Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in the metastability of the midlatitude Southern Hemisphere circulation and the utility of nonstationary cluster analysis and split-flow blocking indices as diagnostic tools

AbstractChanges in the metastability of the Southern Hemisphere 500-hPa circulation are examined using both cluster analysis techniques and split-flow blocking indices. The cluster methodology is a purely data-driven approach for parameterization whereby a multiscale approximation to nonstationary dynamical processes is achieved through optimal sequences of locally stationary fast vector autoregressive factor (VARX) processes and some slow (or persistent) hidden process switching between them. Comparison is made with blocking indices commonly used in weather forecasting and climate analysis to identify dynamically relevant metastable regimes in the 500-hPa circulation in both reanalysis and Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) datasets. The analysis characterizes the metastable regime in both reanalysis and model datasets prior to 1978 as positive and negative phases of a hemispheric midlatitude blocking state with the southern annular mode (SAM) associated with a transition state. Post-1978, .
Velocity selection for ultracold atoms using a micromaser

The velocity distribution of ultracold atoms passing through a resonant microwave cavity can narrow by more than an order of magnitude. This velocity selection is due to resonances in the transmission through dressed-state potentials. The proposed device is an atom-optical analog of a Fabry-Pérot resonator and allows for macroscopic coherence lengths.
Effect of Microwave and Ultrasound during the Killing Stage of the Curing Process of Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia, Andrews) Pods

The curing process (CP) of Vanilla planifolia pods, which is a long and tedious process, is necessary to obtain the natural vanilla extract. This research evaluated the application of microwave (M) and ultrasound (U) during the “killing” stage of the CP and its effect on vanillin content and β-glucosidase activity. The pods were immersed in a container with water or with moistened samples for the M treatments. In U treatments, the pods were immersed in an ultrasonic bath. After this stage, the samples were subjected to an additional U treatment. The results show that the application of these technologies significantly improves vanillin yield (p < 0.05) and the curing time is reduced to 20 days. U treatments subjected to additional sonication at 38 °C obtain more than double the yield of vanillin regarding control. The effect of M and U on cell structure damage increases with additional sonication, but at 15 min, β-glucosidase inactivation decreases the final yield. Disposition of samples in M also affects the final vanillin content. There is no significant correlation between β-glucosidase and vanillin in the different treatments. The application of M and U with the appropriate parameters reduces the CP time without affecting the compounds of interest.
Comparisons of the diagnostic accuracy of the ultrasonic sign-score method and MRI for PA, PI and PP in high-risk gravid women: a retrospective study

Background The diagnosis and management of placenta accrete spectrum (PAS) is a great challenge to obstetricians. Ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are two main methods to detect PAS. MRI has high resolution, but the examination fee is expensive. US machine and examination fee is cheap, but the resolution is relatively low. Balancing the cost and accuracy for PAS diagnosis is very important. Methods The ultrasonic sign-score method and MRI findings for 49 pregnant women at high risk of placental implantation were retrospectively analyzed. Inclusion criteria: (I) at high risk for PA as described in the Guidelines to Placenta Accreta Spectrum Disorders issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in 2018; (II) complete records of ultrasonic sign-scoring method and MRI data; (III) cesarean section; (IV) definite surgical and/or pathological findings. The results were validated by the gold-standard surgical or postoperative pathological findings, and the efficacy of the 2 imaging approaches in diagnosing placenta PAS was compared. Kappa test was used to analyze the consistency. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to compare the sensitivity and specificity. Results The mean maternal age was 32.6±4.4 years. The mean gestational week was 35.9±2.0 weeks. The mean gravidity was 3.3±1.1. The surgical or histopathological findings revealed PA in 26, placenta increta (PI) in 19 and placenta percreta (PP) in 4 of the 49 women. The diagnosis accuracy of PA, PI, and PP was higher using the ultrasonic sign-scoring method than MRI (75.51%, 73.47%, and 97.96% vs. 61.22%, 57.14% and 91.84%, respectively). The areas under the ROC curve for the sensitivity and specificity of the ultrasonic sign-scoring method and MRI in the diagnosis of PA, PI, and PP were 0.757 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.613, 0.868], 0.725 (95% CI: 0.579, 0.843), 0.989 (95% CI: 0.907, 1.000), and 0.607 (95% CI: 0.457, 0.743), 0.544 (95% CI: 0.395, 0.687), 0.614 (95% CI: 0.464, 0.749), respectively. Conclusions Although the sensitivity and specificity were lower than 0.8, the ultrasonic sign-scoring method was still superior to MRI in the detection of PI and PP. US can be used to help identify high-risk gravid women.
Seismic waves velocity measurement with mechanical monolithic sensors

