Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hyperspectral terahertz imaging and optical clearance for cancer classification in breast tumor surgical specimen

Abstract. Purpose: We investigate the enhancement in terahertz (THz) images of freshly excised breast tumors upon treatment with an optical clearance agent. The hyperspectral imaging and spectral classifications are used to quantitatively demonstrate the image enhancement. Glycerol solution with 60% concentration is applied to excised breast tumor specimens for various time durations to investigate the effectiveness on image enhancement. Approach: THz reflection spectroscopy is utilized to obtain the absorption coefficient and the index of refraction of untreated and glycerol-treated tissues at each frequency up to 3 THz. Two classifiers, spectral angular mapping (SAM) based on several kernels and Euclidean minimum distance (EMD) are implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment. The testing raw data is obtained from five breast cancer specimens: two untreated specimens and three specimens treated with glycerol solution for 20, 40, or 60 min. All tumors used in the testing data have healthy tissues adjacent to cancerous ones consistent with the challenge faced in lumpectomy surgeries. Results: The glycerol-treated tissues showed a decrease in the absorption coefficients compared with untreated tissues, especially as the period of treatment increased. Although the sensitivity metric of the classifier presented higher values in the untreated tissues compared with the treated ones, the specificity and accuracy metrics demonstrated higher values for the treated tissues compared with the untreated ones. Conclusions: The biocompatible glycerol solution is a potential optical clearance agent in THz imaging while keeping the histopathology imaging intact. The SAM technique provided a good classification of cancerous tissues despite the small amount of cancer in the training data (only 7%). The SAM exponential kernel and EMD presented classification accuracy of ∼80 % to 85% compared with linear and polynomial kernels that provided accuracy ranging from 70% to 80%. Overall, glycerol treatment provides a potential improvement in cancer classification in freshly excised breast tumors.
Mechanical Assessment of Veterinary Orthopedic Implant Technologies: Comparative Studies of Canine Fracture Fixation and Equine Arthrodesis Devices and Techniques

ii DEDICATION. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . v NOMENCLATURE . vi TABLE OF CONTENTS . vii LIST OF FIGURES . x LIST OF TABLES . xvii 1. OVERVIEW . 1 2. CANINE INTRODUCTION . 3 2.1 Problem . 3 2.2 Objectives . 4 2.3 Hypothesis. 5 2.4 Justification . 6 3. CANINE BACKGROUND . 7 3.1 History of Canine Femur Fracture Fixation . 7 3.2 LC-DCP . 13 3.3 CRIF . 15 3.4 Past Mechanical Testing . 16 4. CANINE METHODS. 20 4.1 Overall Study Design. 20 4.2 Device Implant . 20 4.3 Four Point Bending Testing . 24 4.4 Torsional Testing . 29 4.4 Statistical Methods . 33 5. CANINE RESULTS . 36 5.1 Torsion Results . 36 5.3 Four Point Bending Data . 43
The survival contest of endozoochory: Conflicting interests in a frugivorous avian–plant mutualism

The nutritious pulp of fleshy fruits facilitates seed dispersal via endozoochory. Frugivores are considered legitimate seed dispersers when they digest only the pulp but do not damage the seeds. Nevertheless, fruit pulp, in contrast to seeds, is low in nitrogen, thus potentially stimulating seed digestion in the fruit consumers, therefore raising a potential conflict of interest between the plant and the fruit consumer. Pycnonotus xanthopygos is an important distributor of seeds of the desert shrub, Ochradenus baccatus. Our study demonstrated that P. xanthopygos consumed fewer O. baccatus fruits compared with Musa acuminata, due to the presence of bioactive substances O. baccatus pulp juice. The passage of the O. baccatus seeds through the digestive system of P. xanthopygos resulted in damage of up to 80% of the seeds and 20% decrease in the weight of the defecated seeds. Despite the damage to the seeds, passage through the digestive system of P. xanthopygos significantly increased the germination of the surviving seeds. Pulp juice and/or drying of the fruits (on the shrub or in the laboratory) reduced seed germination, and separation of seeds from the pulp (manually or by the bird's digestive system) significantly increased germination. Our study demonstrated variable reduced digestibility of seeds and pulp when P. xanthopygos consumed O. baccatus fruits compared with M. acuminata. This effect was correlated with inhibition of digestive enzymes in O. baccatus fruits. Synthesis. Our results show that there is a complex interaction between Ochradenus baccatus and Pycnonotus xanthopygos where consumption of the fruits is both beneficial and harmful to the plant, due to seed damage on the one hand, yet promotion of seed germination on the other. This suggests that frugivory in general may benefit seed distributors and seed predators simultaneously, yet also highlights a potential conflict of interest inherent in endozoochory.
Power Generation Control of Renewable Energy Based Hybrid Deregulated Power System

