Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fabrication of New Hybrid Scaffolds for in vivo Perivascular Application to Treat Limb Ischemia

Cell therapies are emerging as a new therapeutic frontier for the treatment of ischemic disease. However, femoral occlusions can be challenging environments for effective therapeutic cell delivery. In this study, cell-engineered hybrid scaffolds are implanted around the occluded femoral artery and the therapeutic benefit through the formation of new collateral arteries is investigated. First, it is reported the fabrication of different hybrid “hard-soft” 3D channel-shaped scaffolds comprising either poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) or polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and electro-spun of gelatin (GL) nanofibers. Both PCL-GL and PLGA-GL scaffolds show anisotropic characteristics in mechanical tests and PLGA displays a greater rigidity and faster degradability in wet conditions. The resulting constructs are engineered using human adventitial pericytes (APCs) and both exhibit excellent biocompatibility. The 3D environment also induces expressional changes in APCs, conferring a more pronounced proangiogenic secretory profile. Bioprinting of alginate-pluronic gel (AG/PL), containing APCs and endothelial cells, completes the hybrid scaffold providing accurate spatial organization of the delivered cells. The scaffolds implantation around the mice occluded femoral artery shows that bioengineered PLGA hybrid scaffold outperforms the PCL counterpart accelerating limb blood flow recovery through the formation arterioles with diameters >50 μm, demonstrating the therapeutic potential in stimulating reparative angiogenesis.
Comparing and improving techniques for conductivity image reconstruction in MIT: A simulation study

This article focuses on comparison and improvements of techniques for conductivity image reconstruction in magnetic induction tomography (MIT). MIT imaging modality is a noncontact, portable, and inexpensive tool. In previous studies, generally, the real part (in‐phase component) and the imaginary part (quadrature component) of the induced voltages have been used in low‐ and high‐contrast conductivity imaging, respectively. However, techniques for conductivity image reconstruction in the middle‐contrast conductivity have not been well‐established in the MIT literature. In this work, the necessity of using both the real and imaginary parts of the induced voltages in MIT is described, and a technique which uses both the real and imaginary parts of the induced voltages for conductivity image reconstruction is presented. This technique includes conductivity image reconstruction in the middle range of conductivity. Results show the efficiency of the proposed technique compared to the previous technique especially in the middle‐contrast conductivity applications and in imaging regions with multitarget objectives with vastly different conductivity values.
Targeting the glucose metabolism of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) to stimulate cancer immunity.

S AND PRESENTATIONS ORAL PRESENTATIONS 1. Grewal JS, Shehab TM, Krasman ML, Whitehouse Jr WM. (2008, May). A Young Male Patient with Abdominal Pain and Weight Loss. A case of Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome. Oral Presentation presented at: Michigan Chapter of the American College of Physicians Meeting; Sterling Heights, MI. 2. Grewal JS, Tworek JA, Chottiner EA, Sahijdak WM. (2008, September). Central Nervous System Involvement with Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia: Response to Cranial Radiation Treatment. Oral Presentation presented at: Michigan Chapter of the American College of Physicians Meeting; Dearborn, MI. 3. Grewal JS, Tworek JA, Chottiner EA, Sahijdak WM. (2008, May). Central Nervous System Involvement with Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia: Response to Cranial Radiation Treatment. Oral Presentation presented at: Michigan Chapter of the American College of Physicians meeting; Sterling Heights, MI. POSTERS 1. J. Grewal, J. Ritchie, N. Al-Rayyan, P Schowe, C Falkner, S.Telang, K. Yaddanapudi, and J. Chesney. Targeting the Glucose Metabolism of Monocytic Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells to Stimulate Cancer Immunity. ASCO-SITC meeting in Orlando, FL, February 2017. 2. J. Grewal, J. Ritchie, N. Al-Rayyan, S.Telang, K. Yaddanapudi, and J. Chesney. Targeting the Glucose Metabolism of Monocytic MyeloidDerived Suppressor Cells to Stimulate Cancer Immunity. Research Louisville 2016. 3. S Telang, K Yaddanapudi, J Grewal, G Tapolsky, R Redman and J Chesney. Targeting 6-Phosphofructo-2-Kinase (PFKFB3) as an Immunotherapeutic Strategy. ASCO 2016. 4. J. Grewal, J. Ritchie, N. Al-Rayyan, S.Telang, K. Yaddanapudi, and J. Chesney. 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3
Cellulose Powder from Piper nigrum L. Agro-Industrial Waste: Effect of Preparation Condition on Chemical Structure and Thermal Degradation

