Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pharmacodynamics, Pharmacokinetics, and Kidney Distribution of Raw and Wine-Steamed Ligustri Lucidi Fructus Extracts in Diabetic Nephropathy Rats

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in the pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic, and kidney distribution between Ligustri Lucidi Fructus (LLF) and wine-steamed Ligustri Lucidi Fructus (WLL) extracts in diabetic nephropathy (DN) rats. The DN rats were induced by high-fat-sugar diet (HFSD)/streptozotocin (STZ) regimen. For pharmacodynamics, the DN rats were treated with LLF and WLL extracts to assess the anti-diabetic nephropathy effects. For pharmacokinetics and kidney distribution, the concentrations of drugs (hydroxytyrosol, salidroside, nuezhenidic acid, oleoside-11-methyl ester, specnuezhenide, 1‴-O-β-d-glucosylformoside, G13, and oleonuezhenide) were determined. Regarding the pharmacodynamics, LLF and WLL extracts decreased the levels of blood glucose, serum creatinine (SCr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and 24-h urinary protein (24-h Upro) in DN rats. Furthermore, LLF and WLL extracts increased the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C); decreased the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C); and reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6) in DN rats. The anti-diabetic nephropathy effect of the WLL extract was better than that of the LLF extract. Regarding the pharmacokinetic and kidney tissue distribution, there were obvious differences in the eight ingredients between LLF and WLL extracts in DN rats. LLF and WLL extracts had protective effects on DN rats, while the WLL extract was better than the LLF extract regarding anti-diabetic nephropathy effects. The pharmacokinetic parameters and kidney distribution showed that wine-steaming could affect the absorption and distribution of the eight ingredients. The results provided a reasonable basis for the study of the clinical application and processing mechanism of LLF.
The MSG Global Instability Indices Product and Its Use as a Nowcasting Tool

Abstract The European geostationary Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite offers a variety of channels to use for various purposes, including nowcasting of convection. A number of applications have also been developed to make use of these new capabilities for nowcasting, especially for the detection and prediction of severe weather. The MSG infrared channel selection makes it possible to assess the air stability in preconvective, that is, still cloud-free, conditions. Instability indices are traditionally derived from radiosonde profiles. Such indices typically combine measures of the thermal and moisture properties and often only use a small quantity of vertical profile parameters. MSG-based temperature and moisture retrievals are used for the derivation of stability indices, which are a part of the MSG meteorological products derived centrally at the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). Such indices are of an empirical nature, are often only applicable.
Wavelength selective uncooled infrared sensor by plasmonics

A wavelength selective uncooled infrared (IR) sensor using two-dimensional plasmonic crystals (2D PLCs) has been developed. The numerical investigation of 2D PLCs demonstrates that the wavelength of absorption can be mainly controlled by the period of the surface structure. A microelectromechanical systems-based uncooled IR sensor with 2D PLCs as the IR absorber was fabricated through a complementary metal oxide semiconductor and a micromachining technique. The selective enhancement of responsivity was observed at the wavelength that coincided with the period of the 2D-PLC absorber.
What powers the radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy RX J2314.9+2243? - A view onto its central engine from radio to X-rays

Aims. Radio-loud narrow-line type 1 galaxies provide us with a fresh look at the blazar phenomenon, the causes of radio loudness, and the physics of jet formation. We present a multi-wavelength study of the radio-loud narrow-line type 1 quasar RX J2314.9+2243, which exhibits some remarkable multi-wavelength properties. It is among the few radio-loud narrow-line type 1 galaxies, with a tentative γ-ray detection, is luminous in the infrared, and shows an exceptionally broad and blueshifted [OIII]λ5007 emission-line component. Methods. In order to understand the nature of this source, we have obtained optical, UV, X-ray, and radio observations of RX J2314.9+2243. Results. Its spectral energy distribution (SED) shows a broad hump extending between the IR and far-UV, a steep radio spectrum and flat X-ray spectrum. Its IR to far-UV SED is consistent with a scenario, in which synchrotron emission from a jet dominates the broadband emission, even though an absorption scenario cannot yet be fully excluded. The high blueshift of its very broad [OIII] component, 1260 km s −1 , is consistent with a face-on view, with the jet (and outflow) pointing towards us. RX J2314.9+2243 likely represents an
Reinforcement Learning in the Sky: A Survey on Enabling Intelligence in NTN-Based Communications

