Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Photoconduction Properties in Tungsten Disulfide Nanostructures

We reported the photoconduction properties of tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanoflakes obtained by the mechanical exfoliation method. The photocurrent measurements were carried out using a 532 nm laser source with different illumination powers. The results reveal a linear dependence of photocurrent on the excitation power, and the photoresponsivity shows an independent behavior at higher light intensities (400–4000 Wm−2). The WS2 photodetector exhibits superior performance with responsivity in the range of 36–73 AW−1 and a normalized gain in the range of 3.5–7.3 10−6 cm2V−1 at a lower bias voltage of 1 V. The admirable photoresponse at different light intensities suggests that WS2 nanostructures are of potential as a building block for novel optoelectronic device applications.
Advances and Prospects for Hydrogel-Forming Microneedles in Transdermal Drug Delivery

Transdermal drug delivery (TDD) is one of the key approaches for treating diseases, avoiding first-pass effects, reducing systemic adverse drug reactions and improving patient compliance. Microneedling, iontophoresis, electroporation, laser ablation and ultrasound facilitation are often used to improve the efficiency of TDD. Among them, microneedling is a relatively simple and efficient means of drug delivery. Microneedles usually consist of micron-sized needles (50–900 μm in length) in arrays that can successfully penetrate the stratum corneum and deliver drugs in a minimally invasive manner below the stratum corneum without touching the blood vessels and nerves in the dermis, improving patient compliance. Hydrogel-forming microneedles (HFMs) are safe and non-toxic, with no residual matrix material, high drug loading capacity, and controlled drug release, and they are suitable for long-term, multiple drug delivery. This work reviewed the characteristics of the skin structure and TDD, introduced TDD strategies based on HFMs, and summarized the characteristics of HFM TDD systems and the evaluation methods of HFMs as well as the application of HFM drug delivery systems in disease treatment. The HFM drug delivery system has a wide scope for development, but the translation to clinical application still has more challenges.
Surface area calculation for DEM-based terrain model

The surface area calculation is meaningful for a variety of space-filling phenomena, for example the packing of plants or animals within an area of land. An integral method for calculating the landscape surface area is proposed by considering the curvature of terrain and the measurement errors in Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data. Applying the least squares method, with the DEM data we estimate the first-order and second-order derivatives of the terrain surface to reduce the influence from the DEM data errors. It shows that the first-order derivatives estimated are statistically independent to the second-order derivatives estimated when using a symmetrical configuration composed of a series of DEM points. The surface area within a polygonal region is obtained by partitioning the polygonal region into a series of squares, rectangles and triangles. The proposed method is compared with the triangle-based methods and the results show that the proposed method is more robust.
Biophysical Models, Microdosimetry and the Linear Quadratic Survival Relation

The Linear Quadratic (LQ) survival relation is presented along with its derivation from the Theory of Dual Radiation Action (TDRA) and the related Microdosimetric Kinetic (MK) model. The role of the LQ model in the reporting and interpretation of experimental and clinical studies of the effects of ionizing radiation exposure is discussed. The definition of a Biological Effective Dose (BEDα/β) based on the LQ model is given and its use to compare fractionated radiation treatment courses is described. The implications of heterogeneity of radio sensitivity among the cells of an irradiated cell population with regard to the LQ survival relation and the calculation of the BEDα/β are described. The results of important early studies reported using survival constants defined by the target model are reviewed and related to the survival constants of the LQ survival relation. The dependence of the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) on the linear energy transfer (LET) is presented.
Feasibility Study for Detecting the Tropopause Folding Turbulence Using COMS Geostationary Satellite

