Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and Severity of Dry Eye Disease Symptoms Among Diabetics: A Nationwide Survey

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) microvascular complications can impair corneal sensitivity and lacrimal gland functioning, leading to dry eye disease (DED). Hence, this study aimed to measure the prevalence and severity of DED symptoms, and the related risk factors, among the Saudi diabetic population. Methods: This is a retrospective, cross-sectional, survey-based study which targeted Saudi adults (20 years and older) previously diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 DM. It was conducted in eight primary healthcare centers (PCHs) scattered around eight different provinces of Saudi Arabia (SA). The prevalence and severity of DED were measured by the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI). Results: The total study population was 389 subjects, of which 182 (46.8%) were males and 207 (53.2%) were females. The overall prevalence of DED was 51.7%. Among those, 20.3% of patients had mild dryness, 11.1% had moderate dryness, and 20.3% had severe dryness. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels of 6.5% or higher proved to be an independent risk factor for the development of DED symptoms, 3.6-folds higher for HbA1c levels of 6.5% to 9% (AOR=3.573; p=0.001), and 2.3-folds higher for HbA1c levels higher than 9% (AOR=2.293; p=0.013). The long duration of diabetes did not show a significant association with manifesting DED symptoms (p=0.263). Conclusion: Half of the diabetic population complained of DED symptoms, compared to one-third of the previously studied general Saudi population. Patients with mild to moderate HbA1c elevation were more likely to report DED symptoms than those with severe elevation, which could be related to impaired corneal sensation. Therefore, a routine ophthalmological examination is recommended.
The SOPHIE search for northern extrasolar planets: XII. Three giant planets suitable for astrometric mass determination with Gaia

We present new radial velocity measurements for three low-metallicity solar-like stars observed with the SOPHIE spectrograph and its predecessor ELODIE, both installed at the 193 cm telescope of the Haute-Provence Observatory, allowing the detection and characterization of three new giant extrasolar planets in intermediate periods of 1.7 to 3.7 yr. All three stars, HD 17674, HD 42012 and HD 29021 present single giant planetary companions with minimum masses between 0.9 and 2.5 M Jup . The range of periods and masses of these companions, along with the distance of their host stars, make them good targets to look for astrometric signals over the lifetime of the new astrometry satellite Gaia . We discuss the preliminary astrometric solutions obtained from the first Gaia data release.
Scrub encroachment promotes biodiversity in temperate European wetlands under eutrophic conditions

Abstract Wetlands are important habitats, often threatened by drainage, eutrophication, and suppression of grazing. In many countries, considerable resources are spent combatting scrub encroachment. Here, we hypothesize that encroachment may benefit biodiversity—especially under eutrophic conditions where asymmetric competition among plants compromises conservation targets. We studied the effects of scrub cover, nutrient levels, and soil moisture on the richness of vascular plants, bryophytes, soil fungi, and microbes in open and overgrown wetlands. We also tested the effect of encroachment, eutrophication, and soil moisture on indicators of conservation value (red‐listed species, indicator species, and uniqueness). Plant and bryophyte species richness peaked at low soil fertility, whereas soil fertility promoted soil microbes. Soil fungi responded negatively to increasing soil moisture. Lidar‐derived variables reflecting the degree of scrub cover had predominantly positive effects on species richness measures. Conservation value indicators had a negative relationship to soil fertility and a positive to encroachment. For plant indicator species, the negative effect of high nutrient levels was offset by encroachment, supporting our hypothesis of competitive release under shade. The positive effect of soil moisture on indicator species was strong in open habitats only. Nutrient‐poor mires and meadows host many rare species and require conservation management by grazing and natural hydrology. On former agricultural lands, where restoration of infertile conditions is unfeasible, we recommend rewilding with opportunities for encroachment toward semi‐open willow scrub and swamp forest, with the prospect of high species richness in bryophytes, fungi, and soil microbes and competitive release in the herb layer.
Exponential decay for semilinear wave equation with localized damping in the hyperbolic space

