Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computation reduction of H.264/AVC motion estimation by search range adjustment and partial cost evaluation

Motion estimation accounts for more than eighty percent of the total computation of H.264/AVC standard video compression. Full search based motion estimation is widely used for hardware implementation of an H.264/AVC encoder because of its simplicity and regularity. However, it requires a large amount of computation because it searches for all pixel points in the search range. This paper proposes a new hardware implementation of motion estimation which is a full search based motion estimation, but it reduces the search range around the seed motion vector predicted from neighboring macroblocks. The search range is determined by the variance of neighboring motion vectors. Simulation results show that the search range is reduced to less than ten percent of the original search range while the increase of bit rate is marginal. The result of integer motion estimation (IME) is used for the reduction of the computation of fractional motion estimation (FME). When the block size from IME is 16×16, only eight 4×4 blocks are evaluated for the derivation of Sum of Absolute Difference (SAD) between the current block and the reference block in the search range. Simulations results show that the degradation of the rate distortion performance is negligible by the proposed partial evaluation while the computation reduction ranges from 27.8% to 47.1%.
Oocyte Aging: A Multifactorial Phenomenon in A Unique Cell

The oocyte is considered to be the largest cell in mammalian species. Women hoping to become pregnant face a ticking biological clock. This is becoming increasingly challenging as an increase in life expectancy is accompanied by the tendency to conceive at older ages. With advancing maternal age, the fertilized egg will exhibit lower quality and developmental competence, which contributes to increased chances of miscarriage due to several causes such as aneuploidy, oxidative stress, epigenetics, or metabolic disorders. In particular, heterochromatin in oocytes and with it, the DNA methylation landscape undergoes changes. Further, obesity is a well-known and ever-increasing global problem as it is associated with several metabolic disorders. More importantly, both obesity and aging negatively affect female reproduction. However, among women, there is immense variability in age-related decline of oocytes’ quantity, developmental competence, or quality. Herein, the relevance of obesity and DNA-methylation will be discussed as these aspects have a tremendous effect on female fertility, and it is a topic of continuous and widespread interest that has yet to be fully addressed for the mammalian oocyte.
Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Livestock Predation by Leopards in Bardia National Park, Nepal

Human–wildlife conflict is a challenging issue that requires the attention of conservationists worldwide. Habitat fragmentation and encroachment reduce the abundance of prey species, and an increase in the number of predators leads to a higher risk of conflict with large cats such as leopards, jeopardizing conservation efforts. This study explored the spatio-temporal pattern of the human–leopard conflict in Bardia National Park, Nepal, from 2000 to 2020. To analyze the conflict with leopards, we used data (compensation cases filed in the park) from the buffer zone management office, the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), and the Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC). Leopard attacks on livestock are increasing exponentially, with 3335 livestock killed in 2652 attacks occurring during the study period. Although livestock depredation by leopards occurred all over the park, the southern cluster has most documented livestock damage (64.01%). The eastern and northern clusters reported fluctuating and dispersed predation events, respectively. Our spatial analysis indicated no effect of topography (slope) on livestock depredation by leopards. We recorded the highest number of leopard attacks and predation during the dry winter season when the nights are longer and livestock remain in their sheds. This carnivore mostly limited its prey to small-sized livestock (95.77%) such as goats, sheep, and pigs, whereas attacks on large-sized (cow and buffalo) livestock were least frequent. Among small-sized livestock, goats are the most predated (66.92%), followed by pigs (20.30%), in all seasons. The escalating human–leopard conflict in BNP is thus a severe threat to conservation efforts as the park has already invested a substantial amount of money (approx. USD 80,000) compensating for livestock lost in leopard attacks over the last two decades. Improving habitat conditions to reduce competition inside the park, developing an insurance scheme for livestock and humans, providing support for upgraded sheds, and the development of practical and feasible strategies that focus on specific animals and clusters of the national park are needed to reduce conflicts to maintain the co-existence between wildlife and human beings.
Urinary Tract Infection and Microbiome

Urinary tract infection is one of the most common bacterial infections and can cause major burdens, not only to individuals but also to an entire society. Current knowledge of the microbial communities in the urinary tract has increased exponentially due to next-generation sequencing and expanded quantitative urine culture. We now acknowledge a dynamic urinary tract microbiome that we once thought was sterile. Taxonomic studies have identified the normal core microbiota of the urinary tract, and studies on the changes in microbiome due to sexuality and age have set the foundation for microbiome studies in pathologic states. Urinary tract infection is not only caused by invading uropathogenic bacteria but also by changes to the uromicrobiome milieu, and interactions with other microbial communities can also contribute. Recent studies have provided insights into the pathogenesis of recurrent urinary tract infections and antimicrobial resistance. New therapeutic options for urinary tract infections also show promise; however, further research is needed to fully understand the implications of the urinary microbiome in urinary tract infections.
The role of proactive personality on transformational leadership and innovative work behavior

