Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thermal, electro-magnetic and thermoelectric investigation of CoNb1−xTixSn (x  =  0, 0.75, 0.5, 1) half-Heusler alloy

In this work, structural, thermal, electro-magnetic and thermoelectric attributes of CoNb1−xTixSn (x = 0, 0.75, 0.5, 0.25, 0) alloys have been investigated using density functional theory (DFT). The structural reforms, brought to CoNbSn, portray the increase in its rigidity when increasing the Ti content substituted at the Nb site. They also remodel the character of the alloy from semiconducting paramagnetic to half-metallic ferromagnetic nature. By investigating elastic properties that are interlinked with structural optimizations and enthalpy of formation, studied alloys displayed stable structure. Thermoelectric properties such as Seebeck coefficient (S), electrical conductivity (σ/τ) and power factor (S2 σ/τ), are calculated based on the Boltzmann transport theory. Results revealed that for x = 0.75 in CoNb1−xTixSn, a temperature dependent switch from n-type to p-type is observed. According to the results obtained, CoNb1−xTixSn alloys could have potential thermoelectric applications.
Less invasive surfactant administration (LISA): chances and limitations

Non-invasive ventilation and especially the application of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has become standard for the treatment of premature infants with respiratory problems. However, CPAP failure may occur due to respiratory distress syndrome, that is, surfactant deficiency. Less invasive surfactant administration (LISA) aims to provide an adequate dose of surfactant while the infant is breathing spontaneously, thus avoiding positive pressure ventilation support. Using a thin catheter for surfactant application allows infants to maintain function of the glottis and continue spontaneous breathing, whereas the INtubate-SURfactant-Extubate (INSURE) procedure is connected with sedation/analgesia, regular intubation and a (brief) period of positive pressure ventilation. Individual studies and meta-analyses summarised in this review point in the direction that LISA is more effective than standard treatment or INSURE both in terms of short-term (avoidance of mechanical ventilation) and long-term (intracerebral haemorrhage and bronchopulmonary dysplasia) outcomes. Open questions include exact treatment thresholds for different gestational ages, the usefulness of devices/catheters that have recently been purpose-built for the LISA technique and especially the question of analgesia/sedation during the procedure. The current technology still demands laryngoscopy with all its unpleasant effects for infants. Therefore, studies with pharyngeal surfactant deposition immediately after delivery, the use of laryngeal airways for surfactant administration and attempts to nebulise surfactant are under way. Finally, LISA is not simply an isolated technical procedure for surfactant delivery but rather part of a comprehensive non-invasive approach supporting the concept of a gentle transition to the extrauterine world enabling preterm infants to benefit from the advantages of spontaneous breathing.
Effect of peer tutoring in reading for boys in French immersion

Inspired by concern for the low motivation for reading in French of boys in French immersion programs, a study was undertaken in an elementary school in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the form of a reading intervention program. The program consisted of a peer tutoring reading group for French immersion males where the tutors were Grade 7 boys and the tutees were Grade 5 boys. The program was based on the Peer Tutoring Literacy ProgramTM for French Immersion Schools, which was used successfully in Elementary schools in Vancouver. Students met with their partners every week and read together French texts that were especially selected for boys. In addition to increasing motivation for reading, a number of other outcomes were examined: Whether the program would encourage more home reading in French, whether the program would increase the confidence of the tutees, the effect of the gender of the tutors and any effects that the tutoring program had on the Grade 7 tutors. Data were collected in the form of questionnaires (pre-and post-program), and interviews. The results suggest that, overall, motivation for reading in French and confidence in French reading abilities of the tutees increased but that the role of gender was not as significant as anticipated. Effects on the Grade 7 tutors were minimal.
Strategies to Prevent Peritonitis after Procedures: Our Opinions

Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) patients are at increased risk of peritonitis following elective colonoscopy and other potentially invasive dental or gynecological procedures. The increased risk of iatrogenic peritonitis is attributed to procedure-related factors such as instrumentation, biopsies, tissue injury, and peri-procedural bacterial contamination. Also contributory are patient-related factors such as the effect of the immunocompromised status of end-stage renal disease and the presence of intraperitoneal dialysate on the disruption of natural host defense mechanisms. We propose the use of standard peri-procedure protocols, including procedure-specific prophylactic antibiotics, and discuss the enhanced defense rationale for a dry abdomen during and sometimes after procedures. Depending on the procedure and its inherent risk of causing peritonitis, as well as the patient's ability to withhold PD for up to 3 days, we sometimes increase the intensity of PD before the procedure. We conclude that it is imperative that proceduralists and nephrologists be aware of and proactive about how to mitigate postprocedure PD complications.
Metabolomic approach to the exploration of biomarkers associated with disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis

We aimed to investigate metabolites associated with the 28-joint disease activity score based on erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-ESR) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using capillary electrophoresis quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Plasma and urine samples were collected from 32 patients with active RA (DAS28-ESR≥3.2) and 17 with inactive RA (DAS28-ESR<3.2). We found 15 metabolites in plasma and 20 metabolites in urine which showed a significant but weak positive or negative correlation with DAS28-ESR. When metabolites between active and inactive patients were compared, 9 metabolites in plasma and 15 in urine were found to be significantly different. Consequently, we selected 11 metabolites in plasma and urine as biomarker candidates which significantly correlated positively or negatively with DAS28-ESR, and significantly differed between active and inactive patients. When a multiple logistic regression model was built to discriminate active and inactive cohorts, three variables—histidine and guanidoacetic acid from plasma and hypotaurine from urine—generated a high area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve value (AUC = 0.8934). Thus, this metabolomics approach appeared to be useful for investigating biomarkers of RA. Combination of plasma and urine analysis may lead to more precise and reliable understanding of the disease condition. We also considered the pathophysiological significance of the found biomarker candidates.
Mitochondria Permeability Transition versus Necroptosis in Oxalate-Induced AKI.

BACKGROUND Serum oxalate levels suddenly increase with certain dietary exposures or ethylene glycol poisoning and are a well known cause of AKI. Established contributors to oxalate crystal-induced renal necroinflammation include the NACHT, LRR and PYD domains-containing protein-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and mixed lineage kinase domain-like (MLKL) protein-dependent tubule necroptosis. These studies examined the role of a novel form of necrosis triggered by altered mitochondrial function. METHODS To better understand the molecular pathophysiology of oxalate-induced AIK, we conducted in vitro studies in mouse and human kidney cells and in vivo studies in mice, including wild-type mice and knockout mice deficient in peptidylprolyl isomerase F (Ppif) or deficient in both Ppif and Mlkl. RESULTS Crystals of calcium oxalate, monosodium urate, or calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate, as well as silica microparticles, triggered cell necrosis involving PPIF-dependent mitochondrial permeability transition. This process involves crystal phagocytosis, lysosomal cathepsin leakage, and increased release of reactive oxygen species. Mice with acute oxalosis displayed calcium oxalate crystals inside distal tubular epithelial cells associated with mitochondrial changes characteristic of mitochondrial permeability transition. Mice lacking Ppif or Mlkl or given an inhibitor of mitochondrial permeability transition displayed attenuated oxalate-induced AKI. Dual genetic deletion of Ppif and Mlkl or pharmaceutical inhibition of necroptosis was partially redundant, implying interlinked roles of these two pathways of regulated necrosis in acute oxalosis. Similarly, inhibition of mitochondrial permeability transition suppressed crystal-induced cell death in primary human tubular epithelial cells. PPIF and phosphorylated MLKL localized to injured tubules in diagnostic human kidney biopsies of oxalosis-related AKI. CONCLUSIONS Mitochondrial permeability transition-related regulated necrosis and necroptosis both contribute to oxalate-induced AKI, identifying PPIF as a potential molecular target for renoprotective intervention.
Processor clustering for the design of optimal fixed-size systolic arrays