In this paper, we study the exponential decay of the energy associated to an initial value problem involving the wave equation on the hyperbolic space BN$\mathbb {B}^N$ . The space BN$\mathbb {B}^N$ is the unit disc {x∈RN:|x|<1}$\lbrace x\in \mathbb {R}^N:\:|x|<1\rbrace$ of RN$\mathbb {R}^N$ endowed with the Riemannian metric g given by gij=p2δij$g_{ij}=p^2\delta _{ij}$ , where p(x)=21−|x|2$ p(x)= \frac{2}{1-|x|^2}$ and δij=1$\delta _{ij}=1$ , if i=j$i=j$ and δij=0$\delta _{ij}=0$ , if i≠j$i\ne j$ . Making an appropriate change, the problem can be seen as a singular problem on the boundary of the open ball B1={x∈RN;|x|<1}$B_1=\lbrace x\in \mathbb {R}^N;\:|x|<1\rbrace$ endowed with the euclidean metric. The proof is based on the multiplier techniques combined with the use of Hardy's inequality, in a version due to the Brezis–Marcus, which allows us to overcome the difficulty involving the singularities.
Describing colloidal soft matter systems with microscopic continuum models

In this thesis we explore two different theories for modelling soft matter systems. We start by discussing density functional theory (DFT) and dynamical density functional theory (DDFT) and consider the thermodynamics underpinning these theories as well as showing how the main results may be derived from the microscopic properties of soft matter. We use this theory to set up a model for the evaporation of the solvent from a thin film of a colloidal suspension. The general background for such systems is discussed and we display some of the striking nanostructures which self-assemble during the evaporation process. We show that our theory successfully reproduces some of these patterns and deduce the various mechanisms and transport processes behind the formation of the different structures. In the second part of this thesis we discuss results for a second model; the phase field crystal (PFC) model. The model equations are discussed, showing how they may be derived from DDFT as well as discussing the general background of PFC models. We present some results for the PFC model in its most commonly used form before going on to introduce a modified PFC model. We show how the changes in the model equations are reflected in the thermodynamics of the model. We then proceed by demonstrating how this modified PFC model may be used to qualitatively describe colloidal systems. A two component generalisation of the modified PFC model is introduced and used to investigate the transition between hexagonal and square ordering in crystalline structures. We conclude by discussing the similarities and connections between the two models presented in the thesis.
Contour based on-device overlay metrology assessment using synthetic SEM images

The shift of semiconductor industry applications into demanding markets as spatial and automotive led to high quality requirements to guaranty good performances and reliability in harsh environments. As reliability is directly related to a well-controlled process, characterizing the local overlay and its variations inside the chip itself becomes a real asset. While most available in-chip overlay metrologies require dedicated target or dedicated tools, we developed a new method that aims to augment the current SEM tool park into measuring the local overlay directly on the product. In a previous proceeding, this on-device and target-free overlay measurement based on CD-SEM contours has been assessed on SRAM patterns and showed promising results. The work presented here pushes forward this assessment using SEM synthetic images generated from the open-source Nebula simulator of electron-matter interaction. From a layout, a 3D geometry of the measured pattern can be generated, with materials and interfaces carefully defined. Then, a GPU-accelerated Monte-Carlo model simulates in tens of seconds the SEM image. This fast generation of images enables the use of synthetic SEM images in a digital twin system: they can be used to characterize and to challenge the overlay metrology, before applying it to real products. Indeed, a known overlay can be programmed in these images. This way the performances of the measurement algorithm can be assessed with a ground truth reference. Firstly, imaging parameters such as pixel size and noise have been varied in a wide range. This demonstrated a good accuracy and precision inside a defined measurement window with a coefficient of correlation above 0.996 and an offset lower than 0.2nm. In a second part, the influence of the pattern measured has been investigated and experimental results on SRAM could be reproduced using synthetic images. The origin of the loss of sensitivity has been identified and improvements in the contour extractions and used template led to a correlation with a slope of 1.03, an offset of 0.1nm and a Root Mean Square Deviation of 1.36 nm. Finally, the developed digital twin already showed behaviors in the measurement that were hidden in the on-wafer experiments, that helped assessing the method and which will be used in the future to define guidelines for template-based SEM-OVL measurements.
Determining Phonon Coherence Using Photon Sideband Detection

