Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A restriction factor of direct DNA extraction from volcanic ash soils.

The methods of direct DNA extraction from soils made dramatic improvements in analysis of soil microbial communities. Andosol, the volcanic ash soils, are very important soils which account for approximately 50 % of the field crop in Japan. Andosol contains a large amount of humic substances up to 10 % w/w. We tried to extract DNA from these volcanic ash soils directly, but it was impossible to extract DNA using earlier methods. Andosols have special characteristics such as high phosphorus adsorption and humic substances because the soils contain an amorphous aluminium in a silicate called allophane. In our research, the amorphous Al adsorbed DNA contains phosphorus bases in nucleotides. We tried to eliminate DNA adsorption using a high concentration of EDTA as chelator and phosphoric acids as masking material. In this paper, we show the effects of EDTA addition. By the removal of Al from soils in the extraction stage, the DNA also could be extracted. It was a proof that the restriction factor of the difficulty of DNA extraction from Andosol was amorphous Al. We improved the extraction buffer composition and combined with an easy purification step for acquiring purified DNA at high yield.
Polychromatic adaptive optics to evaluate the impact of manipulated optics on vision

The eye is an optical instrument that projects scenes of the visual world onto the retina. However the human eye is far from being a perfect optical system, and, as a consequence, the images projected on the retina are blurred by ocular aberrations, as well as diffraction and scattering. Therefore in the last years, multiple technologies based on wavefront sensing and Adaptive Optics (AO) have been developed for the measurement and correction of ocular aberrations. As a result important knowledge has been gained on the contribution of the different components of the eye to the degradation of image quality. However the processes underlying neural adaptation to ocular aberrations are not yet well understood. Understanding the effects of a particular low order aberration, astigmatism, is particularly attractive to investigate adaptive processes in the visual system due to the inherent oriented nature of the blur that it produces. Typically, the impact of ocular aberrations on vision is studied using wavefront sensors with monochromatic, generally infrared, light. However, the retinal image quality is degraded by the presence of both monochromatic and polychromatic aberrations in the ocular optics. The study of the impact of retinal image quality on vision should therefore consider both the aberrations in the visible light, as well as the effect of chromatic aberrations. In addition optical and structural properties of the eye change with age and with certain ocular conditions and treatments, altering the natural aberrations, as well as the interactions between monochromatic and chromatic aberrations, and consequently the visual function. xvi Summary of the thesis The understanding of the interactions of these aberrations and their effect upon correction is essential to explore the limits of human spatial vision, and to design and optimize new alternatives of correction of Presbyopia/Myopia and more complex individualized refractive corrections. In this thesis we have used AO techniques to study the effect of specific monochromatic aberrations and their combinations on vision, to test neural adaptation to those aberrations and their correction, to measure chromatic aberrations of the eye in normal and pseudophakic eyes, and to test vision with simulated multifocal solutions for Presbyopia.
Indonesian Version of WHO-5 Well-being Index Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic Settings: Scale Validation and Standardisation

The 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) is a frequently used brief standard measure in large-scale clinical studies. However, no research specifically on the validity test of WHO-5 was found in Indonesia before the pandemic. This study aims to test the validity of the Indonesian version of the 5-item WHO-5 in the COVID-19 pandemic setting. The online survey was used to collect data from February-2021 to September 2021. 1,084 Indonesians who were directly or indirectly affected by COVID-19 completed the survey. The scale was validated with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Item Response Theory (IRT). The CFA and IRT analysis showed that the WHO-5 is valid. Thus, the WHO-5 is a short questionnaire that consists of five non-invasive questions adequate to measure the psychological well-being of the Indonesian sample, especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and could be used in other pandemics or crises.
New strategy of personalized tissue regeneration: when autologous platelet concentrates encounter biomaterials

