Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microfluidic-assisted encapsulation in biocompatible multi-polymeric particles

Microfluidic-assisted fabrication of bidegradable, multicompartment polymeric carriers is investigated in this study by utilizing a facile self-assembly route. The structure for this PhD research involves two main sections. In the first part, microfluidic self-assembly route was used to generate polymeric quasicrystalline ternary arrays confirming the universality of quasicrystals. A novel K-junction microfluidic device (KJM) was utilized to generate N2-cored bubbles with colloidal emulsion on the shell that induce self-assembly of polymeric particle patterns upon bubble bursting and solvent evaporation. The polymeric quasicrystals comprising three biocompatible polymers generated in this way produced uniform particles consisting of hydrophilic/hydrophobic segments and were tagged with fluorescent dyes to confirm their multipolymeric structure. They display a radially decreasing particle size; the mechanism of self-assembly is explained by heterogeneous nucleation that culminates in heptagonal quasiperiodic polymer pattern formation. The ordered, non-periodic Archimedean tiling of the particles exhibited rare 7-fold symmetry and provide a generation route for stable soft matter quasicrystals. The second part focuses on model drug encapsulation in polymeric carriers. Monodisperse microbubbles were generated that release biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles (NP) from a thin bubble film during evaporation. PEG/PLGA NPs provide an excellent platform for delivery of multiple poorly water soluble drugs and were utilized for non-covalent encapsulation of an immiscible model drug combination of paracetamol (PAR) / ibuprofen (IBU). The particle generation mechanism indicates that colloidal emulsion on microbubble film produces NPs via nanoprecipitation ranging between 220 ± 48 nm and 393 ± 66 nm. PEG/PLGA nanoparticles encapsulating a dual combination of hydrophobic drugs (PAR/IBU) were prepared reproducibly via microfluidic mixing, with control over size, distribution and their subsequent release was shown to be extended. In vitro drug release studies demonstrate extended release, which can be tuned further by controlling experiment parameters, thereby offering potential utilization of versatile microfluidic-assisted method to develop potential combined therapies with controlled drug release behaviour.
Seeing Can Be Remembering

Recent work suggests that memory representations may guide basic perceptual functions, such as figure-ground perception. In three studies we assessed top-down contributions to figure-ground perception in typical development and in two developmental disorders: Down syndrome (DS) and autism (ASD). We investigated how figure-ground segregation is modulated by high-level cues (i.e., memory representations) and low-level cues (i.e., convexity and surface integration). Study 1 results showed that both high-level and low-level contributions to figure-ground perception are functional by the age of 4 years. In Study 2, individuals with DS exhibited intact figure-ground segregation based on low level cues when compared with mental age–matched participants, but they showed attenuated effects of high-level memory cues on figure-ground assignment. In Study 3, individuals with ASD showed intact effects of both high-level and low-level cues on figure-ground perception, counter to previous suggestions that high-level influences on perception are usually impaired in ASD.
Blind forensics in medical imaging based on Tchebichef image moments

In this paper, we present a blind forensic approach for the detection of global image modifications like filtering, lossy compression, scaling and so on. It is based on a new set of image features we proposed, called Histogram statistics of Reorganized Block-based Tchebichef moments (HRBT) features, and which are used as input of a set of classifiers we learned to discriminate tampered images from original ones. In this article, we compare the performances of our features with others proposed schemes from the literature in application to different medical image modalities (MRI, X-Ray …). Experimental results show that our HRBT features perform well and in some cases better than other features.
A Flexible Architecture for Statistical Learning and Data Mining from System Log Streams

Modern computer systems are instrumented to generate huge amounts of system log data. This data contains valuable information for managing the system, localizing failures, and recovery. However, the complexity of these systems greatly surpasses what can be understood by human operators and thus automated analysis systems are beginning to be used. Due to preprocessing required by the statistical algorithms, the extremely high volume of data cannot be processed using ad-hoc scripts. We present a flexible, modular and scalable architecture for statistical learning from large data streams that can easily process lots of data. We built a prototype that is evaluated using system log data from a commercial on-line service. Moreover, the results of the analysis were genuinely useful for the on-line service operators.
Readmission prediction via deep contextual embedding of clinical concepts

