Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A fusion imaging method based on amplitude compensation and correction for building layout

Building layout surround-view imaging technology can obtain the internal information of the buildings, which has been widely used in the field of the anti-terrorism and combat. The problems of amplitude attenuation, wall widening, position offset, and multipath ghosts caused by the echoes in the process of penetrating between the building walls will bring the great inconvenience to the reconstruction of the building layouts. In this paper, a fusion imaging algorithm based on the amplitude compensation and correction for the building layout is proposed. First, after obtaining as many and accurate wall positions and wall lengths as possible through wall detection, the original image is segmented and then traversed through the adaptive thresholds. Besides, combined with the gray-scale linear method, the sub-images are enhanced, the clutter is suppressed, and its position has been corrected. Finally, the images obtained from multiple perspectives are fused to obtain the complete building layout image. Simulation results show that the proposed method can effectively compensate the attenuation, correct the wall position, suppress the multipath ghosts, and then finally obtain the high-quality and high-precision building layout image.
Advances in quantifying microbial contamination in potable water: Potential of fluorescence‐based sensor technology

Improved monitoring of potable water is essential if we are to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG6: to make clean water and sanitation available to all. Typically monitoring of potable water requires laboratory analysis to detect indicators of fecal pollution, such as thermotolerant coliforms (TTCs), Escherichia coli (E. coli), or intestinal enterococci. However, these analyses are time‐consuming and expensive, and recent advances in field deployable sensing technology offer opportunities to investigate both the spatial and temporal dynamics of microbial pollution in a more resolved and cost‐effective manner, thus advancing process‐based understanding and practical application for human health. Fluorescence offers a realistic proxy for monitoring coliforms in freshwaters with potential for quantification of potable water contamination in near real‐time with no need for costly reagents. Here, we focus on E. coli to provide a state‐of‐the‐art review of potential technologies capable of delivering an effective real‐time E. coli sensor system. We synthesize recent research on the use of fluorescence spectroscopy to quantify microbial contamination and discuss a variety of approaches (and constraints) to relate the raw fluorescence signal to E. coli enumerations. Together, these offer an invaluable platform to monitor drinking water quality which is required in situations where the water treatment and distribution infrastructure is degraded, for example in less economically developed countries; and during disaster‐relief operations. Overall, our review suggests that the fluorescence of dissolved organic matter is the most viable current method—given recent advances in field‐deployable technology—and we highlight the potential for recent developments to enhance approaches to water quality monitoring.
Discretization Techniques of Height Function Method for Greater Increased Accuracy of Mass Conservation

A height function method has been used to solve the shape of free surfaces in incompressible viscous flows for hydrodynamics. Three proposed discretization techniques for the height function method are developed with particular attention to the law of mass conservation. The concept of the proposed techniques is to place a control volume on the most appropriate location in any staggered grid system. First, the proposed techniques and the conventional technique are verified with a simple problem whose exact solution is known. Then, all numerical techniques are examined with a more complicated problem to investigate their accuracy. The simulated results of the proposed techniques are compared to those of conventional technique. Finally, it is concluded that (1) the proposed techniques will give better results than the conventional technique if the grid resolution is sufficiently fine, (2) the first proposed technique gives poorer results than the other proposed techniques, and (3) the second proposed technique gives better results than the third proposed technique, but the third proposed technique is easier to apply due to its explicit form of the equation. doi: 10.14456/WJST.2015. 14
Regularization of singular terms in $N\bar{N}$ potential model

We suggest a method of singular terms regularization in potential model of $N\bar{N}$ interaction. This method is free from any uncertainties, related to the usual cut-off procedure and based on the fact, that in the presence of sufficiently strong short-range annihilation $N$ and $\bar{N}$ never approach close enough to each other. The effect of mentioned singular terms of OBE potential, modified by annihilation is shown to be repulsive. The obtained results for S- and P-wave scattering lengths are in agreement with existing theoretical models.
Extreme Kuiper Belt Object 2001 QG298 and the Fraction of Contact Binaries

