Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical activity can improve cognition in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background/objective Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is mainly characterized by decline of cognitive functions such as memory and learning, which has a high prevalence and poor drug efficacy in treatment regimes. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of exercise on cognitive function in patients diagnosed with AD. Methods The bibliographic databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library and Embase, and Web of Science) and four Chinese databases (Wanfang data, CBM, CNKI, and VIP) were searched to identify RCTs published in any language between January 1, 1960, and January 1, 2018. Only peer-reviewed articles and RCTs were included. The collected data were analyzed by Review Manager (5.3). Results Overall, 869 patients diagnosed with AD were included from 13 RCTs. Patients in the intervention group received pure exercise interventions and a cognitive test. Although there was heterogeneity in intervention methods and cognitive measures among studies, meta-analysis (seven studies) supports positive effects of physical activity on cognitive function of patients with AD (mean difference [MD] =2.53, the 95% CI=0.84 to 4.22, test for overall effect: Z=2.93 [P=0.003]). Eight studies demonstrated that exercise improves cognitive function for individuals with AD. However, the remaining five studies did not display a beneficial effect of exercise on cognitive function in patients with AD. Conclusion This meta-analysis and systematic review indicated that exercise intervention might improve the cognitive function of AD or slow down the decline of cognition; however, this relationship was not always true across studies. RCTs with clear intervention criteria, large samples, and long-term follow-up are needed in the future to demonstrate the benefits of exercise for cognitive function in AD patients.
Identification and Functional Analysis of Two New Mutant BnFAD2 Alleles That Confer Elevated Oleic Acid Content in Rapeseed

Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is a vital oil crop worldwide. High oleic acid content is a desirable quality trait for rapeseed oil, which makes it more beneficial to human health. However, many germplasm resources with high oleic acid content in rapeseed have not been evaluated with regard to their genotypes, making it difficult to select the best strains with this trait for the breeding of high oleic acid rapeseed variety. This work was to explore the gene-regulation mechanism of this trait using a new super-high oleic acid content (∼85%) line N1379T as genetic material. In this study, the sequences of four homologous fatty acid desaturase (BnFAD2) genes were compared between super-high (∼85%, N1379T) and normal (∼63%) oleic acid content lines. Results showed that there were two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in BnFAD2-1 and BnFAD2-2, respectively, which led to the amino acid changes (E106K and G303E) in the corresponding proteins. Functional analysis of both genes in yeast confirmed that these SNPs were loss-of-function mutations, thus limiting the conversion of oleic acid to linoleic acid and resulting in the considerable accumulation of oleic acid. Moreover, two specific cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences (CAPS) markers for the two SNPs were developed to identify genotypes of each line in the F2 and BC1 populations. Furthermore, these two mutant loci of BnFAD2-1 and BnFAD2-2 genes were positively associated with elevated oleic acid levels and had a similar effect with regard to the increase of oleic acid content. Taken together, these two novel SNPs in two different BnFAD2 genes jointly regulated the high oleic acid trait in this special germplasm. The study provided insight into the genetic regulation involved in oleic acid accumulation and highlighted the use of new alleles of BnFAD2-1 and BnFAD2-2 in breeding high oleic acid rapeseed varieties.
Non-Antibiotic Herbal Therapy (BNO 1045) versus Antibiotic Therapy (Fosfomycin Trometamol) for the Treatment of Acute Lower Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infections in Women: A Double-Blind, Parallel-Group, Randomized, Multicentre, Non-Inferiority Phase III Trial

Introduction: This randomized, controlled, Phase III non-inferiority clinical trial aimed to determine whether herbal therapy with Canephron® N (BNO 1045) is non-inferior to fosfomycin trometamol (FT) in treating acute lower uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTIs). Materials and Methods: Women aged 18–70 years with typical symptoms of newly diagnosed acute lower uUTIs were randomized to BNO 1045 (n = 325) or FT (n = 334), with corresponding matched placebo. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients who received additional antibiotics (ABs) to treat uUTIs between Days 1 and 38 ±3. Results: Between Days 1 and 38, 238 (83.5%) patients in the BNO 1045 group and 272 (89.8%) patients in the FT group received no additional ABs. At a 15% non-inferiority margin, BNO 1045 was non-inferior to FT in treating uUTIs (non-AB rate difference: –6.26%; 95% CI –11.99 to –0.53%; 2-sided p = 0.0014). Adverse event rates were similar between groups, with higher rates of gastrointestinal disorders in the FT group and pyelonephritis in the BNO 1045 group. During the trial, no patient died or discontinued due to a treatment-related adverse event. Conclusions: BNO 1045 has the potential to reduce outpatient use of ABs for uUTIs and thus may have a significant impact on antimicrobial stewardship strategies. Trial registration: NCT02639520, EudraCT number 2013-004529-99.
RES-Q: Robust Outlier Detection Algorithm for Fundamental Matrix Estimation

