Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Choosing the Chemical Route for Carbon Nanotube Integration in Poly(vinylidene fluoride)

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were functionalized with surface oxygen, methyl, heptadecafluorooctyl phenyl (PFO), and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) groups by four different experimental routes. Pristine and functionalized carbon nanotubes were integrated in poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) through a mixing process in acetone followed by hot pressing. The quality of carbon nanotube integration was consistently assessed by electron microscopy observations, electrical conductivity measurements, and dynamic mechanical analysis. An optimal dispersion of the filler was achieved for pristine SWCNTs and MWCNTs, as well as for MWCNTs functionalized with PFO and MMA groups. Those composites containing well-dispersed fillers demonstrated electrical percolation thresholds lower than 1 wt % and conductivities of 10–6–10–4 S/cm, while 2 × 10–14 S/cm was measured for the PVDF matrix. The highest storage modulus, i.e., the greatest filler–matrix interaction, was achi.
The prevalence and associated factors of common mental disorders among residents of south Gondar zone, northwest Ethiopia: A community-based, cross-sectional study

Background: Common mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and somatic symptoms are a public health concern. It has physical health, psychological and economic consequences. These illness is an emerging issue in Ethiopia.Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of common mental disorders and associated factors among residents of south Gondar zone 2018.Methods: In this cross-sectional study,731 respondents were recruited for interrviews using a systematic random sampling technique.The self reporting questionnaire was used to assess common mental disorders. List of Threatening Experiences, and the Oslo social support instruments were used to assess the factors. We computed bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regressions to assess factors associated with common mental disorders. Statistical significance was declared at P-value <0.05. Result: A total of 731 participants were interviewed, with a response rate of 98.5%. The prevalence of common mental disorders was 29.7% with (95% CI: 26.4-33.1). In the multivariate logistic regression,female sex (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)= 2.47, 95% CI : 1.68, 3.62),poor social support( AOR =2.34, 95% CI:1.50, 3.64), family history of mental illness(AOR =2.15, 95% CI:1.32-3.51), current use of khat(AOR =1.69, 95% CI: 1 .07, 2.64) and tobacco(AOR=1.71, 95% CI:1.04-2.84), and rural residence(AOR=2.01, 95% CI: 1.35, 3.01) were factors significantly associated with CMDs.Conclusion and recommendations: The prevalence of common mental disorders was found to be high. Female sex, current substance use (khat chewing (leaves) and tobacco smoking), unemployment, rural residence, family history mental illness, and poor social support were significantly associated with common mental disorder. Therefore; It is necessary to give emphasis to individuals with family history of mental illness, women, and history of mental illness.
Natural course of excessive genu varum without underlying pathology in children

Background: Despite genu varum’s status as a common pediatric problem, there remain no serial studies investigating the natural course of excessive physiologic genu varum in children. This study, therefore, aims to identify the natural course of the anatomical tibiofemoral angle (aTFA) in children with excessive physiologic genu varum without any underlying pathological conditions. Materials and methods: Between 1997 and 2008, among 70 children who had been referred from a primary hospital to evaluate angular deformity of the knee, 29 consecutive limbs (10 bilateral and 9 unilateral) of 19 healthy Korean children with excessive physiologic genu varum equal to or greater than 2 standard deviations (SDs) of the aTFA at their initial visit until all children were 6 years of age. We analyzed the value of the aTFA as well as the changes in patterns, and compared our findings with results from previous studies. Results: The mean aTFA at the initial visit was 18° varus (range: 9° to 36°), the mean age of normalization was 3.2 years, and the mean value of the aTFA was varus 17.2° at the age of 1 year, followed by a steady decrease to 0° at almost the age of 3.3 years. Starting at the age of 4 years, the aTFA was a mean of 5.2° genu valgum and gradually changed until the age of 6 years, where it was sustained at an average of 3.4° genu valgum. Conclusion: Excessive physiological genu varum exceeding 2 SD in young Korean children improved spontaneously without the need for prosthetics or orthotics.
Relation between the absorption spectra and the chemical constitution of dyes: XXIX. Interaction of direct azo dyes in aqueous solution