River ABSTRACT White pepper is generally produced via water retting process to decorticate the pericarp of green pepper. The decorticated pericarp is considered as an agro-industrial waste and environmental pollutant as many farmers still discard the waste into the rivers. These wastes majorly contain cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, and other organic compound. Cellulose was obtained from alkaline treatment (4 wt. % sodium hydroxides, NaOH) followed by bleaching process. This study reports the effect of soaking cycle in bleaching treatment on the chemical structure and thermal degradation of cellulose. The cellulose obtained from pepper (Piper nigrum L.) pericarp waste were characterised by colour analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Increased number of bleaching cycles produced a whiter colour and high thermal stability of cellulose powder. The whiteness index (WI) for high bleaching cycle sample was found significantly high (p<0.05) with the value of 77.00 ± 1.10. Thermal analysis indicates a derivative thermogravimetric analysis (DTG) peak at 332 °C. The FTIR spectrum proven that the condition of bleaching treatment changes the absorption intensity at bands 1732, 1540, and 1460 cm-1 which due to the loss of hemicellulose and lignin. The use of pepper pericarp waste that is usually discarded may provide a sustainable alternative for the production of cellulose.
An Efficient H7 Single-Phase Photovoltaic Grid Connected Inverter for CMC Conceptualization and Mitigation Method

Transformerless inverters are the economic choice as power interfaces between photovoltaic (PV) renewable sources and the power grid. Without galvanic isolation and adequate power convert design, single-phase grid connected inverters may have limited performance due to the presence of a significant common mode ground current by creating safety issues and enhancing the negative impact of harmonics in the grid current. This paper proposes an extended H6 transformerless inverter that uses an additional power switch (H7) to improve common mode leakage current mitigation in a single-phase utility grid. The switch with a diode in series connection aims to make an effective clamp of common mode voltage at the DC link midpoint. The principles of operation of the proposed structure with bipolar sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM) is presented and formulated. Laboratory tests’ performance is detailed and evaluated in comparison with well-known single-phase transformer-less topologies in terms of power conversion efficiency, total harmonic distortion (THD) level, and circuit components number. The studied topology performance evaluation is completed with the inclusion of reactive power compensation functionality verified by a low-power laboratory implementation with 98.02% efficiency and 30.3 mA for the leakage current.
Phlebia nigrodontea sp. nov. in Meruliaceae (Polyporales) with a black hymenial surface

A new wood-inhabiting fungus, Phlebia nigrodontea, is proposed based on a combination of morphological features and molecular evidence. The species is characterized by a grandinioid hymenophore with vinaceous brown to black colour, a monomitic hyphal system with clamped generative hyphae and ellipsoid, colourless, thin-walled, smooth basidiospores (3.9– 4.9 × 2.3–3.1 μm). Sequences of ITS and LSU nrRNA gene regions of the studied samples were generated, and phylogenetic analyses carried out using maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference methods. The phylogenetic analyses based on the molecular data of ITS+nLSU sequences showed that P. nigrodontea nested within the phlebioid clade. A further investigation of more representative taxa from Phlebia, based on ITS+nLSU sequences, demonstrated that the species P. nigrodontea formed a monophyletic lineage with strong support (100% BS, 100% BT, 1.00 BPP) and closely grouped with P. chrysocreas.
Two Englands? Blokishness, masculine habitus and the North-South divide in the advertising industry

