Browse Articles

Assessing cost overrun in the saudi arabian building construction projects for value preservation

A multimodal deep learning framework for precise silicosis detection on radiographic images

Fecal sludge and adjacent drinking water as reservoirs of multidrug resistant ESBL-producing pathogenic Escherichia coli in Rohingya Camps, Bangladesh

Abstract Fecal Sludge (FS) is a well-known reservoir for multiple pathogenic organisms and antimicrobial-resistant E. coli . Contaminated drinking water (DW) is the primary route through which fecal-oral diseases are spread. This study examined the prevalence of Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli in FS and adjacent DW samples collected within the Rohingya Camps. The DW and treated FS samples were screened for thermotolerant E. coli and the isolates were characterized for their ESBL-production ability, presence of major antibiotic resistance (AMR) genes, pathogenic genes, biofilm formation ability and phylogenetic clustering. Among the samples, 88.1% FS and 40.2% DW contained E. coli . From the selected isolates, 32.3% of FS and 12.5% of DW were ESBL-positive. Subsequently, 113 ESBL-FS and 56 ESBL-DW isolates were characterized based on their concurrent presence. Upon screening, bla CTX−M (81.1%) was the most prevalent AMR gene, followed by bla TEM (23.7%) and bla NDM−1 (14.8%). Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) (17.2%) and enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) (12.4%) were the most prevalent diarrheagenic pathotypes and 4.7% were extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) revealed that 98.2% of isolates were multidrug-resistant. At 25 °C, 34.3% of isolates formed strong biofilm. The ERIC (Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus sequences) phylogenetic clustering generated 16 clusters at a 70% similarity index. The detection of pathogenic isolates highlights the risk of severe infections within susceptible populations and a high percentage of multidrug resistance limits the treatment options.

Limitations of the dissipative quantum Fisher information in Liouville space

The effects of exercise interventions on weight regain after weight loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Automated video-based AVPU assessment within a FHIR-enabled clinical decision support framework

Abstract Accurate and timely assessment of consciousness is critical for triage, escalation of care, and patient safety in emergency and hospital settings. However, documentation using the AVPU scale (Alert, Verbal, Pain, Unresponsive) remains inconsistent owing to high workload, subjectivity, and fragmented workflows. This study developed and evaluated Consc.ia, a video-based clinical decision-support platform that automates AVPU inference while preserving clinician oversight and enabling seamless, interoperable documentation through HL7 FHIR. A simulated AVPU dataset comprising 136 videos from 58 healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses, paramedics, and first responders) was created under controlled conditions with ethics approval from the ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa Ethics Commission (reference CE-ISTA/2025.08, July 2025). The system architecture combines edge-computing computer vision for real-time extraction of facial landmarks, eye state, arm movement, and verbal responses; a clinician-in-the-loop validation layer; and FHIR-mapped Observation resources for direct EHR integration. Three deployment scenarios (Emergency Medical Services, Emergency Departments, and Intermediate Care wards) were designed and compared. Technology adoption was modelled using Rogers’ Innovation Adoption Curve and the Bass Diffusion Model ( p  = 0.01, q = 0.35, M = 111 Portuguese hospitals). The architecture achieves low-latency inference with privacy-by-design (local processing, no raw video storage). Stakeholder validation confirmed strong workflow fit and highlighted persistent documentation gaps during EMS-to-hospital transitions. Scenario analysis revealed distinct hardware and integration requirements (ambulance edge device versus ward multi-camera server). Bass modelling projects gradual adoption, reaching approximately 50% of Intermediate Care wards by 2037 in the realistic scenario, with the “chasm” phase occurring between 2030 and 2032. Sensitivity analysis identified early clinical evidence and FHIR integration support as the strongest accelerators of diffusion. As this constitutes a proof-of-concept study, no quantitative AVPU classification metrics (e.g., accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, or confusion matrix) are reported at this stage; empirical model evaluation against expert-annotated clinical recordings is identified as the primary prerequisite for future validation and clinical translation. As a proof-of-concept that has not yet undergone clinical validation, Consc.ia offers a feasible, interoperable solution for standardising AVPU documentation and strengthening early warning systems. By combining video analytics, edge computing, clinician validation, and FHIR integration, the platform addresses a longstanding gap in emergency-care digitalisation and provides a clear roadmap for real-world adoption.

