Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The adsorption study of Royal Blue Tiafix and Black Tiassolan dyes using bone char as adsorbent

In this study, the potential of bone char for Royal Blue Tiafix and Black Tiassolan dyes adsorption from aqueous solutions was evaluated. The adsorbent was characterized physically and chemically by adsorption/desorption of N2 at 77 K, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and infrared spectroscopy. The equilibrium adsorption results for bone char can be successfully modeled by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models were used to describe the kinetic data and rate constants were evaluated. Kinetics of each dye was found to follow pseudo-second-order rate kinetic model, with great correlation (higher than 0.99). In order to reduce the number of experiments to achieve better dye removal efficiency, a 2³ full factorial design with three central points and six axial points was applied in the equilibrium experiments. The variables analyzed were agitation, temperature, and pH.
State-estimation-based adaptive sliding mode control for a class of uncertain time-delay systems: a new design

In this article, state estimation-based adaptive control problem for a class of uncertain systems subject to time-delay and external disturbance is investigated within sliding mode framework. A simplified state observer without any inputs is designed to reconstruct the unmeasured state variables, from which a novel linear switching surface is provided. By applying a novel adaptive reaching motion controller, the existence and arrival of the defined switching surface are established. It is shown that in the framework of Lyapunov stability theory and linear matrix inequality technique, the proposed control scheme achieves the desirable performance for the closed-loop system. Two illustrative examples are given to substantiate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Parallel Point Clouds: Hybrid Point Cloud Generation and 3D Model Enhancement via Virtual-Real Integration

Three-dimensional information perception from point clouds is of vital importance for improving the ability of machines to understand the world, especially for autonomous driving and unmanned aerial vehicles. Data annotation for point clouds is one of the most challenging and costly tasks. In this paper, we propose a closed-loop and virtual–real interactive point cloud generation and model-upgrading framework called Parallel Point Clouds (PPCs). To our best knowledge, this is the first time that the training model has been changed from an open-loop to a closed-loop mechanism. The feedback from the evaluation results is used to update the training dataset, benefiting from the flexibility of artificial scenes. Under the framework, a point-based LiDAR simulation model is proposed, which greatly simplifies the scanning operation. Besides, a group-based placing method is put forward to integrate hybrid point clouds, via locating candidate positions for virtual objects in real scenes. Taking advantage of the CAD models and mobile LiDAR devices, two hybrid point cloud datasets, i.e., ShapeKITTI and MobilePointClouds, are built for 3D detection tasks. With almost zero labor cost on data annotation for newly added objects, the models (PointPillars) trained with ShapeKITTI and MobilePointClouds achieved 78.6% and 60.0% of the average precision of the model trained with real data on 3D detection, respectively.
New Directions in Environmental Justice Research at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Incorporating Recognitional and Capabilities Justice Through Health Impact Assessments

Address correspondence to: Emily Eisenhauer, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460, USA, eisenhauer.emily@epa.gov. AUTHORS’ CONTRIBUTIONS E.E. : Conception, information and analysis, writing, revising, and editing. K.C.W. : Conception, information and analysis, writing, revising, and editing. C.W. : Information and analysis, writing, revising, and editing. T.T. -B. : Information and analysis, revising, and editing. S.J.: Analysis, writing, revising, and editing. A.M.G. : Conception, information and analysis, writing, revising, and editing. *These authors contributed equally to this work and are considered to be co-first authors.
Effects of Anodization Electrolyte on the Formation of Nanoporous Titanium Oxide (Tio2) for Photocatalytic Application

