Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recent Advances in Mycotoxin Determination in Fish Feed Ingredients

Low-cost plant-based sources used in aquaculture diets are prone to the occurrence of animal feed contaminants, which may in certain conditions affect the quality and safety of aquafeeds. Mycotoxins, a toxic group of small organic molecules produced by fungi, comprise a frequently occurring plant-based feed contaminant in aquafeeds. Mycotoxin contamination can potentially cause significant mortality, reduced productivity, and higher disease susceptibility; thus, its timely detection is crucial to the aquaculture industry. The present review summarizes the methodological advances, developed mainly during the past decade, related to mycotoxin detection in aquafeed ingredients, namely analytical, chromatographic, and immunological methodologies, as well as the use of biosensors and spectroscopic methods which are becoming more prevalent. Rapid and accurate mycotoxin detection is and will continue to be crucial to the food industry, animal production, and the environment, resulting in further improvements and developments in mycotoxin detection techniques.
Vibrations at the boson peak: random- and coherent-phase contributions

Analysis of the dynamic structure factor, , measured by means of inelastic neutron and x-ray scattering, for vibrations around the boson peak in glasses, demonstrates the presence of coherent- and random-phase contributions. It is found that systems with strong boson peaks have larger random-phase contributions to . The results of the analysis are explained in terms of a model which relates the boson peak to scattering of acoustic-like vibrations by spatial fluctuations of elastic constants. Higher amplitude of the fluctuations leads to a higher boson peak and a larger random-phase contribution.
Expansion of scattered phase matrix based on Zernike polynomials

There exists three variables in the radiative transfer equation based on dynamic energy conservation, including polar angle, azimuth angle and normalized penetrate depth. In order to solute this equation with double integral on polar angle and azimuth angle, the first step is to introduce proper method to isolate azimuthal dependency from polar angle. In this paper, we propose a novel phase matrix expansion with Zernike polynomials, which represents the probability of scattering events. The results show that it can provide a new improved strategy for the solution of radiative transfer equations in Discrete-Ordinate Method (DOM), which is different from commonly used Fourier series and Legendre polynomials expansion and we make conclusion that there are three principles for polynomials’ selection, including orthogonal performance, special theorem for polynomial derivation and triangle function generation.
SINGLE-ELECTRON DEVICES FORMED BY SELF-ORDERING METAL NANODROPLET ARRAYS ON EPITAXIAL CAF2 FILM

Single-electron devices using a self-ordering metal nanodroplet array as multitunneling junctions (MTJ) were fabricated. The nanodroplet array was fabricated by sequential deposition of Al and Ga on a epitaxial CaF2 film grown on Si substrate, so that the Ga/Al droplets were aligned along the CaF2 step edges. Current-voltage characteristics of an MTJ diode and an MTJ transistor showed a Coulomb staircase at 55 K and 287 K, respectively. A large Coulomb gap observed on a source–drain current indicates that electrons tunnel a large number of nanodroplet arrays.
Transcriptome and Co-Expression Network Analysis Reveals the Molecular Mechanism of Rice Root Systems in Response to Low-Nitrogen Conditions

Nitrogen is an important nutrient for plant growth and essential metabolic processes. Roots integrally obtain nutrients from soil and are closely related to the growth and development of plants. In this study, the morphological analysis of rice root tissues collected at different time points under low-nitrogen and normal nitrogen conditions demonstrated that, compared with normal nitrogen treatment, the root growth and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of rice under low-nitrogen treatment were significantly improved. To better understand the molecular mechanisms of the rice root system’s response to low-nitrogen conditions, a comprehensive transcriptome analysis of rice seedling roots under low-nitrogen and control conditions was conducted in this study. As a result, 3171 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Rice seedling roots enhance NUE and promote root development by regulating the genes related to nitrogen absorption and utilization, carbon metabolism, root growth and development, and phytohormones, thereby adapting to low-nitrogen conditions. A total of 25,377 genes were divided into 14 modules using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Two modules were significantly associated with nitrogen absorption and utilization. A total of 8 core genes and 43 co-expression candidates related to nitrogen absorption and utilization were obtained in these two modules. Further studies on these genes will contribute to the understanding of low-nitrogen adaptation and nitrogen utilization mechanisms in rice.
A New Design of Cryptographic Hash Function: Gear

