Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design and experimental evaluation of an inchworm motor driven by bender-type piezoelectric actuators

Piezoelectric actuators (PEAs) are widely used in ultra-precision detection platforms where nano-precision and non-magnetic features are required. With the development of the semiconductor industry, actuators develop toward the tendency of smaller size, higher precision, and longer travel. However, these demands are difficult to meet merely by virtue of a single piezoelectric actuator or a simple structured inchworm piezo motor, which makes it necessary to develop a new drive mode following a different drive principle. In this paper, a novel inchworm piezo motor with bender-type PEAs in phalanx distribution was proposed, which facilitates in reducing the dimension of the motor and enhances the performance and stability of the piezo motor. For the purpose of accommodating the bender-type PEAs and providing the preloads to the bender-type PEAs, a flexible mechanism housing was designed and the modal analysis was finished, avoid resonance and reduce structural vibration. Experimental results show that the resolution of the developed motor is 2 nm or less under the laser interference with an adoption rate of 10 MHz and a resolution of 0.1 nm, while the maximum stroke is over 19 mm at the constant speed of 2.3 mm s−1, and the maximum output force is 41.6 N.
Eradication of Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm Infection by Persister Drug Combination

Staphylococcus aureus can cause a variety of infections, including persistent biofilm infections, which are difficult to eradicate with current antibiotic treatments. Here, we demonstrate that combining drugs that have robust anti-persister activity, such as clinafloxacin or oritavancin, in combination with drugs that have high activity against growing bacteria, such as vancomycin or meropenem, could completely eradicate S. aureus biofilm bacteria in vitro. In contrast, single or two drugs, including the current treatment doxycycline plus rifampin for persistent S. aureus infection, failed to kill all biofilm bacteria in vitro. In a chronic persistent skin infection mouse model, we showed that the drug combination clinafloxacin + meropenem + daptomycin which killed all biofilm bacteria in vitro completely eradicated S. aureus biofilm infection in mice while the current treatments failed to do so. The complete eradication of biofilm bacteria is attributed to the unique high anti-persister activity of clinafloxacin, which could not be replaced by other fluoroquinolones including moxifloxacin, levofloxacin, or ciprofloxacin. We also compared our persister drug combination with the current approaches for treating persistent infections, including gentamicin + fructose and ADEP4 + rifampin in the S. aureus biofilm infection mouse model, and found neither treatment could eradicate the biofilm infection. Our study demonstrates an important treatment principle, the Yin–Yang model, for persistent infections by targeting both growing and non-growing heterogeneous bacterial populations, utilizing persister drugs for the more effective eradication of persistent and biofilm infections. Our findings have implications for the improved treatment of other persistent and biofilm infections in general.
The Importance of the Thyroid Nodule Location in Determining the Risk of Malignancy: A Retrospective Study

Introduction Thyroid nodules are very common. However, the majority of thyroid nodules are benign. Ultrasound is the first-line imaging investigation of choice for thyroid nodules. Certain sonographic features are associated with an increased risk of malignancy. Recent studies suggested that the location of the nodule may be associated with the malignancy risk. Hence, this study aims to investigate this association. Methods After obtaining approval from the ethics committee, we conducted a retrospective study that involved all patients who attended our hospital, and who underwent fine-needle aspiration cytology for the evaluation of suspicious thyroid nodules (TR3-5). Electronic medical records were used to obtain data about the ultrasound and cytology reports. A multivariable binary logistic regression analysis model was conducted to identify the independent factors significantly associated with malignant thyroid nodules. Results The study included 366 patients who underwent fine-needle aspiration cytology for suspicious nodules on thyroid ultrasound. In total, 52 (14.2%) nodules were found to be malignant on cytology. By far, the most common thyroid malignancy was papillary carcinoma. The multivariable analysis model revealed that women were 24% less likely to have malignant thyroid nodules compared with men. After adjusting for the age, gender, and Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TI-RADS) group, the nodules located within the isthmus were four times more likely to be malignant compared to those located in the right or left lobes. Conclusions The study demonstrates that the isthmus location of thyroid nodules is associated with a higher risk of malignancy. Physicians should have a lower threshold to biopsy such nodules. Further studies are needed to confirm this interesting finding.
Acoustic Dispersion in Low Permeability Unconventional Reservoir Rocks and Shales at In Situ Stress Conditions

