Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Universal Planning Networks

A key challenge in complex visuomotor control is learning abstract representations that are effective for specifying goals, planning, and generalization. To this end, we introduce universal planning networks (UPN). UPNs embed differentiable planning within a goal-directed policy. This planning computation unrolls a forward model in a latent space and infers an optimal action plan through gradient descent trajectory optimization. The plan-by-gradient-descent process and its underlying representations are learned end-to-end to directly optimize a supervised imitation learning objective. We find that the representations learned are not only effective for goal-directed visual imitation via gradient-based trajectory optimization, but can also provide a metric for specifying goals using images. The learned representations can be leveraged to specify distance-based rewards to reach new target states for model-free reinforcement learning, resulting in substantially more effective learning when solving new tasks described via image-based goals. We were able to achieve successful transfer of visuomotor planning strategies across robots with significantly different morphologies and actuation capabilities.
Utility of natriuretic peptides to assess and manage patients with heart failure receiving angiotensin receptor blocker/neprilysin inhibitor therapy

ABSTRACT Levels of natriuretic peptides (NPs), such as B-type NP (BNP) and the N-terminal fragment of its prohormone (NT-proBNP), are well-established biomarkers for patients with heart failure (HF). Although these biomarkers have consistently demonstrated their value in the diagnosis and prognostication of HF, their ability to help clinicians in making treatment decisions remains debated. Moreover, some new HF drugs can affect concentrations of NPs, such as the prevention of BNP degradation by angiotensin receptor/neprilysin inhibitors (ARNIs), and may present a challenge in the interpretation of levels of BNP. Use of NT-proBNP measurement has been suggested in the context of ARNI therapy because its concentrations are not affected by neprilysin inhibition. As biomarkers are reconsidered in the context of ARNI therapy, cutoff levels and the effects of individual patient characteristics, such as renal function and age, on biomarker concentrations should be reassessed.
Impact of creatinine clearance on outcomes in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation: a subanalysis of the J-RHYTHM Registry

Abstract Aims To clarify the influence of renal function on adverse outcomes in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), a post hoc analysis of the J-RHYTHM Registry was performed. Methods and results A consecutive series of outpatients with atrial fibrillation (AF) were enrolled from 158 institutions and followed for 2 years or until the occurrence of an event. Among 7406 patients with non-valvular AF, 6052 patients (69.8 ± 10.0 years, 71.2% men) with creatinine clearance (CrCl) value at baseline were divided into four groups according to CrCl level (<30, 30–49.9, 50–79.9, and ≥80 mL/min). Patients with CrCl <80 mL/min showed increased incidence of thromboembolism, major haemorrhage, all-cause and cardiovascular death, and composite events as compared with patients with CrCl ≥80 mL/min. After adjustment for multiple confounders, lower CrCl values emerged as independent predictors for thromboembolism [CrCl 30–49.9, hazard ratio (HR) 2.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09–4.72, P = 0.029; and CrCl 50–79.9, HR 1.99, 95% CI 1.07–3.72, P = 0.030] and all-cause death (CrCl <30, HR 6.44, 95% CI 3.03–13.7, P < 0.001; and CrCl 30–49.9, HR 3.14, 95% CI 1.54–6.41, P = 0.002), with CrCl ≥80 mL/min serving as a reference, whereas not for major haemorrhage. Warfarin treatment was associated with lower rates of composite events in patients with lower CrCl values of <80 mL/min. Conclusion Renal impairment was an independent predictor of adverse clinical outcomes except for major haemorrhage in Japanese patients with non-valvular AF. Warfarin was associated with lower rates of composite events in patients with lower CrCl values. Clinical Trial Registration: http://www.umin. ac.jp/ctr/. Unique identifier: UMIN000001569.
Downregulation of CD3ζ in NK Cells from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients Confers a Proinflammatory Phenotype

