Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Down Regulation of EGF and AZGP1 Were Associated with Clinical Characteristics in Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps: An Observation Study

Objective The mechanisms underlying the chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) remained unclear. This study aimed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in nasal polyps from CRSwNP patients compared to healthy controls and explore key genes and pathways associated with CRSwNP pathophysiology and prognosis. Methods Three datasets were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database and the intersecting DEGs were identified in CRSwNP patients. Gene Ontology (GO) and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis were applied to investigate the function of DEGs. Nasal specimens from 90 CRSwNP and 45 controls were further collected and qRT-PCR was applied to verify the mRNA expression of hub genes, and moreover, their association with tissue eosinophilia and clinical characteristics in CRSwNP were analyzed. Results Sixty-eight co-DEGs including 8 upregulated and 60 downregulated genes were identified and GO analyses identified the terms including positive regulation of ERK1 and ERK2 cascade, transforming growth factor beta receptor signaling pathway. PPI networks identified hub genes including EGF, ERBB4, AZGP1, CRISP3 and PIP which were validated to be significantly down-regulated in CRSwNP and showed well diagnostic prediction quality. In addition, lower mRNA expressions level of EGF and AZGP1 in eosinophilic CRSwNP compared with non-eosinophilic CRSwNP were found. Aberrant low expressions of EGF and AZGP1 protein in CRSwNP were identified, and there was good consistency between their mRNA expression level and protein relative expression level. Furthermore, the expressions of EGF and AZGP1 mRNA were significantly correlated with clinical severity parameters. Conclusion Integrated analysis revealed 68 co-DEGs between nasal polyps and controls and identified hub genes, of which EGF and AZGP1 expression was significantly downregulated in eosinophilic CRSwNP and correlated with disease severity. Downregulation of EGF and AZGP1 may contribute to epithelial barrier dysfunction and type 2 inflammation in CRSwNP, suggesting them as potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
Sustainable Restoration of Soil Functionality in PTE-Affected Environments: Biochar Impact on Soil Chemistry, Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Plant Growth

Biochar can be useful for the functional recovery of soils contaminated with potentially toxic elements (PTEs), even if its effectiveness is variable and sometimes limited, and conflicting results have been recently reported. To shed some light on this regard, softwood-derived biochar was added at 2.5 (2.5-Bio) and 5.0% w/w (5.0-Bio) rates to an acidic (pH 5.74) soil contaminated by Cd (28 mg kg−1), Pb (10,625 mg kg−1), and Zn (3407 mg kg−1). Biochar addition increased soil pH, available P and CEC, and reduced labile Cd, Pb, and Zn (e.g., by 27, 37, and 46% in 5.0-Bio vs. the unamended soil). The addition of biochar did not change the number of total heterotrophic bacteria, actinomycetes, and fungi, while it reduced the number of Pseudomonas spp. and soil microbial biomass. Dehydrogenase activity was reduced in amended soils (e.g., by ~60 and 75% in 2.5- and 5.0-Bio, respectively), while in the same soils, urease increased by 48 and 78%. Approximately 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and the Biolog community-level physiological profile highlighted a significant biochar impact (especially at a 5% rate) on soil bacterial diversity. Tomato (but not triticale) yield increased in the amended soils, especially in 2.5-Bio. This biochar rate was also the most effective at reducing Cd and Pb concentrations in shoots. Overall, these results demonstrate that 2.5% (but not 5.0%) biochar can be useful to restore the soil chemical fertility of PTE-polluted soils with limited (or null) impact on soil microbial and biochemical parameters.
Physics Informed Gaussian Process Regression Methods for Robot Inverse Dynamics Identiﬁcation