Interaction of dyes in aqueous solution resul ts in differences in the spectrum of t h e mixture when compared with the SLlm of the spectra of t he individual dy s. A general survey, chiefly with azo dyes, was made to determine the effect of dye struc ture on this interaction. The effect of other factors on t he interaction of direct azo dyes was investigated. The addit ion of alcohol or non-ionic dctergent prevents th is interaction , while the presence of inorganic sal ts or an increase in dyc concentration appears to increa e t he extent of interaction. Th e effect of acids and bases is dependent upon the nature of t he dyes in t hc mixture. The results obtained arc consistent with the assumption that the forees involved in the interaction of direct azo dyes in mixtures are the same as those causing the aggregation of individual dyes and those binding these dyes to fibers.
The Effect of Social Norm-based Intervention on Physical Activity among Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: To evaluate the effectiveness of descriptive norms in promoting physical activity among adolescents by measuring step counts via a randomized controlled trial (NCT03081013). Methods: A total of 311 participants aged 13-16 were randomized into two study arms (Onymous and Anonymous Arms). Each arm consisted of 13 groups of 12 participants. During the trial, participants received weekly short message service (SMS) about their past week’s physical activity performance Participants in the Anonymous Arm received information about step counts of group members ranked from highest to lowest. Participants in the Onymous Arm received the same information with the group members’ full names. Participants’ quality of life, depression, and physical activity social support, self-efficacy and enjoyment before and after the intervention were also evaluated. Results: The number of steps was not higher when descriptive norm message was onymous compared to when it was anonymous. Scores in quality of life, depression, social support, self-efficacy, and enjoyment of physical activity were not significantly different between both arms (p>0.05). Conclusions: Our findings indicated that promotion of physical activity requires a multi-faceted approach. We recommend using a more relevant reference group to use social norms as a tool to increase physical activity among adolescents.
A Compact 3-D Printed Asymmetric Orthogonal Mode Transducer

In this article, a compact 3-D-printed orthogonal-mode transducer (OMT) is proposed. Unlike conventional OMT that uses long extended transition for port matching, the proposed design uses embedded fences and novel short tapered triangular prism (TTP) to replace such long transition. In this way, the size of the OMT can be reduced. The TTP effectively improves the matching of the perpendicularly transverse port without affecting the performance of the port aligned with the common port. The fence acts as a polarizer grid to further reduce the reflection of incident waves back into the input port. The return loss and isolation of the very compact OMT are better than 16 and 40 dB, respectively, from 2.65 to 3.2 GHz. Considering the complicated geometry of the proposed OMT, 3-D metal printing technology is adopted as the fabrication method. The measurement results agree well with the simulation results.
SAT-Based Integrated Hardware Trojan Detection and Localization Approach Through Path-Delay Analysis

With the rapid growth in IC outsourcing in the semiconductors industry, concerns have increased about the weakening ICs security against hardware Trojan attacks. In this brief, an integrated hardware Trojan detection and localization methodology is presented by employing the proposed SAT-based test pattern generation scheme and the MUX-based debugging technique. The experimental results show that our methodology can effectively detect timing anomalies in the path-delays caused by hardware Trojans with node coverage around 97% as well as localizing all Trojan’s gates with a localization resolution around 99.6%. Moreover, all timing error sites are successfully identified with zero False Negative and 0.56% False Positive rates.
'Colonial virus'? Creative arts and public understanding of COVID-19 in Ghana

In this paper I examine how responses to COVID-19 by Ghana�s creative arts communities shape public understanding of the pandemic. I focus on comedy, music, textile designs, and murals created between March and August 2020, through frameworks of the social psychology of everyday knowledge and arts and health. The art forms perform three functions: health promotion (songs), improving environmental aesthetics (murals), and memorialising (textile designs). Similar to arts-based interventions for HIV and Ebola, Ghanaian artists translate COVID-19 information in ways that connect emotionally, create social awareness, and lay the foundation for public understanding. Artists translate COVID-19 information in ways that connect emotionally, create social awareness, and lay the foundation for public understanding. Some offer socio-political critique, advocating social protection for poor communities, re-presenting collective memories of past health crises and inequitable policy responses, and theorising about the Western origins of COVID and coloniality of anti-African vaccination programmes. I consider the implications for COVID public health communication and interventions.
Plasma Interaction with Electron-Emitting Surfaces

