Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of antibody dynamics and neutralizing activity using serological assay after SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination

The COVID-19 antibody test was developed to investigate the humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this study, we examined whether S antibody titers measured using the anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG II Quant assay (S-IgG), a high-throughput test method, reflects the neutralizing capacity acquired after SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination. To assess the antibody dynamics and neutralizing potency, we utilized a total of 457 serum samples from 253 individuals: 325 samples from 128 COVID-19 patients including 136 samples from 29 severe/critical cases (Group S), 155 samples from 71 mild/moderate cases (Group M), and 132 samples from 132 health care workers (HCWs) who have received 2 doses of the BNT162b2 vaccinations. The authentic virus neutralization assay, the surrogate virus neutralizing antibody test (sVNT), and the Anti-N SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay (N-IgG) have been performed along with the S-IgG. The S-IgG correlated well with the neutralizing activity detected by the authentic virus neutralization assay (0.8904. of Spearman’s rho value, p < 0.0001) and sVNT (0.9206. of Spearman’s rho value, p < 0.0001). However, 4 samples (2.3%) of S-IgG and 8 samples (4.5%) of sVNT were inconsistent with negative results for neutralizing activity of the authentic virus neutralization assay. The kinetics of the SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies and anti-S IgG in severe cases were faster than the mild cases. All the HCWs elicited anti-S IgG titer after the second vaccination. However, the HCWs with history of COVID-19 or positive N-IgG elicited higher anti-S IgG titers than those who did not have it previously. Furthermore, it is difficult to predict the risk of breakthrough infection from anti-S IgG or sVNT antibody titers in HCWs after the second vaccination. Our data shows that the use of anti-S IgG titers as direct quantitative markers of neutralizing capacity is limited. Thus, antibody tests should be carefully interpreted when used as serological markers for diagnosis, treatment, and prophylaxis of COVID-19.
Evaluation of the Quality of Drinking Water in Kerala State, India

The quality of tap water from water supplies from 14 districts of Kerala state, India was studied. Parameters like pH, water temperature, total dissolved solids, salinity, nitrates, chloride, hardness, magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium, fluoride, sulphate, phosphates, and coliform bacteria were enumerated. The results showed that all water samples were contaminated by coliform bacteria. About 20% of the tap water samples from Alappuzha and 15% samples from Palakkad district are above desirable limits prescribed by Bureau of Indian Standards. The contamination of the source water (due to lack of community hygiene) and insufficient treatment are the major cause for the coliform contamination in the state. Water samples from Alappuzha and Palakkad have high ionic and fluoride content which could be attributed to the geology of the region. Water supplied for drinking in rural areas are relatively free of any contamination than the water supplied in urban area by municipalities, which may be attributed higher chances of contamination in urban area due to mismanagement of solid and liquid wastes. The study highlights the need for regular bacteriological enumeration along with water quality in addition to setting up decentralised region specific improved treatment system.
A Novel MIMO SAR Transmission Scheme for Restoring Repeated Equivalent Phase Centers

Multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) radar is an advanced radar system, which grows into a promising candidate for the future synthetic aperture radar (SAR) because the MIMO radar can provide more degrees of freedom (DOFs). Monostatic MIMO SARs (where transceiver channels share the same antenna array) will produce lots of repeated equivalent phase centers (EPCs) due to the same wave path, and these repeated EPCs actually have no improvement to the DOFs of the radar system, resulting in a tremendous waste of the radar resources. To this end, this article devises a novel radar framework, which is referred to as MIMO SAR with interpulse phase coding and multicarrier (IPCMC). The IPCMC scheme employs multicarrier and well-designed phase codes in transmitting channels, which has the advantage of increasing the DOFs in elevation. Concretely, by introducing the carrier information into the transmission-receiving spatial frequency domain, nonoverlapped spatial frequency difference curves can be obtained to further increase the DOFs in elevation. Furthermore, an advanced range ambiguity separation method based on the proposed IPCMC MIMO SAR is presented. Compared with SAR systems with different numbers of DOFs, the proposed IPCMC MIMO scheme can precisely separate more ambiguous regions, due to the increased DOFs. Finally, detailed simulation experiments are carried out to verify the efficacy of the proposed IPCMC MIMO SAR.
The Impact of Remittances on Human Capital in Sub-Saharan Countries

This study has examined the impact of remittances on human capital based on 23 Sub-Saharan countries (SSA) from 1981 to 2010. Our primary contribution lies in demonstrating that remittances have a positive impact on the enhancement of human capital in these SSA countries. The results indicate that a 1 percent increase in remittances leads to a 0.26 percent rise in the average years of schooling. To ensure the credibility of our findings, we employ a Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach to control for the endogeneity of remittances and human capital in our empirical analysis
The Cytotoxic Effect of Septic Plasma on Healthy RBCs: Is Eryptosis a New Mechanism for Sepsis?

