Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Lockdown During COVID-19 Outbreak on Ophthalmological Emergency in a Reference Center in France

PurposeIn March 2020, the sudden rise in number of SARS-CoV2 infections in France let the government to impose a strict lockdown during which all non-urgent medical consultations were postponed. From March 17 to May 10, 2020, private medical practices were closed and telemedicine was encouraged. The consequences on ophthalmic care were dramatic with over 90% of scheduled consultations canceled. The aim of this study was to report the consultation during the 2-month strict lockdown in Paris and to analyze its impact on the visual outcomes of patients consulting in the ophthalmology emergency department (OED) Methods :Data of patients who presented to the OED of the A. de Rothschild Foundation Hospital (RFH), a tertiary ophthalmology center in Paris, France, during the lockdown period and its immediate aftermath were analyzed. The results were compared to the same time periods in the years of 2018 and 2019. Four time periods were defined and numbered chronologically: March 17 to May 10, 2018 (Period 1) ; March 17 to May 10, 2019 (Period 2); March 17 to May 10, 2020 (Period 3, the lockdown period); May 11 to June 9, 2020 (Period 4, the post-lockdown period)Results :The number of consultation was reduced by more than 50% during the lockdown period (n=2909 patients) and by 30% during the post-lockdown period (n=2622) when compared to periods 1 (n=7125) and 2 (n=8058) Even though LP4 saw an increase in the number of consulting patients, there was no raise in the rate of severe diseases (12.8% during LP3 vs 11.1% during LP4) and the proportion of patients who were padmitted was statistically similar (4.3% VS 3.6%). Neuro-ophthalmic -diseases were the most common during LP3 and LP4. Neovascular glaucoma were twice as common during post LP4 (p=0.08). We highlighted a significant increase in patients with a graft reject consulting in our OED during the post LP4 (p<0.001). Those results were likely related to a delay in the follow-up consultations due to the lockdown measures.ConclusionThe reduction in the number of consultations in our OED during the lockdown period did not focus mainly on minor emergencies and also affected severe ophthalmic diseases with no significant delay in consultation. More longitudinal and longer study is needed to confirm this and to analyze retrospectively the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown effects.
Centralized and Decentralized Optimal Control of Variable Speed Heat Pumps

Utility service providers are often challenged with the synchronization of thermostatically controlled loads. Load synchronization, as a result of naturally occurring and demand-response events, has the potential to damage power distribution equipment. Because thermostatically controlled loads constitute most of the power consumed by the grid at any given time, the proper control of such devices can lead to significant energy savings and improved grid stability. The contribution of this paper is the development of an optimal control algorithm for commonly used variable speed heat pumps. By means of selective peer-to-peer communication, our control architecture allows for the regulation of home temperatures while simultaneously minimizing aggregate power consumption, and aggregate load volatility. An optimal centralized controller is also explored and compared against its decentralized counterpart.
The Distribution of Giant Manta Rays In The Western North Atlantic Ocean Off The Eastern United States

In 2018, the giant manta ray (Manta birostris) was listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. We integrated decades of sightings and survey effort data from multiple sources in a comprehensive species distribution modeling (SDM) framework to evaluate the distribution of giant manta rays off the eastern United States, including the Gulf of Mexico. Manta rays were most commonly detected at productive nearshore and shelf-edge upwelling zones at surface thermal frontal boundaries within a temperature range of approximately 15–30 °C. SDMs predicted high nearshore concentrations off Northeast Florida during April, with the distribution extending northward along the shelf-edge as temperatures warm, leading to higher occurrences north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina from June to October, and then south of Savannah, Georgia from November to March as temperatures cool. In the Gulf of Mexico, the highest nearshore concentrations were predicted near the Mississippi River delta from April to June and again from October to November. SDM predictions will allow resource managers to more effectively protect manta rays from fisheries bycatch, boat strikes, oil and gas activities, contaminants and pollutants, and other threats.
Infrared and Visible Image Fusion Based on Deep Decomposition Network and Saliency Analysis