This work presents the power generation control of a two-area, hybrid, deregulated power system integrated with renewable energy sources (RES). The incorporation of appropriate system non-linearities and RES into the power system makes it complex, but more practical. The hybrid deregulated power system with RES is a complex nonlinear system that regularly exposes the major issue of system dynamic control due to insufficient damping under varying loading circumstances. The generation-demand equilibrium point of the power system varies following a contingency; hence, it becomes difficult to maintain the appropriate equilibrium point via traditional control approaches. To solve this problem, novel control approaches, along with rapid-acting energy storage devices (ESD), are immediate need for advanced power systems. As a result, various secondary controllers are inspected for improvements in system dynamics. A performance comparison infers the cascaded ID-PD controller as the optimum one. The secondary controller gains are successfully optimized by the powerful satin bowerbird optimization (SBO) technique. Additionally, the impact of a super-conducting-magnetic-energy-storage (SMES) device in system dynamics and control of developed power system is analyzed in this study. A sensitivity evaluation (SE) infers that SBO-optimized cascaded ID-PD controller gains are strong enough for alterations in load perturbations, system loading, inertial constant (H), solar irradiance and the DISCO involvement matrix (DIM).
Acidic Tumor Microenvironment Promotes Pancreatic Cancer through miR-451a/MEF2D Axis

Pancreatic cancer (PC), as a highly malignant and aggressive solid tumor, is common in the digestive system. The acidic microenvironment is one of the critical markers of cancer. Nonetheless, there are few studies on how the acidic microenvironment affects the development of PC. This study focused on investigating the specific molecular mechanisms of the acidic microenvironment in PC. In our study, qRT-PCR was conducted for examining microRNA (miR)-451a and myocyte enhancer factor 2D (MEF2D) expressions in PANC-1 cells. Then, detailed functional effects of an acidic environment on miR-451a and MEF2D in PANC-1 cells were detected by CCK-8, colony formation, flow cytometry, wound healing, transwell, mitochondrial functionality measurement, JC-1 staining, DCFH-DA staining, and sphere formation assays. The relationship between miR-451a and MEF2D was confirmed by luciferase reporter analysis. Under acidic conditions, the increase of proliferation, migration, and invasion of PANC-1 cells was observed. Moreover, the mitochondrial oxidative respiration-related gene miR-451a was reduced in acidic conditions. In addition, we found that, in PANC-1 cells under an acidic environment, miR-451a overexpression enhanced oxygen consumption, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) loss, and ROS generation and inhibited proliferation, migration, invasion, and stemness via sponging MEF2D. In a word, our results revealed that the acidic microenvironment regulated PC progression by affecting the miR-451a/MEF2D axis, indicating a novel avenue for the future treatment of PC.
Pedestrian motion centroid model based on robot dynamics

In recent years, with the rapid development of computer vision technology, image-based human body research has become an important task, such as pedestrian target detection, trajectory tracking, posture estimation and behaviour recognition. The centre of mass is one of the important characteristics that can reflect the phenomenon of pedestrian movement. This paper first introduces the biped robot model in robotics, starting from forward and inverse kinematics, to find the mapping relationship between the position of each joint and the pose of the end effector. Then, corresponding to the skeleton model of the human joint points, the characteristics of the bone posture and joint angle are determined. The moment of inertia factor is introduced, and the motion superposition of different joint points is considered to establish a pedestrian motion centroid model. By calculating the equivalent dynamic centroid, the pedestrian kinematics law can be explored and the pedestrian movement mechanism can be more deeply recognized.
Winter Wheat Nitrogen Estimation Based on Ground-Level and UAV-Mounted Sensors