Cytotoxic function and cytokine profile of NK cells are compromised in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). CD3ζ, an important molecule for NK cell activation, is downregulated in SLE T cells and contributes to their altered function. However, little is known about the role of CD3ζ in SLE NK cells. We studied CD3ζ levels and its contribution to cytotoxic, degranulation, and cytokine production capacity of NK cells from patients with SLE. Furthermore, we studied the human NK cell line, NKL, in which manipulation of CD3ζ levels was achieved using small interfering RNA and NK cells from Rag2 mice deficient in CD3ζ. We found reduced CD3ζ expression in NK cells from SLE patients independent of disease activity. Downregulation of CD3ζ expression in NK cells is mediated, at least in part, by Caspase 3, the activity of which is higher in NK cells from patients with SLE compared with NK cells from healthy donors. CD3ζ levels correlated inversely with natural cytotoxicity and the percentage of cells capable of producing the proinflammatory cytokines IFN-γ and TNF. In contrast, CD3ζ levels showed a direct correlation with levels of Ab-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. Experiments performed in CD3ζ-silenced NKL and CD3ζ-deficient NK cells from Rag2 mice confirmed the dependence of NK cell function on CD3ζ levels. Our results demonstrate a differential role for CD3ζ in natural cytotoxicity and Ab-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. We conclude that downregulated CD3ζ confers a proinflammatory phenotype to SLE NK cells and contributes to their altered function in patients with SLE.
Affine Parameter-Dependent Lyapunov Functions for LPV Systems With Affine Dependence

This paper deals with the certification problem for robust quadratic stability, robust state convergence, and robust quadratic performance of linear systems that exhibit bounded rates of variation in their parameters. We consider both continuous-time (CT) and discrete-time (DT) parameter-varying systems. In this paper, we provide a uniform method for this certification problem in both cases and we show that, contrary to what was claimed previously, the DT case requires a significantly different treatment compared to the existing CT results. In the established uniform approach, quadratic Lyapunov functions, which are affine in the parameter, are used to certify robust stability, robust convergence rates, and robust performance in terms of linear matrix inequality feasibility tests. To exemplify the procedure, we solve the certification problem for $\mathscr {L}_2$ -gain performance both in the CT and the DT cases. A numerical example is given to show that the proposed approach is less conservative than a method with slack variables.
Adolescent Sexual Behavior and Emergency Department Use.

OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to determine whether adolescents in emergency departments (EDs) who report engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors are less likely to identify a primary care provider (PCP) and more likely to access the ED than their sexually inexperienced peers. METHODS This was a secondary analysis of adolescents presenting to a pediatric ED with non-sexually transmitted infection (STI)-related complaints who completed surveys to assess sexual behavior risk and health care access. We measured differences in self-reported PCP identification, preferential use of the ED, and number of ED visits over a 12-month period by sexual experience. Secondary outcomes included clinician documented sexual histories and STI testing. RESULTS Of 758 patients meeting inclusion criteria, 341 (44.9%) were sexually experienced, and of those, 129 (37.8%) reported engaging in high-risk behavior. Participants disclosing high-risk behavior were less likely to identify a PCP (adjusted odds ratio, 0.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.3-0.9), more likely to prefer the ED for acute care issues (adjusted odds ratio, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.0-2.6), and had a higher rate of ED visits (adjusted relative risk, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.0-1.3) compared with sexually inexperienced peers. Among patients disclosing high-risk behavior, 10.9% had clinician-documented sexual histories and 2.6% underwent STI testing. CONCLUSION Adolescents who reported engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors were less likely to identify a PCP, as well as more likely to prefer ED-based care and make more ED visits. However, ED clinicians infrequently obtained sexual histories and performed STI testing in asymptomatic youth, thereby missing opportunities to screen high-risk adolescents who may lack access to preventive care.
FACTORS AFFECTING DEF AND ASR IN THE CONCRETE DAM AT VRANÉ NAD VLTAVOU

