Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Machine Learning and Hyperparameters Algorithms for Identifying Groundwater Aflaj Potential Mapping in Semi-Arid Ecosystems Using LiDAR, Sentinel-2, GIS Data, and Analysis

Aflaj (plural of falaj) are tunnels or trenches built to deliver groundwater from its source to the point of consumption. Support vector machine (SVM) and extreme gradient boosting (XGB) machine learning models were used to predict groundwater aflaj potential in the Nizwa watershed in the Sultanate of Oman (Oman). Nizwa city is a focal point of aflaj that underlies the historical relationship between ecology, economic dynamics, agricultural systems, and human settlements. Three hyperparameter algorithms, grid search (GS), random search (RS), and Bayesian optimisation, were used to optimise the parameters of the XGB model. Sentinel-2 and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data via geographical information systems (GIS) were employed to derive variables of land use/land cover, and hydrological, topographical, and geological factors. The groundwater aflaj potential maps were categorised into five classes: deficient, low, moderate, high, and very high. Based on the evaluation of accuracy in the training stage, the following models showed a high level of accuracy based on the area under the curve: Bayesian-XGB (0.99), GS-XGB (0.97), RS-XGB (0.96), SVM (0.96), and XGB (0.93). The validation results showed that the Bayesian hyperparameter algorithm significantly increased XGB model efficiency in modelling groundwater aflaj potential. The highest percentages of groundwater potential in the very high class were the XGB (10%), SVM (8%), GS-XGB (6%), RS-XGB (6%), and Bayesian-XGB (6%) models. Most of these areas were located in the central and northeast parts of the case study area. The study concluded that evaluating existing groundwater datasets, facilities, current, and future spatial datasets is critical in order to design systems capable of mapping groundwater aflaj based on geospatial and ML techniques. In turn, groundwater protection service projects and integrated water source management (IWSM) programs will be able to protect the aflaj irrigation system from threats by implementing timely preventative measures.
Compton-thick AGN in the NuSTAR Era. IV. A Deep NuSTAR and XMM-Newton View of the Candidate Compton-thick AGN in ESO 116-G018

We present a 2–78 keV spectral analysis of the deep NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observation of a nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy, ESO 116-G018, which is selected as a candidate Compton-thick (CT) active galactic nucleus (AGN) based on a previous Chandra–Swift–BAT study. Through our analysis, the source is, for the first time, confirmed to be a CT AGN at a >3σ confidence level, with the “line-of-sight” column density NH,Z = [2.46–2.76] × 1024 cm−2. The “global average” column density of the obscuring torus is NH,S = [0.46–0.62] × 1024 cm−2, which suggests a clumpy, rather than uniform, distribution of the obscuring material surrounding the accreting supermassive black hole. The excellent-quality data given by the combined NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observations enable us to produce a strong constraint on the covering factor of the torus of ESO 116-G018, which is found to be fc = [0.13–0.15]. We also estimate the bolometric luminosity from the broadband X-ray spectrum to be Lbol = [2.57–3.41] × 1044 erg s−1.
Bilingual Proficiency Development and Translanguaging Practices of Emergent Korean-English Bilingual Children in Korea

With the rise of globalization, transmigration becomes more commonplace. Globalization is often accompanied by multiculturalism that constitutes an important fabric in societies and countries around the world. This has been the case in South Korea. Multiculturalism has resulted in many shifts and challenges within the Korean family dynamics. Multilingualism is an important characteristic that uniquely identifies many multicultural families. Regardless of the unique traits of each multicultural family, what seems to be the common denominator within these families of emergent bilingual children is that translanguaging is practiced for various purposes both inside and outside the home environment. Through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and narrative frames, this qualitative case study explores Anglophone fathers’ perceptions of their bilingual children’s language proficiency, the translanguaging practices of Korean-English bilingual families in Korea, and the impact of translanguaging practices on bilingual children’s self-identity development. Three conclusions can be drawn based on the results: Parents of emergent bilingual children generally value high proficiency in both languages, translanguaging is often practiced for communicative purposes, and translanguaging has an important effect on emergent bilinguals’ self-identity development. Implications are drawn regarding the importance and necessity of translanguaging practices both inside and outside of the home environment.
Supergravity p -branes reexamined: Extra parameters, uniqueness, and topological censorship