The authors have shown in their previous work that processor-clustering is a key operation in the design of problem-size independent systolic/wavefront arrays. Indeed, the processor clustering techniques (called passive-clustering and active-clustering) can not only be used to reduce the size of an array to a constant, but also to achieve the design objectives such as transforming inefficient arrays into efficient arrays, reducing the dimension of an array, and balancing local memory and external communication of processors in a systematic way, etc. They have shown that such an operation can be completely described in terms of a set of so-called clustering vectors. They derive explicit expressions for all possible clustering vectors. A simple and constructive procedure is given for the computation of these vectors. This makes processor clustering operations constructive and suitable for computer CAD software implementation. Moreover, they show that the concept and procedure described for the processor clustering can be used hierarchically at different levels of a design. This way, fixed-size arrays can be designed in a hierarchical and parameterized, semi-automatic way. <<ETX>>
Housing temperature affects the acute and chronic metabolic adaptations to exercise in mice

Mice are commonly housed at room temperatures below their thermoneutral zone meaning they are exposed to chronic thermal stress. Endurance exercise induces browning and mitochondrial biogenesis in white adipose tissue of rodents, but there are conflicting reports of this phenomenon in humans. We hypothesized that the ambient room temperature at which mice are housed could partially explain these discrepant reports between humans and rodents. We housed mice at room temperature or thermoneutrality and studied their physiological responses to acute and chronic exercise. We found that thermoneutral housing altered running behaviour and glucose homeostasis, and further, that exercise‐induced markers of mitochondrial biogenesis and the browning of white adipose tissue were reduced in mice housed at thermoneutrality.
Microstructural white matter changes preceding white matter hyperintensities in migraine

Objective We used magnetization transfer imaging to assess white matter tissue integrity in migraine, to explore whether white matter microstructure was more diffusely affected beyond visible white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), and to explore whether focal invisible microstructural changes precede visible focal WMHs in migraineurs. Methods We included 137 migraineurs (79 with aura, 58 without aura) and 74 controls from the Cerebral Abnormalities in Migraine, an Epidemiological Risk Analysis (CAMERA) study, a longitudinal population-based study on structural brain lesions in migraine patients, who were scanned at baseline and at a 9-year follow-up. To assess microstructural brain tissue integrity, baseline magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) values were calculated for whole brain white matter. Baseline MTR values were determined for areas of normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) that had progressed into MRI-detectable WMHs at follow-up and compared to MTR values of contralateral NAWM. Results MTR values for whole brain white matter did not differ between migraineurs and controls. In migraineurs, but not in controls, NAWM that later progressed to WMHs at follow-up had lower mean MTR (mean [SD] 0.354 [0.009] vs 0.356 [0.008], p = 0.047) at baseline as compared to contralateral white matter. Conclusions We did not find evidence for widespread microstructural white matter changes in migraineurs compared to controls. However, our findings suggest that a gradual or stepwise process might be responsible for evolution of focal invisible microstructural changes into focal migraine-related visible WMHs.
Optical recognition of motor vehicle license plates

A system for the recognition of car license plates is presented. The aim of the system is to read automatically the Italian license number of a car passing through a tollgate. A CCTV camera and a frame grabber card are used to acquire a rear-view image of the vehicle. The recognition process consists of three main phases. First, a segmentation phase locates the license plate within the image. Then, a procedure based upon feature projection estimates some image parameters needed to normalize the license plate characters. Finally, the character recognizer extracts some feature points and uses template matching operators to get a robust solution under multiple acquisition conditions. A test has been done on more than three thousand real images acquired under different weather and illumination conditions, thus obtaining a recognition rate close to 91%. >
Superhuman AI for multiplayer poker

