Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perspectives of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease research: a personal point of view

Rational government of patient fluxes from primary care to hepatology clinic is a priority of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) research. Estimating pre-test probability of disease, risk of fibrosis progression, and exclusion of competing causes of liver disease must be addressed. Here we propose a novel taxonomic classification of NAFLD based on hepatic, pathogenic and systemic features of disease in the individual patient. The variable course of disease in any given patient remains a clinical enigma. Therefore, future studies will have to better characterize the role of genetic polymorphisms, family and personal history, diet, alcohol, physical activity and drugs as modifiers of the course of disease and clues to the early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. A better understanding of these, together with a taxonomic diagnosis, may prompt a more accurate personalization of care. For example, understanding the putative role of psycho-depression in NAFLD promises to revolutionize disease management in a proportion of cases. Similarly, sex differences in outcome and response to treatment are insufficiently characterized. More studies are awaited regarding those forms of NAFLD which occur secondary to endocrine derangements. The intersections between NAFLD and the lung must better be defined. These include the bi-directional associations of NAFLD and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and sleep apnoea syndrome, as well as the totally unexplored chapter of NAFLD and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Finally, the therapeutic roles of intermittent fasting and anticoagulation must be assessed. In conclusion, over the last 20 years, NAFLD has taught us a lot regarding the pathogenic importance of insulin resistance, the limitations of correcting this in the treatment of NAFLD, the root causes of diabetes and the metabolic syndrome, sex differences in disease and the role of nuclear receptors. However, the overwhelming COVID-19 pandemic is now expected to reset the priorities of public health.
Efficacy of aqueous extracts of Genipa americana L. (Rubiaceae) in inhibiting larval development and eclosion of gastrointestinal nematodes of sheep

The anthelminthic efficacy in vitro of the aqueous extract of Genipa americana L. leaves was evaluated at final concentrations of 20, 30, 50, 75 and 100 mg (dry matter)/mL through egg hatching inhibition (EHI) tests and quantitative cultures. The observed lethal concentration LC90 values for hatching and L3 development inhibition were 79.8 and 28.7 mg/mL, respectively. The extract was more effective in larval development inhibition (LDI) than in hatching inhibition. Phytochemical analysis revealed tannins and flavonoids in the extract. The utilisation of G. americana as an anthelminthic may represent a viable alternative to synthetic products, although further studies are needed to verify its in vivo efficacy and to assess its toxicity in sheep.
Post‐stack impedance blocky inversion based on analytic solution of viscous acoustic wave equation

The conventional impedance inversion method ignores the attenuation effect, transmission loss and inter‐layer multiple waves; the smooth‐like regularization approach makes the corresponding impedance solution excessively smooth. Both fundamentally limit the resolution of impedance result and lead to the inadequate ability of boundary characterization. Therefore, a post‐stack impedance blocky inversion method based on the analytic solution of viscous acoustic equation is proposed. Based on the derived recursive formula of reflections, the 1D viscous acoustic wave equation is solved analytically to obtain zero‐offset full‐wave field response. Applying chain rule, the analytical expression of the Fréchet derivative is derived for gradient‐descent non‐linear inversion. Combined with smooth constraints, the blocky constraints can be introduced into the Bayesian inference framework to obtain stable and well‐defined inversion results. According to the above theory, we firstly use model data to analyse the influence of incompleteness of forward method on seismic response, and further verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. Then the Q‐value sensitivity analysis of seismic trace is carried out to reduce the difficulty of Q‐value estimation. Finally, the real data from Lower Congo Basin in West Africa indicate that the proposed approach provide the high‐resolution and well‐defined impedance result. As a supplement and development of linear impedance inversion method, the non‐linear viscous inversion could recover more realistic and reliable impedance profiles.
Entomopathogenic fungi stimulate transgenerational wing induction in pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

1. Aphid natural enemies include not only predators and parasitoids but also pathogens, of which fungi are the most studied for biological control. While wing formation in aphids is induced by abiotic conditions, it is also affected by biotic interactions with their arthropod natural enemies. Wing induction via interactions with arthropod natural enemies is mediated by the increase in their physical contact when alarmed (pseudo‐crowding). Pathogenic fungi do not trigger this alarm behaviour in aphids and, therefore, no pseudo‐crowding occurs.
Physiological evidence for a high-affinity cadmium transporter highly expressed in a Thlaspi caerulescens ecotype.

