Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of restorative experience in reducing the risk perception of COVID-19 infection: Korean male campers' well-being and willingness to pay a premium for camping

During the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, South Korean men exhibited greater affective risk perceptions than women, displaying anxiety and fear of COVID-19 infection as well as emotional distress. Such negative psychological states can be reduced through exposure to natural environments. Natural settings often provide restorative environments promoting individual mental health, psychological stability, and well-being. Therefore, this study aims to examine the roles of restorativeness as perceived by men in mitigating the affective risk perception of COVID-19, improving well-being, and increasing the willingness to pay a premium to camp in the context of nature-based camping. An online survey was conducted with South Korean men who experienced camping during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 208 responses were used for data analysis. The results of structural equation modeling indicated significant relationships between affective risk perception and perceived restorativeness, perceived restorativeness and well-being, and well-being and willingness-to-pay-a-premium. The mediating effect of well-being was also significant. The findings of a multi-group analysis indicated a significant moderating effect of having children on the relationship between perceived restorativeness and well-being, but not on the relationship between well-being and willingness-to-pay-a-premium. The results of this study provide enhanced insight into restorative experiences in nature as a coping mechanism for increased affective risks as perceived by men during the pandemic. In particular, this study examined the psychological benefits of a natural environment in the context of camping and empirically identified the role of camping in promoting a feeling of restorativeness and inducing men’s well-being perception by easing negative emotions. This study also provides practitioners with an understanding of changes in men’s perceptions and emotional and behavioral responses through positive restorative experiences.
Quasiperiodic photonic crystal fiber [Invited]

In the fields of light manipulation and localization, quasiperiodic photonic crystals, or photonic quasicrystals (PQs), are causing an upsurge in research because of their rotational symmetry and long-range orientation of transverse lattice arrays, as they lack translational symmetry. It allows for the optimization of well-established light propagation properties and has introduced new guiding features. Therefore, as a class, quasiperiodic photonic crystal fibers, or photonic quasi-crystal fibers (PQFs), are considered to add flexibility and richness to the optical properties of fibers and are expected to offer significant potential applications to optical fiber fields. In this review, the fundamental concept, working mechanisms, and invention history of PQFs are explained. Recent progress in optical property improvement and its novel applications in fields such as dispersion control, polarization-maintenance, supercontinuum generation, orbital angular momentum transmission, plasmon-based sensors and filters, and high nonlinearity and topological mode transmission, are then reviewed in detail. Bandgap-type air-guiding PQFs supporting low attenuation propagation and regulation of photonic density states of quasiperiodic cladding and in which light guidance is achieved by coherent Bragg scattering are also summarized. Finally, current challenges encountered in the guiding mechanisms and practical preparation techniques, as well as the prospects and research trends of PQFs, are also presented.
Livelihoods and survival strategies pursued by international return migrants in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract In Ethiopia as far as the livelihood and survival strategies pursued by international returnees is concerned, such scientific study is scanty or non-existent. The study was devoted to explore the livelihoods and survival strategies chased among the returnees in Addis Ababa to provide scientific evidences and insights for decision making and future intervention efforts. Data were collected from 402 randomly drawn sample returnees via a cross-sectional survey. The supplementary data were collected from purposively selected focus group discussion and semi-structured interview participants. Descriptive statistics and Ordinal Logistic Regression Model (OLRM) were employed to analyze the data. The study revealed that while unemployment was found to be the most categorized livelihood strategy by which returnees were hallmarked and rated above the scale mean on the three-point likert scale (mean = 2.18, Standard Deviation/SD = 0.91); wage-employment and self-employment were rated below the scale mean (mean = 1.41, SD = 0.61; and mean = 1.39, SD = 0.56) respectively, which reflects that majority of the study population weren’t involved in livelihood strategies common in urban settings. OLRM results confirmed that educational attainment and age of the returnees made the first and the second largest contributions in predicting wage-employment in the positive and negative directions with beta coefficients (β = 0.985; and β = |-0.611| respectively at (p ≤ 0.000) level of significance. A notable proportion of Ethiopian returnees deemed to be unemployed and not engaged in any urban livelihood activities and deprived of enjoying the potential benefits obtained from self-employment and wage-employment activities in the study area.
Measuring the Transferability of ℓ∞ Attacks by the ℓ2 Norm

