Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Monte Carlo Simulations of the GE Signa PET/MR for Different Radioisotopes

NEMA characterization of PET systems is generally based on 18F because it is the most relevant radioisotope for the clinical use of PET. 18F has a half-life of 109.7 min and decays into stable 18O via β+ emission with a probability of over 96% and a maximum positron energy of 0.633 MeV. Other commercially available PET radioisotopes, such as 82Rb and 68Ga have more complex decay schemes with a variety of prompt gammas, which can directly fall into the energy window and induce false coincidence detections by the PET scanner. Methods Aim of this work was three-fold: (A) Develop a GATE model of the GE Signa PET/MR to perform realistic and relevant Monte Carlo simulations (B) Validate this model with published sensitivity and Noise Equivalent Count Rate (NECR) data for 18F and 68Ga (C) Use the validated GATE-model to predict the system performance for other PET isotopes including 11C, 15O, 13N, 82Rb, and 68Ga and to evaluate the effect of a 3T magnetic field on the positron range. Results Simulated sensitivity and NECR tests performed with the GATE-model for different radioisotopes were in line with literature values. Simulated sensitivities for 18F and 68Ga were 21.2 and 19.0/kBq, respectively, for the center position and 21.1 and 19.0 cps/kBq, respectively, for the 10 cm off-center position compared to the corresponding measured values of 21.8 and 20.0 cps/kBq for the center position and 21.1 and 19.6 cps/kBq for the 10 cm off-center position. In terms of NECR, the simulated peak NECR was 216.8 kcps at 17.40 kBq/ml for 18F and 207.1 kcps at 20.10 kBq/ml for 68Ga compared to the measured peak NECR of 216.8 kcps at 18.60 kBq/ml and 205.6 kcps at 20.40 kBq/ml for18F and 68Ga, respectively. For 11C, 13N, and 15O, results confirmed a peak NECR similar to 18F with the effective activity concentration scaled by the inverse of the positron fraction. For 82Rb, and 68Ga, the peak NECR was lower than for 18F while the corresponding activity concentrations were higher. For the higher energy positron emitters, the positron range was confirmed to be tissue-dependent with a reduction of the positron range by a factor of 3 to 4 in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field and an increased positron range along the direction of the magnetic field. Conclusion Monte-Carlo simulations were used to predict sensitivity and NECR performance of GE Signa PET/MR for 18F, 15O, 13N, 11C, 82Rb, and 68Ga radioisotopes and were in line with literature data. Simulations confirmed that sensitivity and NECR were influenced by the particular decay scheme of each isotope. As expected, the positron range decreased in the direction perpendicular to the 3T magnetic field. However, this will be only partially improving the resolution properties of a clinical PET/MR system due to the limiting spatial resolution of the PET detector.
Rapidly Exacerbating Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia Together With Marked Cytokine Storm Triggered by Pneumonia Infection: A Case Report

Background: Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is caused by hemolysis induced by the reaction of autoantibodies with red blood cells. AIHA is usually classified as either warm antibody or cold antibody-mediated AIHA. In addition, AIHA caused by infection is classified as secondary AIHA. It is well-known that alteration of various cytokine levels is closely associated with a variety of disorders such as infectious diseases. In addition, it is known that IL-10/ IL-12 imbalance is an indicator of Th2-dominat conditions and a progressive marker of AIHA. Case presentation: A 82-year-old Japanese man was brought to the emergency room with pneumonia and heart failure. After admission, we started antibiotics therapy. Next day, he had symptoms of jaundice and his total bilirubin level was elevated. Five days after admission, his inflammation markers were further elevated and he had hemolytic anemia. We finally diagnosed him as severe warm-type AIHA associated with pneumoniae infection. Seven days after admission, his severe leucocytosis was further aggravated, and then he suddenly had cardiac arrest and respiratory failure, and finally died of multiple organ failure. Unfortunately, we failed to rescue him from severe AIHA induced by pneumonia infection. Conclusions: Herein, we report a subject with pneumonia-triggered warm-type AIHA together with marked cytokine storm. IL-18 levels were markedly elevated without elevation of IL-12 levels. In addition, IL-10/IL-12 imbalance was observed. These data suggest that once marked cytokine storm is induced, infection-induced AIHA is exacerbated very rapidly.
Telemedicine and Virtual Reality for Cognitive Rehabilitation: A Roadmap for the COVID-19 Pandemic