We present and discuss the Tropopause Folding Turbulence Detection (TFTD) algorithm for the Korean Communication, Ocean, Meteorological Satellite (COMS) which is originally developed for the Tropopause Folding Turbulence Product (TFTP) from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R. The TFTD algorithm assumes that the tropopause folding is linked to the Clear Air Turbulence (CAT), and thereby the tropopause folding areas are detected from the rapid spatial gradients of the upper tropospheric specific humidity. The Layer Averaged Specific Humidity (LASH) is used to represent the upper tropospheric specific humidity calculated using COMS 6.7 μm water vapor channel and ERA-interim reanalysis temperature at 300, 400, and 500 hPa. The comparison of LASH with the numerical model specific humidity shows a strong negative correlation of 80% or more. We apply the single threshold, which is determined from sensitivity analysis, for cloud-clearing to overcome strong gradient of LASH at the edge of clouds. The tropopause break lines are detected from the location of strong LASH-gradient using the Canny edge detection based on the image processing technique. The tropopause folding area is defined by expanding the break lines by 2-degree positive gradient direction. The validations of COMS TFTD is performed with Pilot Reports (PIREPs) filtered out Convective Induced Turbulence (CIT) from Dec 2013 to Nov 2014 over the South Korea. The score test shows 0.49 PODy (Probability of Detection ‘Yes’) and 0.64 PODn (Probability of Detection ‘No’). Low POD results from various kinds of CAT reported from PIREPs and the characteristics of high sensitivity in edge detection algorithm.
Applying Wavelet Transformation and Varied Local Edge Patterns to Plants Classification

A method on green plants recognition based on wavelet transform and varied local edge patterns (VLEP) is proposed in this paper. Firstly the original image is decomposed by wavelet transformation. Then texture features are extracted using VLEPs. At the same time, block-based and multi-resolution ideas are considered together to extract features after images are transformed by wavelet. Finally, the fused texture features are classified by the nearest neighbor method. The experimental results show that the proposed method is a promising method for recognizing the green plants. And combination of block-based and multi-resolution ideas can further improve the accuracy effectively.
Effectiveness of a Judo Intervention Programme on the Psychosocial Area in Secondary School Education Students

Currently, many combat sports are pedagogically conceived as uneducational and unreliable for the development of young people. The present research aims to investigate the influence of a Judo intervention programme on the motivational climate towards sport, aggressive behaviour, emotional intelligence, and self-concept in secondary school students and to establish the relationships between them. This objective was broken down into (a) developing an explanatory model of the variables mentioned above and (b) testing the model equations through a multi-group analysis in terms of pre-test and post-test. The present study conducted a pre–post-test quasi-experimental design with a single experimental group. The sample consisted of a total of 139 adolescents (12.67 ± 1.066), 50.4% of whom were male (n = 70) and 49.6% female (n = 69). The results show that the intervention decreased all types of aggression and increased levels of emotional intelligence. An increase in social, physical and academic self-concept and decreases in the family and emotional areas were also observed. Finally, for the motivational climate, a tendency towards the ego climate to the detriment of the task climate was observed. It is concluded that the Judo intervention programme is effective in decreasing aggressive behaviour and effective in increasing levels of emotional intelligence and self-concept.
Adaptive variable universe of discourse fuzzy control for a class of nonlinear systems with unknown dead zones

In this paper, based on an adaptive nonbackstepping design algorithm, we proposed a novel variable universe of discourse fuzzy control (VUDFC) approach for a class of single‐input–single‐output strict‐feedback nonlinear systems with unknown dead‐zone inputs. Firstly, we convert the form of system into a normal form on the basis of some new state variables and coordinate transformation; at the same time, state‐feedback control is changed to output‐feedback control. Secondly, we design observers to estimate the new unmeasurable states. Then, different from considering the traditional backstepping‐based fuzzy control scheme, we introduce a direct VUDFC scheme, which is mainly based on changing of contraction‐expansion factors to modify the universe of discourse online, and fuzzy rules can automatically reproduce to develop the control performance; thus, the size of initial rule base is greatly reduced. This new algorithm can alleviate tracking error, improve the accuracy of the system, and strengthen robustness. Lastly, according to Lyapunov theorem analysis, we prove that all the signals in the closed‐loop system can be guaranteed to be stable, and the output can track the reference signal very well. Simulation results illustrated the effectiveness of the proposed VUDFC approach.
A New Mode of Enterprise Economic Management Utilizing Blockchain Technology in the Digital Economy Era