Deep neural networks could be fooled by adversarial examples with trivial differences to original samples. To keep the difference imperceptible in human eyes, researchers bound the adversarial perturbations by the ℓ∞ norm, which is now commonly served as the standard to align the strength of different attacks for a fair comparison. However, we propose that using the ℓ∞ norm alone is not sufficient in measuring the attack strength, because even with a fixed ℓ∞ distance, the ℓ2 distance also greatly affects the attack transferability between models. Through the discovery, we reach more in-depth understandings towards the attack mechanism, i.e., several existing methods attack black-box models better partly because they craft perturbations with 70% to 130% larger ℓ2 distances. Since larger perturbations naturally lead to better transferability, we thereby advocate that the strength of attacks should be simultaneously measured by both the ℓ∞ and ℓ2 norm. Our proposal is firmly supported by extensive experiments on ImageNet dataset from 7 attacks, 4 white-box models, and 9 black-box models.
Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 Virus Aggravates Pathology of Blood Vessels in Wistar Rats with Premorbid Acute Cardiomyopathy

Influenza virus can infect the vascular endothelium and cause endothelial dysfunction. Persons at higher risk for severe influenza are patients with acute and chronic cardiovascular disorders; however, the mechanism of influenza-induced cardiovascular system alteration remains not fully understood. The aim of the study was to assess the functional activity of mesenteric blood vessels of Wistar rats with premorbid acute cardiomyopathy infected with Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus. For this, we determined (1) the vasomotor activity of mesenteric blood vessels of Wistar rats using wire myography, (2) the level of expression of three endothelial factors: endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in the endothelium of mesenteric blood vessels using immunohistochemistry, and (3) the concentration of PAI-1 and tPA in the blood plasma using ELISA. Acute cardiomyopathy in animals was induced by doxorubicin (DOX) following infection with rat-adapted Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus. The functional activity of mesenteric blood vessels was analyzed at 24 and 96 h post infection (hpi). Thus, the maximal response of mesenteric arteries to both vasoconstrictor and vasodilator at 24 and 96 hpi was significantly decreased compared with control. Expression of eNOS in the mesenteric vascular endothelium was modulated at 24 and 96 hpi. PAI-1 expression increased 3.47-fold at 96 hpi, while the concentration of PAI-1 in the blood plasma increased 6.43-fold at 24 hpi compared with control. The tPA concentration in plasma was also modulated at 24 hpi and 96 hpi. The obtained data indicate that influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus aggravates the course of premorbid acute cardiomyopathy in Wistar rats, causing pronounced dysregulation of endothelial factor expression and vasomotor activity impairment of mesenteric arteries.
Scattering from slightly rough random surfaces: a detailed study on the validity of the small perturbation method

A perturbative expression up to fourth order in k0σ (k0 = 2π/λ; σ being the rms of the surface height and λ the wavelength) has been obtained for the mean diffuse intensity from a one-dimensional random rough surface that has normal statistics and a Gaussian correlation function for s polarization. For p polarization it is not possible to obtain this expression because of the existence of certain resonances; thus the calculations must be restricted to second order in k0σ. Perturbative calculations were derived from the Rayleigh hypothesis and also from the extinction theorem. The expression for the diffuse component of the mean scattered intensity was the same for p waves in both cases up to second order in k0σ. For s waves the equality was obtained up to fourth order in k0σ. Comparisons with exact numerical results and with those obtained by using the Kirchhoff approximation are made. This comparison allows us to establish assessments on the validity of the perturbative solution and to obtain some new interesting facts. In addition, the behavior of the diffuse halo at small σ/λ as a function of the correlation length T, the angle of incidence θ0, and the polarization is discussed. The validity of the Rayleigh hypothesis is also studied.
RNN-Based Step-Size Estimation for the RLS Algorithm with Application to Acoustic Echo Cancellation

In this paper, we propose an recurrent neural network (RNN) based step-size estimation for the recursive least squares (RLS) algorithm with application to acoustic echo cancellation (AEC). RLS-based AEC (as compared to the least mean square (LMS) based) has a better convergence rate and less distortion, which is an important advantage in acoustic speech recognition (ASR) usages. The optimal step size of the RLS, as derived in the literature, is impractical due to its dependence on the power of the desired speech. An RNN model is presented that learns the relationship between the reference signal and the microphone signal to the optimal step size. At inference mode, the trained RNN produces the step size in real-time, which is then fed to the RLS algorithm. For evaluation, we used two hours of recordings from the AEC-challenge and Wav2vec2 databases, and compared the proposed technique and other competing methods. Experiments show that the proposed technique has advantages in terms of ASR performance and other classic measurements.
Exploring Indonesian Teachers' and Students' Perceptions and Practices of Translanguaging and Trans-Semiotizing in EFL Classrooms

