Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Eff-3DPSeg: 3D Organ-Level Plant Shoot Segmentation Using Annotation-Efficient Deep Learning

Reliable and automated 3-dimensional (3D) plant shoot segmentation is a core prerequisite for the extraction of plant phenotypic traits at the organ level. Combining deep learning and point clouds can provide effective ways to address the challenge. However, fully supervised deep learning methods require datasets to be point-wise annotated, which is extremely expensive and time-consuming. In our work, we proposed a novel weakly supervised framework, Eff-3DPSeg, for 3D plant shoot segmentation. First, high-resolution point clouds of soybean were reconstructed using a low-cost photogrammetry system, and the Meshlab-based Plant Annotator was developed for plant point cloud annotation. Second, a weakly supervised deep learning method was proposed for plant organ segmentation. The method contained (a) pretraining a self-supervised network using Viewpoint Bottleneck loss to learn meaningful intrinsic structure representation from the raw point clouds and (b) fine-tuning the pretrained model with about only 0.5% points being annotated to implement plant organ segmentation. After, 3 phenotypic traits (stem diameter, leaf width, and leaf length) were extracted. To test the generality of the proposed method, the public dataset Pheno4D was included in this study. Experimental results showed that the weakly supervised network obtained similar segmentation performance compared with the fully supervised setting. Our method achieved 95.1%, 96.6%, 95.8%, and 92.2% in the precision, recall, F1 score, and mIoU for stem–leaf segmentation for the soybean dataset and 53%, 62.8%, and 70.3% in the AP, AP@25, and AP@50 for leaf instance segmentation for the Pheno4D dataset. This study provides an effective way for characterizing 3D plant architecture, which will become useful for plant breeders to enhance selection processes. The trained networks are available at https://github.com/jieyi-one/EFF-3DPSEG.
Plant-Based Nutrition: Exploring Health Benefits for Atherosclerosis, Chronic Diseases, and Metabolic Syndrome—A Comprehensive Review

Atherosclerosis, chronic non-communicable diseases, and metabolic syndrome are highly interconnected and collectively contribute to global health concerns that reduce life expectancy and quality of life. These conditions arise from multiple risk factors, including inflammation, insulin resistance, impaired blood lipid profile, endothelial dysfunction, and increased cardiovascular risk. Adopting a plant-based diet has gained popularity as a viable alternative to promote health and mitigate the incidence of, and risk factors associated with, these three health conditions. Understanding the potential benefits of a plant-based diet for human health is crucial, particularly in the face of the rising prevalence of chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, and cancer. Thus, this review focused on the plausible advantages of consuming a type of food pattern for the prevention and/or treatment of chronic diseases, emphasizing the dietary aspects that contribute to these conditions and the evidence supporting the benefits of a plant-based diet for human health. To facilitate a more in-depth analysis, we present separate evidence for each of these three concepts, acknowledging their intrinsic connection while providing a specific focus on each one. This review underscores the potential of a plant-based diet to target the underlying causes of these chronic diseases and enhance health outcomes for individuals and populations.
Persistently High Levels of Coagulation Factor XI as a Risk Factor for Venous Thrombosis

Coagulation factor XI (FXI) promotes fibrin formation and inhibits fibrinolysis. Elevated plasma FXI levels, limited to a single measurement, are associated with a higher thrombotic risk. Our case–control study aimed to identify the effect of persistently increased plasma FXI levels on the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). All patients evaluated between January 2016 and January 2018 for a first episode of proximal DVT of the lower extremity were considered for enrolment. Plasma FXI levels were measured at least 1 month after the discontinuation of anticoagulant treatment (T1). The patients with increased plasma FXI levels (>90th percentile of controls) were tested again 3 months later (T2). Among the 200 enrolled patients (M/F 114/86, age range 26–87 years), 47 patients had increased plasma FXI levels at T1 and16 patients had persistently increased plasma FXI levels at T2. The adjusted odds ratio for DVT was 2.4 (95% CI, 1.3 to 5.5, p < 0.001) for patients with increased FXI levels at T1 and 5.2 (95% CI, 2.3 to 13.2, p < 0.001) for patients with persistently high FXI levels at T2. Elevated FXI levels constitute a risk factor for deep vein thrombosis, and this risk nearly doubled in patients with persistently increased plasma FXI levels. Larger prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.
On uniformly recurrent motions of topological semigroup actions

