Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Full-Body Photobiomodulation Therapy Is Associated with Reduced Sleep Durations and Augmented Cardiorespiratory Indicators of Recovery

Research is emerging on the use of Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) and its potential for augmenting human performance, however, relatively little research exists utilizing full-body administration methods. As such, further research supporting the efficacy of whole-body applications of PBMT for behavioral and physiological modifications in applicable, real-world settings are warranted. The purpose of this analysis was to observe cardiorespiratory and sleep patterns surrounding the use of full-body PBMT in an elite cohort of female soccer players. Members of a women’s soccer team in a “Power 5 conference” of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) were observed across one competitive season while wearing an OURA Ring nightly and a global positioning system (GPS) sensor during training. Within-subject comparisons of cardiorespiratory physiology, sleep duration, and sleep composition were evaluated the night before and after PBMT sessions completed as a standard of care for team recovery. Compared to pre-intervention, mean heart rate (HR) was significantly lower the night after a PBMT session (p = 0.0055). Sleep durations were also reduced following PBMT, with total sleep time (TST) averaging 40 min less the night after a session (p = 0.0006), as well as significant reductions in light sleep (p = 0.0307) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep durations (p = 0.0019). Sleep durations were still lower following PBMT, even when controlling for daily and accumulated training loads. Enhanced cardiorespiratory indicators of recovery following PBMT, despite significant reductions in sleep duration, suggest that it may be an effective modality for maintaining adequate recovery from the high stress loads experienced by elite athletes.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, ANTI-ULCER AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS OF CAROB PODS (CERATONIA SILIQUA L.) POLYPHENOLS FROM AIN TEMOUCHENT

This research was aimed to evaluate the chemical composition by HPLC/UV, anti-inflammatory effect in vitro (hyaluronidase assay) and anti-ulcer activity in vivo against gastric ulcer. This anti-ulcer activity was explored in vivo on Wistar rats exposed to a gastric ulcer provoked with oral administration of HCl /ethanol (150 mM /60%) for one day after five days of oral treatment with 250 mg/kg of ethanolic extract of carob pods (EECp), to restore stomach ulceration. Several compounds of carob have been identified by HPLC/UV. This identification reveals the existence of phenolic compounds; flavonoids (chrysin, galangin, pinocembrin, quercetin, genistein, kaempferol, etc.) and phenolic acids (rosmarinic acid, caffeic acids, ferulic acid, etc.). Our extract showed strong inhibitory activity of hyaluronidase with (IC50 = 20.7 mg / ml). The results obtained indicated that administration of HCl /ethanol alone produced stomach ulceration in rats with very extensive and bleeding gastric lesions with 44.09% of percentage lesion and 362.26 mm2 of lesions area in the stomach mucosa. However, pretreatement of rats with EECp revealed a spectacular inhibition of gastric mucosal damage (7.46%), a significant reduction in malondialdehyde (4.86 nmol/mL) and an increase in enzymes of oxidative status (superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase). The present study results can attribute to carob an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer effects.
Studies of the eleven antenna feed in axi-symmetric reflector systems for the next generation radio telescope

The international radio astronomy community is currently pursuing the development of a giant radio telescope known as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). The SKA will consist of several antenna technologies, including reflector antennas fed with novel multi-beam Phased Array Feeds (PAFs) and/or Single Pixel Feeds (SPFs) that can operate approximately at frequencies from 1 to 10 GHz. The baseline of the SKA represents an array of several hundred to a few thousand reflector antennas of 15-m diameter that will realize sensitivity of 10,000 m/K. During the past years, different reflector and feed concepts have been proposed and examined, but only a small number of these design options (that have a sufficient level of maturity) will be built and tested during the SKA design verification phase. These tests are aimed to evaluate the overall system performance as well as construction and operational costs. The final choices of the dish and feeds used in the evaluation tests might include: (i) off-set Gregorian and axi-symmetric reflector antennas and; (ii) a collection of octave bandwidth horns or/and single-pixel wideband feeds, such as quad-ridged horn and the Eleven antenna. The aim of this work is to investigate the performance of the wideband Eleven antenna feed in combination with the axi-symmetric reflector antenna.
Comparative Dissemination of Aerosol and Splatter Using Suction Device during Ultrasonic Scaling: A Pilot Study