Two degradation mechanisms, delayed ettringite formation (DEF) as well as the alkali-silica reaction (ASR), were investigated in the concrete dam at Vrane nad Vltavou, CZE with an aim to: (1) find those aggregates causing the degradation of the concrete; (2) define those parts of the concrete most affected by the degradation; and (3) correlate the water attack with the extent of degradation. The following methods were used: measurement of residual expansion of the concrete (following the CSN 72 1179 standard), optical microscopy, petrographic image analysis, and scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM/EDS). Eight different sampling points were selected according to the cracks observed on the concrete's surface. DEF was found to be the most important degradation mechanism in the concrete samples; ASR and calcite-rich rims are regarded as minor. Influence of freezing/thawing degradation is also possible. The highest residual expansion was measured on one concrete sample periodically washed by water (this sample taken from an area one meter above the water level). The same sample shows the highest content of ettringite and microcracks, as well as minor contents of calcite-rich rims and alkali-silica gels. All samples that were taken below the water level as well as samples without any contact with water, showed lower contents of ettringite and microcracks, and very low (or no) contents of alkali-silica gels. The highest degree of degradation by DEF, freezing/thawing and ASR is explained by the following factors: (1) position of sampling points one meter above the water level; and (2) coarse, as well as fine aggregates that are mainly composed of acid volcanic rocks (alkaline rhyolite, tuff and tuffite).
Massive 70 μm quiet clumps I: evidence of embedded low/intermediate-mass star formation activity

Massive clumps, prior to the formation of any visible protostars, are the best candidates to search for the elusive massive starless cores. In this work we investigate the dust and gas properties of massive clumps selected to be 70μ quiet, therefore good starless candidates. Our sample of 18 clumps has masses 300 ≲ M ≲ 3000 M⊙, radius 0.54 ≤ R ≤ 1.00 pc, surface densities Σ ≥ 0.05 g cm−2 and luminosity/mass ratio L/M≤0.3. We show that half of these 70μ quiet clumps embed faint 24μ sources. Comparison with GLIMPSE counterparts shows that 5 clumps embed young stars of intermediate stellar mass up to ≃ 5.5 M⊙. We study the clump dynamics with observations of N2H+ (1−0), HNC (1−0) and HCO+ (1−0) made with the IRAM 30m telescope. Seven clumps have blue-shifted spectra compatible with infall signatures, for which we estimate a mass accretion rate 0.04≲M˙≲2.0×10−3 0.04≲M˙≲2.0×10−3 M⊙ yr−1, comparable with values found in high-mass protostellar regions, and free-fall time of the order of tff ≃ 3 × 105 yr. The only appreciable difference we find between objects with and without embedded 24μ sources is that the infall rate appears to increase from 24μ dark to 24μ bright objects. We conclude that all 70μ quiet objects have similar properties on clump scales, independently of the presence of an embedded protostar. Based on our data we speculate that the majority, if not all of these clumps may already embed faint, low-mass protostellar cores. If these clumps are to form massive stars, this must occur after the formation of these lower mass stars.
The afterglow characteristics and trap level distribution of chromatic rare-earth luminous fiber

