Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in Perceived Stress of Pharmacy Students Pre- and Mid-COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract Objective: The objective of this study was to examine (1) the difference in perceived stress in first-year pharmacy students before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) the difference in perceived stress among pharmacy students working different numbers of hours. Methods: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), via an electronic survey, was administered throughout 2016–2021 using Qualtrics. End-of-year PSS scores were compared between the pre-pandemic group (2016–2018) and mid-pandemic group (2019–2021) using independent t-test and ANCOVA. All analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistic Version 28.0. Results: A total of 209 first-year pharmacy students participated (response rate of 88%). No significant difference in mean PSS score was detected in the mid-pandemic cohort when compared to pre-pandemic. The mean PSS score was greater in those who worked greater than 10 h weekly compared to those who worked less. Those who did not work had an even greater mean PSS score than those who worked. Conclusions: No significant difference was observed in perceived stress between the pre-pandemic and mid-pandemic cohorts, and an increased perceived stress score was observed in pharmacy students who did not work in comparison to students who worked 1–9 h and 10–29 h.
Code Cloning in Smart Contracts on the Ethereum Platform: An Extended Replication Study

Smart contracts are programs deployed on blockchains that run upon meeting predetermined conditions. Once deployed, smart contracts are immutable, thus, defects in the deployed code cannot be fixed. As a consequence, software engineering anti-patterns, such as code cloning, pose a threat to code quality and security if unnoticed before deployment. In this paper, we report on the cloning practices of the Ethereum blockchain platform by analyzing 33,073 smart contracts amounting to over 4MLOC. Prior work reported an unusually high 79.2% of code clones in Ethereum smart contracts. We replicate this study at the conceptual level, i.e., we answer the same research questions by employing different methods. In particular, we analyze clones at the granularity of functions instead of code files, thereby providing a more fine-grained estimate of the clone ratio. Furthermore, we analyze more complex clone types, allowing for a richer analysis of cloning cases. To achieve this finer granularity of cloning analysis, we rely on the NiCad clone detection tool and extend it with support for Solidity, the programming language of the Ethereum platform. Our analysis shows that most findings of the original study hold at the finer granularity of our study as well; but also sheds light on some differences, and contributes new findings. Most notably, we report a 30.13% overall clone ratio, out of which 27.03% are exact duplicates. Our findings motivate improving the reuse mechanisms of Solidity, and in a broader context, of programming languages used for the development of smart contracts. Tool builders and language engineers can use this paper in the design and development of such reuse mechanisms. Business stakeholders can use this paper to better assess the security risks and technical outlooks of blockchain platforms.
Using Ti/Ti0.7Ru0.3O2 anode-type with a Flow Cell System for the Electrochemical Treatment of a Tannery Wastewater

ABSTRACT The electrochemical oxidation of a real wastewater discharged by the baths of “Dar Dbagh” tannery (DDT) in Fez city (Morocco) was performed using Ti/Ti0.7Ru0. 3O2 anode (a dimensionally stable anode (DSA)-type electrode) underflow condition. The effect of different operational parameters, namely chloride ions concentration, electrolysis time, current density, initial pH, and temperature has been studied in detail. The discoloration and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal have been taken as the key experimental indicators to monitor the electrochemical treatment process of DDT wastewater. The obtained results have shown that the best degradation rates (i.e., 100% and 56% of de-colorization and COD removal, respectively) were accomplished under acidic conditions at 20 mA cm−2 as a current density in the presence of 0.033 M Na2SO4 + 0.800 M NaCl as supporting electrolyte at room temperature. The maximum reduction of the effluent COD attained using Ti/Ti0.7Ru0. 3O2 anode consuming 39.24 kWh per m3 clearly shows that DSA electrodes could be a good alternative for the remediation of DDT effluents.
Investigating Brain Structure Using Voxel-Based Methods with Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Referat: This work addresses the sensitivity for the detection of structural brain changes of different voxel-based methods in combination with recent soft-a n d h a r d w a r e improvements. It deals with possible confounds and caveats due to the increasing sensitivity of voxel-based studies. Therefore, two different voxel-based methods, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and Tract-Based Spatial Statisics (TBSS), were compared in three different studies, in order to describe sensitivity and limits in the detection of structural brain changes. The first study describes the effect of dehydration on brain structure using VBM. Detection sensitivity showed approx. 6% difference of the ventricular volume, various effects in white matter and little impact on gray matter. Accordingly, the possible confound of dehydration as an additional bias in neurodegenerative imaging studies can not be fully neglected and should be carefully considered. Investigations of TBSS and white matter structure using white matter sensitive peripheral blood serum markers showed positive correlation of S100B and mainly the corpus callosum in healthy subjects. This might be interesting for neuropsychiatric studies and future investigations to open new perspectives in treatment of those disorders. The last study describes the interplay of increasing sensitivity and concomitant increasing false positive detection of age related brain changes. The 1 Seitenanzahl insgesamt 2 Zahl der im Literaturverzeichnis ausgewiesenen Literaturangaben ii comparison of different scanning parameters revealed significant effects only related to the changing acquisition design. This work shows a beneficial effect of 32-channel coil acquisitions compared to 12-channel coil images. Furthermore, results show strong preference for whole brain analyses using images scanned with the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative protocol compared to the newly presented MP2RAGE protocol. The studies emphasize the high detection sensitivity for even subtle structural brain changes, u s i n g r e c e n t v o x e l-based methods and scanning hardware. Moreover, it underlines the suitability of VBM and TBSS for whole brain analysis and the need for careful selection of scanning parameters and analysis methods to achieve highest detection sensitivity and simultaneously low probability of false positive results. The considerable increase of patients with neurodegenerative diseases over the past decade is a worldwide growing challenge. Particularly, the amount of people suffering from Alzheimer`s Disease (AD), the most common dementia syndrome, massively increased in the past centuries and will increase in the future. The Alzheimer`s Disease International (ADI) and World Health Organization (WHO) estimated …
On two results in multiple testing

