Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integration of vascular progenitors into functional blood vessels represents a novel mechanism of vascular growth

During embryogenesis, the initial vascular network is thought to form by the process of vasculogenesis, or the specification of vascular progenitors de novo. After the initial blood circulation has been established, the majority of later-forming vessels are thought to arise by angiogenesis from the already established vasculature. Here we show that new vascular progenitors in zebrafish embryos contribute to functional vasculature even after blood circulation has been established. Based on the expression analysis of early vascular progenitor markers etv2 and tal1, we characterized a novel site of late vasculogenesis (termed secondary vascular field, SVF), located bilaterally along the yolk extension. Using time-lapse imaging of etv2 reporter lines, we show that SVF cells migrate and incorporate into functional blood vessels and contribute to the formation of the posterior cardinal vein and subintestinal vasculature, suggesting a novel mode of vascular growth. We further demonstrate that SVF cells participate in vascular recovery after chemical ablation of vascular endothelial cells. Inducible inhibition of etv2 function prevented SVF cell differentiation and resulted in the defective formation of subintestinal vasculature. In addition, we performed single-cell RNA-seq analysis to identify the transcriptional profile of SVF cells, which demonstrated similarities and differences between the transcriptomes of SVF cells and early vascular progenitors. Our results characterize a novel mechanism of how new vascular progenitors incorporate into established vasculature and revise our understanding of basic mechanisms that regulate vascular development.
Antibacterial Activity and Amphidinol Profiling of the Marine Dinoflagellate Amphidinium carterae (Subclade III)

Microalgae have received growing interest for their capacity to produce bioactive metabolites. This study aimed at characterising the antimicrobial potential of the marine dinoflagellate Amphidinium carterae strain LACW11, isolated from the west of Ireland. Amphidinolides have been identified as cytotoxic polyoxygenated polyketides produced by several Amphidinium species. Phylogenetic inference assigned our strain to Amphidinium carterae subclade III, along with isolates interspersed in different geographic regions. A two-stage extraction and fractionation process of the biomass was carried out. Extracts obtained after stage-1 were tested for bioactivity against bacterial ATCC strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The stage-2 solid phase extraction provided 16 fractions, which were tested against S. aureus and E. faecalis. Fractions I, J and K yielded minimum inhibitory concentrations between 16 μg/mL and 256 μg/mL for both Gram-positive. A targeted metabolomic approach using UHPLC-HRMS/MS analysis applied on fractions G to J evidenced the presence of amphidinol type compounds AM-A, AM-B, AM-22 and a new derivative dehydroAM-A, with characteristic masses of m/z 1361, 1463, 1667 and 1343, respectively. Combining the results of the biological assays with the targeted metabolomic approach, we could conclude that AM-A and the new derivative dehydroAM-A are responsible for the detected antimicrobial bioactivity.
Novel full bridge zero-voltage-transition PWM DC/DC converter for high power applications

A novel full-bridge (FB) zero-voltage-transition (ZVT) PWM DC/DC converter for high power applications is proposed. An auxiliary network which consists of two small switches and one small inductor provides zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) for entire line and load ranges without increasing device voltage and current stresses. Since the ZVS range is independent of the switch capacitance, IGBTs can be used instead of MOSFETs by adding external capacitors to the switches without increasing switching losses, which allows the proposed converter to handle higher power. Operation, analysis, and features are described and verified experimentally. A 1.8 kW ZVT PWM converter prototype is compared with a ZVS PWM converter prototype of the same power rating. <<ETX>>
Dual-Stream Structured Graph Convolution Network for Skeleton-Based Action Recognition

In this work, we propose a dual-stream structured graph convolution network (DS-SGCN) to solve the skeleton-based action recognition problem. The spatio-temporal coordinates and appearance contexts of the skeletal joints are jointly integrated into the graph convolution learning process on both the video and skeleton modalities. To effectively represent the skeletal graph of discrete joints, we create a structured graph convolution module specifically designed to encode partitioned body parts along with their dynamic interactions in the spatio-temporal sequence. In more detail, we build a set of structured intra-part graphs, each of which can be adopted to represent a distinctive body part (e.g., left arm, right leg, head). The inter-part graph is then constructed to model the dynamic interactions across different body parts; here each node corresponds to an intra-part graph built above, while an edge between two nodes is used to express these internal relationships of human movement. We implement the graph convolution learning on both intra- and inter-part graphs in order to obtain the inherent characteristics and dynamic interactions, respectively, of human action. After integrating the intra- and inter-levels of spatial context/coordinate cues, a convolution filtering process is conducted on time slices to capture these temporal dynamics of human motion. Finally, we fuse two streams of graph convolution responses in order to predict the category information of human action in an end-to-end fashion. Comprehensive experiments on five single/multi-modal benchmark datasets (including NTU RGB+D 60, NTU RGB+D 120, MSR-Daily 3D, N-UCLA, and HDM05) demonstrate that the proposed DS-SGCN framework achieves encouraging performance on the skeleton-based action recognition task.
Comparative study for some natural products between two species of Anoectochilus genus tissue culture and wild