Electron emission from surfaces occurs in many plasma systems. Several types including secondary, thermionic and photon-induced emissions are intense under certain conditions. Understanding the effects of emission on the “sheaths” that govern plasma-surface interaction is important. This dissertation predicts some emitting sheath phenomena that were not reported in past studies. For example, most previous theoretical models assumed that an emitting sheath potential is always negative and that ions always accelerate into the wall. We show when the emission is intense that the sheath potential can become positive, fundamentally changing how the plasma and wall interact. In this “inverse sheath” state, ions are repelled, suggesting for instance that (a) no presheath exists in the plasma interior, (b) emitting walls could be used in applications to stop sputtering. Another topic considered is the “transit” of emitted electrons across the plasma to other surfaces, which is possible in low collisionality plasma systems. When transit occurs, the flux balance is a complex global problem where the sheaths at opposite surfaces are coupled through their exchange of emitted electrons. We also show that secondary emission can trigger a variety of sheath instability phenomena that change the state of the plasma-wall system or cause oscillations preventing steady state. Lastly, we analyze a mechanism where emitted electrons return to the same surface and knock out secondaries, which return and knock out more secondaries, etc., feedback amplifying the emission intensity. The four phenomena will be analyzed theoretically and verified with particle-in-cell simulations: (a) inverse sheath, (b) sheath coupling via transiting electrons, (c) sheath instabilities, (d) returning electron amplification. Consequences of these processes on the sheath potentials, wall heating, loss rate of charge, and cross field transport (near-wall conductivity) are discussed throughout. iv Possible implications are suggested for fusion machines, plasma propulsion engines, probes, dusty plasmas, RF discharges, and surfaces in space.
Territoriality and Surveillance: Defensible Space and Low-Rise Public Housing Design, 1966-1976

This essay investigates how theories of crime prevention through environmental design influenced the architecture and planning of American public housing in the 1960s and 1970s. In this period, high crime rates were strongly associated with high-rise public housing, exemplified by St. Louis’s notorious Pruitt-Igoe complex. Analyzing four federally-subsidized housing projects, I show how ideas about the environment’s effect on human behavior, exemplified by Oscar Newman’s theory of “defensible space,” motivated experiments with low-rise, highdensity public housing as alternatives to crime-ridden high-rises. Newman’s theory held that correct design could solve the crime problem by increasing a sense of territoriality among residents and encouraging their surveillance of public spaces. The projects analyzed here had variable success in preventing crime and fostering community among their residents, raising questions about the efficacy of architecture and planning alone to produce security and constitute community in public housing. By the mid-1960s, alarm over conditions in high-rise public housing in the United States was acute.1 Increased crime and deteriorating buildings belied the promise of urban renewal and public housing programs to eliminate blight and improve living standards for the poor and the working class.2 Fear of crime was widespread among residents of subsidized housing and was strongly associated with the architecture of public housing projects.3 The high-rise buildings in many public housing projects became the target of considerable critical attention and scholarly research, which linked high rates of criminality with the large size and scale of the complexes. As Oscar Newman asserted in his landmark book of 1972, Defensible Space, a body of social and design studies had concluded that high-rises were “having disastrous effects on their occupants” (xviii). Newman viewed the design of high-rise public housing as the primary cause of crime, not the social and economic conditions under which its residents lived. “Defensible space,” Newman wrote, “is a model for residential environments which inhibit crime by creating the physical expression of a social fabric that defends itself ” (Defensible Space 3). 4 His theory of defensible space held that the natural territoriality
Newton’s Second Law of a particle with variable mass