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the position of women in the advertising industry with the lens of organisational theory and Bourdieuian concept of habitus, to explore whether women are expected to embrace masculine characteristics to succeed and whether advertising industry can be seen as a masculine habitus. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative interviews were conducted with 37 women working in the advertising industry in England. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Women report masculine expectations as a condition to succeed in their careers and show large internalisation of masculine habitus. While women recognise that the position of men is better, they do not report challenging organisational structures that enforce masculine expectations of them, and they generally report having to communicate and behave like men to succeed. Women in the north show more work satisfaction and report less sexism and career barriers. Practical implications Employers wishing to present their brand as inclusive should consider the impact of organisational structure and design internal policies that promote inclusivity. Social implications Advertising industry has a mass reach, similar to one of the media, and reshaping organisational structure to foster inclusivity would enable more supportive and less stereotypical campaigns. Class origin and early socialisation influence communication and behaviour in adulthood, which influences career opportunities. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study addressing blokishness and masculine habitus in the context of the advertising industry in England. Besides, the study identified a regional divide in work experiences, which are linked to early socialisation.
Estimating the multi-decadal carbon deficit of burned Amazonian forests

Wildfires in humid tropical forests have become more common in recent years, increasing the rates of tree mortality in forests that have not co-evolved with fire. Estimating carbon emissions from these wildfires is complex. Current approaches rely on estimates of committed emissions based on static emission factors through time and space, yet these emissions cannot be assigned to specific years, and thus are not comparable with other temporally-explicit emission sources. Moreover, committed emissions are gross estimates, whereas the long-term consequences of wildfires require an understanding of net emissions that accounts for post-fire uptake of CO2. Here, using a 30 year wildfire chronosequence from across the Brazilian Amazon, we calculate net CO2 emissions from Amazon wildfires by developing statistical models comparing post-fire changes in stem mortality, necromass decomposition and vegetation growth with unburned forest plots sampled at the same time. Over the 30 yr time period, gross emissions from combustion during the fire and subsequent tree mortality and decomposition were equivalent to 126.1 Mg CO2 ha−1 of which 73% (92.4 Mg CO2 ha−1) resulted from mortality and decomposition. These emissions were only partially offset by forest growth, with an estimated CO2 uptake of 45.0 Mg ha−1over the same time period. Our analysis allowed us to assign emissions and growth across years, revealing that net annual emissions peak 4 yr after forest fires. At present, Brazil’s National Determined Contribution (NDC) for emissions fails to consider forest fires as a significant source, even though these are likely to make a substantial and long-term impact on the net carbon balance of Amazonia. Considering long-term post-fire necromass decomposition and vegetation regrowth is crucial for improving global carbon budget estimates and national greenhouse gases (GHG) inventories for tropical forest countries.
Public debt’s predictors in EU: evidence from members and non-members of European Monetary Union

Abstract The global economic crisis destabilised the public debt of many countries. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the predictors of public debt in European Union countries divided into non-member countries and members of the European Monetary Union in the period from 2001 to 2018. The aim is to discover their relationship with public debt and make recommendations for economic policy-makers. The empirical analysis was based on comparative research design, quantitative methodology and secondary data collection. It included 13 variables, with public debt being the dependent variable and the selected 12 economic indicators were treated as predictors. The analysis was based on a procedure for linear mixed models in the IBM SPSS. The basic finding was that only unemployment was statistically significant predictor of public debt in both groups of countries. Other predictors differed, and there were statistically significant differences in the magnitude of their impacts. Obtained results indicate that unemployment is one of the most important problems of all European Union countries. In addition, a major challenge for monetary and fiscal policy-makers will be profiling adequate tax, credit, and interest rate policies to reduce debt and accelerate economic growth.
Did the Orlando shooting at Pulse Nightclub affect sexual minority mental health? Results and challenges using population-based data