Titanium oxide (TiO2) is the most commonly known photocatalyst for decomposing organic pollutants by changing light energy to dependable effective chemical energy. Electrochemical anodization method was used to prepare nanoporous TiO2 on Ti substrate to increase its photocatalytic efficiency. In this work, Ti was anodised in various concentrations of NH4F (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 g) with the addition of EG and KOH. The effects of electrolyte concentration on the morphological, structural and photocatalytic properties of the samples were investigated. Nanopores were present after anodization. The smallest pore wall thickness was measured after anodizing the samples in electrolyte containing 0.3 g of NH4F (~8.0 nm). The sample also has the highest pore density which can be judged by its small pore diameter (~21.7 nm) and thin pore walls. The EDX spectrum showed significant Ti and O peaks which indicates the formation of oxide layer after anodization. XRD results showed that the annealed sample anodized with 0.3 g of NH4F has the highest intensity and narrow anatase peaks among all samples. TiO2 nanostructures must attain two characteristics to exhibit high photocatalytic performance which is a large surface area for absorbing substrates and high crystallinity to minimize the rate of photoexcited e/h recombination. The sample anodized by using 0.3 g of NH4F fulfilled both of the requirements. Therefore, it has showed the best photocatalytic efficiency (~23%) among all samples.
Resiliencia en mujeres universitarias en Norte de Santander, Colombia

(analítico)La investigación tuvo por objeto analizar la resiliencia de estudiantes de posgrados de género femenino, en universidades públicas del Norte de Santander. La investigación tuvo un enfoque cuantitativo de tipo correlacional, método analítico descriptivo, encuesta y test de resilience scale, el cual fue aplicado a 150 estudiantes con edades entre los 27 y 45 años. Como resultado se establece que la resiliencia se asocia con fortaleza de carácter. Las características de las mujeres con alto nivel de resiliencia fueron centradas en el saber vivir con categoría primaria calidad de vida, en el saber conocimiento, en saber hacer y adquirir mayor destreza en conocimientos y automotivarse para saber estar. Se concluye que la escala de resiliencia ajustada con los factores planificación y empatía presenta evidencias de validez con relación a su estructura interna y fiabilidad de 0.87. Palabras clave: Mujer, universidad pública, calidad de vida, motivación.
MERS‐CoV in sheep, goats, and cattle, United Arab Emirates, 2019: Virological and serological investigations reveal an accidental spillover from dromedaries

Abstract The recent COVID‐19 pandemic has demonstrated again the global threat posed by emerging zoonotic coronaviruses. During the past two decades alone, humans have experienced the emergence of several coronaviruses, such as SARS‐CoV in 2003, MERS‐CoV in 2012, and SARS‐CoV‐2 in 2019. To date, MERS‐CoV has been detected in 27 countries, with a case fatality ratio of approximately 34.5%. Similar to other coronaviruses, MERS‐CoV presumably originated from bats; however, the main reservoir and primary source of human infections are dromedary camels. Other species within the Camelidae family, such as Bactrian camels, alpacas, and llamas, seem to be susceptible to the infection as well, although to a lesser extent. In contrast, susceptibility studies on sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, chickens, and horses obtained divergent results. In the present study, we tested nasal swabs and/or sera from 55 sheep, 45 goats, and 52 cattle, collected at the largest livestock market in the United Arab Emirates, where dromedaries are also traded, for the presence of MERS‐CoV nucleic acid by RT‐qPCR, and for specific antibodies by immunofluorescence assay. All sera were negative for MERS‐CoV‐reactive antibodies, but the nasal swab of one sheep (1.8%) repeatedly tested positive for MERS‐CoV nucleic acid. Next generation sequencing (NGS) of the complete N gene of the sheep‐derived MERS‐CoV revealed >99% nucleotide identity to MERS‐CoV sequences of five dromedaries in nearby pens and to three reference sequences. The NGS sequence of the sheep‐derived MERS‐CoV was confirmed by conventional RT‐PCR of a part of the N gene and subsequent Sanger sequencing. All MERS‐CoV sequences clustered within clade B, lineage 5. In conclusion, our study shows that noncamelid livestock, such as sheep, goats, and cattle do not play a major role in MERS‐CoV epidemiology. The one sheep that tested positive most likely reflects an accidental viral spillover event from infected dromedaries in nearby pens.
On Robust Saddle-Point Criterion in Optimization Problems with Curvilinear Integral Functionals