Let G ↷ X be a topological action of a topological semigroup $G$ on a compact metric space $X$. We show in this paper that for any given point $x$ in $X$, the following two properties that both approximate to periodicity are equivalent to each other: $\bullet$ For any neighborhood $U$ of $x$, the return times set $\{g\in G ： gx\in U\}$ is syndetic of Furstenburg in $G$. $\bullet$ Given any $\varepsilon>0$, there exists a finite subset $K$ of $G$ such that for each $g$ in $G$, the $\varepsilon$-neighborhood of the orbit-arc $K[gx]$ contains the entire orbit $G[x]$. This is a generalization of a classical theorem of Birkhoff for the case where $G=\mathbb{R}$ or $\mathbb{Z}$. In addition, a counterexample is constructed to this statement, while $X$ is merely a complete but not locally compact metric space.
Extreme solar-terrestrial events

Abstract Extreme solar-terrestrial events are those in which very energetic solar ejections hit the earth? s magnetosphere, causing intense energization of the earth? s ring current. Statistically, their occurrence is approximately once per Gleissberg solar cycle (70-100yrs). The solar transient occurred on July, 23rd (2012) was potentially one of such extreme events. The associated coronal mass ejection (CME), however, was not ejected towards the earth. Instead, it hit the STEREO A spacecraft, located 120 degrees away from the Sun-Earth line. Estimates of the geoeffectiveness of such a CME point to a scenario of extreme Space Weather conditions. In terms of the ring current energization, as measured by the Disturbance Storm-Time index (Dst), had this CME hit the Earth, it would have caused the strongest geomagnetic storm in space era.
Cefto Real-Life Study: Real-World Data on the Use of Ceftobiprole in a Multicenter Spanish Cohort

Background: Ceftobiprole is a fifth-generation cephalosporin that has been approved in Europe solely for the treatment of community-acquired and nosocomial pneumonia. The objective was to analyze the use of ceftobiprole medocaril (Cefto-M) in Spanish clinical practice in patients with infections in hospital or outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT). Methods: This retrospective, observational, multicenter study included patients treated from 1 September 2021 to 31 December 2022. Results: A total of 249 individuals were enrolled, aged 66.6 ± 15.4 years, of whom 59.4% were male with a Charlson index of four (IQR 2–6), 13.7% had COVID-19, and 4.8% were in an intensive care unit (ICU). The most frequent type of infection was respiratory (55.8%), followed by skin and soft tissue infection (21.7%). Cefto-M was administered to 67.9% of the patients as an empirical treatment, in which was administered as monotherapy for 7 days (5–10) in 53.8% of cases. The infection-related mortality was 11.2%. The highest mortality rates were identified for ventilator-associated pneumonia (40%) and infections due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococus aureus (20.8%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (16.1%). The mortality-related factors were age (OR: 1.1, 95%CI (1.04–1.16)), ICU admission (OR: 42.02, 95%CI (4.49–393.4)), and sepsis/septic shock (OR: 2.94, 95%CI (1.01–8.54)). Conclusions: In real life, Cefto-M is a safe antibiotic, comprising only half of prescriptions for respiratory infections, that is mainly administered as rescue therapy in pluripathological patients with severe infectious diseases.
Renewable Energy-Aware Big Data Analytics in Geo-Distributed Data Centers with Reinforcement Learning