We perform a complete integration of the Einstein-dilaton-antisymmetric form action describing black p-branes in arbitrary dimensions assuming the transverse space to be homogeneous and possessing spherical, toroidal or hyperbolic topology. The generic solution contains eight parameters satisfying one constraint. Asymptotically flat solutions form a five-parametric subspace, while conditions of regularity of the non-degenerate event horizon further restrict this number to three, which can be related to the mass and the charge densities and the asymptotic value of the dilaton. In the case of a degenerate horizon, this number is reduced by one. Our derivation constitutes a constructive proof of the uniqueness theorem for $p$-branes with the homogeneous transverse space. No asymptotically flat solutions with toroidal or hyperbolic transverse space within the considered class are shown to exist, which result can be viewed as a demonstration of the topological censorship for p-branes. From our considerations it follows, in particular, that some previously discussed p-brane-like solutions with extra parameters do not satisfy the standard conditions of asymptotic flatness and absence of naked singularities. We also explore the same system in presence of a cosmological constant, and derive a complete analytic solution for higher-dimensional charged topological black holes, thus proving their uniqueness.
Bacillus spp.-Mediated Growth Promotion of Rice Seedlings and Suppression of Bacterial Blight Disease under Greenhouse Conditions

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a major cereal and staple food crop worldwide, and its growth and production are affected by several fungal and bacterial phytopathogens. Bacterial blight (BB) is one of the world’s most devastating rice diseases, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). In the current study, Bacillus atrophaeus FA12 and B. cabrialesii FA26 were isolated from the rice rhizosphere and characterized as having broad-range antifungal and antibacterial activities against various phytopathogens, including Xoo. In addition, the selected strains were further evaluated for their potent rice growth promotion and suppression efficacy against BB under greenhouse conditions. The result shows that FA12 and FA26, applied as seed inoculants, significantly enhanced the vigor index of rice seedlings by 78.89% and 108.70%, respectively. Suppression efficacy against BB disease by FA12 and FA26 reached up to 59.74% and 54.70%, respectively, in pot experiments. Furthermore, MALDI-TOF MS analysis of selected strains revealed the masses ranged from m/z 1040 to 1540, representing that iturins and fengycin are the major antimicrobial compounds in the crude extracts, which might have beneficial roles in rice defence responses against BB. In conclusion, FA12 and FA26 possess broad-range antagonistic activity and have the capability to promote plant growth traits. More importantly, applying these strains has a high potential for implementing eco-friendly, cost-effective, and sustainable management practices for BB disease.
Modeling of cyclic creep in the finite strain range using a nested multiplicative split

A new phenomenological model of cyclic creep is proposed which is suitable for applications involving finite creep deformations of the material. The model accounts for the the effect of the transient increase of the creep strain rate upon the load reversal. In order to extend the applicability range of the model, the creep process is fully coupled to the classical Kachanov-Rabonov damage evolution. As a result, the proposed model describes all the three stages of creep. Large strain kinematics is described in a geometrically exact manner using the assumption of a nested multiplicative split, originally proposed by Lion for finite strain plasticity. The model is thermodynamically admissible, objective, and w-invariant. Implicit time integration of the proposed evolution equations is discussed. The corresponding numerical algorithm is implemented into the commercial FEM code MSC.MARC. Using this code, the model is validated using real experimental data on cyclic torsion of a thick-walled tubular specimen made of the D16T aluminium alloy. The numerically computed stress distribution exhibits a "skeletal point" within the specimen.
Design and Control of a Pneumatic Muscle Servo Drive Containing Its Own Pneumatic Muscles

