Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lightweight, Superelastic, and Hydrophobic Polyimide Nanofiber /MXene Composite Aerogel for Wearable Piezoresistive Sensor and Oil/Water Separation Applications

Inspired by the ultralight and structurally robust spider webs, flexible nanofibril‐assembled aerogels with intriguing attributes have been designed for achieving promising performances in various applications. Here, conductive polyimide nanofiber (PINF)/MXene composite aerogel with typical “layer‐strut” bracing hierarchical nanofibrous cellular structure has been developed via the freeze‐drying and thermal imidization process. Benefiting from the porous architecture and robust bonding between PINF and MXene, the PINF/MXene composite aerogel exhibits an ultralow density (9.98 mg cm−3), intriguing temperature tolerance from ‐50 to 250 °C, superior compressibility and recoverability (up to 90% strain), and excellent fatigue resistance over 1000 cycles. The composite aerogel can be used as a piezoresistive sensor, with an outstanding sensing capacity up to 90% strain (corresponding 85.21 kPa), ultralow detection limit of 0.5% strain (corresponding 0.01 kPa), robust fatigue resistance over 1000 cycles, excellent piezoresistive stability and reproductivity in extremely harsh environments. Furthermore, the composite aerogel also exhibits superior oil/water separation properties such as high adsorption capacity (55.85 to 135.29 g g−1) and stable recyclability due to its hydrophobicity and robust hierarchical porous structure. It is expected that the designed PINF/MXene composite aerogel can supply a new multifunctional platform for human bodily motion/physical signals detection and high‐efficient oil/water separation.
Determination of bioactive constituents of Rauwolfia vomitoria Afzel (Asofeyeje) roots using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR)

Rauwolfia vomitoria Aftzel belong to the family of Apocynacea with a common name serpent wood and Igbo name as akanta. It is used traditionally to treat hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis. The present study deals with GC-MS determination and FT-IR analysis of methanolic root extract of the named plant. Exactly thirty phytochemical constituents have been identified by comparing the chromatogram peek values of unknown compounds with entries in NIST database. The major bioactive compounds were 2Formyl-9-[-d-ribofuranosyl]hypoxanthine (8.63%), 5-Cyclopropylcarbonyloxypenta-decane (5.58%), 1,2,5-Oxadiazol-3-carboxamide-4,4’-azobis-2,2’-dioxide (4.47%), 1-(5-Bicylco[2.2.1]heptyl)ethylamine (3.66%), 1-Adamantanemethylamine,-methyl(2.22%), Diphenylephrine (1.26%), Imidazole,2-amino-5[(2-carboxy)vinyl](0.85%), Spiro[androst-5-ene-17,1’-Cyclobutan]-2’-one,3-hydroxy-,(3,17)(0.82, and Cyclohexan-1,4,55-triol-3-one-1-carboxylic acid (0.65%). The FTIR spectrum confirmed the presence of alkyl halides, alcohols, phenols, secondary alcohols, tertiary alcohols, aromatic ethers, aldehydes, ketones, aliphatic nitro compound, aromatic organophosphorus compounds, aromatic compounds, carboxylic acid derivatives, alkenes, saturated ketones, and alkanes. Hence, this study offers bases of employing R. vomitoria as herbal alternative for the treatment of various diseases.
Transportation inefficiencies in the cocoa value chains in Ivory Coast: Is sustainability possible?

The purpose of this investigation is to examine transportation inefficiencies and the sustainability of cocoa value chains in Ivory Coast. Problems addressed include unidentified major actors, types of transportation and how it is measured, and lastly, improving efficiency in transportation with respect to society, costs and greenhouse gas emissions. A mixed method methodology is followed in which qualitative and quantitative data are gathered and analysed. Results show that the major actors are planters, cooperative management, exporters, ports, chocolatiers and supermarkets. The main forms of transportation are trucks and motorcycles and are measured using the United Nations criteria for sustainable transportation. The conclusion is that cocoa transportation in Ivory Coast is unsustainable. However, with the correct implementation of policy, financing and technological innovation, there is potential to improve the sustainability of cocoa transportation from farm gate to export harbour. Key words: Cocoa value chain, Ivory Coast, sustainability, transport.
Synthesis and Characterization of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles by Using Rapid Precipitation Method

