Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anti-Biofilm Activity of Chlorogenic Acid against Pseudomonas Using Quorum Sensing System

Chlorogenic acid is a secondary metabolite produced by many traditional Chinese medicines. Its physiological activities (antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant activities, etc.) have been well described. This study aimed to investigate the effects of chlorogenic acid on the biofilm of drinking water bacteria. The effects of chlorogenic acid on the metabolites of the biofilms were also evaluated. Chlorogenic acid was found to have an anti-biofilm effect against Pseudomonas, resulting in biofilm formation in a dose-dependent manner (0.53–25.4 mM CGA). Moreover, the biofilm structure was visibly attenuated. Furthermore, we identified and characterized 23 differential metabolites and associated two metabolic pathways involving beta-alanine metabolism and pyrimidine metabolism that were altered mostly during biofilm formation. A quantitative real-time PCR assay revealed that chlorogenic acid interfered with the signaling molecule synthesis and transcription regulators using the Las, Pqs and Rhl systems. These findings suggest that chlorogenic acid can be a quorum sensing (QS) inhibitor and inhibit biofilm formation. It may be a promising natural product for the prevention of contaminated drinking water.
Areas of spatial overlap between common bottlenose dolphin, recreational boating, and small-scale fishery: management insights from modelling exercises

Background Sustainable management requires spatial mapping of both species distribution and human activities to identify potential risk of conflict. The common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is a priority species of the European Union Habitat Directive, thus, to promote its conservation, the understanding of habitat use and distribution, as well as the identification and spatial trend of the human activities which may directly affect populations traits, is pivotal. Methods A MaxEnt modeling approach was applied to predict the seasonal (from April to September) habitat use of a small population of bottlenose dolphins in the north-western Sardinia (Mediterranean Sea) in relation to environmental variables and the likelihoods of boat and fishing net presence. Then, the overlapping areas between dolphin, fishing net and boat presence were identified to provide insights for the marine spatial management of this area. Results Three of the main factors influencing the seasonal distribution of bottlenose dolphins in the area are directly (boating and fishing) or indirectly (ocean warming) related to human activities. Furthermore, almost half of the most suitable area for dolphins overlapped with areas used by fishing and boating. Finally, relying on fishing distribution models, we also shed light on the potential impact of fishing on the Posidonia oceanica beds, a protected habitat, which received higher fishing efforts than other habitat types. Discussion Modelling the spatial patterns of anthropogenic activities was fundamental to understand the ecological impacts both on cetacean habitat use and protected habitats. A greater research effort is suggested to detect potential changes in dolphin habitat suitability, also in relation to ocean warming, to assess dolphin bycatch and the status of target fish species, and to evaluate sensitive habitats conditions, such as the Posidonia oceanica meadow.
Translucency of Lithium-Based Silicate Glass–Ceramics Blocks for CAD/CAM Procedures: A Narrative Review

Amid chairside CAD/CAM materials, the use of lithium-based silicate glass–ceramics (LSGC) has been steadily increasing. This review aims to report on the translucency of these materials and the variables used to measure it. An electronic search was performed within the PubMed database within the period between 2 June 2011 and 11 September 2022. English-language papers investigating the translucency of IPS e.max CAD, Celtra Duo, Suprinity PC, Initial LiSi Block, Amber Mill, N! ce, and CEREC Tessera LSGC CAD/blocks were included in the search strategy. After an initial retrieval of 160 papers, the application of exclusion criteria, and the screening of abstracts and then of full texts, 33 papers were included in the study. The retrieved materials, with different degrees of translucency (LT, HT), were IPS e.max CAD (n = 33), Suprinity PC (n = 8), and Celtra Duo (n = 1). Concerning the examined colors, the most used was A2 (n = 20), followed by A1 (n = 8) and A3 (n = 2). The translucency parameter (TP) was the most used method (n = 30) with respect to the contrast ratio (CR) (n = 11) to assess translucency. Five papers measured both. Several specimens’ thicknesses (0.5–4 mm) were investigated, with 1 mm (n = 23) being the most frequently analyzed. While a general tendency could be identified, conflicting results among different papers were reported.
Adaptive Fuzzy Control of Underactuated Switched Systems With Disturbance Observation and Actuated/Unactuated Motion Constraints