Two known results in multiple testing, one relating to the directional error control of augmented step-down procedure proved by Shaffer (1980) and the other on the monotonicity of the critical values of step-up procedure proved by Dalai and Mallows (1992), are revisited and given alternative proofs in this article.
Optically-Induced Symmetry Switching in a Reconfigurable Kagome Photonic Lattice: From Flatband to Type-III Dirac Cones

We demonstrate the transition of band structure from flatband to type-III Dirac cones in an electromagnetically induced Kagome photonic lattice generated in a three-level Λ-type 85Rb atomic configuration both experimentally and theoretically. Such instantaneously reconfigurable Kagome photonic lattice with flatband is “written” by a strong coupling field possessing a Kagome intensity distribution, which can modulate the refractive index of atomic vapors in a spatially periodical manner under electromagnetically induced transparency. By introducing an additional one-dimensional periodic coupling field to cover any one set of the three inequivalent sublattices of the induced Kagome photonic lattice, the dispersion-less energy band can evolve into type-III Dirac cones with linear dispersion by easily manipulating the intensity of the one-dimensional field. Our results may pave a new route to engineer in situ reconfigurable photonic structures with type-III Dirac cones, which can act as promising platforms to explore the underlying physics and beam dynamics.
Applied Functional Analysis

1. Review of some notions on metric spaces and Lebesgue integration: Metric spaces. Open sets, closed sets, neighborhoods. Convergence, Cauchy sequences, completeness. Completion of metric spaces. Review of the Lebesgue integration theory. Lebesgue spaces. 2. Banach and Hilbert spaces: Normed spaces and Banach spaces. Finite dimensional normed spaces and subspaces. Compactness and finite dimension. Bounded linear operators. Linear functionals. The finite dimensional case. Normed spaces of operators and the dual space. Weak topologies. Inner product spaces and Hilbert spaces. Orthogonal complements and direct sums. Orthonormal sets and sequences. Representation of functionals on Hilbert spaces. Hilbert adjoint operator. Self-adjoint operators, unitary operators. 3. Compact linear operators on normed spaces and their spectrum: Spectral properties of bounded linear operators. Compact linear operators on normed spaces. Spectral properties of compact linear operators. Spectral properties of bounded self-adjoint operators, positive operators, operators defined by a kernel. Mercer Kernels and Mercer’s theorem. 4. Reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces, inverse problems and regularization theory: Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Spaces (RKHS): definition and basic properties. Examples of RKHS. Function estimation problems in RKHS. Tikhonov regularization. Support vector regression and regularization networks. Representer theorem.
L‐Value and Energy Dependence of 0.1–50 keV O+, He+, and H+ Ions for CME and CIR Storms Over the Entire Van Allen Probes Era

Our studies report the first observation of L‐value and energy sorted correlation of differential fluxes of 0.1–50 keV O+, He+, and H+ ions with different geophysical parameters for 29 Coronal Mass Ejected (CME) and 40 Corotating Interaction Region (CIR)‐driven geomagnetic storms during the entire Van Allen Probes era. For both solar wind drivers, ions with ≥1 keV energies show more variability in response to the solar wind changes, while the lower energy (<1 keV) ions are relatively stable. During the in‐storm interval, O+ ions show maximum flux enhancement and become further prominent during CME storms. O+ ion (≥10 keV) fluxes show good correlation with − VswBz, and Sym‐H index during CME‐driven storms in the L ∼2.5–5.5. Apart from this, the average duration of persistence (〈Δt〉) for enhanced fluxes is higher for CIR‐driven storms with 〈Δt〉O+ ${\langle {\Delta}t\rangle }_{{O}^{+}}$ > 〈Δt〉He+ ${\langle {\Delta}t\rangle }_{H{e}^{+}}$ > 〈Δt〉H+ ${\langle {\Delta}t\rangle }_{{H}^{+}}$ at E ≤ 50 keV in the L ∼2.5–5.5. Moreover, the observed value of 〈Δt〉i (where i is O+, H+ or He+) increases with the increasing L. We discuss the plausible mechanisms to provide a comprehensive overview of L‐values and energy sorted O+, He+ and H+ ion dynamics for two different categories of solar wind drivers.
A Sociomaterial Investigation into Chinese International Students’ Navigation of a Doctoral Trajectory During COVID-19