• Uptake kinetics and translocation characteristics of cadmium and zinc are presented for two contrasting ecotypes of the Cd/Zn hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens, Ganges (southern France) and Prayon (Belgium). • Experiments using radioactive isotopes were designed to investigate the physiology of Cd and Zn uptake, and a pressure-chamber system was employed to collect xylem sap. • In contrast to similar Zn uptake and translocation, measurements of concentration-dependent influx of Cd revealed marked differences between ecotypes. Ganges alone showed a clear saturable component in the low Cd concentration range; maximum influx Vmax for Cd was fivefold higher in Ganges; and there was a fivefold difference in the Cd concentration in xylem sap. Addition of Zn to the uptake solution at equimolar concentration to Cd did not decrease Cd uptake by Ganges, but caused a 35% decrease in Prayon. • There is strong physiological evidence for a high-affinity, highly expressed Cd transporter in the root cell plasma membranes of the Ganges ecotype of T. caerulescens. This raises evolutionary questions about specific transporters for non-essential metals. The results also show the considerable scope for selecting hyperaccumulator ecotypes to achieve higher phytoextraction efficiencies.
Bioactive Glasses and Glass/Polymer Composites for Neuroregeneration: Should We Be Hopeful?

Bioactive glasses (BGs) have been identified as highly versatile materials in tissue engineering applications; apart from being used for bone repair for many years, they have recently shown promise for the regeneration of peripheral nerves as well. They can be formulated in different shapes and forms (micro-/nanoparticles, micro-/nanofibers, and tubes), thus potentially meeting the diverse requirements for neuroregeneration. Mechanical and biological improvements in three-dimensional (3D) polymeric scaffolds could be easily provided by adding BGs to their composition. Various types of silicate, borate, and phosphate BGs have been examined for use in neuroregeneration. In general, BGs show good compatibility with the nervous system compartments both in vitro and in vivo. Functionalization and surface modification plus doping with therapeutic ions make BGs even more effective in peripheral nerve regeneration. Moreover, the combination of BGs with conductive polymers is suggested to improve neural cell functions at injured sites. Taking advantage of BGs combined with novel technologies in tissue engineering, like 3D printing, can open new horizons in reconstructive approaches for the nervous system. Although there are great potential opportunities in BG-based therapies for peripheral nerve regeneration, more research should still be performed to carefully assess the pros and cons of BGs in neuroregeneration strategies.
Active Stereo 3-D Surface Reconstruction Using Multistep Matching

Precise 3-D surface reconstruction plays an important role in automated manipulation, industrial inspection, robotics, and so on. In this article, we present a novel 3-D surface reconstruction framework for stereo vision systems assisted with structured light projection. In the framework, a multistep matching scheme is proposed to establish a reliable correspondence between image pairs with high computation efficiency and accuracy. The successive matching steps can find the most precise correspondence through a step-by-step filtering procedure. To further enhance the precision, a correspondence refinement algorithm is presented. Phase maps with different frequencies are utilized as the code words for the multistep matching due to their high encoding accuracy and robustness to noise. This method does not require phase unwrapping or projector calibration, which improves the reconstruction precision and simplifies the operation. Selection strategies for the number of matching steps, the pattern frequencies, and the matching threshold are proposed. Furthermore, various 3-D reconstruction experiments are conducted using the proposed framework. Comparative experiments verify the advantages of the proposed framework compared with existing 3-D reconstruction methods regarding the accuracy and precision. The adaptability to scenarios with different motion speeds is demonstrated. Robustness and limitations of the framework are also revealed by conducting experiments in challenging scenarios. Note to Practitioners—This article is motivated by the precise 3-D surface reconstruction problem in automated robotic systems. In different scenarios, such as the reconstruction of the static objects or moving objects, the errors induced by sensor noise and motion should be taken into consideration. To enhance the measurement precision under these occasions, selection of pattern number and fringe frequencies has been a problem. To overcome these problems, this article proposes a novel framework for active stereo 3-D surface reconstruction. The framework utilizes multifrequency phase-shifting fringes to encode the reconstructed target. Then, a multistep matching method filters the candidates step by step to obtain the most precise corresponding pixel and avoid noise error accumulation. A refinement method is introduced to further improve the precision. Selection strategies of the number of matching steps, the fringe frequencies, and matching thresholds enable the 3-D reconstruction framework to be utilized on different occasions. In applications, limitations of the proposed method should be noted.
Preliminary Evaluation of Active Tremor Cancellation Spoon for Patients with Hand Tremor

Hand-arm tremor is common in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients and essential tremor (ET) and can result in difficulty of carrying out daily tasks such as eating and writing. One of the approaches to overcome this is the application active tremor cancellation (ATC) to attenuate the vibration due to the hand tremor on the device hold by the hand. There are several ATC spoons in the market which are meant to help the patient to eat however third-party evaluation of the effectiveness of this technology could not be found in the literature. This study evaluates Liftware, a spoon with ATC by measuring the acceleration performance of the spoon over the frequency range of 1-12 Hz which adequately covers both the PD and ET. In the first part of the study, the device was evaluated on the isolation index throughout the tested range of frequency along the vertical or gravitational, and the horizontal directions, the direction perpendicular to both gravitational and the longitudinal axis. Subsequently, the device was evaluated for the limit at which the food it contains start to spill. Solid food, typically boiled peas and liquid, namely curry was the food tested with the spoon. Ten measurements were carried out for each type of food and the average limits prior to spillage was presented. The results show that the isolation indices in vertical and horizontal directions range from 0.06 to 0.63 and 0.06 to 0.62 respectively at frequency range of 3-12Hz. The limits of the spoon in supporting the boiled peas and curry are 1.4g and 0.9g respectively. However, the preliminary study provides part of the knowledge useful for the potential users and researchers. Further study to subject the device under different conditions, especially in clinical settings is required.
${\mathcal F}$-Passive Systems and Control Application