Detection of outliers present in noisy images for an accurate fundamental matrix estimation is an important research topic in the field of 3-D computer vision. Although a lot of research is conducted in this domain, not much study has been done in utilizing the robust statistics for successful outlier detection algorithms. This paper proposes to utilize a reprojection residual error-based technique for outlier detection. Given a noisy stereo image pair obtained from a pair of stereo cameras and a set of initial point correspondences between them, reprojection residual error and 3-sigma principle together with robust statistic-based $Q_{n}$ estimator (RES-Q) is proposed to efficiently detect the outliers and estimate the fundamental matrix with superior accuracy. The proposed RES-Q algorithm demonstrates greater precision and lower reprojection residual error than the state-of-the-art techniques. Moreover, in contrast to the assumption of Gaussian noise or symmetric noise model adopted by most previous approaches, the RES-Q is found to be robust for both symmetric and asymmetric random noise assumptions. The proposed algorithm is experimentally tested on both synthetic and real image data sets, and the experiments show that RES-Q is more effective and efficient than the classical outlier detection algorithms.
Photovoltaic Action With Broadband Photoresponsivity in Germanium-MoS2 Ultrathin Heterojunction

The heterostructures fabricated with a combination of 2-D materials and conventional semiconductors are of great interest owing to their unique optoelectronic properties. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of a germanium (Ge)/MoS<sub>2</sub> heterostructure and observation of a photovoltaic action with broadband photoresponsivity. A thin interface was formed in-between the thermally evaporated Ge and chemical vapor deposited MoS<sub>2</sub> layers, considering the atomically smooth surface of MoS<sub>2</sub>. The current density-voltage (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${J}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>–<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) measurement showed a diode like characteristic and photoresponsivity under light illumination. The Ge/MoS<sub>2</sub> heterojunction showed an open circuit voltage (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\text {oc}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) of 0.185 V and short circuit current density (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${J}_{\text {sc}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) of 0.028 mA/cm<sup>2</sup> under illumination of light (wavelength 350–1100 nm). The transient photoresponse characteristics of the Ge-MoS<sub>2</sub> heterojunction device showed significant photoresponsivity for ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light at different bias voltages. The interfacial charge transfer at the Ge-MoS<sub>2</sub> heterojunction is the critical aspect to create an effective build in field for the broadband photoresponsive device. The demonstrated ultrathin heterojunction of Ge and MoS<sub>2</sub> layers can be significant for developing self-powered broadband photodetectors.
A Network-in-the-Loop Framework to Analyze Cyber and Physical Information Flow in Smart Grids

The ability to capture the relation between cyber and physical information flow in the smart grid is necessary to understand the effect that each one has on the other. As such, the work in this paper presents a network-in-the-loop framework that formalizes the understanding of cyber information flow, the dynamic behavior of physical systems, and captures the interactions between them in smart grid applications. To that end, power system simulation software packages, embedded microcontrollers, and a real communication infrastructure are combined together to provide a cohesive smart grid cyber-physical platform. Within this framework, a data-centric communication middleware, with automatic network discovery, was selected to provide an interoperability layer between multivendor devices, software packages, and bridge different protocols together. The potential of the proposed framework was experimentally verified at the Smart Grid testbed at Florida International University.
Change detection for high resolution image based on pyramid mean shift smoothness and morphology

Change detection techniques for remote sensing images are increasingly applied to many fields, such as disaster monitoring, vegetation coverage analysis and so on. With the increase of image spatial resolution, noises and details increased significantly, compared with the low-resolution image. How to improve the accuracy of change detection for high resolution image has been a critical topic. In this paper, a new method for high resolution image change detection based on pyramid mean shift smoothness and morphology is proposed. Firstly, the difference image is generated by fusing the difference feature and log difference feature based on stationary wavelet transform. Secondly, two-layer pyramid mean shift smoothness algorithm is applied to highlight the objects that may be changed and to eliminate interference regions, meanwhile, to retain the obviously different features. Thirdly, in order to enhance the contrast between the change objects and unchanged regions, the improved frequency-tuned saliency detection strategy is utilized to further enhance the change objects. Lastly, change objects are extracted by the fuzzy local C-means cluster algorithm and the final change map is generated by morphological operation. The method has been tested on four-temporal datasets, meanwhile, compared with other typical methods.
High-Resolution UHF Near-Field Imaging Probe