Laser interferometry is one of the most sensitive methods for small displacement measurement for scientific and industrial applications. Interferometric techniques have been already successfully applied also to the design and implementation of very sensitive sensors for geophysical applications, like monolithic accelerometers. In this paper we describe the architecture and the expected theoretical performances of a laser interferometric velocimeter for seismic waves measurement. We analyze and discuss the experimental performances of the interferometric system, comparing the experimental results with the theoretical predictions and with the performances of a state-of the art commercial accelerometer. The results obtained are very encouraging, such as the sensitivity and stability of the interferometric system, that have been improved.
A 1.6-mW Sparse Deep Learning Accelerator for Speech Separation

Low-power deep learning accelerators (DLAs) on the speech processing enable real-time applications on edge devices. However, most of the existing accelerators suffer from high-power consumption and focus on image applications only. This article presents a low-power accelerator for speech separation through algorithm and hardware optimizations. At the algorithm level, the model is compressed with structured sensitivity as well as unstructured pruning, and further quantized to the shifted 8-bit floating-point format instead of the 32-bit floating-point format. The computations with the zero kernel and zero activation values are skipped by decomposition of the dilated and transposed convolutions. At the hardware level, the compressed model is then supported by an architecture with eight independent multipliers and accumulators (MACs) with a simple zero-skipping hardware to take advantage of the activation sparsity and low-power processing. The proposed approach reduces the model size by 95.44% and computation complexity by 93.88%. The final implementation with the TSMC 40-nm process can achieve real-time speech separation and consumes 1.6-mW power when operated at 150 MHz. The normalized energy efficiency and area efficiency are 2.344 TOPS/W and 14.42 GOPS/mm2, respectively.
Statistical mechanics of galaxies

An analysis, aimed at clarifying the predictions of statistical mechanics for collisionless stellar systems, is presented. This is motivated by the recent success of maximum entropy-like principles applied to the structure of elliptical galaxies. It is argued that the strong divergence of trajectories in gravitational N-body systems leads to a very small mixing scale and to a non-degenerate distribution function. In addition, the physics of violent relaxation favours a well-mixed equilibrium independently of initial conditions. Under these circumstances, the statistical mechanical prediction can explain the universal structure of elliptical galaxies
Effect of CeO2-Reinforcement on Pb Absorption by Coconut Coir-Derived Magnetic Biochar

Magnetic separable biochar holds great promise for the treatment of Pb2+-contaminated wastewater. However, the absorption effect of unmodified magnetic biochar is poor. Considering this gap in knowledge, CeO2-doped magnetic coconut coir biochar (Ce-MCB) and magnetic coconut coir biochar (MCB) for Pb2+ absorption were prepared by the impregnation method, and the efficiency of Ce-MCB for Pb2+ absorption was evaluated in comparison with MCB. Conducting the absorption experiments, the study provided theoretical support for the exploration of the absorption mechanism. The quantitative analysis exposed that the enhanced absorption capacity of Ce-MCB was attributed to the increase in oxygen-containing functional groups and mineral precipitation. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm model showed that Ce-MCB is a suitable adsorbent for Pb2+. The absorption characteristics of Ce-MCB was fit well with the pseudo-second-order (PSO) and Langmuir models, which revealed that the absorption of Pb2+ in water was monolayer chemisorption with a maximum theoretical adsorption capacity of 140.83 mg·g−1. The adsorption capacity of Ce-MCB for Pb(II) was sustained above 70% after four cycles. In addition, the saturation magnetization intensity of Ce-MCB was 7.15 emu·g−1, which was sufficient to separate out from the solution. Overall, Ce-MCB has wide application prospects in terms of biomass resources recycling and environmental conservation.
Sign-constrained linear learning and diluting in neural networks

For neural networks with predefined effects of the synapses, excitatory or inhibitory, the simplex algorithm is applied as a learning rule. It is assumed that the given signs of the synapses can never be changed during learning. The maximum possible dilution of synapses, as a result of the learning, is found at the maximum storage capacity of a model with only positive or randomly distributed signs. For the case of infinitely many neurons, a replica symmetric calculation of the free energy and the distribution of coupling strengths is presented. The linear algorithm is also applied to networks with a more suitable choice of sign constraints, with the result of a higher storage capacity.
Influence of Sink Size on 15N and 13C Allocation during Different Phenological Phases of Spring Wheat Cultivars