A better understanding of wheat nitrogen status is important for improving N fertilizer management in precision farming. In this study, four different sensors were evaluated for their ability to estimate winter wheat nitrogen. A Gaussian process regression (GPR) method with the sequential backward feature removal (SBBR) routine was used to identify the best combinations of vegetation indices (VIs) sensitive to wheat N indicators for different sensors. Wheat leaf N concentration (LNC), plant N concentration (PNC), and the nutrition index (NNI) were estimated by the VIs through parametric regression (PR), multivariable linear regression (MLR), and Gaussian process regression (GPR). The study results reveal that the optical fluorescence sensor provides more accurate estimates of winter wheat N status at a low-canopy coverage condition. The Dualex Nitrogen Balance Index (NBI) is the best leaf-level indicator for wheat LNC, PNC and NNI at the early wheat growth stage. At the early growth stage, Multiplex indices are the best canopy-level indicators for LNC, PNC, and NNI. At the late growth stage, ASD VIs provide accurate estimates for wheat N indicators. This study also reveals that the GPR with SBBR analysis method provides more accurate estimates of winter wheat LNC, PNC, and NNI, with the best VI combinations for these sensors across the different winter wheat growth stages, compared with the MLR and PR methods.
Comparative Genomics Reveals Insights into the Divergent Evolution of Astigmatic Mites and Household Pest Adaptations

Abstract Highly diversified astigmatic mites comprise many medically important human household pests such as house dust mites causing ∼1–2% of all allergic diseases globally; however, their evolutionary origin and diverse lifestyles including reversible parasitism have not been illustrated at the genomic level, which hampers allergy prevention and our exploration of these household pests. Using six high-quality assembled and annotated genomes, this study not only refuted the monophyly of mites and ticks, but also thoroughly explored the divergence of Acariformes and the diversification of astigmatic mites. In monophyletic Acariformes, Prostigmata known as notorious plant pests first evolved, and then rapidly evolving Astigmata diverged from soil oribatid mites. Within astigmatic mites, a wide range of gene families rapidly expanded via tandem gene duplications, including ionotropic glutamate receptors, triacylglycerol lipases, serine proteases and UDP glucuronosyltransferases. Gene diversification after tandem duplications provides many genetic resources for adaptation to sensing environmental signals, digestion, and detoxification in rapidly changing household environments. Many gene decay events only occurred in the skin-burrowing parasitic mite Sarcoptes scabiei. Throughout the evolution of Acariformes, massive horizontal gene transfer events occurred in gene families such as UDP glucuronosyltransferases and several important fungal cell wall lytic enzymes, which enable detoxification and digestive functions and provide perfect drug targets for pest control. This comparative study sheds light on the divergent evolution and quick adaptation to human household environments of astigmatic mites and provides insights into the genetic adaptations and even control of human household pests.
Literacy development in children with cochlear implants: a narrative review

ABSTRACT There exists a substantial body of research to suggest that children with cochlear implants (and hearing loss more generally) experience difficulties when learning to read and write. These difficulties are posited to stem partly from limitations in phonological processing ability, which is considered fundamental to typical literacy development. This paper comprises a narrative review of the current literature on (1) literacy development in children with hearing loss and cochlear implants; (2) relationships between literacy sub-skills in children with hearing loss and cochlear implants; and (3) factors that influence learning and contribute to the heterogeneity of the population of children with hearing loss.
Performance tuning of the Helmholtz matrix-vector product kernel in the computational fluid dynamics solver Nek5000/RS for the A64FX processor

Nek5000/RS is an open source computational fluid dynamics solver based on the spectral element method. One of the important kernel of the Nek5000/RS is called “axhelm”, which computes the Helmholtz matrix-vector product. In this paper, we have evaluated the axhelm kernel on the A64FX processor for the simplest case of polynomial degree N = 7. We have optimized the kernel for the A64FX processor by using well known optimization techniques such as SIMDization, software pipelining, continuous access enhancing, and software prefetch. We also provide the performance analysis data to investigate the effects of the optimization techniques to help understanding the A64FX processor and the Fujitsu compiler.
Supporting Environment Technology of Simulation Based Acquisition