Extensive time-resolved observations of Kuiper belt object 2001 QG298 show a light curve with a peak-to-peak variation of 1.14 ± 0.04 mag and single-peaked period of 6.8872 ± 0.0002 hr. The mean absolute magnitude is 6.85 mag, which corresponds to a mean effective radius of 122 (77) km if an albedo of 0.04 (0.10) is assumed. This is the first known Kuiper belt object and only the third minor planet with a radius greater than 25 km to display a light curve with a range in excess of 1 mag. We find the colors to be typical for a Kuiper belt object (B-V = 1.00 ± 0.04, V-R = 0.60 ± 0.02), with no variation in color between minimum and maximum light. The large light variation, relatively long double-peaked period, and absence of rotational color change argue against explanations due to albedo markings or elongation due to high angular momentum. Instead, we suggest that 2001 QG298 may be a very close or contact binary, similar in structure to what has been independently proposed for the Trojan asteroid 624 Hektor. If so, its rotational period would be twice the light-curve period, or 13.7744 ± 0.0004 hr. By correcting for the effects of projection, we estimate that the fraction of similar objects in the Kuiper belt is at least ∼10% to 20%, with the true fraction probably much higher. A high abundance of close and contact binaries is expected in some scenarios for the evolution of binary Kuiper belt objects.
Targeting Leukemia-Initiating Cells and Leukemic Niches: The Next Therapy Station for T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia?

Simple Summary T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive malignancy arising from the aberrant proliferation of immature T-cell progenitors. Despite improved insights in genetic and biological characteristics of T-ALL, clinical therapy has remained largely similar. Recent studies have shown that leukemia-initiating cells (LICs) and leukemic niches play major roles in the initiation and progression of T-ALL, thus, facilitating the development of targeted therapies. This review provides a broad overview of the recent discoveries on LICs and leukemic niches in the context of T-ALL, with a particular focus on the current precision medicine. Abstract T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive subtype of hematological malignancy characterized by its high heterogeneity and potentially life-threatening clinical features. Despite the advances in risk stratification and therapeutic management of T-ALL, patients often suffer from treatment failure and chemotherapy-induced toxicity, calling for greater efforts to improve therapeutic efficacy and safety in the treatment of T-ALL. During the past decades, increasing evidence has shown the indispensable effects of leukemia-initiating cells (LICs) and leukemic niches on T-ALL initiation and progression. These milestones greatly facilitate precision medicine by interfering with the pathways that are associated with LICs and leukemic niches or by targeting themselves directly. Most of these novel agents, either alone or in combination with conventional chemotherapy, have shown promising preclinical results, facilitating them to be further evaluated under clinical trials. In this review, we summarize the latest discoveries in LICs and leukemic niches in terms of T-ALL, with a particular highlight on the current precision medicine. The challenges and future prospects are also discussed.
Density-Functional Theory of Polar Insulators

We examine the density-functional theory of macroscopic insulators, obtained in the large-cluster limit or under periodic boundary conditions. For polar crystals, we find that the two procedures are not equivalent. In a large-cluster case, the exact exchange-correlation potential acquires a homogeneous ''electric field'' which is absent from the usual local approximations, and the Kohn-Sham electronic system becomes metallic. With periodic boundary conditions, such a field ist forbidden, and the polarization deduced from Kohn-Sham wave functions is incorrect even if the exact functional is used.
Supernovae and their Evolution in a Low Metallicity ISM

Abstract Observations of core collapse supernovae and their progenitors generally support expectations of increasing mass loss with increasing initial mass. Mass loss rates are expected to decline at lower metallicity, and there are prospects for directly testing this for the red supergiant progenitors of Type IIP supernovae. However, there are indications that mass loss rates for high mass early type stars may be overestimated and that there are mass loss mechanisms that do not decline at lower metallicity. In this case, there may be supernova emission from strong circumstellar interaction even at low metallicity. Although there is evidence for dust formation in freely expanding ejecta of supernovae, the quantities are relatively small. Another promising site of dust formation is the circumstellar interaction region, but this should occur in only a fraction of supernovae.
Interface-mediated pairing in field effect devices

