Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Important Role of Sex-Related Sox Family Genes in the Sex Reversal of the Chinese Soft-Shelled Turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis)

Simple Summary Pelodiscus sinensis is an important aquatic economic species in China with sexual dimorphism. All-male breeding is becoming a research hotspot. Here, comparative transcriptome analyses of female, male, and pseudo-female gonads were performed. We found that the differences between males and pseudo-females were mainly related to steroid hormone synthesis at the transcriptome level. When it comes to the sox family genes, sox3 may have a role in the process of sex reversal from male to pseudo-female, when sox8 and sox9 were inhibited by exogenous estrogen. Abstract The Chinese soft-shelled turtle Pelodiscus sinensis shows obvious sexual dimorphism. The economic and nutrition value of male individuals are significantly higher than those of female individuals. Pseudo-females which are base to all-male breeding have been obtained by estrogen induction, while the gene function and molecular mechanism of sex reversal remain unclear in P. sinensis. Here, comparative transcriptome analyses of female, male, and pseudo-female gonads were performed, and 14,430 genes differentially expressed were identified in the pairwise comparison of three groups. GO and KEGG analyses were performed on the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which mainly concentrated on steroid hormone synthesis. Furthermore, the results of gonadal transcriptome analysis revealed that 10 sex-related sox genes were differentially expressed in males vs. female, male vs. pseudo-female, and female vs. pseudo-female. Through the differential expression analysis of these 10 sox genes in mature gonads, six sox genes related to sex reversal were further screened. The molecular mechanism of the six sox genes in the embryo were analyzed during sex reversal after E2 treatment. In mature gonads, some sox family genes, such as sox9 sox12, and sox30 were highly expressed in the testis, while sox1, sox3, sox6, sox11, and sox17 were lowly expressed. In the male embryos, exogenous estrogen can activate the expression of sox3 and inhibit the expression of sox8, sox9, and sox11. In summary, sox3 may have a role in the process of sex reversal from male to pseudo-female, when sox8 and sox9 are inhibited. Sox family genes affect both female and male pathways in the process of sex reversal, which provides a new insight for the all-male breeding of the Chinese soft-shelled turtle.
Attitude Of Technology And Their Impact On Interest Of Internet Banking

This study aims to determine the effect of perceived benefits, ease of use and trust in the attitude of using technology and its impact on the intention to use Internet Banking (Empirical Study: Customers of PT. Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk, Gianyar Branch). PT. Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk as one of the largest banks with branches in every city and units in almost every sub-district level, has become one of the banks used as customers to make savings and loans and other transactions. The data used are primary data. D ata primary obtained from questionnaires distributed to the Customer PT. Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk Gianyar Branch. The data analysis technique used is regression analysis multiple linear . The results showed that perceived usefulness, ease of use and trust had an effect on attitudes towards technology use. Furthermore, the attitude of using technology affects the interest in repeated use of internet banking.
Digital Divide, Socio-Economic Outcomes and Subjective Well-Being in Higher Education Institutions of Pakistan

This research examines the relationship between internet usage, socio-economic outcomes, and subjective well-being. Social outcomes are measured in the form of formal and informal networks and economic outcomes are measured through education, employment, and financial status. Subjective well-being is defined as assessment of one’s own life satisfaction. The cross-sectional study is conducted through a survey. The data was collected through a self-designed questionnaire from 500 university graduates in different region of Pakistan. The Cox regression is used to investigate the relationship among the variables. In Cox regression the gender, education, major, subjective wellbeing (SWB), positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA) are significantly affecting the duration of internet usage. Internet usage increases with age, likewise internet usage is found more in women and married individuals than men and unmarried individuals. Economic outcomes are less for internet users than the non-users similarly social outcomes are lower for users than the nonusers. Similarly, internet usage is found to decrease with increase in the level of education. This shows how online activities affect the economic and social activities of the individuals and in turn affect their subjective well-being.
Measuring creativity: role of service quality management, knowledge sharing and social interaction

In contrast to the enormous literature on the relationships between creativity and personal values, relatively few studies have addressed the question of the creativity–service quality link. The purpose of this study is to examine the antecedent factors of the motivation and cooperation climate of service quality and to consider the consequences of service quality on banking service employees’ creativity. Data were collected from 502 bank employees in China. The results of structural equation modelling (SEM) found multiple mediation roles in a cooperative climate and service quality management that characterise the relationship between employees’ motivation and creativity. In addition, the moderate roles of social interaction and knowledge sharing are also discovered. Several alternative models of the first and second factors of motivation and service quality management were examined to determine the robustness of the original proposed models.
Effects of chronic folate deficiency and sex differences on depression-like behavior in mice