This paper introduces the phasic research efforts of supporting environment project of SBA which is studied and developed by author and his workmates during The Tenth Five? period and has independent knowledge property right. The efforts include the architecture, new technologic feature, system structure of collaborative simulation platform, collaborative simulation platform, collaborative CAX/DFX tools for multidisciplinary virtual prototype and PLM(virtual product overall lifecycle management) of a virtual prototype engineering supporting platform for multidisciplinary complex product which is self-developed and has preliminary application; the paper also discusses the connotation、function and architecture of simulation grid and brings forward the architecture and relative key technology of simulation grid based supporting environment of SBA. In the end, it gives prospects of further research.
Refinement of a Parent–Child Shared Asthma Management Mobile Health App: Human-Centered Design Study

Background The school-age years, approximately ages 7 through 11, represent a natural transition when children begin assuming some responsibility for their asthma management. Previously, we designed a theoretically derived, tailored parent–child shared asthma management mobile health app prototype, Improving Asthma Care Together (IMPACT). Objective The purpose of this study was to use human-centered design (HCD) to iteratively refine IMPACT to optimize user experience and incorporate evidence-based longitudinal engagement strategies. Methods This study used a mixed methods design from December 2019 to April 2021. Our app refinement used the HCD process of research, ideation, design, evaluation, and implementation, including 6 cycles of design and evaluation. The design and evaluation cycles focused on core app functionality, child engagement, and overall refinement. Evaluation with parent–child dyads entailed in-person and remote concept testing and usability testing sessions, after which rapid cycle thematic analyses identified key insights that informed future design refinement. Results Twelve parent–child dyads enrolled in at least one round of this study. Eight of the 12 child participants were male with a mean age of 9.9 (SD 1.6) years and all parent participants were female. Throughout evaluation cycles, dyads selected preferred app layouts, gamification concepts, and overall features with a final design prototype emerging for full-scale development and implementation. Conclusions A theoretically derived, evidence-based shared asthma management app was co-designed with end users to address real-world pain points and priorities. An 8-week pilot study testing app feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy is forthcoming.
Comt val158met genotype affects mu-opioid neurotransmitter responses to a pain stressor (Science. — 2003. —Feb. 21. — 299(5610). — P. 1240—1243: англ.)

The catechol-O-methyl-transferase (COMT) gene regulates the metabolic processes of the neurotransmitter dopamine and, through it, influences endorphins, which play an important role in the process of pain perception. It was found that the COMT gene with the amino acid valine (val158) is more active than the variant of the gene containing methionine (met158).
Roles of Proliferation and Angiogenesis in Locally Aggressive Biologic Behavior of Ameloblastoma versus Ameloblastic Fibroma

(1) Background: The present study was carried out to evaluate the roles of proliferation and angiogenesis in locally aggressive biologic behavior of ameloblastoma versus ameloblastic fibroma; (2) Methods: 30 formalin-fixed paraffin embedded blocks (15 cases of ameloblastoma and 15 cases of ameloblastic fibroma) were used. To evaluate the proliferation, the tissue sections were stained with an AgNORs stain. CD105 was used as an immunohistochemical marker of angiogenesis. Quantitative evaluations of AgNORs were performed. The mean vascular density was evaluated as a measure for CD105 protein expression by using image analyzer computer system; (3) Results: The mean number of AgNORs dots per nucleus was significantly higher in ameloblastoma as compared to ameloblastic fibroma. Additionally, the protein level of CD105 showed positive expression and wide distribution that the mean vascular density was significantly higher in ameloblastoma as compared to ameloblastic fibroma; (4) Conclusion: Quantitative evaluation of the AgNORs stain and the mean vascular density utilizing CD105 protein expression may reflect a higher proliferative activity and a more locally aggressive biologic behavior of ameloblastoma when compared to ameloblastic fibroma, indicating that other factors may be involved in biologic behavior of ameloblastic fibroma.
THE INTEGRATION PROCESS OF ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEMS

Bilisim teknolojilerindeki son yillarda meydana gelen buyuk ilerlemeler, hem imalat hem de hizmet sektorlerinde yeni yontem ve sistem yaklasimlarin ortaya cikisini tetiklemistir. 1990’larda soz konusu gelismelerle yayginlasan ERP (Kurumsal Kaynak Planlamasi) sistemleri, butunlesik sistem cercevesi ile isletmelerin tum is sureclerini yonetmesini mumkun kilmis ve isletmeler bugunun yuksek degiskenlik iceren kuresel ekonomik ortaminda rekabetci avantajlar saglayabilmistir. Fakat genel olarak, bu avantajlarin edinimi, ERP butunlesimi surecinde kayiplara sebebiyet verebilmektedir. Dolayisiyla, ERP sistemini butunlesik bir sistem olarak dusunmek gerekliligi yeni ERP butunlesme cabalarini sekillendirmektedir. Bu calisma, bu ihtiyaclari ortaya koymakta ve ERP sistemlerini secim, uygulama ve uygulama sonrasi safha olarak incelemektedir.
Dirofilaria immitis Pulmonary Dirofilariasis, Slovakia

Dirofilaria immitis is a parasite related to pulmonary dirofilariasis in humans, its accidental hosts. We detected an autochthonous case of D. immitis infection in a woman from Slovakia. The emergence and spread of this parasite in Europe indicates a critical need for proper diagnosis of infection.
Collaboration in Multi-user Immersive Virtual Environment

Immersive virtual environment can be used to bring both geographically distributed and co-located users to the same virtual place for collaboration. Compared to remote situations, co-located users collaborate in the same virtual world on top of a shared physical workspace. This collocation allows direct user communication and interaction without computer mediation which facilitates collaborative work. With the development of multi-user display and tracking technology, classical projection-based immersive setups (e.g. CAVE) can now support group immersion for co-located users by offering individual stereoscopic views without visual distortion. In this context, the coexistence of information from the virtual and real world, especially when users do not share a common spatial reference frame, provides users with a new kind of perceptual and cognitive experience. We are interested in how users perceive and communicate with each other to achieve a shared context for collaboration, and how we can broaden supported collaborative scenarios with more flexible viewpoint control.This PhD thesis mainly addresses perceptual and cohabitation issues that we identified in the aim of supporting safe and efficient co-located collaboration in immersive virtual environment. First, we conducted a case study to examine how perceptual conflicts would alter user communication and task performance. Second, we concentrated on the design and evaluation of appropriate navigation paradigms to allow individual virtual navigation while solving cohabitation problems in a shared limited physical workspace. At last, based on the results of previous studies, we designed a generic dynamic navigation model which integrates constrains from the physical workspace and also the virtual world to enable co-located collaboration in multi-user immersive systems.
Comparison of Antiplatelet Effects of Phenol Derivatives in Humans

Flavonoids are associated with positive cardiovascular effects. However, due to their low bioavailability, metabolites are likely responsible for these properties. Recently, one of these metabolites, 4-methylcatechol, was described to be a very potent antiplatelet compound. This study aimed to compare its activity with its 22 close derivatives both of natural or synthetic origin in order to elucidate a potential structure–antiplatelet activity relationship. Blood from human volunteers was induced to aggregate by arachidonic acid (AA), collagen or thrombin, and plasma coagulation was also studied. Potential toxicity was tested on human erythrocytes as well as on a cancer cell line. Our results indicated that 17 out of the 22 compounds were very active at a concentration of 40 μM and, importantly, seven of them had an IC50 on AA-triggered aggregation below 3 μM. The effects of the most active compounds were confirmed on collagen-triggered aggregation too. None of the tested compounds was toxic toward erythrocytes at 50 μM and four compounds partly inhibited proliferation of breast cancer cell line at 100 μM but not at 10 μM. Additionally, none of the compounds had a significant effect on blood coagulation or thrombin-triggered aggregation. This study hence reports four phenol derivatives (4-ethylcatechol, 4-fluorocatechol, 2-methoxy-4-ethylphenol and 3-methylcatechol) suitable for future in vivo testing.