Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Tracking Control of State-Constrained Strict-Feedback Nonlinear Systems Using Direct Method

In this article, we focus on adaptive tracking control design for strict-feedback nonlinear systems with full state constraints. Unlike the barrier Lyapunov function method, all theoretical results are derived by direct method instead of introducing nonlinear state-dependent transformations, which reduces the calculated amount and the high sensitivity of control signals, and provides a new perspective to solve state-constrained problems. Then, by using the backstepping technique, the proposed adaptive controller maintains that the output closely tracks the desired trajectory, all signals in the closed-loop systems are bounded and the time-varying state constraints are not violated. Finally, two numerical simulations are provided to exhibit the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed adaptive tracking controller.
Perspective for Studying the Relationship of miRNAs with Transposable Elements

Transposable elements are important sources of miRNA, long non-coding RNAs genes, and their targets in the composition of protein-coding genes in plants and animals. Therefore, the detection of expression levels of specific non-coding RNAs in various tissues and cells in normal and pathological conditions may indicate a programmed pattern of transposable elements’ activation. This reflects the species-specific composition and distribution of transposable elements in genomes, which underlie gene regulation in every cell division, including during aging. TEs’ expression is also regulated by epigenetic factors (DNA methylation, histone modifications), SIRT6, cytidine deaminases APOBEC3, APOBEC1, and other catalytic proteins, such as ERCC, TREX1, RB1, HELLS, and MEGP2. In evolution, protein-coding genes and their regulatory elements are derived from transposons. As part of non-coding regions and introns of genes, they are sensors for transcriptional and post-transcriptional control of expression, using miRNAs and long non-coding RNAs, that arose from transposable elements in evolution. Methods (Orbld, ncRNAclassifier) and databases have been created for determining the occurrence of miRNAs from transposable elements in plants (PlanTE-MIR DB, PlaNC-TE), which can be used to design epigenetic gene networks in ontogenesis. Based on the data accumulated in the scientific literature, the presence of 467 transposon-derived miRNA genes in the human genome has been reliably established. It was proposed to create an updated and controlled online bioinformatics database of miRNAs derived from transposable elements in healthy individuals, as well as expression changes of these miRNAs during aging and various diseases, such as cancer and difficult-to-treat diseases. The use of the information obtained can open new horizons in the management of tissue and organ differentiation to aging slow down. In addition, the created database could become the basis for clarifying the mechanisms of pathogenesis of various diseases (imbalance in the activity of transposable elements, reflected in changes in the expression of miRNAs) and designing their targeted therapy using specific miRNAs as targets. This article provides examples of the detection of transposable elements-derived miRNAs involved in the development of specific malignant neoplasms, aging, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Research progress on PRMTs involved in epigenetic modification and tumour signalling pathway regulation (Review)

Posttranslational modification (PTM) of proteins is essential for increasing protein diversity and maintaining cellular homeostasis, but uncontrolled modification may lead to tumorigenesis. Arginine methylation is a tumorigenesis-related PTM that affects protein function through protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions. Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) have vital roles in signalling pathways of tumour-intrinsic and tumour-extrinsic microenvironments. The present review summarizes the modifications and functions of PRMTs in histone methylation and nonhistone methylation, their roles in RNA splicing and DNA damage repair and the currently known functions in tumour metabolism and immunotherapy. In conclusion, this article reviews the latest research progress on the role of PRMTs in tumour signal transduction, providing a theoretical basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Targeting PRMTs is expected to provide new directions for tumour therapy.
Single-view cone beam CT reconstruction with Swin transformer based deep learning

Cone beam CT (CBCT) imaging with sparse-view can effectively reduce the radiation dose risk. The convolution-based end-to-end deep learning methods have been used in single-view CBCT image reconstruction, which can minimize radiation dose and achieve fast CBCT imaging. However, these methods ignore the mismatch between the local feature extraction ability of convolutional neural network (CNN) and the global features of the projection image. To address this issue, we propose a novel deep learning network architecture based on Swin Transformer for single-view CBCT reconstruction. First, we use the Swin Transformer network block to construct a single-view projection feature extraction module, then through the feature transformation module, we convert the 2D features learned from projection into 3D feature tensors, and finally get the 3D volume image in the generative network. This paper is the first attempt to use the Swin Transformer model for single-view CBCT reconstruction. Experimental results with the mouse datasets demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms the convolution-based end-to-end deep learning model in reducing artifacts and preserving the image accuracy.
Research on Selective Clustering Ensemble Algorithm Based on Normalized Mutual Information and Fractal Dimension

