Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of Risk Assessment and Plackett–Burman Design for Developing Resveratrol Spray-Dried Emulsions: a Quality-by-Design Approach

In this study, the resveratrol spray-dried emulsions were developed using a quality-by-design approach. Further, the product and process factors that affected the quality of the spray-dried emulsions were analyzed and illustrated using an Ishikawa diagram. The product and process risks were prioritized using a risk-ranking system. The low methoxyl pectin (LMP) amount, caprylic/capric glyceride (CCG) amount, homogenization time, homogenization speed, inlet temperature, pump speed, drying airspeed, and de-blocking speed were observed to be the eight highest risk factors. Further, the criticality of these eight factors on the responses was determined using the Plackett–Burman design. Increasing the LMP amount increased the particle size, whereas increasing the CCG amount enhanced the drug-loading capacity and drug dissolution at 5-min intervals (Q5) and decreased the moisture content. Q5 was positively affected by the homogenization speed and pump speed; however, it was negatively affected by the LMP amount. The spraying efficiency was affected by the pump speed and the LMP amount. Further, the risk level of the homogenization time, inlet temperature, drying airspeed, and de-blocking speed were reduced. However, the LMP amount, CCG amount, homogenization speed, and pump speed were observed to remain at high risk and require further investigation. The risk assessment and Plackett–Burman design mitigated the risks and identified the critical factors that affected the quality of the resveratrol spray-dried emulsions and the spray-drying process.
Trevo 2000: Results of a Large Real‐World Registry for Stent Retriever for Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background Recent randomized controlled trials show benefit of thrombectomy for large vessel occlusion in stroke. Real‐world data aid in assessing reproducibility of outcomes outside of clinical trials. The Trevo Retriever Registry is a multicenter, international, prospective study designed to assess outcomes in a large cohort of patients. Methods and Results The Trevo Registry is a prospective database of patients with large vessel occlusion treated with the Trevo device as the first device. The primary end point is revascularization based on modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score and secondary end points include 90‐day modified Rankin Scale, 90‐day mortality, neurological deterioration at 24 hours, and device/procedure related adverse events. Year 2008 patients were enrolled at 76 centers in 12 countries. Median admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale was 16 (interquartile range, 11–20). Occlusion sites were internal carotid artery (17.8%), middle cerebral artery (73.5%), posterior circulation (7.1%), and distal vascular locations (1.6%). A modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction 2b or 3 was achieved in 92.8% (95% CI, 91.6, 93.9) of procedures, with 55.3% (95% CI, 53.1, 57.5) of patients achieving modified Rankin Scale ≤2 at 3 months. Patients meeting revised 2015 American Heart Association criteria for thrombectomy had a 59.7% (95% CI, 56.0; 63.4) modified Rankin Scale 0 to 2 at 3 months, whereas 51.4% treated outside of American Heart Association criteria had modified Rankin Scale 0 to 2. 51.4% (95% CI, 49.6, 55.4). Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage rate was 1.7% (95% CI, 1.2, 2.4). Conclusions The Trevo Retriever Registry represents real‐world data with stent retriever. The registry demonstrates similar reperfusion rates and outcomes in the community compared with rigorous centrally adjudicated clinical trials. Future subgroup analysis of this cohort will assist in identifying areas of future research. Clinical Trial Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT02040259.
Encoding of 3D head direction information in the human brain

Head direction cells are critical for navigation because they convey information about which direction an animal is facing within an environment. To date, most studies on head direction encoding have been conducted on a horizontal two-dimensional (2D) plane, and little is known about how three-dimensional (3D) direction information is encoded in the brain despite humans and other animals living in a 3D world. Here, we investigated head direction encoding in the human brain while participants moved within a virtual 3D “spaceship” environment. Movement was not constrained to planes and instead participants could move along all three axes in volumetric space as if in zero gravity. Using functional MRI multivoxel pattern similarity analysis, we found evidence that the thalamus, particularly the anterior portion, and the subiculum encoded the horizontal component of 3D head direction (azimuth). In contrast, the retrosplenial cortex was significantly more sensitive to the vertical direction (pitch) than to the azimuth. Our results also indicated that vertical direction information in the retrosplenial cortex was significantly correlated with behavioural performance during a direction judgment task. Our findings represent the first evidence showing that the ‘classic’ head direction system that has been identified on a horizontal 2D plane also seems to encode vertical and horizontal heading in 3D space in the human brain.
Dissecting Deep Learning Networks—Visualizing Mutual Information