With the increasingly wide applications of underactuated systems, the necessary switching actions in complex multiple-mode tasks may induce overlarge errors, chattering, or even instability. In different working scenarios, there usually exist different plant parameters, dynamic characteristics, and external disturbances, which may further degrade operation performance. To this end, this article designs a learning-based adaptive fuzzy switching controller to compensate for uncertainties online in various modes and realize exponential convergence of actuated states. During multiple-mode operations, both actuated and unactuated constraints are guaranteed by constructing integral constraint terms as time-variant gains, which introduce control energy in advance, to drive all state variables to converge to their desired values, rather than direct braking force that may destroy the transient performance of unactuated states (e.g., residual payload swing induced by rapid braking in cranes). Further, when underactuated systems suffer from matched/mismatched disturbances, a model-independent disturbance observer is elaborately designed to improve anti-disturbance performance, ensure the boundedness of closed-loop signals, and restrict all variables in every mode. Based on Lyapunov methods and the concept of average dwell time, the closed-loop stability of entire switched systems is theoretically analyzed and proven; then, the effectiveness of the proposed switching controllers is verified by hardware experiments.
Healthcare Policies to Eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in India: A Roadmap

The need for systemic healthcare policies to systematically eliminate NTDs globally and in India has been stressed for more than two decades. Yet, the present policies and the research on them do not meet the need. We present an ontological framework, a research roadmap, and a policy brief to address the gap. The ontology clearly, concisely, and comprehensively represents the combinations of diseases, the objectives regarding the diseases, the entities to address them, the outcomes sought, and the potential policy instruments to invoke. The paper explicates the state of the-policies and state of the research on policies to eliminate NTDs in India. It highlights the significant gaps in the diseases covered, balance in the objectives, comprehensiveness of policies, portfolio of outcomes, and involvement of entities. Last, it presents a set of systemic policies congruent with the ontology to systematically address the gaps. The recommendations are aligned with the present research, policies, practices, and recommendations in India and of the WHO, UN agencies, and other similar bodies. The approach can be generalized to provide roadmaps for other countries facing a similar challenge and for other diseases of similar complexity. The roadmaps, with continuous feedback and learning, can help navigate the challenge efficiently and effectively.
Estimation of Potential Evapotranspiration for a Coastal Savannah Environment: Comparison of Methods

Six potential evapotranspiration models namely, Penman-Monteith, Hargreaves-Samani , Priestley-Taylor, IRMAK1, IRMAK2 and TURC, were used to estimate daily PET values at Atomic-Kwabenya in the coastal savannah environment of Ghana for the year 2005. The study compared PET values generated by six models and identified which ones compared favourably with the Penman-Monteith model which is the recommended standard method for estimating PET. Cross comparison analysis showed that only the daily estimates of PET of Hargreaves-Samani model correlated reasonably (r = 0.82) with estimates by the Penman-Monteith model. Additionally, PET values by the Priestley-Taylor and TURC models were highly correlated (r = 0.99) as well as those generated by IRMAK2 and TURC models (r = 0.96). Statistical analysis, based on pair comparison of means, showed that daily PET estimates of the Penman-Monteith model were not different from the Priestley-Taylor model for the Kwabenya-Atomic area located in the coastal savannah environment of Ghana. The Priestley-Taylor model can be used, in place of the Penman-Monteith model, to estimate daily PET for the Atomic-Kwabenya area of the coastal savannah environment of Ghana. The Hargreaves-Samani model can also be used to estimate PET for the study area because its PET estimates correlated reasonably with those of the Penman-Monteith model (r = 0.82) and requires only air temperature measurements as in-puts.ac
Hollow Core Antiresonant Fiber Based Polarizer and Refractive Index Sensor

We propose a new single polarization guided antiresonant fiber design made of nested and double ring cladding tubes with a high index material layer coating that can function as a polarizer and sensor. The diverse cladding tube combinations along with a high index content layer enhance the fiber's ability to block one polarized ray through coupling effect and also provide minimal loss for other polarized ray by inhibited coupling mechanism. Besides, the development of two modes for the proposed structure are investigated where the cladding mode crosses with the core mode at desired wavelength, results light blocking for one polarization. Hence, the <italic>x</italic>-polarized ray's confinement loss founds 576 dB/m, where 0.0018 dB/m loss is experienced in <italic>y</italic>-polarization, allowing the maximal polarization extinction ratio of 320000 at 1.55 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m along with <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$>$</tex-math></inline-formula>100 value for 40 nm bandwidth with a high birefringence of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.55\times 10^{-4}$</tex-math></inline-formula>. Moreover, the polarizing operation is successfully performed, where a crosstalk of larger than 20 dB for a compact length of 20 cm, is found from 1.538 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m to 1.568 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m of wavelength. Furthermore, the sensing performance is achieved as an example, such as the maximal wavelength sensitivity is found about 1293 nm/RIU for the fiber. Therefore, the simultaneous applications of the designed fiber make it an interesting device for optical systems.
Female youth and mental health service providers' perspectives on the JoyPop™ app: a qualitative study