This article presents static and dynamic characteristics of artificial pneumatic muscles. The research stance and the methodology for their determination are described. A mathematical model of a pneumatic muscle has been proposed, having two inputs—the force generated by the muscle and the displacement of the muscle tip, and one output—the valve control voltage. The quality of object mapping was verified by a mathematical model for various trajectories. Then, the control system for the moment servo drive force was composed of two pneumatic muscles working in opposite directions connected by a toothed belt gear. The servo drive was verified and evaluated.
Structural properties of the multilayer graphene/4H-SiC(0001) system as determined by surface x-ray diffraction

We present a structural analysis of the multilayer graphene/$4H\mathrm{Si}\mathrm{C}(000\overline{1})$ system using surface x-ray reflectivity. We show that graphene films grown on the C-terminated $(000\overline{1})$ surface have a graphene-substrate bond length that is very short $(1.62\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{\AA{}})$. The measured distance rules out a weak van der Waals interaction to the substrate and instead indicates a strong bond between the first graphene layer and the bulk as predicted by ab initio calculations. The measurements also indicate that multilayer graphene grows in a near turbostratic mode on this surface. This result may explain the lack of a broken graphene symmetry inferred from conduction measurements on this system [C. Berger et al., Science 312, 1191 (2006)].
Enhanced nuclear-spin-dependent parity-violation effects using the 
HgH199
 molecule

Electron interactions with the nuclear-spin-dependent (NSD) parity-nonconserving (PNC) anapole moment are strongly enhanced within heteronuclear diatomic molecules. A low-energy optical rotation experiment is being proposed with the aim of observing NSD PNC interactions in HgH. Based on the relativistic coupled cluster method we present a sophisticated numerical calculation of the circular polarization parameter P = 2 Im(E1(P)(Nc))/M1 approximate to 3 x 10(-6 )kappa for the (2)Sigma(1)(/2) -> (2)pi(1/2) optical transition of HgH, where K is a dimensionless constant determined by the nuclear anapole moment. This provides an improvement in sensitivity to NSD PNC by 2-3 orders of magnitude over the leading atomic Xe, Hg, Tl, Pb, and Bi optical rotation experiments. Therefore we show that the proposed measurement should be sensitive enough to extract the 199 Hg anapole moment and shed light on the underlying theory of hadronic parity violation.
Experimental nonlocality-based randomness generation with nonprojective measurements

We report on an optical setup generating more than one bit of randomness from one entangled bit (i.e. a maximally entangled state of two-qubits). The amount of randomness is certified through the observation of Bell non-local correlations. To attain this result we implemented a high-purity entanglement source and a non-projective three-outcome measurement. Our implementation achieves a gain of 27$\%$ of randomness as compared with the standard methods using projective measurements. Additionally we estimate the amount of randomness certified in a one-sided device independent scenario, through the observation of EPR steering. Our results prove that non-projective quantum measurements allows extending the limits for nonlocality-based certified randomness generation using current technology.
TotBlocks: exploring the relationships between modular rock-forming minerals with 3D-printed interlocking brick modules

Abstract. Many rock-forming chain and sheet silicate minerals, i.e., pyroxenes, amphiboles, micas, and clay minerals, are built from shared chemical building blocks known as T-O-T modules. Each module consists of two opposing chains of vertex-sharing silica tetrahedra (T), which vertically sandwich a ribbon of edge-sharing metal–oxygen octahedra (O) in a T-O-T configuration. These minerals are both abundant and diverse in the lithosphere because T-O-T modules are chemically versatile (incorporating common crustal elements, e.g., O, Si, Al, Fe, and Mg) and structurally versatile (varying as a function of module width and linkage type) over a wide range of chemical and physical conditions. Therefore, these minerals lie at the center of understanding geological processes. However, their diversity leads to the minerals developing complex, 3D crystal structures, which are challenging to communicate. Ball-and-stick models and computer visualization software are the current methods for communicating the crystal structures of minerals, but both methods have limitations in communicating the relationships between these complex crystal structures. Here, we investigate the applications of 3D printing in communicating modular mineralogy and crystal structures. The open-source TotBlocks project consists of 3D-printed, T-O-T interlocking bricks, based on ideal polyhedral representations of T and O modules, which are linked by hexagonal pegs and slots. Using TotBlocks, we explore the relationships between modular minerals within the biopyribole (biotite–pyroxene–amphibole) and palysepiole (palygorskite–sepiolite) series. The bricks can also be deconstructed into T and O layer modules to build other mineral structures such as the brucite, kaolinite–serpentine, and chlorite groups. Then, we use the T-O-T modules within these minerals to visually investigate trends in their properties, e.g., habit, cleavage angles, and symmetry/polytypism. In conclusion, the TotBlocks project provides an accessible, interactive, and versatile way to communicate the crystal structures of common rock-forming minerals.
Composite Weyl nodes stabilized by screw symmetry with and without time-reversal invariance

