Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Direct Numerical Simulation of Particles in Spatially Varying Electric Fields †

A numerical scheme is developed to simulate the motion of dielectric particles in the uniform and nonuniform electric fields of microfluidic devices. The motion of particles is simulated using a distributed Lagrange multiplier method (DLM) and the electric force acting on the particles is calculated by integrating the Maxwell stress tensor (MST) over the particle surfaces. One of the key features of the DLM method used is that the fluid-particle system is treated implicitly by using a combined weak formulation, where the forces and moments between the particles and fluid cancel, as they are internal to the combined system. The MST is obtained from the electric potential, which, in turn, is obtained by solving the electrostatic problem. In our numerical scheme, the domain is discretized using a finite element scheme and the Marchuk-Yanenko operator-splitting technique is used to decouple the difficulties associated with the incompressibility constraint, the nonlinear convection term, the rigid-body motion constraint and the electric force term. The numerical code is used to study the motion of particles in a dielectrophoretic cage which can be used to trap and hold particles at its center. If the particles moves away from the center of the cage, a resorting force acts on them towards the center. The MST results show that the ratio of the particle-particle interaction and dielectrophoretic forces decreases with increasing particle size. Therefore, larger particles move primarily under the action of the dielectrophoretic (DEP) force, especially in the high electric field gradient regions. Consequently, when the spacing between the electrodes is comparable to the particle size, instead of collecting on the same electrode by forming chains, they collect at different electrodes.
Anaemia due to chronic kidney disease: A cross-sectional analysis from a tertiary referral centre in Sri Lanka

Introduction: Anaemia is a common complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD) that adversely affects cardiovascular health and quality of life. Data on anaemia in Sri Lankan CKD patients is scarce.Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the prevalence, associations, and treatment response of anaemia in a cohort of patients with CKD.Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among consecutive, consenting adult patients with stable CKD attending clinics and wards of the University Medical Unit, Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama.Results: Of 149 patients with CKD (males 57.7%), 70.5% had diabetes, 83.9% had hypertension and 37.6% had ischemic heart disease. Anaemia was present in 90.6% of females and 93% of males. The severity of anaemia was significantly (p=<.05) associated with female gender, advancing CKD stage, diabetes, chronic liver cell disease, being on dialysis, and increasing degree of proteinuria.Of 91 patients investigated for the cause of anaemia, 60.4% had iron deficiency with anaemia of chronic disease, while 27.5% had anaemia of chronic disease based on the blood picture. Of 88 patients with haemoglobin <10g/dl, only 45.4% were on erythropoietin and 56.8% had received blood transfusions. 76.1% of the anaemic patients had hemoglobin below 10g/dL at follow-up despite treatment.Conclusions: Anaemia was highly prevalent in the CKD cohort with a significant number requiring transfusions. Patients continued to have anaemia despite being treated with nutritional supplements and erythropoietin.
Expression of Immune-Related and Inflammatory Markers and Their Prognostic Impact in Colorectal Cancer Patients

The tumor microenvironment of colorectal cancer (CRC) is heterogenous; thus, it is likely that multiple immune-related and inflammatory markers are simultaneously expressed in the tumor. The aim of this study was to identify immune-related and inflammatory markers expressed in freshly frozen CRC tissues and to investigate whether they are related to the clinicopathological features and prognosis of CRC. Seventy patients with CRC who underwent curative surgical resection between December 2014 and January 2017 were included in this study. Tissue samples were obtained from tumor and non-tumor areas in the patients’ colons. The concentrations of immune-related markers (APRIL/TNFSF13, BAFF, LAG-3, PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4) and inflammatory markers (CHIT, MMP-3, osteocalcin, pentraxin-3, sTNF-R1, and sTNF-R2) in the samples were measured using the Bio-plex Multiplex Immunoassay system. The concentrations of APRIL/TNFSF13, BAFF, and MMP-3 in the samples were significantly high; thus, we conducted analyses based on the cut-off values for these three markers. The high-APRIL/TNFSH13-expression group showed a significantly higher rate of metastatic lesions than the low-expression group, whereas the high-MMP-3-expression group had higher CEA levels, more lymph node metastases, and more advanced disease stages than the low-expression group. The five-year disease-free survival of the high-MMP-3-expression group was significantly shorter than that of the low-expression group (65.1% vs. 90.2%, p = 0.033). This study provides evidence that the APRIL/TNFSF13, BAFF, and MMP-3 pathway is overexpressed in CRC tissues and is associated with unfavorable clinicopathological features and poor prognosis in CRC patients. These markers could serve as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers for CRC.
On Relationships between Plasma Chemistry and Surface Reaction Kinetics Providing the Etching of Silicon in CF4, CHF3, and C4F8 Gases Mixed with Oxygen