Although previous studies have reported that serum folate levels are negatively associated with depression in women but not men, it remains unclear whether folate deficiency can directly lead to depression and whether sex difference serves a role in this condition, since the potential mechanism remains elusive. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate whether folate deficiency results in differences in parameters associated with depression between males and females. CD-1 mice received either a standard control diet or a folate-deficient diet from 10 to 38 weeks of age, following which behavioral assays, such as an open field test, sucrose preference test and forced swim test were performed throughout week 38. Serum and cerebral cortex samples were subsequently collected for assessment. Serum folate, homocysteine, estradiol (E2) and testosterone levels were measured using chemiluminescence, enzymatic cycling assay and electrochemiluminescence immunoassays. The cerebral cortex was used for western blot analysis, to detect the expression levels of estrogen receptor β (ERβ), PI3K/AKT pathway and caspase-3. The results revealed that compared with those in female mice that received standard control diet, female mice that received folate-deficient diet exhibited lower E2 concentrations, lower sucrose preferences (as determined through the sucrose preference test), longer durations of immobility (as determined in the forced swim test) and less time spent in the central areas of the open field test. Western blotting demonstrated that the expression levels of ERβ and the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and AKT were decreased, whilst the expression levels of cleaved caspase-3 were increased, in the cerebral cortex of female mice that received folate-deficient diet. However, no differences in E2 concentration, behavioral assay parameters or protein levels of ERβ, phosphorylated (p-)PI3K, p-AKT and cleaved caspase-3 could be observed in male mice regardless of whether they received standard control or folate-deficient diets. Collectively, these results revealed that folate deficiency only led to depression-like behavior in female mice. This may be associated with reduced E2 levels, which may inhibit the PI3K/AKT pathway and upregulate the expression of cleaved caspase-3 to promote neuronal apoptosis.
Simulation of Solid Meal Digestion in a Soft Gastric Robot using SOFA

The gastric simulator SoGut is a soft robotic stomach to imitate the gastric motility in the human stomach. The simulator contains seven ring-shaped chambers along the J-shape stomach to perform contractions by applying pneumatic actuation. Experiments conducted previously for gastric emptying focused on liquid meals instead of solid meals, which have higher stiffness and require higher break-down forces. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of a simulation model of SoGut when it grinds solid food contents that are beads (diameter 1.27 cm) containing agar gel and water at various mixing ratios. The simulation model is based on Simulation Open Framework Architecture (SOFA), with the advantages of finite element method modelling and real-time simulation. First, the relationships between pressure inputs and contraction ratios of the modelling stomach are identified. Next, a series of peristaltic contractions is successfully simulated. An average error at 0.03 of contraction ratio is found, except chamber #5 that has an error at 0.12. Later, beads with different stiffness are placed in the center of chambers and tested to investigate the amount of forces applied to these contents. The stiffness of beads depends on the mixing ratio of agar gel and water, and the motions of beads are constrained on the cross-section plane of the chambers in order to avoid food contents escaping from the contracting regions. The average forces from different chambers applied on the contents in the antrum part of the simulated stomach are less than 0.9 N, which corresponds to the findings in the human stomach reported by literature. Meanwhile, it is also found that the strength of forces generated from the chambers of SoGut depends on the stiffness of the food contents. Additionally, the results of the simulation indicate that when the initial diameters of chambers increase, the provided average forces reduce.
Effectiveness of immediate vs. delayed recall in detecting invalid performance in coached and uncoached simulators: Results of two experimental studies

Objective: Two experimental studies were conducted to compare the ability of immediate and delayed recall indicators to discriminate between performances of simulators and full-effort clinical and nonclinical participants. Methods: Three groups of simulators (uncoached, symptom-coached, and testcoached), one group of community controls, and one group of cognitively impaired patients were assessed with four experimental memory tests, in which the immediate and delayed recall tasks were separated by three other tasks. Results: Across both studies, delayed recall demonstrated higher accuracy than immediate recall in classifying simulated performances as invalid, as compared to performances of bona fide clinical participants. ROC curve results showed sensitivities below 50% for both indicators at specificities of ≥ 90%. Computing performance curves across recall trials revealed descending trends for all three simulator groups indicating a suppressed learning effect as a marker of noncredible performances. Among types of coaching, test-coaching proved to decrease differences between simulators and patients. Discussion: The effectiveness of such indicators in clinical evaluations and their vulnerability to information about test-taking strategies are discussed.
Cyber Security in the Maritime Industry: A Systematic Survey of Recent Advances and Future Trends