Generating and detection coherent high-frequency heat-carrying phonons has been a great topic of interest in recent years. While there have been successful attempts in generating and observing coherent phonons, rigorous techniques to characterize and detect these phonon coherence in a crystalline material have been lagging compared to what has been achieved for photons. One main challenge is a lack of detailed understanding of how detection signals for phonons can be related to coherence. The quantum theory of photoelectric detection has greatly advanced the ability to characterize photon coherence in the last century and a similar theory for phonon detection is necessary. Here, we re-examine the optical sideband fluorescence technique that has been used detect high frequency phonons in materials with optically active defects. We apply the quantum theory of photodetection to the sideband technique and propose signatures in sideband photoncounting statistics and second-order correlation measurement of sideband signals that indicates the degree of phonon coherence. Our theory can be implemented in recently performed experiments to bridge the gap of determining phonon coherence to be on par with that of photons.
Continuum {gamma}-ray emission from light dark matter positrons and electrons

The annihilation of light dark matter was recently advocated as a possible explanation of the large positron injection rate at the Galactic center deduced from observations by the SPI spectrometer aboard INTEGRAL. The modelling of internal Bremsstrahlung and in-flight annihilation radiations associated to this process drastically reduced the mass range of this light dark matter particle. We estimate critically the various energy losses and radiations involved in the propagation of the positron before its annihilation--in-flight or at rest. Using a simple model with monoenergetic positrons injected and confined to the Galactic bulge, we compute energy losses and gamma-ray radiations caused by ionization, Bremsstrahlung interactions as well as in-flight and at rest annihilation and compare these predictions to the available observations, for various injection energies. Confronting the predictions with observations by the CGRO/EGRET, CGRO/COMPTEL, INTEGRAL/SPI, and INTEGRAL/IBIS/ISGRI instruments, we deduce a mass upper bound of 3 to 7.5 MeV/c{sup 2} for the hypothetical light dark matter particle. The most restrictive limit is in agreement with the value previously found by Beacom and Yueksel and was obtained under similar assumptions, while the 7.5 MeV/c{sup 2} value corresponds to more conservative choices and to a partially ionized propagation medium. We stress how themore » limit depends on the degree of ionization of the propagation medium and how its precision could be improved by a better appraisal of data uncertainties. « less
Enhancement of H i absorption associated with the z = 3.1 large-scale proto-cluster and characteristic structures with AGNs sculptured over Gpc scale in the SSA22 field

In the SSA22 field which exhibits a large-scale proto-cluster at $z=3.1$, we carried out a spectroscopic survey for Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) with the VLT/VIMOS and identified 78 confident LBGs at $z=2.5$--4. We stacked their spectra in the observer's frame by using a sophisticated method. Analyzing the composite spectrum, we have revealed that the large-scale proto-cluster at $z=3.1$ has a strong HI absorption dip of rest-frame equivalent width of $-1.7$ A. Another strong absorption dip found at $z=3.28$ is associated with a modestly high-density LBG peak, similar to that at $z=3.1$. We have also detected an HI transparency peak at $z=2.98$ in the composite spectrum, coincident with a void in the LBG distribution. In this paper, we also investigated the relation between LBGs, HI gas and AGNs at $z=3$--4 in the SSA22 field. Two AGNs at $z=3.353$ and 3.801 are, respectively, associated with the LBG concentration of an overdensity factor $\delta_{\rm LBG}\simeq2$ in the present statistics. Another structure at $z=3.453$ is remarkable: 20 comoving Mpc scale dense HI gas which is not associated with any apparent LBG overdensity but involving a pair of AGNs. Such structure may be a new type of the AGN-matter correlation. If the inhomogeneous structures over a comoving Gpc scale found in this paper are confirmed with sufficient statistics in the future, the SSA22 field will become a key region to test the standard cold dark matter structure formation scenario.
A Secure Non-interactive Chaotic Maps-based Deniable Authentication Scheme with Privacy Protection in Standard Model