In this extended abstract we present two recent contributions in the context of Physics In-formed black-box inverse dynamics identiﬁcation using Gaussian Processes (GPs). The ﬁrst contribution consists in a novel kernel, named Geometrically inspired Polynomial Kernel (GIP) for single joint GP-based inverse dynamics identiﬁcation. Driven by the fact that the inverse dynamics can be described as a polynomial function on a suitable input space, the GIP kernel restricts the regression problem to a ﬁnite-dimensional space which contains the inverse dynamics function, thus leading to improved data eﬃciency and generalization properties. The second contribution consists in the derivation of a multidimensional GP framework, named Lagrangian GPR, which overcomes the single joint approach and learns the inverse dynamics in a multidimensional setting. Exploiting the properties of GPs in connection with linear operators, Lagrangian GPR allows to impose by design the known symmetric structure of the Euler-Lagrange equation on the learned models. Moreover, since information is shared between diﬀerent degrees of freedom (DOFs), this approach strongly improves data eﬃciency and generalization properties
The Role of Entrepreneurship Orientation and Competitive Advantage as Strategy to Improve MSME Performance Post Covid-19 Pandemic in Batam City

The Indonesian economy after Covid-19 pandemic has caused a decline in various business sectors, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) which have become the government's attention in national economic recovery. Batam City has shown achievements in handling the COVID-19 pandemic quickly, as well as carrying out economic recovery and sustainability. The entrepreneurial orientation view shows an effort to encourage the improvement of MSME performance by referring to the entrepreneurial aspect, namely daring to take risks, act proactively and always be innovative. Meanwhile, competitive advantage is an important effort so that the performance of MSMEs becomes superior. This study aims to examine the entrepreneurial orientation towards improving the performance of MSMEs through the mediation of competitive advantage after the Covid-19 pandemic in Batam. Testing direct and mediation effect using quantitative methods with statistical tools IBM SPSS software with additional features PROCESS Macro and performing sample bootstrapping technique on research. Data collection is 100 respondents using convenience sampling in Batam city. The results of this study indicate that entrepreneurial orientation is an important resource that can determine the recovery of MSME performance through mediation of competitive advantage. This study offers a contribution to literature in MSMEs field by providing empirical evidence on the extent to which entrepreneurial orientation affects the performance of MSMEs by mediating competitive advantage. Based on theory of resource based view that entrepreneurial orientation has been used as a resource for business organizations in the form of encouragement that refers to the entrepreneurial aspect of making competitive advantage so that it results in improving the performance of MSMEs in a sustainable manner.
Hunters and collectors: seeking social media content for cultural heritage collections

A novel approach to collecting digital content for heritage collections is being explored and assessed in a trial of Vizie, an innovative social media tool researched and developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Collecting digital content for heritage collections is a priority for research libraries and other cultural institutions. This paper reports on the progress and learnings to date of the ongoing collaboration between the CSIRO and the State Library of New South Wales. The aim of the collaboration is to gather and curate online content centred around significant events and every day life in Australia and New South Wales.
Propagating extrusion tectonics in Asia: New insights from simple experiments with plasticine

Plane indentation experiments on unilaterally confined blocks of plasticine help us to understand finite intracontinental deformation and the evolution of strike-slip faulting in eastern Asia. Several large left-lateral strike-slip faults may have been activated successively, essentially one at a time. The experiments suggest that the penetration of India into Asia has rotated (≈25°) and extruded (≈800 km) Indochina to the southeast along the then left-lateral Red River fault in the first 20 to 30 m.y. of the collision. This process can account for the opening of the South China Sea before late Miocene time. Extrusion tectonics then migrated north, activating the Altyn Tagh fault as a second major left-lateral fault and moving southern China hundreds of kilometres to the east. As this occurred, Indochina kept rotating clockwise (as much as 40°), but the sense of motion reversed on the Red River and other strike-slip faults in the south. Opening of the Mergui basin and Andaman Sea (up to the present) also appears to be a simple kinematic consequence of the extrusion. Recent rifts in northeastern China and Yunnan may be considered incipient analogs of the South China and Andaman Seas. Other Tertiary tectonic features such as the sedimentary basins of the Gulf of Thailand may be explained as collisional effects, if one uses our experiments as a guide. The experiments also suggest that a major left-lateral strike-slip fault and rift system will propagate across the Tien Shan, Mongolia, and Baikal to the Sea of Okhotsk.
Leaf essential oils of Juniperus in central and southern Iran