Objective: This study compared the aerosol and splatter diameter and count numbers produced by a dental mouth prop with a suction holder device and a saliva ejector during ultrasonic scaling in a clinical setting. Methodology: Fluorescein dye was placed in the dental equipment irrigation reservoirs with a mannequin, and an ultrasonic scaler was employed. The procedures were performed three times per device. The upper and bottom board papers were placed on the laboratory platform. All processes used an ultrasonic scaler to generate aerosol and splatter. A dental mouth prop with a suction holder and a saliva ejector were also tested. Photographic analysis was used to examine the fluorescein samples, followed by image processing in Python and assessment of the diameter and count number. For device comparison, statistics were used with an independent t-test. Result: When using the dental mouth prop with a suction holder, the scaler produced aerosol particles that were maintained on the upper board paper (mean ± SD: 1080 ± 662 µm) compared to on the bottom board paper (1230 ± 1020 µm). When the saliva ejector was used, it was found that the diameter of the aerosol on the upper board paper was 900 ± 580 µm, and the diameter on the bottom board paper was 1000 ± 756 µm. Conclusion: There was a significant difference in the aerosol and splatter particle diameter and count number between the dental mouth prop with a suction holder and saliva ejector (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the results revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups on the upper and bottom board papers.
The Global Movement of the Transition from Linear Production to the Circular Economy Applied to the Sustainable Development of Cities

The process of the linear exploration production, production, usage and waste generation has been taking humanity to the planetary boundaries. The transition to circular economy models dissociates the economic growth from the natural resource depletion and from the environmental degradation. The opportunity to make changes and to find vital solutions to the planet's sustainability emerge in the cities, due to its relevance on population growth, production and consumption. The objective of this research is promoting the understanding of the transition from linear production to the circular economy applied to the sustainable development of cities. The methodology is based on the qualitative approach and the applied technique follows the stages of the bibliographic research. The objectives classify this research as an exploratory, descriptive study with explanatory slant. The bibliographic sources are mostly selected from 2015, when the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement were signed, until 2020. The search of the existing circular models provides, even in transition from the linear process, valuable contributions to the resource protection, promotion of the production and sustainable consumption, as well as the generation of new income opportunities, of market and of social integration. The results of the analyzes of the selected studies indicate that the sustainable urban development can be enabled by the implementation of circular systems on a holistic and inclusive approach.
Angular response calibration of the burst and transient source experiment

The Gamma Ray Observatory includes four experiments designed to observe the gamma-ray universe. Laboratory measurements to test the response the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) modules to gamma-ray sources that are non-axial were recently completed. The results of these observations are necessary for the correct interpretation of BATSE data obtained after it is put in Earth orbit. The launch is planned for March, 1900. Preliminary analyses of these test data show the presence of a radial dependence to the detector's light collection efficiency. It is proposed to evaluate the importance of this radial response, analyze future experimental data to derive the actual functional dependence on radius, and calculate the net effect on the output spectrum as a function of the angle of incidence.
Hunting and Illegal Trade of White-Breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus: Evidence from District Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Many of the waterbird species are generally thought to be threatened mainly or at least partly by over hunting. This paper provides novel information on the causal factors that lead to hunting and illegal trade of waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus in a remote villages of district Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Data were collected by adopting a mix scientific approach including Participants’ observations, interviews and structured questionnaire. Our results showed that the local villagers of the remote area of district Mardan were the active observers of trapping, over hunting and trading of waterhen in the study area. The structured interviews with locals revealed striking facts about ongoing hunting and illegal trade by hunters and traders. The two tribes namely Ottomankhail of district Swabi and Mamund of district Buner were identified to be involved in illegal trafficking and trading of waterhen from the study area. The locals revealed that traders and hunters entered the area through two main routes of Sarmalang and Narangi. The hunters and traders of the neighboring districts visit the study area throughout the year, in heavy monsoon rain and even at night. The locals revealed that the local hunters used variety of trapping and hunting tools including traditional traps made up of clothes, smaller pinch traps and bamboo cages, air rifles, shotguns (single and double barrel) and sometimes for full entertainment Kalashnikovs were also used for the killing of medium-sized and large mammals (golden jackal and wild boar) in the study area. Summer appeared to be the best season for hunting. The interviews with locals revealed that the main purpose of trading and hunting of waterhen includes hunting for entertainment purpose, high economic value of waterhen meat in black market, use as a food item and medicine and game hunting. The local politicians, criminal groups and village headmen provide cover to hunters and traders that enable them to continue illegal trade in black market. The ground survey shows that waterhen is facing extreme threats from hunting and illegal trading. The government wildlife department is less equipped to tackle the hunters in the area. We outline a strategic plan for conservation of birds, other wild animals and their habitats.
Statistical and numerical methods for diffusion processes with multiple scales

