Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Revealing the Critical Regulators of Modulated Smooth Muscle Cells in Atherosclerosis in Mice

Background: There are still residual risks for atherosclerosis (AS)-associated cardiovascular diseases to be resolved. Considering the vital role of phenotypic switching of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in AS, especially in calcification, targeting SMC phenotypic modulation holds great promise for clinical implications. Methods: To perform an unbiased and systematic analysis of the molecular regulatory mechanism of phenotypic switching of SMCs during AS in mice, we searched and included several publicly available single-cell datasets from the GEO database, resulting in an inclusion of more than 80,000 cells. Algorithms implemented in the Seurat package were used for cell clustering and cell atlas depiction. The pySCENIC and SCENIC packages were used to identify master regulators of interested cell groups. Monocle2 was used to perform pseudotime analysis. clusterProfiler was used for Gene Ontology enrichment analysis. Results: After dimensionality reduction and clustering, reliable annotation was performed. Comparative analysis between cells from normal artery and AS lesions revealed that three clusters emerged as AS progression, designated as mSMC1, mSMC2, and mSMC3. Transcriptional and functional enrichment analysis established a continuous transitional mode of SMCs’ transdifferentiation to mSMCs, which is further supported by pseudotime analysis. A total of 237 regulons were identified with varying activity scores across cell types. A potential core regulatory network was constructed for SMC and mSMC subtypes. In addition, module analysis revealed a coordinate regulatory mode of regulons for a specific cell type. Intriguingly, consistent with gain of ossification-related transcriptional and functional characteristics, a corresponding small set of regulators contributing to osteochondral reprogramming was identified in mSMC3, including Dlx5, Sox9, and Runx2. Conclusion: Gene regulatory network inference indicates a hierarchical organization of regulatory modules that work together in fine-tuning cellular states. The analysis here provides a valuable resource that can provide guidance for subsequent biological experiments.
Selection of Wavelet Decomposition Levels for Vibration Monitoring of Rotating Machinery

The vibration signal of a rotating machine always carries the dynamic information of the machine. Its analysis is very useful for the condition monitoring and fault diagnosis. Many signal analysis methods are able to extract useful information from vibration data. In this paper, bearing fault diagnosis is performed using Wavelet Transform (WT) and Parseval’s theorem. The WT is used to decompose the original signal into several signals in order to obtain multiple data series at different resolutions. The fault can be detected from a given level of resolution. For this purpose, Parseval’s theorem is used as an evaluation criterion to select the optimal level. Associated to envelope analysis, it allows clear visualization of fault frequencies. Vibration signals from a pilot scale are used to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed method. The results of the application in inner and outer races bearing diagnosis are satisfactory.
Comparison of ring instruments and classic circumcision methods: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Aim To determine the advantages and disadvantages of both methods by comparing classic circumcision methods with circumcision methods assisted by ring instruments. Material-Methods Only studies that compared open procedures and ring devices for male circumcision were included. A total of 6226 patients were examined in 14 studies. The methodological quality of RCT was evaluated using Cochrane collaboration’s tools. The Review Manager software statistical package was used to analyze the ORs for dichotomous variables and the mean differences for continuous variables. The proportion of heterogeneity across the studies was tested using the I 2 index. Potential publication bias was assessed by identifying the presence of visual asymmetry/symmetry with funnel plot studies. Results There were 1812 patients in the open circumcision group and 4414 patients in the ring groups. In total, there was no difference identified between the groups. The open procedure had an advantage compared to the Plastibell subgroup for hemorrhage, while in the other two subgroups, the ring instrument groups had the advantage. Statistically significant in favor of ring devices was found in operating time.There was no difference between the groups for early (postoperative) pain scores. For late-period pain scores, differences with statistical significance were identified in favor of ring devices both in subgroups and in total. For satisfaction, apart from one study in the PrePex group, statistical significance was obtained in favor of ring devices for the other subgroups and in total. Conclusion The main factors in favor of the use of ring instruments for circumcision are the short total surgical duration, not requiring advanced surgical experience, ease of learning and application, and patient relative satisfaction rates. However, it is a condition to know open circumcision methods and to have experience of this surgery for use in situations with hemorrhage complications, mainly, and without ring instruments of appropriate size.
Persepsi Pengguna OVO Terhadap Kepercayaan Pengguna Mobile Payment