S.S. T and I.S. acknowledge support from Grant No. FIS2016-77188-P from the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Grant No. CIG-303602 from the European Commission, and from Elkartek Grant No. KK-2016/00025. D.V. acknowledges support from NSF Grant DMR-1408838.
Refined Astrometry and Positions for 179 Swift X-Ray Afterglows

We present a refined catalog for the positions of 179 gamma-ray burst (GRB) X-ray afterglows observed by the X-Ray Telescope (XRT) on Swift prior to 2006 November 1. The positions are determined by detecting X-ray field sources in the deep X-ray images and comparing the centroids to those of optical sources in the Digitized Sky Survey red2 catalog or the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5 catalog. Half of the 90% confidence error region radii are <2.2″. The error regions areas are typically ∼4 times smaller than the best XRT team error regions, although the positions require deep X-ray integration (>20 ks) and cannot be generated nearly as rapidly after the GRB. The positions derived for >90% of 77 bursts with optical afterglows are consistent with the optical transient positions, without the need for systematic error. About 20% of the afterglow positions require a sizable shift in the Swift satellite aspect. We discuss the optical/X-ray properties of the field sources and discuss the implications of the frame offsets for studies of optically dark GRBs.
Quantifying Deformation and Migration Properties of U87 Glioma Cells Using Dielectrophoretic Forces

Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the most aggressive malignant primary brain tumors. To design effective treatment strategies, we need to better understand the behavior of glioma cells while maintaining their genetic and phenotypic stability. Here, we investigated the deformation and migration profile of U87 Glioma cells under the influence of dielectrophoretic forces. We fabricated a gold microelectrode array within a microfluidic channel and applied sinusoidal wave AC potential at 3 Vpp, ranging from 30 kHz to 10 MHz frequencies, to generate DEP forces. We followed the dielectrophoretic movement and deformation changes of 100 glioma cells at each frequency. We observed that the mean dielectrophoretic displacements of glioma cells were significantly different at varying frequencies with the maximum and minimum traveling distances of 13.22 µm and 1.37 µm, respectively. The dielectrophoretic deformation indexes of U87 glioma cells altered between 0.027–0.040. It was 0.036 in the absence of dielectrophoretic forces. This approach presents a rapid, robust, and sensitive characterization method for quantifying membrane deformation of glioma cells to determine the state of the cells or efficacy of administrated drugs.
Magnetization plateau in the spin ladder with alternating rung exchange

We have studied the ground-state phase diagram of a spin ladder with alternating rung exchange in a magnetic filed, in the limit where the rung coupling is dominant. In this limit the model is mapped onto an XXZ Heisenberg chain in uniform and staggered longitudinal magnetic fields, where the amplitude of the staggered field is ∼δ. We have shown that the magnetization curve of the system exhibits a plateau at magnetization equal to half of the saturation value. The width of a plateau scales as δν, where ν = 4/5 in the case of a ladder with isotropic antiferromagnetic legs and ν = 2 in the case of a ladder with isotropic ferromagnetic legs. We have calculated four critical fields (Hc1 ± and Hc2 ± ) corresponding to transitions between different magnetic phases of the system. We have shown that these transitions belong to the universality class of the commensurate–incommensurate transition. The possibility for the realization of a new type of spin-Peierls instability, characterized by the spontaneous appearance of an alternating rung exchange in a uniform magnetic field and at a system magnetization equal to the half of its saturation value, is briefly discussed.
Drivers and Consequences of Short-Form Video (SFV) Addiction amongst Adolescents in China: Stress-Coping Theory Perspective