In this thesis we address the problem of data-driven coarse-graining, i.e. the process of inferring simplified models, which describe the evolution of the essential characteristics of a complex system, from available data (e.g. experimental observation or simulation data). Specifically, we consider the case where the coarse-grained model can be formulated as a stochastic differential equation. The main part of this work is concerned with data-driven coarse-graining when the underlying complex system is characterised by processes occurring across two widely separated time scales. It is known that in this setting commonly used statistical techniques fail to obtain reasonable estimators for parameters in the coarse-grained model, due to the multiscale structure of the data. To enable reliable data-driven coarse-graining techniques for diffusion processes with multiple time scales, we develop a novel estimation procedure which decisively relies on combining techniques from mathematical statistics and numerical analysis. We demonstrate, both rigorously and by means of extensive simulations, that this methodology yields accurate approximations of coarse-grained SDE models. In the final part of this work, we then discuss a systematic framework to analyse and predict complex systems using observations. Specifically, we use data-driven techniques to identify simple, yet adequate, coarse-grained models, which in turn allow to study statistical properties that cannot be investigated directly from the time series. The value of this generic framework is exemplified through two seemingly unrelated data sets of real world phenomena.
Multi‐texture features and optimized DeepNet for COVID‐19 detection using chest x‐ray images

The corona virus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has a severe influence on population health all over the world. Various methods are developed for detecting the COVID‐19, but the process of diagnosing this problem from radiology and radiography images is one of the effective procedures for diagnosing the affected patients. Therefore, a robust and effective multi‐local texture features (MLTF)‐based feature extraction approach and Improved Weed Sea‐based DeepNet (IWS‐based DeepNet) approach is proposed for detecting the COVID‐19 at an earlier stage. The developed IWS‐based DeepNet is developed for detecting COVID‐19to optimize the structure of the Deep Convolutional Neural Network (Deep CNN). The IWS is devised by incorporating the Improved Invasive Weed Optimization (IIWO) and Sea Lion Optimization (SLnO), respectively. The noises present in the input chest x‐ray (CXR) image are discarded using Region of Interest (RoI) extraction by adaptive thresholding technique. For feature extraction, the proposed MLFT is newly developed by considering various texture features for extracting the best features. Finally, the COVID‐19 detection is performed using the proposed IWS‐based DeepNet. Furthermore, the proposed technique achieved effective performance in terms of True Positive Rate (TPR), True Negative Rate (TNR), and accuracy with the maximum values of 0.933%, 0.890%, and 0.919%.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global dynamic spillover of financial market risk

The COVID-19 outbreak has greatly impacted the stability of the global financial markets. In the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, the risk contagion patterns of the global financial markets may change. This paper utilizes the conditional value-at-risk (ΔCoVaR) model to measure the risk level of the financial markets in various economies and uses the TVP-VAR-CONNECTEDNESS approach to construct a time-varying spillover index. Based on the dimensions of time and space, we explored the contagion path, contagion status, and contagion structure characteristics of global financial market risk before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results entail several conclusions. (i) The COVID-19 pandemic increased the spillover level of global financial market risk and the risk connectedness of financial markets in different countries. In addition, during the concentrated outbreak period of COVID-19, the risk spillover level in developing countries rose rapidly, while the financial risk spillover level in developed countries decreased significantly. (ii) The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the spillover of the global financial market risk is time-varying, and there is a strong correlation between the risk spillover level of the financial markets of the world and the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. (iii) Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazil, Canada, and Russia have become new risk spillover centers; in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, China's spillover to developed countries has increased, and the financial influence of China has also gradually increased. In addition, the risk contagion capacity of financial markets among European countries is gradually converging. (iv) During the concentrated outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Americas were the main exporter of global financial market risk, while Europe played a role in risk absorption.
Stochastic Optimal Control of Economic Growth Model under Research and Development Investment with Kalman Filtering Approaches

This article examines an economic growth model that expresses the interaction between production, technology stock, and research and development (R&D) investments. The goal of this study is to maximize production. Considering the presence of Gaussian white noises, this model is reformulated as a stochastic optimal control problem, where the R&D investment rate is defined as the control input. We aim to explore the efficiency of Kalman filtering approaches for solving this problem. Here, the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and unscented Kalman filter (UKF) are applied for state estimation. The state equation linearization is made in the EKF, while the unscented transform is taken in the UKF for generating a set of sigma points. These approaches aim to estimate the state dynamics from different perspectives. With these state estimates, two different computational algorithms are proposed, the EKF for state-control (EKF4SC) and UKF for state-control (UKF4SC) algorithms. The optimal control policy is designed to minimize the cost function. For illustration, the model's parameters are considered in the simulation experiment. The simulation results showed that the UKF has higher accuracy in the state estimation with the smallest mean squares of error compared with the EKF. Moreover, the optimal control policy based on the state estimate generated from the UKF could optimize the cost function of the problem. Hence, the results show the efficiency of the algorithms proposed. In conclusion, the application of the Kalman filtering algorithms to the economic growth model is presented. The significance of this study is to provide a stochastic optimal control model for the economic growth problem and to suggest an efficient computational approach for solving this stochastic optimal control problem.
Post-harvest chitosan treatment suppresses oxidative stress by regulating reactive oxygen species metabolism in wounded apples

