Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Sulfamethoxazole on Fertilization and Embryo Development in the Arbacia lixula Sea Urchin

Simple Summary Drugs released into the aquatic environment create serious problems for the organisms that live there. For this reason, the present study investigates the in vitro effects of the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, widely found in wastewater, on the fertilization and development of the Arbacia lixula sea urchin. The results showed a significant reduction in the percentage of fertilized oocytes at the highest drug concentrations, together with an increase in anomalies and delays in the development of the embryo. Therefore, the data obtained suggest urgent intervention on the release of these drugs in order to prevent important alterations in the species’ development and to preserve biodiversity. Abstract To date, drugs released into the aquatic environment are a real problem, and among antibiotics, sulfamethoxazole is the one most widely found in wastewater; thus, the evaluation of its toxicity on marine organisms is very important. This study, for the first time, investigates the in vitro effects of 4 concentrations of sulfamethoxazole (0.05 mg/L, 0.5 mg/L, 5 mg/L, 50 mg/L) on the fertilization and development of the sea urchin Arbacia lixula. The gametes were exposed to drugs in three different stages: simultaneously with, prior to, and post-fertilization. The results show a significant reduction in the percentage of fertilized oocytes at the highest drug concentrations. Moreover, an increase in anomalies and delays in embryo development following the treatment with the drug was demonstrated. Therefore, the data suggest that this antibiotic can alter the development of marine organisms, making it urgent to act to reduce their release and to determine the concentration range with the greatest impact.
Contribution a l'etude des systemes differentiellement plats

On introduit dans cette these le concept nouveau de platitude. Un systeme est differentiellement plat (ou plus simplement plat) si son comportement peut etre completement decrit par un ensemble de fonctions differentiellement independantes dependant des variables du systeme et de leurs derivees : toute trajectoire du systeme peut s'obtenir a partir de cet ensemble de fonctions sans integrer d'equations differentielles. La platitude se definit par l'intermediaire d'une relation d'equivalence. Deux systemes S et T sont equivalents s'il existe une correspondance bijective entre les trajectoires de S et celles de T. Par definition, un systeme est plat s'il est equivalent a un systeme "sans dynamique", c'est a dire un ensemble de fonctions arbitraires.
Electromagnetic Fields: Biological Interactions and Mechanisms

Biological Effects of Environmental Electromagnetic Fields: An Overview Spectrum and Intensity of Environmental Electromagnetic Fields from Natural and Man-Made Sources Typical Electric and Magnetic Field Exposures at Power-Line Frequencies and Their Coupling to Biological Systems Bioelectromagnetic Dosimetry Issues Relating to Causality of Bioelectromagnetic Effects Comparison of Endogenous Currents in and Around Cells with Those Induced by Exogenous Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Fields Endogenous Electric Fields Measured in Developing Embryos Streaming and Piezoelectric Potentials in Connective Tissues Electric Stimulation of Protein Synthesis in Muscle Epidemiologic Studies and Their Role in Identifying Potential Risks from Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields Magnetic Field Exposure Assessment Electromagnetic Fields and Cancer: Laboratory Studies Electric and Magnetic Field Mitigation Strategies Bioelectromagnetics in the Service of Medicine Therapeutic Aspects of Electromagnetic Fields for Soft-Tissue Healing Electromagnetic Heating for Cancer Treatment Tissue Electroporation for Localized Drug Delivery The Role of Coherence in Electromagnetic Field-Induced Bioeffects: The Signal-to-Noise Dilemma Electric and Magnetic Field Signal Transduction in the Membrane Na]+/K]+ -adenosinetriphosphatase The Role of Cell and Tissue Calcium in Transducing the Effects of Exposure to Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields Magnetoreception and Electromagnetic Field Effects: Sensory Perception of the Geomagnetic Field in Animals and Humans Magnetokinetic Effects on Radical Pairs: A Paradigm for Magnetic Field Interactions with Biological Systems at Lower Than Thermal Energy Biosynthetic Stress Response in Cells Exposed to Electromagnetic Fields Membrane Signal-Transduction Mechanisms and Biological Effects of Low-Energy Electromagnetic Fields Melatonin Suppression by Time-Varying and Time-Invariant Electromagnetic Fields Effects of Radio-Frequency Radiation on Mammalian Cells and Biomolecules In Vitro
Adversarial Deep Learning: A Survey on Adversarial Attacks and Defense Mechanisms on Image Classification