Objective Hospital readmission costs a lot of money every year. Many hospital readmissions are avoidable, and excessive hospital readmissions could also be harmful to the patients. Accurate prediction of hospital readmission can effectively help reduce the readmission risk. However, the complex relationship between readmission and potential risk factors makes readmission prediction a difficult task. The main goal of this paper is to explore deep learning models to distill such complex relationships and make accurate predictions. Materials and methods We propose CONTENT, a deep model that predicts hospital readmissions via learning interpretable patient representations by capturing both local and global contexts from patient Electronic Health Records (EHR) through a hybrid Topic Recurrent Neural Network (TopicRNN) model. The experiment was conducted using the EHR of a real world Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) cohort of 5,393 patients. Results The proposed model outperforms state-of-the-art methods in readmission prediction (e.g. 0.6103 ± 0.0130 vs. second best 0.5998 ± 0.0124 in terms of ROC-AUC). The derived patient representations were further utilized for patient phenotyping. The learned phenotypes provide more precise understanding of readmission risks. Discussion Embedding both local and global context in patient representation not only improves prediction performance, but also brings interpretable insights of understanding readmission risks for heterogeneous chronic clinical conditions. Conclusion This is the first of its kind model that integrates the power of both conventional deep neural network and the probabilistic generative models for highly interpretable deep patient representation learning. Experimental results and case studies demonstrate the improved performance and interpretability of the model.
Preference Is Biased by Crowded Facial Expressions

Crowding occurs when nearby flankers impede the identification of a peripheral stimulus. Here, we studied whether crowded features containing inaccessible emotional information can nevertheless affect preference judgments. We relied on gaze-contingent crowding, a novel method allowing for constant perceptual unawareness through eye-tracking control, and we found that crowded facial expressions can bias evaluative judgments of neutral pictographs. Furthermore, this emotional bias was effective not only for static images of faces, but also for videos displaying dynamic facial expressions. In addition to showing an alternative approach for probing nonconscious cognition, this study reveals that crowded information, instead of being fully suppressed, can have important influences on decisions.
PqsL uses reduced flavin to produce 2-hydroxylaminobenzoylacetate, a preferred PqsBC substrate in alkyl quinolone biosynthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Alkyl hydroxyquinoline N-oxides (AQNOs) are antibiotic compounds produced by the opportunistic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. They are products of the alkyl quinolone (AQ) biosynthetic pathway, which also generates the quorum-sensing molecules 2-heptyl-4(1H)-quinolone (HHQ) and 2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4(1H)-quinolone (PQS). Although the enzymatic synthesis of HHQ and PQS had been elucidated, the route by which AQNOs are synthesized remained elusive. Here, we report on PqsL, the key enzyme for AQNO production, which structurally resembles class A flavoprotein monooxygenases such as p-hydroxybenzoate 3-hydroxylase (pHBH) and 3-hydroxybenzoate 6-hydroxylase. However, we found that unlike related enzymes, PqsL hydroxylates a primary aromatic amine group, and it does not use NAD(P)H as cosubstrate, but unexpectedly required reduced flavin as electron donor. We also observed that PqsL is active toward 2-aminobenzoylacetate (2-ABA), the central intermediate of the AQ pathway, and forms the unstable compound 2-hydroxylaminobenzoylacetate, which was preferred over 2-ABA as substrate of the downstream enzyme PqsBC. In vitro reconstitution of the PqsL/PqsBC reaction was feasible by using the FAD reductase HpaC, and we noted that the AQ:AQNO ratio is increased in an hpaC-deletion mutant of P. aeruginosa PAO1 compared with the ratio in the WT strain. A structural comparison with pHBH, the model enzyme of class A flavoprotein monooxygenases, revealed that structural features associated with NAD(P)H binding are missing in PqsL. Our study completes the AQNO biosynthetic pathway in P. aeruginosa, indicating that PqsL produces the unstable product 2-hydroxylaminobenzoylacetate from 2-ABA and depends on free reduced flavin as electron donor instead of NAD(P)H.
Song post exposure, song features, and predation risk

Male birds use song to attract mates and deter other males, but in doing so, they also attract the attention of predators and parasites. Such viability costs are inherent in reliable signals, potentially causing females to prefer mates that display from the most exposed sites. However, viability costs of sexual signals may be ameliorated by affecting the choice of microhabitat, which in turn may affect the design of song features that are most efficiently transmitted in this microhabitat. We estimated the exposure of song posts (microsites used by males when singing) used by passerine birds in relation to prey selection by the sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus, by calculating the proportion of males that sang from song posts that were at the maximum level of the vegetation, in an attempt to quantify the costs of sexual selection. We quantified prey susceptibility to predation as the difference between the log-transformed observed number of prey minus the log-transformed expected number of prey in the environment. This prey susceptibility index increased with increasing song post exposure similarly in sexually dichromatic and monochromatic species, although the prey susceptibility index was related to sexual dichromatism. Song post exposure was dependent on habitat, but comparative models controlling for the potentially confounding effects of habitat, sexual dichromatism, hole nesting, coloniality, body mass, cognitive capacities, and flying abilities indicated that the relationship between the prey susceptibility index and song post exposure is strong. Path analyses of the relationship between song post exposure, sexual dichromatism, and prey susceptibility index revealed that selection acting on sexual dichromatism and song post exposure has secondary impact on prey susceptibility index. The opposite causal mechanisms by which predation affects sexual traits are less likely. These models suggest that female preference for high song posts or dichromatic plumage increases predation risk on an evolutionary time scale. Copyright 2006.
Trace description and Hamming weights of irreducible constacyclic codes