The industrial revolution 4.0 also requires the business world to move more dynamically and forces businessmen in the industry to move faster. The Covid-19 pandemic has also changed trends in the world of work, it is currently moving towards digitization and remote work. Therefore, workers are encouraged to continuously improve their skills and abilities in facing future challenges. One of the factors that can help companies to survive in this crisis is by innovating. The study aims to understand the effect of proactive personality on transformational leadership and innovative work behavior relationship. The instruments used were Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Form 5x scale, Proactive Personality Scale and Innovative Work Behavior Scale adapted into Indonesian. The study sample consisted of 177 responses used for data analysis in SPSS ver 23 using PROCESS by Hayes. Results showed that proactive personality fully mediates transformational leadership and innovative work behavior relationship. The implications, limitations and suggestions for further research are discussed as follows.
Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8-Loaded Hydrogels as a Highly Biocompatible Carrier for Drug Delivery Applications

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks-8 (ZIF-8), a type of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), displays high porosity, large surface areas, and tunable functionality in nanocomposites, promising carrier for drug delivery applications. In this work, ZIF-8 nanomaterials were synthesized via precipitation under three different conditions and subsequently loaded onto chitosan/pluronic F-127 (CS/PL) hydrogels. The ZIF-8 materials prepared in NH4OH solution (ZIF-8-NH4OH) showed a regular cubic shape with a large particle size of approximately 963 nm due to the acceleration of crystal growth in a basic medium. Meanwhile, the ZIF-8 species prepared in H2O and MeOH (ZIF-8-H2O and ZIF-8-MeOH, respectively) displayed crystal sizes of approximately 152 and 240 nm, respectively. The overall toxicity of the ZIF-8 nanomaterials was determined with an XTT assay against the L929 mouse fibroblast cell line. The morphology of the cells was altered at a concentration of over 30 µg/mL due to cell membrane deformations. This result correlated with the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release study by detection of LDH release at a concentration of over 25 µg/mL (50% LDH release). To reduce the toxicity of the ZIF-8 materials, CS/PL hydrogels were appropriately prepared and used to encapsulate the ZIF-8 at 0.095% w/w. Cytotoxicity results of the ZIF-8-loaded CS/PL hydrogels indicated over 75% cell viability of the L929 cells. These results presented significant implications for future applications of the ZIF-8 particles in the delivery of drugs or other compounds.
Three-Dimensional Visualization System for Vitreoretinal Surgery: Results from a Monocentric Experience and Comparison with Conventional Surgery

Purpose: To describe the experience of our centre (Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy) in using a heads-up three-dimensional (3D) surgical viewing system in vitreoretinal surgery, making a comparison with the conventional microscope surgery. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data taken from 240 patients (240 eyes) with surgical macular diseases (macular hole and epiretinal membrane), retinal detachment or vitreous hemorrhage who underwent vitreoretinal surgeries, by means of the NGENUITY 3D Visualization System (Alcon Laboratories Inc., Fort Worth, TX, USA), in comparison with 210 patients (210 eyes) who underwent vitreoretinal surgeries performed using a conventional microscope. All surgeries were performed with standardized procedures by the same surgeons. We analyzed data over a follow-up period of 6 months, comparing the surgical outcomes (best-corrected visual acuity, anatomical success rate and postoperative complication rate) between the two groups. Results: the 3D group included 74 patients with retinal detachment, 78 with epiretinal membrane, 64 with macular hole and 24 with vitreous hemorrhage. There were no significant differences in the demographic and clinical characteristics between the 3D group and the conventional group. We found no significant differences in outcome measures at three and six months follow-up between the two groups (p-value ≥ 0.05 for all comparisons). Surgery durations were similar between the two groups. Conclusions: In our experience, a heads-up 3D surgical viewing system provided comparable functional and anatomical outcomes in comparison with conventional microscope surgery, proving to be a valuable tool for vitreoretinal surgery in the treatment of different retinal diseases.
Field Measurement of Strong Wind Speed of Normal Climate on Top of Shanghai World Financial Center

The mean and fluctuating wind speed data of strong wind of normal climate measured on the top of Shanghai World Financial Center with a height of 492 m were analyzed.Mean wind speeds in different intervals of 3 s,10 min and 1 hour were separately computed.The results showed that the averaged mean wind speed ratio between 10 min mean wind speed and 3 s maximum mean wind speed was approximately 0.876 8.The formulas for the ratios were then derived by using curve-fitting technique.The turbulence intensity,gust factor were also computed based on the measured data.The results indicate that both turbulence intensity and gust factor decrease with the increase of mean wind speed.In addition,the power spectral densities of fluctuating wind speeds are in agreement with the Von-Karman spectrum.
Nature and topology of the low-energy states in ZrTe 5