This paper mainly explores the new mode of blockchain technology in corporate finance in the era of the digital economy. With the advent of the digital age, blockchain technology has gradually become widely used in various industries. In the field of corporate finance, blockchain technology can provide a secure, efficient, transparent, and traceable new model, which can play an important role in reducing transaction costs, improving information credibility, and enhancing risk management. In this paper, an in-depth analysis drawing from the basic principles of blockchain technology, the current status and issues of its application in corporate finance, and the new models of this technology in corporate finance will be conducted, with the goal of providing more effective digital tools for corporate finance departments.
A Novel Sketch-Based Registration Framework for Point Cloud Frames

Automatic registration of point clouds is a fundamental research problem in 3-D computer vision. In this letter, a sketch-based registration framework is proposed targeting 3-D scenarios. It consists of two major modules: pairwise alignment and multiview alignment. For the pairwise alignment, a point cloud is first abstracted into a sketch which greatly preserves the contour information in the scene; then an entropy point pair feature (EPPF) method that integrates contour shape features and point pair geometric features is applied to estimate transformation. For the multiview alignment, the key is to combine the voting-based pairwise method with simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) system, which ensures the robustness of the proposed framework in different scenarios. Experiments show that the proposed sketch-based method clearly outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.
Evaluating the NASA MERRA-2 climate reanalysis and ESA CCI satellite remote sensing soil moisture over the contiguous United States

ABSTRACT Accurate large-scale soil moisture (SM) retrievals using the daily NASA MERRA-2’ climate reanalysis and ESA’ Climate Change Initiative (CCI) remote sensing datasets are compromised by temporal and spatial ambiguities. To address this deficiency, we assess the accuracy of the above-mentioned datasets against the Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN) in-situ measurements at nine sites across the contiguous United States (CONUS) during 2014–2016. The sites are selected to represent different climate regions over the CONUS. SM dynamics from NASA MERRA-2 and ESA CCI are compared with those of SCAN, and an SM dataset is developed based on a spatiotemporal analysis. Our results show that the NASA MERRA-2 and ESA CCI SM datasets have different accuracies at the nine SCAN sites in different seasons. The MERRA-2 and CCI SM datasets have the highest accuracy at sites with the lowest number of extreme events, indicating that both datasets cannot robustly capture extremum soil moisture values. The highest (lowest) agreement between the MERRA-2/CCI and SCAN SM data is observed in April (February) with the nine-site average unbiased root-mean-square-difference (ubRMSD) of 0.0638 cm3/cm3 (0.0914 cm3/cm3). In all the nine sites, the CCI SM data are more accurate than those of MERRA-2 in April–October. The CCI SM data shows greater accuracy in the sites with lower SM values and/or higher SM variability. MERRA-2 and CCI SM datasets show higher and lower accuracy at the sites with pasture and agricultural vegetation, respectively. Finally, a new SM dataset is created by using the more accurate SM data from MERRA-2 and CCI in each site and season.
Assessing Changes in Surgical Site Infections and Antibiotic Use among Caesarean Section and Herniorrhaphy Patients at a Regional Hospital in Sierra Leone Following Operational Research in 2021