In the present study, nano-sized ceria (CeO 2 ) powders were prepared using rapid precipitation method, without any stabilizers, using cerium chloride as a starting material and sodium hydroxide as a precipitating agent. The synthesized ceria powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine crystallite size, crystallinity and shape respectively. It was found that the crystallite size obtained in the synthesis methods were below 30 nm. The particle size, morphology, shape and crystalline structure of resulting particles were also discussed.
A Combination of Multilayer Perceptron, Radial Basis Function Artificial Neural Networks and Machine Learning Image Segmentation for the Dimension Reduction and the Prognosis Assessment of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

The prognosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is heterogeneous. Therefore, we aimed to highlight predictive biomarkers. First, artificial intelligence was applied into a discovery series of gene expression of 414 patients (GSE10846). A dimension reduction algorithm aimed to correlate with the overall survival and other clinicopathological variables; and included a combination of Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and Radial Basis Function (RBF) artificial neural networks, gene-set enrichment analysis (GSEA), Cox regression and other machine learning and predictive analytics modeling [C5.0 algorithm, logistic regression, Bayesian Network, discriminant analysis, random trees, tree-AS, Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection CHAID tree, Quest, classification and regression (C&R) tree and neural net)]. From an initial 54,613 gene-probes, a set of 488 genes and a final set of 16 genes were defined. Secondly, two identified markers of the immune checkpoint, PD-L1 (CD274) and IKAROS (IKZF4), were validated in an independent series from Tokai University, and the immunohistochemical expression was quantified, using a machine-learning-based Weka segmentation. High PD-L1 associated with poor overall and progression-free survival, non-GCB phenotype, Epstein–Barr virus infection (EBER+), high RGS1 expression and several clinicopathological variables, such as high IPI and absence of clinical response. Conversely, high expression of IKAROS was associated with a good overall and progression-free survival, GCB phenotype and a positive clinical response to treatment. Finally, the set of 16 genes (PAF1, USP28, SORT1, MAP7D3, FITM2, CENPO, PRCC, ALDH6A1, CSNK2A1, TOR1AIP1, NUP98, UBE2H, UBXN7, SLC44A2, NR2C2AP and LETM1), in combination with PD-L1, IKAROS, BCL2, MYC, CD163 and TNFAIP8, predicted the survival outcome of DLBCL with an overall accuracy of 82.1%. In conclusion, building predictive models of DLBCL is a feasible analytical strategy.
Shrimp Paste Crackers as Potential Product Development for Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs)

There are many Small and Medium Enterprises processed food in the marine and fisheries sector in Central Java Province area, such as Demak Regency, Semarang City, and Pekalongan Regency. However, some business actors have not dared to innovate their products. Shrimp paste is one of the marine products that is processed by fermentation. Generally, shrimp paste is made from shrimp or small fish and is used as a spice in chilli sauce. The addition of shrimp paste to crackers is intended to increase its utilization as a marine product in the product development of Small and Medium Enterprises. This study aimed to determine the effect of adding shrimp paste on its chemical properties (moisture, protein, and fat content) and consumer acceptance through sensory testing. The ratio of tapioca flour and shrimp paste used in this study were 100: 0, 100: 5, 100: 10, and 100: 15. The results of the sensory analysis showed that the formulation with a ratio 100:15 was the most preferred formulation by the panellists. Based on the results of chemical analysis, the moisture content of crackers before and after frying 100:15 formulation ratio was 8.84% ± 0.14 and 1.85% ± 0.26. Fat and protein contents at 100:15 formulation ratio were 43.63% ± 4.23 and 1.67% ± 0.12 while those in the control were 26.46% ± 3.67 and 0.63% ± 0.70. Sensory evaluation data showed that consumer could accept this shrimp paste cracker as a potential food product.
The holistic risk analysis of spent fuel pool considering the fuel route risk