The transport properties of zirconium pentatelluride ZrTe${}_{5}$, where the sign of carriers changes with temperature, have so far eluded a clear understanding. In this work, the authors investigate by angle-resolved photoemission the temperature dependence of the low-energy electronic bands, and find that the transport behavior can be explained by the presence of a van Hove singularity in the density of states. By surface doping with alkali atoms, the authors also access the unoccupied states in the conduction band and define this material as being a weak topological insulator.
Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy (PRRT): Innovations and Improvements

Simple Summary This article discusses the use of peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) as a key treatment method for advanced, unresectable neuroendocrine tumors. It covers the multidisciplinary theranostic approach, treatment effectiveness, patient outcomes, and toxicity of PRRT for neuroendocrine neoplasms. We will also examine important research, and explore new radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment of these patients. Abstract Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are tumors originating from neuroendocrine cells distributed throughout the human body. With an increasing incidence over the past few decades, they represent a highly heterogeneous group of neoplasms, mostly expressing somatostatin receptors (SSTRs) on their cell surface. Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) has emerged as a crucial strategy for treating advanced, unresectable neuroendocrine tumors by administering radiolabeled somatostatin analogs intravenously to target SSTRs. This article will focus on the multidisciplinary theranostic approach, treatment effectiveness (such as response rates and symptom relief), patient outcomes, and toxicity profile of PRRT for NEN patients. We will review the most significant studies, such as the phase III NETTER-1 trial, and discuss promising new radiopharmaceuticals, including alpha-emitting radionuclide-labeled somatostatin analogs and SSTR antagonists.
New Functions of Intracellular LOXL2: Modulation of RNA-Binding Proteins

Lysyl oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2) was initially described as an extracellular enzyme involved in extracellular matrix remodeling. Nevertheless, numerous recent reports have implicated intracellular LOXL2 in a wide variety of processes that impact on gene transcription, development, differentiation, proliferation, migration, cell adhesion, and angiogenesis, suggesting multiple different functions for this protein. In addition, increasing knowledge about LOXL2 points to a role in several types of human cancer. Moreover, LOXL2 is able to induce the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process—the first step in the metastatic cascade. To uncover the underlying mechanisms of the great variety of functions of intracellular LOXL2, we carried out an analysis of LOXL2’s nuclear interactome. This study reveals the interaction of LOXL2 with numerous RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) involved in several aspects of RNA metabolism. Gene expression profile analysis of cells silenced for LOXL2, combined with in silico identification of RBPs’ targets, points to six RBPs as candidates to be substrates of LOXL2’s action, and that deserve a more mechanistic analysis in the future. The results presented here allow us to hypothesize novel LOXL2 functions that might help to comprehend its multifaceted role in the tumorigenic process.
Twitter activity surrounding the Finnish green party's cannabis legalisation proposal: A mixed-methods analysis

Background: In September 2021, a Finnish political party, the Greens, voted to include cannabis policy reform in their party programme, which would legalise the use, possession, manufacture and sale of cannabis. A rapid public discussion has emerged on different social media platforms, including Twitter. Methods: We downloaded 10 days of Twitter data and prepared it for further text analysis, including sentiment, topic modelling and thematic content analysis. Results: Before the proposal, the average daily number of tweets was approximately 140. However, during the week of the proposal, there was a significant increase in tweet volume, reaching a peak of 6,600 tweets on a single day, with a daily average of over 2,700 tweets. Sentiment analysis showed that during the public discussion, the sentiment scores of the tweets were more likely to be positive. Through topic modelling analysis, we obtained the weight of the topic for each tweet, which enabled us to identify the most representative tweets in our corpus. To narrow the sample size for content analysis, we selected tweets that had a topic percentage distribution of over 0.95 (N=188) for closer thematic content analysis. Several positive and negative themes emerged, which were then categorised under broader topics. Similar themes were identified in the most retweeted, liked and commented tweets, which came mainly from known public figures, including politicians, health experts and NGO leaders. Conclusion: Our results show that the discussion was not limited to cannabis legalisation, but instead covered a variety of topics related to drug policy.
How to measure inFLAtion volatility. A note

This paper proposes a statistical model and a conceptual framework to estimate inflation volatility assuming rational inattention, where the decay in the level of attention reflects the arrival of news in the market. We estimate trend inflation and the conditional inflation volatility for Germany, Spain, the euro area and the United States using monthly data from January 2002 to March 2022 and test whether inflation was equal to or below 2% in this period in these regions. We decompose inflation volatility into positive and negative surprise components and characterise different inflation volatility scenarios during the Great Financial Crisis, the Sovereign Debt Crisis, and the post-COVID period. Our volatility measure outperforms the GARCH(1,1) model and the rolling standard deviation in one-step ahead volatility forecasts both in-sample and out-of-sample. The methodology proposed in this article is appropriate for estimating the conditional volatility of macro-financial variables. We recommend the inclusion of this measure in inflation dynamics monitoring and forecasting exercises.
Development and In Vitro Analysis of Layer-by-Layer Assembled Membranes for Potential Wound Dressing: Electrospun Curcumin/Gelatin as Middle Layer and Gentamicin/Polyvinyl Alcohol as Outer Layers