Self-triggered prescribed-time time varying formation control of second-order multi-agent systems with denial of service (DoS) attacks

Polyethylene as a Hydrogen Source for C─O Bond Cleavage Via Transfer Hydrogenation

ABSTRACT Hydrogenation is widely used in the synthesis of industrial chemicals, yet its reliance on pressurized H 2 poses safety risks and contributes to carbon emissions. Transfer hydrogenation offers an attractive alternative, but it remains constrained by the high cost of typical hydrogen donors. Polyethylene (PE), a major contributor to persistent plastic wastes, is a hydrogen‐rich polymer capable of releasing hydrogen during catalytic deconstruction. Here, we propose the use of PE as an inexpensive hydrogen donor for the selective transfer hydrogenation of C─O bonds. We evaluate the transfer hydrogenation of representative substrates, including methanol and lignin model compounds such as anisole and phenoxy ethylbenzene, and show that C─OH, C aryl ─O─CH 3 , and β‐ O ‐4 linkages undergo efficient and selective cleavage to afford the desired products over acidic zeolites under mild conditions (ambient pressure, <200°C). Control experiments show that the acid sites of the zeolite activate PE to generate hydrogen species while simultaneously polarizing the C─O bonds of the substrates, thereby enabling C─O bond transfer hydrogenolysis. These findings uncover a previously unrecognized hydrogen‐transfer pathway between PE and C─O bonds, and provide a basis for developing integrated upcycling strategies for plastic waste and biomass.

Enabling Record‐Low Coercive Field and Large Polarization in Hybrid Germanium Iodide Ferroelectric Through Chemical Bonding Engineering

ABSTRACT Ferroelectrics, featuring a natural switchable polarization, have motivated immense interest due to their transformative potential in electronics, micromechatronics and electro‐optics. Despite the remarkable advances achieved, the high coercive field required to reconfigure robust chemical bonds in traditional ferroelectrics fundamentally precludes their applications in next‐generation energy‐efficient devices. Herein, we present an innovative chemical bonding engineering approach to develop a hybrid metal halide ferroelectric, (iso‐amylammonium) 2 CsGe 2 I 7 ( ICGI ), which demonstrates ultra‐low barrier ferroelectricity. Through enhancing the chemical bonding anisotropy via n s 2 lone pairs stereochemical expression, the Ge‐I bonding in ICGI adopts an asymmetrical pyramidal coordination geometry, which breaks structural inversion symmetry and results in a large spontaneous polarization up to 19.09 µC/cm 2 . Particularly, the smooth switching pathway refrained from abrupt breaking and reformation of weakened short‐range bonding interactions results in a record‐low coercive field < 0.35 kV/cm (corresponding to switching energy < 0.0575 J/cm 3 ), much lower than traditional ferroelectrics such as BaTiO 3 (> 1.0 kV/cm) and HfO 2 (> 1000 kV/cm). Furthermore, benefiting from the low barrier ferroelectricity, ICGI demonstrates a low electric field driven pronounced electrocaloric effect with an adiabatic Δ T /Δ E of 800 mK·cm/kV. This work encourages the targeted design of low barrier ferroelectrics, which sheds light on their applications in next‐generation ultralow‐power devices.

Meta-grating-based SERS sensor capable of efficiently trapping target molecules in hotspots

Although extensive past efforts were devoted to designing substrates exhibiting abundant hotspots for improving the detection sensitivity of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), how to transport analyte molecules under detection to those hotspots remains challenging. Here, we propose a meta-grating-based SERS sensor with periodically arranged nanogaps exhibiting gradient shapes that can efficiently transport molecules to the hotspots with significantly intensified electromagnetic fields, thus pronouncedly enhancing the sensitivity and signal uniformity of the SERS detection. We fabricate the proposed SERS substrate and demonstrate the desired SERS-detection improvement with experimental measurements on rhodamine 6 G (R6G, 10−6–10−11 M), crystal violet (CV, 10−8–10−13 M), and glycine molecules (40–0.1 mM) with different concentrations. Our measured two-dimensional mappings of SERS intensity exhibit good signal uniformity, with calculated relative intensity deviation less than 10%, obtained by analyzing 100 randomly selected points, either for R6G, CV, or for glycine. Our results lay a solid foundation for quantitative molecule detection based on SERS technology.