Irreducible constacyclic codes constitute an important family of error-correcting codesand have applications in space communications.In this paper, we provide a trace description of irreducible constacyclic codes of length \begin{document}$n$\end{document} over the finite field \begin{document}$\mathbb{F}_{q}$\end{document} of order \begin{document}$q,$\end{document} where \begin{document}$n$\end{document} is a positive integer and \begin{document}$q$\end{document} is a prime power coprime to \begin{document}$n. $\end{document} As an application, we determine Hamming weight distributions of some irreducible constacyclic codes of length \begin{document}$n$\end{document} over \begin{document}$\mathbb{F}_{q}. $\end{document} We also derive a weight-divisibility theorem for irreducible constacyclic codes, and obtain both lower and upper bounds on the non-zero Hamming weights in irreducible constacyclic codes. Besides illustrating our results with examples, we list some optimal irreducible constacyclic codes that attain the distance bounds given in Grassl's Table [ 8 ].
Extrapair paternity and the evolution of bird song

Bird song is usually considered to have evolved in the context of sexual selection. Because extrapair paternity is a major component of sexual selection, mating advantages at the social level for males that produce songs of high quality may be transformed into higher success in extrapair paternity. Therefore, males with longer and more complex songs should suffer less from extrapair paternity intraspecifically, whereas species with high rates of extrapair paternity, reflecting intense sperm competition, should produce more elaborate songs. Although some intraspecific studies demonstrated a negative link between features of songs and extrapair paternity in own nest, others failed to detect such a relationship. Contrary to expectation, a meta-analysis of all studies revealed no significant intraspecific evidence for songs being associated with extrapair paternity. In addition, in comparative analyses based on generalized least squares (GLS) models, we found that no measures of song complexity and temporal output were significantly related to extrapair paternity interspecifically, even when potentially confounding factors such as social mating system, life history, migration, habitat, or sexual dichromatism were held constant. Only plumage dichromatism was significantly related to extrapair paternity. The absence of both intra- and interspecific relationships between measures of song variability and extrapair paternity suggests that factors other than postmating sexual selection have been the important evolutionary forces shaping differences in song. Copyright 2004.
Legalised non-consensual sterilisation – eugenics put into practice before 1945, and the aftermath. Part 2: Europe

Abstract This article deals with the nine European nations which legalised non-consensual sterilisation during the interwar years, thus completing the review, the first part of which was published in an earlier issue of this Journal. Like we did for North America, Japan and Mexico, countries concerned are addressed in chronological order, as practices in one of these influenced policies in others, involved later. For each, we assess the continuum of events up to the present time. The Swiss canton of Vaud was the first political entity in Europe to introduce a law on compulsory sterilisation of people with intellectual disability, in 1928. Vaud’s sterilisation Act aimed at safeguarding against the abusive performance of these procedures. The purpose of the laws enforced later in eight other European countries (all five Nordic countries; Germany and, after its annexation by the latter, Austria; Estonia) was, on the contrary, to effect the sterilisation of large numbers of people considered a burden to society. Between 1933 and 1939, from 36,000 to 400,000 residents (two-thirds of whom were women) were compulsorily sterilised in Nazi Germany. In Sweden, some 32,000 sterilisations carried out between 1935 and 1975 were involuntary. It might have been expected that after the Second World War ended and Nazi legislation was suspended in Germany and Austria, including that regulating coerced sterilisation, these inhuman practices would have been discontinued in all nations concerned; but this happened only decades later. More time still went by before the authorities in certain countries officially acknowledged the human rights violations committed, issued apologies and developed reparation schemes for the victims’ benefit.
Image Steganography Techniques : An Overview

Steganography is one of the methods used for the hidden exchange of information and it can be defined as the study of invisible communication that usually deals with the ways of hiding the existence of the communicated message. In this way, if successfully it is achieved, the message does not attract attention from eavesdroppers and attackers. Using steganography, information can be hidden in different embedding mediums, known as carriers. These carriers can be images, audio files, video files, and text files. The focus in this paper is on the use of an image file as a carrier, and hence, the taxonomy of current steganographic techniques for image files has been presented. These techniques are analyzed and discussed not only in terms of their ability to hide information in image files but also according to how much information can be hidden, and the robustness to different image processing attacks.
CD9 and CD81 Interactions and Their Structural Modelling in Sperm Prior to Fertilization