In this paper, we introduce a new class of multi-dimensional robust optimization problems (named (P)) with mixed constraints implying second-order partial differential equations (PDEs) and inequations (PDIs). Moreover, we define an auxiliary (modified) class of robust control problems (named (P)(b¯,c¯)), which is much easier to study, and provide some characterization results of (P) and (P)(b¯,c¯) by using the notions of normal weak robust optimal solution and robust saddle-point associated with a Lagrange functional corresponding to (P)(b¯,c¯). For this aim, we consider path-independent curvilinear integral cost functionals and the notion of convexity associated with a curvilinear integral functional generated by a controlled closed (complete integrable) Lagrange 1-form.
Offering transportation services to economically disadvantaged patients at a family health center: a case study

ABSTRACT It has been established that high no-show rates of publicly supported health systems in economically depressed areas are largely due to a lack of inexpensive, reliable transportation. The purpose of this paper is to determine the financial feasibility of offering transportation and investigate the net cost savings by reducing no-show rates. The approach starts with a data analysis on 636 patients at the Family Health Center (FHC) in San Antonio, Texas, followed by logistic regression to determine the impact of various transportation factors on cancellations/no-shows and late arrivals. We then investigate the costs savings that could be realised by reducing the no-show rate from 24.3% by up to 60%. Finally, we analyse the expenses that would be incurred should the FHC provide transportation. The full analysis indicates a cost reduction of more than $15,000 per month can be achieved when the no-show rate is reduced by 25% down to 18.2%.
Transnational Organised Crimes: An Assessment of Human Trafficking and the Challenges Militating against a Total Elimination in Nigeria

Transnational crimes have remained one of the menaces that has continued to threaten global security, peace, and tranquillity, hence requiring a multilateral and multilevel approach in effectively curtailing them. One among these transnational crimes is human trafficking, which has been estimated to be generating $150.3 billion annually (IMF, 2018), with the Asia-Pacific region ranked as the most lucrative . It is against this background that this paper examines the crime of human trafficking in Nigeria, tracing the evolution of human trafficking in general, the efforts at tackling the crime in Nigeria, as well as some of the challenges hampering the total elimination of the crime in Nigeria. Using secondary sources of data for analysis, the paper identified some of themajor drivers of the crime in Nigeria to include but not limited to, poverty and underdevelopment, weak laws and inadequate enforcement, systematic corruption, stigmatization, sophistication and financial war chest of cartels, influence of the social media, traditional and cultural practices, among others. To mitigate the crime of human trafficking in Nigeria, the paper proffers: the addressing of social in equality, creation of more employment opportunities, awareness campaigns at all levels, and the use of ―triangulated nexus of human-trafficking enforcement‖ among countries, among others.
Designing an extended smart classroom: An approach to game‐based learning for IoT

This article presents a game‐based learning model implemented in a smart learning environment. The goal is to determine students' interest, willingness to participate, and impressions about game‐based learning, which takes place in interaction with the smart classroom. The educational game was designed and implemented by harnessing advanced web, mobile, Internet of Things (IoTs) technologies, and augmented reality and integrated into an e‐learning ecosystem based on Moodle platform. The game aimed to test students' knowledge in the field of IoT. For the evaluation, an experiment was conducted within the IoT‐related courses at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade. The results show that the proposed approach has a positive impact on the learning process and that the integration of educational games into common learning management systems is a good practice for extending common formal learning models. The proposed approach is expected to contribute to introducing smart learning environments into the learning process in higher education.
Effect of Ultrasound Therapy with Cryokinetics versus Ultrasound Therapy with Soft Tissue Massage (Deep Friction Massage) in Acute Supraspinatus Tendinitis - A Comparative Study