Role of Mg hole traps in hole transport of p-GaN/UID-GaN/AlGaN/GaN heterostructure

This work reports on the dynamics of hole transport in a p-GaN/UID-GaN/AlGaN/GaN heterostructure investigated through temperature-dependent I–V characteristics. The pronounced temperature and bias dependence of the sheet resistance reveal that bulk p-GaN dominates hole transport at higher bias. Arrhenius analysis of the sheet resistance confirms the presence of hole traps with a zero-field activation energy of 110 meV in the bulk p-GaN, attributed to two possible Mg-related states: the Mg–H complex and the MgGa acceptor. The bias dependence of the sheet resistance originates from the field-dependent lowering of the activation energy, explained by the Poole–Frenkel effect. At low bias, transport is impacted by tunneling of thermally activated holes across the Ru/p-GaN Schottky contact, described by reverse thermionic field emission (TFE). The bias-dependent reduction of contact resistance is consistent with this tunneling phenomenon. This behavior is ascribed to the reduction in Schottky barrier height (SBH), which follows a power law dependence on the voltage with an exponent m=0.41. The correlation comes from strong interfacial fields and field-induced hole activation at the reverse-biased interface.

Temperature dependence of spin-dependent recombination in a SiC power device

Spin-dependent recombination (SDR) in silicon carbide (SiC) devices provides a powerful route to probe defect physics and spin interactions directly within technologically relevant power electronics. The magnetic field dependence of SDR, particularly under charge pumping biasing conditions that probe the technologically critical SiC/SiO2 interface, has not been systematically investigated in commercial devices. Here, we report on a strong magneto-transport response, deemed magneto charge pumping, centered around zero magnetic field in a commercial 4H-SiC power metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). The line shape of this feature is accurately described by the sum of three Lorentzian components: two originating from hyperfine-mediated processes at intermediate and large magnetic fields, and a small-field contribution attributed to spin–spin interactions. Each component shows a distinct and strongly tunable dependence on gate bias and temperature, reflecting changes in the recombination-dissociation dynamics as well as spin–spin interaction strengths within the ensemble interfacial spin-pair probed. These findings establish commercial SiC MOSFETs as practical model systems for SDR studies and reveal substantial experimental tunability in their response, opening pathways for defect spectroscopy and sensing in device-grade SiC.

Interface defects as the origin of breakdown in ferroelectric TiN/HZO/TiN memory capacitors subjected to electrical stress

Alloyed Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) ultrathin layers crystallized in a metastable non-centrosymmetric phase are the leading candidate for implementation of scaled ferroelectric devices due to their excellent CMOS compatibility and demonstrated integrability with TiN in industrial process flows. One of the key problems on the route of using HZO-based capacitors as functional parts of ferroelectric memory cells is that the cyclic electrical stress required to write and read the stored information sets off a gradual increase in the leakage current, leading to eventual breakdown in the HZO layer. The breakdown in dielectric oxide layers sandwiched between two metal electrodes is generally viewed as a defect-assisted process; however, the relative contributions from the bulk and interfaces depend on the material system and are still under intense investigation. Here, we report on the dramatic effect of the polarity of constant-voltage electrical stress on the lifetime prior to breakdown in the nominally symmetric TiN/HZO/TiN ferroelectric capacitors. At the same time, we observed that pulsed stress with the same amplitude and equivalent total time under stress does not lead to the breakdown of the HZO layer. The step-recovery with multi-pulse test (SRMPT) technique was employed to quantify the energy distribution of chargeable defects in the HZO bandgap. Our analysis suggests that electrical breakdown in TiN/HZO/TiN devices is governed by the evolution of preexisting charged oxygen-vacancy-related defects associated with chemically nonequivalent TiN/HZO interfaces formed during HZO crystallization annealing.

