Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors Influencing the Performance of Springboard Dives of Increasing Difficulty

Major factors influencing the ability of divers to perform nontwisting springboard dives of increasing degree of difficulty were investigated. The analysis was based upon 49 dives (42 in pike and 7 in tuck) executed by male and female medalists in the 1996 Olympics. Videotapes were digitized to determine competitors’ vertical velocities and angular momenta at the beginning of dive flight. Centripetal force and resultant joint torque models were used to estimate the effort needed to perform multiple somersaulting dives. Increasing degree of difficulty by spinning in a pike rather than a tuck position for the same number of somersaults was associated with decreased vertical velocity at the start of dive flight, decreased angular velocity while somersaulting in a quasi-rigid position, and little change in centripetal force or related muscular effort. Increasing degree of difficulty by adding a somersault while rotating in a tuck rather than a pike position involved increases in vertical and angular velocitie.
Investigation of the Relationship between Degradation of the Coating of Gas Turbine Blades and Its Surface Color

This article presents issues concerning the relationship between the degradation of the coating of gas turbine blades and changes in the color of its surface. Conclusions were preceded by the determination of parameters characterizing changes in the technical condition of protective coatings made based on a metallographic examination that defined the morphological modifications of the microstructure of the coating, chemical composition of oxides, and roughness parameters. It has been shown that an increased operating time causes parameters that characterize the condition of the blades to deteriorate significantly. Results of material tests were compared with those of blade surface color analyses performed using a videoscope. Image data were represented in two color models, i.e., RGB and L*a*b* with significant differences being observed between parameters in both representations. The study results demonstrated a relationship between the coating degradation degree and changes in the color of the blade’s surface. Among others, this approach may be used as a tool to assess the condition of turbine blades as well as entire gas turbines.
Formulation and Evaluation of Topical Biodegradable Films Loaded with Levofloxacin Lipid Nanocarriers

Skin ulcers have increased sharply due to rise in the incidence of obesity and diabetes. This study investigated lipid nanocarriers as a strategy to improve the efficacy of levofloxacin (LV) in penetrating skin. Two surfactant types and different lipid mixtures were used in preparation of lipid nanocarriers. Mean particle size, percentage entrapment efficiency (%EE), in vitro release, and antimicrobial activity were examined. The selected formula was incorporated into a chitosan (CS) film that was subjected to physic-chemical characterization and ex vivo permeation study. The selected formula showed particle size, PDI, and ZP: 80.3 nm, −0.21, and −26 mV, respectively, synchronized with 82.12 %EE. In vitro release study showed slow biphasic release of LV from lipid nanocarriers. The antimicrobial effect illustrated statistically significant effect of lipid nanocarriers on decreasing the minimum effective concentration (MIC) of LV, particularly against E. coli. The optimized nanocarriers’ formula loaded into CS film was clear, colorless, translucent, and smooth in texture. Based on the release profiles, it could be speculated that the CS film loaded with LV nanocarriers can maintain the antibacterial activity for 4 consecutive days. Thus, the local delivery of the drug in a sustained release manner could be predicted to enhance the therapeutic effect. Further clinical studies are strongly recommended. Graphical Abstract Graphical Abstract
Prognostic Value of a Polygenic Risk Score for Coronary Heart Disease in Individuals Aged 70 Years and Older

