Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reduction in Anti-Dengue Virus IgG Antibody Levels with the Use of a Larvicide for Vector Control in Rural Lao People’s Democratic Republic

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic is an endemic area of dengue, with cases reported in urban and rural areas every year. In this study, we indirectly evaluated the efficacy of a larvicide (SumiLarvTM 2MR discs) that was used for vector control against Aedes mosquitoes. Villages in a rural area of Lao PDR were selected as study areas, non-intervention and intervention villages. At the intervention village, the larvicide was used to treat refillable water containers for 27 months (October 2017 to February 2020), while at the non-intervention villages were no treatment. The serum samples of villagers from both villages were randomized to collect in the pre-intervention and in post-intervention periods. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to examine anti-dengue virus (DENV) IgG antibody levels in serum samples. Recombinant DENV serotype 2 non-structural protein1 was used as an antigen for the ELISA, the optical density (OD) values were analyzed for comparison. The results showed that the OD values decreased significantly (p < 0.01) between the pre-intervention and post-intervention periods at the intervention site. The treatment of water storage containers in rural areas with SumiLarvTM 2MR discs may help to protect residents from Aedes mosquito bites, and hence, reduce DENV infections.
Impedance Coupled Voltage Boosting Circuit for Polyvinylidene Fluoride Based Energy Harvester

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is an emerging method for energy harvesting by fluid motion with superior flexibility. However, the PVDF energy harvester, which has a high internal impedance and generates a low voltage, has a large power transmission loss. To overcome this problem, we propose an impedance-coupled voltage-boosting circuit (IC-VBC) that reduces the impedance of the PVDF energy harvester and boosts the voltage. SPICE simulation results show that IC-VBC reduces the impedance of the PVDF energy harvester from 4.3 MΩ to 320 kΩ and increases the output voltage by 2.52 times. We successfully charged lithium-ion batteries using the PVDF energy harvester and IC-VBC with low-speed wind power generation.
Ultrasensitive metal-organic cluster resist for patterning of single exposure high numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet lithography applications

Abstract. Background An incredible increase in the integration of electronic chips has pushed the semicon industries to endorse high numerical aperture (h-NA ∼ 0.5), extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography (EUVL) (λ ∼ 13.5 nm) at the commercial scale. Induction of h-NA postulates EUV resists that could outperform the resolution, line pattern roughness, and sensitivity (RLS) trade-off for chip fabricators, which is currently extremely limited. Aim The development of EUV resist to balance RLS trade-off as well as overcome throughput limitations of h-NA EUV system to facilitate high volume semiconductor manufacturing. Approach Here, we developed indium-methacrylic acid-based metal-organic clusters resist for h-NA, EUVL. To examine the h-NA single exposure patterning potential of the resist, prescreening by sub-10 nm next-generation lithography (NGL) tools such as electron beam lithography (EBL), and helium ion beam lithography (HIBL) were conducted as a prelude to EUV exposure. Results Dense ∼13 nm, (l/s) patterns at ∼45 and ∼30 μC / cm2 were well resolved by EBL and HIBL, on the top this the line edge roughness (LER) was 2.48 ± 0.04 nm, and etch resistance ∼1.98 and ∼0.34 times lower than Si and SiO2 / Si systems. Also, In-MAA MOCs resist shows ultra-sensitivity of 2.3 mJ / cm2 towards h-NA EUVL for patterning up to 26 nm half-pitch line patterns with LER ∼2.36 ± 0.16 nm.
Xenon gamma-ray detector for ecological applications

Abstract. A description of the xenon detector (XD) for ecological applications is presented. The detector provides high energy resolution and is able to operate under extreme environmental conditions (wide temperature range and unfavorable acoustic action). Resistance to acoustic noise as well as improvement in energy resolution has been achieved by means of real-time digital pulse processing. Another important XD feature is the ionization chamber’s thin wall with composite housing, which significantly decreases the mass of the device and expands its energy range, especially at low energies.
Associations of Serum 25(OH)D, PTH, and β-CTX Levels with All-Cause Mortality in Chinese Community-Dwelling Centenarians

