Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Barriers and facilitators of childhood obesity prevention policies: A systematic review and meta-synthesis

Objectives Childhood obesity is one of the worldwide considerable public health challenges and many factors can play a role in its management. Therefore, this article examined the facilitators and barriers of childhood obesity prevention (COP) policies. Methods This systematic review of qualitative studies was conducted via a search of the SCOPUS, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases between 1 January 2010 and 11 February 2022 and examined factors that influence the implementation of COP policies at a community approach. Results The parents' reluctance to engage in COP activities, lack of sufficient knowledge, and financial problems were the most reported barriers at the individual level. In addition, the beliefs about COP at the sociocultural level and limited funding and resources, time limitations in stakeholders at the implementation level, and lack of policy support at the structural level were the most frequently reported barriers. Further, effective communication between stakeholders and parents and school staff at the sociocultural level and flexibility of the intervention, delivery of healthy food programs in schools, low-cost and appropriate resources, and the availability of appropriate facilities are the most frequently reported facilitators in the structural level. Conclusion Individual, sociocultural, and structural level-related barriers and facilitators influence the implementation of COP policies. Most of the barriers and facilitators in this systematic review were related to the structural level.
A Rotating Disk around a High-Mass Young Star

We report the discovery of a disk around the young high-mass star IRAS 20126+4104. In the NH3 (1, 1) and (2, 2) lines, we detected a flattened disklike structure (6″ × 3″ or 10,000 × 5000 AU) roughly perpendicular to a bipolar molecular outflow. A velocity gradient exists along the major axis of the disk. The disk rotates faster toward the center. Our findings provide direct verification that disks exist during the formation of high-mass stars.
Preconception stress exposure from childhood to adolescence and birth outcomes: The impact of stress type, severity and consistency

The negative effects of prenatal stress on offspring health are well established, but there remains little understanding of the influence of stress prior to conception despite known effects on biological systems that are important for a healthy pregnancy. Furthermore, operational definitions of stress vary considerably, and exposure is often characterized via summed, ordinal scales of events. We hypothesized that type, severity, and consistency of preconception stress would be associated with birthweight and gestational age (GA) at birth. Data were drawn from a subsample of participants in the 21-year longitudinal Pittsburgh Girls Study (PGS, N = 2,450) that has followed women annually since childhood. Prior work in the PGS derived three domains of stress exposure between ages 7-17 years related to subsistence (e.g., resource strain, overcrowding), safety (e.g., community violence, inter-adult aggression), and caregiving (e.g., separation, maternal depression). We tested the effects of dimensions of preconception stress on birthweight and GA among offspring of 490 PGS participants who delivered at age 18 or older (n = 490; 76% Black, 20% White, 4% Multiracial). Our hypotheses were partially supported with results varying by stress type and severity and by infant sex. Severity of preconception exposure to subsistence stress was prospectively associated with lower offspring birthweight (B = −146.94, SE = 69.07, 95% CI = −282.66, −11.22). The association between severity of caregiving stress in childhood and adolescence and GA at birth was moderated by infant sex (B = 0.85, SE = .41, 95% CI = 0.04, 1.66), suggesting greater vulnerability to this type of stress for male compared to female infants. Exposure to safety stressors did not predict birth outcomes. Infants of Black compared with White mothers had lower birthweight in all models regardless of preconception stress type, severity or consistency. However, we observed no moderating effects of race on preconception stress-birth outcome associations. Demonstrating specificity of associations between preconception stress exposure and prenatal health has the potential to inform preventive interventions targeting profiles of exposure to optimize birth outcomes.
Distinct systemic immune networks define severe vs. mild COVID-19 in hematologic and solid cancer patients

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has impacted health across all sectors of society. A cytokine-release syndrome, combined with an inefficient response of innate immune cells to directly combat the virus, characterizes the severe form of COVID-19. While immune factors involved in the development of severe COVID-19 in the general population are becoming clearer, identification of the immune mechanisms behind severe disease in oncologic patients remains uncertain. Methods Here we evaluated the systemic immune response through the analysis of soluble blood immune factors and anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies within the early days of a positive SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic in oncologic patients. Results Individuals with hematologic malignancies that went on to die from COVID-19 displayed at diagnosis severe leukopenia, low antibody production against SARS-CoV-2 proteins, and elevated production of innate immune cell recruitment and activation factors. These patients also displayed correlation networks in which IL-2, IL-13, TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, and FGF2 were the focal points. Hematologic cancer patients that showed highly networked and coordinated anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody production, with central importance of IL-4, IL-5, IL-12A, IL-15, and IL-17A, presented only mild COVID-19. Conversely, solid tumor patients that had elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-6, CXCL8, and lost the coordinate production of anti-virus antibodies developed severe COVID-19 and died. Patients that displayed positive correlation networks between anti-virus antibodies, and a regulatory axis involving IL-10 and inflammatory cytokines recovered from the disease. We also provided evidence that CXCL8 is a strong predictor of death for oncologic patients and could be an indicator of poor prognosis within days of the positive diagnostic of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusion Our findings defined distinct systemic immune profiles associated with COVID-19 clinical outcome of patients with cancer and COVID-19. These systemic immune networks shed light on potential immune mechanisms involved in disease outcome, as well as identify potential clinically useful biomarkers.
Effect of an electric field and nonlinear optical rectification of confined excitons in quantum dots