Abordamos a questão do movimento de uma part́ıcula com massa variável observada a partir de um referencial inercial. Consideramos duas situações diferentes de corpos com massa variável: (i) o valor de massa intŕınseca da part́ıcula varia ao longo do tempo; (ii) consideramos um sistema de part́ıculas cujo o valor da massa do centro de massa (CM) varia, sendo que o conjunto é formado por part́ıculas, essas com massa constante, mas cujo o número de part́ıculas que o constituem varia no tempo. Mostramos que a Segunda Lei de Newton distingue o caso em que a massa intŕınseca da part́ıcula varia ao longo tempo da situação em que temos sistemas compostos de part́ıculas cuja massa total varia com o tempo. No primeiro caso, estudamos as consequências da equação de movimento de um part́ıcula com massa variável não ser covariante em referenciais inerciais sob as transformações galileanas. Nós também mostramos que a equação que descreve a dinâmica do CM de um sistema com número variável de part́ıculas preserva a equivalência de todos os referenciais inerciais sob as transformações galileanas. Verificamos a não conservação do vetor de momento linear do CM de um conjunto de part́ıculas livres durante o tempo em que uma part́ıcula sai ou entra no sistema. Palavras-chave: Mecânica, Segunda Lei de Newton, part́ıcula com massa variável, part́ıcula com massa intŕınsica variável, referencial inercial, centro de massa (CM) de um sistema com massa variável, momento linear, energia mecânica.
A procedure to estimate the lateral force in clay-pipe interaction after breakout

The development of new offshore oil and gas fields is continuously expanding to ultra-deep waters. This tendency and the necessity of reducing project costs have been stimulating the development of new technologies as well as the enhancement of floating production systems. In this regard, pipelines and flexible riser systems have been getting more attention due to its low cost of installation and operation. In order to project a pipeline system, it is important to understand the pipe-soil interaction mechanisms and quantify the influence of soil behaviour on pipe response caused by lateral movement such as thermal buckling. The loads that a pipeline is subjected have been a topic of many experimental studies that aim to reproduce those loads in a realistic manner. This present study concerns the analysis of lateral clay-pipe interaction associated with large deformations and berm formation process at the leading edge of the pipe during movement at given burial depths. A series of centrifuge tests was conducted to assess the relationship between horizontal force and lateral pipe displacement. The breakout force experimental results were compared with different literature proposals, showing a good agreement. A procedure was also proposed to evaluate the normalized lateral force through the combination of two different approaches. The results showed a good comparison with the centrifuge experimental data.
Photonic Crystal Structured Multi-Mode VCSELs Enabling 92-Gbit/s QAM-OFDM Transmission

The multi-mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (MM-VCSELs) with different photonic crystal (PhC) designs in core and cladding regions are compared for transmitting the complex formatted QAM-OFDM data over 100-m OM5 multi-mode fiber (MMF). Among the designs with using flat core/cladding (denoting as Core<sub>flat</sub>/Clad<sub>flat</sub>) and/or PhC core/cladding (denoting as Core<sub>phc</sub>/Clad<sub>phc</sub>) for the MM-VCSEL, the Core<sub>flat</sub>+Clad<sub>flat</sub> VCSEL with the highest threshold current and large emission aperture provides the highest differential quantum efficiency of 0.11 and output power of 2 mW, whereas the Core<sub>flat</sub>+Clad<sub>phc2</sub> VCSEL with two periods of cladding PhC reveals the lowest threshold current of 2 mA, the highest modulation bandwidth of 15 GHz, the lowest relative intensity noise peak of -126 dBc/Hz and background level of -143 dBc/Hz. After pre-compensation, the Core<sub>flat</sub>+Clad<sub>phc2</sub> VCSEL chip can achieve the highest OFDM bandwidth of 18 GHz for 72-Gbit/s transmission in the BtB case. With additionally adding 1 period of core PhC, the Core<sub>phc1</sub>+Clad<sub>phc2</sub> VCSEL possesses a single-mode lasing spectrum to facilitate the suppression of modal dispersion after MMF propagation. Hence, the Core<sub>phc1</sub>+Clad<sub>phc2</sub> VCSEL exhibits the same bit rate of 60 Gbit/s as compared to the Core<sub>flat</sub>+Clad<sub>phc2</sub> VCSEL after 100-m OM5-MMF. After improving the analog bandwidth for waveform synthesis, the data rate of Core<sub>flat</sub>+Clad<sub>phc2</sub> VCSEL can successfully deliver 76-Gbit/s and 72-Gbit/s single-band 16-QAM OFDM data streams for BtB and 100-m OM5 MMF conditions via the pre-leveling technology. To date, the ultimate raw data rate achieves 92-Gbit/s with employing the multi-band QAM-OFDM data format.
Modeling tracheobronchial clearance of nanoparticles with variable size and geometry