The samples of luminous fiber with different colors have been prepared by adding the fiber-forming polymer PET chips as base materials and SrAl2O4: Eu2+, Dy3+ luminescent materials. The phase composition, afterglow decay and thermoluminescent characteristics of the fiber were measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD), with an afterglow tester and a thermoluminescent dosimeter. The results indicated that the existence of the polymer matrix lowered the efficiency of excitation and consumed the energy of emission to some extent. Accordingly, the afterglow brightness of the fiber was less than that of pure strontium aluminate phosphors when excited by the same exciting light. Transparent inorganic pigments had little impact on the afterglow decay laws. When the contrast between the hue of the pigment and the colored light of the fiber was closer, the afterglow brightness of the fiber was higher. When the excitation time was longer, the initial afterglow brightness of the fiber was higher. Increasing the excitation time did not prolong the afterglow life effectively. The transparent inorganic pigments affected the luminescent intensity of the thermoluminescent peak. The E values of white, yellow and green luminescent fiber were lower than that of blue and red luminescent fiber relatively, which basically coincided with the results of the afterglow curves.
Colchicine Improves Survival, Left Ventricular Remodeling, and Chronic Cardiac Function After Acute Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND Several studies have reported that colchicine attenuated the infarct size and inflammation in acute myocardial infarction (MI). However, the sustained benefit of colchicine administration on survival and cardiac function after MI is unknown. It was hypothesized that the short-term treatment with colchicine could improve survival and cardiac function during the recovery phase of MI.Methods and Results:MI was induced in mice by permanent ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Mice were then orally administered colchicine 0.1 mg/kg/day or vehicle from 1 h to day 7 after MI. Colchicine significantly improved survival rate (colchicine, n=48: 89.6% vs. vehicle, n=51: 70.6%, P<0.01), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (5.0±0.2 vs. 5.6±0.2 mm, P<0.05) and ejection fraction (41.5±2.1 vs. 23.8±3.1%, P<0.001), as assessed by echocardiogram compared with vehicle at 4 weeks after MI. Heart failure development as pulmonary edema assessed by wet/dry lung weight ratio (5.0±0.1 vs. 5.5±0.2, P<0.01) and B-type natriuretic peptide expression in the heart was attenuated in the colchicine group at 4 weeks after MI. Histological and gene expression analysis revealed colchicine significantly inhibited the infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages, and attenuated the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and NLRP3 inflammasome components in the infarcted myocardium at 24 h after MI. CONCLUSIONS Short-term treatment with colchicine successfully attenuated pro-inflammatory cytokines and NLRP3 inflammasome, and improved cardiac function, heart failure, and survival after MI.
Interim Report of a Prospective Trial on the Clinical Efficiency of a New Full-thickness Endoscopic Plication Device for Patients With GERD: Impact of Changed Suture Material

Background: The aim of the present trial is to investigate the clinical efficiency of the GERDx device for patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Materials and Methods: Prospective study evaluating Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index, symptoms scores, as well as esophageal manometry and impedance-pH-monitoring data at baseline and 3 months after endoscopic full-thickness plication with the GERDx device. Results: In total, 28 patients underwent the procedure so far. Mean Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index scores, DeMeester scores, and general and reflux-specific scores improved (P<0.01). Three of 6 patients, who were treated with converted sutures, experienced postoperative complications. Conclusions: Endoscopic plication using the GERDx device may be effective in improving quality of life and GERD symptoms. Suture length between pledgets and suture material may have an impact on procedure outcomes.
High-fidelity simulation is superior to case-based discussion in teaching the management of shock

Background: Case-based discussion (CBD) is an established method for active learning in medical education. High-fidelity simulation has emerged as an important new educational technology. There is limited data from direct comparisons of these modalities. Aims: The primary purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of high-fidelity medical simulation with CBD in an undergraduate medical curriculum for shock. Methods: The subjects were 85 third-year medical students in their required surgery rotation. Scheduling circumstances created two equal groups. One group managed a case of septic shock in simulation and discussed a case of cardiogenic shock, the other group discussed septic shock and experienced cardiogenic shock through simulation. Student comprehension of the assessment and management of shock was then evaluated by oral examination (OE). Results: Examination scores were superior in all comparisons for the type of shock experienced through simulation. This was true regardless of the shock type. Scores associated with patient evaluation and invasive monitoring, however, showed no difference between groups or in crossover comparison. Conclusions: In this study, students demonstrated better understanding of shock following simulation than after CBD. The secondary finding was the effectiveness of an OE with just-in-time deployment in curriculum assessment.
Paleoparasitological Studies on Mummies of the Joseon Dynasty, Korea

Paleoparasitology is the application of conventional or molecular investigative techniques to archeological samples in order to reveal parasitic infection patterns among past populations. Although pioneering studies already have reported key paleoparasitological findings around the world, the same sorts of studies had not, until very recently, been conducted in sufficient numbers in Korea. Mummified remains of individuals dating to the Korean Joseon Dynasty actually have proved very meaningful to concerned researchers, owing particularly to their superb preservation status, which makes them ideal subjects for paleoparasitological studies. Over the past several years, our study series on Korean mummies has yielded very pertinent data on parasitic infection patterns prevailing among certain Joseon Dynasty populations. In this short review, we summarized the findings and achievements of our recent paleoparasitological examinations of Joseon mummies and discussed about the prospects for future research in this vein.
A software tool for network topology analysis under a metabolic engineering perspective