Sepsis is a life-threatening multiple-organ dysfunction induced by infection and is one of the leading causes of mortality and critical illness worldwide. The pathogenesis of sepsis involves the alteration of several biochemical pathways such as immune response, coagulation, dysfunction of endothelium and tissue damage through cellular death and/or apoptosis. Recently, in vitro and in vivo studies reported changes in the morphology and in the shape of human red blood cells (RBCs) causing erythrocyte death (eryptosis) during sepsis. Characteristics of eryptosis include cell shrinkage, membrane blebbing, and surface exposure to phosphatidylserine (PS), which attract macrophages. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro induction of eryptosis on healthy RBCs exposed to septic plasma at different time points. Furthermore, we preliminary investigated the in vivo levels of eryptosis in septic patients and its relationship with Endotoxin Activity Assay (EAA), mortality and other biological markers of inflammation and oxidative stress. We enrolled 16 septic patients and 16 healthy subjects (no systemic inflammation in the last 3 months) as a control group. At diagnosis, we measured Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Myeloperoxidase (MPO). For in vitro study, healthy RBCs were exposed to the plasma of septic patients and CTR for 15 min, 1, 2, 4 and 24 h. Morphological markers of death and eryptosis were evaluated by flow cytometric analyses. The cytotoxic effect of septic plasma on RBCs was studied in vitro at 15 min, 1, 2, 4 and 24 h. Healthy RBCs incubated with plasma from septic patients went through significant morphological changes and eryptosis compared to those exposed to plasma from the control group at all time points (all, p < 0.001). IL-6 and MPO levels were significantly higher in septic patients than in controls (both, p < 0.001). The percentage of AnnexinV-binding RBCs was significantly higher in septic patients with EAA level ≥0.60 (positive EAA: 32.4%, IQR 27.6–36.2) compared to septic patients with EAA level <0.60 (negative EAA: 14.7%, IQR 5.7–30.7) (p = 0.04). Significant correlations were observed between eryptosis and EAA levels (Spearman rho2 = 0.50, p < 0.05), IL-6 (Spearman rho2 = 0.61, p < 0.05) and MPO (Spearman rho2 = 0.70, p < 0.05). In conclusion, we observed a quick and great cytotoxic effect of septic plasma on healthy RBCs and a strong correlation with other biomarkers of severity of sepsis. Based on these results, we confirmed the pathological role of eryptosis in sepsis and we hypothesized its use as a biomarker of sepsis, potentially helping physicians to face important treatment decisions.
Safety and Efficacy of Liraglutide on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder, with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) significantly impacting the cardiovascular (CV) system. Our comprehensive study on the cardiovascular effects of liraglutide, conducted concurrently with the formulation of diabetes treatment guidelines, aims to provide healthcare providers and patients with reassurance regarding the safety and effectiveness of liraglutide. From the beginning until August 20, 2023, we conducted searches in databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Google Scholar. These searches aimed to identify studies comparing liraglutide to control in terms of symptom resolution among patients with T2DM. For all relevant outcomes, we calculated risk ratios along with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Thirteen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in this analysis. The results demonstrated a significant reduction in the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), myocardial infarction, CV mortality, and all-cause mortality. No significant difference was found between the liraglutide and control groups for the outcome of stroke. However, sensitivity analysis revealed a significant reduction in the risk of stroke among patients taking liraglutide. Our comprehensive meta-analysis strongly supports the use of liraglutide for managing cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to its established safety and effectiveness. Further RCTs and meta-analyses are needed to more thoroughly evaluate liraglutide's therapeutic potential, with the aim of enhancing the quality of life for those with CVD.
Streamlines y LIC: Visualización de Campos Vectoriales