Background: Nanoparticles transported in the ambient atmosphere are generally characterized by a great variety of shapes and aerodynamic diameters adopting values less than 100 nm. According to numerous experimental und theoretical studies such particulate objects have the ability to enter the respiratory tract, where they may deposit in the airway tubes and alveolar structures. After their deposition, the particles are subjected to an innate defence system containing various clearance mechanisms. In this contribution, tracheobronchial clearance of nanoparticles settled on the airway walls is investigated theoretically. Methods: Tracheobronchial clearance of nanoparticles inhaled by healthy adults under sitting breathing conditions was simulated by assuming a stochastic architecture of the lung and a continuous mucus transport from the terminal bronchioles to the trachea. The clearance process taking place in single bronchial and bronchiolar airways was subdivided into a fast phase with a total clearance time of less than 24 h and a slow phase with a duration of 25 to 100 d. Theoretical clearance curves and 24-h retention values were computed for spheres as well as cylindrical particles with diameters varying between 1 and 50 nm and aspect ratios ranging from 0.001 to 1,000. Results: For nanospheres with diameters varying between 1 and 50 nm the theoretical model predicts 24-h retention values ranging from 81.0% to 86.9%. In the case of nonspherical particles, 24-h retention exhibits a clear dependence on aspect ratio. Therefore, platelets with aspect ratios between 0.1 and 0.001 are retained in the airways by 84.2% to 87.0%, whereas tubes with aspect ratios between 10 and 1,000 produce retention values ranging from 72.7% to 86.7%. Hypothetical clearance curves allow a strict distinction between fast and slow clearance phase. Conclusions: Based on the theoretical results presented in this study, it may be concluded that thin nanoplatelets, nanospheres and long nanotubes are commonly characterized by remarkable differences with regard to their clearance in the tracheobronchial airways. Whilst nanoplatelets are preferably cleared by transcellular transport mechanisms, nanotubes are mainly removed from the tubular structures by mucociliary transport.
Atomistic and coarse-grained simulations of DNA electrostatics

This thesis aims to understand the nanoscale effects of water as a structured solvent on the phenomenon of counterion-induced DNA condensation. We present results of molecular dynamics simulations of the electrostatic interaction between two DNA molecules in the presence of divalent counterions in different solvation models. We also develop a coarse-grained implicit solvent model for investigating the dynamics on long time and length scales. In the first project, we investigate the role of the solvation effects on the interaction between like-charged cylindrical rods as simplified model for DNA molecules. We obtain the average force between two parallel charged rods in simulations that differ only by their representation of water as a implicit or explicit solvent, but have otherwise identical parameters. We find that the presence of water molecules changes the structure of the counterions and results in both qualitative and quantitative changes of the force between highly charged polyelectrolytes. In the second project, we explore the importance of the DNA geometry on the electrostatic forces by considering two rigid helical models. The simulation results indicate that the DNA shape is an essential contributor to the interaction. A regime of attractive interaction, which disappeared in the cylindrical model, is recovered in the explicit solvent model in both types of helical models. The results also confirm that the behaviour of the interactions between two DNA molecules in the explicit solvent model are different from the implicit solvent models. In the third project, we develop a coarse-grained (CG) representation of these solvation effects. This CG model is constructed from explicit simulations and significantly reduces the computational expense. Short-ranged corrections are added to the pair-wise interaction potentials in the implicit solvent model such that the