Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Universal lab on a smartphone: a research of TiOPc thin film as a light dependence electrode

In this paper, we study the photoconductivity of a polymer-based TiOPc (Titanium Oxide Phthalocyanine) thin-film for the development of a multi-opto-piezoelectric-valve-array. Using a polymer-based TiOPc thin film to serve as the electrode and a structural layer of a piezoelectric polymer, P(VDF-TrFE) poly[(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene], an optical control valve-array could be developed for manipulating multiple microdroplets for the application of digital microfluidic. In this ongoing project, the dependency of the light intensity, thickness, and composition of spin-coated polymer-based TiOPc thin-film was studied. The experimental finding suggested that a 14 to 55 times resistivity change could be achieved by controlling the film thickness to be between 0.9 μm and 1.5 μm with TiOPc concentration of 20% and 30% w/w compositions.
Relationship between Inflammation and Vasospastic Angina

Coronary artery spasm (CAS) is a dynamic coronary stenosis causing vasospastic angina (VSA). However, VSA is a potentially lethal medical condition with multiple presentations, including sudden cardiac death. Despite investigations to explore its pathogenesis, no single mechanism has been found to explain the entire process of VSA occurrence. The roles of elevated local and systemic inflammation have been increasingly recognized in VSA. Treatment strategies to decrease local and systemic inflammation deserve further investigation.
Deep Neural Network for EEG Signal-Based Subject-Independent Imaginary Mental Task Classification

BACKGROUND. Mental task identification using electroencephalography (EEG) signals is required for patients with limited or no motor movements. A subject-independent mental task classification framework can be applied to identify the mental task of a subject with no available training statistics. Deep learning frameworks are popular among researchers for analyzing both spatial and time series data, making them well-suited for classifying EEG signals. METHOD. In this paper, a deep neural network model is proposed for mental task classification for an imagined task from EEG signal data. Pre-computed features of EEG signals were obtained after raw EEG signals acquired from the subjects were spatially filtered by applying the Laplacian surface. To handle high-dimensional data, principal component analysis (PCA) was performed which helps in the extraction of most discriminating features from input vectors. RESULT. The proposed model is non-invasive and aims to extract mental task-specific features from EEG data acquired from a particular subject. The training was performed on the average combined Power Spectrum Density (PSD) values of all but one subject. The performance of the proposed model based on a deep neural network (DNN) was evaluated using a benchmark dataset. We achieved 77.62% accuracy. CONCLUSION. The performance and comparison analysis with the related existing works validated that the proposed cross-subject classification framework outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithm in terms of performing an accurate mental task from EEG signals.
Droplet spreading on a thin viscous film

We investigated experimentally the flows induced by a localized surfactant (oleic acid) on thin glycerol films. The oleic acid creates surface-tension gradients, which drive convention on the surface and within the film. Qualitative descriptions of the Lagrangian flow field were provided by flow-visualization experiments. Quantitative measurements of surface flows were conducted using dyed glycerol markers, where the initial motion of these markers is used to define the position of the time-dependent ‘convection front’. The flow characteristics were found to depend largely upon the magnitude of a gravitational parameter, G, representing the ratio of gravitational to surface-tension gradient (Marangoni) forces. Small G (G < 0.5) caused net outflow of the film leading to this thinning and, in some cases, to film rupture. When G < 1, bi-directional flows were caused by hydrostatic pressure gradients which served to stabilize the film. Additionally, the position of a surface convection front was found to differ significantly from that of the surfactant's leading edge for all G > 0. For this reason, surface markers may not be used to measure accurately the position of the droplet's leading edge. Finally, simulations of the Lagrangian flows conducted using the theory of Gaver & Grotberg (1990) compare favourably with these experimental results in the limit of dilute surfactant concentrations, and thus experimental verification of that theory is provided by this work. The results of this study may be useful for understanding the behaviour of the lung's thin-film lining after an aerosol droplet of insoluble exogenous surfactant lands upon its surface.
Permanent magnet utilization criteria in a DC motor