This longitudinal cohort study explored the associations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], parathyroid hormone (PTH), and β-C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (β-CTX) levels with all-cause mortality in centenarians. The study included 952 centenarians (81.4% female). During a median follow-up of 32 months, 752 (78.9%) centenarians died. The estimated 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year survival rates were 80.0%, 45.7%, and 23.6%, respectively. The association of mortality with 25(OH)D was linear, whereas the associations with PTH and β-CTX were J-shaped, with a lower risk below the median levels. Compared with 25(OH)D of ≥30 ng/mL, 25(OH)D < 30 ng/mL was associated with increased mortality (HR 1.52, 95% CI 1.24–1.86, p < 0.001). Compared with PTH of ≤65 pg/mL, PTH > 65 pg/mL was associated with increased mortality (HR 1.30, 95% CI 1.08–1.56, p = 0.005). Compared with β-CTX of <0.55 ng/mL, β-CTX ≥ 0.55 ng/mL was associated with increased mortality (HR 1.30, 95% CI 1.10–1.54, p = 0.002). A higher β-CTX level (even in the clinical reference range of 0.55–1.01 ng/mL) was associated with increased mortality (HR 1.23, 95% CI 1.04–1.47, p = 0.018). Centenarians with 25(OH)D < 30 ng/mL, PTH > 65 pg/mL, and β-CTX ≥ 0.55 ng/mL had a 2.77-fold (95% CI 1.99–3.85, p < 0.001) increased risk of mortality when compared with those with 25(OH)D of >30 ng/mL, PTH < 65 pg/mL, and β-CTX < 0.55 ng/mL. Lower serum 25(OH)D and higher PTH and β-CTX were independently correlated with increased all-cause mortality in Chinese community-dwelling centenarians.
ASSESSING GOODNESS OF FIT FOR POISSON AND NEGATIVE BINOMIAL MODELS WITH LOW MEAN

ABSTRACT Testing goodness of fit for a Poisson distribution is routine when the mean is sufficiently large; the scaled deviance G 2 or Pearson's X 2 statistic follow approximate chi-square distributions and perform the task well. When the mean is low, typically less than one, the approximations to chi-square distributions are poor. In this paper we explore the underlying reasons for this behaviour and present a practical resolution of the problem, in both single distribution and regression contexts. An extension to negative binomial models is also given. This research is motivated by a real example drawn from road accident modelling.
Spatially disaggregated simulation of interactions between home prices and land-use change

Land-use regulations play a key role on both sides of the real estate market by regulating the supply of housing (e.g., through restrictions on unit density or building height) and by controlling the location and density of places of work, which are the primary drivers of the demand for housing. Developing geospatial models for this interaction between land use and home price on a spatially disaggregated level enables decisionmakers to evaluate the impact of their land-use decisions from the housing affordability perspective. However, existing standalone residential real estate pricing models are insensitive to changes in land use. In addition, the data preparation, calibration, and training of integrated land-use and transportation models is nontrivial too, and still impractical for most municipalities and planning agencies. This paper presents a simple-to-implement framework, SimP-R, for simulating changes in housing prices on a spatially disaggregated level in response to land-use change. It is composed of a residential real estate pricing model and an algorithm for computing a novel measure of supply-to-demand ratio. This paper then demonstrates the implementation of SimP-R in the city of San Francisco, with the entire Bay Area serving as the influence geography. Our findings showed our proposed measure of the supply-to-demand ratio is a strong predictor of and inversely related to housing prices. Simulation experimentation results highlighted SimP-R’s ability to capture the effect of local land-use changes on housing prices across the metropolitan area.
Upper and lower bounds for the overall properties of a nonlinear composite dielectric. II. Periodic microgeometry