The current COVID-19 pandemic presents unprecedented new challenges to public health and medical care delivery. To control viral transmission, social distancing measures have been implemented all over the world, interrupting the access to routine medical care for many individuals with neurological diseases. Cognitive disorders are common in many neurological conditions, e.g., stroke, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, and other types of dementia, Parkinson's disease and parkinsonian syndromes, and multiple sclerosis, and should be addressed by cognitive rehabilitation interventions. To be effective, cognitive rehabilitation programs must be intensive and prolonged over time; however, the current virus containment measures are hampering their implementation. Moreover, the reduced access to cognitive rehabilitation might worsen the relationship between the patient and the healthcare professional. Urgent measures to address issues connected to COVID-19 pandemic are, therefore, needed. Remote communication technologies are increasingly regarded as potential effective options to support health care interventions, including neurorehabilitation and cognitive rehabilitation. Among them, telemedicine, virtual reality, augmented reality, and serious games could be in the forefront of these efforts. We will briefly review current evidence-based recommendations on the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation and offer a perspective on the role of tele- and virtual rehabilitation to achieve adequate cognitive stimulation in the era of social distancing related to COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, we will discuss issues related to their diffusion and propose a roadmap to address them. Methodological and technological improvements might lead to a paradigm shift to promote the delivery of cognitive rehabilitation to people with reduced mobility and in remote regions.
Soybean Endo-1,3-Beta-Glucanase (GmGLU) Interaction With Soybean mosaic virus-Encoded P3 Protein May Contribute to the Intercelluar Movement

Soybean mosaic virus (SMV), a member of the genus Potyvirus, is a prevalent and devastating viral pathogen in soybean-growing regions worldwide. Potyvirus-encoded P3 protein is reported to participate in virus replication, movements, and pathogenesis. This study provides evidence that the soybean (Glycine max) endo-1,3-beta-glucanase protein (designated as GmGLU) interacts with SMV-P3 by using a yeast two-hybrid system to screen a soybean cDNA library. A bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay further confirmed the interaction, which occurred on the cytomembrane in Nicotiana benthamiana cells. Subcellular localization experiment indicated that GmGLU localized in cytomembrane and could co-localized at PD with PD marker. The transient expression of GmGLU promoted the coupling of Turnip mosaic virus replication and cell-to-cell movement in N. benthamiana. Meanwhile, qRT-PCR experiment demonstrated that the expression of GmGLU which involved in callose regulation increased under SMV infection. Under SMV infection, callose deposition at PD was observed obviously by staining with aniline blue, which raise a physical barrier restricting cell-to-cell movement of SMV. When overexpression the GmGLU into the leaves under SMV infection, the callose induced by SMV was degraded. Coexpression the GmGLU and SMV in soybean leaves, callose was not found, whereas a large amount of callose deposition on soybean leaves which were only under SMV infection. The results show that GmGLU can degrade the callose induced by SMV infection and indicate that GmGLU may be an essential host factor involvement in potyvirus infection.
A Simplified CNN Classification Method for MI-EEG via the Electrode Pairs Signals