Despite a vast body of scholarship delving into international students’ educational experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about the doctoral group's perception from a sociomaterial perspective. Utilizing a group of Chinese international doctoral students while drawing on semi-structured interviews, the article unpacks what and how matter and human forces are entangled with one another as bricolages to shape a disrupted doctoral trajectory. It reveals that, within working and social spaces, human agency and non-human matter mediate, forge and produce a doctoral trajectory embedded within a complex lived experience of responding to shifting dynamics during the pandemic. It also shows how doctoral students aligned material and social assemblages to construct sociomaterial bricolages that facilitate a restoration of relative stability. The study contributes to the literature of international doctoral education with a nuanced disclosure of its navigation as a continual process of mobilization, negotiation and construction emerging from the performative flow of sociomaterial practices. It concludes that a doctoral trajectory represents network operations of experiencing and accounting for, not just what humans do with matter, but what matter does to human thinking and action.
Smart and Portable Air-Quality Monitoring IoT Low-Cost Devices in Ibarra City, Ecuador

Nowadays, increasing air-pollution levels are a public health concern that affects all living beings, with the most polluting gases being present in urban environments. For this reason, this research presents portable Internet of Things (IoT) environmental monitoring devices that can be installed in vehicles and that send message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) messages to a server, with a time series database allocated in edge computing. The visualization stage is performed in cloud computing to determine the city air-pollution concentration using three different labels: low, normal, and high. To determine the environmental conditions in Ibarra, Ecuador, a data analysis scheme is used with outlier detection and supervised classification stages. In terms of relevant results, the performance percentage of the IoT nodes used to infer air quality was greater than 90%. In addition, the memory consumption was 14 Kbytes in a flash and 3 Kbytes in a RAM, reducing the power consumption and bandwidth needed in traditional air-pollution measuring stations.
Morphological variation in Northwest Pacific Devaleraea mollis and description of D. inkyuleei sp. nov. (Palmariaceae, Rhodophyta)

ABSTRACT We assessed the range of morphological variation in Devaleraea mollis from the Northwest Pacific. Genetic analyses based on the 5' end of the genes coding for cytochrome c oxidase I (COI-5'), cytochrome oxidase b (cob) and photosystem I reaction centre apoprotein A1 (psaA), as well as the ITS1–5.8S–ITS2 (ITS) fragment of rDNA, revealed that the morphospecies D. mollis includes two species. The alga from Japan previously identified as ‘Palmaria palmata’ resolved as sister to D. stenogona and is here described as D. inkyuleei sp. nov. The species is morphologically similar to D. mollis, but it has a more southern range. Devaleraea inkyuleei is only known from Japan (Honshu and Hokkaido) and from Aniva Bay (Sakhalin Island, Russia).
Expression Profile of New Gene Markers Involved in Differentiation of Canine Adipose-Derived Stem Cells into Chondrocytes

The interest in stem cell research continuously increased over the last decades, becoming one of the most important trends in the 21st century medicine. Stem cell-based therapies have a potential to become a solution for a range of currently untreatable diseases, such as spinal cord injuries, type I diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, stroke, and osteoarthritis. Hence, this study, based on canine material, aims to investigate the molecular basis of adipose-derived stem cell (ASC) differentiation into chondrocytes, to serve as a transcriptomic reference for further research aiming to introduce ASC into treatment of bone and cartilage related diseases, such as osteoarthritis in veterinary medicine. Adipose tissue samples were harvested from a canine specimen subjected to a routine ovariohysterecromy procedure at an associated veterinary clinic. The material was treated for ASC isolation and chondrogenic differentiation. RNA samples were isolated at day 1 of culture, day 30 of culture in unsupplemented culture media, and day 30 of culture in chondrogenic differentiation media. The resulting RNA was analyzed using RNAseq assays, with the results validated by RT-qPCR. Between differentiated chondrocytes, early and late cultures, most up- and down-regulated genes in each comparison were selected for further analysis. , there are several genes (e.g., MMP12, MPEG1, CHI3L1, and CD36) that could be identified as new markers of chondrogenesis and the influence of long-term culture conditions on ASCs. The results of the study prove the usefulness of the in vitro culture model, providing further molecular insight into the processes associated with ASC culture and differentiation. Furthermore, the knowledge obtained could be used as a molecular reference for future in vivo and clinical studies.
Correlation and Regression: Principles and Applications for Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Management