Non terrestrial networks (NTN) involving ‘in the sky’ objects such as low-earth orbit satellites, high altitude platform systems (HAPs) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are expected to be integral components of next generation cellular systems. With the deployment of 5G services and beyond, NTNs are leveraged to assist as aerial base stations in providing ubiquitous network connectivity and service to ground users or be deployed as aerial users connected to the cellular network. NTN-aided wireless communication offers multiple benefits such as mobility, flexibility, resistance to ground physical attacks and wide coverage. However, due to their limited resources and the current design of terrestrial cellular systems that do not account for aerial users, and other restrictions such as service requirements, limited available power and storage resources on high-throughput satellites, resource allocation, location of the high altitude platform base station and the flight trajectory of the UAVs need to be intelligently controlled to satisfy various objectives both from an aerial base station and overall network perspectives. To achieve this, many works have explored Reinforcement Learning (RL) techniques to allow aerial platforms in non-terrestrial networks to learn from past observations and achieve some optimal control policy. In this paper and differently from prior surveys, we contribute a comprehensive review of the control objectives required by non-terrestrial platforms that have been solved using RL formulations. We provide an up-to-date overview of the latest applications of RL techniques for different NTN-aided wireless communication aspects. The survey focuses on Markov Decision Process (MDP) formulations in terms of states, actions, and rewards. We synthesize a taxonomy from the surveyed literature and provide a comprehensive representation of the current usages of RL in NTN-aided wireless communications. A qualitative analysis of the level of realism achieved in the works presented in the literature is provided based on several factors that pertain to the simulation environment, station deployment setting, wireless channel assumption, and energy considerations. We also curate a list of challenges that remain to be considered by the research community in order to achieve more efficient deployments and close the simulation-to-reality gap.
Noetherian Jordan Banach Algebras Are Finite-Dimensional

w x Sinclair and Tullo proved in 10 that Noetherian Banach algebras, that is, complex associative Banach algebras satisfying the ascending chain w x condition on left ideals, are finite-dimensional. In 4 , we extended this result to the alternative case. For a Jordan algebra, the natural Noetherian condition is the ascending chain condition on inner ideals. Here, we show that Noetherian Jordan Banach algebras are finite-dimensional.
Simultaneous Space‐Based Observations of TGFs and Lightning Optical Emission: Characteristics of Lightning

A previous study of the relative timing between optical lightning emission detected by the Geostationary Lightning Mapper and a sample of 24 simultaneous Terrestrial Gamma‐ray Flashes (TGFs) triggering the Fermi Gamma‐ray Burst Monitor has shown that the gamma‐ray signal appears at the same time as or slightly before the lightning stroke optical signal. A similar result has been demonstrated using simultaneous optical and gamma‐ray data from the Atmosphere‐Space Interactions Monitor. In this work, we add 95 additional untriggered (offline) TGFs to further investigate the correlations between the gamma‐rays and the associated lightning optical emission. Analysis of radio sferics has shown that TGFs are associated with relatively high lightning peak currents. The current results show that TGFs are associated with short duration, relatively low intensity optical signals in low‐to‐moderate flash rate thunderstorm cells, consistent with lightning leaders that produce TGFs occurring some distance below the cloud top and/or expending a fraction of their energy in accelerating relativistic electrons rather than in producing bright optical emission.
How did the wave theory of light take shape in the mind of Christiaan Huygens

Summary In 1672, inspired by the wave theory of Ignace Gaston Pardies, Christiaan Huygens made his first attempt to explain the sine law of refraction, but in 1673 he abandoned his plans owing to difficulties concerning double refraction. Huygens was able to explain double refraction on 6 August 1677 after his discoveries of the axis of symmetry of the crystal and of ‘Huygens's principle’. On 6 August 1679, he wrote: ‘I have found the confirmation of my theory of light and of refraction’, and then described an ‘experimentum crucis’ to decide between his theory and a rival hypothesis. A study of caustics may have led Huygens to the discovery of ‘Huygens's principle’.
Radiation of sound from a charged dust particle moving at high velocity

Radiation of sound waves from a rapidly moving charged dust particle in dusty plasmas is considered. For the limiting case, where the dusty plasma can be described by a Vlasov-type equation, analytical expressions are derived for the fully three-dimensional radiation pattern, including the effects of the Landau damping of sound waves. The results are illustrated by simple cases, which can be expressed by known functions. The radiation pattern obtained can be used to determine the sound speed, but also the temperature ratio of dust and singly charged particles, electrons, and ions. The analysis applies equally well for a fast charged dust particle propagating through a thermal plasma. The analytical results are supported by numerical simulations, including also a study of magnetized plasmas which are not as easily tractable for analytical investigations.
University Students’ Experiences of the Teaching and Learning of an Acupuncture Programme: A South African Case Study