The popularity of adapting deep neural networks (DNNs) in solving hard problems has increased substantially. Specifically, in the field of computer vision, DNNs are becoming a core element in developing many image and video classification and recognition applications. However, DNNs are vulnerable to adversarial attacks, in which, given a well-trained image classification model, a malicious input can be crafted by adding mere perturbations to misclassify the image. This phenomena raise many security concerns in utilizing DNNs in critical life applications which attracts the attention of academic and industry researchers. As a result, multiple studies have proposed discussing novel attacks that can compromise the integrity of state-of-the-art image classification neural networks. The raise of these attacks urges the research community to explore countermeasure methods to mitigate these attacks and increase the reliability of adapting DDNs in different major applications. Hence, various defense strategies have been proposed to protect DNNs against adversarial attacks. In this paper, we thoroughly review the most recent and state-of-the-art adversarial attack methods by providing an in-depth analysis and explanation of the working process of these attacks. In our review, we focus on explaining the mathematical concepts and terminologies of the adversarial attacks, which provide a comprehensive and solid survey to the research community. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive review of the most recent defense mechanisms and discuss their effectiveness in defending DNNs against adversarial attacks. Finally, we highlight the current challenges and open issues in this field as well as future research directions.
Vorticity and vortex dynamics in complex turbulent flows

Some of the basic principles of vortex dynamics arc reviewed in this paper and applied to calculating and understanding various kinds of turbulent flows. After setting out the basic equations and boundary conditions, the different principles are illustrated for special eases where different simplifications are justified. The displacement of two-dimensional vorticity is applied to two-dimensional shear flows over slender shapes (such as humps or hills on surfaces where the ‘triple-deck’ method is explained in terms of vorticity). The general changes of vorticity and velocity are related to the movement of fluid-line elements. A new geometrical proof for the changes in velocity is given. These concepts are applied to distorted turbulent flows (isotropic and anisotropic) and shear flows. Recent results on the forces on and motions of finite fluid volumes in rotational, non-uniform flows are reviewed and it is shown that the inertial or added mass effects are generally of greater importance than the distortio.
Radiomics models based on multi-sequence MRI for preoperative evaluation of MUC4 status in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a preliminary study

Background Mucin 4 (MUC4) overexpression promotes tumorigenesis and increases the aggressiveness of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). To date, no study has reported the association between radiomics and MUC4 expression in PDAC. Thus, we aimed to explore the utility of radiomics based on multi-sequence magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict the status of MUC4 expression in PDAC preoperatively. Methods This retrospective study included 52 patients with PDAC who underwent MRI. The patients were divided into two groups based on MUC4 expression status. Two feature sets were extracted from the arterial and portal phases (PPs) of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI). Univariate analysis, minimum redundancy maximum relevance (MRMR), and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed for the feature selection of each dataset, and features with a cumulative variance of 90% were selected to develop radiomics models. Clinical characteristics were gathered to develop a clinical model. The selected radiomics features and clinical characteristics were modeled by multivariable logistic regression. The combined model integrated radiomics features from different selected data sets and clinical characteristics. The classification metrics were applied to assess the discriminatory power of the models. Results There were 22 PDACs with a high expression of MUC4 and 30 PDACs with a low expression of MUC4. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) values of the arterial phase (AP) model, the PP model, and the combined model were 0.732 (0.591–0.872), 0.709 (0.569–0.849), and 0.861 (0.760–0.961), respectively. The AUC of the clinical model was 0.666 (0.600–0.682). The combined model that was constructed outperformed the AP, the PP, and the clinical models (P<0.05, although no statistical significance was observed in the combined model vs. AP model). Conclusions Radiomics models based on multi-sequence MRI have the potential to predict MUC4 expression levels in PDAC.
Racial Diversity, Majority–Minority Gap, and Confidence in the Criminal Justice System