Leaf essential oils from Juniperus from southern Iran were analyzed and compared to oils of J. excelsa, J. polycarpos, J. p. var. turcomanica and J. seravschanica. The juniper oils from southern Iran were mainly in two groups: high cedrol (cf. J. excelsa, J. polycarpos and J. seravschanica) and low cedrol (cf. J. p. var. turcomanica). Complete analyses of the compositions are given. Published on-line www.phytologia. org Phytologia 95(4): 288-295 (Nov. 1, 2013). ISSN 030319430
Scheduling for fault-tolerance: an introduction

: This report provides an introduction to the design of scheduling algorithms to cope with faults on large-scale parallel platforms. We study checkpointing and show how to derive the optimal checkpointing period. Then we explain how to combine checkpointing with fault prediction , and discuss how the optimal period is modiﬁed when this combination is used. Finally we follow the very same approach for the combination of checkpointing with replication
Distribution and range extension of Anoura cadenai Mantilla-Meluk & Baker 2006 in the central and eastern Colombian Andes, and comments on the distribution of A. fistulata Muchhala, Mena-Valenzuela & Albuja 2005 in Colombia

Anoura cadenai Mantilla-Meluk & Baker, 2006 is currently known from the Pacific versant of the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia. Based on the review of additional specimens we present a range extension to the southern Cordillera Central and the western slopes of the Cordillera Oriental, extending its range by 30 km north-west, 138 km south, and 155 km southwest; our data also increase the known elevation of the species from 1600 to 1970 m a.s. l. Additionally, we present a summary of the current knowledge regarding the distribution of A. fistulata in Colombia.
Collision Processes of North China and Siberian Plates:Evidence from LA-ICP-MS Zircon U-Pb Age on Deformed Granite in Xar Moron Suture Zone

The Fangkuangzigou granitic gneisses,extending with NEE trend along Fangkuangzi village in Linxi county,Inner-Mongolia province,are deformed and metamorphosed granites which intruded into the Shuangjing schists. The gneisses are nebulitic and homogeneous separately in its edge and center. The LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating method was applied to determine the ages of gneisses both from the edge and center. It is indicated that the magma emplacement initiated at about 271.9±1.6Ma ago and intruded into Shuangjing schists,then migmatization and nebulitic structure were induced into the contact zones. The pluton was formed dominantly at 264.8±1.8Ma ago. The pluton was deformed and metamorphosed into granitic gneiss by the collision betweenthe Siberian and North China plates. The collision was ended until 231±2Ma ago,then the Siberian and North China plates were finally converged.
Characterization and origin of a compositionally zoned aluminous A-type granite from South India

The Pan-African Ambalavayal granite intrudes the high-grade metamorphic terrain of northern Kerala, South India and is spatially associated with the Moyar and Calicut lineaments. The pluton was aligned nearly parallel to the northeast–southwest and east–west faults in the basement, consistent with magma ascent along pre-existing deep-crustal lineaments in an extensional tectonic regime. The pluton is characterized by the presence of iron-rich hydrous mafic minerals, primary magnetite, fO2 above the Ni–NiO buffer and high initial emplacement temperatures near 1000 °C. Modal and textural analyses reveal two probable compositional zones within the pluton: outer and inner. Major element variations support this zoning and point to a peralkaline to metaluminous outer zone and a metaluminous to slightly peraluminous inner zone. Both zones exhibit major and trace element characteristics of the A-type granites with the outer zone belonging to the A1 subtype and the inner zone to the A2 subtype of Eby. The trace element trends observed from outer zone to the inner zone suggests that crystal fractionation may have been the dominant process in the generation of high levels of the incompatible elements in the case of inner zone samples. The high initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio (0.7135) and high Y/Nb ratios (Y/Nb > 1.2) are in the range expected for rocks derived from crustal protoliths. A petrogenetic model involving partial melting of a charnockitic, mafic to intermediate lower crust followed by limited fractional crystallization of the magma in a high-level magma chamber is proposed. The enrichment of HFSE and REE (except Eu) in the inner zone is considered the ultimate product of crystal–melt and volatile activity during the final stage of crystallization in a highly silicic (SiO2 > 74%) magma chamber.
Enhancing Competency of Cybersecurity Through Implementation of the “CAPTURE THE FLAG” On College in Indonesia

