Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ACE2 expression in saliva of patients with COVID-19 and its association with Candida albicans and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans

Background: A relationship between oral microbiota and susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection has been extensively studied. However, the relationship between oral commensal flora and expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 ( ACE2) remains to be established. In this observational study, we collected saliva from patients with COVID-19 and evaluated the relationship between ACE2 expression and Candida albicans as well as with selected gram-negative bacteria ( Aggregatibacter actin o mycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Veillonella parvula). We investigated how this may be directly or indirectly involved in oral dysbiosis in patients with COVID-19. Methods: We included 23 hospitalized patients admitted to Universitas Indonesia Hospital with PCR-confirmed COVID-19, with six healthy participants serving as controls. Saliva and tongue surface swabs were collected from patients with diabetes (DG) and without diabetes (NDG) and subject controls. Using quantitative PCR (qPCR) we assessed the mRNA expression of ACE2, the abundance of C. albicans, and the transcription levels of its biofilm-associated genes, agglutinin-like protein 3 ( ALS3), hyphal wall protein 1 ( HWP1), and yeast-form wall protein 1 ( YWP1). We also counted the relative proportion of the three selected gram-negative oral bacteria in saliva. All analyses were performed to determine the relationship between ACE2 expression and C. albicans and gram-negative bacteria. Results: ACE2 mRNA expression was significantly higher in tongue swab samples than in saliva. However, no significant difference was observed between the patient groups. Conversely, DG patients had a significantly higher abundance of C. albicans in saliva compared to NDG patients and control group patients. The correlation and sensitivity/specificity relationship between ACE2 expression and C. albicans or the selected oral bacteria were also observed. Conclusions: The data show that ACE2 expression can be detected in saliva of patients with COVID-19 and its association with C. albicans and gram-negative oral bacteria might contribute toward developing an oral dysbiosis based predictor for prognosis of COVID-19 severity.
Visual Clutter Study for Pedestrian Using Large Scale Naturalistic Driving Data

Yang, Kai Ph.D., Purdue University, August 2016. Visual Clutter Study for Pedestrian Using Large Scale Naturalistic Driving Data. Major Professors: Eliza Du, Edward J. Delp. Some of the pedestrian crashes are due to driver’s late or difficult perception of pedestrian’s appearance. Recognition of pedestrians during driving is a complex cognitive activity. Visual clutter analysis can be used to study the factors that affect human visual search efficiency and help design advanced driver assistant system for better decision making and user experience. In this thesis, we propose the pedestrian perception evaluation model which can quantitatively analyze the pedestrian perception difficulty using naturalistic driving data. An efficient detection framework was developed to locate pedestrians within large scale naturalistic driving data. Visual clutter analysis was used to study the factors that may affect the driver’s ability to perceive pedestrian appearance. The candidate factors were explored by the designed exploratory study using naturalistic driving data and a bottom-up image-based pedestrian clutter metric was proposed to quantify the pedestrian perception difficulty in naturalistic driving data. Based on the proposed bottom-up clutter metrics and top-down pedestrian appearance based estimator, a Bayesian probabilistic pedestrian perception evaluation model was further constructed to simulate the pedestrian
Frequency-modulated continuous-wave synthetic-aperture radar: improvements in signal processing

