Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional Hyaluronic Acid-Polylactic Acid/Silver Nanoparticles Core-Sheath Nanofiber Membranes for Prevention of Post-Operative Tendon Adhesion

In this study, we prepared core-sheath nanofiber membranes (CSNFMs) with silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) embedding in the polylactic acid (PLA) nanofiber sheath and hyaluronic acid (HA) in the nanofiber core. The PLA/Ag NPs sheath provides mechanical support as well as anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. The controlled release of HA from the core could exert anti-adhesion effects to promote tendon sliding while reducing fibroblast attachment. From the microfibrous structural nature of CSNFMs, they function as barrier membranes to reduce fibroblast penetration without hampering nutrient transports to prevent post-operative peritendinous adhesion. As the anti-adhesion efficacy will depend on release rate of HA from the core as well as Ag NP from the sheath, we fabricated CSNFMs of comparable fiber diameter, but with thick (Tk) or thin (Tn) sheath. Similar CSNFMs with thick (Tk+) and thin (Tn+) sheath but with embedded Ag NPs in the sheath were also prepared. The physico-chemical properties of the barrier membranes were characterized in details, together with their biological response including cell penetration, cell attachment and proliferation, and cytotoxicity. Peritendinous anti-adhesion models in rabbits were used to test the efficacy of CSNFMs as anti-adhesion barriers, from gross observation, histology, and biomechanical tests. Overall, the CSNFM with thin-sheath and Ag NPs (Tn+) shows antibacterial activity with low cytotoxicity, prevents fibroblast penetration, and exerts the highest efficacy in reducing fibroblast attachment in vitro. From in vivo studies, the Tn+ membrane also shows significant improvement in preventing peritendinous adhesions as well as anti-inflammatory efficacy, compared with Tk and Tn CSNFMs and a commercial adhesion barrier film (SurgiWrap®) made from PLA.
Stability of Foams in Vacuum Drying Processes. Effects of Interactions between Sugars, Proteins, and Surfactants on Foam Stability and Dried Foam Properties

The hypothesis was that saccharides mediate interactions between surface-active components and that this will have an impact on foam decay during the drying process. Static light scattering was performed to determine changes in interactions between the foam stabilizer on a molecular level. Furthermore, pendant drop and oscillating drop measurements were performed to examine the surface tension and surface rheology. Foams were dried in conventional dryers as well as microwave-supported vacuum dryers. Final foam properties were determined. It was shown that the addition of sugars, often added as protective substances for sensitive organic molecules, resulted in lower repulsion between different types of surface-active components, namely polysorbate 80 and β-lactoglobulin (β-lg). Differences in impact of the types of sugars and between different types of surfactant, protein, and small molecules were observed influencing the foam decay behavior. The interfacial properties of polysorbate 80 and β-lg were influenced by the type of the used sugars. The surface elasticity of protein stabilized surfaces was higher compared to that of polysorbate stabilized systems. Protein stabilized systems remained more stable compared to polysorbate systems, which was also affected by the used saccharide. Overall, a correlation between molecular interactions and foam decay behavior was found.
High-Precision Multipath-Based Indoor Localization Scheme With User Privacy Protection for Dynamic NLoS Environments

High-precision indoor localization systems (ILSs) are critical for applications such as human smartphone navigation, autonomous robotics and automated warehouse and factory design. This paper presents a novel fingerprinting-based ILS, which features a decimeter-level localization accuracy, the ability to function in a constantly changing non line-of-sight (NLoS) environment, and user privacy protection without the need for heavy computations. The proposed ILS is able to maintain its localization accuracy in a constantly changing environment and to camouflage the user’s location by leveraging multipath propagation. The method was successfully tested both by experimental verification using the ultra-wideband communication standard and a ray-tracing simulation. An average localization error of 6 cm is demonstrated for a stationary or slow-moving receiver. An average error of 30 cm is demonstrated for a receiver that is moving at a fast walking pace. The obtained localization accuracy is comparable to the accuracy of the state-of-the-art localization algorithms. At the same time, the proposed approach solves two practical challenges faced by ILSs: robustness to changing environments with moving objects and the high computation requirements of user privacy protection. The high degree of user privacy was evaluated using a set of corresponding metrics.
The Impact of Urban Sprawl on Environmental Pollution: Empirical Analysis from Large and Medium-Sized Cities of China

