Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Successful treatment of nail lichen planus with tofacitinib: a case report and review of the literature

Nail lichen planus (NLP) is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology and has been recognized as a nail potentially critical disorder, which can be severe and rapidly worsen with irreversible scarring. Currently, the treatment options are limited based on disease progression. High-potency topical or intralesional corticosteroids are commonly considered first-line therapeutic options; however, these therapies are unsuitable for all patients with NLP, especially those with extensive lesions. As a potential therapeutic target for inflammatory skin diseases, Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors can suppress both type-1 and type-2 cytokines, thereby reducing the immune response and resultant inflammation. Recent studies have suggested benefit in cutaneous lichen planus and lichen planopilaris with oral JAK inhibitors. Here, we report a case of severe NLP that exhibited a favorable response to tofacitinib treatment. A 41-year-old woman presented to our clinic with a 2-year history of nail dystrophy of all fingers of both hands. The NLP was finally confirmed by histopathology and the above clinical features. After the informed consent signature, tofacitinib monotherapy, 5 mg twice a day, was then begun, and after 6 months, the appearance of her nails had a significant improvement.
Instruments and Methods Seismic wave attenuation in the uppermost glacier ice of Storglaci¨ aren, Sweden

We conducted seismic refraction surveys in the upper ablation area of Storglaci¨ aren, a small valley glacier located in Swedish Lapland. We estimated seismic-wave attenuation using the spectral- ratio method on the energy travelling in the uppermost ice with an average temperature of approximately -1 ◦ C. Attenuation values were derived between 100 and 300 Hz using the P-wave quality factor, Q P, the inverse of the internal friction. By assuming constant attenuation along the seismic line we obtained mean Q P =6 ± 1. We also observed that Q P varies from 8 ± 1t o 5± 1 from the near-offset to the far-offset region of the line, respectively. Since the wave propagates deeper at far offsets, this variation is interpreted by considering the temperature profile of the study area; far-offset arrivals sampled warmer and thus more-attenuative ice. Our estimates are considerably lower than those reported for field studies in polar ice (∼500-1700 at -28 ◦ ◦ C and 50-160 at -10 ◦ C) and, hence, are supportive of laboratory
Exploring FinTech Lending: The Influence of Financing and Economic Factors on the Success of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Funded Loans

This research intends to integrate financing and economic factors into a unified model to explore their influence on P2P lending successful fundraising. An innovative framework of the ARDL method was utilized to explore the short and long-term effects of the factors model to allow the P2P lending players to make informed decisions and develop effective strategies for sustainable FinTech lending practices. Information asymmetry is a persistent concern, and the quality of information provided by both internal and external sources plays a crucial role in determining lender decisions. It aims to offer a holistic understanding of how these elements interact and collectively influence P2P lending loan success, emphasizing the importance of transparency and efficient online lending practices.
Proximity and scientific collaboration: Evidence from the global wine industry

International collaboration among researchers is a far from linear and straightforward process. Scientometric studies provide a good way of understanding why and how international research collaboration occurs and what are its costs and benefits. Our study investigates patterns of international scientific collaboration in a specific field: wine related research. We test a gravity model that accounts for geographical, cultural, commercial, technological, structural and institutional differences among a group of Old World (OW) and New World (NW) producers and consumers. Our findings confirm the problems imposed by geographical and technological distance on international research collaboration. Furthermore, they show that similarity in trade patterns has a positive impact on international scientific collaboration. We also find that international research collaboration is more likely among peers, in other words, among wine producing countries that belong to the same group, e.g. OW producers or newcomers to the wine industry.
Evaluation of three formulations based on Polymorphic membrane protein D in mice infected with Chlamydia trachomatis

The significant impact of Chlamydia trachomatis(Ct) infections worldwide highlights the need to develop a prophylactic vaccine that elicits effective immunity and protects the host from the immunopathological effects of Ct infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate a vaccine based on a fragment of the Polymorphic membrane protein D (FPmpD) of C. trachomatis as an immunogen using a heterologous DNA prime-protein boost strategy in female mice Three different formulations were evaluated as protein boost: free recombinant FPmpD (rFPmpD) or rFPmpD formulated with a liposomal adjuvant alternatively supplemented with CpG or a cationic gemini lipopeptide as immunostimulants. The three candidates induced an increase in the cervicovaginal and systemic titers of anti-rFPmpD antibodies in two strains of mice (BALB/c and C57BL/6), with no evidence of fertility alterations. The three formulations induced a rapid and robust humoral immune response upon the Ct challenge. However, the booster with free rFPmpD more efficiently reduced the shedding of infective Ct and prevented the development of immunopathology. The formulations containing adjuvant induced a strong inflammatory reaction in the uterine tissue. Hence, the prime-boost strategy with the adjuvant-free FPmpD vaccine formulation might constitute a promissory candidate to prevent C. trachomatis intravaginal infection.
Enhancing Energy Efficiency in LoRaWAN System for Smart City Applications