Abstract:Racial status, that is, majority/minority identity, affects an individual's confidence in the criminal justice system, and this effect could vary across social contexts. We analyzed people's confidence in the criminal justice system comparatively in 88 societies using the World Values Survey (1981–2020). Results from the hierarchical linear models showed the following patterns: (1) Racial majority members display higher confidence in the criminal justice system than minority members; (2) the majority advantage in confidence is greater when racial diversity increases; (3) the majority advantage is most salient in societies with Black or Arabic majorities. The results suggest that majority members' higher trust in order institutions is associated with perceived advantages and social comparison with minority members. Our findings reveal the profound interactive effects of racial status and context on confidence in the criminal justice system, shed light on racial diversity, and contribute new knowledge to public opinion studies. Résumé:L'appartenance raciale, soit le fait de s'identifier à la majorité ou à une minorité, influence la confiance des individus envers le système de justice pénale et son effet peut varier selon le contexte social. Nous avons comparé la confiance que les gens accordent au système de justice pénale dans 88 sociétés en nous servant des données de l'enquête mondiale sur les valeurs (World Values Survey, 1981-2020). Les résultats obtenus à partir de modèles linéaires hiérarchiques révèlent les récurrences suivantes : (1) les membres de la majorité raciale témoignent d'une confiance plus élevée envers le système de justice pénale que les membres des minorités ; (2) cet écart se creuse lorsque la diversité raciale augmente ; (3) cet écart est le plus marqué dans les sociétés où la majorité est noire ou arabe. Ces résultats suggèrent que la conf ance plus élevée envers l'institution judiciaire des membres de la majorité est associée aux avantages perçus et à la comparaison sociale avec les membres des minorités. Notre travail révèle les effets interactifs profonds de l'origine ethnique et du contexte sur la confiance envers le système de justice pénale, éclaire d'un jour nouveau la diversité raciale et contribue à élargir les connaissances en matière d'opinion publique.
Influence of pore dielectric boundaries on the translocation barrier of DNA

We investigate the impact of dielectric boundary forces on the translocation process of charged rigid DNA segments through solid neutral nanopores. We assess the electrostatic contribution to the translocation free energy barrier of a model DNA segment by evaluating the potential of mean force in absence and presence of polarization effects by means of coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. The effect of induced polarization charges has been taken into account by employing ICC*, a recently developed algorithm that can efficiently compute induced polarization charges induced on suitably discretized dielectric boundaries. Since water has a higher dielectric constant than the pore walls, polarization effects repel charged objects in the vicinity of the interface, with the effect of significantly increasing the free energy barrier. Another investigated side effect is the change of the counterion distribution around the charged polymer in presence of the induced pore charges. Furthermore we investigate the influence of adding salt to the solution.
Supersolid Phases of Hardcore Bosons on the Square Lattice: Correlated Hopping, Next-Nearest Neighbor Hopping and Frustration

We discuss the appearance of supersolid phases for interacting hardcore bosons on the square lattice when, in addition to the standard nearest neighbor hopping and repulsion, correlated or next-nearest neighbor hopping is present. Having in mind dimer-based quantum magnets in a field described by effective bosonic models of this kind, we put special emphasis on a comparison between the different cases of relative signs of the kinetic processes, which correspond to unfrustrated or frustrated magnetic models. In the unfrustrated case, we compare Quantum Monte Carlo simulations with a mean-field (classical) approach, which is shown to give qualitatively correct results. Using this classical approach for the frustrated case, we find that, the phase diagram is generically richer than in the unfrustrated case. We also investigate in detail the differences between standard next-nearest neighbour and correlated hopping over the diagonal, with the conclusion that both cases are similar if checkerboard order is present at half-filling, while a supersolid phase can be stabilized without any adjacent solid phase only in the case of correlated hopping.
Three Different Types of Fat Grafting for Facial Systemic Sclerosis: A Case Series

