Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rubicon deficiency exacerbates fasting-induced hepatic steatosis

Abstract Objective: Rubicon is an inhibitory interacting protein of the autophagy-related protein Uvrag. We previously showed that Rubicon deficiency promotes autophagic flux in vivo and that autophagy can degrade lipid droplets. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Rubicon deficiency on fasting-induced hepatic steatosis. Methods: Two-month-old wild-type (WT) and Rubicon-deficient mice were subjected to feeding or fasting for 24 hours to induce hepatic steatosis. The distribution of liver lipid droplets was revealed by oil red O staining. Hepatic and plasma triglyceride, nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA), and cholesterol levels were detected using commercially available kits. Real-time reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction was performed to analyze the mRNA expression of genes related to lipid metabolism in the liver. Western blot was conducted to assess autophagy-related protein levels in the liver. The animal experiments were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. Results: We showed that under fasting conditions, Rubicon-deficient mice had more lipid droplets in the liver than WT controls. Consistent with these results, the hepatic triglyceride, NEFA, and cholesterol levels in fasted Rubicon-deficient mice were significantly higher than those of fasted WT controls. The levels of SREBP-1, a key regulator of lipid synthesis, were significantly lower in livers from fasted WT mice than those of fed WT mice. However, the decrease in SREBP-1 in fasted mice was attenuated by Rubicon deficiency. Western blot analysis demonstrated that the fasting-induced increase in autophagic flux was amplified by Rubicon deficiency. Finally, we showed that Rubicon deficiency in mice led to elevated plasma triglyceride and NEFA acid levels under fasting conditions. Conclusion: Rubicon deficiency exacerbates fasting-induced hepatic steatosis in mice.
Effective Management of Hypothyroidism by Using Ayurvedic Interventions: A Case Report

Hypothyroidism is an endocrine disorder that mainly occurs due to insufficient thyroid gland stimulation or primary gland failure by the pituitary or hypothalamus gland. Symptoms of hypothyroidism include fatigue, gastric trouble, face puffiness with edematous eyelids, retarded nail growth, weight gain, hoarseness of voice, decreased libido, pallor, dry skin, dry hair, alopecia, constipation, abnormal menstrual cycle, muscle cramps, myalgia etc. A 30-year-old married Hindu, non-alcoholic, non-smoking male patient visited OPD of Shuddhi Ayurveda Clinic, Jeena Sikho Lifecare Pvt. Ltd. Noida on 18 November 2020 with known case of subclinical hypothyroidism. On the basis of clinical diagnosis and laboratory investigations, ayurvedic medicines having action on thyroid gland and digestion improvement were prescribed for over a period of six months. After this ayurvedic medicinal treatment for four months i.e. from November 2020 to February 2021, significant results were noted in terms of reduction in level of increased TSH. TSH level was significantly reduced from 181µIU/ml to 0.11 µIU/ml within two months of ayurvedic treatment. Then, there was a mild increase in the TSH level when patient was tested for TFT after four months i.e. on 21st of June 2021, investigated level of TSH was 5.59 µIU/ml. Overall, a satisfactory result was observed in patient clinical conditions proving significant efficacy of ayurvedic treatment.
Phytochemical and safety evaluations of Diospyros mespiliformis, and in silico evaluations of drug-likeness, pharmacokinetics and acute toxicity of its bioactive compound (Diospyrin)