We consider the pairing induced in a strictly 2D electron gas (2DEG) by a proximate insulating film with polarizable localized excitations. Within a model of interacting 2D electrons and localized two-level systems, we calculate the critical temperature $T_c$ as a function of applied voltage and for different materials properties. Assuming that a sufficient carrier density can be induced in a field-gated device, we argue that superconductivity may be observable in such systems. $T_c$ is found to be a nonmonotonic function of both electric field and the excitation energy of the two-level systems.
Possible Detection of Gamma-Rays from Epsilon Eridani

We use the Fermi Large Area Telescope gamma-ray observatory to search for gamma-ray emission from four nearby, debris disk-hosting main-sequence stars: τ Ceti, ϵ Eridani, Fomalhaut, and Vega. For three stars (τ Ceti, Fomalhaut, and Vega), we establish upper limits that are consistent with theoretical expectations. For ϵ Eridani, we find a possible spatially coincident source with a soft energy spectrum of dN/dE ∼ E−3.6. However, at this stage we are unable to rule out that this emission is due to a more extended feature in the diffuse background. In the interpretation that the emission is due to ϵ Eridani, the >100 MeV gamma-ray luminosity is ∼1027 erg s−1 ≃ 3 × 10−7 L⊙, which is ∼1010 times the gamma-ray luminosity from the disk of the quiet Sun. We find ≲2σ evidence of source variability over a ∼7 yr timescale. In the interpretation that the gamma-ray emission is from ϵ Eridani itself, we consider two possible models: (1) cosmic-ray collisions with solid bodies in the debris disk, which extends out ∼60 au from the host star, and (2) emission from the stellar activity. For the former model, assuming a total disk mass consistent with infrared measurements, we find that the size distribution of bodies is steeper than expected for a collisional cascade state. If confirmed as being associated with ϵ Eridani, this would be the first indication of gamma-ray emission from the vicinity of a main-sequence star other than the Sun.
Creation of a magnetic plasmon polariton through strong coupling between an artificial magnetic atom and the defect state in a defective multilayer microcavity

We studied the propagation of an electromagnetic EM wave in a defective multilayer microcavity with an artificial magnetic atom located at the edge of the defect layer. When the frequency of the defect state is tuned to the resonance frequency of the magnetic atom, strong coupling happens between this atom and EM waves. It creates a type of magnetic plasmon polariton MPP with Rabi-type splitting effect that results in the two branches of the MPP mode. The linewidth of the MPP and Rabi-type oscillation of magnetic field inside the atom are investigated in the simulations. A great enhancement of local fields can also be obtained from the MPP, which has a good application in nonlinear optics.
Hydroethanolic Extract of Morus nigra L. Leaves: A Dual PPAR-α/γ Agonist with Anti-Inflammatory Properties in Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated RAW 264.7

Inhibition of systemic inflammation has been a beneficial strategy in treating several non-communicable diseases, which represent one of the major causes of mortality in the world. The Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors (PPAR) are interesting pharmacological targets, since they can act both through the metabolic and anti-inflammatory pathways. Morus nigra L. has flavonoids in its chemical composition with recognized anti-oxidant activity and often associated with anti-inflammatory activity. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the hydroethanolic extract of M. nigra leaves’ ability to activate PPAR and promote anti-inflammatory effects in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine macrophage cells. The leaf extract was prepared by cold maceration, and the chemical profile was obtained by HPLC-DAD. Activation of PPAR α and γ was evaluated by the luciferase reporter assay. The anti-inflammatory activity was assessed by measuring the reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitric oxide (NO), and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) in RAW 264.7 cells after stimulation with LPS from Escherichia coli. The HPLC-DAD analysis identified two major compounds: rutin and isoquercitrin. The extract showed agonist activity for the two types of PPAR, α and γ, although its major compounds, rutin and isoquercitrin, did not significantly activate the receptors. In addition, the extract significantly reduced the production of ROS, NO, and TNF-α. Treatment with the specific PPAR-α antagonist, GW 6471, was able to partially block the anti-inflammatory effect caused by the extract.
Reinventions as brightly glowing illuminations *