Introduction Mobile health (mHealth) apps are a promising adjunct to traditional mental health services, especially in underserviced areas. Developed to foster resilience in youth, the JoyPop™ app has a growing evidence base showing improvement in emotion regulation and mental health symptoms among youth. However, whether this novel technology will be accepted among those using or providing mental health services remains unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the JoyPop™ app's acceptance among (a) a clinical sample of youth and (b) mental health service providers. Method A qualitative descriptive approach involving one-on-one semi-structured interviews was conducted. Interviews were guided by the Technology Acceptance Model and were analyzed using a deductive-inductive content analysis approach. Results All youth (n = 6 females; Mage = 14.60, range 12–17) found the app easy to learn and use and expressed positive feelings towards using the app. Youth found the app useful because it facilitated accessibility to helpful coping skills (e.g., journaling to express their emotions; breathing exercises to increase calmness) and positive mental health outcomes (e.g., increased relaxation and reduced stress). All service providers (n = 7 females; Mage = 43.75, range 32–60) perceived the app to be useful and easy to use by youth within their services and expressed positive feelings about integrating the app into usual care. Service providers also highlighted various organizational factors affecting the app's acceptance. Youth and service providers raised some concerns about apps in general and provided recommendations to improve the JoyPop™ app. Discussion Results support youth and service providers' acceptance of the JoyPop™ app and lend support for it as an adjunctive resource to traditional mental health services for youth with emotion regulation difficulties.
Investigating the Impact of Seawater Intrusion on the Operation Cost of Groundwater Supply in Island Aquifers

Managing fragile island freshwater resources requires identifying pumping strategies that trade off the financial cost of groundwater supply against controlling the seawater intrusion (SWI) associated with aquifer pumping. In this work, these tradeoffs are investigated through a sensitivity analysis conducted in the context of an optimization formulation of the groundwater management problem, which aims at minimizing the groundwater supply operation cost associated with groundwater pumping and desalination treatment, subject to constraints on SWI control, as quantified by the water table drawdown over the well (∆s), the reduction in freshwater volume (∆FV) in the aquifer, or the salt mass increase (∆SM) in the aquifer. This study focuses on a simplified two‐dimensional model of the San Salvador Island aquifer (Bahamas). Pumping strategies are characterized by the distance of the pumping system from the shoreline (WL), the abstraction screen depth (D) and overall pumping rate (Q), constituting the decision variables of the optimization problem. We investigate the impacts of pumping strategies on the operation cost, ∆s, ∆FV and ∆SM. Findings indicate increasing D or decreasing WL reduces ∆s, ∆FV and ∆SM, thus preserving the aquifer hydrogeologic stability, but also leads to extracting saltier groundwater, thus increasing the water treatment requirements, which have a strong impact on the overall groundwater supply cost. From a financial perspective, groundwater abstraction near the island center and at shallow depths seems the most convenient strategy. However, the analysis of the optimization constraints reveals that strategies where the pumping system approaches the island center tend to cause more severe SWI, highlighting the need to trade off groundwater supply cost against SWI control.
Similar Material Proportioning Tests and Mechanical Properties Based on Orthogonal Design

Shaking table tests serve as an effective method to simulate landslides triggered by seismic activities. These laboratory experiments necessitate the use of materials that mimic those encountered in real-world scenarios. For this investigation, materials analogous to field conditions for the shaking table tests were formulated using quartz sand, barite powder, iron powder, gypsum, rosin, and alcohol. Within the model test compositions, iron powder, barite powder, and quartz sand acted as aggregates; gypsum functioned as an additive, and a solution of rosin and alcohol was employed as a binder. Employing the orthogonal design method, the physical and mechanical parameters of these analogous materials were ascertained through double-sided shear tests, as well as uniaxial compression and splitting tests. Subsequent analyses included extreme difference and regression assessments targeting the determinants influencing the physical and mechanical characteristics of these materials. The ultimate goal was to determine the optimal mixing ratios for the model test materials. The findings revealed that the physical and mechanical properties of analogous materials at varying ratios span a broad spectrum, fulfilling the criteria for distinct rock model experiments. A thorough examination of the factors impacting the physical and mechanical properties of these materials was undertaken, elucidating their respective influences. Based on the relative significance of each determinant on the mechanical attributes of the analogous materials, dominant factors were identified for a multiple regression analysis, from which the regression equations corresponding to the test ratios were derived.
The Arcus probe mission