Traditional image fusion focuses on selecting an effective decomposition approach to extract representative features from the source image and attempts to find appropriate fusion rules to merge extracted features respectively. However, the existing image decomposition tools are mostly based on kernels or global energy-optimized functions limiting the performance of the wide range of image contents. This paper proposes a novel infrared and visible image fusion method based on deep decomposition network and saliency analysis (named DDNSA). First, the modified residual dense network (MRDN) is trained with a publicly available dataset to learn the decomposition process. Second, the structure and texture features of source images are separated by the trained decomposition network. Then, according to the characteristics of the above features, we construct the combination of local and global saliency maps by using stacked sparse autoencoder and visual saliency mechanism to fuse the structural features. Besides, we propose a bi-direction edge-strength fusion strategy for merging the texture features. Finally, the resultant image is reconstructed by combining the fused structure and texture features. The experimental results confirm that our proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in both visual perception and objective evaluation.
“Smart” Polymers: Physicochemical Characteristics and Applications in Bio-Separation Strategies

In recent years, smart polymers (SPs), which are also referred to as bio-responsive polymers, have gained considerable attention as a unique class of polymers and their applications have been increasing significantly. These so-called “smart” polymers, either synthetic or biological, have been defined as “polymers designed to respond or undergo physical and structural conformational changes/rearrangement in response to slight changes in their surrounding environment”. They are categorized as thermo-, pH-, electro- and magneto-responsive polymers. The advances in upstream bio-production stages and the high cost associated with downstream chromatographic techniques have pushed the development of new alternatives. In this context, the use of SPs, in combination with non-chromatographic technologies, represents a useful approach to the development of new downstream operation units. With the key scientific advancements, SPs have become the “next generation” of the bio-separation tool for eco-friendlier and cost-effective purification. This review describes the different characteristics and classifications of various “smart” polymers available for use in bio-separation strategy. Focus is also given to the recent advances in SP inclusion in the improvement of alternative non-chromatographic methods in downstream bioprocessings.
Identification of the Secondary Metabolites and Characterization of Lagerstroemia Loudonii T. & B.

Bungur (Lagerstroemia loudonii T. B) is a type of plant widely grown in Indonesia and can be found in teak forests, mixed forests, and is found as ornamental plants or protective trees on the roadside. In the fruit section, Lagerstroemia loudonii is used as antituberculous and antimalarial. On the bark, the part is used as antidiarrheal. Based on some parts of the Lagerstroemia loudonii plants' activity data, this plant has the potential to be developed into traditional medicine. Standardized traditional medicine material is necessary to identify efficacious compounds and characterization in some parts of Lagerstroemia loudonii. The purpose of this research is to develop Lagerstroemia loudonii into traditional herbal medicine or standardized herbal medicine. Identification of efficacious compounds and characterization of crude leaf drugs, bark, stems, and fruit of Lagerstroemia loudonii. The phytochemical screening phase of the crude drugs of leaves, bark, stems, and fruit ofLagerstroemia loudonii against includes examining alkaloids, flavonoids, quinones, tannins, polyphenols, saponins, steroids and triterpenes, monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids. The determination of the characteristics of raw material carried out includes nonspecific parameters. Nonspecific parameters are the determination of total ash content, water-soluble ash content, acid insoluble ash content. each experiment was carried out three times and calculated the average yield and deviation. Identification results of the class of efficacious compounds in some parts of the Lagerstroemia loudonii plant are on the leaves and fruits containing alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, quinones, tannins, polyphenols, monoterpenoids, and sesquiterpenoids as well as steroids and triterpenoids. At the bark and stem, the bark contains alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, quinones, tannins, polyphenols, monoterpenoids, and sesquiterpenoids. Characterization results of Lagerstroemia loudonii leaf extract total ash content 4.45 ± 0.30% w/w, water-soluble ash content 4.08 ± 0.27% w/w, acid insoluble ash content 0.59 ± 0.06% w/w, the extract specific gravity was 0.59 ± 0.063. Lagerstroemia loudonii stem bark extract, total ash content 1.94 ± 0.12% w/w, water-soluble ash content 1.47 ± 0.03% w/w, acid insoluble ash content 0.24 ± 0.02% w/w, the extract specific gravity is 0.82 ± 0.01. Lagerstroemia loudonii stem extract, total ash content3.18 ± 0.16% w/w, water-soluble ash content 2.36 ± 0.38% w/w, acid insoluble ash content 0.43 ± 0.07% w/w, extract specific grafity 0.81 ± 0.01. Lagerstroemia loudonii fruit extract, total ash content 11.45 ± 1.16%w/w, water-soluble ash content 10.1 ± 1.49% w/w, acid insoluble ash content 1.46 ± 0.88% w/w,extract specific grafity 0.81 ± 0.01. Based on phytochemical screening data and the characterization of bungur plants potential to be developed into raw materials for traditional medicineKeywords: Lagerstroemia loudonii, secondary metabolite, raw material characterization
TÜKETİCİ GÜVENİNİN OLUŞUMUNDA BORSA VE DÖVİZ KURUNUN ETKİSİ: OECD ÜLKELERİ UYGULAMASI

