Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Allograft Vesicoureteral Reflux after Kidney Transplantation

Allograft vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is a leading urological complication of kidney transplantation. Despite the relatively high incidence, there is a lack of consensus regarding VUR risk factors, impact on renal function, and management. Dialysis vintage and atrophic bladder have been recognized as the most relevant recipient-related determinants of post-transplant VUR, whilst possible relationships with sex, age, and ureteral implantation technique remain debated. Clinical manifestations vary from an asymptomatic condition to persistent or recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs). Voiding cystourethrography is widely accepted as the gold standard diagnostic modality, and the reflux is generally graded following the International Reflux Study Committee Scale. Long-term transplant outcomes of recipients with asymptomatic grade I-III VUR are yet to be clarified. On the contrary, available data suggest that symptomatic grade IV-V VUR may lead to progressive allograft dysfunction and premature transplant loss. Therapeutic options include watchful waiting, prolonged antibiotic suppression, sub-mucosal endoscopic injection of dextranomer/hyaluronic acid copolymer at the site of the ureteral anastomosis, and surgery. Indication for specific treatments depends on recipient’s characteristics (age, frailty, compliance with antibiotics), renal function (serum creatinine concentration < 2.5 vs. ≥ 2.5 mg/dL), severity of UTIs, and VUR grading (grade I-III vs. IV-V). Current evidence supporting surgical referral over more conservative strategies is weak. Therefore, a tailored approach should be preferred. Properly designed studies, with adequate sample size and follow-up, are warranted to clarify those unresolved issues.
Invasive Candidiasis in Hospitalized Patients with Major Burns

Background: Invasive candidiasis (IC) is a major cause of morbidities and mortality in patients hospitalized with major burns. This study investigated the incidence of IC in this specific population and analyzed the possible risk factors. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan. We identified 3582 patients hospitalized with major burns on over 20% of their total body surface area (TBSA) during 2000–2013; we further analyzed possible risk factors. Result: IC was diagnosed in 452 hospitalized patients (12.6%) with major burns. In the multivariate analysis, patients older than 50 years (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.96, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.36–2.82), those of female sex (adjusted OR = 1.33, 95% CI 1.03–1.72), those with burns on the head (adjusted OR = 1.33, 95% CI 1.02–1.73), and those with burns over a greater TBSA had higher risks of IC. Conclusion: Treating IC is crucial in healthcare for major burns. Our study suggests that several risk factors are associated with IC in patients hospitalized with major burns, providing reliable reference value for clinical decisions.
Multiscale and Dense Ship Detection in SAR Images Based on Key-Point Estimation and Attention Mechanism

Ship target detection in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images is essential for many applications in marine monitoring and port security. Though considerable developments have been achieved, there still exist some issues toward multiscale and dense ship targets in complex inshore scenes. Under such common but challenging situations, it is difficult to extract effective target information, which drives the missing alarm rate rising dramatically. In complex scenes, it is hard to disentangle background noise from ship target information, which causes false alarm frequently. In this article, an anchor-free SAR ship detection method based on key-point estimation and attention mechanism is proposed to address the aforementioned issues. Specially, an anchor-free framework with skip connections and aggregation nodes is designed to fuse multiresolution features and detect multiscale ship targets. Moreover, a key-point estimation module is proposed to eliminate the undetected ship targets caused by dense target distribution. Furthermore, a channel attention module is explored to enhance network attention on ship targets and suppress background noise. Sufficient experimental results on the open SAR ship detection dataset demonstrate that compared with some state-of-the-art methods, the proposed method is able to achieve higher detection accuracy with a lower false alarm rate.
Investigations on Anticancer Potentials by DNA Binding and Cytotoxicity Studies for Newly Synthesized and Characterized Imidazolidine and Thiazolidine-Based Isatin Derivatives