A class of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathcal F}$</tex-math></inline-formula>-passive descriptor systems is introduced, where <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathcal F}$</tex-math></inline-formula> is also a descriptor system. Time-domain and frequency-domain characterizations are presented, as well as properties of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathcal F}$</tex-math></inline-formula>-passive systems. The first property is their cascade decomposition, and the second concerns their zeros. For a given system <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathcal H}$</tex-math></inline-formula>, an linear matrix inequality based algorithm for obtaining a system <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathcal F}$</tex-math></inline-formula> such that system <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathcal H}$</tex-math></inline-formula> is <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathcal F}$</tex-math></inline-formula>-passive is presented. Connections between <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathcal F}$</tex-math></inline-formula>-passive and passive systems are given. A state-feedback transformation of an <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathcal F}$</tex-math></inline-formula>-passive descriptor system to an <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathcal F}$</tex-math></inline-formula>-passive state-space system is presented. It is shown that <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mathcal F}$</tex-math></inline-formula>-passive systems can be successively applied to global asymptotic stabilization of a quite general class of nonlinear systems and illustrative examples are given.
Optimization of MEMS Actuator Driven by Shape Memory Alloy Thin Film Phase Change

At the microscale, shape memory alloy (SMA) microelectromechanical system (MEMS) bimorph actuators offer great potential based on their inherently high work density. An optimization problem relating to the deflection and curvature based on shape memory MEMS bimorph was identified, formulated, and solved. Thicknesses of the SU-8 photoresist and nickel-titanium alloy (NiTi) was identified that yielded maximum deflections and curvature radius based on a relationship among individual layer thicknesses, elastic modulus, and cantilever length. This model should serve as a guideline for optimal NiTi and SU-8 thicknesses to drive large deflections and curvature radius that are most suitable for microrobotic actuation, micromirrors, micropumps, and microgrippers. This model would also be extensible to other phase-change-driven actuators where nonlinear and significant residual stress changes are used to drive actuation.
Effect of processing on the soluble sugars of brassica seeds

The effect was studied of solvent extraction with absolute or 95% methanol with or without 10% ammonia and hexane, of low-molecular weight carbohydrates from rapeseed, canola and mustard seed. Rape-seed of Midas and Hu You 9 (Chinese) varieties, cariola (low glucosinolate, low erucic acid rapeseed) of Triton cultivar and Domo mustard seed were studied. Soluble sugar of hexane-extracted meals was 6.17 to 7.56%. Sucrose and stachyose were major sugars, and raffinose was in smaller amounts. Extraction of rapeseed and mustard seed with ammonia (10% w/w) with absolute or 95% (v/v) methanol reduced soluble sugars by up to 82%; sucrose and raffinose were extracted more efficiently than stachyose. The total soluble flatulence-causing sugars was lowered by up to 69%.
Calibrating PhenoCam Data with Phenological Observations of a Black Spruce Stand

Abstract Bud and leaf development are important phenological events and help in defining the growing period of trees. Canopy greenness derived from PhenoCam has been used to investigate leaf phenology. Questions remain on how much the continuous records of canopy greenness represent bud developmental phases, and how growing period boundaries are related to canopy greenness and bud phenology. In this study, we compared bud phenology of black spruce [Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P] during 2015, 2017 and 2018 with the canopy greenness, represented by Green Chromatic Coordinate (GCC), derived from PhenoCam images of a boreal stand in Quebec, Canada. Logit models were applied to estimate the probability of observing sequential phenological phases of bud burst and bud set along with GCC. GCC showed a bell-shaped pattern, with a slow increase in spring, a peak in summer and a gradual decrease in autumn. The start and end of budburst, and bud set, occurred when GCC reached 72% and 92% (spring), and 94% (autumn) of its maximum amplitude, respectively. These GCC values are reliable thresholds indicating the growing period boundaries. Our study builds a bridge between phenological observations and automatic near-surface remote sensing, providing a statistically sound protocol for calibrating PhenoCam with field observations.
Cell wall architecture of Physcomitrella patens is revealed by atomic force microscopy