In this work, we discuss the effects of component ratios on plasma characteristics, chemistry of active species, and silicon etching kinetics in CF4 + O2, CHF3 + O2, and C4F8 + O2 gas mixtures. It was shown that the addition of O2 changes electrons- and ions-related plasma parameters rapidly suppresses densities of CFx radicals and influences F atoms kinetics through their formation rate and/or loss frequency. The dominant Si etching mechanism in all three cases is the chemical interaction with F atoms featured by the nonconstant reaction probability. The latter reflects both the remaining amount of fluorocarbon polymer and oxidation of silicon surface.
Noise- and Outlier-Resistant Tomographic Reconstruction under Unknown Viewing Parameters

In this paper, we present an algorithm for effectively reconstructing an object from a set of its tomographic projections without any knowledge of the viewing directions or any prior structural information, in the presence of pathological amounts of noise, unknown shifts in the projections, and outliers among the projections. The outliers are mainly in the form of a number of projections of a completely different object, as compared to the object of interest. We introduce a novel approach of first processing the projections, then obtaining an initial estimate for the orientations and the shifts, and then define a refinement procedure to obtain the final reconstruction. Even in the presence of high noise variance (up to $50\%$ of the average value of the (noiseless) projections) and presence of outliers, we are able to successfully reconstruct the object. We also provide interesting empirical comparisons of our method with the sparsity based optimization procedures that have been used earlier for image reconstruction tasks.
The effect of ring current electron scattering rates on magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling

This simulation study investigated the electrodynamic impact of varying descriptions of the diffuse aurora on the magnetosphere‐ionosphere (M‐I) system. Pitch angle diffusion caused by waves in the inner magnetosphere is the primary source term for the diffuse aurora, especially during storm time. The magnetic local time (MLT) and storm‐dependent electrodynamic impacts of the diffuse aurora were analyzed using a comparison between a new self‐consistent version of the Hot Electron Ion Drift Integrator with varying electron scattering rates and real geomagnetic storm events. The results were compared with Dst and hemispheric power indices, as well as auroral electron flux and cross‐track plasma velocity observations. It was found that changing the maximum lifetime of electrons in the ring current by 2–6 h can alter electric fields in the nightside ionosphere by up to 26%. The lifetime also strongly influenced the location of the aurora, but the model generally produced aurora equatorward of observations.
REDLOG-aided derivation of feasibility conditions in applied mechanics and engineering problems under simple inequality constraints

Προβλήματα που πeριλαμβάνουν συμβολικούς υπολογισμούς και μeταβλητές μe ποσοδeίκτeς σe παραμeτρικούς ανισοτικούς πeριορισμούς eμφανίζονται απόλυτα φυσικά και συχνά στην eφαρμοσμένη μηχανική και στην eπιστήμη του μηχανικού. Σ' αυτήν την τeχνική αναφορά δeίχνουμe τη χρήση του REDLOG, eνός πρόσφατου πακέτου λογικής του πολύ γνωστού συστήματος υπολογιστικής άλγeβρας Reduce, για την eπίλυση αρκeτών τέτοιων προβλημάτων, δηλαδή για την eύρeση ταυτόχρονα αναγκαίων και ικανών παραμeτρικών συνθηκών eφικτότητας (eλeύθeρων από τις μeταβλητές μe ποσοδeίκτeς) έτσι ώστe να μπορούν να ικανοποιούνται απόλυτα οι παραμeτρικοί ανισοτικοί πeριορισμοί μας. Οι παρούσeς eφαρμογές αφορούν σe μeρικά απλά προβλήματα από τη θeωρία των πλακών, τη μeτάδοση θeρμότητας, την eλαστικότητα και την αντοχή των υλικών, eνώ ένας eξαιρeτικά μeγάλος αριθμός eπιπλέον σχeτικών προβλημάτων που eμφανίζονται στην πρακτική του μηχανικού μπορeί eπίσης να λυθeί μe τη βοήθeια του REDLOG.
Evaluation of Psychological and Nutritional Interventions for Eating Disorders in Nigeria: A Scoping Review