Imidazolidine and thiazolidine-based isatin derivatives (IST-01–04) were synthesized, characterized, and tested for their interactions with ds-DNA. Theoretical and experimental findings showed good compatibility and indicated compound–DNA binding by mixed mode of interactions. The evaluated binding parameters, i.e., binding constant (Kb), free energy change (ΔG), and binding site sizes (n), inferred comparatively greater and more spontaneous binding interactions of IST-02 and then IST-04 with the DNA, among all compounds tested under physiological pH and temperature (7.4, 37 °C). The cytotoxic activity of all compounds was assessed against HeLa (cervical carcinoma), MCF-7 (breast carcinoma), and HuH-7 (liver carcinoma), as well as normal HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney) cell lines. Among all compounds, IST-02 and 04 were found to be cytotoxic against HuH-7 cell lines with percentage cell toxicity of 75% and 66%, respectively, at 500 ng/µL dosage. Moreover, HEK-293 cells exhibit tolerance to the increasing drug concentration, suggesting these two compounds are less cytotoxic against normal cell lines compared to cancer cell lines. Hence, both DNA binding and cytotoxicity studies proved imidazolidine (IST-02) and thiazolidine (IST-04)-based isatin derivatives as potent anticancer drug candidates among which imidazolidine (IST-02) is comparatively the more promising.
The Early Development of Racial Bias in Infants and Childhood

Psychologists are interested in how humans process faces of their own-race and Other-races, and there are plenty of previous research on this topic. This paper will summarize previous paper about Other-race Effect (ORE), and how do ORE develop racial bias in children. Researchers used Implicit Association Test (IAT) to assess implicit racial bias and found that implicit racial bias are different in different cultures and counties.
Self-Interference Cancellation: A Comprehensive Review from Circuits and Fields Perspectives

Increased demand for higher spectrum efficiency, especially in the space-limited chip, base station, and vehicle environments, has spawned the development of full-duplex communications, which enable the transmitting and receiving to occur simultaneously at the same frequency. The key challenge in this full-duplex communication paradigm is to reduce the self-interference as much as possible, ideally, down to the noise floor. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the self-interference cancellation (SIC) techniques for co-located communication systems from a circuits and fields perspective. The self-interference occurs when the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna are co-located, which significantly degrade the system performance of the receiver, in terms of the receiver desensitization, signal masking, or even damage of hardwares. By introducing the SIC techniques, the self-interference can be suppressed and the weak desired signal from the remote transmitter can be recovered. This, therefore, enables the full-duplex communications to come into the picture. The SIC techniques are classified into two main categories: the traditional circuit-domain SICs and the novel field-domain SICs, according to the method of how to rebuild and subtract the self-interference signal. In this review paper, the field-domain SIC method is systematically summarized for the first time, including the theoretical analysis and the application remarks. Some typical SIC approaches are presented and the future works are outlooked.
Motion coordination control of planar 5R parallel quadruped robot based on SCPL-CPG

The parallel leg of the quadruped robot has good structural stiffness, accurate movement, and strong bearing capacity, but it is complicated to control. To solve this problem, a series connection of parallel legs (SCPL) was proposed, as well as a control strategy combined with the central pattern generator (CPG). With the planar 5R parallel leg as the research object, the SCPL analysis method was used to analyze the leg structure. The topology of CPG network was built with the Hopf oscillator as the unit model, and the CPG was the core to model the robot control system. By continuously adjusting the parameters in the CPG control system and changing the connection weight, and the smooth transition between gaits was realized. The simulation results show that the SCPL analysis method can be effectively used in the analysis of parallel legs, and the control system can realize the smooth transition between gaits, which verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.
Bornavirus infection in human diseases and its molecular neuropathology