Imaging probes which work at relatively low microwave frequencies in the ultrahigh frequency band (UHF) facilitate imaging through high loss dielectric materials and yield manageable imaging system complexity. However, acquiring images with resolutions on the order of few millimeters at frequencies within the UHF band requires super-resolution imaging methods and probes. In this paper, a compact near-field imaging probe working in the UHF band is proposed for high-resolution noninvasive imaging applications. The proposed probe is based on an electrically small loop loaded with a miniaturized spiral resonator. The probe is analyzed in this paper using numerical electromagnetic simulations and its equivalent circuit model is consequently developed. A prototype of the proposed probe operating at 426 MHz is fabricated and its spatial resolution as well as sensitivity are experimentally verified. A spatial resolution of around $\lambda $ /140 is demonstrated in simulations and verified experimentally. In order to highlight the utility of the probe for practical applications, images of many test samples including multilayer dielectric composite structures and corroded metallic substrate are acquired using the fabricated prototype. It will be shown that the images obtained using the proposed probe is comparable with those produced using an open-ended rectangular waveguide operating at 24 GHz. The salient features of the proposed probe include its high sensitivity and resolution while operating at relatively low frequency.
Conspiracy Theories: Evolved Functions and Psychological Mechanisms

Belief in conspiracy theories—such as that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were an inside job or that the pharmaceutical industry deliberately spreads diseases—is a widespread and culturally universal phenomenon. Why do so many people around the globe believe conspiracy theories, and why are they so influential? Previous research focused on the proximate mechanisms underlying conspiracy beliefs but ignored the distal, evolutionary origins and functions. We review evidence pertaining to two competing evolutionary hypotheses: (a) conspiracy beliefs are a by-product of a suite of psychological mechanisms (e.g., pattern recognition, agency detection, threat management, alliance detection) that evolved for different reasons, or (b) conspiracy beliefs are part of an evolved psychological mechanism specifically aimed at detecting dangerous coalitions. This latter perspective assumes that conspiracy theories are activated after specific coalition cues, which produce functional counterstrategies to cope with suspected conspiracies. Insights from social, cultural and evolutionary psychology provide tentative support for six propositions that follow from the adaptation hypothesis. We propose that people possess a functionally integrated mental system to detect conspiracies that in all likelihood has been shaped in an ancestral human environment in which hostile coalitions—that is, conspiracies that truly existed—were a frequent cause of misery, death, and reproductive loss.
Virtual Flux Direct Power Control for PWM Rectifiers Based on an Adaptive Sliding Mode Observer

In the traditional virtual flux estimation for a three-phase pulsewidth modulation rectifier, the integration element causes problems for the initial value and dc bias, and the unstable grid voltage induces a nonconstant flux amplitude. To address these issues, an improved direct power control scheme based on an adaptive sliding mode observer is proposed in this work. The observer employs a sigmoid function as switch function to estimate the grid-side source voltage. Meanwhile, an adaptive compensator instead of pure integral element is also designed to dynamically adjust compensation. The stability of this observer is proved by the Lyapunov function; moreover, simulations and experimental results indicate that this new virtual flux observer substantially improves the observation accuracy based on voltage sensorless control. The application of this strategy successfully suppresses the fluctuation of the dynamic voltage response in the dc bus, eliminating high-frequency noise from the grid side, while simultaneously boosting the power quality.
IL-17 and colorectal cancer risk in the Middle East: gene polymorphisms and expression

Background IL-17 expressed by Th17 cells play a crucial role in tissue inflammation by induction of proinflammatory and neutrophil mobilizing cytokines, and IL-17 polymorphisms are associated with colorectal cancer (CRC). Objective We investigated the expression of IL-17 and the association of IL-17 gene polymorphisms with CRC susceptibility in a Middle East population. Materials and methods The study included 117 diagnosed CRC patients and 100 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. IL-17A rs2275913 (G197A) and IL-17F rs763780 (T7488C) single nucleotide polymorphisms, mRNA, and protein levels of IL-17A were assessed. Results We observed significant association between rs2275913 in IL-17A and susceptibility to CRC (p = 0.016228). The AG and AA genotypes conferred 2-fold and 2.8-fold, respectively, higher risk of developing CRC compared with individuals having GG genotype. Stratification of the data based on gender and age revealed very strong association of CRC with IL17A rs2275913 only in males and “AG” genotype in patients ≤57 years of age at the time of disease diagnosis. The rs763780 in IL-17F was not linked with CRCs in our cohort. Furthermore, IL-17A mRNA expression in CRCs was significantly elevated compared to adjacent normal tissues, particularly in early stages of disease (p = 0.0005). Strong immunoreactivity to IL-17A protein was observed in 70% of early stage relative to 30% of late-stage tumors. Conclusion The IL-17A G197A variant may be utilized as a genetic screening marker in assessing CRC risk, and its expression can be used as a biomarker for early detection of CRC in the Saudi population.
Step-Cut Ulnar Shortening Osteotomy for Ulnar Impaction Syndrome