Traditional clustering ensemble algorithm can not eliminate the influence of inferior quality clustering members and is also characterized with lower clustering accuracy. To solve the problems,a selective clustering ensemble algorithm based on fractal dimension is proposed. Firstly,the proposed algorithm is used to realize incremental clustering and can find arbitrary shape clustering. Then,according to the selection strategy of weight values based on normalized mutual information,the proposed algorithm selects high quality clustering members to realize integration by using weighted co-association matrix and get the final clustering results. The experimental results show that compared to the traditional clustering ensemble algorithm,the proposed algorithm improves the clustering quality and has good extensibility.
Shifted detector super short scan reconstruction for the rotate-plus-shift trajectories and its application to C-arm CT systems

Mobile and compact C-arm systems are routinely used in interventional procedures for fluoroscopic CT imaging. The mechanical requirements guarantee for a maximum of flexibility and mobility but restrict the mechanical rotation range (e.g. 165°) and the lateral size of the field of measurement (FOM), typically about 160 mm. Recently, the rotate-plus-shift trajectory for the acquisition of complete datasets from 180° minus fan-angle has been published.1, 2 Here, we combine the rotate-plus-shift trajectory with a shifted detector approach for a fully motorized C-arm system. As the isocenter in non-centric C-arms can be freely chosen, the shifted detector can be equally well absorbed with an offset of the C parallel to the transaxial detector direction. The typical rotation range of 360° used in shifted detector trajectories is replaced by a double rotate-plus-shift scan requiring a rotation range of at least 180° minus fan-angle. The trajectory increasing the diameter of the FOM by up to a factor of two is presented and the practical application of variations with an asymmetric FOM is shown. For image reconstruction we use our modified FDK algorithm that is equipped with a generalized redundancy weight. The presented trajectory can increase the applicability and flexibility of C-arm systems and has the potential to perform intra-operative large volume control or overview scans and thus reduce the patient’s risk.
Apoptotic Potential of Glucomoringin Isothiocyanate (GMG-ITC) Isolated from Moringa oleifera Lam Seeds on Human Prostate Cancer Cells (PC-3)

Inhibition of several protein pathways involved in cancer cell regulation is a necessary key in the discovery of cancer chemotherapy. Moringa oleifera Lam is often used in traditional medicine for the treatment of various illnesses. The plant contains glucomoringin isothiocyanate (GMG-ITC) with therapeutic potential against various cancer cells. Therefore, GMG-ITC was evaluated for its cytotoxicity against the PC-3 prostate cancer cell line and its potential to induce apoptosis. GMG-ITC inhibited cell proliferation in the PC-3 cell line with IC50 value 3.5 µg/mL. Morphological changes as a result of GMG-ITC-induced apoptosis showed chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation, and membrane blebbing. Additionally, Annexin V assay showed proportion of cells in early and late apoptosis upon exposure to GMG-ITC in a time-dependent manner. Moreover, GMG-ITC induced a time-dependent G2/M phase arrest, with reduction of 39.1% in the PC-3 cell line. GMG-ITC also activates apoptotic genes including caspase, tumor suppressor gene (p53), Akt/MAPK, and Bax of the proapoptotic Bcl family. Early apoptosis proteins (JNK, Bad, Bcl2, and p53) were significantly upregulated upon GMG-ITC treatment. It is concluded that apoptosis induction was observed in PC-3 cells treated with GMG-ITC. These phenomena suggest that GMG-ITC from M. oleifera seeds could be useful as a future cytotoxic agent against prostate cancer.
Microbial communities of the ant Formica exsecta and its nest material

In this study, we investigated the bacterial and fungal microbiomes of the ant Formica exsecta (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), and assessed whether the microbial communities inside the ants differ from those in their nest material. Furthermore, we investigated whether the microbial communities inside the ants are conserved across time. To achieve this, we sequenced the bacterial 16S rRNA, and the fungal ITS region in entire adult worker ants and their nest material by Illumina MiSeq. We found that both the bacterial, and the fungal microbiomes form communities discrete from those in the surrounding nest material. In addition to the differences in species composition, we also found that bacterial species diversity, species richness, ζ diversity, and evenness were lower in ants than in the nest material. For fungi, only species richness was lower in the ants than in the nest material. The rate of within‐colony species turnover across sampling events was not statistically significant for bacteria, but highly significant for fungi. This suggests that the fungal communities in the ants are less stable than the bacterial ones. Four bacterial taxa (Alphaproteobacteria, Proteobacteria, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus), and two fungal taxa (Davidiella and Cryptococcus) formed a core microbiome, being consistently present and more abundant in the ants, but absent in the nest material. In all other cases differences in community composition and structure were due to taxa that were more consistently present and more abundant in the nest material, and frequently absent in the ants. Furthermore, we found 36 unique OTUs identified as Proteobacteria, and 82 unique OTUs identified as Alphaproteobacteria in the ants, representing 2.5% and 5.8% of all bacterial OTUs and 24.6% and 41% of the total number of bacterial sequences. This suggests that F. exsecta harbours a considerable bacterial diversity that so far remains unexplored.
First In Vivo Insights on the Effects of Tempol-Methoxycinnamate, a New UV Filter, as Alternative to Octyl Methoxycinnamate, on Zebrafish Early Development