This research sought to uncover the environmental effects that urban sprawl brings about by using panel data of 35 large and medium-sized cities over the timespan 1998–2019. A nonlinear relationship between urban sprawl and environmental pollution might exist and be shown by constructing the conceptual mathematical model. The panel unit root test indicated that there exists a long-run equilibrium relationship between urban sprawl and environmental pollution. Regression results showed that there is a U-shaped curve relationship between the two core variables for the full sample. The impacts of urban sprawl on environmental conditions have regional heterogeneity. A significant U-shaped curve was discovered for eastern and western regions, while an insignificant inverted U-shaped curve was discovered for the central region. Furthermore, we found a significant U-shaped curve for cities with high and low degree of sprawl. By contrast, we found a significant inverted U-shaped curve for cities with a middle degree of sprawl, which indicated that moderate urban sprawl is beneficial for environmental conditions. We additionally discovered a significant U-shaped curve and inverted U-shaped curve for cities with low and middle pollution, respectively. Fixed-asset investments and foreign direct investments exacerbate urban environmental pollution. Market freedom and industrial structure adjustment are conducive to pollution reduction. The conclusions were consistent when we subdivided the sample by time periods and substituted with a systematic GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) estimation method in the robustness check. Policy recommendations were put forward according to the research findings.
Assessment of Radioactivity Level in the Terrestrial and Marine Organisms in Yangjiang and Its Adjacent Areas (China)

In order to assess the radioactive level in the terrestrial and marine organisms in Yangjiang and the adjacent areas, 90Sr, gross beta and gamma-emitting radionuclides (238U, 226Ra, 228Th, 226Ra, 40K, 137Cs, 51Cr, 55Fe, 54Mn, 58Co, 60Co and 65Zn) were analyzed from 2011 to 2012. The annual effective doses were estimated in the high natural radioactive background areas in Yangjiang (HBRAYJ). The specific activities of 238U, 228Th, 226Ra, 40K and 137Cs in all organisms were <0.05–5.20, 0.30–14.50, 0.11–3.58, 11.1–148.0 and <0.003–0.088 Bq/kg, whilst 51Cr, 55Fe, 54Mn, 58Co, 60Co, 65Zn and 110mAg were below the minimum detectable activity. 90Sr and gross beta specific activities were 20.0–143.0 and 0.021–0.316 Bq/kg. Results show that 228Th was significantly higher than 238U and 226Ra of natural U series in organisms due to the rich-Th soils in the HBRAYJ; 228Th, 226Ra, 40K, 137Cs and 90Sr were greatly lower than the limited concentrations in Chinese foods. The internal dose mainly contributes to natural 40K, 226Ra and 228Th. It is useful to provide some basic data and assess the radiological risk from the HBRAYJ and Yangjiang nuclear power plants in future.
Biocompatibility Study of Electrospun Nanocomposite Membranes Based on Chitosan/Polyvinyl Alcohol/Oxidized Carbon Nano-Onions

In recent decades, the number of patients requiring biocompatible and resistant implants that differ from conventional alternatives dramatically increased. Among the most promising are the nanocomposites of biopolymers and nanomaterials, which pretend to combine the biocompatibility of biopolymers with the resistance of nanomaterials. However, few studies have focused on the in vivo study of the biocompatibility of these materials. The electrospinning process is a technique that produces continuous fibers through the action of an electric field imposed on a polymer solution. However, to date, there are no reports of chitosan (CS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) electrospinning with carbon nano-onions (CNO) for in vivo implantations, which could generate a resistant and biocompatible material. In this work, we describe the synthesis by the electrospinning method of four different nanofibrous membranes of chitosan (CS)/(PVA)/oxidized carbon nano-onions (ox-CNO) and the subdermal implantations after 90 days in Wistar rats. The results of the morphology studies demonstrated that the electrospun nanofibers were continuous with narrow diameters (between 102.1 nm ± 12.9 nm and 147.8 nm ± 29.4 nm). The CS amount added was critical for the diameters used and the successful electrospinning procedure, while the ox-CNO amount did not affect the process. The crystallinity index was increased with the ox-CNO introduction (from 0.85% to 12.5%), demonstrating the reinforcing effect of the nanomaterial. Thermal degradation analysis also exhibited reinforcement effects according to the DSC and TGA analysis, with the higher ox-CNO content. The biocompatibility of the nanofibers was comparable with the porcine collagen, as evidenced by the subdermal implantations in biological models. In summary, all the nanofibers were reabsorbed without a severe immune response, indicating the usefulness of the electrospun nanocomposites in biomedical applications.
Transparent Surfaces Inspired by Nature

Nature has long inspired scientists and engineers. As one ubiquitous example of this, nature has provided all with several clever methods to absorb, repel, and/or allow both sunlight and water to pass through surfaces. Moth's eyes (highly antireflective) and lotus leaves (highly hydrophobic and self‐cleaning) represent durable natural surfaces which exhibit nearly ideal physical and optical properties. Man‐made transparent surfaces must also be able to cope with water and dust while reaching the maximum possible light transmission for solar collectors, displays, and other optical devices. To explore the link between these – particularly for transparent surfaces – this review puts the physics, progress, and limitations of synthetic materials in context with natural materials. This perspective reveals that there is still much more to learn (and implement) if it is hoped to match the multifunctionality and resilience of natural materials.
Microservices Backlog–A Genetic Programming Technique for Identification and Evaluation of Microservices From User Stories