Utilizing laboratory measurements on dry and fully brine-saturated well-lithified shale reservoir rocks and comparing them to log data and theoretical modeling, we find no statistically significant intrinsic dispersion from seismic to sonic and laboratory measurement frequencies due to fluid effects. Under in situ stress conditions, the Gassmann zero-frequency P-wave velocity prediction for a Permian basin sample was within 0.3% of the measured velocity on the brine-saturated sample at an ultrasonic frequency. At deviatoric stresses ranging from 1.7 to 70 MPa on the same sample, the percent error in the Gassmann P-wave velocity prediction ranges from 0.3 to 2.2%. These results are consistent with the lack of significant dispersion in the reported velocities and theoretical predictions in the Cotton Valley shale. Based on the Biot–Gassmann model, the characteristic frequency in both formations occurs at ~1010 Hz. Applying a squirt flow model also predicts transition to the high-frequency regime occurring at ~109 Hz for both formations. The comparison of the sonic log measurements for four different shale/tight rock formations to ultrasonic measurements taken from core samples under in situ stress conditions confirms these findings. To our knowledge, this is the first extensive comparison of the sonic log to ultrasonic core data measurements. For these rocks, there is no clearly observable or predicted significant dispersion due to fluid effects at in situ stress conditions within the frequency range for which measurements are made.
Hyalocyte origin, structure, and imaging

ABSTRACT Introduction Hyalocytes have been recognized as resident tissue macrophages of the vitreous body since the mid-19th century. Despite this, knowledge about their origin, turnover, and dynamics is limited. Areas covered Historically, initial studies on the origin of hyalocytes used light and electron microscopies. Modern investigations across species including rodents and humans will be described. Novel imaging is now available to study human hyalocytes in vivo. The shared ontogeny with retinal microglia and their eventual interdependence as well as differences will be discussed. Expert opinion Owing to a common origin as myeloid cells, hyalocytes and retinal microglia have similarities, but hyalocytes appear to be distinct as resident macrophages of the vitreous body.
Collagen Organization, Polarization Sensitivity and Image Quality in Human Corneas using Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy

In this paper, a Second-Harmonic-Generation (SHG) microscope was used to study the relationship between collagen structural arrangement, image quality and polarization sensitivity in human corneas with different organizations. The degree of order (or alternatively, the Structural Dispersion, SD) was quantified using the structure tensor method. SHG image quality was evaluated with different objective metrics. Dependence with polarization was quantified by means of a parameter defined as polarimetric modulation, which employs polarimetric SHG images acquired with four independent polarization states. There is a significant exponential relationship between the quality of the SHG images and the SD of the samples. Moreover, polarization sensitivity strongly depends on collagen arrangement. For quasi- or partially organized specimens, there is a polarization state that noticeably improves the image quality, providing additional information often not seen in other SHG images. This does not occur in non-organized samples. This fact is closely related to polarimetric modulation, which linearly decreases with the SD. Understanding in more detail the relationships that take place between collagen distribution, image quality and polarization sensitivity brings the potential to enable the development of optimized SHG image acquisition protocols and novel objective strategies for the analysis and detection of pathologies related to corneal collagen disorders, as well as surgery follow-ups.
How Internet Websites Portray Herbal Vitality Products Containing Eurycoma longifolia Jack: An Evaluation of the Quality and Risks of Online Information

Background: Tongkat Ali (TA) or Eurycoma longifolia is a herbal medicine (HM) plant traditionally used to treat sexual dysfunction and enhance libido in men. Websites containing information about HM are abundant. However, studies have shown that in general the quality of websites containing information on HM is low. The present study aims to assess the quality and risks of websites containing information about TA supplements and to identify the health claims for TA. Methodology: A cross-sectional study to evaluate the quality and risks of websites discussing TA supplements was conducted. Online marketing websites, research articles, news articles, personal opinions, and those restricted by password were excluded. The quality and risks of websites were assessed using a modified DISCERN tool and a set of risk assessment criteria, respectively. The health claims for TA were identified and analyzed using content analysis. Results: Overall, 321 websites met the inclusion criteria and were further evaluated. The overall rating of the quality of the websites was low, with a mean score ± standard deviation of 1.07 ± 0.51. Most websites lacked information that there may be more than one possible treatment choice and did not discuss areas of uncertainty. However, 67.9% (218/321) of the websites received a risk score of zero. A minority of websites (5/321, 1.6%) discouraged the use of conventional medicines. The most common health claims for TA included in the websites related to the enhancement of testosterone level (121/321, 37.7%), treatment of malaria (112/321, 34.9%), and improvement in libido (108/321, 33.6%). Conclusions: Websites containing information about TA supplements generally have a low-quality rating based on a modified DISCERN tool despite having a low-risk score. Government agencies and healthcare professionals (HCPs) must be more proactive in the critique and dissemination of information relating to HM, and in ensuring the safe use of HM among the public and patients.
Restorative urban environments for healthy cities: a theoretical model for the study of restorative experiences in urban built settings