Bornavirus is a non‐cytolytic, neurotropic RNA virus that persistently infects the central nervous systems of vertebrates. Although bornavirus epidemiology has been investigated mainly in human psychiatric diseases for several decades, the involvement of persistent bornavirus infection in these diseases remains controversial. Recent studies have shown that two bornaviruses, Borna disease virus 1 and variegated squirrel bornavirus 1, can cause fatal encephalomyelitis in humans. In animal models, acute bornavirus infection causes immune‐mediated encephalomyelitis, whereas persistent infection induces neurobehavioral disturbances resembling human neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism. The neuropathology of persistent infection involves impairment in neural circuit formation and/or plasticity. Bornavirus P is a major pathogenic factor, which regulates neurite outgrowth, cell migration and synaptic plasticity. In addition, P disrupts the insulin‐like growth factor pathway and induces Purkinje cell loss in the cerebellum, thereby causing autism‐like neuropathology. Furthermore, bornavirus infection has been shown to disrupt neurogenesis. During neurogenesis, long interspersed nucleotide element‐1, a retrotransposon, generates neuronal genomic and transcriptomic variances that are important for neural plasticity. Long interspersed nucleotide element‐1 retrotranspose their own mRNAs in uninfected cells, whereas they also retrotranspose bornavirus mRNAs in infected cells; therefore, the long interspersed nucleotide element‐1 retrotransposition required for neural plasticity might be disturbed by infections. The aim of the present article is to provide fundamental information on bornavirus infection in humans. Clinicians should consider bornavirus infection in at least two types of suspicious cases: non‐purulent fatal encephalitis with unknown etiology among patients who have had contact with animals or lived in a rural area and those related to organ transplantation.
A Conceptual Framework for the Analysis of Sustainable Watershed Management Projects

This paper presents an analytical framework that helps in understanding the different aspects and elements of sustainable watershed management and their interactions. For a watershed project to be sustainable, four groups of criteria should be considered related to natural resources, technology, institutions and economics, respectively. A suitable metaphor for these four elements is a chain of shackles, the chain being as strong as the weakest shackle. This framework has been illustrated with two case studies in Kerala, South India.
Bacteria–bacteriophage cycles facilitate Cholera outbreak cycles: an indirect Susceptible-Infected-Recovered-Bacteria- Phage (iSIRBP) model-based mathematical study

Cholera is an acute enteric infectious disease caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Despite a huge body of research, the precise nature of its transmission dynamics has yet to be fully elucidated. Mathematical models can be useful to better understand how an infectious agent can spread and be properly controlled. We develop a compartmental model describing a human population, a bacterial population as well as a phage population. We show that there might be eight equilibrium points, one of which is a disease free equilibrium point. We carry out numerical simulations and sensitivity analyses and we show that the presence of phage can reduce the number of infectious individuals. Moreover, we discuss the main implications in terms of public health management and control strategies.
In vitro Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory and Antibacterial Activities of Microencapsulated Elaeocarpus tectorius (Lour.) Poir Leaf Extracts

The genus Elaeocarpus comprises nearly three-fifty flowering plant species native to the Tropical and Subtropical Asia and Pacific. Elaeocarpus tectorius (Lour.) Poir. is one of the least explored plants of this genus. The present study was aimed to explore the phytochemicals present in the leaves of the plant Elaeocarpus tectorius (Lour.) Poir. and to formulate chitosan-coated alginate microcapsules loaded with the leaf extracts. The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities of the leaf extracts and microcapsules were then assessed. The leaf extract was found to possess a spectrum of phytochemicals in good quantities, including phenolics, flavonoids and tannins. The formulated chitosan-alginate microcapsules were found to be oval, spherical in shape and they exhibited good scavenging activities against nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide radicals. The leaf extracts and microcapsules also exhibited good anti-inflammatory potential through inhibition of albumin denaturation and antiproteinase action. A prominent zone of inhibition was observed in the agar well diffusion assay suggesting the antibacterial potential of the microcapsules. The current study showed that the ethanolic extract of E. tectorius leaves has significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities. Many biologically active secondary metabolites were present in the leaf extract which could be responsible for its therapeutic potential. Microencapsulation has protected and enhanced the biological properties of the leaf extracts as indicated by the increased scavenging, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial potential of the microcapsules.
Multi-terrain Velocity Control of the Spherical Robot by Online Obtaining the Uncertainties in the Dynamics