The current trend of dynamic multilingualism in the field of applied linguistics has triggered the emergence of pedagogical approaches that aim to support and legitimate multilingual language practices. Translanguaging and trans-semiotizing are among the terms that have been widely used to describe the dynamic flows of discursive practices that involve one’s full semiotic repertoire to communicate and construct knowledge, which still remains unexplored in this context. This study aimed to investigate both university teachers and students’ perceptions of translanguaging and trans-semiotizing in English classrooms. Using observation, semi-structured interviews to five teachers and focus group discussion to seven students, the results of thematic analysis demonstrated that while the teachers seemed to expect the implementation of monolingual instruction, the students had a more positive view towards the utilization of multiple languages and semiotic signs in the classroom. It was also found out that translanguaging and trans-semiotizing served numerous pedagogical functions in enhancing students’ comprehension of the materials. Nevertheless, the ability to translanguage and trans-semiotize was not seen as a multilingual competence, but as a manifestation of one’s linguistic deficiency. This study suggests that translanguaging and trans-semiotizing should not merely be seen as a pedagogical tool, but these practices should also be legitimated and valued.
Optimization of the Extraction Methodology of Grape Pomace Polyphenols for Food Applications

This study aims to take advantage of the wine industry by-products and extract bioactive compounds from grape pomace by applying methodologies susceptible to be integrated easily into industrial workflows because of the association with standard instrumentation and facilities, while the main factors affecting the efficiency of the process have been optimized. The sampling consisted of two grape varieties: ‘Touriga Nacional’ and ‘Sousão’. A response surface methodology (RSM) method was used to optimize the extraction conditions based on three independent variables according to the chemical characteristics and stability/lability traits associated with polyphenols; the main bioactive phytochemical in grape pomace: solvent (50%, 70%, and 90% ethanol); temperature (20 °C, 40 °C, and 60 °C); and pH (0.5% HCl, 2% HCl, and 3.5% HCl). The phytochemical profile, as well as the radical scavenging and reducing powers were determined on 27 different samples. The highest yield and antioxidant activity corresponded to extracts obtained at 60 °C using 3.5% HCl and 70% ethanol. The values for total phenols and flavonoids were 44.93 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE) and 22.95 mg of catechins equivalents (CE) per gram, respectively. Concerning the evaluation of antioxidant capacity using various assays such as ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP, the results obtained were 0.30, 0.43, and 0.36 mmol of Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) per gram, correspondingly. The analysis of the extract obtained with the best extraction performance using these parameters via High-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry has been also performed, allowing us to identify fourteen (14) compounds, including phenolic acids (n = 3), flavonols (n = 7), and anthocyanins (n = 4). As a result of this process, the best conditions for the production of a natural and environmentally friendly dye, not only avoiding waste but also reusing these by-products, were achieved.
The isolation of novel terrestrial Streptomyces strains with antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties

Abstract Streptomyces are very important Gram-positive filamentous bacteria because they can produce many beneficial secondary metabolites with various biological activities. The study aims to isolate and identify novel Streptomyces strains from terrestrial habitats in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties. The antimicrobial efficacy was assessed using the disk and well susceptibility methods. Crude ethyl acetate extracts of active-producing strains were used to determine the antimicrobial activity by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against E. coli, S. aureus, C. albicans, S. cerevisiae, B. subtilis, and E. coli-ESBL (extended-spectrum Beta-Lactamase), and cytotoxic properties against HeLa cells by MTT assay and DAPI staining. The novelty of the strains was determined by sequencing the 16S rRNA fragment. Results showed that antimicrobial activity was observed for CSK1, CSK3, CSW2, CSU1, CSU2, and CSG1 strains, with zones of inhibition ranging between 16 and 35 mm. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of ethyl acetate extracts ranged from 0.21 to 12.17 µg/mL, with the highest inhibitory effect against S. aureus ranging between 0.21 and 0.29 µg/mL. Some strains (CSK3, CSW2, CSU1 and CSG1) also displayed cytotoxic activity against the HeLa cancer cell line with IC50 values ranging between 3.46 and 9.74 µg/µL, and apparent DNA fragmentation and chromatin condensation. This study indicates that Streptomyces sp. strains isolated from different soil habitats in the UAE can produce antimicrobial compounds that can treat microbial infections. In addition, some strains’ cytotoxicity suggests that they are producing bioactive compounds that can lead to drug discovery.
In-plane shear piezoelectric wafer active sensor phased arrays for structural health monitoring