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a major public health threat to the success of surgery. This study assessed changes in SSIs and use of antibiotics among caesarean section (CS) and herniorrhaphy patients at a regional hospital in Sierra Leone following operational research. This was a comparative before and after study using routine hospital data. The study included all the CS and herniorrhaphy patients who underwent surgery between two time periods. Of the seven recommendations made in the first study, only one concerning improving the hospital’s records and information system was fully implemented. Three were partially implemented and three were not implemented. The study population in both studies showed similar socio-demographic characteristics. The use of postoperative antibiotics for herniorrhaphy in both studies remained the same, although a significant increase was found for both pre- and postoperative antibiotic use in the CS patients, 589/596 (98.8%) in 2023 and 417/599 (69.6%) in 2021 (p < 0.001). However, a significant decrease was observed in the overall incidence of SSIs, 22/777 (2.8%) in 2023 and 46/681 (6.7%) in 2021 (p < 0.001), and the incidence of SSIs among the CS patients, 15/596 (2.5%) in 2023 and 45/599 (7.5%) in 2021 (p < 0.001). The second study highlights the potential value of timely assessment of the implementation of recommendations following operational research.
Salicornia sinus-persica: a high-yielding species for fodder production with seawater

Abstract A replicated field experiment was conducted to evaluate the growth, biomass yield, and quality of Salicornia sinus-persica Akhani compared to the Salicornia bigelovii Torr. Both species were planted in saline soils irrigated with seawater (60 dS/m) from the Persian Gulf. Results showed that under the experiment conditions, the biomass yield of S. sinus-persica was 1.8 times more than S. bigelovii. The plant height of S. sinus-persica was also higher by 27% than S. bigelovii. While the ash content was lower by 15% in S. bigelovii, the protein content did not differ significantly between the two species. In contrast, the neutral detergent fiber in S. sinus-persica biomass was significantly lower than in S. bigelovii. Likewise, the dry-matter intake, relative feed value, and forage quality of S. bigelovii were lower by 20%, 21%, and 30%, respectively, when compared to S. sinus-persica. Despite higher ash content in S. sinus-persica than in S. bigelovii, S. sinus-persica could be used as a high-yielding species for alternate forage production under seawater irrigation in coastal lands of arid and semi-arid regions.
A study of potential calibrators using the KAT-7 radio telescope

This thesis presents a study of potential calibrators observed by the Karoo Array Telescope (KAT-7). The KAT-7 is an engineering prototype for the coming sensitive array, the MeerKAT, one of the pathfinders for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). This thesis plays a supporting role in the ongoing commissioning activities of the KAT-7, whose construction started in early 2008, and which has been undergoing engineering and science verifications since late 2010. This thesis has achieved the first steps towards identifying possible flux-density standards for short baseline interferometers such as the KAT-7. The systematic error for flux-density calibration at KAT-7 was estimated relative to 3C123, and it was found to be ∼ 5% of the measured flux density. 18 (∼ 47%) of the 38 sources were identified as good flux density calibrator candidates, for their Modulation Index (MI) and Variability Index (VI) values were less than 0.05 and all the sources in the field had less than 10% of the peak flux density of the calibrator candidate. One source (PKS J0837-1951), which showed low variability and hence appeared to be a good flux-density calibrator candidate (class A), was deemed to be not a good flux-density calibrator candidate because a strong confusing source was found within its primary beam. Eight sources had MI or VI values between 0.05 and 0.09 and may deserve further study as potential flux calibrator candidates. Five sources had MI or VI values greater than 0.09 suggesting significant variability while 17 sources had only one or two observations so their suitability as potential flux calibrator candidates could not be evaluated. In addition we used another measure of variability, the de-biased modulation index, for our sources comparing the observed modulation indices against Monte Carlo simulations. The result showed that the values of Md are largely as expected and the uncertainties therefore not substantially underestimated.
Is the Madden‐Julian Oscillation a Moisture Mode?