The points of inspiration—metaphorically given by Lauren Ila Misiaszek as illuminations or ‘glow[ing]’ as she utilizes MacLure’s (2010) work—from reading the SI’s authors’ analyses and reinventions of Paulo Freire’s work have differing and common reasons on why they illuminate. The SI authors uniquely read and re-read Freire’s work within their own experiences and ways of knowing with others’, ‘sparking the making of connections’ of his work with possibilities of transforming education and societies contextually. The importance of contextuality is, in part, unpacked by Lauren problematizing nostalgia. Although this SI’s title and other publications and events highlight Freire’s centennial and fifty years of Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970), overstating and over-prioritizing nostalgia results in rigid replication without critical analysis or reinvention. This makes Freire’s work stale; any sparks are extinguished if glowed at all ever. Freire himself would object to such false celebrations. As Lauren points out, it leads to romanticizing the past without contextualization—repeating Freire without meaningfulness in our futures, Or, possibly better written as a singular future absent of Freire’s influences. Rather than simply reminiscing Freire’s work, she describes how the authors reinvent his work in less charted areas and spaces, arguing that the SI serves as a non-nostalgia publication—or, possibly better termed as an anti-anniversary issue. Lauren unpacks the first-person narratives throughout the SI articles to provide rich descriptions of how the authors critically read Freire, which led to transforming their teaching, research, reflexivity, and praxis. For some, such as Carlos Alberto Torres, this included personal interactions with Freire as a mentor, a colleague, and an extremely close friend. I am thankful that EPAT does not force authors to write in the third-person with draconian adhesion to false perceptions of ‘correct academic writing’, as though scholars can be apolitical and have absolute objectivity without any biases. Such forced writing is anti-Freirean. As Lauren argues, the crossing of timescapes through first-person writing not only adds value to the SI overall but is essential for authentically using and reinventing Freire’s work—or any scholar’s work. I view these aspects as inseparable from Lauren’s use of de Sousa Santos’ (2014) words underscoring the essentialness ‘to imagine new ways of theorizing and of generating transformative collective action’ (p. 5, Lauren’s emphasis). The need of reimagining Freire’s and other scholars’ work is essential for praxis to emerge from their work for transforming socio-environmental injustices and acts of planetary unsustainability. Without a doubt, there will be crucial new theories and pedagogies in the possible futures; however, reimaging what has been theorized and done in new ways— oftentimes radically—is equally necessary. Freire’s work is made re-useful through such reinventions, as exemplified throughout this SI’s articles.
Effect Of Acetaldehyde On Aggregation Of Neuronal Tau

Acetaldehyde at a low concentration (0.25%) induces recombinant tau polymeriz.ation distinguishably without using chemic.al cross-linker disuccinimidyl su (DSS). The aggregation of the hyperphosphorylated tau occurs in the solution of acetaldehyde at 0.05%. It appears that formation of neurofibrillary tangles in alcoholics may be correlated to acetaldehyde besides alcoho and the abnormal tau phosphorylation may accelerate acetaldehyde-induced tau polymeriz.ation.
Antibacterial Screening of Isoespintanol, an Aromatic Monoterpene Isolated from Oxandra xylopioides Diels