Background and Objective: In supraspinatus tendinitis there is inflammatory and or degenerative changes of tendon. This study was done to assess the effectiveness of ultrasound and cryokinetics versus ultrasound and soft tissue massage (deep friction massage) in patients with acute supraspinatus tendinitis. Method: All subjects were clinically diagnosed by orthopaedician and were screened as per the inclusion and exclusion criteria. 60 patients were randomly divided into 2 groups with n= 30 each group, Group A- received ultrasound therapy and cryokinetics, whereas Group B- received ultrasound therapy and soft tissue massage. The treatment was given 1 session/day, 6 days/week. The total treatment duration was for 2 weeks. Outcome Measures: Patients were evaluated on day 1, day 7 and day 14. All the patients were assessed for pain and shoulder functional scale by taking VAS and SPADI. Results: Both the groups showed statistically significant changes in pre and post values. However, Group B showed greater improvement from baseline to week 1 on VAS and SPADI. After analysis group B showed significance with P<0.001*. Conclusion: Ultrasound therapy with cryokinetics, and ultrasound therapy with soft tissue massage both were effective in reducing pain intensity and increasing the shoulder functional scale but ultrasound therapy with soft tissue massage showed superior hand over ultrasound therapy with cryokinetics. Key words: Acute Supraspinatus Tendinitis, Ultrasound Therapy, Cryokinetics, Soft Tissue Massage, Visual Analogue Scale, Shoulder Pain And Disability Index.
Dual‐beam and dual‐mode circularly polarized antenna based on substrate integrated waveguide technology

This article presents a dual‐beam dual‐mode circularly polarized (CP) antenna based on substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology. The antenna is etched with an octagon slot on upper surface of a SIW rectangular cavity, which has size of 1. 4λg×1. 4λg . Four square patches with the same size and a cross‐shaped patch are placed in the slot. Experiments are conducted both on simulation and measurement, showing the proposed antenna can radiate two beams simultaneously at 10.9 GHz. One beam is left‐handed circular polarization (LHCP) pointing at phi = −45 ° and theta = 30°, the other beam is right‐handed circular polarization (RHCP) pointing at phi = +45° and theta = 40°. The measured axial ratio (AR) bandwidths are 1.46% (10.8–10.96 GHz) and 1.19% (10.82–10.95 GHz) for LHCP and RHCP beams respectively. Both CP beams can achieve 20 ° beamwidth for 3‐dB AR. The measured results are in good agreement with the simulations.
Metal Conductive Surface Patterning on Photoactive Polyimide

Current fabrication methods for metal interconnects and contacts are generally based on conventional photoresist fabrication procedures that require expensive equipment and multiple material/time‐consuming steps. In this work, a photopatternable polyimide is synthesized via the copolymerization of a functional diamine monomer with a 1,4‐dihydropyridine side‐chain which can decompose under UV irradiation into a pyridine group—a promising ligand for palladium ions. After the absorption of palladium ions, the electroless copper plating is carried out to form metal patterns of copper. Copper patterns with smooth boundaries are confirmed by scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope. Robust interfacial bonding between the copper and the polyimide film is evidenced by Scotch tape adhesion tests. The photopatternable polyimide has the advantages of low Pd consumption, easy operation without expansive equipment. The linear thermal expansion coefficient of the photopatternable polyimide remains close to the one of copper wire, demonstrating the adaptability of the photopatternable polyimide for integrated circuit application. This work presents the approach of (i) the synthesis of a novel photopatternable polyimide and (ii) its application for making flexible conductive metal structures and patterned metal interconnects, which can be expected to have tremendous potential in the field of flexible electronics.
NADPH-dependent oxidation of CRMP2 through a MICAL1-Prx1 redox relay controls neurite outgrowth

CRMP2/DPYL2 is an effector protein in the semaphorin signaling pathway that controls cytoskeletal dynamics, linking extracellular signals to the formation of axonal networks. CRMP2 is regulated by post-translational modifications including a dithiol-disulfide redox switch. The mechanisms of reduction of this switch were established, the signal-induced oxidation, however, remained unclear. Here, we show that CRMP2 is oxidized through a redox relay involving the flavin-mooxygenase MICAL1 and the peroxidase Prx1 as specific signal transducers. Using molecular oxygen and electrons provided by NADPH, MICAL produces hydrogen peroxide and specifically oxidizes Prx1 through direct interactions between the proteins. Subsequently, Prx1 oxidizes CRMP2. The lack of any components of this redox relay dysregulates neurite outgrowth. Consequently, both oxidation and reduction of CRMP2 require reducing equivalents in the form of NADPH.
Preparation and characterization of the advanced alginate-based nanofibrous nonwoven using EDC/NHS coupling agent by electrospinning