The scientific objective of this study was to answer the question of whether sink limitation is also true for high quality wheat varieties. We examined the incorporation of 15N and 13C during phenological phases into vegetative parts and grains of Elite wheat Triso (E) and Quality wheat Naxos (A) when the spike is halved. Three splits of fertilizer were applied at EC 11, EC 30, EC 59, whereby 10% at EC 30 and EC 59 was 15N, and plants were also labelled with 13CO2. The application of only the third split as 15N, combined with spike-halving, resulted in a significantly higher 15N-content (+11%) of 0.486 mg 15N/g DM, compared to the control (0.437 mg15N/g DM). Labelling whole plants with 13CO2 at EC 59 resulted in a significantly higher 13C-content—40%—(0.223 mg 13C/g DM) of the grains of the control for Triso at the fully-ripe stage (EC 89), compared to Naxos (0.160 mg 13C/g DM). This superiority was reduced to 34%, and was also demonstrated by spike-halving (0.226 mg 13C/g DM, 0.169 mg 13C/g DM). Remobilization of 15N for control and spike-halving treatments were 68.2% and 61.1%, respectively. This clearly demonstrates that the reduction of the sink size by spike-halving leads to a 7% reduction in the remobilization of 15N from vegetative to reproductive tissues.
The Research of Routing Algorithm Based on Shortest Path Tree in WSNs

This article poses an algorithm of the hierarchical topology in wireless sensor network based on shortest path tree algorithm to cover the shortage of LAC Routing Algorithm (LAC-T), which based on SPT(Shortest Path Tree). LAC-T algorithm elects cluster head by the remaining energy of nodes and the distance between node and base station. Meanwhile, it uses SPT to communicate among cluster heads in WSNs. The result of stimulation shows that LAC-T algorithm is not only easy to achieve, but could be better balance the energy consumption of each node, extend the lifespan of WSN (Wireless Sensor Network).
Study of the dielectric response in mineral oil using frequency-domain measurement

Dielectric spectroscopy is a powerful tool to study dipole relaxation, electrical conduction, and structure of molecules. Electrode polarization, as a parasitic effect due to the blocking of charge carriers in the vicinity of an electrode, can make the frequency response at low frequency difficult to understand. Since charge carriers in mineral oil are not only generated from dissociation but also from injection at electrodes, current induced by motion of injected charge carriers should also be taken into consideration. The polarization caused by the injection current has been studied in this paper. When the electric field is not intense, the injection current is proportional to the field and only contributes to the imaginary part of the complex permittivity. A new model has been proposed with this injection current being involved. The frequency responses of three different kinds of mineral oils have been measured and this new polarization model has been used to fit the experimental data. According to the.
High‐Frequency Scattering by a Transparent Sphere. I. Direct Reflection and Transmission

This is Paper I of a series on high‐frequency scattering of a scalar plane wave by a transparent sphere (square potential well or barrier). It is assumed that (ka)⅓≫1,|N−1|½(ka)⅓≫1, where k is the wave‐number, a is the radius of the sphere, and N is the refractive index. By applying the modified Watson transformation, previously employed for an impenetrable sphere, the asymptotic behavior of the exact scattering amplitude in any direction is obtained, including several angular regions not treated before. The distribution of Regge poles is determined and their physical interpretation is given. The results are helpful in explaining the reason for the difference in the analytic properties of scattering amplitudes for cutoff potentials and potentials with tails. Following Debye, the scattering amplitude is expanded in a series, corresponding to a description in terms of multiple internal reflections. In Paper I, the first term of the Debye expansion, associated with direct reflection from the surface, and the.
Modeling and Fitting Quantile Distributions and Regressions

SYNOPTIC ABSTRACT This paper surveys the development of distributions defined by their quantile functions in both distributional and regression situations. It considers issues of both model construction and fitting. In particular it advocates the use of the ordered data in distributional estimation and seeks to emphasise that regression based on the use of quantiles is far broader in application than that usually encompassed by the phrase ‘quantile regression’. This survey covers parametric rather than non-parametric approaches.
Plantar pressure distribution and postural balance in beauty pageant contestants before and after wearing high-heeled shoes.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to assess the biomechanics of the foot in beauty pageant contestants wearing shoes that increase calcaneal height. Plantar pressure distribution and postural balance were examined in women after one hour of wearing high-heeled shoes. METHODS Foot arch measurements were conducted using EPSR1. Based on these measurements, 18 of the 19 tested women were diagnosed with significant pes cavus. RESULTS The experiment revealed a significant reduction in the excessively high metatarsal arch of both feet. The mean load on the metatarsus measured at rest was 0.0% in both feet, and it increased by 0.6% in the left leg (p ≤ 0.022; Z = 2.293) and by 2.7% in the right leg (p ≤ 0.023; Z = 2.271). These results suggest that excessive stretching of the plantar fascia and impaired function of the short muscles of the foot lead to a temporary reduction in the arch of the foot. This phenomenon can be compared to stretching a bowstring and its return to the shortest length under static conditions. A statistical analysis of the results of stabilographic measurements revealed significant changes only in the left foot barycenter. An analysis of the ability to maintain postural balance revealed that the observed changes contributed to postural destabilization at p ≤ 0.011 and Z = 2.535. CONCLUSIONS Further research involving electromyography tests is needed to examine plantar muscle tension during isotonic contractions. The duration of the exercise-induced reduction in pes cavus should also be determined for therapeutic purposes.
Measuring Food Service Satisfaction amongst Residents Living in Nursing Homes—A New and Valid Person-Centered Approach