En los sistemas no lineales y caoticos la Visualizacion Cientifica es especialmente util debido a la imposibilidad que presentan estos sistemas en general para hallar soluciones analiticas. Para estos sistemas se han creado numerosos metodos para representar mapas vectoriales (vectores, particulas, iconos, Streamlines, Hyperstreamlines, Spot Noise, LIC, etc.) [1,3,7,8,9] de las cuales traeremos en relieve dos tecnicas destacadas en el tema: Streamlines y LIC. En esta linea de investigacion buscamos un analisis de las caracteristicas de estos dos metodos, aplicados a sistemas bidimensionales, y estudiamos las posibilidades de desarrollar un nuevo metodo que intente combinar propiedades ventajosas de ambos.
EFFECTS OF SNOW JAMS ON FLUVIAL ACTIVITIES IN THE HIGH ARCTIC

During break-up in the High Arctic, ice jams are insignificant, but large quantities of snow accumulated in the valleys strongly affect fluvial processes. Near Resolute, Cornwallis Island, many channels were first formed in valley snow drifts and their positions were unstable. Channels carved in the snow can easily accommodate changing discharge by a modification of their width, depth, and velocity. This causes considerable variation in the at-a-station hydraulic geometry relationships. The availability of sediment is locally restricted by the snow lining along the channels, although some fluvial sediments deposited on the snow revealed that peak flows could entrain very large boulders. Several depositional features observed in the study area also indicated that fluvial activities can extend over a broad zone beyond the confines of the summer channels. This study suggests that, by increasing discharge, snow jams enhance the erosional power of streams, but by interposing between streamflow and the valley f.
A Comprehensive Review of Bloom’s Taxonomy Integration to Enhancing Novice EFL Educators’ Pedagogical Impact

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a logically sequenced structure depicting the cognitive skills required for students to grasp knowledge comprehensively and meaningfully. The integration of Bloom’s Taxonomy into education promotes mastering the cognitive skills and analytical ability of learners. In this review article, the significance of integrating the taxonomy into instructional frameworks for novice teachers in the EFL context was explored. This article also aims to signify the importance of using Bloom’s Taxonomy as an instructional tool and aid for new teachers to help connect their theoretical knowledge with practical implementation in the classroom setting. Additionally, it focuses to revolve around the following research questions: What are the benefits of integrating Bloom’s Taxonomy into the teaching methods used by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers, and how does it contribute to improving language learning outcomes and teaching effectiveness? Through a thorough examination of existing literature on integrating Bloom’s Taxonomy in the EFL context, this article presents evidence that showcases how Bloom’s Taxonomy empowers novice teachers to create more organized, diverse, and student-oriented lessons. The results of this review analysis demonstrate that using Bloom’s Taxonomy provides EFL teachers with a guide and diverse set of tools to support the development of language skills and cognitive abilities suitable for all types of learners. The review article goes beyond addressing the challenges that novice teachers face, offering a framework that helps new educators master their teaching skills which could result in better language acquisition for EFL students.
Disambiguating Signs: Deep Learning-based Gloss-level Classification for German Sign Language by Utilizing Mouth Actions

Despite the importance of mouth actions in Sign Languages, previous work on Automatic Sign Language Recognition (ASLR) has limited use of the mouth area. Disambiguation of homonyms is one of the functions of mouth actions, making them essential for tasks involving ambiguous hand signs. To measure their importance for ASLR, we trained a classiﬁer to recognize ambiguous hand signs. We compared three models which use the upper body/hands area, the mouth, and both combined as input. We found that the addition of the mouth area in the model resulted in the best accuracy, giving an improvement of 7.2% and 4.7% on the validation and test set, while allowing disambiguation of the hand signs for most of the cases. In cases where the disambiguation failed, it was observed that the signers in the video samples occasionally didn’t perform mouthings. In a few cases, the mouthing was enough to achieve full disambiguation of the signs. We conclude that further investigation on the modelling of the mouth region can be beneﬁcial of future ASLR systems.
Aerial-Terrestrial Networks With Multi-Antenna Transmissions: How Many UAVs Need to Be Deployed?

Due to the flexibility and affordability of low-cost aerial base stations (ABSs), the coexistence of ABSs and terrestrial base stations (TBSs) equipped with a large number of antennas can be a promising solution to meet the high throughput and coverage needs of future wireless networks. In this article, we propose an analytical framework for three-dimensional (3D) heterogeneous aerial-terrestrial networks, where the TBSs are equipped with large antenna elements, and ABSs provide seamless connectivity from air to ground user equipment (GUE). Using tools from stochastic geometry, we derive exact analytical expressions for association probability, coverage probability, area spectral efficiency (ASE), and average ergodic rate (AER) while considering the maximum biased received power association scheme, path loss with line-of-sight (LoS)/non-line-of-sight (NLoS) link and Nakagami-m fading for aerial communications. The derived expressions are validated using Monte Carlo simulations, and a close match is observed between the analytical and simulated results. Simulation results demonstrate that the use of multi-antennas TBSs in conjunction with the ABSs leads to better network performance. However, the overall performance depends upon the density of the aerial and terrestrial network nodes, ABSs altitudes, and the number of antennas per TBS. Furthermore, it is observed that the dense deployment of ABSs leads to higher aerial interference. However, deploying a higher number of TBS antennas while optimally selecting other network parameters results in improved network performance.
The role of cervical pedicle screw in cervical spine trauma: A single-center retrospective study