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a heterogeneous, chronic connective tissue disease, characterized by skin fibrosis as well as vascular and visceral lesions. It can involve the lungs, heart, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and bones. The orofacial manifestations of SSc can cause functional, aesthetic, and social distress, resulting in significant psychological implications for the patients. In recent decades, fat grafting improved the aesthetic outcomes in terms of volume deficiency, contour asymmetry, and skin elasticity of the face thanks to the regenerative action of the stem cells contained within it. We describe five cases of a patient with SSc treated with fat grafting used to correct volume loss and facial elasticity of the lips and perioral region on the middle and lower third of the face. All the patients received regular postoperative checks at weeks 1 and 2. A multiple choice questionnaire was administered to assess the degree of tolerability of the procedure. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated by calculating the Cronbach alpha using the MedCalc Statistical Software version 20.113. The aim of our study is to describe three different types of fat grafting used to correct volume loss and restore facial elasticity of the lips and perioral region on the middle and lower third of the face.
A forgotten element of the blue economy: marine biomimetics and inspiration from the deep sea

Abstract The morphology, physiology, and behavior of marine organisms have been a valuable source of inspiration for solving conceptual and design problems. Here, we introduce this rich and rapidly expanding field of marine biomimetics, and identify it as a poorly articulated and often overlooked element of the ocean economy associated with substantial monetary benefits. We showcase innovations across seven broad categories of marine biomimetic design (adhesion, antifouling, armor, buoyancy, movement, sensory, stealth), and use this framing as context for a closer consideration of the increasingly frequent focus on deep-sea life as an inspiration for biomimetic design. We contend that marine biomimetics is not only a “forgotten” sector of the ocean economy, but has the potential to drive appreciation of nonmonetary values, conservation, and stewardship, making it well-aligned with notions of a sustainable blue economy. We note, however, that the highest ambitions for a blue economy are that it not only drives sustainability, but also greater equity and inclusivity, and conclude by articulating challenges and considerations for bringing marine biomimetics onto this trajectory.
Multi-Drug Resistant Pathogenic Escherichia coli Isolated from Wild Birds, Chicken, and the Environment in Malaysia

Transmission of pathogenic microorganisms in the last decades has been considered a significant health hazard and pathogenic E. coli, particularly antibiotic-resistant strains, have long been identified as a zoonotic problem. This study aimed to investigate multidrug resistant pathogenic E. coli isolates from wild birds, chickens, and environment in selected Orang Asli and Malay villages in Peninsular Malaysia. The bacteriological culture-based technique, disc diffusion method, and multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (mPCR) assay was used to determine the occurrence of pathogenic E. coli strains in the several samples in the study. E. coli isolates showed a variety of multi-drug resistant (MDR) antibiotypes and Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) and Enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) were the most predominantly identified pathogenic E. coli strains. The findings of this study demonstrated the significance of animal reservoirs and the environment as sources of pathogenic E. coli, resistant bacteria, and resistance genes. Hence, there is a need for adoption of a practical surveillance approach on MDR pathogens to control foodborne contamination.
3D Bioprinted Chitosan-Based Hydrogel Scaffolds in Tissue Engineering and Localised Drug Delivery

Bioprinting is an emerging technology with various applications in developing functional tissue constructs for the replacement of harmed or damaged tissues and simultaneously controlled drug delivery systems (DDSs) for the administration of several active substances, such as growth factors, proteins, and drug molecules. It is a novel approach that provides high reproducibility and precise control over the fabricated constructs in an automated way. An ideal bioink should possess proper mechanical, rheological, and biological properties essential to ensure proper function. Chitosan is a promising natural-derived polysaccharide to be used as ink because of its attractive properties, such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, low cost, and non-immunogenicity. This review focuses on 3D bioprinting technology for the preparation of chitosan-based hydrogel scaffolds for the regeneration of tissues delivering either cells or active substances to promote restoration.
Glueballs in large-N YM by localization on critical points