Deep Learning (DL) networks are recent revolutionary developments in artificial intelligence research. Typical networks are stacked by groups of layers that are further composed of many convolutional kernels or neurons. In network design, many hyper-parameters need to be defined heuristically before training in order to achieve high cross-validation accuracies. However, accuracy evaluation from the output layer alone is not sufficient to specify the roles of the hidden units in associated networks. This results in a significant knowledge gap between DL’s wider applications and its limited theoretical understanding. To narrow the knowledge gap, our study explores visualization techniques to illustrate the mutual information (MI) in DL networks. The MI is a theoretical measurement, reflecting the relationship between two sets of random variables even if their relationship is highly non-linear and hidden in high-dimensional data. Our study aims to understand the roles of DL units in classification performance of the networks. Via a series of experiments using several popular DL networks, it shows that the visualization of MI and its change patterns between the input/output with the hidden layers and basic units can facilitate a better understanding of these DL units’ roles. Our investigation on network convergence suggests a more objective manner to potentially evaluate DL networks. Furthermore, the visualization provides a useful tool to gain insights into the network performance, and thus to potentially facilitate the design of better network architectures by identifying redundancy and less-effective network units.
Study of antinociceptive effect of ketamine in acute and neuropathic pain models in rats.

BACKGROUND Glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are known for their importance in the perseverance of chronic neuropathic pain. Ketamine, an intravenous anesthetic agent, is a non-competitive blocker of NMDA receptors. Applied in anesthetic doses, ketamine has anti-nociceptive effects in various animal pain models. OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to investigate the anti-nociceptive effect of ketamine in acute and neuropathic pain models in rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS To study the anti-nociceptive effect of ketamine on acute pain, 40 Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups (n = 8): control, positive control group and 3 experimental groups treated intraperitoneally (ip.) with 30 mg/kg bw, 40 mg/kg bw and 50 mg/kg bw ketamine, respectively. The anti-nociceptive effect was evaluated in hot plate, analgesy-meter and formalin tests. The model of neuropathic pain was induced by left sciatic nerve ligation. Twenty-four Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups (n = 8): sham-control group, model group and ketamine-treated group subsequently tested in hot plate and analgesy-meter tests. RESULTS In the hot plate test, the rats treated with ketamine presented increased reaction latency at the 120th min and 180th min compared to the controls. In the analgesy-meter test, ketamine produced an antinociceptive effect at the 60th min compared to the controls. In the formalin test, the paw licking time across the early phase of testing was reduced in the rats treated with the 2 higher doses of ketamine. In a neuropathic pain model, ketamine increased the reaction latency at the 120th min and 180th min compared with the model group in the hot plate test. In the analgesy-meter test, in the ketamine-treated animals the paw withdrawal threshold increased at the 60th min compared with the model group. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that ketamine produces peripheral anti-nociceptive effect in an acute pain model. Also, it relieves thermal and mechanical allodynia after 14 days of treatment in a neuropathic pain model.
Staging, Neurocognition and Social Functioning in Bipolar Disorder

Introduction: Bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with significant neurocognitive and functional impairment, which may progress across stages. The ‘latent stage' of BD remains understudied. This cross-sectional study assessed staging, neurocognition and social functioning among BD patients and their healthy siblings. Methods: Four groups were included: euthymic type I BD patients in the early (n = 25) and late (n = 23) stages, their healthy siblings (latent stage; n = 23) and healthy controls (n = 21). All 92 subjects underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological battery of processing speed, verbal learning/memory, visual memory, working memory, verbal fluency, executive cognition, and motor speed. Social functioning was assessed using the FAST scale. Results: Siblings' social functioning was identical to that of controls, and significantly better than both early- (p < 0.005) and late- (p < 0.001) stage patients. Although all patients were strictly euthymic, those at late stages had a significantly worse social functioning than early-stage patients (p < 0.001). Compared to controls, increasingly greater neurocognitive dysfunction was observed across stages of BD (F = 1.59; p = 0.005). Healthy siblings' performance lied between those of controls and patients, with deficits in tasks of processing speed, executive attention, verbal memory/learning, and visual memory. Both early- and late-stage patients had a more severe and widespread dysfunction than siblings, with no significant differences between them. Conclusions: Genetic vulnerability to BD-I seems to be associated with neurocognitive impairments, whereas social dysfunction would be the result of the clinical phenotype. Staging models of BD should take into account these divergent findings in the latent stage.
A Self-Charging Artificial Current Zero DC Circuit Breaker Based on Superconducting Fault Current Limiter