The Fukushima nuclear disaster has raised the importance on the reliability and risk research of the spent fuel pool (SFP), including the risk of internal events, fire, external hazards and so on. From a safety point of view, the low decay heat of the spent fuel assemblies and large water inventory in the SFP has made the accident progress goes very slow, but a large number of fuel assemblies are stored inside the spent fuel pool and without containment above the SFP building, it still has an unignored risk to the safety of the nuclear power plant. In this paper, a standardized approach for performing a holistic and comprehensive evaluation approach of the SFP risk based on the probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) method has been developed, including the Level 1 SFP PSA and Level 2 SFP PSA and external hazard PSA. The research scope of SFP PSA covers internal events, internal flooding, internal fires, external hazards and new risk source-fuel route risk is also included. The research will provide the risk insight of Spent Fuel Pool operation, and can help to make recommendation for the prevention and mitigation of SFP accidents which will be applicable for the SFP configuration risk management.
Improvements in antioxidant status after agraz consumption was associated to reductions in cardiovascular risk factors in women with metabolic syndrome

ABSTRACT In this study were evaluated the effects of the chronic consumption of agraz (Vaccinium meridionale) on antioxidant status and oxidative stress markers in 40 women with metabolic syndrome (MetS) (47.2 ± 9.4 years) through a double-blind, crossover design study, in which participants consumed daily agraz or placebo during 4 weeks, separated by a 4-wk washout period. At the end of each intervention period, endogenous antioxidant enzymes activity, serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (ferric reducing ability of plasma [FRAP]; Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity [ORAC] and 2,2ʹ-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) [ABTS]), and oxidative stress markers (Oxo-2ʹ-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and F2-isoprostane) were determined. Women who increased endogenous antioxidant enzymes activity and serum TAC after agraz consumption, compared to placebo, significantly reduced oxidative stress markers, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol (LDL-c) levels, and waist circumference, demonstrating beneficial effects in the group of women in whom antioxidant parameters increased after agraz consumption, evidencing an individual variability in response to the beverage consumed.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Hospital Attendance and Perceived Stigmatization Towards Individuals with COVID-19 Like Symptoms in Buea Municipality, Cameroon

Objectives: The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought about fear and uncertainty resulting to stigmatization and discrimination towards those with COVID-19 like symptoms as well as influence the patient influx to health facilities and the health-seeking behaviour of the population. This study assessed the health-seeking behaviour, hospital attendance, and the level of stigmatization of the population towards individuals with COVID-19 like symptoms. Methods: This was a cross-sectional community and hospital-based study carried out to assess hospital attendance, perceived stigmatization and population health-seeking behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Buea Municipality. The trend in the patients' influx in the COVID-19 treatment centre and other health facilities was assessed from March to June 2020 and compared with corresponding months in 2019. The stigmatization data was collected using a modified 12-items stigma scale. The data was analyzed with SPSS version 26. Results: The hospital attendance decreased in the COVID-19 treatment centre from April to June 2020 by -38.3% and increased in non-COVID-19 treatment health facilities by over 70%. Of the 570 participants for the community survey, 322 (56.5%) reported to go for auto medication if they developed COVID-19 symptoms. Individuals with COVID-19 like symptoms experienced moderate (59.1%) to severe (33.9%) perceived stigmatization. Perceived stigmatization was significantly higher (2=14.56, p=0.001) in participants who reported not willing to go to the hospital during the pandemic. Conclusion: The hospital turnout experienced a drop in the COVID-19 treatment centre and an increase in other health facilities. There was high perceived stigmatization towards people with COVID-19 like symptoms, which probably accounted for the population refusal to seek treatment in the COVID-19 treatment center and to resort to auto medication.
Reconfigurable reflective arrayed waveguide grating (R-RAWG)