With the advance of solid state devices, frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) designs have recently been used in synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) to decrease cost, size, weight and power consumption, making it deployable on smaller mobile plat-forms, including small (< 25 kg) unmanned aerial vehicle(s) (UAV). To foster its mobile uses, several SAR capabilities were studied: moving target indication (MTI) for increased situational awareness, bistatic operation, e.g. in UAV formation flights, for increased range, and signal processing algorithms for faster real-time performance. Most off-the-shelf SAR systems for small mobile platforms are commercial proprie-tary and/or military (ITAR, International Trades in Arms Regulations) restricted. As such, it necessitated the design and build of a prototype FMCW SAR system at the early stage to serve as a research tool. This enabled unrestricted hardware and software modifica-tions and experimentation. A model to analyze the triangularly modulated (TM) linear frequency modulated (LFM) waveform as one signal was established and used to develop a MTI algorithm which is effective for slow moving targets detection. Experimental field data collected by the prototyped FMCW SAR was then used to validate and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed MTI method. A bistatic FMCW SAR model was next introduced: Bistatic configuration is a poten-tial technique to overcome the power leakage problem in monostatic FMCW SAR. By mounting the transmitter and receiver on spatially separate mobile (UAV) platforms in formation deployment, the operation range of a bistatic FMCW SAR can be significantly improved. The proposed approximation algorithm established a signal model for bistatic FMCW SAR by using the Fresnel approximation. This model allows the existing signal processing algorithms to be used in bistatic FMCW SAR image generation without sig-nificant modification simplifying bistatic FMCW SAR signal processing. The proposed range migration algorithm is a versatile and efficient FMCW SAR sig-nal processing algorithm which requires less memory and computational load than the traditional RMA. This imaging algorithm can be employed for real-time image genera-tion by the FMCW SAR system on mobile platforms. Simulation results verified the pro-posed spectral model and experimental data demonstrated the effectiveness of the modi-fied RMA.
Risk factor sensitivities of U. S. oil and gas companies : a regime switching approach

We estimate the excess return of 66 U.S. oil and gas companies’ sensitivities towards risk factors during the period from January 2000 to December 2015. We use the Fama-French 3 factor model augmented with the oil and gas price, an interest rate factor and VIX. Previous studies of the oil and gas industry have found asymmetry in the risk sensitivities. This paper seeks to explain this nonlinear behaviour of stock returns. By using a Markov switching regression to estimate the coefficients of the regression equation, we find that the market, oil price and gas price sensitivities are regime dependent. The oil price and market risk exposure of U.S. oil and gas companies are positive and significant, however, there are considerable differences in the size of the sensitivities. We find the equipment and services subsector to have the highest risk exposure towards both the market factor and the oil price factor in the high volatility regime. The integrated oil and gas subsector has a dampened exposure towards the oil price in the high volatility regime compared to the low volatility regime. While the exploration and production subsector has a stable exposure towards the price of oil in both regimes. Furthermore, we find that the exploration and production subsector has a higher risk exposure towards the oil factor than integrated oil and gas and the pipeline subsector. The other factors in our model also vary in magnitude, sign and significance, which indicate that the regimes, firms and subsectors are
Novel YOLOv3 Model With Structure and Hyperparameter Optimization for Detection of Pavement Concealed Cracks in GPR Images

Accurately identifying and localizing concealed cracks in asphalt pavements through nondestructive ground-penetrating radar (GPR) testing has attracted much attention. However, various realistic factors restrict its detection accuracy. Therefore, this paper proposed a novel YOLOv3 model with a ResNet50vd-deformable convolution (DCN) backbone and a hyperparameter optimization (HPO) method using Bayesian search. First, a 3D-Radar system with multi-channel DXG $^{\mathrm {TM}}$ ground-coupled antenna arrays was used to investigate concealed cracks in the asphalt pavement to establish a crack distress dataset with 366 images and 533 cracks. Then, owing to the small GPR image dataset, a simple semi-supervised label distillation (SSLD) method was employed to obtain the pretrained model. Subsequently, Bayesian searching based HPO was performed to find the maximum mean average precision (mAP) and corresponding hyperparameters in 20 searches. Finally, several mainstream detection models were used for comparisons. Experimental results showed that YOLOv3-ResNet50vd-DCN model converged faster and had a smaller loss value (approximately 0.05) in the training process, which illustrates the advantage of model pretraining with the SSLD method. Besides, the proposed model also achieved good detection results, with 92.6% accuracy, 92.3% F1 score, 92.1% mAP, and 0.923 area under the ROC curve (AUC) value, all 3% to 7% higher than that of the other models. After Bayesian searching for HPO, the detection results were further improved to 94.8% accuracy, 96.2% F1 score, 94.6% mAP, and 0.962 AUC value, validating the reliability and superiority of the proposed model and optimization method in detecting pavement concealed cracks of GPR images.
Identification of Potential Grapevine Red Blotch Virus Vector in Missouri Vineyards