A hash function is any function that can be used to map data of arbitrary size to data of fixed size. A hash function usually has two main components: a permutation function or compression function and mode of operation. We will propose a new concrete novel design of a permutation based hash functions called Gear in this paper. It is a hash function based on block cipher in Davies-Meyer mode. It uses the patched version of Merkle-Damgard, i.e. the wide pipe construction as its mode of operation. Thus, the intermediate chaining value has at least twice larger length than the output hash. And the permutations functions used in Gear are inspired from the SHA-3 finalist Groestl hash function which is originally inspired from Rijndael design (AES). There is a very strong confusion and diffusion in Gear as a result.
CoNiCrMo Particles, but Not TiAlV Particles, Activate the NLRP3 Inflammasome in Periprosthetic Cells

Aseptic loosening is the main reason for arthroplasty failure. The wear particles generated at the tribological bearings are thought to induce an inflammatory tissue response, leading to bone loss and the subsequent loosening of the implant. Different wear particles have been shown to activate the inflammasome, thereby contributing to an inflammatory milieu in the direct vicinity of the implant. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the NLRP3 inflammasome is activated by different metal particles in vitro and in vivo. Three different cell lines representing periprosthetic cell subsets (MM6, MG63 and Jurkat) were incubated with different amounts of TiAlV or CoNiCrMo particles. The activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome was determined through the detection of the caspase 1 cleavage product p20 in a Western blot. The formation of the inflammasome was also investigated in vivo using immunohistological staining for ASC in primary synovial tissues as well as tissues containing TiAlV and CoCrMo particles and in vitro after the stimulation of the cells. The results show that the CoCrMo particles induced ASC more markedly, as a readout for inflammasome formation in vivo, compared to TiAlV particular wear. The CoNiCrMo particles also induced ASC-speck formation in all the tested cell lines, which was not induced by the TiAlV particles. The Western blot shows that NRLP3 inflammasome activation, measured through caspase 1 cleavage, was increased only by the CoNiCrMo particles in the MG63 cells. We conclude from our data that the activation of the inflammasome is mainly driven by CoNiCrMo particles and less by TiAlV particles, indicating that different inflammatory pathways are activated by the different alloys.
Nanobionics: A Sustainable Agricultural Approach towards Understanding Plant Response to Heavy Metals, Drought, and Salt Stress

In the current scenario, the rising concentration of heavy metals (HMs) due to anthropogenic activities is a severe problem. Plants are very much affected by HM pollution as well as other abiotic stress such as salinity and drought. It is very important to fulfil the nutritional demands of an ever-growing population in these adverse environmental conditions and/or stresses. Remediation of HM in contaminated soil is executed through physical and chemical processes which are costly, time-consuming, and non-sustainable. The application of nanobionics in crop resilience with enhanced stress tolerance may be the safe and sustainable strategy to increase crop yield. Thus, this review emphasizes the impact of nanobionics on the physiological traits and growth indices of plants. Major concerns and stress tolerance associated with the use of nanobionics are also deliberated concisely. The nanobionic approach to plant physiological traits and stress tolerance would lead to an epoch of plant research at the frontier of nanotechnology and plant biology.
A Complete Proof of Universal Inequalities for the Distribution Function of the Binomial Law

We present a new form and a short complete proof of explicit two-sided estimates for the distribution function $F_{n,p}(k)$ of the binomial law with parameters $n,p$ from [D. Alfers and H. Dinges, Z. Wahrsch. Verw. Geb. , 65 (1984), pp. 399--420]. These inequalities are universal (valid for all values of parameters and argument) and exact (namely, the upper bound for $F_{n,p}(k)$ is the lower bound for $F_{n,p}(k+1)$). Such estimates allow to bound any quantile of the binomial law by two subsequent integers that it contains.
Perceptual Thresholds for Acoustical Guitar Models

Synthesised acoustic guitar sounds based on a detailed physical model are used to provide input for psychoacoustical testing. Thresholds of perception are found for changes in the main parameters of the model. Using a three-alternative forced-choice procedure, just-noticeable differences are presented for changes in frequency and damping of the modes of the guitar body, and also for changes in the tension, bending stiffness and damping parameters of the strings. These are compared with measured data on the range of variation of these parameters in a selection of guitars. © S. Hirzel Verlag © EAA.
Effect of Plasma Excitation Power on the SiOxCyHz/TiOx Nanocomposite