In the age of big data, companies tend to deploy their services in data centers rather than their own servers. The demands of big data analytics grow significantly, which leads to an extremely high electricity consumption at data centers. In this paper, we investigate the cost minimization problem of big data analytics on geo-distributed data centers connected to renewable energy sources with unpredictable capacity. To solve this problem, we propose a Reinforcement Learning (RL) based job scheduling algorithm by combining RL with neural network (NN). Moreover, two techniques are developed to enhance the performance of our proposal. Specifically, Random Pool Sampling (RPS) is proposed to retrain the NN via accumulated training data, and a novel Unidirectional Bridge Network (UBN) structure is designed for further enhancing the training speed by using the historical knowledge stored in the trained NN. Experiment results on real Google cluster traces and electricity price from Energy Information Administration show that our approach is able to reduce the data centers’ cost significantly compared with other benchmark algorithms.
Testing Model Fit by Bootstrap Selection

Over the last few decades, many robust statistics have been proposed in order to assess the fit of structural equation models. To date, however, no clear recommendations have emerged as to which test statistic performs best. It is likely that no single statistic will universally outperform all contenders across all conditions of data, sample size, and model characteristics. In a real-world situation, a researcher must choose which statistic to report. We propose a bootstrap selection mechanism that identifies the test statistic that exhibits the best performance under the given data and model conditions among any set of candidates. This mechanism eliminates the ambiguity of the current practice and offers a wide array of test statistics available for reporting. In a Monte Carlo study, the bootstrap selector demonstrated promising performance in controlling Type I errors compared to current test statistics.
Tectonic, eustatic and climate controls on facies architecture during the transition to the Neoproterozoic icehouse in the Adelaide Superbasin, Australia

The Tonian to Cryogenian (ca. 1000–635 Ma) marks a crucial turning point in Earth’s history, where tectonic reorganisation and fluctuating oceanic and atmospheric geochemistry plunged the globe into icehouse conditions. This was followed by a postglacial warming period that delivered large volumes of nutrients to the oceans and stimulated eukaryotic evolution. The Adelaide Superbasin in South Australia hosts a thick repository of Neoproterozoic and lower Cambrian sedimentary successions that preserve the depositional conditions during this unique time. In this study, detailed sedimentological data was collected from over 8,350 m of measured section at seven locations across the northern Flinders Ranges. Tonian deposits reveal a carbonate platform setting, where deposition was controlled by basin geometry and proximity to uplifted source areas. In the early Cryogenian, sedimentary successions were affected by the Sturtian glaciation, characterised by two glacial advance-retreat phases that coincide with climatically driven regression. The end of the Sturtian glaciation was marked by basin subsidence and widespread transgression into a more distal subaqueous environment. Despite the lithostratigraphic and sequence stratigraphic similarity between Tonian–Cryogenian successions globally, their correlation remains contentious. The influence of local tectonic regimes during the Tonian created a potential oceanic restriction between developing basins, which challenges the chemostratigraphic correlation between these deposits. Further, limited geochronological ages and opposing interpretations of glacial cyclicity puts into question the timing and extent of the Sturtian glaciation. Conversely, the post glacial transgression appears to be the most globally consistent as it results from climatically controlled sea level rise that was driven by melting ice sheets.
Vehicle State Estimation Combining Physics-Informed Neural Network and Unscented Kalman Filtering on Manifolds

This paper proposes a novel vehicle state estimation (VSE) method that combines a physics-informed neural network (PINN) and an unscented Kalman filter on manifolds (UKF-M). This VSE aimed to achieve inertial measurement unit (IMU) calibration and provide comprehensive information on the vehicle’s dynamic state. The proposed method leverages a PINN to eliminate IMU drift by constraining the loss function with ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Then, the UKF-M is used to estimate the 3D attitude, velocity, and position of the vehicle more accurately using a six-degrees-of-freedom vehicle model. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed PINN method can learn from multiple sensors and reduce the impact of sensor biases by constraining the ODEs without affecting the sensor characteristics. Compared to the UKF-M algorithm alone, our VSE can better estimate vehicle states. The proposed method has the potential to automatically reduce the impact of sensor drift during vehicle operation, making it more suitable for real-world applications.
Optimal damping of infinitedimensional vibrational systems