One controller cannot work on multiple and unknown terrains in the velocity control of the spherical robot, because the dynamic models of the robot vary on different terrains, and unmodeled dynamics and uncertainties exist in estimated dynamic models. Based on the above problem, a new velocity controller for spherical robot is designed. This controller combines a hierarchical sliding mode controller (HSMC), an adaptive RBF neural network (RBFNN) and a variable step-size algorithm. The RBFNN is used to online estimate the uncertainties, and the Lyapunov function is utilized to design the adaptive law for the RBFNN. In order to learn the uncertainties faster, while minimizing overshoot and preventing velocity oscillations, a variable step-size algorithm is proposed. The practical experiments demonstrate that, this controller of the spherical robot achieves velocity tracking on multiple and complex terrains, while eliminating steady-state error, having a good control effect, and maintaining high stability.
Amoebicidal Activity of Poly-Epsilon-Lysine Functionalized Hydrogels

Purpose To determine the amoebicidal activity of functionalized poly-epsilon-lysine hydrogels (pɛK+) against Acanthamoeba castellanii. Methods A. castellanii trophozoites and cysts were grown in the presence of pɛK solution (0–2.17 mM), pɛK or pɛK+ hydrogels, or commercial hydrogel contact lens (CL) for 24 hours or 7 days in PBS or Peptone-Yeast-Glucose (PYG) media (nutrient-deplete or nutrient-replete cultures, respectively). Toxicity was determined using propidium iodide and imaged using fluorescence microscopy. Ex vivo porcine corneas were inoculated with A. castellanii trophozoites ± pɛK, pɛK+ hydrogels or commercial hydrogel CL for 7 days. Corneal infection was assessed by periodic acid–Schiff staining and histologic analysis. Regrowth of A. castellanii from hydrogel lenses and corneal discs at 7 days was assessed using microscopy and enumeration. Results The toxicity of pɛK+ hydrogels resulted in the death of 98.52% or 83.31% of the trophozoites at 24 hours or 7 days, respectively. The toxicity of pɛK+ hydrogels resulted in the death of 70.59% or 82.32% of the cysts in PBS at 24 hours or 7 days, respectively. Cysts exposed to pɛK+ hydrogels in PYG medium resulted in 75.37% and 87.14% death at 24 hours and 7 days. Ex vivo corneas infected with trophozoites and incubated with pɛK+ hydrogels showed the absence of A. castellanii in the stroma, with no regrowth from corneas or pɛK+ hydrogel, compared with infected-only corneas and those incubated in presence of commercial hydrogel CL. Conclusions pɛK+ hydrogels demonstrated pronounced amoebicidal and cysticidal activity against A. castellanii. pɛK+ hydrogels have the potential for use as CLs that could minimize the risk of CL-associated Acanthamoeba keratitis.
Aplikasi Pembelajaran Bahasa Isyarat Dengan Memanfaatkan Computer Assisted Instruction

AbstrakDari hasil pengamatan dan penelitian,pembelajaran bahasa isyarat di SDLBmasih memakai cara konvensional, yangpasif dan didominasi olehguru.Akibatnya siswa menjadi pasif,gampang bosan dengan materi. Padaakhirnya hasil pembelajaran masih sangatrendah karena keterbatasan mediapembelajaran yang diberikanguru.Beberapa masalah yang dibahas,bagaimana merancang pembelajaranbahasa isyarat yang menarik, interaktifdan mempermudah proses belajarmengajar guru? Bagaimana siswa tunarungu wicara bisa lebih memahami yangdisampaikan guru? Bagaimanamenyajikan komunikasi pembelajaranvisual gambar. Dengan membuat suatuaplikasi multimedia bahasa isyarat,diharapkan bisa menciptakanpembelajaran menarik dan interaktif yangdisukai anak tuna rungu wicara. Metodeyang digunakan dsini CAI
APTC-EC-2A: A Lytic Phage Targeting Multidrug Resistant E. coli Planktonic Cells and Biofilms