The paper presents a classification of cyber attacks within the context of the state of the art in the maritime industry. A systematic categorization of vessel components has been conducted, complemented by an analysis of key services delivered within ports. The vulnerabilities of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) have been given particular consideration since it is a critical subcategory of many maritime infrastructures and, consequently, a target for cyber attacks. Recent research confirms that the dramatic proliferation of cyber crimes is fueled by increased levels of integration of new enabling technologies, such as IoT and Big Data. The trend to greater systems integration is, however, compelling, yielding significant business value by facilitating the operation of autonomous vessels, greater exploitation of smart ports, a reduction in the level of manpower and a marked improvement in fuel consumption and efficiency of services. Finally, practical challenges and future research trends have been highlighted.
Strategy trends of core/multiple shell for quantum dot-based heterojunction thin film solar cells

ABSTRACT Design structure of semiconductor window and absorber layers’ materials in thin film solar cells is an essential trend for specifying optical and electrical characteristics of thin film solar cells. This paper has been improved the optical and electrical characteristics and efficiency of traditional HJ-QDSc (ITO/CdS/QDPbS/Au) model by using the quantum dot window layer instead of bulk structure layers’ cell. Moreover, this paper represents new design for absorber layer using QD aluminium core/PbS shell absorber layer structure instead of QD PbS absorber layer to use the merits of QD metallic-semiconductor core/multiple shell structure to enhance the performance of previous CdS/QDPbS HJ-QDSc model. The proposal design structure is carried out by replacing the bulk CdTe, CIGS absorber layers and CdS window layer with quantum dot size window layer material and QD core/multiple shell absorber layer based on traditional (SnO2/CdS/CdTe/Cu) and (ZnO/CdS/CIGS/Mo). The proposal design structure on three-types of core/multiple shell for quantum dot based on heterojunction thin film solar cells has been applied. A comparison study has been established between the proposal design and traditional thin film solar cells based on sub-micro absorber layer thickness models.
Segmentectomy for clinical stage I non–small cell lung cancer: National benchmarks for nodal staging and outcomes by operative approach

Segmentectomy is increasingly used for parenchyma sparing anatomical resection for small stage I non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study characterizes the national outcomes for lymph node assessment and perioperative outcomes of segmentectomy for clinical stage I NSCLC by robotic‐assisted surgery (RATS), video‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), and open thoracotomy approach.
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Biopreparation in Combination with the Polymer γ-PGA for the Biodegradation of Petroleum Contaminants in Soil

Biodegradation is a method of effectively removing petroleum hydrocarbons from the natural environment. This research focuses on the biodegradation of aliphatic hydrocarbons, monoaromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and all three xylene isomers (BTEX) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as a result of soil inoculation with a biopreparation A1 based on autochthonous microorganisms and a biopreparation A1 with the addition of γ-PGA. The research used biopreparation A1 made of the following strains: Dietzia sp. IN133, Gordonia sp. IN138 Mycolicibacterium frederiksbergense IN53, Rhodococcus erythropolis IN119, Rhodococcus sp. IN136 and Pseudomonas sp. IN132. The experiments were carried out in laboratory conditions (microbiological tests, respirometric tests, and in semi-technical conditions (ex-situ prism method). The biodegradation efficiency was assessed on the basis of respirometric tests, chromatographic analyses and toxicological tests. As a result of inoculation of AB soil with the biopreparation A1 within 6 months, a reduction of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) (66.03%), BTEX (80.08%) and PAHs (38.86%) was achieved and its toxicity was reduced. Inoculation of AB soil with the biopreparation A1 with the addition of γ-PGA reduced the concentration of TPH, BTEX and PAHs by 79.21%, 90.19%, and 51.18%, respectively, and reduced its toxicity. The conducted research has shown that the addition of γ-PGA affects the efficiency of the biodegradation process of petroleum pollutants, increasing the degree of TPH biodegradation by 13.18%, BTEX by 10.11% and PAHs by 12.32% compared to pure biopreparation A1.
Robust InP/InGaAsP Polarization Rotator Based on Mode Evolution

InP-based polarization manipulating devices are attracting continuous interest to realize compact polarization multiplexed transceivers with monolithically integrated active components. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel type of monolithic InP polarization rotator (PR) based on a tapered half-ridge structure. Owing to the principle of mode-evolution-based adiabatic rotation of the polarization axis along propagation, the demonstrated device inherently exhibits excellent robustness against fabrication errors. Error-tolerant conversion with an efficiency over 97% is obtained experimentally across the entire C-band. With the simple self-aligned process and a thick InP upper cladding, the demonstrated device would be suitable for low-loss integration with other InP-based active waveguide components, such as lasers, amplifiers, and modulators.
Design of Dual Edge 0.5 Hz Precision Frequency Counter for QCM Sensor