An interacting electron‐hole pair in a parabolic quantum dot (QD), under growth‐direction applied electric field, is studied within the framework of the effective‐mass approximation. The binding energies of the ground and the three low‐excited states of the confined excitons are calculated as a function of the confined potential radius and as a function of the intensity of the applied electric field. We find that the effect of the applied electric field on the binding energy of the low‐lying states of the confined exciton depends strongly on the quantum number (N, m), but the binding energy of the ground state is practically not influenced by the presence of the applied electric field in the regime of very strong confinement. The nonlinear optical rectification between the ground (N = 0, m = 0) and low‐excited (N = 1, m = 0) states have been examined based on the computed energies and wave functions in details for the excitons. The results show that the optical rectification susceptibility obtained in the spherical QD can reach the magnitude of 10−2 m/V, which is 3–4 orders of magnitude higher than that in one‐dimensional QDs. It is found that the second‐order nonlinear optical properties of exciton states in a QD are strongly affected by the confinement strength and the electric field.
Weakening of tensile strength of granitic rock by HV-HF-AC actuation of piezoelectric properties of Quartz: a 3D numerical study

High-voltage and high-frequency alternating current (HV-HF-AC) excitation of piezoelectric properties of Quartz is a potential method to induce cracks in granite. This was recently shown in a numerical feasibility study [6], where cracking was induced on cylindrical rock samples made of granite by sinusoidal AC excitation at the frequency of ~100 kHz and the amplitude of ~10 kV. However, this study did not investigate the weakening effect due to this cracking on the tensile strength of the sample. The present study addresses this topic numerically. For this end, a numerical method based on 3D embedded discontinuity finite elements for rock fracture and an explicit time stepping scheme to solve the coupled piezoelectro-mechanical problem is adopted. Rock heterogeneity and anisotropy are accounted for at the mineral mesotructure level. A preliminary numerical simulation demonstrates that the HV-HF-AC treatment reduces the tensile strength of a cylindrical granite sample by 12 %, making it thus a potential non-conventional pre-treatment method in comminution and excavation of Quartz bearing rocks and ores.
Silicate Mineralogy of the Dust in the Inner Coma of Comet C/1995 01 (Hale-Bopp) Pre- and Postperihelion

We present 7.5-13.4 μm infrared (IR) spectrophotometry (R≃180-360) of the 10 μm silicate emission from dust in the inner coma (i.e., within a diameter of 3'') of comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) at four temporal epochs from 1996 October through 1997 June during Hale-Bopp's approach to, arrival at, and recession from perihelion. Hale-Bopp's silicate feature is the strongest observed from any comet to date: the flux-to-continuum ratio at 10.0 μm is 2.5 at 2.8 AU preperihelion, increases to 3.0 at 0.93 AU, and then decreases to 2.4 at 1.7 AU postperihelion, dropping more rapidly in strength than expected from preperihelion spectra and indicating a diminishment in the relative abundance of submicron sized grains by perihelion passage. The silicate feature also evolves with heliocentric distance. When far from perihelion, at ~2.8 AU, the High Efficiency Faint Object Grating Spectrometer (HIFOGS) 10 μm silicate feature contains a 9.3 μm shoulder attributable to amorphous pyroxene, broad emission from amorphous olivine (9.7 μm), and the 11.2 μm peak associated with crystalline olivine. Concurrent with the HIFOGS spectra at 2.8 AU, the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) spectrum also shows the strong far-IR peaks of crystalline olivine at 18 μm, 23 μm, and 33 μm. When close to perihelion the HIFOGS spectra include a newly discovered 9.3 μm peak, identifiable as Mg-rich crystalline pyroxene. We hypothesize that the crystalline pyroxenes are cooler than the other silicates, too cool to be detected at 9.3 μm at 2.8 AU but warm enough to be detected at 1.2 AU. The best-fit empirical model for the temporal evolution of Hale-Bopp's silicate feature constrains the Mg-rich crystalline pyroxenes to be dominated by ortho-pyroxene rather than clino-pyroxene. The crystalline pyroxenes have a color temperature that is 0.6 times cooler than and an abundance that is about 9 times greater than the other silicates at all epochs, assuming equivalent particle size distributions for all components. Comparing crystalline ortho-pyroxene and crystalline olivine in radiative equilibrium, both with Mg number 0.9, the ortho-pyroxene crystals are cooler because they are less absorbing at visible and near-IR wavelengths. Thus, it is the high Mg content of the crystalline pyroxenes that accounts for their cooler temperature. The dominance of Mg-rich pyroxenes among Hale-Bopp's cometary silicates is consistent with PUMA-1 mass spectrometer measurements of comet P/Halley 1986 III and with cometary interplanetary dust particles. The high Mg content of the pyroxenes in comet Hale-Bopp implies that they are either pristine solar nebula condensates or presolar grains such as the Mg-rich crystals recently discovered by ISO around asymptotic giant branch stars.
Application of DInSAR for monitoring slopes around a dam basin in Japan