Grapevine red blotch virus (GRBV), the causal agent of grapevine red blotch disease, has been detected in vineyards across the United States and throughout Missouri. Insect transmission of GRBV in cultivated vineyards of Missouri has not been investigated previously. The objectives of this study were to characterize the potential insect vectors present in four commercial vineyards that had previously been determined to be infected with GRBV, test potential vectors caught in vineyards and surrounding habitats for the presence of GRBV with the use of PCR, and investigate the ability of candidate vectors to acquire and transmit GRBV using controlled greenhouse experiments. Of the vineyard-collected insects tested over the course of this research, one species of treehopper, Entylia carinata, tested positive for GRBV. This species and one other treehopper, Enchenopa binotata, were selected for direct transmission assays. Both species successfully acquired GRBV from infected grapevines and transmitted GRBV to confirmed GRBV-free grapevines. E. carinata has been identified as a promising economic vector after insect samples from vineyards tested positive for GRBV, and monitoring data placed this species as the second-most abundant treehopper captured in traps. We do not consider E. binotata a likely economically significant vector because our monitoring data showed that this species was rare and only found along edge habitat surrounding vineyards, never inside vineyard rows. Samples of the most abundant treehopper, Micrutalis calva, have not tested positive, but its vector status remains unresolved. Further research on rates of secondary spread and transmission by M. calva are required, but these results provide evidence that insect transmission of GRBV is feasible in the region.
Effectiveness of Mandated Interventions for Cannabis-Using U.S. College Students: A Systematic Review

This review analyzed the effectiveness of mandated substance use interventions in reducing future cannabis or other illicit drug use. Findings indicated that early decreases in cannabis and other drug use are commonly reported among students participating in mandated interventions. The longer time elapses post-intervention, the more likely recidivism will occur. Universities are in a unique position to provide support for students who use cannabis by employing some of the effective methods discovered in this review.
Microstructure, mechanical and wear property correlation of Al bronze alloys

In the present work, the effect of Al content (0, 3, 5, 10, 15 wt-%) on the microstructure, mechanical and wear properties of Cu was systematically studied. Interestingly, the core–shell microstructure was observed in the Cu–Al alloys or Al bronzes with different layers of α-Cu, and intermetallic phases. The Cu–Al alloys displayed good compressive yield strength of 174–653 MPa, in particular, the Cu samples with Al (upto 10 wt-%) did not show fracture upto strain of 40%. Abrasion wear was the predominant wear mechanism in pure Cu and Cu–Al alloys after sliding against SiC. The Al addition to Cu drastically decreased the wear rate (198 ×10−3 to 3.8 ×10−3 mm3 N–1m–1) of Cu–Al alloys. The present work demonstrates the advantage of the addition of (5–10 wt-%) Al to Cu in achieving good combination of mechanical and wear properties of Cu–Al alloys.
Human skeletal remains from Hasankeyf Höyük, a sedentary hunter-gatherer site in southeast Anatolia