AI now masters six-player poker Computer programs have shown superiority over humans in two-player games such as chess, Go, and heads-up, no-limit Texas hold'em poker. However, poker games usually include six players—a much trickier challenge for artificial intelligence than the two-player variant. Brown and Sandholm developed a program, dubbed Pluribus, that learned how to play six-player no-limit Texas hold'em by playing against five copies of itself (see the Perspective by Blair and Saffidine). When pitted against five elite professional poker players, or with five copies of Pluribus playing against one professional, the computer performed significantly better than humans over the course of 10,000 hands of poker. Science, this issue p. 885; see also p. 864 An AI dubbed Pluribus performs significantly better than human professionals in six-player no-limit Texas hold’em poker. In recent years there have been great strides in artificial intelligence (AI), with games often serving as challenge problems, benchmarks, and milestones for progress. Poker has served for decades as such a challenge problem. Past successes in such benchmarks, including poker, have been limited to two-player games. However, poker in particular is traditionally played with more than two players. Multiplayer games present fundamental additional issues beyond those in two-player games, and multiplayer poker is a recognized AI milestone. In this paper we present Pluribus, an AI that we show is stronger than top human professionals in six-player no-limit Texas hold’em poker, the most popular form of poker played by humans.
Impaired Central Hemodynamics in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease during Submaximal Exercise.

It is unknown if central hemodynamics are impaired during exercise in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. We hypothesized that at a similar absolute VO2 during exercise COPD patients would have a lower stroke volume and cardiac output compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, we hypothesized that greater static hyperinflation (ratio of inspiratory capacity to total lung capacity (IC/TLC)) and expiratory intrathoracic pressure will be significantly related to the lower cardiac output and stroke volume responses in COPD patients. Clinically stable COPD (n=13; FEV1/FVC: 52±13 %) and controls (n=10) performed constant workload submaximal exercise at an absolute VO2 of ~1.3 L/min. During exercise, inspiratory capacity maneuvers were performed to determine operating lung volumes and cardiac output (via open-circuit acetylene rebreathe technique) and esophageal pressure were measured. At similar absolute VO2 during exercise (p=0.81), COPD had lower cardiac output than controls (COPD: 11.0±1.6 vs. control: 12.2±1.2 L/min, p=0.03) due to a lower stroke volume (COPD: 107±13 vs. control: 119±19 mL, p=0.04). The heart rate response during exercise was not different between groups (p=0.66). FEV1 (% predicted) and IC/TLC were positively related to stroke volume (r=0.68, p=0.01 and r=0.77, p<0.01). Lastly, esophageal pressure-time integral during inspiration was positively related to cardiac output (r=0.56, p=0.047). These data demonstrate that COPD patients have attenuated cardiac output and stroke volume responses during exercise compared to control. Furthermore, these data suggest that the COPD patients with the most severe hyperinflation and more negative inspiratory intrathoracic pressures have the most impaired central hemodynamic responses.
Effectiveness of web-based education in addition to basic life support learning activities: A cluster randomised controlled trial

Background Effective education in basic life support (BLS) may improve the early initiation of high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillation (CPR-AED). Aim To compare the learning outcome in terms of practical skills and knowledge of BLS after participating in learning activities related to BLS, with and without web-based education in cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Methods Laymen (n = 2,623) were cluster randomised to either BLS education or to web-based education in CVD before BLS training. The participants were assessed by a questionnaire for theoretical knowledge and then by a simulated scenario for practical skills. The total score for practical skills in BLS six months after training was the primary outcome. The total score for practical skills directly after training, separate variables and self-assessed knowledge, confidence and willingness, directly and six months after training, were the secondary outcomes. Results BLS with web-based education was more effective than BLS without web-based education and obtained a statistically significant higher total score for practical skills at six months (mean 58.8, SD 5.0 vs mean 58.0, SD 5.0; p = 0.03) and directly after training (mean 59.6, SD 4.8 vs mean 58.7, SD 4.9; p = 0.004). Conclusion A web-based education in CVD in addition to BLS training enhanced the learning outcome with a statistically significant higher total score for performed practical skills in BLS as compared to BLS training alone. However, in terms of the outcomes, the differences were minor, and the clinical relevance of our findings has a limited practical impact.
Secreted-Osteopontin Contributes to Brown Adipogenesis In Vitro via a CD44-Dependent Pathway