Monitoring the behavior of slopes around the sites of hydroelectric power plants and dam reservoirs is important from the viewpoints of their stable operation and a reduction in the risk to the local community. Since their facilities are widely located at dam sites, however, it is not easy to efficiently monitor the behavior of them. SAR can be a solution to the problem. On the other hand, there are still difficulties that must be overcome when applying DInSAR as an engineering tool for monitoring in practice, i.e., phase decorrelation, the accuracy and reliability of the results, etc. In particular, the dense vegetation that often covers mountainous areas can prevent the acquisition of precise measurement results. In this paper, DInSAR using ALOS-2 data is applied around a dam basin and the results are compared with the actual ground behavior to confirm the applicability of DInSAR. It is concluded that DInSAR using ALOS-2 data could be a useful tool for monitoring the slope stability of large dam basins, even those covered with dense vegetation.
Estimating the Hydraulic Conductivity of jointed rock mass using Genetic Programming

Ground engineering through injection of cementitious grouts or polymer resins is an integral part of fractured rock mass stabilisation by improving its maximum load carrying capacity, stiffness, cohesiveness and reduction in permeability. To optimise product delivery and achieve a high penetrability of product into the rock mass, it is imperative to understand the permeability characteristics or hydraulic conductivity of the rock mass. The hydraulic conductivity of the rock mass also dictates the type of polyurethane (PU) or cement-based products to be injected. For this purpose, a Packer test has to be conducted to measure the hydraulic conductivity of a rock formation which is an expensive and time-consuming process. Alternatively, a number of empirical methods that use rock mass classifications and rock joint properties Rock Quality Designation (RQD), Q-system (Q), Geological Strength Index (GSI), Joint Spacing (JS), Joint Aperture (a) proposed by a number of researchers that are capable of predicting hydraulic conductivity (HC). In this research, a predictive model between rock mass properties and HC is proposed using new approach - genetic programming (GP). For this purpose, a database of rock mass parameters including RQD, Q, GSI, JS, Joint Aperture (a), Second Permeability Index (SPI) and Packer test results available in the literature is established. The database is split into randomly selected training and testing sets. To assess the fitting quality, the sum of the absolute difference is used, while maximum depth on trees is set to control the bloat of the model. The performance is assessed with four statistical criteria and three GP models using different input combinations are proposed. These models have been converted into simple mathematical equations to calculate HC based on collected input data. In summary, two out of three models have successfully predicted HC with high correlation to the actual HC (R2 of testing sets ≈ 0.92). Therefore, this study has shown the feasibility of applying GP models into future prediction of HC for the initial phase of rock grouting design.
Transient normal stress response in a concentrated suspension of spherical particles

The transient normal force response in a concentrated suspension of spherical particles upon startup of shear, following a period of rest, was found to depend on the direction in which shear was restarted. When shear was restarted in the same direction, the normal force signal rapidly grew to its positive steady-state value. However, when shear was restarted in the opposite direction, the normal force signal was initially negative and decreased, within the response time of the instrument, to a negative minimum, from which it gradually increased, passing through zero, to its positive steady-state value. This is believed to be the first experimental confirmation of this phenomenon, which had been suggested by the numerical simulations of previous investigators.
Temperature measurement of Ho:YAG laser induced bubble in water using silver halide IR optical fiber