Anoectochilus genus is epiphytic Orchid used as traditional medicine. Chemical components and pharmacology have been studied in recent 15 years. Medicinal orchid, in general, is not subjected to detailed pharmacological studies. The aim of this study was to estimate and compare the concentration of bioactive compounds between wild and in vitro propagated Anoectochilus roxburghii and Anoectochilus formosanus. A wide range of chemical compounds are presented including flavonoids, steroids and oil violate which have been isolated recently from these species. Extract and metabolite of these plants, particularly from whole plant , possess useful pharmacological activities . A comprehensive account of chemical constituents and biological activities is presented and a critical appraisal of the ethno pharmacological issues . these species orchid have been empirically used for treatment of different diseases . The results show that the flavonoid, steroid and essential oil contents in three fields were (tissue culture ,after three months and after 6 months in wild) for each species which regarding tissue culture (flavonoid ,steroids and oil essential ) In A.roxiburghii, the flavonoid contents were (2%,0.9%,6.5%),steroids contents(0.003%,0.007%.0.01%) and the oil essential contents (0.05%,0.3%,0.18%) where as for A.formosanus flavenoid contents (6%, 1.05%,6%) steroids contents(0.2,0.005,0.2)% and the oil essential contents (0.1,0.18,0.17)%
Organic acids and their potential role for modulating the gastrointestinal tract, antioxidative status, immune response, and performance in poultry

SUMMARY Using antibiotics as growth factors has been banned due to increasing the problem of antibiotic resistance and presence of antibiotics residues in poultry products. Therefore, organic acids (OA) could be utilised as a promising alternative to antibiotic growth promoters because of the increased demand for antibiotic-free and organic poultry products. Scientists have paid much attention to the benefits of OA due to their ability to preserve a healthy intestinal microbial balance. Dietary OA supplementation could enhance the gut structure integrity, physiological function, intestinal immunity, and health. Organic acid products have also been involved in enhancing the antioxidative status via activating antioxidative enzymes and reducing lipid peroxidation. Moreover, dietary OA can stimulate humoral- and cell-mediated immunity and regulate cytokines in the host. These physiological and immunological benefits of OA are translated into various improvements in growth performance, laying performance, egg quality, meat quality, and the products’ safety. Interestingly, OA have positive impacts on alleviating heat stress in poultry. The current review is an endeavour to shed light on recent findings related to the benefits of dietary OA on gut development, nutrient absorption, gut microbiota, antioxidative properties, immune response, productive performance, heat stress, food quality, and safety in poultry.
Takeover Request Design in Automated Driving: A Systematic Review

Autonomous vehicles (AV) with “level 3” automation and above are expected to take full longitudinal and lateral control, which relinquishes the driver from manual control and allows for engagement with non-driving-related tasks. Despite the advance nature of a level 3 vehicle, system limitations can occur, and the driver is expected to re-engage in manual driving at a moment’s notice. Current literature has been focused on takeover performance during a takeover request (TOR) and the effects of multimodal warnings, but there is little consensus on how modality stimulus is presented. This systematic review summarizes the current designs and implementations of TORs of level 3 AVs and above. Identified themes in the review were categorized into three sections: non-driving-related tasks, driving scenarios, and takeover modality. A summary of how researchers utilized these themes in the current literature are discussed as well as implications and further research.
Transcending Distance in Long-Term Care: Can Serious Games Increase Resident Resilience?

In Canada, over 15,000 residents of long-term care have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic representing 59 percent of all COVID-19 deaths (National Institute of Ageing, 2021). Urgent research and subsequent applied action are needed to save life and quality of life including the presence of family (CFHI, 2020). Social and physical frailty are major systemic patient safety gaps and are challenges for most healthcare organizations. This practitioner-led panel of experienced human factors, implementation science and healthcare experts used a case study of a project at North York General Hospital’s Seniors’ Health Centre in Toronto to discuss how these challenges can be addressed with serious games. The project discussed used games that aim to reduce social and physical frailty through exercise while interacting with remote families. Lessons learned to-date and challenges observed, in rapidly implementing safety and human factors programs intended to create resilient residents in a real healthcare context were discussed.
An investigation of metal transfer process in GMAW