The quality of teaching and learning in educational programmes at higher education institutions (HEIs) cannot be overemphasised. This is of particular importance in skills programmes, such as acupuncture, because the teaching and learning of acupuncture at HEIs significantly influence students' competence in the world of work. Acupuncture is one of the most popular alternative treatments globally and contributes to improving public health. To provide quality acupuncture services to the public, HEIs must ensure that their students are competent in implementing the knowledge and skills gained in the programmes. The focus of this study is to explore students' experiences with the teaching and learning of the acupuncture programme at a South African HEI. A conceptual framework adapted from Shulman's (1986) Pedagogical Content Knowledge model and Mishra and Koehler's (2006) Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge model was utilised as a theoretical lens in this study. A descriptive qualitative single case study design was employed. The authors adopted a purposive sampling technique to recruit ten participants from the identified HEI. The findings of this study revealed that students' ambivalent experiences in the acupuncture programme. The findings will contribute to the improvement of quality teaching and learning of an acupuncture programme. This study concluded that diverse teaching and learning strategies should be implemented in the acupuncture programme, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Approximation of Bounded Continuous Functions by Linear Combinations of Phillips Operators

Abstract We study the approximation properties of linear combinations of the so-called Phillips operators, which can be considered as genuine Szász-Mirakjan-Durrmeyer operators. As main result, we prove a direct estimate for the rate of approximation of bounded continuous functions f E C[0,x), measured in C|\[0,x)-norm and thus generalizing the results, proved earlier by Gupta, Agrawal, and Gairola in [3]. Our estimates rely on the recent results, obtained in the joint works of M. Heilmann and the author-[10, 11]
Non-adherence to the World Health Organization’s physical activity recommendations and associated factors among healthy adults in urban centers of Southwest Ethiopia

Physical inactivity is a major risk-factor of non-communicable diseases. The World Health Organization has set physical activity recommendations for adults to reduce physical inactivity and its consequences. However, 1.4 billion adults are non-adherent to the recommendation worldwide. The prevalence of non-adherence to this recommendation and its predictors has not been assessed in urban Ethiopia. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of non-adherence to physical activity recommendations and identify its associated factors among healthy adults in urban centers of Southwest Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was employed from May to June 2021, involving 1191 adults in urban centers of Southwest Ethiopia. Data was collected using Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with non-adherence to physical activity recommendations using 95% confidence interval of adjusted odds ratio at P-value of < 0.05. Overall, 61.2% of participants were non-adherent to physical activity recommendations. Older age (AOR = 6.6; 95%CI (2.3–19)), female sex (AOR = 6.1; 95%CI (3.5–10.5)), lower educational status (AOR = 0.5; 95%CI (.28–0.93)), less community engagement (AOR = 2.7;95% CI (1.3–5.5)), lower level of happiness (AOR = 4.7; 95%CI (1.3–16.8)) and physical inactivity of family members (AOR = 2.5; 95%CI (1.4–4.3)) were associated with non-adherence. The prevalence of non-adherence to physical activity recommendations in the study area is high. Age, sex, educational status, community engagement, level of happiness and physical inactivity of family members were predictors of non-adherence to the recommendations. Interventions have to target females and older adults. Community participation and family based physical activity have to be advocated to avert the consequences of physical inactivity.
The effect of temperature on attenuation-correction schemes in rain using polarization propagation differential phase shift

Abstract Several investigators propose estimating the rates of attenuation using the difference in the phase with increasing distance between horizontally and vertically polarized microwaves. These attenuation estimates can then be used to correct measured radar reflectivity factors at horizontal and vertical polarizations and their ratio (differential reflectivity) for attenuation biases that may afflict polarization-based quantitative estimates of rainfall, even at frequencies as low as 3 GHz. Unfortunately, although this polarization phase difference does not depend upon the temperature of the rain, the attenuation is dominated by temperature-sensitive molecular absorption for frequencies below about 9 GHz. Neglecting the effects of temperature when estimating attenuation from the polarization phase difference increases the fractional standard error only slightly at 9 GHz but significantly at 5 and 3 GHz Nevertheless, even though the fractional error is about two to three times larger at 5 and 3 GHz th.
Quantitative determination of effective dipole and monopole moments of magnetic force microscopy tips

We present experimental results on the characterization of commercially available magnetic force microscopy (MFM) thin film tips as a function of an external magnetic field. Well defined magnetic stray fields are produced using current carrying rings with radii ranging between 603 and 2369 nm fabricated by electron-beam lithography directly imaged by MFM. Treating the MFM tip as a point probe, the analysis of the image contrast as a function of both the magnetic stray field and the lift height allows for a quantitative determination of effective magnetic dipole and monopole moments of the tip as well as their imaginary location within the real physical tip. Our systematic study gives a quantitative relationship on how absolute values of the magnetic dipole and monopole moments and their location within the tip depend on a characteristic decay length of the z component of the magnetic field being detected. From this we can estimate the effective tip volume of the real physical thin film tip relevant in MFM.
Novel Comparative Study for the Detection of COVID-19 Using CT Scan and Chest X-ray Images