Nanofibrous membranes made of hydrogels have high specific surface areas and are suitable as drug carriers. Multilayer membranes fabricated by continuous electrospinning could delay drug release by increasing diffusion pathways, which is beneficial for long-term wound care. In this experiment, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and gelatin were used as membrane substrates, and a sandwich PVA/gelatin/PVA structure of layer-by-layer membranes was prepared by electrospinning under different drug loading concentrations and spinning times. The outer layers on both sides were citric-acid-crosslinked PVA membranes loaded with gentamicin as an electrospinning solution, and the middle layer was a curcumin-loaded gelatin membrane for the study of release behavior, antibacterial activity, and biocompatibility. According to the in vitro release results, the multilayer membrane could release curcumin slowly; the release amount was about 55% less than that of the single layer within 4 days. Most of the prepared membranes showed no significant degradation during immersion, and the phosphonate-buffered saline absorption rate of the multilayer membrane was about five to six times its weight. The results of the antibacterial test showed that the multilayer membrane loaded with gentamicin had a good inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. In addition, the layer-by-layer assembled membrane was non-cytotoxic but detrimental to cell attachment at all gentamicin-carrying concentrations. This feature could be used as a wound dressing to reduce secondary damage to the wound when changing the dressing. This multilayer wound dressing could be applied to wounds in the future to reduce the risk of bacterial infection and help wounds heal.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Adolescents with New-Onset Type 1 Diabetes

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has an impact on the incidence of type 1 diabetes and frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis. However, the exact relationships are unclear. It is also not known whether this is a short-term phenomenon or whether the effects have long-term relevance. Furthermore, it is not known whether these changes during the pandemic are due to direct effects of SARS-CoV-2 or to changes in the patient’s environment during the pandemic. Methods. We conducted an extensive literature search on PubMed. For the estimation of relative risks of new-onset type 1 diabetes, we applied a Poisson regression model and for the comparison of incidences and we included the logarithm of person-years. Furthermore, we performed a meta-analysis using the logarithm of the relative risk for new-onset type 1 diabetes as effect size. Results. Pooling the relative risk estimates in a random-effects meta-analysis revealed that the type 1 diabetes incidence rate increased by 20% (relative risk 1.200 (95% CI 1.125, 1.281)), and that the risk of new-onset type 1 diabetes after a SARS-CoV-2 infection increased by 62% (relative risk 1.622 (95% CI 1.347, 1.953)) compared with the prepandemic period. Conclusion. There is considerable evidence that there is an increase in type 1 diabetes in children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many studies suggesting a direct effect of SARS-CoV-2 have methodological weaknesses. As no evidence of an increase in presymptomatic cases with isolated islet autoimmunity was found, this could also suggest an accelerated transition from presymptomatic patients to clinically overt type 1 diabetes. Furthermore, there was a marked exacerbation of the preexisting increase in the prevalence of diabetic ketoacidosis at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes during the pandemic. Both the increased incidence of paediatric type 1 diabetes and the higher prevalence of diabetic ketoacidosis at diagnosis led to a massive rise in the number of children with diabetic ketoacidosis during the pandemic.
Medical Support for Space Missions: The Case of the SIRIUS Project

Medical support is one of the essential safety conditions for isolation or confinement experiments, as it enables the timely arrangement of actions to preserve the health of crew members and volunteers. Such analog experiments allow the testing of prospective medical technologies and methods for health support in long-term space missions and on-planet stations. In the current paper, we report the results of the medical control within the medical support system of the two model isolation experiments of the SIRIUS series, lasting for 4 and 8 months, respectively. The results indicate the prevalence of headache complaints, skin inflammatory reactions, and sleep disturbance during the longer confinement experiment. In addition, signs of vitamin D deficiency were revealed in 10 of the 12 objects. The data exchange with the scientific branch of the experiments provides for the in-time detection of early symptoms of disease, using samples of blood, urine, saliva, epithelia, etc. However, the issues of medical data confidence and, subsequently, of the crew members’ compliance with the medical staff, become pointed. In general, the work demonstrates the expediency of the investigations, including the data collection and analysis of the medical control indicators in further experiments, for the optimization of the medical support of both the analogous research projects and the development of the recommendations for the medical support of small autonomous groups, such as manned space missions.