The objective of this scoping review is to map and analyze literature which utilized any kind of psychological or nutritional intervention in treating patients with eating disorders (ED) in Nigeria as well as to assess the effectiveness of such interventions in helping ED patients. This study follows the methodology provided by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) for scoping reviews. A database search of Google Scholar, PubMed, PsychINFO and Cochrane, from where 68 articles were selected using carefully developed search terms. Six studies were finally selected after two reviewers read the full text to ensure they ticked all the boxes stipulated in the inclusion criteria, while other papers were excluded. Findings revealed that psychological and nutritional interventions were used in treating eating disorders in Nigeria, and the interventions proved effective. Findings indicate that anorexia nervosa is the most frequently diagnosed and treated ED in Nigeria. This is because the majority of studies reviewed focused on anorexia nervosa, only two of the studies analysed eating disorders in general, and none of the studies focused on bulimia nervosa. This finding showed that psychological and nutritional interventions have been used to treat various patients in Nigeria, including adolescents, pupils and undergraduates. Findings from this study build on existing research to assert that psychological and nutritional interventions have proven highly effective in treating eating disorders. This is because the majority of eating disorder cases were treated using either or both of these interventions and, in the end, succeeded in helping patients overcome the disorder.
Gamified monetary reward designs: Offering certain versus chance‐based rewards

To motivate visitors to engage with websites, e‐tailers widely employ monetary rewards (e.g., vouchers, discounts) in their website designs. With advances in user interface technologies, many e‐tailers have started to offer gamified monetary reward designs (MRDs), which require visitors to earn the monetary reward by playing a game, rather than simply claiming the reward. However, little is known about whether and why gamified MRDs engage visitors compared to their non‐gamified counterpart. Even less is known about the effectiveness of gamified MRDs when providing certain or chance‐based rewards, in that visitors do or do not know what reward they will gain for successfully performing in the game. Drawing on cognitive evaluation theory, we investigate gamified MRDs with certain or chance‐based rewards and contrast them to non‐gamified MRDs with certain rewards in user registration systems. Our results from a multi‐method approach encompassing the complementary features of a randomised field experiment (N = 651) and a randomised online experiment (N = 330) demonstrate differential effects of the three investigated MRDs on user registration. Visitors encountering either type of gamified MRD are more likely to register than those encountering a non‐gamified MRD. Moreover, gamified MRDs with chance‐based rewards have the highest likelihood of user registrations. We also show that MRDs have distinct indirect effects on user registration via anticipated experiences of competence and sensation. Overall, the paper offers theoretical insights and practical guidance on how and why gamified MRDs are effective for e‐tailers.
Epidemiological characteristics of SHV, cmlv, and FosA6-producing carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae based on whole genome sequences in Jiangsu, China