This paper presents the studies of the metal transfer process in gas metal arc welding with mild steel electrode. It aims at mathematic description of the droplet flight trajectory, droplet velocity and acceleration. To this end, the droplet flight trajectory was first fitted using the 3rd order polynomial regression and it was found that the model can be reduced to the 2nd order. The average diameter of a droplet, transfer rate of droplets, average velocity and acceleration of a droplet were calculated. The geometric shape factor was estimated. A new metal transfer monitoring method which is based on narrow band filter and does not require He-Ne laser, has been used in this study to observe the metal transfer process.
Evaluation of Serum and Salivary Iron and Ferritin Levels in Children with Dental Caries: A Meta-Analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis

Background and objective: Dental caries appears to be related to iron deficiency anemia and to low ferritin levels. In the present meta-analysis, we report salivary and serum iron and ferritin levels in children with dental caries, compared to healthy controls. Materials and methods: We searched in Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and PubMed/Medline databases to extract studies published until 25 July 2021. We calculated mean differences (MD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of salivary and serum iron and ferritin levels in children with dental caries, always compared to healthy controls. In addition, we applied a trial sequential analysis (TSA). Results: A total of twelve articles covering thirteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled MD for salivary iron level was −5.76 µg/dL (p = 0.57), and −27.70 µg/dL (p < 0.00001) for serum iron level: compared to healthy controls, children with dental caries did not show different salivary iron levels, while children with caries had significantly lower serum iron levels. The pooled MD of salivary ferritin level was 34.84 µg/dL (p = 0.28), and the pooled MD of serum ferritin level was −8.95 µg/L (p = 0.04): compared to healthy controls, children with dental caries did not have different salivary iron levels, but significantly lower serum ferritin levels. Conclusions: The findings of the present meta-analysis showed that salivary levels of iron and ferritin did not differ between children with and without caries, though compared to healthy controls, children with caries had significantly lower salivary and serum iron and ferritin levels. The results are of practical and clinical importance: Possibly, iron and ferritin supplementation might prevent or attenuate dental caries in children at risk. Further, children with caries might suffer from further iron- and ferritin-related health issues. Lastly, serum blood samples, but not saliva samples inform accurately about the current iron and ferritin concentrations in children with or without caries.
Review of direct torque control methods for voltage source inverter-fed induction motors

This paper presents a review of recently used direct torque and flux control (DTC) techniques for voltage source inverter-fed induction motors. A variety of techniques, different in concept, are described as follows: switching table (ST) based hysteresis DTC, direct self control (DSC), constant switching frequency DTC with space vector modulation (DTC-SVM). Trends in the DTC-SVM techniques based on neuro fuzzy logic controllers are presented. Some oscillograms that illustrate properties of the presented techniques are shown.
The impact of values based leadership on sport coaching

Abstract There is growing concern that the current cultural environment in sports fails to develop ethical and moral character in athletes. An examination of the development and genesis of values-based leadership (VBL) in business allows the construction of a model for VBL in sport coaching. After defining each VBL behavior a literature review documents previously confirmed benefits occurring in the sport environment. The four VBL theories of authentic, ethical, servant and transformational leadership are identified as most useful. In depth interviews and ethnographic observations are conducted with eight NCAA Division 1 basketball coaches to determine the origin, application, and priority of the values underlying individual VBL behaviors. Twenty NCAA coaches were interviewed and observed, with eight displaying behaviors consistent with the values they espoused. Based on the VBL business literature, a literature review of VBL applications in sport and the NCAA coaches studied, a VBL model for sport coaching is proposed.
Performances of a hybrid transducer-type ultrasonic motor as a function of the size

In this report, the characteristics of a hybrid transducer-type ultrasonic motor are summarized as a function of the size. First, the diameter dependence of torque and no-load speed is discussed theoretically. Second, it is investigated experimentally by using trial made motors with diameters range from 5 mm to 80 mm. Based on the results, the keys to making a much smaller motor as well as a bigger sized one with a giant torque are mentioned
Microneedle – Future prospect for efficient drug delivery in diabetes management

This review aims at focusing on the use of microneedles (MNs) as an emerging novel drug delivery carrier for an effective treatment in diabetic patients. There are many limitations in various modes of delivery such as oral, subcutaneous, nasal, and other modes which cause pain and have many other side effects. Hence, this drug delivery research has found to have tremendous potential in combining both the diagnostic and therapeutic elements, thus treating diabetes in a better way. Most glucose-sensing techniques and conventional insulin therapies are engaged in the transfer of physical entities through the skin. MN- based drug delivery system can accomplish in an noninvasive or minimally invasive manner which can be an add on advantage towards pain-free administration, easy handling, discrete, continuous as well as providing a controlled release system. Hence, the review addresses on the current advancement of this bioengineered system like MNs, constituting a “smart” system specifically for autonomous diabetes therapy.
The Role of Vitamin D in Early Knee Osteoarthritis and Its Relationship with Their Physical and Psychological Status