A reconfigurable reflective arrayed waveguide grating (R-RAWG) has been designed, fabricated and tested in a silicon nitride platform. The R-RAWG has a number of advantages if compared to a traditional arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) as smaller footprint and the capability to correct to phase errors induced by fabrication defects. To implement this design, we have used tunable reflective michelson loops that produce a broadband response without the need of a modified or additional fabrication process. This approach opens the possibility to implement this design in almost any fabrication platform. By controlling the amplitude and phase of each arm, more than 12 different spectral shapes have been obtained with more than 20 dB of extinction ratio. The control is based on a new method using optimization algorithms borrowed from machine leaning developed using only the power spectrum response of one output to adapt all the variables. The reconfiguration of the band shape, the possibility to adapt the filter to the desired spectrum in one or multiple bands and the fabrication-friendly implementation for mass production make this device suitable for multiple applications as LIDAR, spectroscopy, OCT, Microwaves, Telecommunications among others.
Systematics and Paleobiology of a New Articulated Axial Specimen Referred to Iguanodon cf. Galvensis (Ornithopoda, Iguanodontoidea)

ABSTRACT The early Barremian Iberian ornithopod Iguanodon galvensis was described for the first time in 2015. However, much of its anatomy, such as the axial skeleton in mature specimens, remains unknown. Here, the partially articulated presacral vertebrae and ribs belonging to a large adult ornithopod (DS-1 ornithopod) from the lower Barremian (Lower Cretaceous) that were found in Teruel Province (northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain) are investigated by a systematic study and a phylogenetic analysis. The only cervical vertebra preserved is strongly opisthocoelus, as is typical of styracosternans. In fact, the phylogenetic analysis resolves DS-1 ornithopod as an hadrosauriform styracosternan. The assemblage also includes ten anterior-to-posterior dorsal vertebrae that strongly resemble those of the contemporary European iguanodontoid Iguanodon, particularly in having amphiplatyan and higher-than-long centra and dorsal neural spines two times the lateral height of their centra and slightly sigmoid in the posterior vertebrae. In addition, the dorsal centra are moderately compressed between the articular faces and lack a ventral keel, unlike the late Barremian type species I. bernissartensis but resembling the sympatric I. galvensis. For these reasons, DS-1 ornithopod is ascribed here as I. cf. galvensis. Moreover, this specimen has costovertebral ankyloses likely related to the specimen's maturity. Finally, the fossils of I. galvensis including those referred to it as DS-1 ornithopod, as well as evidence provided by bones and tracks in other places, indicate that the genus Iguanodon frequently occupied areas around rivers, lakes, estuaries, or lagoons.
Study of quorum-sensing LasR and RhlR genes and their dependent virulence factors in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from infected burn wounds

Background Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for burn-wound infection. High incidence, infection severity and increasing resistance characterize P. aeruginosa -induced burn infection. Purpose To estimate quorum-sensing (QS)-dependent virulence factors of P. aeruginosa isolates from burn wounds and correlate it to the presence of QS genes. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study included 50 P . aeruginosa isolates from burn patients in Mansoura University Plastic and Burn Hospital, Egypt. Antibiotic sensitivity tests were done. All isolates were tested for their ability to produce biofilm using a micro-titration assay method. Protease, pyocyanin and rhamnolipid virulence factors were determined using skimmed milk agar, King’s A medium and CTAB agar test, respectively. The identity of QS lasR and rhlR genes was confirmed using PCR. Results In total, 86 % of isolates had proteolytic activity. Production of pyocyanin pigment was manifested in 66 % of isolates. Altogether, 76 % of isolates were rhamnolipid producers. Biofilm formation was detected in 96 % of isolates. QS lasR and rhlR genes were harboured by nearly all isolates except three isolates were negative for both lasR and rhlR genes and two isolates were positive for lasR gene and negative for rhlR gene. Forty-nine isolates were considered as extremely QS-proficient strains as they produced QS-dependent virulence factors. In contrast, one isolate was a QS deficient strain. Conclusions QS affects P. aeruginosa virulence-factor production and biofilm in burn wounds. Isolates containing lasR and rhlR seem to be a crucial regulator of virulence factors and biofilm formation in P. aeruginosa whereas the lasR gene positively regulates biofilm formation, proteolytic activity, pyocyanin production and rhamnolipid biosurfactant synthesis. The QS regulatory RhlR gene affects protease and rhamnolipid production positively.
Low-complexity neuron for fixed-point artificial neural networks with ReLU activation function in energy-constrained wireless applications