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP), particularly those with high virulence, cause invasive disease in clinical settings. An epidemiological investigation was conducted on the evolution, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance of CRKP isolates in two tertiary teaching hospitals in Jiangsu, China from November 2020 to December 2021. There were 31 different CRKP strains discovered. We performed whole genome sequencing (WGS) on 13 SHV, cmlv, and FosA6-producing CRKP to reveal molecular characteristics. Five ST15/ST11 isolates had CRISPR-Cas systems. By conjugation tests, KPC-2 can be transmitted horizontally to E. coil. A conjugative pHN7A8-related multi-resistance plasmid (KPC-2, blaCTX-M-65, blaTEM-1, fosA3, catII, and rmtB) was first discovered in CRKP clinical isolates. Using bacteriological testing, a serum killing assay, and an infection model with Galleria mellonella, three ST11-K64 KPC-2 generating carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-hvKP) were identified. These strains harbored a virulent plasmid and an IncFII-family pKPC/pHN7A8 conjugative plasmid, which led to hypervirulence and resistance. One of these CR-hvKPs, which co-harbored KPC-2, NDM-6, SHV-182, SHV-64, and blaCTX-M-122 genes, was first discovered. Importantly, this CR-hvKP strain also produced biofilm and had non-inferior fitness. The widespread use of ceftazidime/avibactam might provide this CR-hvKP with a selective advantage; hence, immediate action is required to stop its dissemination. Another important finding is the novel ST6136 in K. pneumoniae. Finally, the sterilization efficiency rates of Fe2C nanoparticles in CRKP were more than 98%. Furthermore, our novel antibacterial Fe2C nanoparticles may also provide a therapeutic strategy for infections.
Estimation of the Paris NOx Emissions from mobile MAX-DOAS observations and CHIMERE model simulations using the closed integral method

We determine NOx emissions for Paris in summer 2009 and winter 2009/2010 by applying the closed integral method (CIM) to a large set of car Multi-AXis (MAX)-DOAS measurements performed in the frame of the MEGAPOLI project. MAX-DOAS measurements of the tropospheric NO2 vertical column density (VCD) are performed at large circles around Paris. From the combination of the observed NO2 VCDs with wind fields the influx into and the outflux from the 15 encircled area is determined. The difference of both fluxes represents the total emission. Compared to previous applications of the CIM, the large number of measurements during the MEGAPOLI campaign allowed the investigation of important aspects of the CIM. In particular the applicability of the CIM under various atmospheric conditions could be tested. Another important advantage of the measurements during MEGAPOLI is that simultaneous atmospheric model simulations with high spatial resolution (3 x 3 km2) are available for all days. Based on these model data it is possible to test the consistency of the 20 CIM and to derive information about favorable or non-favorable conditions for the application of the CIM. We find that in most situations the uncertainties and the variability of the wind data dominate the total error budget. Also measurement gaps and uncertainties in the partitioning ratio between NO and NO2 are important error sources. Based on a consistency check, we deduced a set of criteria on whether measurement conditions are suitable or not for the application of the CIM. We also developped a method for the calculation of the total error budget of the derived NOx emissions. Typical errors are between 25 30% and 50% for individual days (with one full circle around Paris). From the application of the CIM to car MAX-DOAS observations we derive daily average NOx emissions for Paris of 4.2  10 molecules/s for summer and of 7.8  10 molecules/s in winter. These values are by a factor of about 1.4 and 2.0 larger than the corresponding emissions derived from the application of the CIM to the model data, using the TNO-MEGAPOLI emission inventory, in summer and winter, respectively. Similar ratios (1.5 and 2.3 for summer and winter, respectively) were found for the comparison with the 30 MACC-III emission inventory.
Maize kernel metabolome involved in resistance to fusarium ear rot and fumonisin contamination

Fusarium verticillioides poses a threat to worldwide maize production due to its ability to infect maize kernel and synthesize fumonisins that can be accumulated above safety levels for humans and animals. Maize breeding has been proposed as key tool to decrease kernel contamination with fumonisins, but metabolic studies complementary to genomic approaches are necessary to disclose the complexity of maize resistance. An untargeted metabolomic study was proposed using inbreds genetically related but with contrasting levels of resistance in order to uncover pathways implicated in resistance to Fusarium ear rot (FER) and fumonisin contamination in the maize kernel and to look for possible biomarkers. Metabolite determinations were performed in kernels collected at 3 and 10 days after inoculation with F. verticillioides (dat). Discriminant metabolites between resistant and susceptible RILs were rather found at 10 than 3 dat, although metabolite differences at later stages of colonization could be driven by subtle variations at earlier stages of infection. Within this context, differences for membrane lipid homeostasis, methionine metabolism, and indolacetic acid conjugation seemed highly relevant to distinguish between resistant and susceptible inbreds, confirming the polygenic nature of resistance to FER and fumonisin contamination in the maize kernels. Nevertheless, some specific metabolites such as the polyamine spermidine and/or the alkaloid isoquinoline seemed to be promising indirect selection traits to improve resistance to FER and reduce fumonisin accumulation. Therefore, in vitro and in vivo experiments will be necessary to validate the inhibitory effects of these compounds on fumonisins biosynthesis.
Secretome of Dental Pulp-Derived Stem Cells Reduces Inflammation and Proliferation of Glioblastoma Cells by Deactivating Mapk-Akt Pathway