In this work, we present a software application that runs as a plugin over the OptFlux Metabolic Engineering platform allowing the topological analysis of metabolic networks. The major aim of this tool is to allow the interconnection between phenotype simulation tasks (using algorithms such as Flux Balance Analysis) and topological analysis of the same networks. The provided methods include node degree and degree distributions, shortest path analysis, clustering coefficients and several node rankers (betweenness and closeness centrality, hubs and authorities, etc). Also, it allows the creation of sub-networks through several filters, including some based on the results of phenotype simulation.
Liver Fat Content in People with Pituitary Diseases: Influence of Serum IGF1 Levels

Abstract Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is commonly associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. NAFLD is also seen in patients with endocrinopathies. However, the relationship between endocrine diseases and the development of NAFLD is not well known. In this study, we set out to determine whether liver fat content (LFC) was associated with IGF1 levels in people with pituitary diseases (PD). Eighty-nine patients with pituitary diseases and 74 healthy controls were included in this study. LFC was measured using MRI. Hepatic steatosis was defined as LFC>5.5%. Patients with PD were older, and had a higher BMI than healthy controls. LFC was significantly higher in people with PD than in controls (6.5% vs. 3.2%; p<0.001). LFC was negatively associated with the IGF1 level. The prevalence of steatosis was higher in PD patients than in controls (36.3% vs. 14.8%; p=0.002). In multivariate analysis, which included patients and controls, the predictive variables for steatosis were age, BMI and IGF1 levels, whereas the presence of pituitary diseases and gender were not associated with steatosis. Our data showed that LFC was strongly associated with IGF1 levels. These results suggest that steatosis associated with PD is probably a consequence of a low IGF1 level in these patients.
Graph2Seq: Graph to Sequence Learning with Attention-based Neural Networks

The celebrated Sequence to Sequence learning (Seq2Seq) technique and its numerous variants achieve excellent performance on many tasks. However, many machine learning tasks have inputs naturally represented as graphs; existing Seq2Seq models face a significant challenge in achieving accurate conversion from graph form to the appropriate sequence. To address this challenge, we introduce a novel general end-to-end graph-to-sequence neural encoder-decoder model that maps an input graph to a sequence of vectors and uses an attention-based LSTM method to decode the target sequence from these vectors. Our method first generates the node and graph embeddings using an improved graph-based neural network with a novel aggregation strategy to incorporate edge direction information in the node embeddings. We further introduce an attention mechanism that aligns node embeddings and the decoding sequence to better cope with large graphs. Experimental results on bAbI, Shortest Path, and Natural Language Generation tasks demonstrate that our model achieves state-of-the-art performance and significantly outperforms existing graph neural networks, Seq2Seq, and Tree2Seq models; using the proposed bi-directional node embedding aggregation strategy, the model can converge rapidly to the optimal performance.
Micro/Nano Structural Tantalum Coating for Enhanced Osteogenic Differentiation of Human Bone Marrow Stem Cells

Recently, tantalum has been attracting much attention for its anticorrosion resistance and biocompatibility, and it has been widely used in surface modification for implant applications. To improve its osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow stem cells (hBMSCs), a micro/nano structure has been fabricated on the tantalum coating surface through the combination of anodic oxidation and plasma spraying method. The morphology, composition, and microstructure of the modified coating were comprehensively studied by employing scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) as well as transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effects of hierarchical structures as well as micro-porous structure of tantalum coating on the behavior for human bone marrow stem cells (hBMSCs) were evaluated and compared at both cellular and molecular levels in vitro. The experimental results show that a hierarchical micro/nano structure with Ta2O5 nanotubes spread onto a micro-scale tantalum coating has been fabricated successfully, which is confirmed to promote cell adhesion and spreading. Besides, the hierarchical micro/nano tantalum coating can provide 1.5~2.1 times improvement in gene expression, compared with the micro-porous tantalum coating. It demonstrates that it can effectively enhance the proliferation and differentiation of hBMSCs in vitro.