Frequency counter is used widely in many electronic and sensor applications. In a resonance sensor system such as Quartz Crystal Microbalance or Surface Acoustic Wave, frequency counter is the main part of the measuring system. Precision, stability, accuracy and compactness of the frequency counter become a fundamental aspect of the development. In a sensor system, a frequency counter is needed to have a precision down to 1 Hz or even better with a sampling rate of one second. Increasing a precision of the counter from 1 Hz to 0.5Hz will result an improvement of the sensor output signal resolution. In this work we have designed a circuit system which is implemented in a single chip device to get a counting of the frequency down to 0.5Hz without suffering the sampling time. To implement such a required system, a CPLD is one of the best options to be used as a device for the frequency counter. In this paper a dual edge frequency counter using CPLD XC2C256 has been successfully developed. The system consists of 2 channels, 26 bits dual edge frequency counter. The system can count a frequency up to 67MHz, which is enough for the many QCM sensor system. By using a high stabile TCXO and calibrated again a rubidium oscillator, the developed system results in a high stability and accuracy. A precision of 0.5Hz with sampling rate of 1 second can be achieved by the developed system.
Study on Online Purchase Decisions on The Online Shopee Selling Site

The state of the environment for consumers to get information, namely electronic word of mouth and the promotional mix will affect consumer decision-making when shopping. This study aims to determine the effect of promotional mix variables and electronic word of mouth on purchasing decisions on the online buying and selling site Shopee. Promotion mix variables used are advertising and sales promotion. The sample used in this study were Semarang residents who had shopped on the Shopee online buying and selling site with a sample size of 100. The data analysis technique used was multiple regression with the classical assumptions of multicollinearity, autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity, and normality. The results showed that the variables of advertising, sales promotion, electronic word of mouth had a significant positive effect on online purchasing decisions. The adjusted r square value is 0.496, which means that the variables of advertising, sales promotion, and electronic word of mouth can explain online purchasing decisions by 49.6%. In contrast, the rest is explained by other variables, not in this study.
Resolving 5G NR-U Contention for Gap-Based Channel Access in Shared Sub-7 GHz Bands

New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U) enables 5G networks to operate in unlicensed channels, including the sub-7 GHz bands where transmitters are required to adhere to a set of contention resolution rules known as listen before talk (LBT). NR-U derives from a scheduled radio access technology where transmissions are expected to begin at fixed slot boundaries. The end of an LBT procedure, however, may not coincide with such a boundary. One solution to this problem is to have the NR-U base station wait a gap period to align with the slot boundary. We design, implement, and validate a simulator of NR-U channel access and conduct a performance analysis to assess several important issues: slot boundary synchronization between NR-U base stations, gap placement methods, impact of transmission settings, and performance under dense deployments. We also propose a method for improving the fairness of contending NR-U base stations and conclude our research with guidelines for configuring NR-U networks operating under gap-based channel access.
Finely Crafted Features for Traffic Sign Recognition

Traffic sign recognition (TSR) is the basic technology of the Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) and intelligent automobile, whileas high-qualified feature vector plays a key role in TSR. Therefore, the feature extraction of TSR has become an active research in the fields of computer vision and intelligent automobiles. Although deep learning features have made a breakthrough in image classification, it is difficult to apply to TSR because of its large scale of training dataset and high space-time complexity of model training. Considering visual characteristics of traffic signs and external factors such as weather, light, and blur in real scenes, an efficient method to extract high-qualified image features is proposed. As a result, the lower-dimension feature can accurately depict the visual feature of TSR due to powerful descriptive and discriminative ability. In addition, benefiting from a simple feature extraction method and lower time cost, our method is suitable to recognize traffic signs online in real-world applications scenarios. Extensive quantitative experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our method.
Predictive Value of Ambulatory Objective Movement Measurement for Outcomes of Levodopa/Carbidopa Intestinal Gel Infusion

Patients with Parkinson’s disease that may benefit from device-assisted therapy can be identified with guidelines like Navigate PD. The decision to offer advanced treatment and the choice of treatment modality are, however, not straightforward, and some patients respond less favorably to a chosen therapy. Measurements with the Parkinson Kinetigraph (PKG) can detect motor fluctuations and could therefore predict patients that respond better or worse to intestinal levodopa/carbidopa gel infusion (LCIG). In a retrospective analysis of 45 patients that had been selected to start LCIG between 2014 and 2020, the effects of baseline PKG and clinical characteristic on the outcome were determined with ordinal regression. Although all patients had been found to have handicapping medication-related symptom fluctuations, patients without clear objective off fluctuations in the baseline PKG had low odds ratio for success. Lower odds for success were also found with increasing age, whereas gender, medication intensity and baseline PKG summary scores (median bradykinesia and dyskinesia scores, fluctuation dyskinesia score and percent time with tremor) had no significant effect. Absence of easily identified off-periods in the PKG has a negative prognostic value for the effect of LCIG and could prompt noninvasive infusion evaluation before surgery.