Background: The use of a polygenic risk score (PRS) to improve risk prediction of coronary heart disease (CHD) events has been demonstrated to have clinical utility in the general adult population. However, the prognostic value of a PRS for CHD has not been examined specifically in older populations of individuals aged ≥70 years, who comprise a distinct high-risk subgroup. The objective of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of a PRS for incident CHD events in a prospective cohort of older individuals without a history of cardiovascular events. Methods: We used data from 12 792 genotyped, healthy older individuals enrolled into the ASPREE trial (Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly), a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial investigating the effect of daily 100 mg aspirin on disability-free survival. Participants had no previous history of diagnosed atherothrombotic cardiovascular events, dementia, or persistent physical disability at enrollment. We calculated a PRS (meta-genomic risk score) consisting of 1.7 million genetic variants. The primary outcome was a composite of incident myocardial infarction or CHD death over 5 years. Results: At baseline, the median population age was 73.9 years, and 54.9% were female. In total, 254 incident CHD events occurred. When the PRS was added to conventional risk factors, it was independently associated with CHD (hazard ratio, 1.24 [95% CI, 1.08–1.42], P=0.002). The area under the curve of the conventional model was 70.53 (95% CI, 67.00–74.06), and after inclusion of the PRS increased to 71.78 (95% CI, 68.32–75.24, P=0.019), demonstrating improved prediction. Reclassification was also improved, as the continuous net reclassification index after adding PRS to the conventional model was 0.25 (95% CI, 0.15–0.28). Conclusion: A PRS for CHD performs well in older people and improves prediction over conventional cardiovascular risk factors. Our study provides evidence that genomic risk prediction for CHD has clinical utility in individuals aged 70 years and older. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials. gov; Unique identifier: NCT01038583
Preharvest phenotypic prediction of grain quality and yield of durum wheat using multispectral imaging.

Durum wheat is an important cereal that is widely grown in the Mediterranean basin. In addition to high yield, grain quality traits are of high importance for farmers. The strong influence of climatic conditions makes the improvement of grain quality traits, like protein content, vitreousness, and test weight a challenging task. Evaluation of quality traits post-harvest is time and labor intensive and requires expensive equipment, such as near-infrared spectroscopy or hyper spectral imagers. Predicting not only yield but also important quality traits in the field before harvest is of high value for breeders aiming to optimize resource allocation. Implementation of efficient approaches for trait prediction, such as the use of high-resolution spectral data acquired by a multispectral camera mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), need to be explored. In this study, we have acquired multispectral image data with an 11-band multispectral camera mounted on a UAV and analyzed the data with machine learning (ML) models to predict grain yield and important quality traits in breeding micro-plots. Combining 11-band multispectral data for 34 cultivars and 16 environments allowed to develop ML models with good prediction capability. Applying the trained models to test sets explained a considerable degree of phenotypic variance with good accuracy showing r-squared values of 0.84, 0.69, 0.64, and 0.61 and normalized root mean squared errors of 0.17, 0.07, 0.14, and 0.03 for grain yield, protein content, vitreousness, and test weight, respectively.
Fatty Acid Modification of the Anticancer Peptide LVTX-9 to Enhance Its Cytotoxicity against Malignant Melanoma Cells

Spider venom is a valuable resource for the development of novel anticancer drugs. In this study, we focused on novel linear amphipathic α-helical anticancer peptide LVTX-9, which was derived from the cDNA library of the venom gland of the spider Lycosa vittata. The cytotoxicity of LVTX-9 against murine melanoma cells in the range of 1.56–200 μM was tested and found to be significantly lower than those of most anticancer peptides reported. Its IC50 was determined to be 59.2 ± 19.8 μM in a serum or 76.3 ± 12.7 μM in serum-free medium. Fatty acid modification is a promising strategy for improving peptide performance. Therefore, to enhance the cytotoxic activity of LVTX-9, fatty acid modification of this peptide was performed, and five different carbon chain length lipopeptides named LVTX-9-C12-C20 were produced. Among them, the lipopeptide LVTX-9-C18 showed the highest cytotoxic activity in relation to B16-F10 cells, whether in a serum or serum-free medium. Most importantly, the cytotoxic activity of LVTX-9-C18 was improved by about 12.9 times in a serum medium or 19.3 times in a serum-free medium compared to that of LVTX-9. Subsequently, assays including scanning electron microscopy, trypan blue staining, lactate dehydrogenase leakage assay, and hemolytic activity could indicate that the potential direct cell membrane disruption is the main mechanism of LVTX-9-C18 to induce cancer cell death. Furthermore, the LVTX-9-C18 also showed strong cytotoxicity in relation to 3D B16-F10 spheroids, which indicates it might be a promising lead for developing anticancer drugs.
Simulation of the Unsteady Flow around the Complete BO-105 Wind Tunnel Model