Escherichia coli (E. coli) are common bacteria that colonize the human and animal gastrointestinal tract, where they help maintain a balanced microbiome. However, some E. coli strains are pathogenic and can cause serious infectious diseases and life-threatening complications. Due to the overuse of antibiotics and limited development of novel antibiotics, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains has threatened modern medicine, whereby common infections can become lethal. Phage therapy has once again attracted interest in recent years as an alternative treatment option to antibiotics for severe infections with antibiotic-resistant strains. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize phage against multi-drug resistant E. coli isolated from clinical samples and hospital wastewater. For phage isolation, wastewater samples were collected from The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (Adelaide, SA, Australia) followed by phage enrichment as required. Microbiological assays, electron microscopy and genomic sequencing were carried out to characterize the phage. From the 10 isolated E. coli phages, E. coli phage APTC-EC-2A was the most promising and could lyse 6/7 E. coli clinical isolates. APTC-EC-2A was stable at a broad pH range (3–11) and could lyse the host E. coli at temperatures ranging between 30–50 °C. Furthermore, APTC-EC-2A could kill E. coli in planktonic and biofilm form. Electron microscopy and genomic sequencing indicated the phage to be from the Myoviridae family and of lytic nature. In conclusion, the newly isolated phage APTC-EC-2A has the desired properties that support its potential for development as a therapeutic agent against therapy refractory E. coli infections.
Novel Method for Estimating Utility Harmonic Impedance for a Direct-Drive Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator Wind Farm

Accurate estimation of the utility harmonic impedance is significant for harmonic control and responsibility division. Traditional methods of estimating the utility harmonic impedance are valid on the premise that the harmonic impedance on the wind-farm side is significantly greater than that on the utility side. However, with the installation of filters and reactive power compensation devices in wind farms, traditional estimation methods are no longer applicable. The accuracy of most existing estimation methods depends only on the accuracy of the model. This can cause large errors in the estimation of the utility harmonic impedance on a wind farm. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a method for estimating the utility harmonic impedance for a direct-drive permanent magnet synchronous generator wind farm based on a modified model with measured data. The proposed method uses the measured data to modify a model to obtain a more accurate estimation of the utility harmonic impedance. The results of the simulation and case study indicated that the traditional estimation methods have large errors when the background harmonic fluctuates significantly or the wind-farm-side harmonic impedance is smaller than the utility-side harmonic impedance. In contrast, the proposed method has a higher accuracy for the above scenarios.
Indicators of immunosuppression peripartum in dual purpose cows in the tropics affected health, productive and reproductive parameters

Abstract The objective of the study was to identify immunosuppression peripartum indicators in dual purpose cows in the tropics and determine their effects on productive and reproductive parameters. The indicators used were: changes in leukocyte and neutrophils population, concentrations of energy metabolites (β-hydroxybutyrate and glucose) and body condition scores (BCS). Blood sampling and BCS (scale 1 – 5) were taken weekly during the peripartum. Uterine health was assessed (3 weeks postpartum) by ultrasonography and using a vaginal score (0-3) described by Sheldon et al. (2006). Cows (n=30) were classified as healthy or clinical endometritis (CE). CE prevalence was as high as 29.6%. Leukocyte and neutrophils populations diminished while in the peripartum and were lower (P<0.05) in cows suffering CE. Healthy cows had higher (P<0.05) daily milk production than those with CE (18.84±0.63 vs 14.76±0.84 kg). CE cows had lower (P<0.05) reproductive performance compared with healthy cows (open days: 244.40 ± 35.00 vs 178.00 ± 23.33 and services by conception 3.33 ± 0.51 vs 1.83 ± 0.34). BCS similarly (P>0.05) decreased following parturition in both groups. Concentrations of energy metabolites during peripartum fluctuated in a similar (P>0.05) manner in healthy and CE cows. In summary, dual purpose cows in tropical conditions, presented peripartum immunosuppression indicators, characterized by a decline in the leukocyte population, mainly neutrophils, as well as decreased glucose concentrations and BCS postpartum. In addition to it, there was a rise in the β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations and cows presenting CE had a negative effect in the productive and reproductive parameters.