A brain-computer interface (BCI) based on electroencephalography (EEG) can provide independent information exchange and control channels for the brain and the outside world. However, EEG signals come from multiple electrodes, the data of which can generate multiple features. How to select electrodes and features to improve classification performance has become an urgent problem to be solved. This paper proposes a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) structure with separated temporal and spatial filters, which selects the raw EEG signals of the electrode pairs over the motor cortex region as hybrid samples without any preprocessing or artificial feature extraction operations. In the proposed structure, a 5-layer CNN has been applied to learn EEG features, a 4-layer max pooling has been used to reduce dimensionality, and a fully-connected (FC) layer has been utilized for classification. Dropout and batch normalization are also employed to reduce the risk of overfitting. In the experiment, the 4 s EEG data of 10, 20, 60, and 100 subjects from the Physionet database are used as the data source, and the motor imaginations (MI) tasks are divided into four types: left fist, right fist, both fists, and both feet. The results indicate that the global averaged accuracy on group-level classification can reach 97.28%, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve stands out at 0.997, and the electrode pair with the highest accuracy on 10 subjects dataset is FC3-FC4, with 98.61%. The research results also show that this CNN classification method with minimal (2) electrode can obtain high accuracy, which is an advantage over other methods on the same database. This proposed approach provides a new idea for simplifying the design of BCI systems, and accelerates the process of clinical application.
One-Step Calibration of AFM in Liquid

Nanomechanical measurements of cells and single molecules with atomic force microscopy (AFM) require accurate calibration of two parameters: the spring constant of the cantilever (k) and the inverse of the optical lever sensitivity (InvOLS). The most established calibration approach in liquid involves determining the InvOLS by acquiring force-distance curves on a stiff surface, k is then calculated using the thermal spectrum (PSD) of the cantilever via the equipartition theorem. Recent studies have proposed using cantilevers with calibrated k and then determining the InvOLS from the thermal spectrum. These non-contact approaches improve the precision of nanomechanical measurements compared to conventional contact-based approaches. The Sader method or the recent global calibration initiative (GCI) are accurate approaches and do not require knowledge of the InvOLS to determine k, thus they would allow one-step calibration of AFM in liquid. However, both methods assume high quality factor cantilevers, not the case for most cantilevers in liquid. Here we assess the accuracy and precision of the Sader and GCI methods in liquid on two types of cantilevers with low Q-factor using two different PSD fitting models (SHO and Pirzer). We evaluate the two approaches using only the thermal spectrum in liquid to calibrate both k and the InvOLS. While both methods led to similar results, the GCI approach is less prone to systematic uncertainties and, using the SHO model, provides higher accuracy in k and the InvOLS. Therefore, the proposed SHO, GCI-based approach utilizing only the thermal spectrum in liquid is precise and accurate and allows one-step calibration of AFM.
Risk Factors of Angiographic Recurrence After Endovascular Coil Embolization of Intracranial Saccular Aneurysms: A Retrospective Study Using a Multicenter Database

Background: Endovascular therapy of intracranial aneurysms has a high recurrence rate. This study aimed to evaluate the risk factors of recurrence after endovascular coil embolization of intracranial aneurysms. Methods: From January 2014 to May 2015, 504 patients with 558 intracranial aneurysms who were treated by endovascular therapy were recruited from four high-volume centers. We used multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression to evaluate the risk factors associated with the angiographic recurrence of intracranial saccular aneurysms after endovascular coil embolization. Results: Angiographic follow-up was available for 504 patients (558 aneurysms), with a mean duration of 11.42 months. Of the 558 aneurysms, 57 (10.2%) aneurysms showed recurrence. Aneurysm size (p = 0.028), therapy (non-stent assisted coiling or stent-assisted coiling) (p = 0.008), the Raymond scale (p = 0.040), aneurysm rupture status (p < 0.001), and packing density (p < 0.001) showed significant associations with angiographic follow-up outcome. A low packing density was independently associated with aneurysmal recurrence after multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Endovascular treatment is effective for these lesions. Multiple factors could attribute to the aneurysmal recurrence after endovascular coil embolization. The low packing density is the independent risk factor for aneurysmal recurrence. These findings should be verified by larger multicenter and multi-population studies.
Episodic Atlantic Water Inflow Into the Independence Fjord System (Eastern North Greenland) During the Holocene and Last Glacial Period