Components in blood play an important role in wound healing and subsequent tissue regeneration processes. The fibrin matrix and various bioactive molecules work together to participate in this complex yet vital biological process. As a means of personalized medicine, autologous platelet concentrates have become an integral part of various tissue regeneration strategies. Here, we focus on how autologous platelet concentrates play a role in each stage of tissue healing, as well as how they work in conjunction with different types of biomaterials to participate in this process. In particular, we highlight the use of various biomaterials to protect, deliver and enhance these libraries of biomolecules, thereby overcoming the inherent disadvantages of autologous platelet concentrates and enabling them to function better in tissue regeneration.
Functional diversity of regional marine paleocommunities after the Permo-Triassic mass extinction: Case studies from Panthalassa and Paleo-Tethys

FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY OF REGIONAL MARINE PALEOCOMMUNITIES AFTER THE PERMO-TRIASSIC MASS EXTINCTION: CASE STUDIES FROM PANTHALASSA AND PALEO-TETHYS by Ashley A. Dineen The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2015 Under the Supervision of Professor Margaret Fraiser The Permo-Triassic mass extinction (PTME) was the largest biodiversity collapse in Earth’s history. Published data has been interpreted as indicating that marine ecological devastation following the PTME was protracted and may have lasted 5 million years into the Middle Triassic (Anisian). However, a review of previous literature shows that understanding of biotic recovery is usually based on only a few components of the ecosystem, such as on taxonomic diversity, a single genus/phylum, or shallow water facies. Typically, paleocommunities are considered fully recovered when dominance and diversity are regained and normal ecosystem functioning has resumed. However, to more fully characterize Triassic ecologic restructuring, paleoecologists should take into account ecological proxies, such as functional diversity and marine paleocommunity structure. Functional diversity (i.e., richness and evenness), defined as the abundance and distribution of traits present in a community, has important implications for the functioning of ecosystems in the wake of events of major disturbance. Function richness and evenness was quantified from two post-PTME marine localities (i.e. south China, and the western United States), in addition to previously published datasets using a ten-trait
Coupled and Decoupled Numerical Modeling of Flow and Morphological Evolution in Alluvial Rivers

Existing numerical river models are mostly built upon asynchronous solution of simplified governing equations. The strong coupling between water flow, sediment transport, and morphological evolution is thus ignored to a certain extent. An earlier study led to the development of a fully coupled model and identified the impacts of simplifications in the water-sediment mixture and global bed material continuity equations as well as of the asynchronous solution procedure for aggradation processes. This paper presents the results of an extended study along this line, highlighting the impacts on both aggradation and degradation processes. Simplifications in the continuity equations for the water-sediment mixture and bed material are found to have negligible effects on degradation. This is, however, in contrast to aggradation processes, in which the errors purely due to simplified continuity equations can be significant transiently. The asynchronous solution procedure is found to entail appreciable inaccuracy for both aggradation and degradation processes. Further, the asynchronous solution procedure can render the physical problem mathematically ill posed by invoking an extra upstream boundary condition in the supercritical flow regime. Finally, the impacts of simplified continuity equations and an asynchronous solution procedure are shown to be comparable with those of largely tuned friction factors, indicating their significance in calibrating numerical river models. It is concluded that the coupled system of complete governing equations needs to be synchronously solved for refined modeling of alluvial rivers.
Extending the Technology Acceptance Model: A New Perspective on the Adoption of Blockchain Technology

While previous studies have investigated the factors influencing Internet adoption, the findings may not be transferable to explain blockchain technology (BCT) adoption, despite its similarities to the Internet. This study addresses this gap by developing an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) to investigate the factors influencing BCT adoption. The model consists of four key factors, including strategic management and social influence at the firm level, and individual innovation and self-efficacy at the individual level. Data were collected from 384 employees at Taiwan Stock Exchange companies, and structural equation modeling was utilized to test the hypotheses. Results reveal that strategic management and social influence at the firm level have a direct impact on BCT adoption, which is indirectly influenced by perceived usefulness. Subsequently, training and support provided by the firm can enhance individual innovation and self-efficacy, which has direct effects on BCT adoption at the individual level and is partially mediated by perceived ease of use.
Ultrasound Image Classification of Thyroid Nodules Based on Attention Mechanism