The microservice granularity directly affects the quality attributes and usage of computational resources of the system, determining optimal microservice granularity is an open research topic. Microservices granularity is defined by the number of operations exposed by the microservice, the number of microservices that compose the whole application, and its complexity and dependencies. This paper describes “Microservice Backlog (MB)”, a semiautomatic model for defining and evaluating the granularity of microservice-based applications; MB uses genetic programming technique to calculate at design time the granularity of each microservice from the user stories in the “product backlog” or release planning; the genetic algorithm combined coupling, cohesion, granularity, semantic similarity, and complexity metrics to define the number of microservices, and the user stories associated with each microservice. MB decomposes the candidate microservices, allowing to analyze graphically the size of each microservice, as well as its complexity, dependencies, coupling, cohesion metrics, and the number of calls or requests between microservices. The resulting decomposition (number of microservices and their granularity) performed by MB shows less coupling, higher cohesion, less complexity, fewer user stories associated with each microservice, and fewer calls among microservices. MB was validated against three existing methods, using two state-of-the-art applications (Cargo Tracking and JPet-Store), and one real-life application (Foristom Conferences). The development team and/or architect can use metrics to identify the critical points of the system and determine at design time how the microservice-based application will be implemented.
Quantitative Comparison of Power Densities Related to Electromagnetic Near-Field Exposures With Safety Guidelines From 6 to 100 GHz

This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the differences between the various definitions of spatially averaged power densities (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$sIPD_{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) for localized exposure to electromagnetic near-fields at frequencies from 6 to 100 GHz. The spatially averaged modulus of the complex Poynting vector (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$sIPD_{mod}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) and spatially averaged norm of the real part of the complex Poynting vector (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$sIPD_{norm}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) were compared using numerical approaches, where their relationships with the spatially averaged absorbed power density (<italic>sAPD</italic>) and the local peak temperature elevation on skin tissue were analyzed. Our results demonstrated that outside the typical boundary of the reactive near-field, i.e., <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$> \lambda $ </tex-math></inline-formula>/(<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2\pi$ </tex-math></inline-formula>), which is used as a rough guide of the applicable condition for reference levels in the RF safety guidelines, but at most 10 mm from the radiation source, the maximum difference between <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$sIPD_{norm}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$sIPD_{mod}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is smaller than 0.7 dB from 6 to 100 GHz. For the appropriate conditions recommended in the RF safety guidelines, the differences between the ratios of <italic>sAPD</italic> to <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$sIPD_{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and those for the plane-wave normal incidence, are at most 1.4 dB and 0.9 dB for <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$sIPD_{norm}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$sIPD_{mod}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, respectively. Under the same condition, the ratios of the temperature rise to <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$sIPD_{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> for the relatively small antennas (total dimension less than <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2\lambda$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) do not significantly exceed that for the plane-wave normal incidence, which means that the expected maximum temperature rise is lower than the temperature rise that is derived from the operational health effect threshold in terms of the temperature rise divided with the reduction factors employed in the RF safety guidelines. The above results provide suggestive evidence that the effect of the definition of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$sIPD_{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> on the human exposure characteristics is not significant compared with those of the other factors, i.e., the antenna type (size), frequency, distance from the source, and averaging area.
Prenatal Vitamins and the Risk of Offspring Autism Spectrum Disorder: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Prenatal nutrition is associated with offspring autism spectrum disorder (herein referred to as autism), yet, it remains unknown if the association is causal. Triangulation may improve causal inference by integrating the results of conventional multivariate regression with several alternative approaches that have unrelated sources of bias. We systematically reviewed the literature on the relationship between prenatal multivitamin supplements and offspring autism, and evidence for the causal approaches applied. Six databases were searched up to 8 June 2020, by which time we had screened 1309 titles/abstracts, and retained 12 articles. Quality assessment was guided using Newcastle–Ottawa in individual studies, and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) for the body of evidence. The effect estimates from multivariate regression were meta-analysed in a random effects model and causal approaches were narratively synthesised. The meta-analysis of prenatal multivitamin supplements involved 904,947 children (8159 cases), and in the overall analysis showed no robust association with offspring autism; however, a reduced risk was observed in the subgroup of high-quality observational studies (RR 0.77, 95% CI (0.62, 0.96), I2 = 62.4%), early pregnancy (RR 0.76, 95% CI (0.58; 0.99), I2 = 79.8%) and prospective studies (RR 0.69, 95% CI (0.48, 1.00), I2 = 95.9%). The quality of evidence was very low, and triangulation was of limited utility because alternative methods were used infrequently and often not robustly applied.
Robust Cross-View Embedding With Discriminant Structure for Multi-Label Classification