The air flow past a wind tunnel model of an Eurocopter BO-105 fuselage, main rotor and tail rotor configuration is simulated by solving the time dependent Navier-Stokes equations. The flow solver uses overlapping, block structured grids to discretize the computational domain. The simulation setup and the execution on a parallel NEC-SX8 vector computer are described. The numerical results are compared with unsteady pressure measurements on the fuselage and the blades. An overall good agreement is found. %Differences between predicted and measured data on the main rotor and the tail rotor can be explained by blade elasticity effects. The high computational effort is highlighted.
Exome Sequencing Reveals Novel Variants and Expands the Genetic Landscape for Congenital Microcephaly

Congenital microcephaly causes smaller than average head circumference relative to age, sex and ethnicity and is most usually associated with a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders. The underlying etiology is highly heterogeneous and can be either environmental or genetic. Disruption of any one of multiple biological processes, such as those underlying neurogenesis, cell cycle and division, DNA repair or transcription regulation, can result in microcephaly. This etiological heterogeneity manifests in a clinical variability and presents a major diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, leaving an unacceptably large proportion of over half of microcephaly patients without molecular diagnosis. To elucidate the clinical and genetic landscapes of congenital microcephaly, we sequenced the exomes of 191 clinically diagnosed patients with microcephaly as one of the features. We established a molecular basis for microcephaly in 71 patients (37%), and detected novel variants in five high confidence candidate genes previously unassociated with this condition. We report a large number of patients with mutations in tubulin-related genes in our cohort as well as higher incidence of pathogenic mutations in MCPH genes. Our study expands the phenotypic and genetic landscape of microcephaly, facilitating differential clinical diagnoses for disorders associated with most commonly disrupted genes in our cohort.
Oxygen and magnesium mass-independent isotopic fractionation induced by chemical reactions in plasma

Significance Both the physical effect and the chemical conditions at the origin of the oxygen isotope variations in the solar system have been puzzling questions for 50 y. The data reported here bring the MIF effect (the mass-independent fractionation originally identified on ozone) back to the center of the debate. Similar to Ti isotopes, we observe that the MIF effect for O and Mg is triggered by redox reactions in plasmas. These observations reinforce the idea of a universal mechanism observable in photochemical reactions when molecular collisions involving indistinguishable isotopes yield a symmetrical complex stabilized as a chemical product. Enrichment or depletion ranging from −40 to +100% in the major isotopes 16O and 24Mg were observed experimentally in solids condensed from carbonaceous plasma composed of CO2/MgCl2/Pentanol or N2O/Pentanol for O and MgCl2/Pentanol for Mg. In NanoSims imaging, isotope effects appear as micrometer-size hotspots embedded in a carbonaceous matrix showing no isotope fractionation. For Mg, these hotspots are localized in carbonaceous grains, which show positive and negative isotopic effects so that the whole grain has a standard isotope composition. For O, no specific structure was observed at hotspot locations. These results suggest that MIF (mass-independent fractionation) effects can be induced by chemical reactions taking place in plasma. The close agreement between the slopes of the linear correlations observed between δ25Mg versus δ26Mg and between δ17O versus δ18O and the slopes calculated using the empirical MIF factor η discovered in ozone [M. H. Thiemens, J. E. Heidenreich, III. Science 219, 1073–1075; C. Janssen, J. Guenther, K. Mauersberger, D. Krankowsky. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 3, 4718–4721] attests to the ubiquity of this process. Although the chemical reactants used in the present experiments cannot be directly transposed to the protosolar nebula, a similar MIF mechanism is proposed for oxygen isotopes: at high temperature, at the surface of grains, a mass-independent isotope exchange could have taken place between condensing oxides and oxygen atoms originated form the dissociation of CO or H2O gas.
Lumbar Flexion During Driving: Establishing a Methodology for Characterising Real-Time Posture Data Collected by Innovative Technology