In a dc motor with permanent magnet stator, the mean no-load working point of the magnet material can, after stabilization by stall current, be represented by a point B_{m},H_{m} on a recoil line inside the demagnetization curve. The point results from the application during stall of an effective mean field H a due to armature reaction in addition to the self-demagnetizing field due to circuit reluctance. It is shown that the motor specification and sizes lead to a specific value for H_{m}/H_{a} . The limiting values of this ratio (H m zero or H a zero) imply that the corresponding optimum magnet designs for minimum magnet volume should be based either on maximum recoil energy or on (BH)_{max} . In practice, the best extreme working point during stall should lie between the points for these two criteria, dependent on the actual H_{m}/H_{a} . In some existing motors H_{m}/H_{a} has been found to be between 0.5 and 1.5. For such values of H_{m}/H_{a} , the variation of B m and of B_{m},H_{m} with working point is illustrated for high coercivity ferrite and for two grades of cast alnico alloy. A note on design methods is appended
Improvement of the quasi‐likelihood ratio test in ARMA models: some results for bootstrap methods

Abstract. Quasi‐likelihood ratio tests for autoregressive moving‐average (ARMA) models are examined. The ARMA models are stationary and invertible with white‐noise terms that are not restricted to be normally distributed. The white‐noise terms are instead subject to the weaker assumption that they are independently and identically distributed with an unspecified distribution. Bootstrap methods are used to improve control of the finite sample significance levels. The bootstrap is used in two ways: first, to approximate a Bartlett‐type correction; and second, to estimate the p‐value of the observed test statistic. Some simulation evidence is provided. The bootstrap p‐value test emerges as the best performer in terms of controlling significance levels.
Dynamic TCP performance over optical burst-switched meshed networks

Recently, TCP performance over Optical Burst-Switched Networks (OBSN) has drawn more and more attention, but most of previous work were based on small linear network under static traffic, which was much different from the real condition. In this paper, a more realistic OBSN model was set up and dynamic TCP performance over it was investigated with the help of a ns2-based OBSN simulation platform. The impacts of OBSN configuration parameters and different TCP implementations on the overall throughput were discussed.
Room-temperature excitonic nonlinear-optical effects in semiconductor quantum-well structures

We review the nonlinear-optical effects observed at room temperature in semiconductor quantum-well structures photoexcited near the band gap. A comprehensive discussion of optical transitions in these microstructures is given, including excitonic effects and the specific features of room-temperature exciton resonances. Experimental investigations using continuous-wave, picosecond-, and femtosecond-laser sources are presented. They show extremely efficient nonlinear processes. In the case of excitations that are long compared with the exciton-ionization time, the induced changes in absorption and refraction do not depend on the wavelength or on the duration of excitation. These changes depend only on the density of absorbed photons and are interpreted in terms of electron–hole plasma screening and band filling. In contrast, for ultrashort excitation, nonlinear processes depend critically on the excitation wavelength. The selective generation of excitons is found to produce effects larger than a plasma of the same density. This unexpected result is shown to arise from the low temperature of the exciton gas before it interacts with the lattice and from the decrease of screening that is the reduced dimensionality of quantum-well structures.
Hybrid numerical scheme for time‐evolving wave fields

Many problems in geophysics, acoustics, elasticity theory, cancer treatment, food process control and electrodynamics involve study of wave field synthesis (WFS) in some form or another. In the present work, modelling of wave propagation phenomena is studied as a static problem, using finite element method and treating time as an additional spatial dimension. In particular, WFS problems are analysed using discrete methods. It is shown that a fully finite element‐based scheme is very natural and effective method for the solution of such problems.
Identification of evolutionarily conserved downstream core promoter elements required for the transcriptional regulation of Fushi tarazu target genes