of and Exchange Abstract: One of the indicators created to have information about the state of an economy and to direct economic policies is the consumer confidence index. Stock market index and exchange rate are two important variables with high volatility that affect and are affected by the consumer confidence index. For this purpose, it is aimed to investigate the effect of exchange rate and stock market index on consumer confidence index in OECD countries. It cannot be said that the same level of financial stability, growth and living standards is achieved in all 37 member countries of the OECD. Therefore, in the study; capital market development level, the level of economic openness which like Turkey and the data can be accessed by selecting data from 11 OECD members, were included in the analysis. In the study covering the 2013 M01: 2020 M02 period; Bai and Ng (2004) PANIC panel unit root test, Im, Lee & Tieslau (2005) panel unit root tests with structural break, panel VAR Granger and panel VECM causality test, asymmetric Dumitrescu-Hurlin (2012) panel causality tests were used. In the analysis; In the short run, although consumer confidence significantly affects the exchange rate and stock market index; It was found that exchange rate and stock market index do not affect consumer confidence. In the long run, the existence of a causal relationship to consumer confidence from the exchange rate and stock market index has been determined. According to these results, while the change in the consumer confidence index affects the stock market index and exchange rate in the short run; On the other hand, it was found that stock market index and exchange rate have long-term effects on consumer confidence index
Conflict Dynamics in Post-2003 Iraq: A Security Dilemma Perspective

A decade and a half since the U.S. invasion, Iraq remains affected by complicated and increasingly changing uncertainties. Intrastate division and lack of social stability are expressed in ethnic and sectarian hostilities. In view of different reasons, 16 years after establishing the new Iraq, this paper asks: why has Iraq been marked by instability, transformation, and inability to maintain stability and peace? This paper explains the ethno-sectarian interactions in Iraq with the help of the theory of security dilemma and explores the derailment of Iraq's transformation process and the beginning of a new period of confrontation from a security dilemma viewpoint. The findings suggest that the security dilemma and ethno-sectarian conflict are further intensified by Kurdish, Shiite, and Sunni groups attempting to assess the threats posed not only by enemy militias but also by the presence of all groups in close proximity.
Antifungal docking studies of Anacyclus pyrethrum(L.) and Senna Obtusifolia(L.) against candida albicans .

Today there are many antifungal drugs and their formulations like a tablet, capsule, cream, ointment, gel, soap etc are present in the market many of them are effective in treatment in minor or severe cases of fungal infection caused due to different fungal or yeast species. But there are many side effects or adverse effects that occur which makes them unpleasant. This challenges to drug developers to make drug or formulations which are effective in the treatment and have no or minimum side effects. This challenge makes our eyes focus on natural chemical constituents, which are known to be having fewer side effects with effective treatment of disease. Here we have taken two receptors from the RCSB PDB database which is a structural component of candida Albicans (1CZ1 and IAI9) proven to be the target of many antifungal drugs, both are responsible for different mode of action. The Anacyclus pyrethrum (L.) and Senna Obtusifolia (L.) have many chemical constituents having different pharmacological activity like anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, etc. from these two plant species some chemical constituents are selected depending on their structural characteristics. After selection ligand-receptor molecular docking (by using Autodock Vina) was carried out between them. For its verification of antifungal activity, it is then compared with selected Standard drugs which have already clinically proved as an antifungal drug. Sesamine from Anacyclus pyrethrum (L.) and Obtusifoline and Physcion from Senna Obtusifolia (L.) are potent lead compounds which on future structural modification gives us desired antifungal activity.
Ground Displacements due to the Deformations of Shallow Tunnels with Arbitrary Cross Sections in Soft Ground