Tujuan, - Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis dan menguji secara empiris pengaruh persepsi kemudahan, persepsi manfaat, persepsi keamanan, dan persepsi reputasi terhadap kepercayaan dalam menggunakan mobile payment OVO pada kalangan pekerja di Kota Batam. Desain/Methodologi/Pendekatan - Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan metode survei sebagai cara pengambilan sampel yang dipilih menggunakan non-probability sampling dengan teknik purposive sampling. Temuan penelitian - Hasil penelitian ini menyatakan bahwa variabel persepsi kemudahan, persepsi manfaat, persepsi keamanan, dan persepsi reputasi berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kepercayaan penggunaan mobile payment OVO pada kalangan pekerja di Kota Batam. Orisinalitas/nilai – Hasil penelitian ini memberikan pandangan bahwa persepsi reputasi memberikan pengaruh signifikan selain faktor dari komponen TAM yang sudah lama menjadi alasan seseorang untuk mau mengadopsi sebuah teknologi.
Determination of cytotoxicity following oxidative treatment of pharmaceutical residues in wastewater.

Pharmaceutical residues are released in the aquatic environment due to incomplete removal from wastewater. With the presence of multiple chemicals in sewage waters, contaminants may adversely affect the effectiveness of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). In certain cases, discharged metabolites are transformed back into their pristine structure and become bioactive again. Other compounds are persistent and can withstand conventional wastewater treatment. When WWTP effluents are released in surface waters, pristine and persistent chemicals can affect the aquatic environment. To complement WWTPs and circumvent incomplete removal of unwanted chemicals or pharmaceuticals, on-site wastewater treatment can contribute to their removal. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are very powerful techniques for the abatement of pharmaceuticals, however, under certain circumstances reactive toxic by-products can be produced. We studied the application of on-site AOPs in a laboratory setting. It is expected that treatment at the contamination source can eliminate the worst polluters. Thermal plasma and UV/H2O2 oxidation were applied on simulation matrices, Milli-Q and synthetic sewage water spiked with 10 different pharmaceuticals in a range of 0.1 up to 2400 μg/L. In addition, untreated end-of-pipe hospital effluent was also subjected to oxidative treatment. The matrices were activated for 180 min and added to cultured HeLa cells. The cells were 24 h and 48 h exposed at 37 °C and subsequently markers for oxidative stress and viability were measured. During the UV/H2O2 treatment periods no toxicity was observed. After thermal plasma activation of Milli-Q water (150 and 180 min) toxicity was observed. Direct application of thermal plasma treatment in hospital sewage water caused elimination of toxic substances. The low cytotoxicity of treated pharmaceutical residues is likely to become negligible if plasma pre-treated on-site wastewater is further diluted with other sewage water streams, before reaching the WWTP. Our study suggests that AOPs may be promising technologies to remove a substantial portion of pharmaceutical components by degradation at the source. Further studies will have to be performed to verify the feasibility of upscaling this technology from the benchtop to practice.
Preparation and Antimicrobial Activity of Corn Cob and Coir Reinforced Biodegradable Starch Biocomposite Films for Food Packaging Application

Finding a bio-composite film to replace petroleum-based synthetic plastic has received considerable attention in recent years. In this research, biocomposite films were effectively prepared using corn cob powder and coconut coir as reinforcing materials in various concentrations using solution casting and annealing techniques. Corn starch was used as a co-biopolymer, glycerol (3% v/v) and acetic acid (5% v/v) as plasticizers were added as well. Biodegradability, mechanical, physical, FTIR, SEM, XRD, tensile and antibacterial tests were performed on the biocomposite samples. The biodegradability test showed that the samples were biodegradable and that the rate of biodegradation improved with time, reaching 87.37 % in just ten days. The SEM test was used to investigate the molecular structure of the biocomposite films, and the findings demonstrated that the raw ingredients had been well mixed, resulting in a smooth surface. The antibacterial test was conducted against Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) bacteria. This study examines the influence of fiber reinforcement on the mechanical properties of biocomposites based on starch. Various natural fibers may boost the strength of biocomposites, as shown by the findings. According to the results, maize starch, corn cobs, and coconut coir are all suitable for food packaging purposes.
A five-stage pipeline processor using the risc-v instruction set architecture designed by system verilog

At present, the new instruction set architecture RISC-V has attracted the attention of many chip researchers. Research based on RSIC-V processor has also developed rapidly. However, many RSIC-V-based processor designs focus on short-stage pipelines such as two-stage pipelines or three-stage pipelines, and there are few classic five-stage pipeline designs. Based on this, a five-stage pipeline processor is designed using system verilog. In order to avoid the influence of the branch jump instruction on the execution efficiency of the processor, a prediction circuit based on the dynamic branch pre-method is added. And the data related controller is added to solve the data-related problem. Finally, Modelsim software is used to build a verification environment, and the basic instruction types of RISC-V such as logic operation instructions, arithmetic operation instructions and shift operation instructions are simulated and verified.
A survey of proactive defense in industrial control system