The regulation of transcription initiation is critical for developmental and cellular processes. RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is recruited by the basal transcription machinery to the core promoter where Pol II initiates transcription. The core promoter encompasses the region from -40 to +40 bp relative to the +1 transcription start site (TSS). Core promoters may contain one or more core promoter motifs that confer specific properties to the core promoter, such as the TATA box, initiator (Inr) and motifs that are located downstream of the TSS, namely, motif 10 element (MTE), the downstream core promoter element (DPE) and the Bridge, a bipartite core promoter element. We had previously shown that Caudal, an enhancer-binding homeodomain transcription factor and a key regulator of the Hox gene network, is a DPE-specific activator. Interestingly, pair-rule proteins have been implicated in enhancer-promoter communication at the engrailed locus. Fushi tarazu (Ftz) is an enhancer-binding homeodomain transcription factor encoded by the ftz pair-rule gene. Ftz works in concert with its co-factor, Ftz-F1, to activate transcription. Here, we examined whether Ftz and Ftz-F1 activate transcription with a preference for a specific core promoter motif. Our analysis revealed that similarly to Caudal, Ftz and Ftz-F1 activate the promoter containing a TATA box mutation to significantly higher levels than the promoter containing a DPE mutation, thus demonstrating a preference for the DPE motif. We further discovered that Ftz target genes are enriched for a combination of functional downstream core promoter elements that are conserved among Drosophila species. Thus, the unique combination (Inr, Bridge and DPE) of functional downstream core promoter elements within Ftz target genes highlights the complexity of transcriptional regulation via the core promoter in the transcription of different developmental gene regulatory networks.
Adaptive Expertise in Undergraduate Pharmacy Education

Pharmacy educators are grappling with concerns around curriculum overload and core pharmacist competencies in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex healthcare landscape. Adaptive expertise provides a conceptual framework to guide educators as they design instructional activities that can support students on their journey towards becoming pharmacists who can perform procedural tasks efficiently, as well as creatively handle new and difficult-to-anticipate problems that arise regularly in pharmacy practice. This article explores undergraduate pharmacy education through a cognitive psychology lens and foregrounds three instructional design strategies which support the development of adaptive expertise: (1) cognitive integration, (2) productive failure, and (3) inventing with contrasting cases. These three evidence-based strategies cultivate long-term learning and provide a practical mechanism to combat curriculum overload and backwards-facing assessments. Pharmacy education can encourage the development of procedural and conceptual knowledge and position pharmacy students to excel as they move into more complicated and ambiguous roles in our healthcare system.
Higher Leukocyte Count Is Associated with Lower Presence of Carotid Lipid-Rich Necrotic Core: A Sub-Study in the Plaque at RISK (PARISK) Study

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that inflammation inside the vessel wall has a prominent role in atherosclerosis. In carotid atherosclerosis in particular, vulnerable plaque characteristics are strongly linked to an increased stroke risk. An association between leukocytes and plaque characteristics has not been investigated before and could help with gaining knowledge on the role of inflammation in plaque vulnerability, which could contribute to a new target for intervention. In this study, we investigated the association of the leukocyte count with carotid vulnerable plaque characteristics. Methods: All patients from the Plaque At RISK (PARISK) study whom had complete data on their leukocyte count and CTA- and MRI-based plaque characteristics were included. Univariable logistic regression was used to detect associations of the leukocyte count with the separate plaque characteristics (intra-plaque haemorrhage (IPH), lipid-rich-necrotic core (LRNC), thin or ruptured fibrous cap (TRFC), plaque ulceration and plaque calcifications). Subsequently, other known risk factors for stroke were included as covariates in a multivariable logistic regression model. Results: 161 patients were eligible for inclusion in this study. Forty-six (28.6%) of these patients were female with a mean age of 70 [IQR 64–74]. An association was found between a higher leukocyte count and lower prevalence of LRNC (OR 0.818 (95% CI 0.687–0.975)) while adjusting for covariates. No associations were found between the leucocyte count and the presence of IPH, TRFC, plaque ulceration or calcifications. Conclusions: The leukocyte count is inversely associated with the presence of LRNC in the atherosclerotic carotid plaque in patients with a recently symptomatic carotid stenosis. The exact role of leukocytes and inflammation in plaque vulnerability deserves further attention.
Young Adults’ Perception of Forests Using Landscape-Image-Sketching Technique: A Case Study of Changsha, Central China