Nowadays, a huge number of shield-driven tunnels with noncircular cross sections are constructed in urban areas all around the world. However, the ground displacements associated with tunneling still form a difficult issue, especially for noncircular tunnels. In this study, an analytical solution is derived to estimate the ground displacements induced by the deformations of shallow noncircular tunnels in soft ground. First, a solution for the stresses and displacements around a deep tunnel in a full plane is formulated by imposing a specified convergence pattern over the cavity boundary. Subsequently, this solution is validated using finite element simulations in a case study of an elliptical tunnel with four different convergence patterns. Afterward, the solution in the full plane is extended to a half plane using the virtual image technique to estimate the ground displacements around shallow tunnels. The solution is also validated using finite element simulations.
Li-ion intercalation enhanced ferromagnetism in van der Waals Fe3GeTe2 bilayer

Recently, the issue of ferromagnetism enhancement in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) layered magnetic systems has been highly concerned. It is believed that ion intercalation in vdW layered ferromagnets, targeting either enhanced interlayer spin exchanges or intralayer ones, can be an efficient scheme. In this work, by means of the first-principles calculations, we investigate the Li-ion intercalation between the two monolayers of the ferromagnetic (FM) vdW Fe3GeTe2 (FGT) bilayer and its impact on the ferromagnetism. It is revealed that the Li-ion intercalation provides hopping carriers between the two interfacial Te sublayers, beneficial for the enhancement of the interlayer FM coupling at a relatively low intercalation level. On the other hand, the Li-ion intercalation lifted Fermi level promotes the electron transfer from the minority spin channel to the majority one for the Fe-3d bands, favoring the stronger intralayer FM coupling. However, the over-intercalation generated carriers may fill up the majority spin channel, reversely leading to the reduced interlayer FM coupling. Consequently, an optimized intercalation level is expected in terms of ferromagnetism enhancement. This work not only helps to explain the recent experimental finding on the gate-controlled Li-ion intercalation in vdW FGT few-layers but also suggests a general scheme for ferromagnetism enhancement in 2D vdW layered ferromagnets using the ion intercalation approach.
Software performance for the automated identification of bird vocalisations: the case of two closely related species

ABSTRACT Autonomous recording units now facilitate the large collection of audio recordings. However, the analysis of large amounts of acoustic data remains a challenge. The time required for manually searching for bird vocalisations may be equivalent or greater to the duration of audio recordings. This major constraint can be significantly reduced through the use of software developed for automated identification of bird vocalisations in audio recordings. We have compared the performance of four software (CallSeeker, Kaleidoscope Pro, Raven Pro, and Song Scope) and a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) using audio recordings containing calls of Bicknell’s Thrush and Gray-Cheeked Thrush, as well as the vocalisations of other bird species whose acoustic characteristics overlap with those of our target species. We evaluated all the software on the basis of two main criteria, their ability to detect calls and their ability to classify them correctly by species. Software performance ranged from 30 to 90% in terms of call detection (recall) and from 27 to 99% in terms of correct call classification (precision). CNNs offer a promising solution to the long-standing problem of detecting animal vocalisations in noisy soundscapes, while eliminating the tedious manual step of configuring the algorithms to maximise software performance.
Quality Assessment of Surface Water for Domestic and Agricultural Purposes Using Hydro-chemical and Microbial Studies in Kilifi County, North Coast Region of Kenya