The concept of smart cities has provided sustainable choi-ces, particularly in the context of smart utilities, by enabling connectivity and interaction with various devices to enhance the quality of life. This research aims to develop an optimization algorithm for the smart city monitoring system, with the aim of improving energy efficiency. This is accomplished by applying optimization techniques that effectively decrease the transmit power and spreading factor of the long range communication module used in the end nodes. In smart cities, optimizing energy usage during data transmission enhances long-term sustainability and cost effectiveness, especially for battery-operated systems, contributing to a greener and more efficient environment. The energy saving of the system after performing the proposed optimization technique is 63%. This letter contributes to the ongoing efforts toward building smarter and more sustainable cities, where technology plays a pivotal role in creating a better future for urban living.
Ecologie des poissons tropicaux d'un cours d'eau temporaire (Baoulé, haut bassin du Sénégal au Mali) : adaptation au milieu et plasticité du régime alimentaire

La presente etude porte sur la structure trophique des communautes de poissons subsistant dans quelques mares residuelles du Baoule (haut bassin du Senegal) au Mali. Il est d'abord montre que les especes limnivores et phytophages possedent un intestin significativement plus long que les especes des autres categories trophiques, notamment les carnivores et les omnivores. Ce sont ces dernieres especes qui, d'un strict point de vue alimentaire, devraient s'adapter le mieux puisque peu specialisees. On doit donc s'attendre a voir subsister dans ce type de biotopes des especes generalistes ou opportunistes capables d'adapter leur regime aux ressources alimentaires disponibles. De fait, en ce qui concerne le regime alimentaire des especes subsistant dans les mares residuelles, il ressort assez clairement que les affinites de regime alimentaire pour differentes especes sont plus fortes a l'interieur d'un meme prelevement qu'entre memes especes d'echantillons differents. Cela signifie que pour survivre dans des conditions extremes, les especes adaptent, dans certaines limites, leur regime aux ressources dominantes disponibles. On peut ainsi montrer que face a une faible variabilite de nourriture, liee egalement a une moindre quantite, les especes utilisent la ressource la plus abondante, et a l'inverse lorsque les proies deviennent nombreuses, les poissons s'alimentent a partir d'un nombre de taxons plus important.
Mapping vegetation-soil-climate complexes in southern Africa using temporal Fourier analysis of NOAA-AVHRR NDVI data

The distribution and phenology of vegetation is largely associated with climate, terrain characteristics and human activity. Satellite data provide the opportunity to monitor continuously the dynamics of vegetation, its changes and its impact on the environment. Monthly normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values which had been extracted from NOAA-AVHRR GAC data for Southern Africa (south of the Equator) from 1981 till 1991 were analysed using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The FFT gives a new representation of the time series of images, i.e. a set of images of amplitude and phase (pixelwise) of periodic functions with different frequencies, which allows the analysis of the vegetation phenology using only the amplitude and phase of the most important periodic components. This approach is a powerful way to monitor various dynamic parameters of the vegetation in Southern Africa. The relationship between amplitude values and aridity and vegetation type was studied by correlating the amplitude and phase images with maps of the Budyko Aridity Index (ratio of net radiation to rainfall) and of the vegetation (White map). Images of amplitude and phase values were then used as attributes to map land units homogeneous as regards leaf display phenology. The map of these land units in Southern Africa, which has a 7.6 km resolution, was based on long term (9 years) information of 19 different vegetation-soil-climate complexes. Ten out of the 19 vegetation-soil-climate complexes are described in detail.
The use of gene expression datasets in feature selection research: 20 years of inherent bias?

Feature selection algorithms are frequently employed in preprocessing machine learning pipelines applied to biological data to identify relevant features. The use of feature selection in gene expression studies began at the end of the 1990s with the analysis of human cancer microarray datasets. Since then, gene expression technology has been perfected, the Human Genome Project has been completed, new microarray platforms have been created and discontinued, and RNA‐seq has gradually replaced microarrays. However, most feature selection methods in the last two decades were designed, evaluated, and validated on the same datasets from the microarray technology's infancy. In this review of over 1200 publications regarding feature selection and gene expression, published between 2010 and 2020, we found that 57% of the publications used at least one outdated dataset, 23% used only outdated data, and 32% did not cite data sources. Other issues include referencing databases that are no longer available, the slow adoption of RNA‐seq datasets, and bias toward human cancer data, even for methods designed for a broader scope. In the most popular datasets, some being 23 years old, mislabeled samples, experimental biases, distribution shifts, and the absence of classification challenges are common. These problems are more predominant in publications with computer science backgrounds compared to publications from biology and can lead to inaccurate and misleading biological results.This article is categorized under: Algorithmic Development > Biological Data Mining Technologies > Machine Learning
Potential for Dose Reduction in CT-Derived Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction: A Simulation Study