With the development of Industrial 4.0, the popularity of information technology (IT) systems in industrial control systems (ICSs) has brought great cyber-attack risk. The proactive defense technology, an important defense approach, plays a vital role in ICSs. This paper introduces the definition, taxonomy and application of proactive defense in ICSs. We divide the existing ICS proactive defense approaches into three categories and summarize their technical characteristics. Finally, the application prospects and open issues of proactive defense in ICS are summarized.
Selected Factors Influencing Missouri School-Based Agricultural Educators to Instruct Agricultural Mechanics Curriculum

The National Research Agenda for Agricultural Education and Communications suggests that teachers promote “highly effective educational programs [that] meet the academic career and developmental needs of diverse learners in all settings and at all levels” (Doerfert, 2011, p. 24). The purpose of this census survey was to determine the factors influencing Missouri schoolbased agricultural educators to instruct the curriculum found within the course Agricultural Construction 1 and/or 2. Data were collected via Hosted SurveyTM from all teachers who instructed this course during the 2009-2010 academic school year (N = 257). The majority of the respondents chose to teach the curriculum areas found within the course; however Project Construction curriculum was the most commonly taught curriculum area. The factor, Personal Importance, was found to be the most influential factor impacting school-based agriculture educators’ decision to teach all of the agricultural mechanics curriculum areas. Administration Importance was the least influential factor persuading teachers to instruct the agricultural mechanics curriculum areas. Researchers recommend future studies to better understand the phenomenon of curriculum instruction choice by teachers and implement professional development to increase teacher skill and pedagogy competence.
Management of Glucocorticoid-Induced Hyperglycemia

Abstract Glucocorticoids are potent immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory drugs used for various systemic and localized conditions. The use of glucocorticoids needs to be weighed against their adverse effect of aggravating hyperglycemia in persons with diabetes mellitus, unmask undiagnosed diabetes mellitus, or precipitate glucocorticoid-induced diabetes mellitus appearance. Hyperglycemia is associated with poor clinical outcomes, including infection, disability after hospital discharge, prolonged hospital stay, and death. Furthermore, clear guidelines for managing glucocorticoid-induced hyperglycemia are lacking. Therefore, this consensus document aims to develop guidance on the management of glucocorticoid-induced hyperglycemia. Twenty expert endocrinologists, in a virtual meeting, discussed the evidence and practical experience of real-life management of glucocorticoid-induced hyperglycemia. The expert group concluded that we should be proactive in terms of diagnosis, management, and post-steroid care. Since every patient has different severity of underlying disease, clinical stratification would help understand patient profiles and determine the treatment course. Patients at home with pre-existing diabetes who are already on oral or injectable therapy can continue the same as long as they are clinically stable and eating adequately. However, depending on the degree of hyperglycemia, modification of doses may be required. Initiating basal bolus with correction regimen is recommended for patients in non-intensive care unit settings. For patients in intensive care unit, variable rate intravenous insulin infusion could be temporarily used, but under supervision of diabetes inpatient team, and patients can be transitioned to subcutaneous insulin once stable baseline assessment and continual evaluation are crucial for day-to-day decisions concerning insulin doses. Glycemic variability should be carefully monitored, and interventions to treat patients should also aim at achieving and maintaining euglycemia. Rational use of glucose-lowering drugs is recommended and treatment regimen should ensure maximum safety for both patient and provider. Glucovigilance is required as the steroids taper during transition, and insulin dosage should be reduced subsequently. Increased clinical and economic burden resulting from corticosteroid-related adverse events highlights the need for effective management. Therefore, these recommendations would help successfully manage GC-induced hyperglycemia and judiciously allocate resources.
Constructing 3D Land Surface Temperature Model of Local Coal Fires Using UAV Thermal Images

Coal fires have led to severe ecological disasters worldwide and threatened the health and safety of nearby residents to a certain extent. It is critical to detect the scope and extent of coal fires in order to control and extinguish them. In this paper, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), thermal infrared imaging and oblique photogrammetry technologies were integrated to create a 3D land surface temperature model of the Chunjingwa Coal Fire in Shanxi Province, China. Hundreds of visible and thermal infrared images were collected from 5 flight survey lines. The thermal infrared images were preprocessed in batches to meet the requirements of 3D modeling. The construction of the thermal infrared 3D model of the fires was achieved successfully, allowing for the visualization of the surface temperature field in true 3D. Four high-temperature zones were delineated according to the 3D land surface temperature model. Furthermore, the features of ground objects were clearly depicted by the visible 3D model constructed by visible images and the digital elevation model was established based on the spatial coordinate contained in the visible 3D model. The research results provide technical support for the subsequent firefighting plan, and a reference for the high-precision detection of other coal fires around the world.
The Network Society Today