A dc circuit breaker based on the artificial current zero can interrupt a fault current fast and at low cost. However, its working reliability is greatly reduced by a charging device of the commutation capacitor which generates the current zero. Here, a new dc circuit breaker topology that solves the pre-charging problem is proposed. A resistive superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) is used to limit the fault current. Meanwhile, the voltage of the quenched SFCL charges the commutation capacitor. The operation principle of the proposed topology is explained, and simulations are performed to select the proper charging parameters; also, the experiments are carried out to prove the feasibility of the proposed topology. The experimental results show that SFCL voltage can charge the commutation capacitor to the level enough to generate an artificial current zero within a few milliseconds, and then, the dc circuit breaker interrupts the fault current successfully.
Gender Differences in Patient‐Reported Outcomes Among Adults With Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease

Background Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) accounts for approximately one third of deaths in women. Although there is an established relationship between positive patient experiences, health‐related quality of life, and improved health outcomes, little is known about gender differences in patient‐reported outcomes among ASCVD patients. We therefore compared gender differences in patient‐centered outcomes among individuals with ASCVD. Methods and Results Data from the 2006 to 2015 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a nationally representative US sample, were used for this study. Adults ≥18 years with a diagnosis of ASCVD, ascertained by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD‐9) codes and/or self‐reported data, were included. Linear and logistic regression were used to compare self‐reported patient experience, perception of health, and health‐related quality of life by gender. Models adjusted for demographics, socioeconomic status, and comorbidities. There were 21 353 participants included, with >10 000 (47%‐weighted) of the participants being women, representing ≈11 million female adults with ASCVD nationwide. Compared with men, women with ASCVD were more likely to experience poor patient–provider communication (odds ratio 1.25 [95% confidence interval 1.11–1.41]), lower healthcare satisfaction (1.12 [1.02–1.24]), poor perception of health status (1.15 [1.04–1.28]), and lower health‐related quality of life scores. Women with ASCVD also had lower use of aspirin and statins, and greater odds of ≥2 Emergency Department visits/y. Conclusions Women with ASCVD were more likely to report poorer patient experience, lower health‐related quality of life, and poorer perception of their health when compared with men. These findings have important public health implications and require more research towards understanding the gender‐specific differences in healthcare quality, delivery, and ultimately health outcomes among individuals with ASCVD.
An Information-Theoretic Approach to Self-Organisation: Emergence of Complex Interdependencies in Coupled Dynamical Systems

Self-organisation lies at the core of fundamental but still unresolved scientific questions, and holds the promise of de-centralised paradigms crucial for future technological developments. While self-organising processes have been traditionally explained by the tendency of dynamical systems to evolve towards specific configurations, or attractors, we see self-organisation as a consequence of the interdependencies that those attractors induce. Building on this intuition, in this work we develop a theoretical framework for understanding and quantifying self-organisation based on coupled dynamical systems and multivariate information theory. We propose a metric of global structural strength that identifies when self-organisation appears, and a multi-layered decomposition that explains the emergent structure in terms of redundant and synergistic interdependencies. We illustrate our framework on elementary cellular automata, showing how it can detect and characterise the emergence of complex structures.
The crystal-form transition behaviours and morphology changes in a polyamide 6 cyclic dimer

The characteristics of pure α- and β-form of the cyclic dimer (1,8-diazacyclotetradecane-2,9-dione) were systematically and integrally investigated during this study. The results showed that the α-form could dissolve and rapidly transform into the β-form in methanol, and in caprolactam solution at a lower temperature, an interesting transition occurred and formed co-precipitates, which refract colourful light under PLM. However, these dimers can aggregate in water, and they are then transformed into multi-slice layers and compact structures. The detailed transition behaviours between the two forms were further measured by FT-IR, XRD and DSC by varying the temperature from 25°C to 360°C, respectively, which showed that there are two endothermic transitions over the course of the heating programme. At a temperature of approximately 242°C, the β crystals were initially converted into α crystals, and then they melted when the temperature reached over 345°C. A video recorded under a light microscope also showed that the sublimation of the β cyclic dimer occurred after the transition. However, the α-form might sublimate at temperatures lower than 150°C when mixed with volatile matter.
Cambricon-S: Addressing Irregularity in Sparse Neural Networks through A Cooperative Software/Hardware Approach

Neural networks have become the dominant algorithms rapidly as they achieve state-of-the-art performance in a broad range of applications such as image recognition, speech recognition and natural language processing. However, neural networks keep moving towards deeper and larger architectures, posing a great challenge to the huge amount of data and computations. Although sparsity has emerged as an effective solution for reducing the intensity of computation and memory accesses directly, irregularity caused by sparsity (including sparse synapses and neurons) prevents accelerators from completely leveraging the benefits; it also introduces costly indexing module in accelerators. In this paper, we propose a cooperative software/hardware approach to address the irregularity of sparse neural networks efficiently. Initially, we observe the local convergence, namely larger weights tend to gather into small clusters during training. Based on that key observation, we propose a software-based coarse-grained pruning technique to reduce the irregularity of sparse synapses drastically. The coarse-grained pruning technique, together with local quantization, significantly reduces the size of indexes and improves the network compression ratio. We further design a hardware accelerator, Cambricon-S, to address the remaining irregularity of sparse synapses and neurons efficiently. The novel accelerator features a selector module to filter unnecessary synapses and neurons. Compared with a state-of-the-art sparse neural network accelerator, our accelerator is 1.71× and 1.37× better in terms of performance and energy efficiency, respectively.
Discrete Cosine Transform and Pulse Amplitude Modulation for Visible Light Communication with Unequally Powered Multiple Access