The forest-landscape image is the bridge for communication between human beings and the forest. The aim of this paper is to construct the landscape-image conceptual model from the personal perception of the forest, with what people are looking at and how they are viewing themselves as a part of the forest. This research constructed a forest-landscape image by young adults by utilizing the landscape-image-sketching technique and selecting 140 young adults who had lived in Changsha, Central China for ten years, using convenience sampling, during April and May 2018. The results demonstrated that the forest was considered as the people’s life world, as rural scenery around the respondents’ homes, instead of the perception of the objective forest, an important habitat for animals and a limited resource supplier for human living. In fact, the natural values of the forest, such as the ecological and aesthetic values, received more attention than the social ones of the forest, including the life, production, and cultural values. Finally, it is important to raise the public’s awareness of the objective entity of the forest and to guide the variety of experiences for the respondents in the forest.
Relationship between presence of spontaneous echo contrast and platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio in patients with mitral stenosis

Left atrial spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) is an existence of smoke‐like echoes with a typical swirling motion of blood in left atrial cavity or appendage, and it is known to be a marker of prothrombotic state. Previous studies have revealed that there is an association between prothrombotic state and the platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (PLR). Thus, we aimed to investigate the association between the presence of SEC and PLR in patients with mitral stenosis (MS).
LEVEL OF RISK SELECTED BY INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS WHEN DECIDING FOR SELF AND FOR OTHERS1

The present study extends the tradition of research on individual vs. group risk taking to the case in which the decisions have consequences for persons not implicated in the act of decision-making. The decision task consisted of gambles with real monetary payoffs. Ss–157 French female university students–were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) a control group in which decisions were made for oneself on two occasions; (2) decisions made individually, first for oneself and then for another person; (3) individual decisions made for oneself followed by group discussion to consensus, with decisional consequences impinging only upon the decision-making group; (4) individual decisions made for another person followed by group discussion to a consensus affecting another group. Condition 2 yielded conservative shifts; Condition 3 produced risky shifts. Condition 4 shifts were in the risky direction, but of lesser strength than those obtained in Condition 3. Interpretation of the results considered the possible applicability of social responsibility and reciprocity norms to the phenomena under investigation.
Automated defect detection in textured materials using wavelet-domain hidden Markov models

Abstract. An approach that addresses defect detection in textured surfaces based on the wavelet-domain hidden Markov tree (HMT) model is proposed. The proposed scheme includes two successive stages, i.e., training and inspection. During the training process, an HMT for the wavelet transform (WT) of an a priori acquired defect-free template image is modeled using the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. With the trained HMT, a log-likelihood map (LLM) that consists of the likelihood of each coefficient can be efficiently constructed. This LLM provides a good classifier for discriminating defects from regular textures. By comparing the LLM of any defective sample under inspection with that of the template, a thresholding process can typically set the coefficients corresponding to the regular texture background to zero, while preserving those corresponding to defective regions. Therefore, in a reconstructed image obtained by the inverse two-dimensional WT of the modified coefficients, the texture patterns will be significantly eliminated, whereas the defective regions will be distinctly highlighted. The performance of the proposed method has been extensively evaluated by a variety of samples with different defect types, shapes, sizes, and texture backgrounds. Experimental results in comparison with other methods demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method on defect detection in textured surfaces.
Bank Supervision and Managerial Control Systems: The Case of Minority Lending