Although early Neolithic Anatolia is a key region for the development of sedentary society by modern humans, osteological studies are limited to specimens from the later period or from other regions such as southern Levant. We examined nearly 100 human skeletal remains from Hasankeyf Höyük, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) site in southeastern Anatolia, which were uncovered during an excavation between 2011 and 2015. A total of 124 individuals were identified as belonging to the Neo lithic period. The adult/subadult ratio was close to 1:1, and the sex proportion was skewed towards an abundance in males. A few stature estimates fell within the variation range for Natufian and Neolithic peoples in the southern Levant and Anatolia. The estimated life expectancy was below 30, from 27 to 30 years old, based on age criteria related to dental wear stage. On the basis of dentognathic evidence, the skeletons exhibited heavy occlusal wear for their age, with a lot of obliquely slanted occlusal surfaces and enamel chipping. The observed oral health and dental abrasion patterns are discussed with regards to the people’s biological/behavioral adaptations to the environment, such as the nutritional quality of their diet, alimentary customs, or any indications that the teeth were used as a ‘third hand. ’ The Hasankeyf Höyük people are considered to represent very early sedentary villagers in southeast Anatolia who would not have initiated the domestication of plants and animals.
3-Aminopropyl-triethoxysilane-Functionalized Tannin-Rich Grape Biomass for the Adsorption of Methyl Orange Dye: Synthesis, Characterization, and the Adsorption Mechanism

A biomass amino silica-functionalized material was successfully prepared by a simple sol–gel method. 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) was added to a tannin-rich grape residue to improve its physicochemical properties and enhance the adsorption performance. The APTES functionalization led to significant changes in the material’s characteristics. The functionalized material was efficiently applied in the removal of methyl orange (MO) due to its unique characteristics, such as an abundance of functional groups on its surface. The adsorption process suggests that the electrostatic interactions were the main acting mechanism of the MO dye removal, although other interactions can also take place. The functionalized biomass achieved a very high MO dye maximum adsorption capacity (Qmax) of 361.8 mg g–1. The temperature positively affected the MO removal, and the thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption of MO onto APTES-functionalized biomass was spontaneous and endothermic, and enthalpy is driven in the physisorption mode. The regeneration performance revealed that the APTES-functionalized biomass material could be easily recycled and reused by maintaining very good performance even after five cycles. The adsorbent material was also employed to treat two simulated dye house effluents, which showed 48% removal. At last, the APTES biomass-based material may find significant applications as a multifunctional adsorbent and can be used further to separate pollutants from wastewater.
Dynamic tests in a steel catenary riser reduced scale model

ABSTRACT Experimental investigations were conducted on a steel catenary riser (SCR) with different stiffness seafloor models both in dry and wet conditions. The motion oscillator and cell load connect the riser model in a tank, and forced motions with different amplitudes and frequencies were studied. Model tests are conducted in air and a small scale factor (1/435) is used. This model has been built having as reference a riser prototype in 900 m water depth and the numerical analysis is carried out in time domain using the developed CABLE3D. Results demonstrate the influence of the platform in-plane motion on the dynamic response of the riser model, and both of them are consistently good. This study provides a novel and simple experimental tool developed for testing of the SCR global dynamic analysis, and discusses the results including motion response, top tension and dynamic curvature near touchdown zone.
Drag Force on Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)

The drag force experienced by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) plays an important role in determining the dynamics of CMEs. Numerous empirical studies have attempted to estimate the drag coefficient (cd) using the assumption that the observed deceleration of CMEs is primarily caused by drag alone. The observed CME motion, however, is determined by the net force—the sum of all the forces, and data contain no information to allow one to separately determine the individual forces. In the present work, we revisit the forces acting on CMEs using the erupting flux rope (EFR) model, making no assumptions on the magnitude of any force. Calculating the individual forces for four observed CME trajectories, it is shown that drag is generally not the dominant retarding force and that drag, magnetic tension, and pressure gradient can yield comparable deceleration. No force can be assumed negligible. It is further shown that the EFR equations can qualitatively replicate the observed deceleration with zero drag, contradicting the assertion that deceleration of CMEs necessarily implies the dominance of drag. A theoretical derivation of the drag coefficient cd for flux‐rope CMEs is given for a range of idealized flows including the so‐called “snow plow” effect. We show that cd ∼ 0–1 unless the snow‐plow effect is significant or the solar wind flows are specularly reflected, in which case cd ∼ 2–3. The values of cd predicted by the EFR model for the observed trajectories are cd ≃ 1.1–1.2 for three events and cd ≃ 0.4 for one.
Analysis of the world scientific production on educational psychology (2000-2022)