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint condition and one of the greatest causes of disability worldwide. The role of vitamin D in the origin and development of the disease is not clear, although it could have important implications for diagnosis and treatment. For this proposal, a cross-sectional study with a non-probabilistic sample was performed. In total, 48 with early osteoarthritis (EOA) and 48 matched controls were selected, and serum 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were analyzed. In addition, physical and psychological variables were measured to establish their relationship with vitamin D levels. Patients with EOA showed lower levels (22.3 ± 7.3 ng/mL) in comparison to matched controls (29.31 ± 9.2 ng/mL). A statistically significant higher number (Chi-squared = 8.525; p = 0.004) of patients with EOA had deficiency levels (<20 ng/mL) compared to the control group. Patients with lower vitamin D levels showed higher levels of pain intensity, disability, and anxiety, as well as poorer values for sit-to-stand, walking speed, and social participation. Correlation analysis showed a relationship between serum 25(OH)D, PTH and pain intensity, and social participation. These results highlight the relevance of vitamin D in the early diagnosis and prevention of EOA.
The design and evaluation of marking menus

This research focuses on the use of hand drawn marks as a human-computer input technique. Drawing a mark is an efficient command input technique in many situations. However, marks are not intrinsically self-explanatory as are other interactive techniques such as buttons and menus. This research develops and evaluates an interaction technique called marking menus which integrates menus and marks such that both self-explanation and efficient interaction can be provided. A marking menu allows a user to perform a menu selection by either popping up a radial menu and then selecting an item, or by drawing a straight mark in the direction of the desired menu item. Drawing a mark avoids popping up the menu. Marking menus can also be hierarchic. In this case, hierarchic radial menus and "zig-zag" marks are used. Marking menus are based on three design principles: self-revelation, guidance and rehearsal. Self-revelation means a marking menu reveals to a user what functions or items are available. Guidance means a marking menu guides a user in selecting an item. Rehearsal means that the guidance provided by the marking menu is a rehearsal of making the mark needed to select an item. Self-revelation helps a novice determine what functions are available, while guidance and rehearsal train a novice to use the marks like an expert. The intention is to allow a user to make a smooth and efficient transition from novice to expert behavior. This research evaluates marking menus through empirical experiments, a case study, and a design study. Results shows that (1) 4, 8 and 12 item menus are advantageous when selecting using marks, (2) marks can be used to reliably select from four-item menus that are up to four levels deep or from eight-item menus that are up to two levels deep, (3) marks can be performed more accurately with a pen than a mouse, but the difference is not large, (4) in a practical application, users tended towards using the marks 100% of the time, (5) using a mark, in this application, was 3.5 times faster than selection using the menu, (6) the design principles of marking menus can be generalized to other types of marks.
Fault-Tolerance by Resilient State Transition for Collaborative Cyber-Physical Systems

Collaborative Cyber-Physical Systems (CCPS) are systems where several individual cyber-physical systems collaborate to perform a single task. The safety of a single Cyber-Physical System (CPS) can be achieved by applying a safety mechanism and following standard processes defined in ISO 26262 and IEC 61508. However, due to heterogeneity, complexity, variability, independence, self-adaptation, and dynamic nature, functional operations for CCPS can threaten system safety. In contrast to fail-safe systems, where, for instance, the system leads to a safe state when an actuator shuts down due to a fault, the system has to be fail-operational in autonomous driving cases, i.e., a shutdown of a platooning member vehicle during operation on the road is unacceptable. Instead, the vehicle should continue its operation with degraded performance until a safe state is reached or returned to its original state in case of temporal faults. Thus, this paper proposes an approach that considers the resilient behavior of collaborative systems to achieve the fail-operational goal in autonomous platooning systems. First, we extended the state transition diagram and introduced additional elements such as failures, mitigation strategies, and safe exit to achieve resilience in autonomous platooning systems. The extended state transition diagram is called the Resilient State Transition Diagram (R-STD). Second, an autonomous platooning system’s perception, communication, and ego-motion failures are modeled using the proposed R-STD to check its effectiveness. Third, VENTOS simulator is used to verify the resulting resilient transitions of R-STD in a simulation environment. Results show that a resilient state transition approach achieves the fail-operational goal in the autonomous platooning system.