Background: Dental pulp-derived stem cells (DPSC) is a promising therapy as they modulate the immune response, so we evaluated the inhibitory effect of DPSC secretome (DPSC℗) on the proliferation and inflammation in human glioblastoma (GBM) cells (U-87 MG) and elucidated the concomitant mechanisms involved. Methods: The U87-MG cells were cultured with DPSC℗ for 24 h and assessed the expression of inflammatory molecules using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and mitochondrial functionality using a seahorse flux analyzer. MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay and cell cycle analysis were performed to evaluate the proliferation and cell cycle. Finally, the protein levels were determined by western blot. Results: DPSC℗ reduced the inflammation and proliferation of U-87 MG cells by down-regulating the pro-inflammatory markers and up-regulating anti-inflammatory markers expressions through ROS-mediated signaling. Moreover, DPSC℗ significantly reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in the cells. The cellular bioenergetics revealed that all the parameters of oxygen consumption rate (OCAR) and the extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) were significantly decreased in the GBM cells after the addition of DPSC℗. Additionally, DPSC℗ decreased the GBM cell proliferation by arresting the cell cycle at the G1 phase through activation (phosphorylation) of checkpoint molecule CHK1. Furthermore, mechanistically, we found that the DPSC℗ impedes the phosphorylation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (P38 MAPK) and protein kinase B (AKT) pathway. Conclusion: Our findings lend the first evidence of the inhibitory effects of DPSC℗ on proliferation and inflammation in GBM cells by altering the P38 MAPK-AKT pathway.
Achieving Covertness and Secrecy: The Interplay Between Detection and Eavesdropping Attacks

This article explores a new secure wireless communication scenario for the data collection in the Internet of Things (IoT) where the physical layer security technology is applied to counteract both the detection and eavesdropping attacks, such that the critical covertness and secrecy properties of the communication are jointly guaranteed. We first provide theoretical modeling for covertness outage probability (COP), secrecy outage probability (SOP), and transmission probability (TP) to depict the covertness, secrecy, and transmission performances of the wireless communication system. To understand the fundamental security performance under the wireless communication system, we then define a new metric—covert secrecy rate (CSR), which characterizes the maximum transmission rate subject to the constraints of COP, SOP, and TP. We further conduct a detailed theoretical analysis to identify the CSR under various scenarios determined by the detector-eavesdropper relationships and the secure transmission schemes adopted by transmitters. Finally, numerical results are provided to illustrate the achievable performances under the secure wireless communication system.
A Coupled Model for Wave Run-up Simulation

Simplified models like the shallow water equations (SWE) are commonly adopted for describing a wide range of free surface flow problems, like flows in rivers, lakes, estuaries, or coastal areas. In the literature, numerical methods for the SWE are mostly mesh-based. However, this macroscopic approach is unable to accurately represent the complexity of flows near coastlines, where waves nearly break. This fact prompted the idea of coupling the mesh-based SWE model with a meshless particle method for solving the Euler equations. In a previous paper, a method to couple the staggered scheme SWE and the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) Euler equations was developed and discussed. In this article, this coupled model is used for simulating solitary wave run-up on a sloping beach. The results show strong agreement with the experimental data of Synolakis. Simulations of wave overtopping over a seawall were also performed. AMS subject classifications: 76M28, 76M10, 76B25