The aim of the study was to characterize the world scientific production on Educational Psychology in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, between January 2000 and January 2022. We worked with a universe of 526 documents from the WoS database and 829 from Scopus, extracted from 167 and 316 sources respectively. Regarding the number of authors, Scopus presents 1336 and WoS, 925. Single-authored documents total 294 in Scopus and 229 in WoS. The collaboration index between authors is slightly higher in WoS (2.64) compared to 2.39 in Scopus. The authors Mok, M. and Mackay T. , and the journals Educational and child psychology and Psychiatria Danubina stand out. The United States is the most productive country in terms of scientific evidence. The type of scientific production that stands out the most is original articles. The growth of scientific production is corroborated by the emergence of the pandemic and its impact on education, requiring the support of psychology.
Synthesis and Characterization of Crosslinked Microparticles for Drug Delivery

Crosslinked chitosan and poly(hydroxypropyl methacrylate) microparticles containing a hydrophilic bioactive material, hydroquinone, were synthesized by suspension crosslinking and suspension polymerization, respectively and were extensively characterized. The produced microparticles had a spherical geometry and a smooth surface. The release rate of hydroquinone from the microparticles could be adjusted by varying the degree of polymer crosslinking as well as the initial polymer concentration. The degree of polymer swelling of the PHPMA microparticles could be properly modified by suitable adjustment of the degree of polymer crosslinking and of the composition of the solvent.
Incidence and Risk Factors of Thyroid Malignancy in Patients with Toxic Nodular Goiter

Background Although hyperfunctioning thyroid disorders were thought to be protective against malignancy, some recent studies reported a high incidence of incidentally discovered cancer in patients with hyperfunctioning benign thyroid disorders. We performed this study to estimate the incidence and predictors of malignant thyroid disease in patients with toxic nodular goiter (TNG). Patients and Methods. The data of 98 patients diagnosed with TNG were reviewed (including toxic multinodular goiter SMNG and single toxic nodule STN). The collected data included patients age, gender, systemic comorbidities, family history of thyroid malignancy, previous neck radiation, type of disease (multinodular or single), size of the dominant nodule by the US, operative time, and detection of significant lymph nodes during operation. Based on the histopathological analysis, the cases were allocated into benign and malignant groups. Results Malignancy was detected in 21 patients (21.43%). Although age distribution was comparable between the two groups, males showed a significant increase in association with malignancy. Medical comorbidities and family history of cancer did not differ between the two groups. However, TMNG showed a statistically higher prevalence in the malignant group. Operative data, including operative time and lymph node detection, were comparable between the two groups. On regression analysis, both male gender and TMNG were significant predictors of malignancy. Conclusion The presence of thyroid hyperfunction is not a protective factor against malignancy, as malignancy was detected in about 1/5 of cases. Male gender and TMNG were significant risk factors of malignancy in such patients.
Short-Term Forecasting Based on Graph Convolution Networks and Multiresolution Convolution Neural Networks for Wind Power

Accurate prediction of wind power generation is of great significance for the efficient operation of wind farms. However, traditional deep learning-based methods predict the wind power without simultaneously considering the temporal features of wind power and spatial features between variables, which leads to low prediction accuracy. This article proposes a novel wind power forecasting approach based on a graph convolution network (GCN) and a multiresolution convolution neural network (CNN), combining spatial features and temporal features. In this approach, GCN merged with maximum information coefficient (MIC) is proposed to extract the spatial correlation features between input variables, which considers the effects of multiple variables on wind power and provides interpretability for deep learning-based forecasting. On the other hand, multiresolution CNN combines multiscale convolution kernels with a new self-attention mechanism to understand local and long-term temporal features, which enables simultaneous prediction of wind power and other variables. Experiments on a real dataset prove that the proposed method is effective and accurate in short-term wind power forecasting. Comparisons with the other three state-of-the-art methods and ablation experiments also reveal the advantages of the proposed approach.