Background: Measuring left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is important for detecting heart failure, e.g., in treatment with potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy. MRI is considered the reference standard for LVEF, but availability may be limited and claustrophobia or metal implants still present challenges. CT has been shown to be accurate and would be advantageous, as LVEF could be measured in conjunction with routine chest–abdomen–pelvis oncology CT. However, the use of CT is not recommended due to the excessive radiation dose. This study aimed to explore the potential for dose reduction using simulation. Using an anthropomorphic heart phantom scanned at 13 dose levels, a noise simulation algorithm was developed to introduce controlled Poisson noise. Filtered backprojection parameters were iteratively tested to minimise differences in myocardium-to-ventricle contrast/noise ratio, as well as structural similarity index (SSIM) differences between real and simulated images at all dose levels. Fifty-one clinical CT coronary angiographies, scanned with full dose through end-systolic and -diastolic phases, were located retrospectively. Using the developed algorithm, noise was introduced corresponding to 25, 10, 5 and 2% of the original dose level. LVEF was measured using clinical software (Syngo.via VB50) with papillary muscles in and excluded from the LV volume. At each dose level, LVEF was compared to the 100% dose level, using Bland–Altman analysis. The effective dose was calculated from DLP using a conversion factor of 0.026 mSv/mGycm. Results: In the clinical images, mean CTDIvol and DLP were 47.1 mGy and 771.9 mGycm, respectively (effective dose 20.0 mSv). Measurements with papillary muscles excluded did not exhibit statistically significant LVEF bias to full-dose images at 25, 10 and 5% simulated dose. At 2% dose, a significant bias of 4.4% was found. With papillary muscles included, small but significant biases were found at all simulated dose levels. Conclusion: Provided that measurements are performed with papillary muscles excluded from the LV volume, the dose can be reduced by a factor of 20 without significantly affecting LVEF measurements. This corresponds to an effective dose of 1 mSv. CT can potentially be used for LVEF measurement with minimal excessive radiation.
No fitness cost entailed by type VI secretion system synthesis, assembly, contraction, or disassembly in enteroaggregative Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Polymicrobial communities are shaped by beneficial and antagonistic interactions between the different species. One of the key players for competition is the type VI secretion system, a large multiprotein complex that assembles a contractile tail-like structure spanning the entire cytoplasm. This contractile tail is comprised of an inner tube tipped by a puncturing complex and wrapped by a sheath that polymerizes under an extended conformation. Contraction of the sheath propels the needle-like tube complex toward the target cell where it delivers effectors. The ClpV AAA+ ATPase is then recruited to the contracted sheath and uses the energy of ATP hydrolysis for its disassembly. Due to the size of the apparatus and its mechanism of disassembly, it is thought that the T6SS mechanism of action is costly for the cell, and hence can significantly impact its fitness. By using enteroaggregative Escherichia coli strains in which the T6SS is arrested at different stages of its mechanism of action, we show here that there is no significant cost associated with T6SS synthesis, assembly, contraction, or disassembly in vitro. IMPORTANCE Bacteria use weapons to deliver effectors into target cells. One of these weapons, the type VI secretion system (T6SS), assembles a contractile tail acting as a spring to propel a toxin-loaded needle. Due to its size and mechanism of action, the T6SS was intuitively thought to be energetically costly. Here, using a combination of mutants and growth measurements in liquid medium, on plates, and in competition experiments, we show that the T6SS does not entail a growth cost to enteroaggregative Escherichia coli. Bacteria use weapons to deliver effectors into target cells. One of these weapons, the type VI secretion system (T6SS), assembles a contractile tail acting as a spring to propel a toxin-loaded needle. Due to its size and mechanism of action, the T6SS was intuitively thought to be energetically costly. Here, using a combination of mutants and growth measurements in liquid medium, on plates, and in competition experiments, we show that the T6SS does not entail a growth cost to enteroaggregative Escherichia coli.
Effect of Modification of Flax Fibers with Silanes and Polysiloxanes on the Properties of PLA-Based Composites

ABSTRACT Natural fibers can be an effective filling of composites and improve their properties. The aim and novelty of the research was to investigate the effect of modifying natural fibers with silanes and, especially synthesized, polysiloxanes with various functional groups in combination with alkali treatment on the properties of composites based on polylactic acid. For this purpose, composites with a 20% content of flax fibers were produced. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) tests of the composites showed that the modification of the fibers had a positive effect on the adhesion to the polymer. Their thermal stability (TGA) was slightly improved by the addition of modified fibers, especially by polysiloxane with long alkyl chain. Flammability (PCFC) of composites was also improved up to 36% HRR reduction for mercerized fibers. The mechanical properties of the composites were tested on the basis of a tensile test. It has been shown that properly modified flax fibers can be a good filling for biocomposites, and especially synthesized polysiloxanes used to modify can be more effective than silanes.
The Role of Knowledge-Oriented Leadership in Fostering Innovation Capabilities: The Mediating Role of Data Analytics Maturity