The Arcus Probe mission to be proposed to the NASA Astrophysics Probe Explorer call addresses a range of Astro 2020 Decadal Priority science areas. These include (i) exploring how supermassive black hole accretion and winds vary with luminosity, black hole mass, black hole spin and other parameters, (ii) determining how gas, metals, and dust flow into, though, and out of galaxies, and (iii) probing stellar activity across all stellar types and lifecycles, including exoplanet hosts targeted by current and future NASA habitable planet missions. These science goals, along with a robust General Observer science program, will be achieved using a mission that provides a high-sensitivity soft X-ray spectrometer (XRS) with R=3500 (R⪆2500 req) and an average effective area in the 12-50Å bandpass of 335 cm2 (250 cm2 req). It will be complemented by a co-aligned UV spectrometer (UVS) working in the 1020-1560Å band with R= 24200 (R⪆17000 req) and ⪆5× the sensitivity of FUSE at O VI (1020Å) that observes simultaneously with the X-ray instrument. Working together, these instruments will enable astronomers to characterize warm and hot plasmas - including hydrogen, helium, and all abundant metals - throughout the Universe, from the halos of galaxies and clusters to the coronae of stars. We present the overall mission plan, including instrumentation, science, and operations for a five-year baseline mission.
Middle East—A Reappraisal of the Seismicity

The Middle East covers a land area of 13.5 million square kilometers, approximately 2.8 times the size of Europe. Its population amounts to more than 185 million as compared to 450 million in Europe, distributed unequally with most living in a mere 6 percent of the total area which is regarded as cultivable and also in the cities. Also, its gross national product per capita is distributed unevenly ranging from about £38 in Ethiopia to £725 in Israel and £2200 in Kuwait with an overall average of only £120 as compared to £760 for Europe. Until recently the rate of investment in large urban and industrial developments in the Middle East was small and in places insignificant. Consequently there have been essentially no significant economic losses from the large number of damaging earthquakes that occur in this part of the world. Although during the first 70 years of this century earthquakes have taken a toll of 130 000 lives in the Middle East, of which 73 000 perished in 22 earthquakes in Iran and 57 000 in 26 earthquakes in Turkey, damage in economic terms has remained relatively small. The average replacement cost of the 300 000 adobe houses destroyed in Turkey during the period 1900–1966 hardly amounts to a few tens of millions of pounds (Ambraseys 1972). The replacement cost of similar types of construction destroyed in other, less developed parts of the area, is even smaller. For instance, the Silakhor earthquake of 1909 in Iran, in which more
Association between glycated hemoglobin and functional outcomes in patients with intracranial large artery atherosclerotic disease-related acute ischemic stroke: identifying the magic number

Objective This study aimed to investigate the effect of the glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level on the functional outcome (FOC) in patients with intracranial large artery atherosclerotic disease (ICLAD)-related acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Methods This retrospective study enrolled patients with ICLAD-related AIS who were admitted to King Fahd University Hospital between January 2017 and September 2021. Patients were divided into two groups based on the optimal cutoff HbA1c level determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis—those with HbA1c ≤6.9% and those with HbA1c >6.9%. Demographic and other clinical characteristics were compared between the two groups using chi-square tests. The association between HbA1c and 90-day FOC was assessed using the chi-square test and odds ratios (ORs). Multivariate analysis was performed to adjust for confounding factors. Results A total of 140 patients were included in the analysis. A significant association was observed between the HbA1c level and FOC. Compared to patients with HbA1c ≤6.9%, patients with HbA1c >6.9% were more likely to have an unfavorable FOC [p = <0.001, OR = 2.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.33–3.14]. The association between HbA1c >6.9% and unfavorable FOC was sustained even after adjusting for confounding factors (p = 0.008) and atherosclerosis risk factors (p = 0.01). HbA1c >6.9% was also associated with higher ORs for in-hospital complications (p = 0.06, OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.02–1.77) and mortality (p = 0.07, OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.06–1.92) although these associations did not attain significant p-values. Conclusion HbA1c >6.9% was significantly associated with unfavorable FOC in ICLAD-related AIS. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are required to verify whether HbA1c is an independent predictor of poor FOC. Nevertheless, targeting HbA1c <7% should be the goal of physicians when managing patients at high risk of ICLAD.
Current direction dependent magnetotransport in CuTe

Despite being a layered, easily-exfoliated compound, copper monotelluride (CuTe) features an unusual quasi-one-dimensional charge density wave below $T_{\rm CDW}\approx335$ K. Within a CuTe layer, the electrical resistivity depends sensitively on the direction of the electrical current. Here, we use magnetotransport to probe the metallic state of CuTe with two distinct in-plane current directions. When the current flows along the $a$-axis ($I//a$), the magnetoresistance exhibits a downward curvature as the magnetic field increases. On the other hand, when the current is along the $b$-axis ($I//b$), the magnetoresistance shows the opposite curvature. Our analysis uncovers a violation of Kohler scaling, but only for $I//a$. Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations are detected at low temperatures. Our results shed light on the nature of the metallic state in CuTe with the development of the charge density wave.