Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The relationship between asthma control and health-related quality of life in asthma and the role of atopy: a cross-sectional study of Nigerian adult asthmatics

Introduction the relationship between asthma control and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adult asthmatics is fairly established, but the unique contribution of atopy to this relationship has received less attention. The aim of this study was to quantify the contribution of atopy to this relationship. Methods in a cross-sectional study, we assessed HRQoL using mini-Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ). Asthma control, atopy and lung function were assessed using the Asthma Control Test (ACT), skin prick test and spirometry respectively. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the association between of HRQol and asthma control, atopy and other clinical and demographical factors. Results eighty-two adult asthmatics (59 females), with median age of 44 years and median duration of asthma of 15 years were recruited from a tertiary hospital. Fifty-two (63%) were classified as atopic based on sensitization to at least one aeroallergen. The atopic individuals were younger and had better quality of life in activity domain; however, there was no significant difference between the atopic and non-atopic asthmatics in ACT score (19.0 vs 18.0) p=0.91, total AQLQ score (4.9 vs 4.6) p=0.22. The ACT scores correlated positively with total AQLQ scores [rho= 0.53, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.35, 0.67; p< 0.001]. However, atopy contributed significantly to the emotional domain of HRQoL score, p=0.028. Conclusion we concluded that better asthma control is associated with better quality of life and atopy contributed uniquely to emotional domain in health-related quality of life.
Coexistence-Mode CRLH SIW Transmission Line and Its Application for Longitudinal Miniaturized Butler Matrix and Multibeam Array Antenna

The miniaturization design of the beamforming network (BFN) is the key to improving the application value of the multibeam array antenna. The traditional miniaturization method of the BFN mostly solves the miniaturization of the transverse width, while the miniaturization of the longitudinal length is rarely involved. In this article, a coexistence-mode (Co-mode) composite right-/left-handed (CRLH) substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) transmission line technology is proposed, and this technology aims to solve the problem of miniaturization in the longitudinal length of the Butler matrix (BM). Its core is to introduce a longitudinally extended interdigital slot (IDS), force the SIW to incorporate an interdigital capacitor, and realize the phase constants of the TE10 mode and the TE20 mode reverse change. Then, the coupling region length of the couplers based on the Co-mode CRLH SIW transmission line can be reduced, and the longitudinal miniaturized directional coupler and the longitudinal miniaturized cross coupler are obtained. Finally, three types of $4\times 4$ longitudinal miniaturized BMs based on the Co-mode CRLH SIW transmission line are designed, whose longitudinal lengths are reduced by 32%, 22.1%, and 30.7% compared with those of their SIW counterparts. In addition, a miniaturized multibeam array antenna based on the Co-mode CRLH $4\times 4$ H-plane SIW BM is fabricated and measured, which verifies the applicability of Co-mode CRLH SIW transmission line technology.
Trustworthy and Cost-Effective Cell Selection for Sparse Mobile Crowdsensing Systems

Cell selection is a critical issue in sparse mobile crowdsensing (MCS) systems. However, the sensing cost heterogeneity among different cells (subareas) has long been ignored by existing works. Moreover, the data provided by participants are not always trustworthy, and some malicious participants may intend to launch data positioning attacks, which raises a new challenge for cell selection. In this paper, to address these issues, we propose a trustworthy and cost-effective cell selection (TCECS) framework that takes cell heterogeneity and malicious participants into consideration simultaneously. To this end, we first offer to utilize an iterative statistical spatial interpolation technique to identify trustworthy participants with the help of a small portion of dedicated sensors. Furthermore, we employ the regularized mutual coherence (RMC) in compressive sensing (CS) theory to characterize the contribution to inference accuracy of measurements submitted by different trustworthy participants. Finally, the cell selection strategy, which consumes the least sensing cost while satisfying a given sensing quality, is determined via an RMC-constrained optimization problem. Extensive experiments on a real-world taxi GPS dataset demonstrate that the proposed approach can mitigate the adverse effects of malicious participants and outperforms the baselines with less sensing cost for the same required sensing quality.
Identification of Topics from Scientific Papers through Topic Modeling