2021 marked the 25th Anniversary of Manuel Castells’ The Rise of the Network Society, the first volume of the Information Age trilogy. The Trilogy immediately became one of the most influential works to understand the societal change in the wake of the digital revolution. More than two decades later, many of the emerging processes theorised and analysed in the Trilogy have reached full maturity, if not evolved in unexpected ways. Also, several theoretical and epistemological trends have developed or consolidated in the social sciences that have either been influenced by or challenged the Trilogy position. In this scenario, is the Network Society Theory still relevant for understanding today’s digitalised society? How should we develop the Network Society approach now? This special issue aims to answer these questions. In particular, in this collection of papers, we identify three interrelated dimensions: new developments in the evolution or disruption of the Network Society, the articulation between network logics and other spatial forms, and the relation of the Network Society with recurrent topics in Castells’ work beyond the Information. The papers are a selection of the contributions to the online workshop The Network Society Today: (Revisiting) the Information Age Trilogy (November 2–30, 2020), in which Prof. Castells also participated. This volume brings together a wide range of established and emerging scholars from a diversity of Social Sciences disciplines with plural theoretically informed papers tackling rich empirical case studies across the world, spanning throughout America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Contributions conclude with a reflection by Manuel Castells on them and his work.
The effect of gestational weight gain on serum total oxidative stress, total antioxidant capacity and gut microbiota

This study aimed to investigate the effect of gestational weight gain on total oxidative stress (TOS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), oxidative stress index (OSI), dietary antioxidant intake, and the gut microbiome. The study was carried out on 40 pregnant women divided as follows: a) normal prepregnancy weight and gestational weight gain of 11.5−16.0 kg (n=10) b) normal prepregnancy weight and gestational weight gain of >16.0 kg (n=10) c) obese before pregnancy and gestational weight gain of 5−9 kg (n=10) and d) obese before pregnancy and gestational weight gain of >9.0 kg (n=10). Serum TOS and TAC levels, dietary antioxidant intake, and microbiome diversity of the gut microbiome were evaluated during the third trimester of pregnancy. A positive correlation was found between body mass index (BMI) in the third trimester and serum TOS levels and OSI. In women with normal prepregnancy weight, an increase in the Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla was observed when gestational weight gain was above the recommended values (p<0.05). In women who were obese before pregnancy, an increase only in the Bacteroidetes phylum was observed when gestational weight gain was above the recommended values (p<0.05). A positive correlation was found between Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes and OSI, and a negative correlation was found between Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes and dietary antioxidant intake (p<0.05). Prepregnancy body weight, high serum TOS level, and dietary antioxidant intake are determinant factors for microbial diversity, with increased serum TOS levels caused by increased gestational weight gain.
The Role of Using of the Student-Centered Techniques in Electronic Classroom

Student-centered instruction is the situation which involves students' participation in goal setting, emphasis upon effective goals, student interaction, the ability of the teacher to accept inaccurate statements, cohesiveness and autonomy of the group, and an amount of time devoted to discussing personal experiences and problems. The present study aims at finding out the role of the student-centered techniques in the electronic English language classroom for EFL college students of mass media. The present study hypothesizes that there is no role for these techniques in e-classroom. The adopted procedures will be a checklist of (13) items submitted to a group of experts in ELT in order to ensure its validity in measuring variables. The researcher collects data after two terms of observation and statistically analyses them and then puts the results and conclusions, recommendations and suggestions for further studies.
Simulating ad-hoc demand-responsive transportation: a comparison of three approaches

ABSTRACT Transport models are used to evaluate new infrastructure and public transport services, varied levels of demand, and new ideas for demand management. Exploring these proposals virtually is easier than implementation and testing in situ. However, existing models are based around traditional forms of transportation. As part of a feature analysis using a case study approach, three different simulation packages (a simple custom-developed package, traffic microsimulation, and agent-based simulation) are used to develop and demonstrate simulations of demand-responsive transportation (DRT) and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each simulation approach for evaluating DRT. While the simulations display some relational replication (meaning they produce similar relational patterns with respect to certain variables), they do not show distributional replication (that is, the value of the results is not statistically similar), meaning that under- or over-estimation of predicted travel could occur. Recommendations for the application of each modeling approach are made.