Ultrasound imaging of the thyroid gland is currently the most common diagnostic technique, used for pre diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules. During the clinical diagnosis, the condition judgment requires the high clinical experience of physicians. The low level of medical care in remote areas has led to an increased rate of misdiagnosis of benign and malignant nodules. To improve the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment effectiveness of doctors, this work proposes a benign and malignant thyroid classification model based on mechanisms of attention. First, this paper performs data cleaning on the collected data and performs pre-processing operations such as data enhancement to construct a new dataset. Then, a network model based on Lightweight Global Attention Module (LGAM) is constructed for the benign and malignant classification of nodules. Finally, it is shown by experimental analysis and comparison that the improved LGAM-based thyroid node classification model has achieved better experimental results on the dataset and can achieve the optimal classification accuracy of 95.16% for the network model proposed in this work.
Risks and Benefits of Clinical Diagnosis Around the Time of Dementia Onset

Diagnostic delay in dementia is common in the U.S. Drivers of diagnostic delay are poorly understood, but appear related to misconceptions about dementia, stigma, concerns about autonomy, the nature of the diagnostic process, and provider-related factors. There is little quantitative evidence underlying cited risks and benefits of receiving a diagnosis around the time of dementia onset, including impacts on physical health, impacts on mental health, care partner interactions, costs of care, increased time for care planning, or earlier access to treatment. While various groups continue to push for reductions in diagnostic delay, realization of benefits and mitigation of harms will require new research on potential benefits and harms. Workforce and resource constraints, coupled with the expected growth in the number of persons living with dementia, may be a barrier to realization of potential benefits and mitigation of identified harms, which will require adequate access to providers, services, and supports.
The expansion of global LNG trade and its implications for CH4 emissions mitigation

In recent years, the global trade in liquefied natural gas (LNG) has experienced significant growth, leading to a rise in the effect of embodied methane (CH4) emissions between economies. This study investigates the spatiotemporal evolution of these CH4 emissions embodied within the global LNG trade and examines the associated network characteristics between the years 2011 and 2021. The findings reveal a substantial increase of 43.3% CH4 emissions embodied in global LNG trade, reaching a peak of 2.75 Tg in 2021, which equates to a monetary value exceeding 5 billion USD in terms of natural gas. Over the study period, these emissions aggregated to a total of 1987.92 Mt CO2-eq and 718.06 Mt CO2-eq, based on the respective global warming potential values over 20 year and 100 year timeframes. Our investigation of this complex network reveals the emergence of multiple robust hub economies, which have exerted significant influence over the dynamics of supply-demand in embodied CH4 trade, as well as the structure of trade communities. Notably, the Asia-Pacific trading community has exhibited exceptional growth and prominence in this market. Such growth is directly related to an increase in embodied CH4 emissions and their overall standing within this community’s network. The US has steadily attained dominance within an export-oriented community, which encompasses economies in South and North America, as well as certain regions of Europe. Moreover, the redistribution of LNG-related CH4 emissions among economies is significantly impacted by the intensity of production emissions and the volume of LNG trade. This reveals the potential of these hub economies to drive substantial reductions in CH4 emissions by implementing targeted energy and climate policies, which they have launched. Reinforcing coalitions and fostering closer collaboration within these communities can provide a robust foundation for technological advancements and transformative changes in trade structures.
Numerical Simulation of In-Line Response of a Vertical Cylinder in Regular Waves