This paper investigates how bank supervisors’ enforcement decisions and orders (EDOs) influence the allocation of mortgage lending across demographic groups underlying a banks’ borrower base. Specifically, we investigate how banks’ mortgage lending to minority borrowers relative to white borrowers changes following the resolution of severe EDOs. We hypothesize that improvements in management control systems imposed by EDOs serve as channels through which EDOs affect a bank’s borrower base generally, and minority lending specifically. We empirically examine how changes in loan policies and internal governance mechanisms specified in EDOs influence banks’ mortgage lending decisions. We find that relative to white borrowers, mortgage lending to minority borrowers significantly increases following the resolution of EDOs, where this positive effect increases with the strictness of bank supervisors and severity of the EDO. Consistent with management controls serving as channels for this change, there is a more pronounced effect on minority lending when an EDO mandates improvements in lending policies and stronger internal governance over lending decisions.
Reversal of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae epidemiology from blaKPC- to blaVIM-harbouring isolates in a Greek ICU after introduction of ceftazidime/avibactam.

OBJECTIVES Our aim was to determine the epidemiology of bloodstream infections (BSIs) by carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (CP-Kp) after the introduction of ceftazidime/avibactam in January 2018 among ICU patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS All patients hospitalized at the ICU of the University General Hospital of Patras, Greece with CP-Kp BSI during 2015-18 were included. MICs of meropenem, fosfomycin, tigecycline and ceftazidime/avibactam (only for isolates from 2018) were determined by Etest, whereas for colistin, the broth microdilution method was applied. All isolates were tested by PCR for the presence of blaKPC, blaVIM, blaNDM and blaOXA-48 genes. RESULTS Among 170 BSIs due to CP-Kp (2015-18), 132 (78%) were caused by isolates carrying blaKPC (4 ceftazidime/avibactam-resistant), 17 blaVIM (10%), 16 blaNDM (9%) and 5 carrying both blaKPC and blaVIM (3%). From 2015 to 2017 (125 BSIs), KPC-producing strains (110; 88%) predominated, followed by NDM-producing strains (15; 12%), whereas no VIM-producing strain was isolated. Among the 45 BSIs in 2018, 22 (49%) were due to isolates carrying blaKPC (4 ceftazidime/avibactam resistant), followed by 17 (38%) carrying blaVIM, 5 (11%) carrying both blaKPC and blaVIM, and 1 isolate carrying blaNDM (2%). MBLs were more frequent in 2018 compared with 2015-17 (51% versus 12%; P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis found that prior administration of ceftazidime/avibactam (P = 0.014; OR 16.7, 95% CI 1.8-158.6) was independently associated with the development of BSI due to ceftazidime/avibactam-resistant isolates. CONCLUSIONS Widespread ceftazidime/avibactam use may lead to a change in the palette of carbapenemases by replacing KPC with MBL-producing isolates.
Salivary-Based Cell-Free Mitochondrial DNA Level Is an Independent Prognostic Biomarker for Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Changes in the copy numbers of cell-free nuclear DNA (cf-nDNA) and cell-free mitochondrial DNA (cf-mtDNA) have shown promising diagnostic utilities among patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Considering the absence of objective prognostic tools for HNSCC surveillance, this study aimed to assess the utility of saliva-based cf-nDNA and cf-mtDNA in predicting the overall survival of patients with HNSCC. The study included ninety-four patients with a confirmed HNSCC diagnosis with a mean follow-up time of 32.04 months (±19.1). A saliva-based liquid biopsy was collected from each patient. A multiplex quantitative PCR was used to determine the absolute number of cf-nDNA and cf-mtDNA. The Kaplan–Meier estimator and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess overall survival. The absolute copy numbers of cf-nDNA and cf-mtDNA were statistically significantly higher among the deceased patients than among the censored ones (p < 0.05). Individuals with elevated levels of cf-nDNA or cf-mtDNA were associated with a significantly poorer overall survival (p ≤ 0.05). A univariate analysis showed that only the absolute copy number of cf-mtDNA was the sole predictor of overall survival. However, the multivariate analysis showed that all the absolute copy numbers of cf-nDNA, the absolute copy numbers of cf-mtDNA, and the stage of HNSCC were predictors of overall survival. Our study confirms that saliva is a reliable and non-invasive source of data that can be used to predict the overall survival of patients with HNSCC, where cf-mtDNA levels act as the sole predictor.