Abstract Urban landscapes are becoming the main ecosystem for human life. Given that urban living can be associated with poor psychological health, one specific challenge faced by cities is related to psychological well-being. The current essay discusses how restorative environments research can offer significant insights into the strategy of healthy cities by guiding the exploration of their restorative outcomes. We propose a theoretical model elucidating the physical and symbolic features of urban settings that can aid processes of active and passive restoration—based on theory and evidence from restorative environments research. Future research should consider urban psychological restoration in a broader sense and lend greater relevance to the exploration of the restorative potential of the full range of urban built settings. HIGHLIGHTS There is a need to explore the characteristics of urban built settings that support psychological health. We propose a three-level model of restoration that discusses supportive features and potential benefits. Active restoration—activated by top-down features—enhances positive affect and well-being in non-stressed individuals. Future research should broaden theoretical definitions and explore the full range of restorative built settings.
Target-Specific Machine Learning Scoring Function Improved Structure-Based Virtual Screening Performance for SARS-CoV-2 Drugs Development

Leveraging machine learning has been shown to improve the accuracy of structure-based virtual screening. Furthermore, a tremendous amount of empirical data is publicly available, which further enhances the performance of the machine learning approach. In this proof-of-concept study, the 3CLpro enzyme of SARS-CoV-2 was used. Structure-based virtual screening relies heavily on scoring functions. It is widely accepted that target-specific scoring functions may perform more effectively than universal scoring functions in real-world drug research and development processes. It would be beneficial to drug discovery to develop a method that can effectively build target-specific scoring functions. In the current study, the bindingDB database was used to retrieve experimental data. Smina was utilized to generate protein-ligand complexes for the extraction of InteractionFingerPrint (IFP) and SimpleInteractionFingerPrint SIFP fingerprints via the open drug discovery tool (oddt). The present study found that randomforestClassifier and randomforestRegressor performed well when used with the above fingerprints along the Molecular ACCess System (MACCS), Extended Connectivity Fingerprint (ECFP4), and ECFP6. It was found that the area under the precision-recall curve was 0.80, which is considered a satisfactory level of accuracy. In addition, our enrichment factor analysis indicated that our trained scoring function ranked molecules correctly compared to smina’s generic scoring function. Further molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the top-ranked molecules identified by our developed scoring function were highly stable in the active site, supporting the validity of our developed process. This research may provide a template for developing target-specific scoring functions against specific enzyme targets.
A scale-free adaptive statistic for testing exponentiality against Weibull and generalized Pareto distributions

In Fortiana and Grane (2002) we study a scale-free statistic, based on Hoeffding's maximum correlation, for testing exponentiality. This statistic admits an expansion along a countable set of orthogonal axes, originating a sequence of statistics. Linear combinations of a given number p of terms in this sequence can be written as a quotient of L-statistics. In this paper we propose a scalefree adaptive statistic for testing exponentiality with optimal power against a specific alternative. We obtain its exact distribution and compare it with other scale-free statistics for testing exponentiality, such as the Stephens' modification of the Shapiro-Wilk statistic, the Gini statistic and the Qn statistic defined in Fortiana and Grane (2002).
Thematic Analysis of Financial Technology (Fintech) Influence on the Banking Industry

The synthesis of technology and finance is known as financial technology (Fintech), which brings together two of the biggest industries in harmony. Fintech disruption is a deviation from the norm, resulting in a significant shift in banking services and, as a result, risk. This article aims to investigate how Fintech has influenced recent changes in the banking industry and upcoming challenges, with a particular emphasis on blockchain technology. We perform a comprehensive thematic analysis of recent studies on Fintech in the banking industry. We found that Fintech has enormous potential to grow and impact the banking industry and the entire world. The banking industry could benefit from combining emerging technologies such as blockchain, AI, machine learning, or other decision-making layers. However, with the benefits come drawbacks, such as increased reliance on technology, high costs, increased job losses, security risks related to data and fraud, and so on. The use of emerging technology and collaboration between Fintech firms and banks can improve system-wide financial stability while minimising the negative externalities of disruption and competition. These findings can help regulators, policymakers, academics, and practitioners understand the opportunities and challenges of emerging technologies in the banking industry.
Learning Spatiotemporal Interactions for User-Generated Video Quality Assessment