Titanium dioxide has attracted a great deal of attention in the field of environmental purification due to its photocatalytic activity under ultraviolet light. Photocatalytic efficiency and the energy required to initiate the process remain the drawbacks that hinder the widespread adoption of the process. Consistently with this, it is proposed here the polymerization of hexamethyldisiloxane fragments simultaneously to TiO2 sputtering for the production of thin films in low-pressure plasma. The effect of plasma excitation power on the molecular structure and chemical composition of the films was evaluated by infrared spectroscopy. Wettability and surface energy were assessed by a sessile drop technique, using deionized water and diiodomethane. The morphology and elemental composition of the films were determined using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy, respectively. The thickness and roughness of the resulting films were measured using profilometry. Organosilicon-to-silica films, with different properties, were deposited by combining both deposition processes. Titanium was detected from the structures fabricated by the hybrid method. It has been observed that the proportion of titanium and particles incorporated into silicon-based matrices depends on the plasma excitation power. In general, a decrease in film thickness with increasing power has been observed. The presence of Ti in the plasma atmosphere alters the plasma deposition mechanism, affecting film deposition rate, roughness, and wettability. An interpretation of the excitation power dependence on the plasma activation level and sputtering yield is proposed. The methodology developed here will encourage researchers to create TiO2 films on a range of substrates for their prospective use as sensor electrodes, water and air purification systems, and biocompatible materials.
Applying Reinforcement Learning for Enhanced Cybersecurity against Adversarial Simulation

Cybersecurity is a growing concern in today’s interconnected world. Traditional cybersecurity approaches, such as signature-based detection and rule-based firewalls, are often limited in their ability to effectively respond to evolving and sophisticated cyber threats. Reinforcement learning (RL) has shown great potential in solving complex decision-making problems in various domains, including cybersecurity. However, there are significant challenges to overcome, such as the lack of sufficient training data and the difficulty of modeling complex and dynamic attack scenarios hindering researchers’ ability to address real-world challenges and advance the state of the art in RL cyber applications. In this work, we applied a deep RL (DRL) framework in adversarial cyber-attack simulation to enhance cybersecurity. Our framework uses an agent-based model to continuously learn from and adapt to the dynamic and uncertain environment of network security. The agent decides on the optimal attack actions to take based on the state of the network and the rewards it receives for its decisions. Our experiments on synthetic network security show that the DRL approach outperforms existing methods in terms of learning optimal attack actions. Our framework represents a promising step towards the development of more effective and dynamic cybersecurity solutions.
VLA observations of the multiple jet galaxy 3C 75

VLA observations of the central radio source in Abell 400, 3C 75, at 6 and 20 cm are presented. The VLA maps show that this radio source consists of a pair of twin jets originating in the apparently double nucleus of the central galaxy in this cluster. On larger scales the jets merge into two tails resembling the wide angle tail class of radio sources. Just as for the wide angle tail radio source, 3C 465, it is found that the standard models for bending this source fail quantitatively. The problem becomes even harder because of the low velocity dispersion and temperature for Abell 400 and the fact that the jets from both nuclei bend in the same direction. Models with jet velocities less than 1000 km/s at the first bends seem necessary if the sources are bent by the motion of the galaxy through the ICM. Particle acceleration seems necessary in the most diffuse parts of the source with the energy source likely to be the ICM itself. 10 references.
Relationship between air pollution exposure and the progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in Madrid: Chronic respiratory failure, hospitalizations, and mortality. A retrospective study

Introduction Air pollution has a significant impact on the morbidity and mortality of various respiratory diseases. However, this has not been widely studied in diffuse interstitial lung diseases, specifically in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Objective In this study we aimed to assess the relationship between four major air pollutants individually [carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and nitrogen oxides (NOx)] and the development of chronic respiratory failure, hospitalization due to respiratory causes and mortality in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Methods We conducted an exploratory retrospective panel study from 2011 to 2020 in 69 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis from the pulmonary medicine department of a tertiary hospital. Based on their geocoded residential address, levels of each pollutant were estimated 1, 3, 6, 12, and 36 months prior to each event (chronic respiratory failure, hospital admission and mortality). Data was collected from the air quality monitoring stations of the Community of Madrid located <3.5 km (2.2 miles) from each patient's home. Results The increase in average values of CO [OR 1.62 (1.11–2.36) and OR 1.84 (1.1–3.06)], NO2 [OR 1.64 (1.01–2.66)], and NOx [OR 1.11 (1–1.23) and OR 1.19 (1.03–1.38)] were significantly associated with the probability of developing chronic respiratory failure in different periods. In addition, the averages of NO2, O3, and NOx were significantly associated with the probability of hospital admissions due to respiratory causes and mortality in these patients. Conclusion Air pollution is associated with an increase in the probability of developing chronic respiratory failure, hospitalization due to respiratory causes and mortality in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Dielectric microcavities: Model systems for wave chaos and non-Hermitian physics