We measured the localized transient temperature of Ho:YAG laser induced bubble in water by infrared radiation measurement with a infrared optical fiber to study heat effect/damage of this bubble for vascular therapeutic applications. Although there have been many reports regarding to the temperature in the Ho:YAG laser induced bubble by both theoretical and experimental approaches, we can not find well-time-response reliable temperature in the laser induced bubble. We constructed the remote temperature measurement system to obtain the temperature of the laser induced bubble with the infrared optical fiber (Optran MIR, CeramOptec) made of AgCl/AgBr with 1mm in core diameter. The flash lamp excited Ho: YAG laser (IH102, NIIC,λ=2.1μm) beam was delivered through a silica optical fiber (core diameter: 600μm) and was irradiated from the fiber tip in water. The tip position of the infrared optical fiber against the silica glass fiber was changed to measure local bubble temperature. The sidewall of the infrared optical fiber tip was covered by a black rubber tube to prevent the collection of the Ho:YAG laser into the infrared fiber. The infrared radiation delivered through the infrared optical fiber was measured by the HgCdTe infrared detector (KMPC12-2-J1, Kolmar Technologies, rise time:500ns). This fiber optic radiation detection system was calibrated before the bubble temperature measurement. Since the bubble boundary location and its shape were changed with time, we corrected influences of these factors. We finally obtained the peak temperature of 61.7±2.8°C at the top surface in the laser induced bubble with 800mJ/pulse. This temperature was 10 degree lower than that of reported. The temperature at the top of the bubble was approximately 9.8 degree higher than that at the bubble side. Obtained temperature distribution with time may be available to study bubble dynamics necessary for our vascular applications.
Layer transfer process assisted by laser scribing for thin film solar cells based on epitaxial foils

The lift‐off step of a layer transfer process for the production of thin‐film solar cells using a double porous layer is studied in detail. The goal is to locally weaken the thin film to improve the detachment. A UV nanosecond pulse laser is used to induce the weakening by scribing trenches. A relation between the pulse fluence, the number of pulses per point and the ablated area is found and used to predict the ablation depth. The grooving step is applied at different points in the process chain. The most suitable grooves are obtained when the scribing process is done after front‐side processing of the attached thin film and before the bonding step. A yield of around 80% is obtained for samples that went through the process chain up to the detachment step, by using the optimized process conditions.
The challenge of controlling an auditory BCI in the case of severe motor disability

Background: The locked-in syndrome (LIS), due to a lesion in the pons, impedes communication. This situation can also be met after some severe brain injury or in advanced Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). In the most severe condition, the persons cannot communicate at all because of a complete oculomotor paralysis (Complete LIS or CLIS). This even prevents the detection of consciousness. Some studies suggest that auditory brain-computer interface (BCI) could restore a communication through a yes-no code. Methods: We developed an auditory EEG-based interface which makes use of voluntary modulations of attention, to restore a yes-no communication code in non-responding persons. This binary BCI uses repeated speech sounds (alternating "yes" on the right ear and "no" on the left ear) corresponding to either frequent (short) or rare (long) stimuli. Users are instructed to pay attention to the relevant stimuli only. We tested this BCI with 18 healthy subjects, and 7 people with severe motor disability (3 "classical" persons with locked-in syndrome and 4 persons with ALS). Results: We report online BCI performance and offline event-related potential analysis. On average in healthy subjects, online BCI accuracy reached 86% based on 50 questions. Only one out of 18 subjects could not perform above chance level. Ten subjects had an accuracy above 90%. However, most patients could not produce online performance above chance level, except for two people with ALS who obtained 100% accuracy. We report individual event-related potentials and their modulation by attention. In addition to the classical P3b, we observed a signature of sustained attention on responses to frequent sounds, but in healthy subjects and patients with good BCI control only. Conclusions: Auditory BCI can be very well controlled by healthy subjects, but it is not a guarantee that it can be readily used by the target population of persons in LIS or CLIS. A conclusion that is supported by a few previous findings in BCI and should now trigger research to assess the reasons of such a gap in order to propose new and efficient solutions.
Silicon nanowire polarizers for far ultraviolet (sub-200 nm) applications: Modeling and fabrication

We have previously demonstrated a fabrication technique for the creation of silicon wire grid polarizers (WGPs) for far (deep) ultraviolet applications utilizing a shear-aligned cylinder-forming polystyrene-b-poly(n-hexyl methacrylate) diblock copolymer as a mask for reactive ion etching of an amorphous silicon substrate. In our current work, a numerical model is refined and applied to our experimental systems to describe the impact of wire height and periodicity, and tradeoffs between the two, on polarization efficiency. We focus our attention at a wavelength of 193 nm, the emission wavelength of the ArF excimer laser currently in use in advanced photolithographic processes. Through application of the model’s predictions we have achieved marked improvement in the polarization efficiency of our WGPs by increasing the block copolymer molecular weight, thereby increasing the thickness of the Si wires, which compensates for a simultaneous increase in wire periodicity; the resulting arrays of parallel Si nano.