Four marine sediment cores from two sites in the Independence Fjord system near the Wandel Sea in eastern North Greenland were analyzed for their dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) and foraminiferal fossil content to gain insight into the water mass properties and evolution of the outer fjord system over the Holocene and Last Glacial Period. While regarded as a climate-sensitive region, the climatic history of the area remains largely unknown and has been documented through the study of two composite marine sediment cores only once before. The results presented here reveal that Atlantic waters entered the Independence Fjord episodically during the studied interval. High concentrations of dinocysts and foraminifers in the upper few centimeters of the cores are in line with oceanographic measurements clearly illustrating that Atlantic-sourced waters make up the lower part of the water column in the area in modern times. Radiocarbon dating of foraminiferal tests and increasing microfossil concentrations and diversity toward the top of the cores suggest that this inflow has been occurring for at least 2,000 years and intensified toward recent times. The core sections below the upper few centimeters are devoid of (Quaternary) dinocysts and calcareous foraminifera with the exception of the lowermost segments of the longer cores. While low foraminiferal test quantities in these lowermost core sections prevent precise age determination, their radiocarbon ages reveal that they were deposited prior to 30,000 years ago, indicating the existence of a pathway for the occasional intrusion of Atlantic-sourced waters into, and thus relatively small local ice caps around, the fjord system prior to the Last Glacial Maximum. The previously documented early Holocene inflow of Atlantic-sourced waters was not detected in our records, likely suggesting a strong topographical and deglacial control on the routing of these water masses during the early Holocene.
Sports Coaches’ Knowledge and Beliefs About the Provision, Reception, and Evaluation of Verbal Feedback

Coach observation studies conducted since the 1970s have sought to determine the quantity and quality of verbal feedback provided by coaches to their athletes. Relatively few studies, however, have sought to determine the knowledge and beliefs of coaches that underpin this provision of feedback. The purpose of the current study was to identify the beliefs and knowledge that elite team sport coaches hold about providing, receiving and evaluating feedback in their training and competition environments. Semi-structured interviews conducted with 8 coaches were inductively analyzed, revealing three broad themes: thinking and learning about feedback, providing feedback, and evaluating feedback. Findings revealed a detailed array of knowledge about feedback across a wide range of sub-topics. Coaches saw feedback as a tool to improve performance, build athlete confidence, help athletes to monitor progress, and as a tool to improve their own performance. Novel insights about evaluating an athlete’s reception of feedback, and tailoring feedback for individual athletes, were provided by coaches. The findings also highlight areas in which future coach education offerings can better support coaches to provide effective feedback.
Perceived Political Economy of Strikes on Selected Communities in Ondo and Ekiti States, South Western Nigeria

Industrial actions are all forms of work dissatisfaction that can manifest in several ways like absenteeism, strike, high labour turnover among others. This has posed a lot of threats to all sectors of the economy and affected Nigeria society socially, economically and politically. Two theoretical postulations were used to investigate the perceived causes and effects of industrial actions in South West Nigeria. Survey research which involved 400 respondents from four randomly selected local governments was employed in the study. Data, which were sourced from both primary and secondary sources, were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. From the findings, the respondents revealed that hike petroleum price (85.3%), poor working conditions (66.3%), labour union interest (72.6%), members’ welfare (64.2%) and failure of management to keep to agreement (73.7%) were some of the factors responsible for industrial actions in Nigeria. Also, the respondents confirmed that undeveloped economy (70.6%), political stability (53.7%), development of entrepreneurial skills (66.3%), improved government administrative efficiency (70.5%), brain drain (80%), and increased poverty (60%) were the perceived outcomes of industrial actions on Nigeria political economy. On the efficacy of strike actions, respondents affirmed that labour union objectives are usually attained during strike (64.2%), and there were increases on wage labour (65.3%). Based on the findings, strike favours the workers, and negatively affects the nation and government in the long run. Thus, it was recommended that, there is need for stable labour-management relations between the government, industries and employees that will enhance a good bargaining environment. Also, there is need to improve on minimum wage policy of the government for the employees so as to improve the welfare of the employees and reduce the incidences of strike actions.
Trade Openness in Malaysia: Evidence from Trade with ASEAN and Australasian Countries