The study of the effective properties of a nonlinear composite dielectric begun in the companion to this paper is continued in the context of a simple cubic array of inclusions embedded in a matrix. Use of a nonlinear comparison material in the nonlinear Hashin-Shtrikman variational principles permits the generation of both upper and lower bounds for any composite. It is straightforward to apply the new approach to the simple composite considered here as the trial electric field which is substituted into the Hashin-Shtrikman variational principle is finite everywhere. The results obtained indicate the likely improvement over the simple classical bounds that can be obtained using the Hashin-Shtrikman principles.
Identification of miRNAs as Biomarkers of Cardiac Protection in Non-Genetically Modified Primary Human Cardiomyocytes Exposed to Halogenated Hypnotics in an In Vitro Model of Transfection and Ischemia/Reperfusion: A New Model in Translational Anesthesia

Background: Many clinical studies have identified some circulating micro-RNAs (miRNAs) as potential biomarkers with regard to the cardioprotective effects of halogenated agents administered perioperatively during myocardial conditioning procedures. However, there is a major methodological difficulty in identifying these potential miRNA targets in cardiac cells. Methods: We developed an in vitro protocol to analyze the differential expression of target miRNAs at the intracellular level in non-genetically modified primary human cardiomyocytes (HCMs) through their exposure to different hypnotic compounds (i.e., halogenated versus non-halogenated). For this purpose, we performed a validated in vitro model of “ischemia and reperfusion” with the transfection of specific miRNA mimics (MIMICs) designed to simulate naturally occurring mature miRNAs as a functional study. Afterwards, next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to identify and quantify miRNAs and elucidate their function. The differences in miRNA expression between HCMs exposed to different hypnotic drugs, along with the prediction of functional miRNA targets, were assessed using a meticulous in-house bioinformatics pipeline in order to derive diagnostic biomarkers and possible therapeutic targets. Conclusion: In brief, this methodological procedure was designed to investigate whether the cardioprotective effects of halogenated agents are a phenomenon mediated by either the activation or the suppression of miRNAs targeted by halogenated anesthetics.
Variations of galactic cosmic rays with heliolatitude in the outer heliosphere

On 1 January 1986, Voyager 1 was at a heliolatitude of 30° above the ecliptic plane at a radial distance of 25.4 AU. The galactic cosmic ray latitudinal gradients in the outer heliosphere measured at that time were found to be negative, ∼1-2%/AU, show no strong energy dependence and are approximately half the radial gradient.
LIMIT AND SHAKEDOWN ANALYSIS UNDER UNCERTAINTY

Structural reliability analysis is based on the concept of a limit state function separating failure from safe states of a structure. Upper and lower bound theorems of limit and shakedown analysis are used for a direct definition of the limit state function for failure by plastic collapse or by inadaptation. Shakedown describes an asymptotic and therefore time invariant structural behavior under time variant loading. The limit state function and its gradient are obtained from a mathematical optimization problem. The method is implemented into a general purpose finite element model (FEM) code. Combined with first-order methods/second-order methods (FORM/SORM) robust and precise analyses can be performed for structures with high reliability. This approach is particularly effective because the sensitivities which are needed by FORM/SORM are derived from the solution of the deterministic problem.
Nonlocal Total Variation Based Image Deblurring Using Split Bregman Method and Fixed Point Iteration

Nonlocal regularization for image restoration is extensively studied in recent years. However, minimizing a nonlocal regularization problem is far more difficult than a local one and still challenging. In this paper, a novel nonlocal total variation based algorithm for image deblurring is presented. The core idea of this algorithm is to consider the latent image as the fixed point of the nonlocal total variation regularization functional. And a split Bregman method is proposed to solve the minimization problem in each fixed point iteration efficiently. By alternatively reconstructing a sharp image and updating the nonlocal gradient weights, the recovered image becomes more and more sharp. Experimental results on the benchmark problems are presented to show the efficiency and effectiveness of our algorithm.
Leptospira Seroprevalence in Free-Ranging Long-Tailed Macaques (Macaca fascicularis) at Kosumpee Forest Park, Maha Sarakham, Thailand