Objective To determine a methodology for the analysis of real-time driving posture data in the low back pain population. Background The strength of the relationship between driving posture and low back pain is yet to be defined due to the lack of studies in the field using validated and repeatable posture measurement tools. Reliable and validated real-time measurement tools are now available, yet reliable methods of analysis of these data are yet to be established. Method Ten occupational drivers completed a typical work shift while wearing an inertial motion sensor system (dorsaVi ViMove). Real-time lumbar flexion data were extracted, with test–retest reliability of mean lumbar flexion, peak lumbar flexion, and standard deviation of lumbar flexion analysed at different times across a work shift, and in different sections within a drive. Results Mean lumbar flexion was highly repeatable over numerous drives in one day, with greater test–retest reliability if the first five minutes of driving data were excluded. Peak lumbar flexion had acceptable test-retest reliability over numerous drives in one day, while standard deviation of lumbar flexion was not a repeatable measure. Conclusion Mean lumbar flexion was a reliable outcome for characterising driving posture in drivers with low back pain. Peak lumbar flexion may be used if appropriate to the individual study. Standard deviation of lumbar flexion is not a reliable posture outcome. Application This paper provides a reliable methodology for analysis of real-time driving posture data in occupational drivers with low back pain.
Human MAIT cells respond to and suppress HIV-1

Human MAIT cells sit at the interface between innate and adaptive immunity, are polyfunctional and are capable of killing pathogen infected cells via recognition of the Class IB molecule MR1. MAIT cells have recently been shown to possess an antiviral protective role in vivo and we therefore sought to explore this in relation to HIV-1 infection. There was marked activation of MAIT cells in vivo in HIV-1-infected individuals, which decreased following ART. Stimulation of THP1 monocytes with R5 tropic HIVBAL potently activated MAIT cells in vitro. This activation was dependent on IL-12 and IL-18 but was independent of the TCR. Upon activation, MAIT cells were able to upregulate granzyme B, IFNγ and HIV-1 restriction factors CCL3, 4, and 5. Restriction factors produced by MAIT cells inhibited HIV-1 infection of primary PBMCs and immortalized target cells in vitro. These data reveal MAIT cells to be an additional T cell population responding to HIV-1, with a potentially important role in controlling viral replication at mucosal sites.
Prognostic role of tripartite motif containing 24 in various human solid malignant neoplasms

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Abstract Background: Currently, clinical studies of tripartite motif containing 24 (TRIM24) on human solid malignant neoplasms were developing, but the prognosis value of TRIM24 continues to be controversial. The aim of our study is to explore the prognostic effect of TRIM24 in various human solid malignant neoplasms. Methods: We performed a comprehensive research for eligible studies which evaluated the prognostic roles of TRIM24 in cancer patients based on PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. The hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for various malignances were extracted from eligible studies. Results: A total of 13 studies with 1909 patients were enrolled in this analysis. Combined analyses showed that high expression of TRIM24 significantly predicted poorer overall survival both in univariate analysis (HR = 1.61, 95% CI 1.21–2.15, P = .001) and multivariate analysis (HR = 2.19, 95% CI 1.10–4.38, P = .026). In stratified analyses, high TRIM24 expression level predicted even worse overall survival in hormone-related cancers (HR = 1.92, 95% CI 1.28–2.86, P = .001). Although, expression of TRIM24 failed to show a significant relation with progression-free survival/disease-free survival/recurrence-free survival (HR = 1.42, 95% CI 0.93–2.16, P = .106), high expression predicted significant worse progression-free survival/disease-free survival/recurrence-free survival in hormone-related cancer (HR = 1.71, 95% CI 1.12–2.59, P = .013). Conclusion: TRIM24 could serve as a new biomarker for patients with solid malignancies and could be a potential therapeutic target for patients especially for patients with hormone-related malignancies.
Noncontact laser sensing technology for structural health monitoring and nondestructive testing (presentation video)