This paper investigate implementation of unequal power for downlink multiple access for visible light communication. A straightforward allotment of power in regard to fairness is used to differentiate the user access, while the modulation is performed using discrete cosine transform, pulse amplitude modulation and DC bias. The system performance is examined by the bit error rate on tapered condition of VLC channel. The uneven power allocation had shown distinctive performance, in compare with transmission of equally powered signals.
Comparing and contrasting responses to tobacco control and obesity policies: a qualitative study

Abstract Objective To explore people’s perceptions of, and responses to, obesity and tobacco policies with a particular focus on motivation; and to compare and contrast responses to explore the potential for translating learning across domains. Design A theoretically informed comparative qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with two groups of participants (smokers and ex-smokers; those who have previously or are currently attempting to lose weight). Data were analysed inductively using thematic analysis and interpreted through the lens of Self-Determination Theory. Setting Community-based. Participants Interviews were conducted with five smokers and four ex-smokers around tobacco policy, and seventeen people acting to control their weight around obesity policy. Results Three primary themes were identified. (i) Participants believed social norms to be crucial to supporting health behaviour change and responses to policy; not smoking was perceived as socially normal, whereas being physically active and eating healthily were perceived to go against social norms. (ii) Policies influencing the physical environment were perceived to support stopping smoking (e.g. smoke-free laws, advertising bans), but to undermine attempts to lose or control weight (e.g. high visibility, availability and low cost of energy-dense foods). (iii) While policies for both domains were considered necessary and legitimate, both groups found policy interventions neither motivating nor undermining of their sense of autonomy. Conclusions The results suggest those trying to lose weight respond similarly to obesity-related policy as smokers do to tobacco policy. Environmental interventions are perceived to be more helpful than appealing to people’s motivation to change for their own sake.
Effects of Epithelial IL-13Rα2 Expression in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background: Mucosal IL-13 Receptor alpha 2 (IL13RA2) mRNA expression is one of the best predictive markers for primary non-responsiveness to infliximab therapy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The objective of this study was to understand how IL-13Rα2, a negative regulator of IL-13 signaling, can contribute to IBD pathology. Methods: IL13RA2 knockout (KO) and wild type (WT) mice were exposed to dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in drinking water to induce colitis. Furthermore, mucosal biopsies and resection specimen of healthy individuals and IBD patients before the start of anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy were obtained for immunohistochemistry and gene expression analysis. Results: After induction of DSS colitis, IL13RA2 KO mice had similar disease severity, but recovered more rapidly than WT animals. Goblet cell numbers and mucosal architecture were also more rapidly restored in IL13RA2 KO mice. In mucosal biopsies of active IBD patients, immunohistochemistry revealed that IL-13Rα2 protein was highly expressed in epithelial cells, while expression was restricted to goblet cells in healthy controls. Mucosal IL13RA2 mRNA negatively correlated with mRNA of several goblet cell-specific and barrier genes, and with goblet cell numbers. Conclusions: The data suggest that IL-13Rα2 on epithelial cells contributes to IBD pathology by negatively influencing goblet cell recovery, goblet cell function and epithelial restoration after injury. Therefore, blocking IL-13Rα2 could be a promising target for restoration of the epithelial barrier in IBD.
Observation of Human Trajectory in Response to Haptic Feedback from Mobile Robot

The coupled movement of humans and robots is an integral aspect of human-robot cooperation. However, while extensive research has been conducted on robot movement, research on human movement in collaboration with robot movement is relatively rare. In this study, we performed an experiment to analyze the walking trajectory of a blindfolded participant receiving haptic feedback from a mobile robot. For this experiment, we employed a mobile robot system equipped with a haptic device. In order to observe the effects of haptic feedback on human and robot movements, we generated appropriate haptic feedback that can guide humans to the desired path. The experiment was performed in a laboratory environment equipped with a motion capture system in order to analyze the participant's walking trajectory when the appropriate haptic feedback was provided. We also compared the effects of haptic feedback on the human trajectory at large and small turning angles. The findings of this research indicate that human movement can be controlled though provision of appropriate haptic instruction by mobile robots.