Label embedding is an important family of multi-label classification algorithms which can jointly extract the information of all labels for better performance. However, few works have been done to develop the multi-label embedding methods that can effectively deal with the interference of noisy data during training process. The noise often makes the labels of a few samples incorrect (i.e., missing or mislabeled), which could lead to a poor learning performance. To address this issue, we propose a novel cross-view based model. It performs a robust and discriminant embedding, namely Robust Cross-view Embedding with Discriminant Structure for Multi-label Classification (RCEDS). In RCEDS, a novel hypergraph fusion technique is designed to explore and utilize the complementary between the feature space and the label space to make the proposed RCEDS robust. Meanwhile, we use double-side metric learning to mine the consistency between the feature space and the label space to effectively improve the discriminative ability of our proposed RCEDS. Furthermore, we conduct a deep extension of RCEDS and effectively apply it to image annotation. Extensive experimental results on data sets with many labels demonstrate that our proposed approach can attain better classification performance than the existing label embedding algorithms.
Android Custom Permissions Demystified: From Privilege Escalation to Design Shortcomings

Permission is the fundamental security mechanism for protecting user data and privacy on Android. Given its importance, security researchers have studied the design and usage of permissions from various aspects. However, most of the previous research focused on the security issues of system permissions. Overlooked by many researchers, an app can use custom permissions to share its resources and capabilities with other apps. However, the security implications of using custom permissions have not been fully understood.In this paper, we systematically evaluate the design and implementation of Android custom permissions. Notably, we built an automatic fuzzing tool, called CuPerFuzzer, to detect custom permissions related vulnerabilities existing in the Android OS. CuPerFuzzer treats the operations of the permission mechanism as a black-box and executes massive targeted test cases to trigger privilege escalation. In the experiments, CuPerFuzzer discovered 2,384 effective cases with 30 critical paths successfully. Through investigating these vulnerable cases and analyzing the source code of Android OS, we further identified a series of severe design shortcomings lying in the Android permission framework, including dangling custom permission, inconsistent permission-group mapping, custom permission elevating, and inconsistent permission definition. Exploiting any of these shortcomings, a malicious app can obtain dangeroussystem permissions without user consent and further access unauthorized platform resources. On top of these observations, we propose some general design guidelines to secure custom permissions. Our findings have been acknowledged by the Android security team and rated as High severity.
Adolescence and the risk of ART non-adherence during a geographically focused public health intervention: an analysis of clinic records from Nigeria

ABSTRACT The risk of poor antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence among adolescents is a challenge to controlling HIV. This study aims to provide guidance for geographically focussed public health interventions to improve adherence. Through clinic records, it investigates adolescents’ non-adherence risk and clinic-level differences in regions of Nigeria which were part of PEPFAR’s geographical pivot. Records (n = 26,365) were selected using systematic random sampling from all PEPFAR-supported facilities (n = 175) in targeted Local Government Areas across three regions in Nigeria. Adolescents’ risk of non-adherence was estimated using region-specific random-effects models accounting for clinic-level variation. These were adjusted for sex, whether a patient had to travel to a different region, clinic location (urban/rural), clinic type (primary, secondary, tertiary). Despite regional variations, adolescents were at higher risk of non-adherence compared to adults. A similar, but weaker, association was found for children. Patients attending tertiary facilities for ART in the South-South region exhibited very high risk of non-adherence. Adolescents and children are at an increased risk of poor ART adherence in rural regions of Nigeria. Regional differences and facility type are critical factors. Future public health programmes focused on the risk of poor adherence targeting “high-prevalence areas” should be sensitive to contextual differences and age-appropriate care.
Flexible Facile Tactile Sensor for Smart Vessel Phantoms

Abstract Smart medical phantoms for training and evaluation of endovascular procedures ought to measure impact forces on the vessel walls worth protecting to provide feedback to clinicians and articulated soft robots. Recent commercial smart phantoms are expensive, usually not customizable to different applications and lack accessibility for integrated development. This work investigates piezoresistive films as highly integratable flexible sensors to be used in arbitrary soft vessel phantom anatomies over large surfaces and curved shapes providing quantitative measurement in the force range up to 1 N with 0.1 N resolution. First results show promising performance at the point of calibration and in a 5 mm range around it, with absolute measuring error of 28 mN and a standard deviation of ±10 mN and response times <500 ms. Future work shall address the optimization of response time and sensor shapes as well as the evaluation with experienced clinicians.