Abstract Electrospinning has become the most studied technique in the production of nanofibrous materials. Sodium alginate-based (SAlg) nanofibrous material is used widely in many application fields due to its excellent properties, but it needs to combine with synthetic polymers, such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), to enhance its electrospinability. The electrospun SAlg/PVA nonwoven could be used in many fields; however, it needs some mechanical stability. The focus of this paper is the development of a SAlg/PVA nanofibrous material with improved mechanical properties using a crosslinking agent 1-ethyl-3-(-3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride/N-Hydroxysuccinimide (EDC/NHS) by electrospinning. The obtained electrospun nanofibrous nonwoven was characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), water contact angle, and tensile test. The results have shown that the mechanical properties of the electrospun SAlg/PVA nanofibrous nonwoven were significantly enhanced with the addition of EDC/NHS. Moreover, the electrospun SAlg/PVA-EDC/NHS nanofibrous nonwoven was found relatively stable against the water than the electrospun SAlg/PVA nanofibrous nonwoven. This preliminary report shows that the advanced alginate-based nanofibrous nonwoven is a promising candidate for many application fields such as textile, food, and biomedical.
Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells Fabricated by Co Partially Substituted Hybrid Perovskite

In the past years, hybrid perovskite materials have attracted great attention due to their superior optoelectronic properties. In this study, the authors report the utilization of cobalt (Co2+) to partially substitute lead (Pb2+) for developing novel hybrid perovskite materials, CH3NH3Pb1‐xCoxI3 (where x is nominal ratio, x = 0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4). It is found that the novel perovskite thin films possess a cubic crystal structure with superior thin film morphology and larger grain size, which is significantly different from pristine thin film, which possesses the tetragonal crystal structure, with smaller grain size. Moreover, it is found that the 3d orbital of Co2+ ensures higher electron mobilities and electrical conductivities of the CH3NH3Pb1‐xCoxI3 thin films than those of pristine CH3NH3Pb4 thin film. As a result, a power conversion efficiency of 21.43% is observed from perovskite solar cells fabricated by the CH3NH3Pb0.9Co0.1I3 thin film. Thus, the utilization of Co, partially substituting for Pb to tune physical properties of hybrid perovskite materials provides a facile way to boost device performance of perovskite solar cells.
COMPLEXITY AND INFORMATION-BASED ANALYSIS OF THE HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) WHILE SITTING, HAND BIKING, WALKING, AND RUNNING

Analysis of the variations of heart activity during different human activities is an important area of research in sport sciences. Therefore, in this paper, we evaluated the variations of heart activity for 23 subjects while sitting, hand biking, walking, and running. Since the obtained R-R time series (as the indicator of heart rate variability (HRV)) has a complex structure that contains information, we employed fractal dimension, sample entropy, and Shannon entropy for our analysis. According to the results, doing a harder activity causes a more significant alteration in the complexity and information content of HRV. The results of statistical analyses also verified the obtained results. Similar investigations can be conducted in case of other activities to evaluate the variations in heart activity in different conditions.
Average Absorbed Breast Dose (2ABD) to Mean Glandular Dose (MGD) Conversion Function for Digital Breast Tomosynthesis: A New Approach

Background: In this work a new method for the Mean Glandular Dose evaluation in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is presented. Methods: Starting from the experimental-based dosimetric index, 2ABD, which represents the average absorbed breast dose, the mean glandular dose MGD2ABD was calculated using a conversion function of glandularity f(G), obtained through the use of Monte Carlo simulations.Results: f(G) was computed for a 4.5 cm thick breast: from its value MGD2ABD for different compressed breast thicknesses and glandularities was obtained. The comparison between MGD2ABD estimates and the dosimetric index provided in the current dosimetry protocols, following the Dance's approach, MGDDance, showed a good agreement (<10%) for all the analyzed breast thicknesses and glandularities. Conclusion: The strength of the proposed method can be considered an accurate mean glandular dose assessment starting from few and accessible parameters, reported in the header DICOM of each DBT exam.