The demand for organic UV filters as active components in sunscreen products has rapidly risen over the last century, as people have gradually realized the hazards of overexposure to UV radiation. Their extensive usage has resulted in their ubiquitous presence in different aquatic matrices, representing a potential threat to living organisms. In this context, the need to replace classic UV filters such as octyl methoxycinnamate (OMC), one of the most popular UV filters reported to be a potential pollutant of aquatic ecosystems, with more environmentally friendly ones has emerged. In this study, using zebrafish, the first in vivo results regarding the effect of exposure to tempol-methoxycinnamate (TMC), a derivative of OMC, are reported. A comparative study between TMC and OMC was performed, analyzing embryos exposed to similar TMC and OMC concentrations, focusing on morphological and molecular changes. While both compounds seemed not to affect hatching and embryogenesis, OMC exposure caused an increase in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response genes, according to increased eif2ak3, ddit3, nrf2, and nkap mRNA levels and in oxidative stress genes, as observed from modulation of the sod1, sod2, gpr, and trx mRNA levels. On the contrary, exposure to TMC led to reduced toxicity, probably due to the presence of the nitroxide group in the compound’s molecular structure responsible for antioxidant activity. In addition, both UV filters were docked with estrogen and androgen receptors where they acted differently, in agreement with the molecular analysis that showed a hormone-like activity for OMC but not for TMC. Overall, the results indicate the suitability of TMC as an alternative, environmentally safer UV filter.
Morphological Properties of Low Resistivity Mo thin Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering

Mo thin films have been deposited using a DC magnetron sputtering system with an S-gun configuration electrode and characterized electrically and morphologically. The influence of the sputtering gas pressure and glow discharge (GD) power, on the electrical resistivity of Mo thin films and on the contact resistivity of Mo to Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) films was determined through an exhaustive parameter study. This study also allowed us to find the conditions to deposit Mo films with suitable properties for its use as back contact of solar cells based on CIGS. Resistivities smaller than 1x10−4 Ω. cm and contact resistivities smaller than 0.3 Ωcm2 were found. Mo films with these characteristics are suitable for back contacts in solar cells based on CIGS. It was also found that the Mo thin films, deposited by DC magnetron sputtering on CIGS thin films, act effectively as ohmic contacts. The main contribution of this work was to obtain Mo thin films with adequate properties to be used as back contact for CIGS based solar cells using a DC sputtering system with S-gun configuration electrode, which allows growing the film with better surface quality and at a higher deposition rate than those deposited using the conventional planar RF sputtering system.
On Mechanistic Explanation of the Shape of the Universal Curve of Earthquake Recurrence Time Distributions

This paper outlines an idea for an explanation of a mechanism underlying the shape of the universal curve of the Earthquake Recurrence Time Distributions. The proposed simple stochastic cellular automaton model is reproducing the gamma distribution fit with the proper value of parameter γ characterizing the Earth’s seismicity and also imitates a deviation from the fit at short interevent times, as observed in real data.Thus the model suggests an explanation of the universal pattern of rescaled Earthquake Recurrence Time Distributions in terms of combinatorial rules for accumulation and abrupt release of seismic energy.
News shocks and business cycle in emerging markets

This study examines news shocks in theoretical real-business-cycle model in the aspect of emerging-market economy. Many features in emerging-market business cycles, such as consumption volatility that exceeds income volatility, sudden stop pattern in capital flows and strongly countercyclical current account to income, distinguish itself from a developed small opened economy, and in this study, it also differentiates itself from previous works in the literature by studying in the aspect of business cycles in emerging markets. The study uses simulation method, developing on real-business-cycle theory to generate artificial business cycle moments and impulse response function. For the result, it considers news shocks is one of the candidates to improve real-business-cycle model. Although the business cycle moments still cannot exactly match the real data, there are the signs of improvement in the model from employing the news shocks within the aspect of emerging-market economy. The impulse response function exhibits in line with real data. It can explain the business cycle during crisis with search and matching friction.
Analysis of a meso-β scale convective system during a brief torrential rain event in northeast China