Topic modeling is a probabilistic model that identifies topics covered in text(s). In this paper, topics were loaded from two implementations of topic modeling, namely, Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). This analysis was performed in a corpus of 1000 academic papers written in English, obtained from PLOS ONE website, in the areas of Biology, Medicine, Physics and Social Sciences. The objective is to verify if the four academic fields were represented in the four topics obtained by topic modeling. The four topics obtained from Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) did not represent the four academic fields.
Edge detection with mixed noise based on maximum a posteriori approach

Edge detection is an important problem in image processing, especially for mixed noise. In this work, we propose a variational edge detection model with mixed noise by using Maximum A-Posteriori (MAP) approach. The novel model is formed with the regularization terms and the data fidelity terms that feature different mixed noise. Furthermore, we adopt the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) to solve the proposed model. Numerical experiments on a variety of gray and color images demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed model.
Gut-Hepatic Relationship: From Disorders of the Gut Microbiota to Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Enterohepatic relationships reflect the integrity of homeostasis regulation in the human body. Anatomical and physiological connection through the portal vein of the intestine and liver ensures the transport of products derived from the intestine directly to the liver and through the liver ensures the connection of bile and the secretion of antibodies into the intestine. However, impairment of intestinal barrier integrity, endotoxemia, increase of lipopolysaccharides in hepatocytes, Kupffer and stellate cells with increasing content of pro-inflammatory cytokines and active oxygen forms creates inflammatory environment with sensitization of liver cells to injury and profibrotic processes. The goals of experimental and clinical research in this course are multifaceted, ranging from regulating human metabolism, immune and inflammatory reactions to preventing carcinogenesis, inhibition of liver cancer progression and improving the efficiency of liver cancer treatment. Here we will discuss epidemiological issues of hepatocellular carcinoma, the role of intestinal microbiota when enterohepatic relationships are impaired, and the intestinal-associated mechanisms of carcinogenesis in this form of liver cancer.
Identification of genomic loci controlling phenologic and morphologic traits in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes using association analysis

Koochakpour, Z. , M. Solouki, B. Fakheri, R. Aghnoum, N. Mahdi Nezhadand M. Jabbari. 2021. Identification of genomic loci controlling phenologic and morphologic traits in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes using association analysis. Iranian Journal of Crop Sciences. 22(4): 291-304. (In Persian). Association mapping is a technique with high resolution for QTL mapping based on linkage disequilibrium and has shown more promising for describing genetically complex traits. In addition, it is a powerful tool for describing complex agronomic traits and identifying alleles that can contribute to enhance the desired traits. In this study, whole genome association mapping was used in a set of 148 spring barley cultivars. Phenotypic evaluation was conducted at Zahak Agricultural Research Station, Iran, using alpha-lattice design with two replications, for two croppinhg cycle (2014-2015 and 2015-2016). Traits such as days to anthesis, days to physiological maturity, grain filling period, flag leaf length, flag leaf width, grain number per main spike, thousand grain weight and grain yield were measured. Association analysis between the markers and phenotypic traits was performed with a mixed linear model (MLM with K+Q). In total 28 QTLs were identified which were related to the measured traits. A stable QTL was detected on chromosome 5H (74.76 cM) for days to anthesis. Three QTLs were detected on chromosomes 4H (125.08 cM and 120.64 cM) and 5H (74.76 cM) for grain filling period. One QTL on chromosome 2H (10.87 cM) was associated with days to anthesis, grain filling period and 1000 grain weight. One QTL on chromosome 4H (125.08 cM) was also associated with days to anthesis, grain filling period as well as flag leaf length and 1000 grain weight. Common genetic locations for these traits could be due to pleiotropic effects or genetic linkage.
Mixture Toxicity of Herbicides and Heavy Metal Compounds to Photobacteria (Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.—Q67)