Distortions from spatial and temporal domains have been identified as the dominant factors that govern the visual quality. Though both have been studied independently in deep learning-based user-generated content (UGC) video quality assessment (VQA) by frame-wise distortion estimation and temporal quality aggregation, much less work has been dedicated to the integration of them with deep representations. In this paper, we propose a SpatioTemporal Interactive VQA (STI-VQA) model based upon the philosophy that video distortion can be inferred from the integration of both spatial characteristics and temporal motion, along with the flow of time. In particular, for each timestamp, both the spatial distortion explored by the feature statistics and local motion captured by feature difference are extracted and fed to a transformer network for the motion aware interaction learning. Meanwhile, the information flow of spatial distortion from the shallow layer to the deep layer is constructed adaptively during the temporal aggregation. The transformer network enjoys an advanced advantage for long-range dependencies modeling, leading to superior performance on UGC videos. Experimental results on five UGC video benchmarks demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our STI-VQA model, and the source code will be available online at https://github.com/h4nwei/STI-VQA.
The Dollarisation Paradox in Cambodia: Network Externalities Matter

The increased use of foreign currency as legal tender in Cambodia has been contrary to the general belief that macroeconomic and political stability help reduce dollarization. We provide so far the ﬁrst explanation for this counterfactual phenomenon. In doing so, this paper develops a theoretical model based on the framework of Uribe (1997) by including a dollar pricing index to amplify the network effects of using a foreign currency (denoted dollar). The dollar pricing index, a proportion of an economy denominated by the dollar, reduces its transaction cost, thus increasing its usage in the economy. This increased use of the dollar further improves the experience of using it, resulting in higher usage of the dollar in the price quotation. The positive interaction of using the dollar as a unit of account and a means of payment causes dollarization to continue to rise, even though the economy has achieved low inﬂation and political stability.
Differences in the Formation of Reactive Oxygen Species and Their Cytotoxicity between Thiols Combined with Aqua- and Cyanocobalamins

Cobalamin is an essential nutrient required for the normal functioning of cells. Its deficiency can lead to various pathological states. Hydroxocobalamin (HOCbl) and cyanocobalamin (CNCbl) are the forms of vitamin B12 that are most commonly used for supplementation. There is substantial evidence indicating that cobalamins can both suppress and promote oxidative stress; however, the mechanisms underlying these effects are poorly understood. Here, it was shown that the oxidation of thiols catalyzed by HOCbl and CNCbl is accompanied by reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and induces, under certain conditions, oxidative stress and cell death. The form of vitamin B12 and the structure of thiol play a decisive role in these processes. It was found that the mechanisms and kinetics of thiol oxidation catalyzed by HOCbl and CNCbl differ substantially. HOCbl increased the rate of oxidation of thiols to a greater extent than CNCbl, but quenched ROS in combination with certain thiols. Oxidation catalyzed by CNCbl was generally slower. Yet, the absence of ROS quenching resulted in their higher accumulation. The aforementioned results might explain a more pronounced cytotoxicity induced by combinations of thiols with CNCbl. On the whole, the data obtained provide a new insight into the redox processes in which cobalamins are involved. Our results might also be helpful in developing new approaches to the treatment of some cobalamin-responsive disorders in which oxidative stress is an important component.
Cultural Ecosystem Services Research Progress and FutureProspects: A Review

Cultural ecosystem services (CESs) are direct influences on human well-being and sustainable development, and they have become increasingly important in the development and progress of society. This paper reviewed 1248 papers on CESs by using VOSviewer and CiteSpace software. On this basis, we also reviewed 179 selected empirical papers related to this field, with regards to geographical locations, study objects, evaluation methods, and categories. The results show that: (1) the number of publications related to cultural services has increased year by year, and Ecosystem Services, Ecological Indicators, and Sustainability are the top three journals with the greatest amount of research published; (2) ecosystem services, benefits, management, and social–ecological systems are perceptions closely related to CES research, which are also popular topics in the field; (3) the results of a keyword detection show that the cultural landscapes, patterns, mental health services, social value, and other keywords were popular keywords used from 2005 to 2021; (4) CESs have mainly attracted the attention of many developed countries, and the cultural services in cities, oceans, and coastal areas have become the focus for researchers; (5) the recreation and ecotourism, and aesthetic values are the common categories of the CES empirical studies, while the knowledge system and the cultural diversity are the two categories with the least amount of research; (6) the evaluation methods of CESs are mostly carried out using a traditional questionnaire and interview, but mapping and modeling methods have been widely used in recent years.