The ability to continuously innovate has been widely realized as crucial for organizations to survive and be sustainable. One of the keys to successful innovation in a turbulent environment is leadership from top management and executives in organizations. Moreover, the role of knowledge-oriented leadership in promoting innovation within organizations has received considerable attention in recent studies. However, past studies have been more focused on the indirect impact of knowledge-oriented leadership instead of the direct impact of innovation capability. Therefore, this study examined both the indirect and direct impacts of knowledge-oriented leadership on fostering innovation capabilities through data analytics maturity. Data were collected from 114 participants working in medium and large organizations across different industries in Indonesia using a web-based questionnaire. Data were analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results show that knowledge-oriented leadership has a significant direct impact on innovation capabilities, especially on explorative innovation. The results also show that knowledge-oriented leadership has a strong indirect impact on both explorative and exploitative innovation through data analytics maturity. Hence, this study confirms that as a third-order construct comprising five dimensions (organizational culture, data governance, strategy management, skills and technology), data analytics maturity plays an important role in fostering explorative and exploitative innovation in companies.
Joint Appearance and Motion Model With Temporal Transformer for Multiple Object Tracking

The problem of multi-object tracking (MOT) in the real world poses several challenging tasks, such as similar appearance, occlusion, and extreme articulation motion. In this paper, we propose a novel joint appearance and motion model, which is robust to diverse motion and objects with similar uniform appearance. The proposed MOT method includes a temporal transformer, a motion estimation module and a ReID embedding module. The temporal transformer is designed to convey object-aware features to the ReID embedding and motion estimation modules. The ReID embedding module extracts ReID features of the detected objects, while motion estimation module predicts expected locations of the previously tracked objects in the current frame. Also, we present a motion-guided association to fuse outputs of the appearance and motion modules effectively. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed MOT method outperforms the state-of-the-arts on the TAO and DanceTrack datasets that have objects with diverse motions and similar appearances. Furthermore, the proposed MOT provides stable performance on MOT17 and MOT20 that contain objects with simple and regular motion patterns.
Mechanical strength of Anhydrite and its Role in the Seismicity of the Duke River Fault, Yukon Territory

ii LIST OF FIGURES . iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . v INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND . 1 Geological setting . 1 Tectonic setting and recent seismicity . 4 Comparison to the Apennines . 6 METHODOLOGY . 7 Starting Material Description . 7 Sample preparation . 8 Apparatus . 9 Sample assembly . 9 Experimental procedure . 11 RESULTS . 12 Mechanical strength tests: Pure shear experiments . 12 Table 1: Experimental Results for pure shear and sliding friction experiments. 12 Microscopic Analysis . 17 Frictional Sliding Tests . 22 Microscopic Analysis . 24 DISCUSSION . 27 Analysis of Results . 27 Mechanical Strength Test: Pure shear experiments . 27 Frictional sliding testing . 31 Comparison to the Apennines . 35 Relevance to the Duke River Fault . 36 CONCLUSION . 38 REFERENCES CITED . 39 APPENDIX 1 – RELEVANT METHODS AND EQUATIONS . 41 Helium Pycnometry. 41 Data Reduction . 41
Quantitative palaeoclimate reconstruction as an inverse problem: A Bayesian inference of late-Holocene climate on the eastern Tibetan Plateau from a peat cellulose δ18O record

There has been a sustained need to quantify past climate changes from proxy records to better understand the driving mechanisms and thus to improve the prediction of the future. Transfer function is an intuitive and frequently used method in this regard. However, this method is unable to provide interpretive and predictive results from proxy records, because physical processes are not included. The inverse proxy modelling method opened up a new avenue for quantitative palaeoclimate reconstructions through the integration of proxy records with deterministic models. It is fundamentally different from the statistical approach, representing a conceptual advance in quantitative palaeoclimatology. Here we demonstrate the potential of this method by placing a mechanistic model and a 6000 year long peat cellulose δ18O record obtained from the high-cold and monsoonal eastern Tibetan Plateau (c. 3500 m a.s.l.) in a Bayesian paradigm. In this worked example, the marginal posterior probability distributions of palaeoclimate variables such as the δ18O of soil water, temperature, and relative humidity were inferred jointly through the solution to an ill-posed inverse problem using the Markov chain-Monte Carlo method. Our results indicate that the observed variation of the peat cellulose δ18O record in this monsoonal area essentially reflects the changes in the oxygen isotopic composition of soil water, which is closely linked to that of rainfall. Compared with hydrology, temperature and humidity have little influence on the oxygen isotope fractionation of leaf water.