Mixture toxicity of five kinds of herbicides with the different structural features and four heavy metal compounds was examined. The inhibiting toxicity of dicamba, asulam, simetryn, bromacil, velpar, CdCl2·2.5H2O, Ni(NO3)2·6H2O, CoSO4·7H2O and ZnSO4·7H2O on the luminescence of a freshwater photobacteria, Vibrio qinghaiensis sp. —Q67 was determined using the microplate toxicity analysis (MTA), respectively. Using the nonlinear least squares (NLS), the dose-response curve (DRC) models between the observed inhibition toxicity and the dose (concentration) of nine toxicants under study were developed. It was shown that the dose-response relationships of 5 herbicides and 4 heavy metal compounds were effectively described by the Weibull function. To systemically examine the mixtures with the diverse concentration compositions of nine toxicants, three equivalent-effect concentration ratio (EECR) and ten uniform design concentration ratio (UDCR) mixtures were designed. Using the same MTA as above, the toxicities of all EECR and UDCR mixtures were determined. The total-dose response curves of the mixtures were fitted using the NLS. The toxic interactions in the mixtures were examined and evaluated using the dose addition (DA) and independent action (IA) principles. The results showed that the mixture toxicities of five herbicides and four heavy metals could be predicted and evaluated by the DA model.
Analysis of Influence of Atmosphere Attenuation on Infrared Guidance System

In an infrared guidance system,the atmosphere attenuation has an significant influence on infrared detection.To further understand this influence,the atmosphere attenuation function of each component in atmosphere is analyzed and discussed completely in theory. H_2O,CO_2 and aerosol are the main components which can result in attenuation.These components are also the changeful components in atmosphere.Meanwhile,their distribution rules are analyzed.
Performance Analysis of Envelope Modelling Applied to Resonant Converters

Resonant converters are often studied using their envelope models (EMs), i.e., the transfer functions (TFs) that relate the envelope of the output quantities to those of the input ones. TFs can accurately represent only the input-output relations of linear systems and hence any method used to develop the EM cannot be accurate if the resonant converters process the envelopes in a nonlinear way. This article works out a general criterion that recognizes whether the envelope processing is linear or not, the type of the eventual non-linearity and its amount. The criterion is expressed in terms of conditions that have to be fulfilled by the input-output Bode diagram of the converter. These conditions are of general validity and do not depend on the converter topology; their applicability is not limited to resonant converters, but it can be extended to any system. The conditions have been derived by reviewing the procedure that leads to the modulated variables Laplace transform method for the development of the EMs. The theoretical results are verified at first by simulations and then by experimental tests carried out on two different resonant topologies of a prototypal converter that works as wireless battery charger.
A DUAL-BAND, MINIATURIZED, AMC-BASED WEARABLE ANTENNA FOR HEALTH MONITORING APPLICATIONS

A dual-band wearable antenna operating at 2.45 GHz and 5.80 GHz with compact Artificial Magnetic Conductor (AMC) plane is proposed in this paper. The design is based on a U-shaped printed monopole antenna operating in the Industrial, Science, Medical (ISM) bands, and it is integrated with a square looped AMC plane which can reduce the overall size of the antenna system and realize miniaturization. The U-shaped monopole antenna is miniaturized by folding its arms, and its resonant frequency can be tuned easily by adjusting the length of two branches. The AMC unit, which is composed of concentric square double rings, realizes dual-band resonance. Meanwhile, a crossed patch is loaded into the inner ring to increase the electromagnetic coupling and reduce the resonance frequency of the two rings, thus miniaturizing the AMC unit. Therefore, the total size of the AMC plane which contains 3 × 3 elements is only 59.1mm × 59.1 mm. Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) is examined by loading a three-layer human body tissue under the AMC antenna, and the simulation results show that SAR value is only 0.018 W/kg, which is far below the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE) standard. Finally, a prototype of the proposed antenna was fabricated and tested, and the experimental results agree well with the simulation responses.
Synchronized Detection of Evoked Potentials to Drive a High Information Transfer Rate Hybrid Brain-Computer Interface Application