By exploiting in large-N YM the change of variables from the gauge connection to the ASD part of its curvature by a non-SUSY version of the Nicolai map, we show that certain twistor Wilson loops supported on a Lagrangian submanifold of twistor space are localized on lattices of surface operators of Z(N) holonomy that form translational invariant sectors labelled by the magnetic charge k=1,2,. ,N-1 at a point. The localization is obtained reducing the loop equation in the ASD variables in the holomorphic gauge, regularized by analytic continuation to Minkowski space-time, to a critical equation, by exploiting the invariance of the twistor Wilson loops by deformations for the addition of backtracking arcs ending with cusps on the singular divisor of surface operators. Alternatively localization is obtained contracting the YM measure in the ASD variables on the fixed points of a semigroup that acts on the fiber of the Lagrangian twistor fibration which twistor Wilson loops are supported on and leaves invariant their v.e. v. The masses squared of the fluctuations of surface operators in the sectors labelled by k, supported on the Lagrangian submanifold analytically continued to Minkowski space-time, form a trajectory linear in k that does not include any massless state. The glueballs propagators in the holomorphic/antiholomorphic sector defined by correlators of a complex combination of the ASD curvature and its adjoint saturate at short distances the logarithms of perturbation theory by a sum of pure poles. In this framework Regge trajectories of higher spins are related to fluctuations of surface operators with pole singularities of any order.
Robust Power Decoupling Based on Feedforward Decoupling and Extended State Observers for Virtual Synchronous Generator in Weak Grid

Virtual synchronous generator (VSG) can provide inertia support for a more renewable-energy-integrated power system. However, there are power couplings between active power and reactive power in a weak grid. To solve this issue, the dynamic models of active power and reactive power are established first to better reflect the characteristics of power coupling. Then, the feedforward decoupling method using virtual power angle and virtual voltage is designed under the nominal system, which can suppress the power couplings well. Furthermore, considering the variation of line impedance, a power decoupling strategy based on extended state observers (ESOs) is proposed, which can estimate the power couplings as the internal disturbances of the system and output compensations for the feedforward decoupling method. Consequently, the robustness of the proposed strategy is improved greatly, and good decoupling performance can be achieved under different line impedance conditions. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by both simulation and experimental results.
A Demonstration of a Simple Methodology of Flood Prediction for a Coastal City Under Threat of Sea Level Rise: The Case of Norfolk, VA, USA

Many coastal cities around the world are at risk of increased flooding due to sea level rise (SLR), so here a simple flood prediction method is demonstrated for one city at risk, Norfolk, VA, on the U.S. East Coast. The probability of future flooding is estimated by extending observed hourly water level for 1927–2021 into hourly estimates until 2100. Unlike most other flood prediction methods, the approach here does not use any predetermined probability distribution function of extreme events, and instead a random sampling of past data represents tides and storm surges. The probability of flooding for 3 different flood levels and 3 different SLR projections are calculated, and the results are consistent with more sophisticated methods. Under intermediate‐low SLR projection an empirical formula is found to estimate the lower bound of flooding time, showing that water level that exceeds the high tide (Mean Higher High Water, MHHW) occurred ∼0.3% of the time in the 1960s, increased to ∼6% in 2021, and projected to occur 100% of the time by ∼2080. Under intermediate SLR projection, 1000 simulations of the probability of maximum annual water level were conducted, showing that storm surges may reach ∼2 m over MHHW by 2050 and ∼3 m over MHHW by 2100; in comparison, storm surges in Norfolk over the past 90 years reached 1.6 m only once. The method derived here could be adopted to other locations and help planning mitigations and adaptation strategies for cities at risk.