Diospyros mespiliformis is among the popular multipurpose tropical fruit trees, commonly used as herbal medicines. However, due to the lack of adequate scientific data on the safety of this plant, the present study was conducted to determine the phytochemical compositions and acute toxicity profile of the crude methanol extract of D. mespiliformis. In addition, diospyrin, a bioactive compound from the plant was evaluated for in silico drug-likeness, pharmacokinetics (PKs) and acute toxicity. The phytochemical contents of the plant were quantified using standardized protocols while the 50% lethal dose (LD50) was evaluated using Lorke’s methods. Results revealed that flavonoids (265.46±0.32 mg/g) are the most abundant phytochemical in methanol leaf extract of D. mespiliformis, followed by alkaloids (224.56±0.19 mg/g) and phenols (191.82±0.04 mg/g) while saponins (7.90±0.32 mg/g) was the least abundant phytochemical. The plant extract has LD50 of > 5000 mg/kg in rats. No death was recorded throughout the study period. Similarly, no behavioural changes were observed in animals dosed with the crude extract at 10 -2900 mg/kg BW. Animals administered 5000 mg/kg BW were hyperactive, restless, and displayed profused breathing which lasted only for 30 minutes after administrations. Diospyrin a bioactive compound from D. mespiliformis demonstrated good druglike candidates and exhibited a high safety profile as revealed by in silico study. In conclusion, the crude methanol extract of D. mespiliformis and its bioactive compound is well-tolerated and non-toxic to rats, and thus could be considered a safe medicinal plant for acute oral remedies
Seasonal Patterns and Trends of Air Pollution in The Upper Northern Thailand from 2004 to 2018

The objective of this study was to investigate the seasonal patterns and trends of air pollutants in upper northern Thailand (UNT) from 2004 to 2018. The hourly air pollutant concentration data recorded from 6 monitoring stations in the UNT were obtained from the Pollution Control Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Thailand. Cubic splines were used to assess seasonal patterns and trends of air pollutants. Linear regression was used to estimate the average increase in concentrations of air pollutants at each monitoring station. The results exhibited seasonal patterns for CO, NOX, NO2, O3, and PM10, in all stations while SO2 only in one station in Lampang and all stations in Chiangmai. The concentrations of these pollutants rose during August and September and reached peak levels between March and April. In the past 15 years, the levels of overall CO, O3, and SO2 in the UNT had significantly increased, on average of 0.032 ppm, 0.012 ppb, and 0.017 ppb, respectively. In contrast, NO2, NOX, and PM10 had significantly decreased on average of 0.012 ppb, 0.011 ppb, and 0.016 mg/m3, respectively. In conclusion, it should be of concern for such activities that related to air pollutants variation accordingly.
SIGAN: Spectral Index Generative Adversarial Network for Data Augmentation in Multispectral Remote Sensing Images

Generative models are typically employed to approximate the distribution of deep features. Recently, these state-of-the-art methods have been applied to estimate image transformations by an unsupervised learning approach. In this letter, a novel spectral index generative adversarial network (SIGAN) is proposed for the generation of multispectral (MS) remote sensing images. This network is defined to effectively perform data augmentation starting from a limited number of training samples in the MS remote sensing domain for training deep learning models. The SIGAN model is able to capture class-specific properties in data augmentation, by incorporating the task-specific normalized spectral indices to model class-by-class properties of MS images. Experimental results obtained on a Sentinel 2 dataset show that the proposed model provides better performance than other generative adversarial networks (GANs) in MS data generation.
Integration of GIS-Based Multicriteria Decision Analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process for Flood-Hazard Assessment in the Megalo Rema River Catchment (East Attica, Greece)

This study deals with the flood-hazard assessment and mapping in the catchment of Megalo Rema (East Attica, Greece). Flood-hazard zones were identified utilizing Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS). Five factors were considered as the most influential parameters for the water course when high storm-water runoff exceeds drainage system capacity and were taken into account. These factors include slope, elevation, distance from stream channels, geological formations in terms of their hydro-lithological behavior and land cover. To obtain the final weights for each factor, rules of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) were applied. The final flood-hazard assessment and mapping of the study area were produced through Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) procedures. The final map showed that approximately 26.3 km2, which corresponds to 22.7% of the total area of the catchment, belongs to the high flood risk zone, while approximately 25 km2, corresponding to ~15% of the catchment, is of very high flood risk. The highly and very highly prone to flooding areas are located mostly at the southern and western parts of the catchment. Furthermore, the areas on both sides of the channel along the lower reaches of the main stream are of high and very high risk. The highly and very highly prone to flooding areas are relatively low-lying, gently sloping and extensively urbanized, and host the densely populated settlements of Rafina-Pikermi, Penteli, Pallini, Peania, Spata, Glika Nera, Gerakas and Anthousa. The accuracy of the flood-hazard map was verified by correlating flood events of the last 30 years, the Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System (HEC–RAS) simulation and quantitative geomorphological analysis with the flood-hazard level. The results of our approach provide decision makers with important information for land-use planning at a regional scale, determining safe and unsafe areas for urban development.
Coherence-Induced Bias Reduction in Synthetic Aperture Sonar Along-Track Micronavigation