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) recently have been focusing on combining various BCI modalities to form different combinations of hybrid BCIs. These paradigms are designed to elicit more than one brain potential in the form of BCI features. This research is being carried out with the objective of increasing classification accuracy and information transfer rate (ITR) based on measurement of brain potentials. This study proposed a novel hybrid BCI elicitation and measurement technique combining steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) and P300 potentials to increase the ITR. The hybrid BCI also increased the number of target options compared to SSVEP paradigm for a set number of presumed frequencies of flickering. One of the hybrid BCIs used distinct colours along with distinct flickering frequencies for targets, with an aim to increase the accuracy of classification and reduction of system uncertainty parameter known as false activation rate (FAR). The results of a study in 10 volunteers established that the novel SSVEP-P300 hybrid BCI with distinct colours for target frequencies had average parameters as follows: classification accuracy of 90.76%, ITR of 81.10 bits / min and FAR of 2.99%. A comparative study of the two novel paradigms with SSVEP and P300 paradigms in the same environment was conducted. The results of the comparative study concluded that the hybrid BCI with distinct colours for various target frequencies yielded the best results and hence can be considered as a viable paradigm option for the development of an assistive device.
Dynamic Virtual Impedance-Based Second-Order Ripple Regulation in DC Microgrids

The ac loads cause the dc-bus voltage and the source current to oscillate at twice the ac supply frequency ( $f_{\mathrm{ ac}}$ ). These oscillations have detrimental effects on sources and converter components. A distributed control strategy is proposed to regulate the current ripples propagating to the sources, in a dc microgrid feeding both the ac and dc loads. The proposed control methodology regulates the output impedance of the source interfacing dc–dc converter dynamically at $2f_{\mathrm{ ac}}$ . The impedance is increased virtually in series with the inductor of the dc–dc converter by a dedicated controller, which regulates the ripple magnitude according to the harmonic reference. Using this, the second-order ripple currents can be mitigated or propagated to the nodes having some ripple absorbing circuits or filters. This improves energy density in ripple filters installed at a node and optimal usage of the dc-link capacitor at node terminals is achieved. The proposed second-order ripple current (SRC) regulation is analyzed in the presence of component variations and communication delay between the nodes. A low-bandwidth communication is incorporated so as to facilitate the per-unit current exchange between the nodes for the proportional dc load sharing. The proposed concept is verified through simulation and experimentation.
An Economic, Environmental and Safety Analysis of Using Hydrogen Enriched Natural Gas (HENG) in Industrial Facilities

The enrichment of natural gas with hydrogen has been identified as a promising pathway for power-to-gas technology with the potential to reduce emissions while achieving feasible return on investment. The evolving regulatory market in the province of Ontario motivates the analysis of business cases for hydrogen on the industrial microgrid scale. This paper aims to investigate the financial and environmental returns associated with producing and storing electrolytic hydrogen for injection into the natural gas feed of a manufacturer’s combined heat and power plants (CHPs). A mathematical methodology was developed for investigating the optimal operation of the integrated system (power-to-gas along with the current system) by considering hydrogen-enriched natural gas. The result of this simulation is an operation plan that delivers optimal economics and an estimate of greenhouse gas emissions. The simulation was implemented across an entire year for each combination of generation price limit and storage coefficient. Because the provincial grid imposes a lesser carbon footprint than that of a pure natural gas turbine, any offset of natural gas by hydrogen reduces the carbon intensity of the system. From an environmental perspective, the amount of carbon abated by the model fell within a range of 3000 ton CO2/year. From a policy perspective, this suggests that a minimum feasible carbon price of $60/ton CO2e must be set by applicable regulatory bodies. Lastly, a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis was performed for the proposed system to validate the safety of the design.
Reactivity at the Lithium–Metal Anode Surface of Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Due to their high energy density and reduced cost, lithium–sulfur batteries are promising alternatives for applications such as electrical vehicles. However, a number of technical challenges need to be overcome in order to make them feasible for commercial uses. These challenges arise from the battery highly interconnected chemistry, which besides the electrochemical reactions includes side reactions at both electrodes and migration of soluble polysulfide (PS) species produced at the cathode to the anode side. The presence of such PS species alters the already complex reactivity of the Li anode. In this work, interfacial reactions occurring at the surface of Li metal anodes due to electrochemical instability of the electrolyte components and PS species are investigated with density functional theory and ab initio molecular dynamics methods. It is found that the bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide lithium salt reacts very fast when in contact with the Li surface, and anion decomposition precedes salt dissocia.
Discovery of New Delhi Metallo-β-Lactamase-1(NDM-1) Inhibitors From Natural Compounds: In Silico-Based Methods