This is a review on theoretical and experimental studies on dielectric microcavities, which play a significant role in fundamental and applied research. The basic concepts and theories are introduced. Experimental techniques for fabrication of microcavities and optical characterization are described. Starting from undeformed cavities, the review moves on to weak deformation, intermediate deformation with mixed phase space, and then strong deformation with full ray chaos. Non-Hermitian physics such as avoided resonance crossings and exceptional points are covered along with various dynamical tunneling phenomena. Some specific topics such as unidirectional output, beam shifts, wavelength-scale microcavities, and rotating microcavities are discussed. The open microdisk and microsphere cavities are ideal model systems for the studies on wave chaos and non-Hermitian physics.
Periodic output feedback control for two-time-scale discrete systems

In this paper, the problem of control design for discrete two-time-scale systems using piecewise constant periodic output feedback is considered. The discrete two-time-scale system is decomposed into a slow and fast subsystem and then a composite controller is designed which provides an output injection gain. The output injection gain has been used to compute periodic output feedback. The method is illustrated by a numerical example.
Development and Characterization of Drug Loaded PVA/PCL Fibres for Wound Dressing Applications

Nowadays, synthetic polymers are used in medical applications due to their special biodegradable, biocompatible, hydrophilic, and non-toxic properties. The materials, which can be used for wound dressing fabrication with controlled drug release profile, are the need of the time. The main aim of this study was to develop and characterize polyvinyl alcohol/polycaprolactone (PVA/PCL) fibres containing a model drug. A dope solution comprising PVA/PCL with the drug was extruded into a coagulation bath and became solidified. The developed PVA/PCL fibres were then rinsed and dried. These fibres were tested for Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, linear density, topographic analysis, tensile properties, liquid absorption, swelling behaviour, degradation, antimicrobial activity, and drug release profile for improved and better healing of the wound. From the results, it was concluded that PVA/PCL fibres containing a model drug can be produced by using the wet spinning technique and have respectable tensile properties; adequate liquid absorption, swelling %, and degradation %; and good antimicrobial activity with the controlled drug release profile of the model drug for wound dressing applications.
Extracting prototypes from exemplars What can corpus data tell us about concept representation?

Abstract Over the past four decades, two distinct alternatives have emerged to rule-based models of how linguistic categories are stored and represented as cognitive structures, namely the prototype and exemplar theories. Although these models were initially thought to be mutually exclusive, shifts from one mechanism to the other have been observed in category learning experiments, bringing the models closer together. In this paper we implement a technique akin to varying abstraction modelling, that assumes intermediate abstraction processes to underlie category representations and categorization decisions; we do so using familiar statistical techniques such as regression and clustering that track frequency distributions in input. With this model we simulate, on the basis of actual usage of Russian try verbs and Finnish think verbs as observed in corpora, how prototypes for near-synonymous verbs could be formed from concrete exemplars at different levels of abstraction. In so doing, we take a closer look at the cognitive linguistic flirtation with multiple categorization theories, suggesting three improvements anchored in the fact that cognitive linguistics is a usage-based theory of language. Firstly, we show that language provides support for considering single prototype and full exemplar models as opposite ends along a continuum of abstraction. Secondly, we present a methodology that simulates how prototypes can be obtained from exemplars at more than one level of abstraction in a systematic and verifiable way. And thirdly, we illustrate our claims on the basis of work on verbs, denoting intangible events that are neither stable in nor independent of time and express relational concepts; this implies that verbs are more susceptible to their meanings being influenced by the concepts they relate.
Effect of carbon nanotubes on Portland cement matrices

abstract: This study evaluates the effects of three carbon nanotubes with different geometric characteristics on the rheological behaviour and mechanical performance, as well as on the microstructure of mortars and cement pastes. For nanotube content ranging from 0.025 to 0.2 wt%, the yield stress and viscosity were determined by rotational rheometry, and mechanical performance was evaluated by flexural strength and dynamic modulus of elasticity. The microstructural analysis was performed by X-ray diffraction, thermo-gravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The obtained results showed that the yield stress presents a considerable increase as the carbon nanotube content increases. The viscosity was also influenced by the presence of carbon nanotubes. The flexural strength of mortars increases for different amounts of carbon nanotubes, and depending on the geometric characteristics of the carbon nanotubes, the material behaves like a composite. The microstructural analysis showed the nucleation of hydration products on the surface of the carbon nanotubes, and that the better mechanical performance of matrices containing carbon nanotubes is not related to the increase in hydration products.