ABSTRACT Han, Y. ; Zhan, J-M. ; Su, W. ; Li, Y.S. , and Zhou, Q. 2015. Numerical simulation of in-line response of a vertical cylinder in regular waves. In-line response of a flexibly mounted, vertical cylinder in a series of regular waves was studied with numerical simulation. A dynamic mesh scheme and a laminar flow model were adopted. The experimental and simulated time histories of five wave gages and the response of the cylinder were compared. At low-incident wave frequencies, although the ratios of the diameters of the cylinders to the wavelength were small, the oscillating cylinder had little influence on the flow field. The numerical responses of the cylinder were in very good agreement with the experimental data. As the frequency of the incoming wave increased, the diffraction effect caused by the cylinder became significant, and the simulated responses of the cylinder were slightly weaker than those of experiment. When the incident wave frequency approached the natural frequency of the cylinder, the cylinder oscillated in resonance, and the flow field was strongly influenced. The wave height behind the cylinder was reduced. At high-incident wave frequencies, the Reynolds number increased, and the numerical response of the cylinder became stronger than those of experiment. In conclusion, the numerical results of the cylinder response agreed well with the results of the experimental model. To improve the predictive accuracy of the numerical model, further study, such as with the use of a turbulence model, should be carried out in the future.
Predictors of Tuberculosis and Non-Communicable Disease Comorbidities Among Newly Enrolled Tuberculosis Patients, Southern Ethiopia

Introduction Non-communicable diseases are comorbid with tuberculosis, however only a few record review based studies have been conducted, which are more concentrated on elevated glucose levels. This study aimed to assess non-communicable disease comorbidity and its predictors among tuberculosis patients. Methods A prospective cross-sectional study design was used and the data were collected by a previously validated tool from a sample of 443 tuberculosis patients using cluster random sampling methods. Multinomial logistic regression was interpreted by relative risk to predict the association of comorbidity status with independent variables. Results The majority (87.81%) of TB patients were not comorbid with NCDs. The prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus among tuberculosis patients were 6.55%, and 5.64%, respectively. The people who had a risk score >8 were 6.47 times more likely to have tuberculosis comorbid with one non-communicable disease compared to those with a risk score ≤8. The relative risk of tuberculosis patients with BMI >25 is 3.33 times compared to those with a BMI <23 of being comorbid with one non-communicable disease vs tuberculosis patients without non-communicable diseases. Those tuberculosis patients with an awareness of non-communicable disease comorbidities are 9.33 times more likely to have tuberculosis with multi-comorbidities compared to those who are unaware. Conclusion The majority of TB patients were not comorbid with NCDs. The person’s weight, family size of more than five, monthly income >3000 birr, risk score >8 and BMI >25 significantly predict comorbidity with one non-communicable disease compared to those without a comorbidity. The presence of non-communicable disease comorbidity, treatment awareness, and being aged 50+ years significantly predict the presence of multi-comorbidities compared to those without comorbidity. For early detection and management of both diseases, establishing bidirectional screening platforms in tuberculosis care programs is urgently required.
Role and Morbidity of Protective Ileostomy after Anterior Resection for Rectal Cancer: One Centre Experience and Review of Literature

The creation of a protective stoma is considered a valid life-saving tool, significantly reducing the effects of anastomotic leakage in terms of related morbidity, mortality, and reoperation rate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a protective loop ileostomy in terms of short- and long-term postoperative morbidity, quantifying the stoma-related complications arising after stoma creation and stoma closure and the risk of permanent stoma. From January 2009 to January 2020, 149 patients with rectal cancer treated by anterior resection and protective ileostomy were enrolled in the study. A total of 113 (75.84%) patients were preoperatively treated with neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy. A clinically relevant anastomotic leak occurred in two patients (1.34%). The postoperative stoma complication rate was 6%. According to the Clavien classification, the stoma-related complication grade was I in seven patients (4.7%) and II in two patients (1.3%). A late stoma-related parastomal hernia occurred in one patient (0.67%). In 129 patients (86.57%), it was possible to close the stoma. Postoperative complications of stoma closure occurred in 12 patients (9.3%). The stoma closure complication grade was I in seven cases (5.43%), II in two cases (1.55%), and ≥3 in three cases (2.33%). Incisional hernia was the only late complication recorded in seven cases (5.42%). The permanent stoma rate was 13.43%. A protective ileostomy has a nonnegligible complication rate, but the rate of severe complications is low. Every effort should be made to clearly identify patients in whom the risk of anastomotic leakage justifies the stoma.
ORB-NeuroSLAM: A Brain-Inspired 3-D SLAM System Based on ORB Features