We introduce the notion of an abstract vibrational system. Most mechanical vibrational systems can be written in this form. Under some natural conditions, we solve this equation by the use of the semigroup theory technique. An useful optimal damping criterion is \[ \min_{\gamma} \int_{\|u_0\|=1} \left(\int_0^{\infty} E(t ; u_0)\mathrm{d}t\right)\mathrm{d}\sigma, \] where $E(t ; u_0)$ is the energy of the system with initial state $u_0$ at the moment $t$, and $\sigma$ is some probability measure on the unit sphere. In other words, we minimize the average total energy of the system over all admissible damping forms. We give a precise mathematical formulation of this criterion and show how to choose an appropriate measure $\sigma$. Also, in the case of systems which posses an internal damping, we find the optimal damping forms.
A direct numerical simulation analysis of spherically expanding turbulent flames in fuel droplet-mists for an overall equivalence ratio of unity

Three-dimensional direct numerical simulations with a modified single-step Arrhenius chemistry have been used to analyze spherically expanding n-heptane flames propagating into mono-sized fuel droplet mists for different droplet diameters and an overall equivalence ratio of unity. The evolutions of flame surface area and burned gas volume for both laminar and turbulent spherically expanding droplet flames have been compared to the corresponding gaseous stoichiometric premixed spherically expanding flames with the same initial burned gas radius. It has been found that the initial droplet diameter significantly affects the burned gas volume and flame area generation, which increase with decreasing droplet diameter for both laminar and turbulent cases. The droplet-flame interaction plays a key role in determining flame wrinkling under laminar conditions, which is reflected in a range of local curvatures for a given reaction progress variable isosurface, whereas each progress variable isosurface in spherically expanding laminar premixed flames exhibits a single value of curvature. The effect of droplet-induced curvature becomes less distinguishable from the flow-induced wrinkling for the turbulent cases considered here, but the reaction progress variable isosurfaces in droplet cases exhibit wider curvature probability density functions than in the corresponding turbulent premixed flame cases. It has been found that the heat release rate arises principally from premixed mode in small droplet cases, whereas the contribution of the non-premixed mode to the overall heat release rate increases with increasing droplet diameter and turbulence intensity.
Two New Mitogenomes of Bibionidae and Their Comparison within the Infraorder Bibionomorpha (Diptera)

Despite the worldwide distribution and rich diversity of the infraorder Bibionomorpha in Diptera, the characteristics of mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) are still little-known, and the phylogenetics and evolution of the infraorder remains controversial. In the present study, we report complete and annotated mitogenome sequences of Penthetria simplioipes and Plecia hardyi representing Bibionidae. This is the first report of the complete mitogenomes for the superfamily Bibionoidea. There are 37 genes in each of the complete mitogenomes of all 20 studied species from eight families of four superfamilies within infraorder Bibionomorpha. The Ka/Ks analysis suggests that all 13 PCGs have undergone purifying selection. The gene rearrangement events exist in some families (Keroplatidae, Sciaridae, and Cecidomyiidae) but not in Mycetophilidae in Sciaroidea and also in Scatopsoidea, Anisopodoidea, and Bibionoidea, which suggests that these rearrangement events are derived in the late period in the evolution of the Bibionomorpha. The phylogenetic analysis suggests the phylogenetic relationships of Scatopsoidea + (Anisopodoidea + (Bibionoidea + Sciaroidea)) in Bibionomorpha. The divergence time analysis suggests that Bibionomorpha originated in the Triassic, Scatopsoidea and Anisopodoidea in the late Triassic, Bibionoidea in the Jurassic, and Sciaroidea in the Jurassic to the Cretaceous. The work lays a base for the study of mitogenomes in Bibionomorpha but further work and broader taxon sampling are necessary for a better understanding of the phylogenetics and evolution of the infraorder.
Emotional Cues and the Demand for Televised Sports: Evidence from the UEFA Champions League