Deniable authentication is an essential cryptography paradigm, which enables a receiver to identify the source of a given message, but the receiver cannot prove the source of the message to any third party over an insecure network. In this paper, we propose a novel noninteractive deniable authentication Chaotic Maps-based scheme, named NIDA, aiming to require one ciphertext with non-interactive process for achieve mutual authentication, deniability and the message transmission secretly. Our scheme is based on chaotic maps, which is a high efficient cryptosystem and is firstly used to construct non-interactive deniable authentication scheme. Inadditon, unlike bilinear pairs and other’s cryptosystem that need many redundant algorithms to get anonymity, while our scheme can acquire privacy protection easily. Next, a novel idea of our NIDA scheme is to adopt chaotic maps for mutual authentication and privacy protection, not to encrypt/decrypt messages transferred between the sender and the receiver, which can make our proposed scheme much more efficient. Finally, we give the formal security proof about our scheme in the standard model and efficiency comparison with recently related works.
Dexketoprofen trometamol-loaded eudragitÂ® rl 100 nanoparticle formulation, characterization and release kinetics

The particle size of the formulations was measured in the range of 475.5-798.7 nm. The droplet size distribution of the formulations was observed in the range of 0.349-0.395. These results showed that nanosized and monodispersed formulations were prepared. The drug content was found to be in the range of 35-38%. DT-loaded particles exhibited nanostructured and spherical shape. In vitro release studies showed extended release of DT. Release was found to fit Korsmeyer-Peppas kinetic model using DDSolver software program.
Measurement of J/$\psi$ production as a function of multiplicity in pp and p-Pb collisions with ALICE

The increase of hard probe production as a function of the charged particle multiplicity in proton-proton and proton-lead collisions is considered to be an interesting observable for the study of multiple parton interactions. In the present work, the correlation between J/$\psi$ production and charged particle multiplicity has been reviewed in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ and 13 TeV and p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV at mid- and forward rapidities. The J/$\psi$ measurement in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV using events triggered by the ALICE electromagnetic calorimeter at midrapidity is discussed in this report, too. An increment of the relative J/$\psi$ yields has been observed as a function of the multiplicity. The results have also been compared to theoretical model predictions.
Quantum fluctuations and excitations in antiferromagnetic quasicrystals

We study the effects of quantum fluctuations and the excitation spectrum for the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on a two-dimensional quasicrystal, by numerically solving linear spin-wave theory on finite approximants of the octagonal tiling. Previous quantum Monte Carlo results for the distribution of local staggered magnetic moments and the static spin structure factor are reproduced well within this approximate scheme. Furthermore, the magnetic excitation spectrum consists of magnonlike low-energy modes, as well as dispersionless high-energy states of multifractal nature. The dynamical spin structure factor, accessible to inelastic neutron scattering, exhibits linear-soft modes at low energies, self-similar structures with bifurcations emerging at intermediate energies, and flat bands in high-energy regions. We find that the distribution of local staggered moments stemming from the inhomogeneity of the quasiperiodic structure leads to a characteristic energy spread in the local dynamical spin susceptibility, implying distinct nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, specific for different local environments.
Tracing the Nuclear Accretion History of the Red Galaxy Population