In order to construct a predictive scheme of short-term torrential rainfall events over NE China a case study is made of the development of a meso-β-scale convective system (MCS) that produced exceptionally heavy rainfall there on August 10, 2006, together with meso-scale environment, by means of automatic station data, satellite imagery and conventional observations. As an event of 100-yr return character, the downpour occurring in the central-western portion of NE China produced the maximal 1-hr precipitation of 90.8 mm at Tailai, with 82 mm thereof in the latter half hour. IR satellite and high-resolution visible cloud maps are employed to investigate how the MCS evolved from a meso-γ into a meso-α MCC (Meso Convective Complex). Analysis shows that associated with higher than 33 mm in 30 min at 6 cityand county-level regions, the MCS was separated into 2 phases. In the first phase, i.e., before the MCC formation, the MCS moved mainly eastward, merging finally into the MCC, and in the second phase, i.e., the MCC mature stage, the MCS were in the southwestern fringe of the MCC, with the strongest precipitation observed there. Inspection of even higher-resolution visible images yields that where the northern and western cumulus lines met, the MCS developed vigorously enough to produce downpour. Examination of the MCS intensification and precipitation happening indicates that 1) high temperature, high humidity and convectively unstable stratification existed over the rainbelt, in conjunction with significant increase in convective available potential energy and decline of lifted condensation level and free convective height, in favor of the torrential rains; 2) mergence of meso-βscale cloud clusters allowed MCS to develop quickly for rainfall; 3) the northern and western cumulus lines corresponded to two convergence lines on the surface wind field and at their meeting point strong convergence resulted in sufficiently intensely growing meso-βcloud clusters to produce rainfall. Analysis of MCS propagation southwestward in the MCC yields that the movement of the rainstorm-producing MCS was dependent on the shift direction and velocity of the convergence lines.
COMPARISON OF THE MOLLIFICATION METHOD, WAVELET TRANSFORM AND MOVING AVERAGE FILTER FOR REDUCTION OF MEASUREMENT NOISE EFFECTS IN INVERSE HEAT CONDUCTION PROBLEMS

This paper proposes a procedure to smooth temperature data by wavelet transform, moving average filter and the mollification method prior to utilizing the IHCP methods (i.e. the conjugate gradient method, the Tikhonov regularization method) for unknown heat ux estimation. The measured transient temperature data utilized in the solution may be obtained from locations inside the body or from locations on its inactive boundaries. Two case studies are used to investigate the eciency and accuracy of the mentioned procedure. The first case study is performed on a rectangular body. The second case study demonstrates the ability of the proposed method to estimate heat ux in a more complicated geometry. Smoothing measured data causes an increase in the accuracy and stability of the estimation.
Parametric excitation based bipedal walking: Control method and optimization

In parametric excitation walking, energy lost by a heel strike is restored by bending and stretching a swing leg, and then a sustainable gait is generated with only knee torque. In this paper, we first propose the method that combines the parametric excitation method for a swing leg with that for a support leg to improve gait efficiency. Next, we improve gait efficiency of the combined parametric excitation walking by the optimization method for reference trajectories. Numerical results show that the specific resistance of the combined method is reduced to about one tenth of those of the previous results. In addition, the results of multi-objective optimization method are presented by reformulating a single-objective optimization problem.
Barriers to Mental and Social Health Programs in Schools: A Qualitative Study

Objective: In order to achieve development goals, in addition to providing students with physical health, their mental and social health should be considered as a necessity and priority in development programs. This program, called the Nemad Project in Iran was formally established in 2015. This study aims to explore the challenges of the Nemad project in Iranian schools based on stakeholders' views. Method : The present qualitative study, with a contractual content analysis approach, was conducted on 21 experts in the field of social harm prevention and mental health promotion at the senior, intermediate, and operational levels in educational institutions and schools, Ministry of Health, the Judiciary and the Planning and Budget Organization. These experts also included project technical officers. Participants were selected using snowball and purposeful sampling methods. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed by coding, classification, and extraction of the main themes. Results: Six main themes were derived that included inefficiency in resource management (with subcategories of inadequate facilities and equipment, inadequate human resource management, and information management system deficiencies), weakness in program organization (with subcategories of poor cross-sectoral and weak inter-sectoral subgroups), challenges of laws/regulations/policies (with sub-categories of defective protocols and guidelines and lack of specific task descriptions), barriers and challenges to implementation of policies (with macro and school policy implementation subcategories), structural factors (with subcategories of financial resources allocation problems, inconsistency in managerial levels, and deficiencies in decision-making principles), weaknesses in educational processes (with subcategories of inadequate teacher education, weaknesses in parenting courses, and weaknesses in student education), and ultimately, weaknesses in monitoring and evaluation (with the subcategory of lack of a monitoring and evaluation system). Conclusion: According to experts, implementation of mental and social programs in schools is not in a desirable situation and is faced with certain challenges. To enhance the management of the Nemad project in Iranian schools, it is necessary to compile flowcharts of service delivery and inter-device communication, allocate resources to meet the expectations of each organization, do performance-based budgeting, take a comprehensive look at parental issues, and design a system of monitoring and evaluating the requirements.