This study provides first evidence on how belief dynamics are driving entertainment utility and consequently the demand for sports across markets by analyzing minute-by-minute audience data of UEFA Champions League (UCL) games televised in the UK and the Spanish market during a full (pre-COVID) cycle of broadcasting rights. Overall, we find that suspense and surprise are the main drivers of demand in both markets while shock only has marginal effects in the Spanish market. Interestingly, we find a combined impact of suspense and surprise in the UK market that is of similar magnitude as reported in a previous study for English Premier League matches in the UK. In the Spanish market, however, the combined impact is considerably larger.
Human UC-MSC-derived exosomes facilitate ovarian renovation in rats with chemotherapy-induced premature ovarian insufficiency

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) induced by chemotherapy is an intractable disorder with a considerable incidence that commonly results in insufficient fertility and concomitant complications in female patients. Due to limitations in the current progress in POI diagnosis and treatment, there is an urgent need to develop novel remedies to improve ovarian function and protect fertility. The ameliorative effect of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) and exosomes derived from them in POI treatment could be a new hope for patients. Herein, we identified exosomes from hUCMSCs (hUCMSC-Exos). Then, systematic infusion of hUCMSC-Exos was accomplished via tail intravenous injection to investigate the feasibility of the treatment of rats with chemotherapy-induced POI by intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide (CTX) and busulfan (BUS). Ovarian functions in the indicated group were evaluated, including oestrous cycle, serum sex hormone levels, follicle counts, ovarian pathological changes, proliferation and apoptosis of granulosa cells (GCs), and reproductive ability testing. Furthermore, the potential influence of hUCMSC-Exos on ovarian tissues was illuminated by conducting RNA-seq and multifaceted bioinformatics analyses. POI rats with hUCMSC-Exos transplantation exhibited a decrease in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and apoptosis of GCs but an increase in oestradiol (E2), anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), and the number of ovarian follicles and foetuses in the uterus. And the immunomodulation- and cellular vitality-associated gene sets in rats had also undergone moderate changes. Our data indicated the feasibility of hUCMSC-Exos in improving ovarian function and protecting fertility in chemotherapy-induced POI rats. HUCMSC-Exos can improve the local microenvironment of ovarian tissue in POI rats by participating in immune regulation, cellular viability, inflammation regulation, fibrosis and metabolism, and other related signal pathways.
Knowledge Regarding Hepatitis B and C Infections among Health Science Students at Taibah University

OBJECTIVES: Health science students are at a high risk of contracting hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) due to the likelihood of accidental exposure to contaminated blood. This study aimed to determine the level of knowledge regarding HBV and HCV among Taibah University health science students. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among health science students from Taibah University, Saudi Arabia, using a validated online questionnaire from 14 February 2022 to 9 July 2022. HBV and HCV knowledge levels among applied medical sciences (AMS), nursing, medicine, medical rehabilitation sciences (MRS), pharmacy, and dentistry undergraduate students were evaluated. The questionnaire was divided into two parts. The first part comprised 5 demographic questions, while the second part comprised 10 questions regarding HBV and HCV infection. RESULTS: A total of 369 students participated in the survey. Knowledge levels regarding HBV and HCV were relatively low, with a mean knowledge score of 6.8 ± 1.8 (out of 10). Results revealed a positive correlation between students’ knowledge levels and year of education, with knowledge scores increasing with increases in participants’ academic year. Knowledge levels were primarily impacted by students’ disciplines. CONCLUSION: This study revealed inadequate levels of knowledge regarding HBV and HCV among health science students at Taibah University. There was a positive correlation between knowledge level and academic year. Efforts should be made to improve HBV and HCV knowledge through awareness campaigns, educational interventions, and preventive measure training.