Abstract Purpose of the study Forty-nine people were killed in the Orlando shooting at Pulse nightclub on June 12, 2016. The objective of this study was to examine the association between the Orlando shooting and sexual minority mental health. Materials and methods We used data from the 2013–2018 National Health Interview Survey and a difference-in-differences approach to compare changes in severe psychological distress (SPD) between sexual minorities and their heterosexual peers. Results Compared to heterosexual men, the Orlando shooting was associated with a 25.6 percentage point (p < 0.05) increase in SPD for sexual minority men in June 2016. We did not observe a similar pattern of heightened SPD for sexual minority women following the Orlando shooting. Conclusion This study suggests that the Orlando shooting was detrimental to the mental health of sexual minority men.
Purification and Dispersion of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes for Transparent Conducting Films

In our study, air oxidation together with three different procedures for purifying single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) was investigated. High purity SWCNTs were obtained. The purified SWCNTs were dispersed into four different types of dispersants and different ratio of SWCNTs to dispersant was evaluated in order to find the optimal condition. Transparent conducting films were fabricated by the purified and well dispersed SWCNT solution. Nitric acid concentration was optimized to enhance the film conductivity. SWCNT films with low sheet resistance and high transmittance were obtained by nitric acid treatment.
Impacts of Climatic and Agricultural Input Factors on the Water Footprint of Crop Production in Jilin Province, China

Water consumption ensures crop production and grain security, and is influenced by many factors. Analyzing the impact factors of water consumption during crop production will be beneficial to the full use of water resources and crop growth. Jilin Province is one of the major crop production areas in China and is facing water shortages. Using the water footprint as an indicator, this study evaluated the water consumption of crop production in Jilin Province during 2000–2016, explored the impacts of climatic and agricultural input factors on the water consumption of crop production, and identified the most influential factors in years under different levels of rainfall. The results indicate that the crop water footprint exhibited a decreasing trend during 2000–2016, and the most influential factors of the crop water footprint changed over the years with different levels of rainfall. Precipitation and the effective irrigation area were the most influential factors in the drought year, and accumulated temperature, machinery power, and chemical fertilizer consumption were the most influential factors in normal and humid years. The most influential factors of the crop water footprint differed in different regions with the differences in natural and human interfered conditions. Identifying the impacts of the most influential factors on the water consumption of crop production would be conducive to optimizing farmland management and achieving sustainable agricultural production.
Influence of market orientation, learning orientation, and innovativeness on operational performance of real estate business

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play important roles in driving domestic economy. The purpose of this research was to examine the causal relationship model among factors that influence on operational performance (OP) in real estate business (REB), Thailand. The 555 samples of REB entrepreneurs were randomly selected by the multi-stage sampling method. A questionnaire was employed as a research tool for collecting data and analyzed with the structural equation model (SEM). The generated model is fit (χ2/df = .835, p = .993, GFI = .960, AGFI = .945, CFI = 1.000, RMSEA = .000). Findings revealed statistically significant that market orientation (MO) has positively influenced on operational performance, innovativeness (IN) and learning orientation (LO) (p < 0.001). Learning orientation has positively affected to innovativeness (p < 0.05) but non-significant affected to operational performance (p > 0.05). Lastly, innovativeness has positively influenced on operational performance (p < 0.001). Additionally, learning orientation has mediated between market orientation and innovativeness. The antecedent factors (MO, IN and LO) have cooperatively explained the causal relationship model that influenced on operational performance at 62.80%. Therefore, entrepreneurs in REB are able to achieve strategically their operational performance by consideration and implementation in mainly of the activities related with market orientation and innovativeness.
Integrating quantitative proteomics and metabolomics in a cellular model of diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of visual loss in individuals under the age of 55. Most investigations into the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy have been concentrated on the neural retina since this is where clinical lesions are manifested. Recently, however, various abnormalities in the structural and secretory functions of retinal pigment epithelium that are essential for neuroretina survival, have been found in diabetic retinopathy. In this context, here we study the effect of hyperglycemic and hypoxic conditions on the metabolism of a human retinal pigment epithelial cell line (ARPE-19) by integrating quantitative proteomics using tandem mass tagging (TMT), untargeted metabolomics using MS and NMR, and 13C-glucose isotopic labeling for metabolic tracking. We observed a remarkable metabolic diversification under our simulated in vitro hyperglycemic conditions of diabetes, characterized increased flux through polyol pathways and inhibition of the Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. Importantly, under low oxygen supply RPE cells seem to consume rapidly glycogen storages and stimulate anaerobic glycolysis. Our results therefore pave the way to future scenarios involving new therapeutic strategies addressed to modulating RPE metabolic impairment, with the aim of regulating structural and secretory alterations of RPE. Finally, this study shows the importance of tackling biomedical problems by integrating metabolomic and proteomics results.
ACAIOT: A Framework for Adaptable Context-Aware IoT applications