Subwavelength motion estimation is vital for the production of focused synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) imagery. The required precision is obtainable from the sonar data itself through a process termed micronavigation. Along-track micronavigation is achieved by a similar technique to that used in correlation velocity logs (CVLs), where sparse estimates of the spatial coherence function are interpolated to estimate the location of the peak coherence and hence estimate the interping vehicle motion. However, along-track micronavigation estimates made using this technique are biased, which limits the utility of these measurements for long-term navigation of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Three sources of along-track motion estimation bias are considered in this article. First, imperfect temporal registration between the signals results in coherence estimates that are negatively biased as a function of the temporal offset. Second, the sparse estimates of the spatial coherence function are obtained by cross-correlation of complex baseband signals, a process which is known to result in positively biased coherence estimates, especially when the true coherence is low. Finally, mismatches between the underlying spatial coherence function and the interpolation kernel used to estimate the peak coherence location also result in along-track micronavigation bias. In this article, we describe and evaluate three methods for reducing along-track micronavigation bias. We introduce a temporal registration of the signals before coherence estimation, which reduces the impact of negative coherence bias due to temporal offsets. The remaining coherence estimation bias is reduced by combining multiple coherence estimates in a Bayesian coherence estimator. Additionally, an improved interpolation kernel is derived with a significantly improved fit compared to the current gold standard Gaussian interpolation kernel. The improvements in along-track micronavigation accuracy are demonstrated using two simulated data sets, which both allow comparison with ground truth. The first involves direct simulation of the spatial coherence from a given interping geometry using the pulse-echo formulation of the van Cittert–Zernike theorem, while the second involves simulation of raw sonar echo data using a point-scatterer model. Using these simulations, a reduction in along-track micronavigation bias of 48.5%–99.5% is demonstrated, with reductions in along-track micronavigation error standard deviation of up to 34%. This improvement expands the potential for SAS-equipped AUVs to reduce their long-term navigation drift, facilitating longer underwater transits, improved target localization, and reduced track misalignment in repeat-pass operations.
Passive Energy-Saving Optimal Design for Rural Residences of Hanzhong Region in Northwest China Based on Performance Simulation and Optimization Algorithm

The rural residences of Northwest China are characterized by a state of high energy consumption and low comfort due to the limited economic level and awareness of energy-saving compared with the urban residences. To remedy this, appropriate passive design strategies should be adopted first, in order to provide a design mode with low energy consumption and low cost for rural residences under the premise of thermal comfort. In this paper, taking Hanzhong region (Shaanxi Province, China) as an example, we establish a benchmark model based on a field survey and develop an optimization process by combining EnergyPlus simulation software, the MOBO optimization engine, and weighted sum method. The action mechanisms of passive design parameters, including the building orientation, length–width ratio, building envelope parameters, external shading system, and window–wall ratio, on heating, cooling, and total energy consumption are analyzed, and the quantitative relationships between single-parameter and energy consumption are established. Then, the mutually restricted indices of total energy consumption and initial investment cost are taken as optimization objectives, and 17 design parameters are selected as the optimization variables. The NSGA-II algorithm is adopted to conduct the multi-parameter, multi-objective optimization design for rural houses in Hanzhong area, through coupling of the EnergyPlus and MOBO software. In this way, Pareto solutions are obtained and the value distributions of the multi-objectives and design parameters are analyzed. Based on the actual requirements of decision-makers and using the weight method, three design schemes focusing on different performance tendencies are proposed. The results indicate that by using the proposed optimization process, the building energy consumption can be significantly reduced while taking initial investment costs into account, where the energy-saving rate is in the range of 31.9–61.5%. When the EC/IC ratio is 1:1, 2:1, and 1:2, the energy-saving rate can reach 51.5%, 57.8%, and 43.5%, respectively. It can provide a beneficial pattern for the energy-saving design and renovation of rural residences in Hanzhong area of China.
Numerical simulation to study the effects of different laser cladding sequences on residual stress and deformation of Ti-6Al-4V/WC