The governing thermodynamics of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO) is examined using sounding and reanalysis data. On the basis of four objective criteria, results suggest that the MJO behaves like a moisture mode–a system whose thermodynamics is governed by moisture–only over the Indian Ocean. Over this basin, the MJO shows a slow convective adjustment timescale, its zonal scale is smaller, and it exhibits slow propagation, allowing moisture modes to exist. Elsewhere, the faster‐propagating wavenumber 1–2 components are more prominent preventing weak temperature gradient (WTG) balance to be established. As a result, temperature and moisture play similar roles in the MJO's thermodynamics outside the Indian Ocean.
The Role of Positive Youth Development as a Mediator of the Relationship between Family Function and Lecturer-Student Relationship

The final project is a graduation requirement for students and the quality of the lecturer-student relationship significantly impacts its successful completion. Several studies have shown that the satisfaction of students in their relationship with lecturers is majorly influenced by family function, but there is limited data on this association. Therefore, this study aims to examine the mediating role of positive youth development in the effect of family function on the lecturer-student relationship. A quantitative explanatory approach was used and the sample population consisted of 171 active students in the 8th to 14th semester of the undergraduate program at University X. The instruments used included the Positive Youth Development (PYD), family function, and lecturer-student relationship scales. The hypothesis was tested with the mediation analysis model 4 using the SPSS Process Hayes V.4 program. The results showed that PYD partially mediated the effect of family function on the lecturer-student relationship. Furthermore, the indirect effect of family function was only significant through the mediation of prosocial norm, belief in future, and recognition for positive behavior.
The adaptive dynamics of life histories: From fitness-returns to selection gradients and Pontryagin's maximum principle

Using a fitness-returns argument we derive an expression for the selection gradient for the age dependent allocation strategy in a common class of state variable based life-history models. By setting the selection gradient equal to zero as part of the calculation of the ESS-es for such models, we get a marginal value argument and through this recover the local version of Pontryagin's maximum principle. This fills in a minor gap in a recent paper by Parvinen, Heino and Dieckmann (2012; DOI10.1007/s00285-012-0549-2), who treated the calculation of the selection gradient and of the ESS-es as separate issues. As bonuses we (i) provide an extension of the framework of these authors that can handle also the more complicated evolutionary dynamics of the life histories that we consider, and (ii) derive also the full Pontryagin's maximum principle from a fitness-returns argument.
A neural network approach to kinetic Mie polarimetry for particle size diagnostics in nanodusty plasmas

The analysis of the size of nanoparticles is an essential task in plasma technology and dusty plasmas. Light scattering techniques, based on Mie theory, can be used as a non-invasive and in-situ diagnostic tool for this purpose. However, the standard back-calculation methods require expertise from the user. To address this, we introduce a neural network that performs the same task. We discuss how we set up and trained the network to analyze the size of plasma-grown amorphous carbon nanoparticles (a:C–H) with a refractive index n in the range of real(n) = 1.4−2.2 and imag(n) = 0.04i−0.1i and a radius of up to several hundred nanometers, depending on the used wavelength. The diagnostic approach is kinetic, which means that the particles need to change in size due to growth or etching. An uncertainty analysis as well as a test with experimental data are presented. Our neural network achieves results that agree with those of prior fitting algorithms while offering higher methodical stability. The model also holds a major advantage in terms of computing speed and automation.
On the Accessibility of Rotating Convection Regimes in Laboratory Experimental Studies

Many geophysical and astrophysical phenomena are driven by massively-turbulent, multiscale fluid dynamics. These fluid systems are often both too remote and too complex to fully grasp without employing forward models. While attempts to directly simulate geophysical systems have made important strides, such models still inhabit modest ranges of the governing parameters that cannot be extrapolated to extreme planetary settings with certainty. An alternate approach is to isolate the fundamental physics in a reduced setting. The canonical problem of rotating Rayleigh-B\'enard convection in a plane layer provides such a reduced framework. Laboratory experiments are capable of resolving broad ranges of length and time scales and are thus well-suited for reaching the extreme conditions where asymptotic behaviors distinctly manifest. In this study, we discuss how to optimize laboratory experiments toward testing asymptotically-predicted rotating convection regimes. We also discuss the limitations that arise in designing these experiments. We apply these criteria to several of the most extreme rotating convection setups to date and predict their capabilities. The achievable parameter ranges of these current and upcoming devices demonstrate that laboratory studies likely still remain on the cusp of exploring geophysically-relevant flow behaviors in rotating convection.