weather. However, in bad weather conditions such as heavy rain, heavy snow, and fog, the quality of the captured images deteriorates due to poor visibility, rain and snow artifacts. This hinders the extraction of useful features of the object and causes the performance of image captioning to deteriorate. To overcome this problem, this study proposes an image captioning method that can generate accurate sentences even in heavy rain conditions. First, an image quality improvement network based on physical heavy rain modeling is presented, and then the image quality of heavy rain images is restored through the reverse process of physical heavy rain modeling. In addition, an encoder capable of matching visual feature vectors between the restored image and the original image is proposed, and the semantic visual feature expression power of the restored image is improved. Through experiments, it is confirmed that the proposed image captioning method can increase the accuracy of sentence generation in a heavy rain condition, compared to the existing image captioning method.
bRacatus: A method to estimate the accuracy and biogeographical status of georeferenced biological data

Georeferenced biological data of species distributions, abundances or traits are critical for ecological and evolutionary research. However, the accuracy (true vs. false records) and biogeographical status (native vs. alien) of individual georeferenced records are often unclear, which limits their use in species distribution modelling, analyses of biodiversity change and other applications. Here, we introduced bRacatus, a new method and R package to estimate a given georeferenced record's probability of being true or false and of corresponding to a native or an alien occurrence. Our framework avoided artificial thresholds of data filtering and instead implemented a probabilistic framework which allowed propagating uncertainties in subsequent analyses. We trained and tested our method on 400 terrestrial species of amphibians, birds, terrestrial mammals and vascular plants from four continents. bRacatus showed good predictive power (mean AUC higher than 0.9; mean RMSE lower than 0.3) for both the accuracy and biogeographical status. Model performance was similar among continents, range sizes and taxa not used in the training. Tests were robust using either range maps or regional checklists of differing levels of data completeness as reference regions. bRacatus was implemented as a user‐friendly R package that enabled researchers to assess the accuracy and biogeographical status of species occurrences, population abundances, community composition or any other type of georeferenced biodiversity records. We proposed this method as a routine step in addressing the inherent uncertainty of point observations to promote more accurate ecological inference and predictions.
Protective Effect of Wheat and Barley Grass Against the Acute Toxicological Effects of the Concurrent Administration of Excessive Heavy Metals in Drinking Water on the Rats Liver and Brain

Heavy metal contaminated water is a great concern because of its high toxiciy, non-biodegradability, and bioaccumulation. Therefore, non-contaminated water is fundamental for a healthy life. Special attention is paid to the health-promoting ingredients of germinated whole cereal products. This study aimed to (1) examine the potentially harmful effects of Cu, Mn, and Zn on rat livers and brains, and (2) the potentially protective action of wheat and barley grasses against the expected harmful effects of these metals. The rats were treated with water contaminated by heavy metals (HMs) and germinated wheat and barley for 60 days. The rat liver functions and histopathological examinations were analyzed. Comet assay was evaluated to assess the damage in the DNA of rat livers and brains. The results indicated a significant alteration in liver functions in rats exposed to HMs; however, wheat and barley grasses at high doses decreased the harmful effects. An insignificant difference was noticed in total protein, albumin, and globulin of rats treated with HMs compared with the control. A significant increase in the serum and liver levels of HMs was recorded; however, they were reduced by wheat and barley grasses. Rat livers treated with HMs exhibited severe histological effects. The groups treated with wheat and barley grasses showed a normal liver architecture. A significant increase in DNA damage in the livers and brains was observed in rats treated with HMs, which was reduced when treated with wheat and barley grasses. Thus, using germinated seeds is promising to avoid damaging of HMs.
Ecosystem Based Adaptation: Concept and Terminology in Strategic Adaptation Planning (Municipal and Inter-Municipal) in Portugal

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is a nature-based solution that has gained importance in the context of international climate policy, such as in the EU Adaptation Strategy (2013), which explicitly encourages its adoption and which should continue in The European Green Deal. This study aims to analyze how the EbA concept has been adopted in strategic adaptation planning at the municipal and intermunicipal levels in Portugal after the publication of the European adaptation strategy in 2013. Thus, a quantitative content analysis was carried out, based on EbA keywords, of municipal strategies and intermunicipal plans in Portugal. The term “ecosystem-based” has not been transposed as an explicit objective at the municipal and intermunicipal levels. All strategies and plans have included indirect references to the underlying elements of the EbA concept. This study highlights that although the EU Adaptation Strategy explicitly encourages EbA, this does not mean that it is adopted as a preferred adaptation approach at the local level in Portugal. The EbA seems to be more widely understood by the research community than by municipal technicians or private companies. It is necessary to explore how the EbA concept can be more widely accepted through the generation of co-benefits and by synergies between topics.
Network diversity, distance and economic impact in a cluster: visualising linkages and assessing network capital

Purpose – Effective policy to support business ecosystems should build on evidence-based analyses of firmlevel activities and outcomes. This paper aims to contribute to this requirement and makes three contributions. The first contribution is to extend the application of the network capital concept to a variety of eight distinct linkage categories (e.g. suppliers, customers and business support agencies) that support networking and clustering, in both activity and impact terms. The second contribution is outlining a novel method of network visualisation (V-LINC) based on the collection of primary and qualitative data. The third contribution is in applying themethod to one cluster, information and communications technologies. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative research on the nature and extent of organisational network linkages was undertaken. Structured interviews with a set of focal firms followed a tailored design approach. The concept of network capital was extended and applied to the cluster context by measuring network inputs and output (i.e. investments and impact). The approach was operationalised via a novel impact measurement approach, denoted as V-LINC, an acronym for visualising linkages in networks and clusters. Findings – The authors develop a business impact framework exploiting novel linkage visualisations and qualitative data from firms in a cluster in one city region across eight linkage types to capture distinct network capital elements. Organisational inputs into network development, measured as investment and involvement indicators and organisational outcomes from those networks, measured as importance and intensity indicators, are used to assess network performance. A comprehensive, systematic and robust analysis of network elements and performance is possible. Distance is found to interact differently across linkage types. Targeted recommendations may be made from the analysis of local or regional business ecosystems in light of measured business impacts of linkages. Research limitations/implications – Due to the resource-intensive nature of data collection, the current study engages a limited sample of firms and interviewees. Applications of this approach in other contexts will permit further research into its usefulness in evaluating business impacts generated through networking activities. Originality/value – Themethod introduced here (V-LINC) offers a novel means to include both geography network theory into an understanding of knowledge relationships and networks within clusters. Accounting © Eoin Byrne, Eleanor Doyle and John Hobbs. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and noncommercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode Network diversity