Residual stress and deformation of metal matrix composite coatings are significantly influenced by cladding sequences. This paper presents a bionic structure model verified based on the coupling structure of shells, and the difference of residual stress and deformation induced by four laser cladding sequences are simulated using the finite element method. The results indicate that the residual stress principally centralizes on cladding layers, while the deformation chiefly concentrates in the area far away from the fixed points. Furthermore, the distribution trend and value of residual stress are greatly affected by the cladding sequence, while the sequence has little effect on deformation. Based on the simulation results, an optimized cladding sequence of this bionic structure is obtained to control the cladding stress and distortion in the practical application of the Ti-6Al-4V. In addition, Ti-6Al-4V/WC coatings are prepared on the surface of Ti-6Al-4V. The experimental results demonstrate that the bionic coatings can effectively improve the microhardness and wear resistance of substrate.
Multiphysical MF-based tyre modelling and parametrisation for vehicle setup and control strategies optimisation

ABSTRACT Starting from the earliest phases of design of the vehicle and its control systems, the understanding of tyres is of fundamental importance to govern the overall vehicle dynamics. A properly characterised tyre–road interaction model is essential to achieve a reliable vehicle dynamics model on which more design variations can be studied directly in simulation environment optimising both cost and time. The possibility to count on computationally efficient and reliable formulations represents nowadays a great advantage, and the multiphysical Pacejka's Magic Formula (MF-evo) tyre model presented is one of the best trade-off solutions to meet the strict real-time requirements and to reproduce multiphysical variations of the tyre dynamic behaviour towards temperature, pressure and wear effects. A specific methodology has been developed to characterise and to identify the MF-evo parameters with a high grade of accuracy and reliability directly from experimental data. The proposed technique is based on a pre-processing procedure to remove non-physical outliers and to cluster the data, which allows to optimise the multidimensional parameterisation process. To the purpose of validation of the parametrisation routine, data from a motorsport case, exceptionally difficult to reproduce in simulation due particularly significant variations of the tyre dynamics during a single test, have been employed demonstrating the MF-evo model potential and robustness.
Low passive restoration potential following invasive woody species removal in oak woodlands

The restoration of oak woodlands often requires removal and management of woody invasive plants. This can trigger germination of the soil seed bank, which can alter restoration trajectories. In degraded deciduous woodlands generally, it is unclear whether the soil seed bank will contribute native plant material in sufficient quantities to help achieve restoration goals and allow practitioners to rely on passive restoration without supplemental seeding. To support restoration decision‐making around passive or active restoration in three Rhamnus cathartica‐invaded forest preserves in the Chicago region, we asked: (1) Does the soil seed bank differ from standing aboveground vegetation at reference and unrestored sites? and (2) Can the species richness, Shannon diversity, floristic quality (measured by abundance‐weighted mean coefficients of conservatism), or density of germinable seeds of native species in the soil seed bank be predicted by a site's restoration status (reference or unrestored)? We found that species composition differed significantly between aboveground vegetation and the soil seed bank at reference and unrestored sites, with a significant interaction between restoration status and location. Despite high variation among the three forest preserves, restoration status also predicted native species richness, diversity, floristic quality, and seed density in the soil seed bank, with unrestored sites significantly lower than reference sites in all measures. Results suggest that reintroduction of native seeds will be necessary to fully restore desired native plant communities in oak woodlands following the removal of invasive woody plants.
Profiles of Cytokines Secreted by ARPE-19 Cells Exposed to Light and Incubated with Anti-VEGF Antibody