As a hedonic technology, short-form videos (SFVs) have attracted numerous users. However, one related problem that merits research is SFV addiction, especially among adolescents due to their immature self-control abilities. Although recent research has discussed the formation process of SFV addiction from psychological needs and the SFV features perspective, scarce attention has been paid to investigating the relationship between stress and SFV addiction, as well as the relationship between SFV addiction and its consequences. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine whether school burnout (school stress), social phobia (social stress), and parental phubbing (family stress) trigger SFV addiction based on stress-coping theory and, furthermore, whether SFV addiction leads to low levels of happiness (psychological consequence), parent–child relationship quality (relational consequence), and perseverance (behavioral consequence) among adolescents. The proposed model was tested based on data collected from 242 adolescents from across China under the age of 18 with the experience watching SFVs. A covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) method was used for data analysis. The results showed that school burnout and social phobia significantly triggered SFV addiction, which later negatively and significantly influenced adolescents’ happiness, parent–child relationship quality, and perseverance. The study also found that SFV addiction served as a mediator between the drivers and consequences of SFV addiction. This study provides several theoretical implications. First, this study is one of the first to explain adolescents’ SFV addiction from stress-coping perspective, thereby enriching research in the field of SFV addiction. Second, prior research has rarely discussed the impacts of stresses from various environments on addiction behavior in a single study. Therefore, this study contributes to the knowledge of stress-related research in an SFV addiction context. Finally, our study enhances our understanding of the impact of SFV addiction on its consequences, in both an SFV research context and a social media research context.
ISLAMIC FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND INCOME INEQUALITY IN INDONESIA

The objective of this paper is to analyze the short and long run relationship between Islamic financial development and income inequality in Indonesia over the period of 2000-2020. The study has employed the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bound testing approach and the Error Correction Mechanism (ECM) to examine the existence of long-run and short-run relationship, while variance decomposition (VDC) technique is used to provide Granger causal relationship between the variables. The cointegration tests show that there is a long run relationship between Islamic financial development, economic growth, inflation and income inequality in Indonesia. However, Islamic financial development itself is found to be not statistically significant in influencing income inequality during the sample period for long-run. This study found a positive and statistically significant (10%) effect of Islamic financial development in explaining the changes in income inequality in the short run. In terms of policy, enhancing financial access is needed to ensure that financial development fully supports the reduction of income inequality in Indonesia.
BPS Cho–Maison monopole

We present exact solutions to Cho--Maison magnetic monopole in a family of effective electroweak models, which have a BPS limit. We find that the lower bound to the mass of the magnetic monopole is $M \geq 2\pi v/ g \approx 2.37\,\,\mathrm{TeV}$. We argue that this bound holds universally, not just in theories with a BPS limit.
Performance Comparison of Function Approximation-based Q Learning Algorithms for Autonomous UAV Navigation

Using reinforcement learning to enable Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) carry out missions in unknown environments in which their mathematical model may not be available, is an active research topic. However, there is a challenge in implementing RL for real-world applications. This paper provides a framework for using RL to allow the UAV to navigate successfully in such environments. A performance comparison of three different Q learning methods: classical Q Learning (QL), Fixed Sparse Representation-based Q Learning (FSR-QL), and Radial Basis Function-based Q Learning (RBFQL), is presented. We conducted simulations to show how the UAVs can successfully learn to navigate through an unknown environment. Through the simulation comparison of these three different learning methods (QL, FSR-QL, RBF-QL), the RBFQL outperforms the others in term of space reduction and learning speed (convergence time).