We investigate the evolution of the hard X-ray luminosity of the red galaxy population using a large sample of 3316 red galaxies selected over a wide range in redshift (0.3 < z < 0.9) from a 1.4 deg2 region in the Boötes field of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey (NDWFS). The red galaxies are early-type, bulge-dominated galaxies and are selected to have the same evolution-corrected, absolute R-band magnitude distribution as a function of redshift to ensure that we are tracing the evolution in the X-ray properties of a comparable optical population. Using a stacking analysis of 5 ks Chandra/ACIS observations within this field to study the X-ray emission from these red galaxies in three redshift bins, we find that the mean X-ray luminosity increases as a function of redshift. The large mean X-ray luminosity and the hardness of the mean X-ray spectrum suggest that the X-ray emission is largely dominated by active galactic nuclei (AGNs) rather than stellar sources. The hardness ratio can be reproduced by either an absorbed (NH ≈ 2 × 1022 cm-2) Γ = 1.7 power-law source, consistent with that of a population of moderately obscured Seyfert-like AGNs, or an unabsorbed Γ = 0.7 source, suggesting a radiatively inefficient accretion flow (e.g., an advection-dominated accretion flow). We also find that the emission from this sample of red galaxies constitutes at least 5% of the hard X-ray background. These results suggest a global decline in the mean AGN activity of normal early-type galaxies from z ~ 1 to the present, which indicates that we are witnessing the tailing off of the accretion activity onto supermassive black holes in early-type galaxies since the quasar epoch.
Spontaneous Emission Enhancement in Strain-Induced WSe2 Monolayer-Based Quantum Light Sources on Metallic Surfaces

Atomic monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides represent an emerging material platform for the implementation of ultracompact quantum light emitters via strain engineering. In this framework, we discuss experimental results on creation of strain induced single photon sources using a WSe2 monolayer on a silver substrate, coated with a very thin dielectric layer. We identify quantum emitters that are formed at various locations in the sample. Their emission is highly linearly polarized, stable in linewidth, and decay times down to 100 ps are observed. We provide numerical calculations of our monolayer-metal device platform to assess the strength of the radiative decay rate enhancement by the presence of the plasmonic structure. We believe that our results represent a crucial step toward the ultracompact integration of high performance single photon sources in nanoplasmonic devices and circuits.
Faculty views of HIV and AIDS education in the curriculum at tertiary level

Although much has been written on the need to integrate HIV into tertiary education programmes, very little research has been done in terms of how it should be done. This article will report on the first phase of a larger action research project designed to research, develop and evaluate best practices for the transformation of the curricula of higher education programmes to make them more relevant and responsive to the realities of living and working in the age of AIDS. Using a phenomenological design, academics from three faculties were interviewed to generate baseline data around their feelings, perceptions, attitudes and practices regarding HIV education in their fields of study. The findings reveal that, while academics recognize the importance of HIV integration in principle, in practice several barriers exist. On the whole, a narrow conceptualisation of HIV and AIDS precludes them from recognising the many possibilities that exist for meaningful integration of HIV education. Implications are drawn from these findings to inform the intervention phase of the project.
The VLA Nascent Disk and Multiplicity Survey of Perseus Protostars (VANDAM). IV. Free–Free Emission from Protostars: Links to Infrared Properties, Outflow Tracers, and Protostellar Disk Masses

Emission from protostars at centimeter radio wavelengths has been shown to trace the free–free emission arising from ionizing shocks as a result of jets and outflows driven by protostars. Therefore, measuring properties of protostars at radio frequencies can provide valuable insights into the nature of their outflows and jets. We present a C-band (4.1 and 6.4 cm) survey of all known protostars (Class 0 and Class I) in Perseus as part of the VLA Nascent Disk and Multiplicity (VANDAM) Survey. We examine the known correlations between radio flux density and protostellar parameters, such as bolometric luminosity and outflow force, for our sample. We also investigate the relationship between radio flux density and far-infrared line luminosities from Herschel. We show that free–free emission most likely originates from J-type shocks; however, the large scatter indicates that those two types of emission probe different time and spatial scales. Using C-band fluxes, we removed an estimation of free–free contamination from the corresponding Ka-band (9 mm) flux densities that primarily probe dust emission from embedded disks. We find that the compact (<1″) dust emission is lower for Class I sources (median dust mass 96 M⊕) relative to Class 0 (248 M⊕), but several times higher than in Class II (5–15 M⊕). If this compact dust emission is tracing primarily the embedded disk, as is likely for many sources, this result provides evidence of decreasing disk masses with protostellar evolution, with sufficient mass for forming giant planet cores primarily at early times.