An introduction, an overview and some reminders a review of the correlation coefficient and its properties testing correlations for statistical significance applications of Pearson correlation to measurement theory range restriction "simple", two-variable regression three applications of bivariate regression - utility analysis, regression to the mean, partial correlation multiple (mostly trivariate) regression expanding the regression repertoire - polynomial and interaction terms more about regression, and beyond.
Complex Profile of Altered Heavy Metals Accumulation in Multiple Sclerosis, a Relationship with Copper and Zinc Homeostasis

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating inflammatory disease of the central nervous system white matter. Both of environmental and genetic factors have been implicated in its pathogenesis. Heavy metals generate free radicals causing alteration in genetic material and blood-brain barrier damage. In addition, intracellular accumulation of certain heavy metals can trigger autoimmune reaction against myelin proteins and nerves cytoskeletal proteins. AIM: We aimed to analyse complex profile of altered heavy metals accumulation in multiple sclerosis and relationship with copper and zinc homeostasis. METHODS: The present study was carried out in the period between September 2019 and May 2021 on 86 MS Egyptian patients and 86 age and gender matched healthy controls. Whole blood levels of lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and Cadmium (Cd) in microgram/liter (μg/L) in addition to Zinc (Zn) and Copper (Cu) in milligram/liter (mg/L) were quantitated using the Agilent ICP-MS-MS. The current study also discussed physiological-toxic metals interactions in these patients. RESULTS: We demonstrated significant relations between toxic heavy metals levels and MS suggested by significantly higher levels of Pb, Hg, and Cd and significantly lower levels of Zn and Cu as well as Cu/ Zn in MS patients than controls. Besides, it could be assumed that; physiological heavy metals homeostasis limits the accumulation of toxic heavy metals that share absorption and transport binding sites, suggested by the significant negative correlations between whole blood levels of Cu and both of Hg and Pb. CONCLUSION: A complex profile of altered elements rather than a single element imbalance in MS pathogenesis is suggested.
The Effect of Vitamin D and Its Analogs in Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in women, due to its heterogeneity and usually late diagnosis. The current first-line therapies of debulking surgery and intensive chemotherapy cause debilitating side effects. Therefore, there is an unmet medical need to find new and effective therapies with fewer side effects, or adjuvant therapies, which could reduce the necessary doses of chemotherapeutics. Vitamin D is one of the main regulators of serum calcium and phosphorus homeostasis, but it has also anticancer effects. It induces differentiation and apoptosis, reduces proliferation and metastatic potential of cancer cells. However, doses that would be effective against cancer cause hypercalcemia. For this reason, synthetic and less calcemic analogs have been developed and tested in terms of their anticancer effect. The anticancer role of vitamin D is best understood in colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer and much less research has been done in ovarian cancer. In this review, we thus summarize the studies on the role of vitamin D and its analogs in vitro and in vivo in ovarian cancer models.
Nanoparticle and Nanostructure Synthesis and Controlled Growth Methods

Nanomaterials are materials with one or more nanoscale dimensions (internal or external) (i.e., 1 to 100 nm). The nanomaterial shape, size, porosity, surface chemistry, and composition are controlled at the nanoscale, and this offers interesting properties compared with bulk materials. This review describes how nanomaterials are classified, their fabrication, functionalization techniques, and growth-controlled mechanisms. First, the history of nanomaterials is summarized and then the different classification methods, based on their dimensionality (0–3D), composition (carbon, inorganic, organic, and hybrids), origin (natural, incidental, engineered, bioinspired), crystal phase (single phase, multiphase), and dispersion state (dispersed or aggregated), are presented. Then, the synthesis methods are discussed and classified in function of the starting material (bottom-up and top-down), reaction phase (gas, plasma, liquid, and solid), and nature of the dispersing forces (mechanical, physical, chemical, physicochemical, and biological). Finally, the challenges in synthesizing nanomaterials for research and commercial use are highlighted.
Advances in Latest Application Status, Challenges, and Future Development Direction of Electrospinning Technology in the Biomedical

In recent years, nanotechnology has attracted much attention in the field of biomedicine and sensing technology. As one of the simplest and most effective methods to prepare nanofiber materials, electrospinning technology has a lot of application research in biomedical fields such as sensor detection, drug delivery, and tissue engineering because of its high porosity, large surface area to volume ratio, and uniform size. In this review, we summarized the latest application progress of electrospinning materials in biomedicine, sensing, and textile industry and discussed the challenges and future development direction of electrospinning technology.