Intelligent navigation is a fundamental technology that enables unmanned systems to achieve autonomy in the intelligent era. However, existing navigation schemes suffer from high computational complexity and power consumption, as well as low robustness in complex or unknown environments. To address these challenges, this article proposes a novel 3-D brain-inspired simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) method, called oriented FAST and rotated BRIEF (ORB)-NeuroSLAM, based on the ORB features. The proposed method takes inspiration from the robust and low-power navigation capabilities of humans and animals. The ORB-NeuroSLAM leverages the ORB features of camera images to compute robot self-motion and visual cues. Then, continuous attractor neural networks (CANNs) model multilayered head-direction cells and 3-D grid cells that exist in animal brains. These cells are utilized jointly to represent the robot poses. Efficient and robust methods for loop closure detection and experience map construction were also developed. The proposed method was verified on ten KITTI data sets, and experimental results demonstrate that it outperforms state-of-the-art brain-inspired SLAM methods in terms of accuracy and efficiency. Additionally, it is comparable to the state-of-the-art visual SLAM method ORB-SLAM3.
Follow-Up of Eight-Weeks Detraining Period after Exercise Program on Health Profiles of Older Women

Background: The multicomponent training program (MTP) is a physical exercise strategy used to combat the sedentary lifestyle in older women (OW). However, periods of interruption in training are common in this population. The aim of our study was to analyze the 8-week MTP effects followed by two, four, and eight weeks of interruption on the lipid profile (LP) and functional capacity (FC) of OW. Methods: Twenty-one OW (experimental group [EG], 67.6 ± 3.1 years; 1.55 ± 0.35 m) were subjected to an 8-week MTP followed by a detraining period, and 14 OW (control group [CG], 69.4 ± 4.7 years; 1.61 ± 0.26 m) maintained their daily routine. FC (i.e., 30-s chair stand [30-CS], 8-foot up and go [8-FUG], 6-min walk [6-MWT], handgrip strength [HGS], and heart-rate peak during 6-WMT [HRPeak]), total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG) were assessed before and after MTP and two, four, and eight weeks after MTP. Results: 8-week MTP resulted in higher FC and decreased LP values in EG (p < 0.05); two and four weeks of detraining did not promote changes. After eight weeks of detraining TC (ES: 2.74; p = 0.00), TG (ES: 1.93; p = 0.00), HGS (ES: 0.49, p = 0.00), HRPeak (ES: 1.01, p = 0.00), 6-MWT (ES: 0.54, p = 0.04), and 8-FUG (ES: 1.20, p = 0.01) declined significantly. Conclusions: Periods of more than four weeks of detraining should be avoided to promote a good quality of life and health in OW. If older people interrupt training for a period longer than four weeks, physical-education professionals must outline specific training strategies to maintain the adaptations acquired with MTP. Future studies should establish these criteria based on ideal training volume, intensity, and frequency.
Fractional Factorial Design to Evaluate the Synthesis and Electrochemical Transfer Parameters of h-BN Coatings

In this study, we present a fractional factorial design approach for exploring the effects and interactions of key synthesis and electrochemical transfer parameters on the roughness and wettability of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) coatings, due to their essential role in biofilm formation. The studied parameters for the synthesis process include precursor mass, growth time, and substrate conditioning, whereas for the transfer process, applied voltage and aqueous medium concentration were studied. Through this polynomial model, we confirmed the strong influence of precursor mass and medium concentration parameters on h-BN surface roughness and its resulting antibiofilm properties.