The number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases is constantly rising as the pandemic continues, with new variants constantly emerging. Therefore, to prevent the virus from spreading, coronavirus cases must be diagnosed as soon as possible. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on people’s health and the economy worldwide. For COVID-19 detection, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction testing is the benchmark. However, this test takes a long time and necessitates a lot of laboratory resources. A new trend is emerging to address these limitations regarding the use of machine learning and deep learning techniques for automatic analysis, as these can attain high diagnosis results, especially by using medical imaging techniques. However, a key question arises whether a chest computed tomography scan or chest X-ray can be used for COVID-19 detection. A total of 17,599 images were examined in this work to develop the models used to classify the occurrence of COVID-19 infection, while four different classifiers were studied. These are the convolutional neural network (proposed architecture (named, SCovNet) and Resnet18), support vector machine, and logistic regression. Out of all four models, the proposed SCoVNet architecture reached the best performance with an accuracy of almost 99% and 98% on chest computed tomography scan images and chest X-ray images, respectively.
‘Adjusting to that new norm’: How and why maternity coaching can help with the transition back to work after maternity leave

Maternity coaching is delivered in certain sectors, with the aim of retaining women after maternity leave. Enabling women to stay in the workforce is a current focus of both government and industry in the UK. The objectives of this research were to determine if there are any key elements that are common to successful maternity coaching programmes which could inform recommendations for maternity coaching programmes across a variety of employment sectors.Semi-structured interviews were used. Eleven participants from five different participating organisations were recruited. Participants had all returned to work after receiving maternity leave.The interviews were coded and analysed to identify themes. They were also analysed with relation to the Schlossberg 4S Transition Model, Stern’s Transition to Motherhood theory and Dilts’ logical levels tool.With this cohort of high-performing women, we found that coaching was influential in enabling them to engage on a deep level, developing increased self-awareness and finding ways to navigate their way back into the workplace at this time of major transition. The relationship with the coach, and the breadth and depth of the outcomes of coaching were key findings.Coaching at this time appears to enable a re-adjustment on a deep personal level, helping with the return to work after maternity leave.
Comparing the Effects of Encapsulated and Non-Encapsulated Propolis Extracts on Model Lipid Membranes and Lactic Bacteria, with Emphasis on the Synergistic Effects of Its Various Compounds

Propolis is a resinous compound made by bees with well-known biological activity. However, comparisons between encapsulated and non-encapsulated propolis are lacking. Therefore, the antibacterial activity, effect on the phase transition of lipids, and inhibition of UV-induced lipid oxidation of the two forms of propolis were compared. The results showed that non-encapsulated propolis produces quicker effects, thus being better suited when more immediate effects are required (e.g., antibacterial activity). In order to gain an in-depth introspective on these effects, we further studied the synergistic effect of propolis compounds on the integrity of lipid membranes. The knowledge of component synergism is important for the understanding of effective propolis pathways and for the perspective of modes of action of synergism between different polyphenols in various extracts. Thus, five representative molecules, all previously isolated from propolis (chrysin, quercetin, trans-ferulic acid, caffeic acid, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate) were mixed, and their synergistic effects on lipid bilayers were investigated, mainly using DSC. The results showed that some compounds (quercetin, chrysin) exhibit synergism, whereas others (caffeic acid, t-ferulic acid) do not show any such effects. The results also showed that the synergistic effects of mixtures composed from several different compounds are extremely complex to study, and that their prediction requires further modeling approaches.
C1QBP Mediates Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation and Growth via Multiple Potential Signalling Pathways

Breast carcinoma is the most prevalent cancer in women globally, with complex genetic and molecular mechanisms that underlie its development and progression. Several challenges such as metastasis and drug resistance limit the prognosis of breast cancer, and hence a constant search for better treatment regimes, including novel molecular therapeutic targets is necessary. Complement component 1, q subcomponent binding protein (C1QBP), a promising molecular target, has been implicated in breast carcinogenesis. In this study, the role of C1QBP in breast cancer progression, in particular cancer cell growth, was determined in triple negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Depletion of C1QBP decreased cell proliferation, whereas the opposite effect was observed when C1QBP was overexpressed in MDA-MB-231 cells. Furthermore, gene expression profiling and pathway analysis in C1QBP depleted cells revealed that C1QBP regulates several signaling pathways crucial for cell growth and survival. Taken together, these findings provide a deeper comprehension of the role of C1QBP in triple negative breast cancer, and could possibly pave the way for future advancement of C1QBP-targeted breast cancer therapy.
Basic physics of the incandescent lamp (lightbulb)

We describe the basic electrical and optical characteristics of the incandescent lamp (lightbulb), as an appropriate exemplar for use in teaching introductory electricity and magnetism. We discuss filament characteristics, blackbody physics, mechanical bulb manufacture, and halogen technology. Variants of the incandescent bulb are also addressed.