Introduction The step-cut ulnar shortening osteotomy for the treatment of ulnar impaction syndrome is a safe, reliable, and less expensive technique that uses a 7-hole 3.5-mm standard neutralization plate and a lag screw for fixation, thus avoiding the need for the special instrumentation that other ulnar shortening techniques require. Indications & Contraindications Step 1 Preoperative Planning Perform a physical examination and obtain imaging studies to identify all associated abnormalities. Step 2 Wrist Arthroscopy Video 1 Verify the diagnosis of ulnar impaction syndrome and treat concurrent intra-articular abnormalities. Step 3 Incision for the Ulnar Shortening Osteotomy Video 2 Make a longitudinal skin incision along the distal third of the ulna. Step 4 Design the Step-Cut Ulnar Shortening Osteotomy Video 2 Design the step-cut ulnar shortening osteotomy. Step 5 Perform the Step-Cut Ulnar Shortening Osteotomy Video 2 Create the step-cut ulnar shortening osteotomy using an oscillating saw. Step 6 Fixation of the Osteotomy Video 3 Fix the osteotomy with a lag screw and volar plate. Step 7 Wound Closure Meticulously close the wound in layers. Step 8 Postoperative Care Protect the affected arm for the first 6 weeks. Results In our original study, 164 patients with symptomatic ulnar impaction syndrome were treated with a step-cut ulnar shortening osteotomy using a volar 3.5-mm standard neutralization plate and a lag screw14. Pitfalls & Challenges
Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet among School Children and Adolescents Living in Northern Italy and Unhealthy Food Behaviors Associated to Overweight

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the differences in Mediterranean diet and its components among primary and secondary school children and adolescents living in northern Italy, and the associations with the weight status. Adherence was assessed by the KIDMED (Mediterranean Diet Quality Index) questionnaire on 669 subjects (6–16 years) attending five schools of Novara. The adherence was poor in 16.7%, average in 63.7%, and high in 19.6% of the students. Poor adherence was more frequent in primary than in secondary schools (20.7% vs. 13.7%, p < 0.04). Some unhealthy behaviors were more prevalent in younger children. Children of other ethnic origins had a mixed behavior, choosing both traditional healthy and unhealthy foods. Besides male gender and primary school, in Italian children, the risk of overweight was directly associated with eating at fast-food restaurants (OR: 1.890, CI 95% 1.002–3.563), and inversely with consumption of vegetables more than once a day (OR: 0.588, CI 95% 0.349–0.991), and olive oil at home (OR: 0.382, CI 95% 0.176–0.826). In children of other ethnic origins, this risk was associated with skipping breakfast (OR: 16.046, CI 95% 1.933–133.266), or consuming commercial baked good or pastries for breakfast (OR: 10.255, CI 95% 1.052–99.927). The overall KIDMED score correlated with height (β: 0.108; p < 0.005). Poor food quality is replacing the Mediterranean dietary pattern in children and adolescents, in particular among younger children. Because the risk of overweight was associated with different components of the Mediterranean diet depending on ethnic origins, tailored nutritional programs remain a need.
A Procedure for the Extraction of Intrinsic AC Conductivity and Dielectric Constant of N87 Mn–Zn Ferrite Samples Based on Impedance Measurements and Equivalent Electrical Circuit Modeling

The nature of losses in ferrites has not been fully revealed yet. To achieve means for further investigation of ferrite core loss due to electric (E) field, we investigated the response of middle and side legs, cut from commercially available PQ core halves, to an applied E-field, by injecting a sine wave current in the samples. Using conventional laboratory instruments, we did impedance measurements in a wide frequency range (133 Hz–50 MHz) at temperatures that are typical for power electronics (25, 85, 100, and 120 °C). In this paper, we discuss a procedure for the extraction of intrinsic ac conductivity and dielectric constant of ferrites through an equivalent electrical circuit model based on the measured impedances. The examined material is of grade N87. The measurements show a clear influence of the investigated shapes. The results obtained start to deviate from “true” electrical properties at about 1 MHz. It appeared also that the inspected ferrites exhibit different conductivities and dielectric constants depending on the core of origin. It is obvious then that core shape, size, and production batch all have an impact on the core losses, which appear to be influenced by the E-field even at frequencies below 1 MHz.