Background: Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that is ubiquitously distributed and is classified as a re-emerging infectious disease in humans and animals. Many serovars are carried by wildlife; all of them are capable of causing illness in humans. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Leptospirosis in wild long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) at Kosumpee Forest Park, Mahasarakham, Thailand. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the park. Blood samples were collected via saphenous vein from 30 free-ranging long-tailed macaques. All samples were tested by the microscopic agglutination test. The LipL32 gene was used to detect pathogenic Leptospira in blood samples by conventional polymerase chain reaction. Results: Screening of the 30 wild macaques showed an overall Leptospira seroreactivity of 13.33%. Three of 30 macaques reacted against Leptospira serovar Shermani and one macaque was infected with Leptospira serovar Sejroe. None of the macaques presented clinical signs of leptospirosis. None of the blood samples showed the detection of the LipL32 gene. Conclusions: The results indicate that the long-tailed macaques at Kosumpee Forest Park may act as natural reservoirs for Leptospirosis. Further, the results provide evidence-based information indicating that several pathogenic Leptospira serovars are circulating in the wild macaques in the study area.
EVALUATION OF QUALITY INDICATORS OF FUNCTIONING CYBER PROTECTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Evidence of the complexity of the cybersecurity problem is the rapid increase in the number of information security breaches and losses on cybersecurity threats combined with an increase in the average loss from each of the breaches. Therefore, it is necessary to create requirements for a cybersecurity system that could provide more opportunities in the choice of methods in the management of the protection of automated information systems. The task of determining the optimal quality indicators of information resource management systems of automated systems is one of the most important problems in designing integrated information security systems. This is due to the complexity of such systems, the presence of many variable parameters, and the complexity of calculating quality indicators. In addition, the determined quality indicators should not only ensure the optimality of the target function, but also the stability of the protection system in a wide range of external adverse effects. The problem is that the existing methods of calculating integrated quadratic estimates (IQE) do not take into account errors in determining quality indicators, as well as the vector nature of these indicators. The aim of this work is to solve problems (development of algorithms), which are a problem of optimization of stable protection management systems using vector objective functions. Based on the model of information management system protection of information resources in the form of an automatic control system, the method of forming integrated quadratic estimates (IQE) of control error is proposed. This method takes into account the weights of the estimates at the desired installation time and standard transfer functions. Algorithms for calculating IQE according to the modified Katz formula and Ostrom's method for arbitrary order control systems are developed, including vector representation of the objective function of the protection system. The vector penalty function is proposed and the algorithm of its calculation is developed to display the degree of infringement of conditions of stability of parameters of the system of protection by the Rauss-Hurwitz criterion.
Diameters of Random Graphs

For two nodes x and y of a graph G, the distance δG(x,y) is the smallest integer k such that k edges form a path from x to y; δG(x, x) = 0, and δG(x,y) = ∞ when x ≠ y and there is no path from x to y. The diameter δG is the maximum of δG (x, y) as x and y range over the nodes of G. When G is connected, δ(G) is the smallest integer k such that any two nodes of G can be joined by a path formed from at most k edges. When G is not connected, δ(G) = ∞ and there is interest in δc(G), the maximum of δ(G) over the components C of G. For 2 ≧ n < ∞ and 0 ≧ E ≧ n(n − l)/2, let denote the set of all loopless undirected graphs with the node-set {1, …, n} and exactly E edges.
Comparative Study of the Lipophilicity of Selected Anti-Androgenic and Blood Uric Acid Lowering Compounds