: Recently, the Internet of Things (IoT) and context-aware IoT applications are involved in various domains such as healthcare, traffic, and smart homes. The main challenge, while developing context-aware IoT applications, is managing the massive amounts of data and events to get relevant context information. This paper proposes a semantic-based and domain-independent framework called ACAIOT. It hides the details of context management from the high-level services. It proposes a programming abstraction for adapting services’ execution to various domains easily. We demonstrate the features and effectiveness of ACAIOT by its execution on a real smart home dataset. We evaluated ACAIOT against previous work in developing a set of services such as monitoring, prediction, and notification. Results show that ACAIOT achieves an average F1-score of 0.82, which is comparable with the current state-of-the-art methods. Moreover, ACAIOT is able to incorporate important compound activities that cannot be handled by previous work.
Ex vivo culture of circulating tumour cells derived from non-small cell lung cancer

Background Tumour tissue-based information is limited. Liquid biopsy can provide valuable real-time information through circulating tumour cells (CTCs). Profiling and expanding CTCs may provide avenues to study transient metastatic disease. Methods Seventy non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients were recruited. CTCs were enriched using the spiral microfluidic chip and a RosetteSep™ using bloods from NSCLC patients. CTC cultures were carried out using the Clevers media under hypoxic conditions. CTCs were characterized using immunofluorescence and mutation-specific antibodies for samples with known mutation profiles. Exome sequencing was used to characterized CTC cultures. Results CTCs (>2 cells) were detected in 38/70 (54.3%) of patients ranging from 0 to 385 CTCs per 7.5 mL blood. In 4/5 patients where primary tumours harboured an EGFR exon 19 deletion, this EGFR mutation was also captured in CTCs. ALK translocation was confirmed on CTCs from a patient harbouring an ALK-rearrangement in the primary tumour. Short term CTC cultures were successfully generated in 9/70 NSCLC patients. Whole exome sequencing (WES) confirmed the presence of somatic mutations in the CTC cultures with mutational signatures consistent with NSCLC. Conclusions We were able to detect CTCs in >50% of NSCLC patients. NSCLC patients with >2 CTCs had a poor prognosis. The short-term CTC culture success rate was 12.9%. Further optimization of this culture methodology may provide a means by which to expand CTCs derived from NSCLC patient’s bloods. CTC cultures allow for expansion of cells to a critical mass, allowing for functional characterization of CTCs with the goal of drug sensitivity testing and the creation of CTC cell lines.
Deep learning in medical imaging: A brief review

Researchers have used deep learning methods for a human level or better disease identification and detection. This paper reports, in brief, the recent work in deep learning identification of diseases occurring at three unique parts of the human body: the skin, the thorax, and the eye. While earlier reviews reported on the theory, applications, and challenges of such research, what distinguishes this work from the others is the reporting and comprehensive analysis of the key results. In doing so, the paper not only summarizes the major conclusions drawn from them but also emphasizes their weaknesses. The hope is to help the researchers see the big picture in deep learning classification of the diseases of the skin, the thorax and the eye, and guide them to find the right future research direction.