Proteins CD9 and CD81 are members of the tetraspanin superfamily and were detected in mammalian sperm, where they are suspected to form an active tetraspanin web and to participate in sperm–egg membrane fusion. The importance of these two proteins during the early stages of fertilization is supported by the complete sterility of CD9/CD81 double null female mice. In this study, the putative mechanism of CD9/CD81 involvement in tetraspanin web formation in sperm and its activity prior to fertilization was addressed. Confocal microscopy and colocalization assay was used to determine a mutual CD9/CD81 localization visualised in detail by super-resolution microscopy, and their interaction was address by co-immunoprecipitation. The species-specific traits in CD9 and CD81 distribution during sperm maturation were compared between mice and humans. A mutual position of CD9/CD81 is shown in human spermatozoa in the acrosomal cap, however in mice, CD9 and CD81 occupy a distinct area. During the acrosome reaction in human sperm, only CD9 is relocated, compared to the relocation of both proteins in mice. The structural modelling of CD9 and CD81 homologous and possibly heterologous network formation was used to propose their lateral Cis as well as Trans interactions within the sperm membrane and during sperm–egg membrane fusion.
Offering a framework for value co-creation in virtual academic learning environments

Purpose This research aims to convert the traditional teacher–student models, in which teachers determine the learning resources, into a flexible structure and an active learning environment so that students can participate in the educational processes and value co-creation in virtual academic learning environments (VALEs). Design/methodology/approach Mixed-methods (qualitative–quantitative) approach has been used. First, to develop the primary framework, papers were content-analyzed. Then, to validate the results of the content analysis, responses of the questionnaires distributed among students and teachers at five virtual universities in Iran were analyzed. Findings VALEs have the value co-creation potential. The students and teachers in this sample identified and confirmed three dimensions including partnership requirements (including organizational capabilities, structural requirement, individual competencies, motivational factors and resources), collaborative learning services (including IT infrastructure, common services and educational services) and social networks. The foundation of value co-creation is a partnership requirement. Collaborative learning services are flexible services that redesign methods and curriculum and promote deep learning among students. In addition, the wide use of social networks enables dialogue, communication, participation and establishment of virtual learning groups. Practical implications By means of the suggested framework, it is possible to achieve value co-creation in VALEs. Originality/value The paper presents outcomes of the research that is focused on technical, human and organizational aspects for value co-creation in VALEs that have not been much discussed previously.
Spontaneous Splenic Rupture: A Rare Complication of Acute Pancreatitis in a Patient with Crohn's Disease

Crohn’s disease (CD) is an idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease which can involve any part of the gastrointestinal tract. It frequently involves the ileum, colon and the anorectum. Although rare, acute pancreatitis as a complication of CD involving the duodenum has been described in the literature. We describe a 37-year-old male with CD presenting with acute pancreatitis and spontaneous splenic rupture. The potential mechanisms associated with acute pancreatitis along with spontaneous rupture of the spleen in this patient population and its treatment will be discussed. Common complaints such as upper abdominal pain in a patient with CD should undergo workup to exclude less commonly involved sites such as the pancreas and spleen. Close monitoring in the critical care setting is recommended in carefully selected and hemodynamically stable patients with splenic rupture. Surgical treatment is considered as the standard of care in hemodynamically unstable patients.
Water flow processes in a soil column with a cylindrical macropore: Experiment and hierarchical modeling

Physically based models are increasingly applied to analyze contaminant transport in soil by preferential water flow. Unfortunately, in the past, preferential flow models were rarely evaluated using appropriate experimental data because of the complexity of conceptual models and limitations of measuring techniques. In this study, we designed a novel soil column experiment with advanced measurement techniques that enabled us to discriminate macropore and matrix water flow and quantify interdomain (macropore‐matrix) water transfer. Experiments of drainage and upward and downward infiltration revealed hydraulic nonequilibrium between matrix and macropore domains. Cumulative interdomain water transfer could be estimated using mass balance calculations. In a hierarchical modeling approach, four numerical models of different complexity were compared to the column experiment data. As a reference model, pseudo three‐dimensional axisymmetric Richards' equation (ARE) was used for inverse estimation of domain‐specific hydraulic parameters. The parameters were subsequently used for performance evaluation of an equivalent continuum model with bimodal hydraulic functions (ECM) and two dual‐permeability models with first‐order (DPM1) and second‐order (DPM2) terms for water transfer between macropore and matrix. Overall, DPM2 gave slightly more accurate domain‐specific results of water flow, water contents, and pressure heads than DPM1. Although bulk soil water flow results for the ECM were least accurate, they were considered to be within acceptable range. Compared to the more comprehensive ARE approach, DPMs were found to be almost equally capable of simulating interdomain and intradomain water flow and could be considered more versatile as they allow for a variety of macropore‐matrix geometries.