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is the major source of cytokines in the retina regulating the intraocular immune environment, and a primary target of photodamage. Here, we examined 27 types of cytokines secreted by ARPE-19 cells exposed to visible light and incubated with aflibercept or ranibizumab, which are two anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibodies. The cells were cultured for 24 h in the dark or under 2000 lux irradiation from a daylight-colored fluorescent lamp, and cytokine levels in the culture supernatant were measured. In the light-irradiated culture, the levels of IL-9, IL-17A and bFGF were higher, and the levels of IL-6, IL-7, IL-8 and MCP-1 were lower than those in the dark culture, while there was no significant difference with the VEGF-A level. In subgroup analyses of the light-irradiated culture, the bFGF level under 250 to 2000 lux irradiation was elevated in a light intensity-dependent manner. In culture exposed to blue, green or red light, the bFGF level was elevated by blue light and was high compared to that by green or red light. In culture with aflibercept or ranibizumab in the dark, the levels of IL-6, IL-8, bFGF and MCP-1 were increased, and the IL-12 level decreased synchronously with a reduction in the VEGF-A level. Our findings indicate that continuous irradiation of visible light and VEGF suppression may be an influential factor in expression patterns of inflammatory cytokines secreted by human RPE cells.
Long-Term Effects of Fuel Reduction Treatments on Surface Fuel Loading in the Blue Mountains of Oregon

Fire exclusion and a lengthening fire season has resulted in an era of megafires. Fuel reduction treatments in forested ecosystems are designed to guard against future extreme wildfire behavior. Treatments create a heterogenous landscape and facilitate ecosystem function and resilience in fire-adapted forests of the western United States. Despite widespread recognition that repeated fuel treatments are needed to maintain desired stand characteristics over time, few field studies have evaluated treatment longevity. The Blue Mountains Fire and Fire Surrogate site in northeastern Oregon presented an opportunity to investigate woody fuel loading 15–17 years after four treatments: mechanical thin, prescribed burn, both thin and burn, and no treatment control. The principal findings were: (1) fine fuel load 15 years post-burn remained slightly below pre-treatment values; (2) rotten coarse fuel load was reduced post-burn, but sound coarse fuel was not altered by any active treatment; and (3) total woody fuel load 15–17 years post-treatment was similar to pre-treatment values. Understanding surface fuel loading is essential for predicting fire behavior. Overall, the effects of fuel reduction treatments on woody surface fuels were transitory in dry mixed conifer forests. Frequent maintenance treatments are recommended to protect values at risk in areas with high fire hazards. Quantifying the persistence of changes in forest conditions aids in the planning and analysis of future fuel treatments, along with scheduling maintenance of existing treated areas.
Successful management of deep vein thrombosis in pregnancy in a low resource setting: Challenges and constraints

Venous thromboembolism in pregnancy contributes significantly to maternal morbidity and mortality. While it has received much attention in the developed countries, the level of awareness in the developing countries is still low, and most reported cases are on non-pregnant surgical patients. Its management also poses some challenges especially in resource constraint settings. We present a case of 27-year-old primigravida who developed left lower limb deep vein thrombosis at gestational age of 29 weeks. Investigations at presentation showed haematological and Sonographic features of deep vein thrombosis. She was successfully managed to term with low molecular weight heparin despite limited resources. Successful management of thrombotic events in pregnancy is achievable in low resource setting but comes with challenges of limited choice of appropriate anticoagulant and financial constraints.