Placement of pedicle screw in the subaxial cervical spine is a challenging and complex technique but provides significant biomechanical advantages. Despite its potential complications, the role and use of cervical pedicle screw (CPS) are growing. A literature review of the significant articles on applying pedicle screws in the subaxial cervical spine was done (articles between 1994 and 2020). Furthermore, our center´s experience of 15 years related to CPS is also discussed in this study. Transpedicular instrumentation in the subaxial cervical spine requires profound anatomical knowledge and meticulous surgical technique. This technique provides superior biomechanical stability compared to the other cervical fixation techniques. Pull-out strength of CPS is twice as compared to the lateral mass screws. There have been numerous variations in the technique of CPS, varying from open techniques to minimally invasive and the use of biomodels and templates during this procedure. Clinically, CPS can be used in different cervical trauma situations, such as fracture–dislocations, floating lateral mass, and fractures associated with ankylosing spondylitis. Despite the possibility of neurovascular injury due to the proximity of the vertebral artery, spinal cord, and spinal nerves to the cervical pedicles, scientific literature, and our center × s experience show low risk, and this technique can be performed safely. CPS placement is a safe procedure, and it has great potential in the management of cervical spine trauma.
Resilient Average Consensus in Presence of False Data Injection Attacks

Average consensus is important for distributed multi-agent systems, with applications ranging from network synchronization, load balancing for parallel processor, distributed information fusion, average cardinal number estimation for database, to decentralized control. In distributed average consensus algorithms, each node updates its state based on corresponding coupling weights and received messages from its neighbors. However, in presence of false data injection attacks, which might be caused by external attackers or internal faults, conventional average consensus algorithms fail. To address this, we propose a resilient average consensus algorithm which is able to ensure the convergence of normal nodes to accurate average value of their initial states. More specifically, the proposed algorithm utilizes adaptive coupling weights from Q-consensus to gradually exclude faulty nodes. Meanwhile, inspired by surplus algorithm, the proposed algorithm augments an auxiliary variable for each node to eliminate the accumulated messages from faulty nodes and further track the average shift amount of normal nodes, which is key to achieving accurate average consensus. Numerical simulations confirm the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed algorithm.
Interpenetrating Polymer Networks of Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) and Poly(N, N-dimethylacrylamide) as Potential Systems for Dermal Delivery of Dexamethasone Phosphate

In this study, a series of novel poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA)/poly(N,N′-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMAM) interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) were synthesized and studied as potential drug delivery systems of dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DXP) for dermal application. The IPN composition allows for control over its swelling ability as the incorporation of the highly hydrophilic PDMAM increases more than twice the IPN swelling ratio as compared to the PHEMA single networks, namely from ~0.5 to ~1.1. The increased swelling ratio of the IPNs results in an increased entrapment efficiency up to ~30% as well as an increased drug loading capacity of DXP up to 4.5%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) show the formation of a solid dispersion between the drug DXP and the polymer (IPNs) matrix. Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy shows an even distribution of DXP within the IPN structure. The DXP release follows Fickian diffusion with ~70% of DXP released in 24 h. This study demonstrates the potential of the newly developed IPNs for the dermal delivery of DXP.
Analysis of the Evolutionary Dynamics of the Technology Opportunity Discovery Field Based on Thematic Linkages

As market competition intensifies, it is essential to effectively identify technology opportunities, but existing research lacks an understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of the field of technology opportunity discovery. To reveal the development of this field, this study uses keyword characterization of research themes to explore the evolutionary capacity and path of the highly cited literature themes in the field of technology opportunity discovery during 2011-2022 by using keyword co-word analysis and cluster analysis methods, based on SciMAT visualization tool, expecting to provide references for future research. The results reveal a steady growth of research results in this field in recent years and a strong evolutionary capacity of some themes. However, thematic differentiation and integration are common, and research centers are scattered with immature research overall, presenting five evolutionary paths in four directions: innovation, genetics, energy, and Internet research.