This work introduces an efﬁcient neuron design for ﬁxed-point artiﬁcial neural networks with the rectiﬁed linear unit (ReLU) activation function for energy-constrained wireless applications. The ﬁxed-point binary numbers and ReLU activation function are used in most application-speciﬁc integrated circuit designs and artiﬁcial neural networks (ANN), respectively. It is well known that, owing to involved computation intensive tasks, the computational burden of ANNs is ultra heavy. Consequently, many practitioners and researchers are discovering the ways to reduce implementation complexity of ANNs, par-ticularly for battery-powered wireless applications. For this, a low-complexity neuron to predict the sign bit of the input of the non-linear activation function, ReLU, by employing the saturation characteristics of the activation function is proposed. According to our simulation results based on random data, computation overhead of a neuron using the proposed technique can be saved by a ratio of 29.6% compared to the conventional neuron using a word length of 8 bits without apparently increasing the prediction error. A comparison of the proposed algorithm with the popular 16-bit ﬁxed-point format of the convolutional network, AlexNet, indicates that the computation can be saved by 48.58%
Queens, but not their stored sperm, are resilient to temperature stress

Abiotic stressors such as extreme temperatures can reduce stored sperm viability within queen honey bees. However, little is known about how thermal stress may directly impact queen performance or other maternal quality metrics, such as queen mass, egg laying rate, and development of embryos within eggs. Here, in a blind field trial, we recorded laying pattern, queen mass, and average callow worker mass before and after exposing queens to a cold temperature (4°C, 2 h), hot temperature (42°C, 2 h), and hive temperature (33°C) to serve as a handling control. We then used proteomics to investigate potential vertical effects of maternal temperature stress on embryos, as well as to measure the abundance of previously determined protein markers for temperature stress in the spermathecal fluid. We found no significant effect of abiotic stress on any of the metrics we recorded. These data suggest that there are likely no lasting maternal effects of temperature stress on honey bee queens, and that the queens themselves are highly stress tolerant, but not their stored sperm.
Stochastic Finite Element Thermal Analysis of a Ball Grid Array Package

This paper presents a straight-forward finite element approach for the quantification of electronic package thermal performance under uncertainty. The method makes use of high accuracy sensitivity calculations and a gradient-based minimization method. The approach was applied to the thermal analysis of a ball grid array (BGA) package under uncertainty to illustrate its capabilities. The effect of uncertainty in the heat source, heat transfer coefficient, ambient temperature, and thermal conductivities of the component materials on the probability of exceeding a specified average junction temperature at the die-heat-spreader interface was studied. In addition, the performance and accuracy of two different methods for computing the required sensitivities were compared. Results showed that the average junction temperature probability was more sensitive to some system parameters over others, providing crucial information for selecting the manufacturing tolerance of BGA package components. For parameters identified as especially sensitive, selecting components with tighter tolerances will reduce uncertainty and increase the overall reliability. And for less sensitive parameters, selecting larger tolerance could help reduce manufacturing costs.
Application of the Prony method for biometric data analysis

The paper deals with the processing of numerical series using the spectral estimation methodology. The methodology is based on the Prony transformation. The conversion lets you represent the original number series as a new series. The new series is a linear combination of exponential functions. The article presents the basic concepts and relations of the Prony transformation, and also analyzes the behavior of individual components of the transformation for typical cases. The features of the Prony method are analyzed. Shown are the individual stages of the algorithm, the problems of a specific implementation. The Prony method was used to process the recordings of the electroencephalograms of the operators in their mental representation of movements. This allows us to assume the possibility of using the described methodology in identifying EEG correlates of motor imagination in the space of the roots of polynomials