Abstract Osteopontin (OPN), a secreted glycoprotein, is involved in various pathophysiological processes including immune response, inflammation, tumor formation, and metabolism. OPN exists in 2 forms, secreted-OPN (sOPN) and intracellular-OPN (iOPN). While they might have different biological activities, it remains largely unknown whether sOPN and iOPN induce the differentiation of brown adipocytes. To test this possibility, 3T3-L1 cells were induced by DMI induction with or without recombinant human OPN (rhOPN, 10, 50, 100, 200 μM), respectively. Meanwhile, another batch of 3T3-L1 cells were infected with Ad-GFP-ap2-OPN and followed by DMI differentiation. Subsequently, the infected cells were treated with either anti-CD44 antibody or immunoglobulin G (Ig G). Accumulation of lipid droplets was visualized by Oil red O staining and protein levels were assayed by western blotting analysis. The results showed that sOPN and not rhOPN, notably increased the accumulation of lipid droplets and the expression of brown adipocyte-related genes. Moreover, neutralization of CD44 partially abrogated the effects induced by sOPN. These data demonstrate that sOPN and not rhOPN has the capacity to induce the differentiation of white preadipocytes into brown adipocytes through a CD44-dependent mechanism. The findings might provide a potential target for sOPN to combat obesity.
Entropy-based rational modulation of the pKa of a synthetic pH-dependent nanoswitch.

The rational regulation of the pKa of an ionisable group in a synthetic device could be achieved by controlling the entropy of the linker connecting the hydrogen bond forming domains. We demonstrate this by designing a set of pH-responsive synthetic DNA-based nanoswitches that share the same hydrogen bond forming domains but differ in the length of the linker. The observed acidic constant (pKa) of these pH-dependent nanoswitches is linearly dependent on the entropic cost associated to loop formation and is gradually shifted to more basic pH values when the length of the linker domain is reduced. Through mathematical modelling and thermodynamic characterization we demonstrate that the modulation of the observed pKa is due to a purely entropic contribution. This approach represents a very versatile strategy to rationally modulate the pKa of synthetic devices in a highly predictable and accurate way.
Seeing the forest in order and the trees in disorder: Environmental orderliness versus disorderliness affects the perceptual processing style

Abstract People attend to the same event or object by using a global or local processing style across different environments. Different physical environmental conditions, such as orderliness and disorderliness, activate different psychological states and produce different kinds of outcomes. However, previous work has rarely examined whether individuals exposed to different orderly or disorderly environments attend to the “global” or the “local” differently. Thus, in the current study, we conducted three behavioral experiments to directly examine the impact of disorder versus order cues on people's types of perceptual and conceptual processing (global vs. local). We asked participants to perform a typical Kimchi–Palmer figures task or a categorization task: with pre‐primed disorderly or orderly physical environmental pictures (Experiment 1), with basic visual pictures (Experiment 2), and imagining a real environment (Experiment 3). The results revealed that in any of the above operations, orderly experience led to global perceptual processing, whereas disorderly experience led to local perceptual processing. This difference in processing style was not influenced by the participants’ daily habits or their preference for the need for structure. However, this difference in perceptual processing style did not spill over to the conceptual processing style. These findings provide direct evidence of the effects of disorderliness versus orderliness on global versus local perceptual and conceptual processing and imply that environmental orderliness or disorderliness may functionally affect cognitive processing (i.e., how we see and think about events and objects). Thus, the findings creatively bridge several lines of research and shed light on a basic cognitive mechanism responsible for perceptions of order/disorder.