Temperature-dependent Raman scattering and x-ray diffraction studies of charge density wave order in PrSb2

The charge density wave (CDW) transition in the PrSb2 compound has been systematically investigated through variable-temperature Raman scattering, x-ray diffraction, and electrical resistivity measurements. A non-monotonic anomaly in resistivity is observed near 100 K. Below this temperature, an amplitude mode appears in Raman spectra—a well-established fingerprint of CDW order—that redshifts and weakens upon warming. X-ray diffraction reveals a change in lattice parameter slope at 100 K, evidencing electron-lattice coupling and confirming CDW instability without structural phase transition. Notably, no anomalies were found in magnetization or specific heat near 100 K. Furthermore, at T = 1.8 K and with H ⊥ c axis, a series of fractional magnetization plateaus are observed, resembling the “devil's staircase.” These findings show that PrSb2 hosts coexisting CDW instability and antiferromagnetic order with strong magneto-transport responses, making it a rare platform for studying quantum order interactions in correlated electron systems.

Martensite-like ultrasonic signatures in Pd40Ni10Cu30P20 bulk metallic glass under repeated thermo-acoustic cycling

Martensite-like ultrasonic signatures are observed in the highly stable Pd40Ni10Cu30P20 bulk metallic glass during repeated thermo-acoustic cycling under extremely low strain amplitudes (∼10−8) at cryogenic temperatures. Successive thermal cycles under high-frequency elastic perturbation give rise to hysteretic step-like anomalies and satellite-like features in ultrasonic velocity and attenuation, which progressively strengthen over repeated thermo-acoustic cycles. X-ray diffraction measurements confirm the initially amorphous state of the sample and reveal no detectable crystallization after the complete ultrasonic cycling protocol. The observed cumulative and history-dependent ultrasonic response is consistent with metastable cooperative local structural evolution associated with nanocluster-like correlated regions within the amorphous matrix. These results demonstrate the exceptional sensitivity of high-frequency ultrasonic response to subtle local structural evolution, even in Pd-based metallic glasses with high thermodynamic stability.

Enhancing Interfacial Charge Transport in Gold Nanoparticle@Polyaniline Hybrids via <i>N</i> ‐Heterocyclic Carbene Linkers

ABSTRACT N ‐Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have emerged as a unique class of ligands for gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), combining strong metal binding with intrinsic electronic conductivity. Yet over the past decade, studies on Au NP@NHC systems have primarily focused on their stability, while the conductivity of NHCs has remained largely unexplored due to synthesis challenges. Here, we present a synthetic strategy that addresses this gap by employing amino‐functionalized NHC‐Au complexes with in situ oxidative polymerization of polyaniline (PANI) to yield electronically coupled Au NP@NHC‐PANI hybrids in aqueous media. This strategy enables both a controlled PANI shell growth and introduction of an electronically active NHC interlayer. Single‐particle scattering spectroscopy reveals that NHCs improve the interfacial electronic coupling as evidenced by pronounced plasmonic linewidth broadening. Conductivity measurements further confirm that NHCs enhance charge transport: conductive atomic force microscopy (C‐AFM) shows an increase in contact current from 14.6 to 99.4 pA under a 300‐mV bias, while lateral four‐probe conductance increases from 0.17 to 3.5 nS. These results provide the first direct experimental evidence of the conductive role of NHCs in hybrid NP‐polymer systems, establishing a new interface‐engineering strategy for the rational design of electronically delocalized nanostructures and their applications in nanoelectronics.

Gigahertz frequency mixing and multiplication in an all-van der Waals ambipolar MoTe2 transistor

Gigahertz frequency mixing and multiplication are demonstrated in ambipolar few-layer MoTe2 transistors based on all-van der Waals architecture. The devices combine few-layer MoTe2 channels with graphene electrodes and hexagonal boron nitride dielectric/encapsulation layers, reducing contact-induced disorder and Fermi-level pinning while preserving symmetric ambipolar transport. Lateral and vertical transistor geometries exhibit V-shaped transfer characteristics with high current modulation, including ION/IOFF ratios exceeding 105. When biased near the charge-neutrality point, the nonlinear ambipolar response enables radio frequency mixing and harmonic generation under gigahertz excitation. In the lateral device, a 1 GHz input produces clearly resolved harmonics up to the eighth order, while vertical devices also show strong nonlinear frequency conversion. To evaluate mechanical robustness, the same van der Waals design is implemented on a flexible Kapton substrate. The flexible transistor retains ambipolar transport and demonstrates robust nonlinear radio frequency functionality under bending, indicating that the device functionality is preserved under moderate mechanical strain. These results establish all-van der Waals MoTe2 transistors as compact and mechanically adaptable building blocks for high-frequency analog signal-processing applications.