This paper proposes a new way for guided wave structural health monitoring using in-plane shear (d36 type) piezoelectric wafer active sensors phased arrays. Conventional piezoelectric wafer active sensors phased arrays based on inducing into specific Lamb wave modes (d31 type) has already widely used for health monitoring of the thin-wall structures. Rather than Lamb wave modes, the in-plane shear piezoelectric wafer active sensors phased arrays induces in-plane shear horizontal (SH) guided waves. The SH guided waves are distinct with the Lamb waves with simple waveform and less additional converted wave modes and the zero symmetric mode (SH0) is non-dispersive. In this paper, the advantage of the shear horizontal wave and the in-plane shear piezoelectric wafers capability to generate SH waves is first reviewed. Then finite element analysis of a 4-in-plane shear wafer active sensors phased array embedded on a rectangular aluminium plate is performed. In addition, numerical simulations with respect to creaks with different sizes as well as locations are implemented by the in-plane shear wafer active sensors phased array. For comparison purposes, the same numerical simulations using the conventional piezoelectric wafer active sensors phased arrays are also employed at the same time. Results indicate that the in-plane shear (d36 type) piezoelectric wafer active sensors phased arrays has the potential to identify damage location and assess damage severity in structural health monitoring.
Methods for Antifungal Susceptibility Testing of the Cryptococcus neoformans/C. gattii Complex: Strengths and Limitations

When method-dependent categorical endpoints are available, namely either BPs or ECVs, MICs could aid in selecting the best treatment agent(s). BPs can categorize an isolate as either susceptible or resistant while the ECVs/ECOFFs can distinguish the wild type (WT, no known resistance mechanisms) from the Non-WT (NWT, harboring resistant mechanisms). Our literature review focused on the Cryptococcus species complex (SC) and the available methods and categorization endpoints. We also covered the incidence of these infections as well as the numerous Cryptococcus neoformans SC and C. gattii SC genotypes. The most important agents to treat cryptococcal infections are fluconazole (widely used), amphotericin B, and flucytosine. We provide data from the collaborative study that defined CLSI fluconazole ECVs for the most common cryptococcal species or genotypes and modes. EUCAST ECVs/ECOFFs are not yet available for fluconazole. We have summarized the incidence of cryptococccal infections (2000–2015) where fluconazole MICs were obtained by reference and commercial antifungal susceptibility tests. This occurrence is documented all over the world and those fluconazole MICs are mostly categorized by available CLSI ECVs/BPs as “resistant” instead of non-susceptible strains, including those by the commercial methods. As expected, the agreement between the CLSI and commercial methods is variable because SYO and Etest data could yield low/variable agreement (<90%) versus the CLSI method. Therefore, since BPs/ECVs are species and method dependent, why not gather sufficient MICs by commercial methods and define the required ECVs for these species?
A Multilevel Study of Eupatorin and Scutellarein as Anti-Amyloid Agents in Alzheimer’s Disease

Today, Alzheimer’s disease (AD)—the most common neurodegenerative disorder, which affects 50 million people—remains incurable. Several studies suggest that one of the main pathological hallmarks of AD is the accumulation of abnormal amyloid beta (Aβ) aggregates; therefore, many therapeutic approaches focus on anti-Aβ aggregation inhibitors. Taking into consideration that plant-derived secondary metabolites seem to have neuroprotective effects, we attempted to assess the effects of two flavones—eupatorin and scutellarein—on the amyloidogenesis of Aβ peptides. Biophysical experimental methods were employed to inspect the aggregation process of Aβ after its incubation with each natural product, while we monitored their interactions with the oligomerized Aβ through molecular dynamics simulations. More importantly, we validated our in vitro and in silico results in a multicellular organismal model—namely, Caenorhabditis elegans—and we concluded that eupatorin is indeed able to delay the amyloidogenesis of Aβ peptides in a concentration-dependent manner. Finally, we propose that further investigation could lead to the exploitation of eupatorin or its analogues as potential drug candidates.
Mechanical joining of high-strength multi-material systems − trends and innovations

In conjunction with mechanical joining processes. Mechanical joining processes play a key role for the realization of multi-material lightweight structures, which are essential with regard to environmental protection. However, joining of dissimilar high-strength materials is challenging due to the varying properties of the joining partners and due to their high flow stresses and often limited ductility. Thus, the evolution of established processes as well as the development of innovative and highly productive joining technologies are necessary. Requirements for a highly volatile production environment are versatility, flexibility, resilience and robustness. Within this contribution, current trends and innovations related to selected mechanical joining processes for enabling the material mix are outlined in order to point out opportunities to address these requirements in the future. In this context, joining using cold formed pin structures is presented as a promising approach for connecting dissimilar materials like metals to fibre-reinforced plastics. Furthermore, it is shown how the shear-clinching technology can be combined with a process-adapted application of locally limited heat treatment in order to promote the joinability and control the material flow during joining. A novel approach for reducing process forces and expanding process windows is the use of ultrasonic assistance for mechanical joining operations, which is demonstrated by the example of a nut staking process with superimposed high frequency oscillation. As concerns the widely used self-piercing riveting technique, current research activities relate not only to the further development of the joining process itself, for example by combining self-piercing riveting and tumbling, but also to the use of new rivet materials like high strain hardening stainless steels. In addition, the evolution towards mechanical joining 4.0 against the background of data-based process control in conjunction with of mechanical joining processes is also subject of the considerations.