The incidence of nosocomial infections, as well as the high mortality and drug resistance expressed by nosocomial pathogens, especially in immunocompromised patients, poses significant medical challenges. Currently, the efficacy of plant compounds with antimicrobial potential has been reported as a promising alternative therapy to traditional methods. Isoespintanol (ISO) is a monoterpene with high biological activity. Using the broth microdilution method, the antibacterial activity of ISO was examined in 90 clinical isolates, which included 14 different species: (Escherichia coli (38), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (12), Klebsiella pneumoniae (13), Acinetobacter baumannii (3), Proteus mirabilis (7), Staphylococcus epidermidis (3), Staphylococcus aureus (5), Enterococcus faecium (1), Enterococcus faecalis (1), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (2), Citrobacter koseri (2), Serratia marcescens (1), Aeromonas hydrophila (1), and Providencia rettgeri (1). MIC90 minimum inhibitory concentration values ranged from 694.3 to 916.5 µg/mL and MIC50 values from 154.2 to 457.3 µg/mL. The eradication of mature biofilms in P. aeruginosa after 1 h of exposure to ISO was between 6.6 and 77.4%, being higher in all cases than the percentage of biofilm eradication in cells treated with ciprofloxacin, which was between 4.3 and 67.5%. ISO has antibacterial and antibiofilm potential against nosocomial bacteria and could serve as an adjuvant in the control of these pathogens.
Computational Biology Dynamics of Mps1 Kinase Molecular Interactions with Isoflavones Reveals a Chemical Scaffold with Potential to Develop New Therapeutics for the Treatment of Cancer

The protein kinase Mps1 (monopolar spindle 1) is an important regulator of the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint (SAC), the evolutionary conserved checkpoint system of higher organisms that monitors the proper bipolar attachment of all chromosomes to the mitotic spindle during cell division. Defects in the catalytic activity and the transcription regulation of Mps1 are associated with genome instability, aneuploidy, and cancer. Moreover, multiple Mps1 missense and frameshift mutations have been reported in a wide range of types of cancer of different tissue origin. Due to these features, Mps1 arises as one promising drug target for cancer therapy. In this contribution, we developed a computational biology approach to study the dynamics of human Mps1 kinase interaction with isoflavones, a class of natural flavonoids, and compared their predicted mode of binding with that observed in the crystal structure of Mps1 in complex with reversine, a small-sized inhibitor of Mps1 and Aurora B kinases. We concluded that isoflavones define a chemical scaffold that can be used to develop new Mps1 inhibitors for the treatment of cancer associated with Mps1 amplification and aberrant chromosome segregation. In a broader context, the present report illustrates how modern chemoinformatics approaches can accelerate drug development in oncology.
Management of Blunt Chest Trauma; Everything you Need to Know - A Review of Literature

Trauma is the leading cause of death worldwide of which two thirds of the patients have blunt chest trauma with varying severity from a simple rib fracture to flail chest. In this paper we are reviewing the existing literature and the management of blunt chest trauma, throwing light on the critical aspects such as evaluation and treatment. Recent advances of VATS in blunt chest trauma are de-scribed as well, majority of the BCT cases are managed non-operatively with only a handful of cases needing surgical intervention by thoracic surgeons. Younger patients have better prognosis as compared to geriatric patients with the same injuries. We also throw light on the admission criteria for BCT cases, indications of tube thoracostomy and indications of thoracotomy in BCT cases. This particular paper will throw light on the management of blunt chest trauma and its various therapeutic options in detail so as to understand this clinical entity and its implications.
Vacuum friction

We know that in empty space there is no preferred state of rest. This is true both in special relativity but also in Newtonian mechanics with its associated Galilean relativity. It comes as something of a surprise, therefore, to discover the existence a friction force associated with spontaneous emission. The resolution of this paradox relies on a central idea from special relativity even though our derivation of it is non-relativistic. We examine the possibility that the physics underlying this effect might be explored in an ion trap, via the observation of a superposition of different mass states.
Unexorcized ghost in DGP brane world

The brane world model proposed by Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati realizes self-acceleration of the universe. However, it is known that this cosmological solution contains a spin-2 ghost. We study the possibility of avoiding the appearance of the ghost by slightly modifying the model via the introduction of a second brane. First, we consider a simple model without stabilization of the brane separation. By changing the separation between the branes, we find that we can erase the spin-2 ghost. However, this can be done only at the expense of the appearance of a spin-0 ghost instead. We discuss why these two different types of ghosts are correlated. Then, we examine a model with stabilization of the brane separation. Even in this case, we find that the correlation between spin-0 and spin-2 ghosts remains. As a result we find that we cannot avoid the appearance of a ghost by introducing a second brane in the model.