The moss Physcomitrella patens (Hedw.) Bruch & Schimp. in B.S.G. serves as a nonvascular plant model system suitable for studying many plant developmental phenomena. The tip-growing filamentous protonemal stage of its life cycle exhibits polarized growth and various tropic responses. Conventional staining and light microscopy (LM) were used to provide the first direct evidence that protonemal cells of P. patens lack a cuticle. Atomic force microscopy (ATM) images reveal detailed surface structures identified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The cell wall ultrastructure is characterized by rounded protrusions that are uniformly distributed along each caulonemal filament, and longer fibrillar structures, which are disorganized at the apex, but become oriented in longitudinal arrays parallel to the growth axis in more proximal regions of caulonemal apical cells. The subapical cells are characterized by a polylamellated texture. There was no difference in gross surface ultrastructure between light-grown.
Degradation under dynamic operating conditions: Modeling, competing processes and applications

Abstract This paper investigates degradation modeling under dynamic conditions and its applications. Both univariate and multiple competing degradation processes are considered with individual degradation paths being described by Wiener processes. Parametric and non-parametric approaches are used to capture the effect of environmental conditions on process parameters. For competing degradation processes, we obtain the probability that a particular process reaches a pre-defined threshold, before other processes, over future time intervals. In particular, we consider the potential statistical dependence among the latent remaining lifetimes of multiple degradation processes due to unobserved future environmental factors. Two case studies, aircraft piston pump wear and US highway performance deterioration, are presented. Comprehensive comparison studies are also performed to generate some critical insights on the proposed approach. Data have been made available on GitHub.
In vitro antifungal activity of neem products against Phytophthora infestans

Four neem (Azadirchta indica A. Juss) products namely crude neem seed oil, nimbokil, crude neem seed oil terpenoid extract and neem leaf decoction were tested for their in vitro activity against mycelial growth, sporangial germination and sporangial production of Phytophthora infestans. All the products were found highly effective against the different life stages of the fungus. The compounds were evaluated both with and without being heat sterilized along the medium. The heat sterilized compounds were comparatively less effective as compared to the ones which were used without heat sterilization. The results show that neem products have potential for the management of potato late blight disease.
Cavity selection for roosting, and roosting ecology of forest‐dwelling Australian Owlet‐nightjars (Aegotheles cristatus)

We compared a variety of attributes of tree cavities used for roosting by radio-tagged Australian Owlet-nightjars Aegotheles cristatus with randomly chosen prospective cavities to test which features are important for the species. Owlet-nightjars preferentially roosted in tree cavities closer to the ground, in trees with a significantly greater number of cavities and significantly closer to another tree with a cavity than expected by chance. There was also a significant interaction between cavity height and number of cavities in the tree. Tree size, decay stage and tree species were not statistically important cues used for making site choices. The requirements for Owlet-nightjars differ from those of most other Australian birds that use tree holes and also from most insectivorous bats. Telemetry data indicate that Owlet-nightjars move ∼ 300 m between roost sites every 9 days on average. Individual birds used 2-6 different cavities during the 1-4-month period over which they were followed. The reasons for the relatively low levels of site fidelity are unknown.
Acetol monooxygenase from Mycobacterium Py1 cleaves acetol into acetate and formaldehyde

A novel acetol monooxygenase has been detected in Mycobacterium Py1. Extracts of 1,2-propanediol-grown cells oxidized acetol in an oxygen-and NADPH-consuming reaction. The initial oxidation product is probably hydroxymethyleneacetate, which spontaneously rearranges to acetate and formaldehyde. Acetol oxidation was inhibited by carbon monoxide, but not by 10 mM cyanide, indicating that a cytochrome P-450 type oxygenase might be involved. The enzyme activity was only detected in 1,2-propanediol- or acetol-grown cells, suggesting that this acetol monooxygenase plays a role in the metabolism of 1,2-propanediol by Mycobacterium Py1.
Density-Dependent Rates of Population Growth: Estimation in Laboratory Populations

The fecundity of Drosophila in the laboratory depends on the level of crowding during the larval stage. In addition, the function describing the number of adults produced by an initial number of eggs is not one-to-one. Consequently, the population dynamics determined from adult-to-adult transitions are likely to be biased (Prout and McChesney 1985). This result has called into question the general conclusion that laboratory populations of Drosophila have asymptotically stable population dynamics, since these observations were based on adult-to-adult transitions. Prout and McChesney's own data seem to indicate that eigenvalues less than -1 may occur in laboratory populations of Drosophila. A reexamination of their data actually supports the notion that laboratory populations of Drosophila have stable dynamics. However, a thorough resolution of this question will require a determination of the population dynamics by observing changes in the number of eggs. For populations of Drosophila kept in the serial-transfer system, it is shown that the two currently practiced methods for determining population stability are not equivalent. Since the method employing the mth-order difference equation (Mueller and Ayala 1981a) takes into account the complicated features of the serial-transfer system, it should be the preferred method.