There is a large literature that relates trade openness and economic growth. My literature survey suggests that Malaysia’s WTO accession, active participation in regional trading agreements, trade policy reform in agricultural and manufacturing sectors, government reforms encouraging economic competitiveness and lower trade cost are among the main reasons for explaining Malaysia trade performance and openness. Apart from the role that trade openness has played in Malaysia’s economy, this paper’s gravity model empirical regression results suggest that other factors such as distance, per capita income in Malaysia and its trading partner and exchange rate also explain significantly Malaysian trade performance with its regional counterparts, namely the major ASEAN and Australasian countries.
Towards Convolutional Neural Networks Compression via Global&Progressive Product Quantization

In recent years, we have witnessed the great success of convolutional neural networks in a wide range of visual applications. However, these networks are typically deﬁcient due to the high cost in storage and computation, which prohibits their further extensions to resource-limited applications. In this paper, we introduce Global&Progressive Product Quantization(G&P PQ), an end-to-end product quantization based network compression method, to merge the separate quantization and ﬁnetuning process into a consistent training framework. Compared to existing two-stage methods, we avoid the time-consuming process of choosing layer-wise ﬁnetuning hyperparameters and also make the network capable of learning complex dependencies among layers by quantizing globally and progressively. To validate the effectiveness, we benchmark G&P PQ by applying it to ResNet-like architectures for image classiﬁcation and demonstrate state-of-the-art tradeoff in terms of model size vs. accuracy under extensive compression conﬁgurations compared to previous methods.
THE IMPACT OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT ON CO2 EMISSIONS IN ASEAN COUNTRIES

The aim associated with the present study is to examine the sector-specific foreign direct investment and CO2 emissions. This study employs panel Granger causality tests to investigate the association between sector-specific foreign direct investment and CO2 emissions. Using a sample of 5 ASEAN countries for the period of 1980 to 2018, we find causality running from foreign direct investment in polluting intensive industries (“the dirty sector”) to CO2 emissions per capita. This result is robust to controlling for other factors associated with CO2emissions and using the ratio of CO2emissions to GDP. For other sectors, we find no robust evidence that FDI causes CO2 emissions. These findings are suitable for the regulation making authorities while developing the regulation related to the FDI and carbon emissions. This study provides the guidelines to the upcoming studies who wants to investigate this area in the future and suggested that upcoming studies should add other that FDI factor to investigate the carbon emissions.
Response of Soil Erosion to Land Use Change with Particular Reference to the Last 200 Years (Julian Alps, Western Slovenia)*

Erosion changes in the Upper Soča Valley (Julian Alps, western Slovenia) during the last two centuries are discussed in the article. Erosion was calculated using a model in which land use was one of the principal factors. The empirical Gavrilović equation that has been partly modified by Lazarević was used. Erosion calculations covered five years: 1827, 1896, 1953, 1979 and 1999, enabling us to establish changes in the erosion process due to a change in land use over the last 200 years. The total annual erosion in the study area amounted to 4.76 million m in 1827, and it was approximately the same also in 1999. Within that interval erosion increased, reaching 5.72 million m in 1953, with a presumed maximum during the 1920's. In 1827, specific erosion was 133.4 tons/hectare/year year, in 1999 it was 135.5 tons/hectare/year, and in the meantime, in 1953, it reached 160.3 tons/hectare/year. The study shows that erosion changes may be established also by means of historical sources of land use, if a proper model is employed.
Multi-decadal (1972–2019) Mnemiopsis leidyi (Ctenophora) abundance patterns in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, USA

EMILY SLESINGER1,*, JOSEPH A. LANGAN2,3, BARBARA K. SULLIVAN3, DAVID G. BORKMAN4 AND THEODORE J. SMAYDA3,† department of marine and coastal sciences, rutgers university, new brunswick, nj 08901, usa, department of computer science and statistics, university of rhode island, kingston, ri 02881, usa, graduate school of oceanography, university of rhode island, narragansett, ri 02882, usa and pausacaco plankton, saunderstown, ri 02874, usa