Resident satisfaction with food services contributes to health and wellbeing. Measuring resident satisfaction is important; however, the small number of existing food service satisfaction questionnaires (FSSQs) are outdated, lack rigorous psychometric testing and do not reflect the shift to person-centered care. This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable FSSQ. Content validity was established by conducting interviews with residents, a systematic literature review and consultation with an expert panel. Data from 387 residents were used to establish construct validity (Principal Components Analysis), internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) and temporal stability (Gwet’s AC). The result was a three factor, 25-item scale with good/excellent internal consistency: Factor One (13 items–good food/service, α = 0.896), Factor Two (seven items–resident choice/food availability α = 0.648) and Factor Three (five items–resident participation/staff assistance, α = 0.729). Temporal stability was good/very good (Gwet’s AC 0.6242–0.9799 (p < 0.001). This is the first FSSQ available to nursing homes that meets the COSMIN® standards for excellence and incorporates person-centered care. The questionnaire is simple to use and interpret, providing food service managers with an accurate and reliable measure of resident satisfaction and assisting them in providing a meal and dining experience that supports the health and wellbeing of residents.
Geometric Analysis of Overconstrained Parallel Manipulators with Three and Four Degrees of Freedom

This paper investigates the constraint characteristics of parallel manipulators with three and four degrees of freedom. An analytical method of using equivalent screw groups is developed in the study based on the linear independence of screw systems and reciprocal screw systems. A procedure for determining overconstraints in spatial parallel mechanisms with fewer six degrees of freedom is given. With this method, the constraint characteristics of four parallel mechanisms with three or four degrees of freedom, i. e. 3-RRC, 3-CPR, 3-URU/SPS and 4-UPU mechanisms, are revealed. The constraint characteristics of three types of parallelogram linkage unites are then discovered, which gives the corresponding equivalent representations in terms of serial mechanisms. The approach is further applied to the geometric analysis of parallel mechanisms with hybrid limbs including 3-R(4U)RPP and 3-R(4S)RRRP mechanisms.
A New Gain Spiral at Work: Relationships between Virtuous Organizational Practices, Psychological Capital, and Well-Being of Workers

Identifying antecedents of well-being at work is an active field of research, focusing notably on organizational practices that promote employees’ optimal health. To date, whereas studies have demonstrated that some organizational practices, considered in isolation, are positively associated with indicators of well-being, none tested the joint effect of a bundle of practices on these. Moreover, few studies have examined the psychological mechanisms underlying these relationships. The present study aimed to identify the relationships between virtuous organizational practices, a new psychological integrative construct, and three indicators of workers’ hedonic, eudaimonic, and social well-being, namely job satisfaction, thriving at work, and work–life balance, and to test the mediational role of psychological capital in these relationships. The sample comprised 400 French employees working in non-profit, private, and public organizations. Structural equation modeling confirmed the direct effects of virtuous organizational practices on the three indicators of well-being, and a bootstrapping procedure demonstrated that psychological capital partially mediates these relationships. The results of this study have many practical applications because virtuous organizational practices can easily be implemented and optimized in work organizations to develop the individual resources of workers and, in detail, to promote their psychological well-being. Finally, the contributions of this study, avenues for future research, and limitations are discussed.
Colour image compression based on the measure of just noticeable colour difference

To the human vision, there exists in colour images a certain amount of perceptual redundancy since the human visual system (HVS) has limited sensitivity in discriminating colour signals of small differences. By measuring the perceptual redundancy inherent in colour images and shaping the coding distortion into the perceptual redundancy, colour images are expected to be represented more efficiently. Approaches to perceptually optimise the efficiency of image coders in compressing colour images with the perceptual redundancy estimated by a colour visual model are presented. The model estimates the perceptual redundancy for each colour pixel as a visibility threshold of colour difference in any colour space and in a spatial or frequency domain. Two existing image coders are modified to take advantage of the perceptual redundancy and simulated to inspect if their coding efficiency is improved. In the spatial domain, the JPEG-LS coder in the near-lossless compression mode is modified to make coding errors part of the perceptual redundancy in compressing colour images in the RGB space. In the wavelet domain, the JPEG2000 coder is refined by minimising the perceptible distortion involved in the rate control of the compressed image in the YC b C r space. Simulation results show that, in both cases, the performance of the perceptually tuned coder is superior to that of the un-tuned coder in terms of the bit rate required for achieving the same visual quality.