Academic institutions encounter several challenges when it comes to determining the most effective pedagogical approaches for enhancing their students' proficiency in the domain of cybersecurity. Conversely, cybersecurity gamification, exemplified by Capture the Flag (CTF) events in the industry, is widely considered an appropriate avenue for fostering cybersecurity learning. This research endeavors to assess the effectiveness of employing gamification as an instructional tool to enhance cybersecurity competency within the college context. The study employs a quantitative research method, adopting an experimental approach with a pre-experimental design. The research findings reveal the following key points 1) the implementation of gamification resulted in a significant enhancement of students' competency in cryptography, web vulnerability, and overall cybersecurity, 2) the gamification experiment demonstrated a stronger influence on enhancing practical skills as opposed to theoretical knowledge, 3) the evaluation of gamification's effectiveness in augmenting cybersecurity competency yielded a medium level (medium-g) of efficacy, reaching 65.91%. Although the medium level of effectiveness was observed in the context of gamification, it should be acknowledged that gamification holds substantial potential for advancing cybersecurity competency. For the attainment of optimal improvement in cybersecurity skills, a consistent and regular integration of gamification is recommended, while concurrently addressing the three pillars of cybersecurity. Furthermore, the utilization of gamification also presents opportunities for cultivating cybersecurity incident handling capabilities and the simulation of cyberwarfare scenarios
A Fast-Transient Fully-Integrated Digital LDO With Current-Estimation Algorithm Based Coarse Loop

In this brief, a fully-integrated output-capacitor-free (OCF) digital low-dropout regulator (DLDO) is proposed utilizing a current-estimation algorithm (CEA)-based coarse loop controller to achieve fast voltage droop (<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{Droop}$</tex-math></inline-formula>) recovery with improved line and load regulations. The proposed CEA-based controller quickly determines the target output switch-code by estimating the current-voltage ratio of power <sc>mosfet</sc>s, enabling fast <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{Droop}$</tex-math></inline-formula> recovery during load current (<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathit{I}_\mathit{LOAD}$</tex-math></inline-formula>) transients. Complementing the CEA-based coarse loop, the proposed OCF-DLDO incorporates asynchronous and fine loops. The asynchronous loop supplies an instant dynamic current during <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathit{I}_\mathit{LOAD}$</tex-math></inline-formula> transients, rapidly restoring the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathit{V}_\mathit{OUT}$</tex-math></inline-formula>, while the fine loop reduces output voltage ripples and quiescent current during steady-state of the DLDO. The proposed OCF-DLDO was fabricated in a 65-nm CMOS process with an active area of 0.075 mm<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{2}$</tex-math></inline-formula>. Measurement results demonstrate that the proposed DLDO operates with an input voltage range of 0.6<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$-$</tex-math></inline-formula>1.2 V. For a load current step of 26 mA at <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathit{V}_\mathit{DD}$</tex-math></inline-formula> = 0.6 V, the proposed DLDO recovers a <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathit{V}_\mathit{Droop}$</tex-math></inline-formula> of 140 mV within 95 ns achieving a figure-of-merit of 3.74 ns with a peak current efficiency of 99.6 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\%$</tex-math></inline-formula>.
Prior Knowledge-Guided Transformer for Remote Sensing Image Captioning