Mechanical wound on fruit triggers the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that weaken cell walls, resulting in post-harvest losses. This mechanism can be controlled by using fruit preservatives to stimulate fruit antioxidant enzyme activities for the detoxification of ROS. Chitosan is a safe and environmentally friendly preservative that modulates ROS in whole fruits and plant cells, but the effects of chitosan on the ROS metabolism of mechanically wounded apples during storage are unknown. Our study focused on exploring the effects of post-harvest chitosan treatment on ROS production, cell membrane integrity, and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant systems at fruit wounds during storage. Apple fruits (cv. Fuji) were artificially wounded, treated with 2.5% (w/v) chitosan, and stored at room temperature (21–25°C, RH = 81–85%) for 7 days. Non-wounded apples were used as healthy controls. The results showed that chitosan treatment stimulated the activities of NADPH oxidase and superoxide dismutase and increased the formation of superoxide anions and hydrogen peroxide in fruit wounds. However, malondialdehyde, lipoxygenase, and membrane permeability, which are direct biomarkers to evaluate lipid peroxidation and membrane integrity, were significantly decreased in the wounded fruits after chitosan treatment compared to the wounded control fruits. Antioxidant enzymes, such as peroxidase and catalase activities, were induced by chitosan at fruit wounds. In addition, ascorbate-glutathione cycle-related enzymes; ascorbate peroxide, monodehydroascorbate reductase, dehydroascorbate reductase, and glutathione reductase and the content of substrates, mainly ascorbic acid, dehydroascorbate, reduced glutathione, and glutathione, were increased at fruit wounds by chitosan compared to the wounded control fruits. Our results show that wounding stimulated the production of ROS or oxidative stress. However, treatment with chitosan triggered antioxidant systems to scavenge ROS and prevent loss of fruit membrane integrity. Therefore, chitosan promises to be a favorable preservative in inducing tolerance to stress and maintaining fruit quality.
Targeted Data Augmentation and Hierarchical Classification with Deep Learning for Fish Species Identification in Underwater Images

In this paper, we address fish species identification in underwater video for marine monitoring applications such as the study of marine biodiversity. Video is the least disruptive monitoring method for fish but requires efficient techniques of image processing and analysis to overcome challenging underwater environments. We propose two Deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) approaches for fish species classification in unconstrained underwater environment. In the first approach, we use a traditional transfer learning framework and we investigate a new technique based on training/validation loss curves for targeted data augmentation. In the second approach, we propose a hierarchical CNN classification to classify fish first into family levels and then into species categories. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches, experiments are carried out on two benchmark datasets for automatic fish identification in unconstrained underwater environment. The proposed approaches yield accuracies of 99.86% and 81.53% on the Fish Recognition Ground-Truth dataset and LifeClef 2015 Fish dataset, respectively.
MCMC Methods for Estimating Stochastic Volatility Models with Liverage Effects: Comments on Jacquier, Polson and Rossi (2002)

In this note we represent the well known discrete time stochastic volatility (SV) model with a leverage effect and the SV model of Jacquier, Polson and Rossi (JPR) (2002) using Gaussian nonlinear state space forms with uncorrelated measurement and transition errors. With the new representations, we show that the JPR specification does not necessarily lead to a leverage effect and hence is not theoretically justified. Empirical comparisons of these two models via Bayesian MCMC methods reveal that JPR's specification is not supported by actual data either. Simulation experiments are conducted to study the sampling properties of the Bayes estimator for the conventionally specified model.
The Effect of Single Curing Agents on the Curing Reactions of the HTPB-based Binder System

As the hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB)-based binder system is widely applied in many industries, the curing process plays an important role in the final properties of the resulting product containing such a binder system. This study used a viscometer to measure viscosity buildup in the curing process of the binder system with various curing agents under isothermal conditions. Key parameters such as rheological reaction rate constant (kƞ) and pot life of different were measured and calculated. The rheological reaction rate constants of the HTPB-based binder systems included 0.0423 min−1 (MDI), 0.0049 min−1 (HDI-trimer) and 0.0014 min−1 (HMDI). The pot lives of the HTPB-MDI, HTPB-TDI, and HTPB-HDI-trimer were 0.6 h, 3.6 h and 8.1 h, respectively. One interesting finding is that HTPB-HDI-trimer binder, which had the long pot life, exhibited an accelerated trend in the viscosity buildup in the late phase. This feature is of great significance to improving the final properties of the products generated in propellant manufacturing and other fields. The cause of this phenomenon and the curing process of HTPB-HDI-trimer binder system were analyzed and discussed in the present study.