Noncontact sensing techniques is gaining prominence for structural health monitoring (SHM) and nondestructive testing (NDT) due to (1) their noncontact and nonintrusive natures, (2) their spatial resolution much higher than conventional discrete sensors can achieve, (3) their less dependency on baseline data obtained from the pristine condition of a target structure (reference-free diagnosis), (4) cost and labor reduction in sensor installation and maintenance. In this talk, a suite of noncontact sensing techniques particularly based on laser technology will be presented for SHM and NDT of aircraft, wind turbine blades, high-speed trains, nuclear power plants, bridges, automobile manufacturing facilities and semiconductors.
Overlooked Trustworthiness of Explainability in Medical AI

While various methods have been proposed to explain AI models, the trustworthiness of the generated explanation received little examination. This paper reveals that such explanations could be vulnerable to subtle perturbations on the input and generate misleading results. On the public CheXpert dataset, we demonstrate that specially designed adversarial perturbations can easily tamper saliency maps towards the desired explanations while preserving the original model predictions. AI researchers, practitioners, and authoritative agencies in the medical domain should use caution when explaining AI models because such an explanation could be irrelevant, misleading, and even adversarially manipulated without changing the model output.
Dedicated Child Attachment System (ISOFix)

Problems with the current methods of attaching child restraints to the vehicle structure have led to the development of new attachment systems. These proposals have been coordinated by the International Standards Organization (ISO) with the intention of generating an international standard system for the attachment of child restraints--ISOFix. These proposals attempt to balance the requirements for good impact performance with ease of use, low misuse, and reasonable cost, against possible complexity of the child restraint and its installation into the vehicle. This research program investigated the use of a range of four different prototype systems by parents. These systems were also subjected to frontal, side, and rear impacts. Various degrees of slack were introduced into the systems to determine the sensitivity to misuse and its effect on impact performance. A conventional child restraint using the same child seat shell was used for comparison. The results demonstrated that all systems could perform well, particularly in the frontal impact tests, provided that any adjustment in the attachment system was tightened. However, some systems were particularly sensitive to slack. Overall, those systems with rigid attachments performed best, particularly in side impacts. Also these were favored by the user group.
Single Nucleus RNA-sequencing Reveals Altered Intercellular Communication and Dendritic Cell Activation in Nonobstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

End stage, nonobstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an intractable condition with no disease-specific therapies. To gain insights into the pathogenesis of nonobstructive HCM, we performed single nucleus RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq) on human HCM hearts explanted at the time of cardiac transplantation and organ donor hearts serving as controls. Differential gene expression analysis revealed 64 differentially expressed genes linked to specific cell types and molecular functions. Analysis of ligand-receptor pair gene expression to delineate potential intercellular communication revealed significant reductions in expressed ligand-receptor pairs affecting the extracellular matrix, growth factor binding, peptidase regulator activity, platelet-derived growth factor binding and protease binding in the HCM tissue. Changes in Integrin-beta1 receptor expression were responsible for many changes related to extracellular matrix interactions, by increasing in dendritic, smooth muscle and pericyte cells while decreasing in endothelial and fibroblast cells, suggesting potential mechanisms for fibrosis and microvascular disease in HCM and a potential role for dendritic cells. In contrast, there was an increase in ligand-receptor pair expression associated with adenylate cyclase binding, calcium channel molecular functions, channel inhibitor activity, ion channel inhibitor activity, phosphatase activator activity, protein kinase activator activity and titin binding, suggesting important shifts in various signaling cascades in nonobstructive, end stage HCM.