This study aimed to evaluate the lipophilicity of a series substances lowering the concentration of uric acid in blood and anti-androgen drugs by thin-layer chromatography in reversed-phase systems (RP-TLC, RP-HPTLC) and computational methods. The chromatographic parameter of lipophilicity (RMW) of tested compounds was determined on three stationary phases, i.e., RP18F254, RP18WF254 and RP2F254, using ethanol–water, propan-2-ol-water and acetonitrile–water in various volume compositions as mobile phases. The chromatographic analysis led to determining the experimental value of the lipophilicity parameter for each of the tested compounds, including those for which the experimental value of the partition coefficient (logPexp) as a measure of lipophilicity is not well described in available databases, such as febuxostat, oxypurinol, ailanthone, abiraterone and teriflunomide. The chromatographic parameters of lipophilicity were compared with the logP values obtained with various software packages, such as AClogP, AlogPs, AlogP, MlogP, XlogP2, XlogP3, ACD/logP and logPKOWWIN. The obtained results indicate that, among selected chromatographic parameters of lipophilicity, both experimental and calculated logP values gave similar results, and these RP-TLC or RP-HPTLC systems can be successfully applied to estimate the lipophilicity of studied heterocyclic compounds belonging to two different pharmacological groups. This work also illustrates the similarity and difference existing between the tested compounds under study using the chemometric methods, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). In addition, a relatively new approach based on the sum of ranking differences (SRD) was used to compare the chromatographically obtained and theoretical lipophilicity descriptors of studied compounds.
Novel peptide matrix for immobilization of biomolecules for surface plasmon resonance sensing

A novel synthetic peptide spacer designed on a gold film is introduced for use in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing. The peptide was a specially designed sequence of amino acids, synthesized by the Fmoc-solid-phase chemistry. The peptide was adsorbed on the gold film from an aqueous solution via its four thiol groups, forming a self-assembled negatively charged monolayer. The monolayer contained carboxyl groups, which were activated by the EDC/NHS technique. It was successfully used as a matrix (2 - 4 nm thick) for covalent immobilization of fusion protein, which included C-terminal fragment of human 5-hydroxytryptamine transporter (molecular weight approximately 21 kDa). The reaction between the immobilized protein and antibodies was monitored by SPR means. The matrix did not cause degradation of immobilized components and steric hindrances to mass transport, and also demonstrated low nonspecific binding to antibodies. Besides, the matrix could be regenerated without decreasing SPR response to the reaction. Along with the ability to immobilize high weight molecules, which are unable to enter a conventional CM-dextran matrix due to steric hindrances to mass transport, the peptide matrix has a number of advantages over the CM-dextran matrix, namely, simplicity in preparation, low cost, and much shorter time needed for preparation. The peptide spacer matrix can be widely used not only in SPR, but also in other analytical techniques that require immobilization of proteins on metal surfaces, such as interferometry, piezoelectric detection, scanning tunneling microscopy.
Non-pathogenic microbiota accelerate age-related CpG Island methylation in colonic mucosa

ABSTRACT DNA methylation is an epigenetic process altered in cancer and ageing. Age-related methylation drift can be used to estimate lifespan and can be influenced by extrinsic factors such as diet. Here, we report that non-pathogenic microbiota accelerate age-related methylation drift in the colon when compared with germ-free mice. DNA methylation analyses showed that microbiota and IL10KO were associated with changes in 5% and 4.1% of CpG sites, while mice with both factors had 18% alterations. Microbiota, IL10KO, and their combination altered 0.4%, 0.4%, and 4% of CpG island methylation, respectively. These are comparable to what is seen in colon cancer. Ageing changes were accelerated in the IL10KO mice with microbiota, and the affected genes were more likely to be altered in colon cancer. Thus, the microbiota affect DNA methylation of the colon in patterns reminiscent of what is observed in ageing and colorectal cancer.
Wafer Surface Defect Detection Based on Feature Enhancement and Predicted Box Aggregation

For wafer surface defect detection, a new method based on improved Faster RCNN is proposed here to solve the problems of missing detection due to small objects and multiple boxes detection due to discontinuous objects. First, focusing on the problem of small objects missing detection, a feature enhancement module (FEM) based on dynamic convolution is proposed to extract high-frequency image features, enrich the semantic information of shallow feature maps, and improve detection performance for small-scale defects. Second, for the multiple boxes detection caused by discontinuous objects, a predicted box aggregation method is proposed to aggregate redundant predicted boxes and fine-tune real predicted boxes to further improve positioning accuracy. Experimental results show that the mean average precision of the proposed method, when validated on a self-developed dataset, reached 87.5%, and the detection speed was 0.26 s per image. The proposed method has a certain engineering application value.