New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase variants and different types of metallo-β-lactamases have attracted enormous consideration for hydrolyzing almost all β-lactam antibiotics, which leads to multi drug resistance bacteria. Metallo-β-lactamases genes have disseminated in hospitals and all parts of the world and became a public health concern. There is no inhibitor for new Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 and other metallo-β-lactamases classes, so metallo-β-lactamases inhibitor drugs became an urgent need. In this study, multi-steps virtual screening was done over the NPASS database with 35032 natural compounds. At first Captopril was extracted from 4EXS PDB code and use as a template for the first structural screening and 500 compounds obtained as hit compounds by molecular docking. Then the best ligand, i.e. NPC120633 was used as templet and 800 similar compounds were obtained. As a final point, ten compounds i.e. NPC171932, NPC100251, NPC18185, NPC98583, NPC112380, NPC471403, NPC471404, NPC472454, NPC473010 and NPC300657 had proper docking scores, and a 50 ns molecular dynamics simulation was performed for calculation binding free energy of each compound with new Delhi metallo-β-lactamase. 3D conformational alignment and protein sequence alignment of all new Delhi metallo-β-lactamase variants and all types of metallo-β-lactamases were done. Then the conserved and crucial residues in the catalytic activity of metallo-β-lactamases were detected. These residues had similar 3D coordinates in the 3D conformational alignment. So it is possible that all types of metallo-β-lactamases can inhibit by these ten compounds. Therefore, these compounds were proper to mostly inhibit all new Delhi metallo-β-lactamase and metallo-β-lactamases in experimental studies.
Deep Ultraviolet-Assisted Photo-Electro-Chemical Wet Etching of N-Type GaN

In this research, room-temperature photo-electro-chemical etching (PEC) of n-type GaN films by using potassium hydroxide (KOH), pH=12.60-12.90, and phosphorus acid (H3PO4), pH=1.09-1.39, in a stirred solution under deuterium-lamp illumination was achieved. The process provides anisotropic etching profiles and high etching rates of more than 240 nm/min at moderate light intensities of ~17.3 mW/cm^2 with 237 nm in an H3PO4 (pH=1.09) solution. The etching rate and photocurrents are characterized at various concentrations of stirred solutions.
The Impact of Minimum Wage Policy on Employment in Myanmar

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the minimum wage policy and the employment labor force in Myanmar by exploring firms’ actions such as installing supplementary machines to substitute for labor resources and by addressing gender issues in employment. Research design, data, and methodology: This paper applies a fixed-effect estimation method by using the World Bank’s enterprise panel data set surveyed in Myanmar. Results: Findings suggest that the minimum wage reduces both full-time and part-time employment, while the first minimum wage policy increases overall female employment. The adverse impacts are more pronounced for female employees of Joint Venture enterprises and enterprises located in the less-populated regions. Investment in capital such as equipment and machinery increase to substitute for labor after the minimum wage policy implementation; as a result, full-time employment slightly decreases. Conclusions: Appropriate measures concerning the minimum wage policy must be prepared by the government and institutions related to the labor union to serve the well-being of employees. Government of Myanmar should fix the minimum wage in a reasonable period based on the fiscal year for both employers and employees to prevent possible issues and losses resulting from the minimum wage being set.