Water has economic and ecological significance. However, quality deterioration due to salinity causes significant decrease in agricultural productivity and a public health problem. This study focuses on hydro-chemical and microbial quality of water sources in Kilifi County. Water samples were collected from 25 different locations within Kilifi County and indicators of salinity and microbial load analyzed. Temperature, pH, EC and TDS were determined using portable pH meter. Anions; F-, Br-, Cl-, SO42-, PO43-, NO2-, NO3-, CO32-, HCO3- and NH4+ were determined using Ion Exchange Chromatography. Cations; Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Zn2+, Fe2+, Cd2+, Cr3+, Al3+ and Ag+ were determined using flame photometry. Standard methods were used to determine Microbial loads. Results were pH (7.42±0.52), Temperature (24.61±0.21oC), EC (3.44±0.75 dscm-1), TDS (1672.53±122.87 mgL-1) and Turbidity (152.29±41.20 NTU). Anions; F- (2.90±0.24 mg/L), Cl- (1756.68±900.50 mg/L), NO2- (4.47±0.49 mg/L), Br- (11.72±1.20 mg/L), NO3- (4.67±0.38 mg/L), HCO3- (200.54±25.58 mg/L) PO43- (0.94±0.10 mg/L), CO32- (29.94±2.32 mg/L), and SO42- (300.64±42.47 mg/L). Cations; K+ (8751.80±214.04 mgL-1), Na+ (59.43±1.98 mgL-1), Ca2+ (4.00±0.16 mgL-1), Mg2+ (59.43±1.98 mgL-1), Zn2+ (0.76±0.30 mgL-1), Cu2+ (0.18±0.01 mgL-1), Ag+ (0.03±0.01 mg/L), Cd2+ (0.07±0.01 mg/L), Cr3+ (0.35±0.01 mg/L), Al3+ (0.33±0.01 mg/L) and NH4+ (2.01±1.96 mg/L). Microbial load; MPN (20811.00±402.00), Total coliforms (2970.00±60.00 CFU 100 mL-1), E. coli (26.00±3.00 CFU 100mL-1), S. aureus (411.00±12.00 CFU 100mL-1), Shegela (24.00±2.00 CFU 100mL-1) and S. typhi (67.00±2.00 CFU 100mL-1). Temperature, pH, EC, TDS, Turbidity, F-, Cl-, Br-, PO43-, Na+, Zn2+, Fe2+ and microbial load were above WHO limits whereas SO42-, NO2-, NO3-, CO32-, HCO3-, NH4+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cd2+, Cr3+, Al3+ and Ag+ were below WHO limits. The study concludes that water sources in Kilifi County are unsuitable for domestic and agricultural uses. It’s recommended that a continuous water quality monitoring program be put in place and development of effective management practices for utilization of the surface water resources be instituted.
Observations of gamma-ray sources with DAMPE

DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE), a space-borne high energy cosmic ray and gamma-ray detector, has surveyed the whole sky for five years and collected more than 220,000 gamma-ray events above 2 GeV since the launching on Dec. 17, 2015. The instrument response functions (IRFs) are derived and a dedicated software named DmpST is developed for the gamma-ray data analysis of DAMPE. Here we present the method of DAMPE bright gamma-ray sources search and the spectral analyses of these sources.
Proline synthesis through PYCR1 is required to support cancer cell proliferation and survival in oxygen-limiting conditions

Summary The demands of cancer cell proliferation alongside an inadequate angiogenic response lead to insufficient oxygen availability in the tumor microenvironment. Within the mitochondria, oxygen is the major electron acceptor for NADH, with the result that the reducing potential produced through tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle activity and mitochondrial respiration are functionally linked. As the oxidizing activity of the TCA cycle is required for efficient synthesis of anabolic precursors, tumoral hypoxia could lead to a cessation of proliferation without another means of correcting the redox imbalance. We show that in hypoxic conditions, mitochondrial pyrroline 5-carboxylate reductase 1 (PYCR1) activity is increased, oxidizing NADH with the synthesis of proline as a by-product. We further show that PYCR1 activity is required for the successful maintenance of hypoxic regions by permitting continued TCA cycle activity, and that its loss leads to significantly increased hypoxia in vivo and in 3D culture, resulting in widespread cell death.