Electrical activity of Mg clustering at nanoscale defects induced by N ion implantation in GaN

The p-type doping of GaN using Mg ion implantation remains a critical challenge in the development of GaN power devices. Herein, we demonstrate that Mg clustering, induced by sequential N ion implantation, impacts the acceptor concentration (Na), compensating donor concentration (Nd), and acceptor activation energy (ΔEa). N was implanted at the same concentration as Mg to suppress Mg diffusion. Hall-effect measurements indicated that, for Mg doses above 1 × 1019 cm−3, Na reached a plateau, whereas Nd continued to increase. Consequently, the net acceptor concentration (Na − Nd) reached a maximum of 4 × 1018 cm−3 at a Mg dose of 1 × 1019 cm−3. ΔEa decreased with increasing Mg dose. Atomic-resolution structural analyses revealed that nanoscale defects generated by N implantation induced Mg clustering around these defects, with the cluster density increasing with Mg dose. Notably, peak Mg concentrations within these clusters exceeded 1 × 1021 cm−3 and increased with Mg dose, whereas Mg atoms outside these clusters remained uniformly dispersed in the range of 1.3–1.5 × 1018 cm−3 regardless of Mg dose. These findings suggest that the increase in Na up to a Mg dose of 1 × 1019 cm−3 can be attributed to the Mg atoms within these Mg-rich clusters acting as acceptors, which also lowered ΔEa. Conversely, Mg atoms at or near the peak Mg-concentration sites likely acted as compensating donors, contributing to the increase in Nd with increasing Mg dose. These findings elucidate the impact of Mg clustering induced by nanoscale implantation defects on the p-type conductivity of GaN, providing insight for improving ion-implantation doping strategies in GaN.

Synergistic Cd and In co-doping enables high thermoelectric performance in <i>p</i> -type AgBiSe2

p-type AgBiSe2 thermoelectric materials have attracted considerable attention due to their intrinsically ultralow lattice thermal conductivity and favorable valence band characteristics. However, their thermoelectric performance is severely limited by the low intrinsic hole concentration and inefficient doping. Here, we substantially improve the thermoelectric performance of p-type AgBi1−xCdxInxSe2 through synergistic co-doping of Cd and In. The room-temperature hole concentration is effectively increased from ∼2.1 × 1017 cm−3 in pristine AgBiSe2 to ∼3.5 × 1019 cm−3 in AgBi0.92Cd0.04In0.04Se2, leading to a significant enhancement in electrical conductivity and power factor. First-principles calculations reveal that co-doping induces pronounced valence band flattening and band convergence, resulting in a high density-of-states effective mass. Additionally, Cd and In co-doping reduces the lattice thermal conductivity for x ≤ 0.03, while an anomalous increase is observed for x = 0.04. Consequently, a peak zT of ∼0.6 at 448 K and an average zT of ∼0.5 across the temperature range of 303–473 K are achieved. This work demonstrates that co-doping represents an effective synergistic strategy for simultaneously optimizing carrier concentration and band structure in p-type AgBiSe2, providing a viable pathway for the development of low-temperature thermoelectric materials.

Comparison of Nb and Ta pentoxide loss tangents for superconducting quantum devices

Superconducting transmon qubits are commonly made with thin-film Nb wiring, but recent studies have shown increased performance with Ta wiring. In this work, we compare the resonator-induced single photon, millikelvin dielectric loss for pentoxides of Nb (Nb2O5) and Ta (Ta2O5) in order to further understand limiting losses in qubits. Nb and Ta pentoxides of three thicknesses are deposited via pulsed laser deposition onto nominally identical coplanar waveguide resonators. The two-level system loss tangent is determined to be 0.0064 (0.0035) for Nb2O5 (Ta2O5) for a dielectric constant of 10. This work indicates that qubits with Nb wiring are affected by higher loss arising from the native pentoxide itself, likely in addition to the presence of suboxides, which are largely absent in Ta.