Remote sensing image (RSI) captioning aims to generate meaningful and grammatically accurate sentences for RSIs. However, in comparison to natural image captioning, RSI captioning encounters additional challenges due to the unique characteristics of RSIs. The first challenge arises from the abundance of objects present in these images. As the number of objects increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to determine the main focus of the description. Moreover, the objects in RSIs often share similar appearances, which further complicates the generation of accurate descriptions. To overcome these challenges, we propose a prior knowledge-guided transformer (PKG-Transformer) for RSI captioning. First, scene-level and object-level features are extracted in a multilevel feature extraction (MFE) module. To further refine and enhance the extracted multilevel features, we introduce a feature enhancement (FE) module. This module utilizes a combination of graph neural networks and attention mechanisms to capture the correlation and difference between different objects or scene regions. Moreover, we propose a prior knowledge augmented attention (PKA) mechanism to select the objects that are more relevant to the scene regions by establishing the relationships between them. This attention mechanism is seamlessly integrated into the transformer structure, providing valuable prior knowledge that promotes the caption generation process. Extensive experiments on three RSI captioning datasets verify the superiority of the proposed method. Compared with the baseline methods, the proposed method achieves more impressive performance. The code will be publicly available at https://github.com/One-paper-luck/PKG-Transformer.
Integrated Management of the Benguela Current Region A Framework for Future Development

Recent initiatives have been developed jointly by Angola, Namibia, and South Africa, three countries bordering on the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME), to address the legacy of fragmented management — a consequence of the colonial and political past — and to ensure the integrated sustainable management of the marine and coastal regions in the Southeast Atlantic. Examples of some of these activities and the processes followed are provided. Science and technology are recognized as fundamental building blocks underpinning the management process and, at all levels, the development of capacity — both human and material — is an overarching objective. Some recent successes of a regional fisheries-environment science and technology program BENEFIT are highlighted and serve to demonstrate the commitment of the three governments to collaboration in this area. At a country level, brief details are provided about coastal policy development by way of showing how South Africa proposes to correct some of the wrongs of the past and sustainably utilize one of its most valuable resources, i.e., the coast itself. At the regional ecosystem management level, information is given about an embryonic initiative, the BCLME Programme, which will provide a sound basis for the integration of science, technology, socioeconomics, and management to ensure a sustainable future for the Benguela Current as an ecosystem and the utilization of its coastal and marine resources. Transboundary issues feature high on the agenda.
Nutritional Impact of Incorporation Sunflower ( Helianthus annuus ) Seed Meal in Growing Barki Sheep Rations on Their Productive Performance, Water Consumption and Economic Evaluation

: Twenty five growing male Barki lambs aged 5-6 months with an average weights (21.960±0.175 kg) were randomly distributed into five equal groups each contains 5 lambs to investigate the impact of incorporation sunflower seed meal (SFSM) at different levels (0, 5, 10, 15 and 18%) of total ration formulation, respectively on feed and water intakes, live weight, average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion and economic evaluation. Experimental animals were housed in semi-open pens and fed as group feeding for 112 days. Results showed that SFSM containing 43.01% essential amino acids (EAA) of their protein content, meanwhile, it contains 51.67% of non essential amino acids (NEAA). Also, FSM has a high quantity of potassium (64.90%) of their mineral content and a moderate quantities of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium (9.32, 9.32 and 8.41%), respectively. SFSM suprior in CF, EE, ash, NDF, ADF, ADL, cellulose contents comparing to soybean meal (SBM). Increasing level of SFSM in tested rations from 0 to 18% of total complete feed mixture caused gradully decreasing in the price or cost of ton formulation. Dieferent experemental rations were formulated to be iso caloric and iso nitrogenous. Dietary treatment significantly (P<0.05) increasing final weight, total body weight gain and average daily gain comparing to contol group. Dry matter intake, crude protein intake, total digestible nutrients intake, growth and digestible energy intakes were significantly (P<0.05) decreased when SFSM incorporated in the rations. Meanwhile, feed conversion values were significantly (P<0.05) improved. Dietary treatments significantly (P<0.05) increase drinking water comparing to control. Increasing the level of SFSM in the ration occurred gradually decreasing in daily feed cost per kilogram gain and feed cost/ kg gain, furthermore, daily profit above feeding cost and relative economical efficiency were enhanced. It can be mentioned that sunflower seed meal is a good source of protein and can be successfully used as a traditional source in growing lamb rations without causing any deleterious effect on their performance and realizing a decreasing in feed costing with improving their economic efficiency, so it can incorporate SFSM in sheep rations to improve profitability or net revenue and decrease feed cost/kg gain.