Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expectation values from the single-layer quantum approximate optimization algorithm on Ising problems

We report on the energy-expectation-value landscapes produced by the single-layer (p = 1) quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) when being used to solve Ising problems. The landscapes are obtained using an analytical formula that we derive. The formula allows us to predict the landscape for any given Ising problem instance and consequently predict the optimal QAOA parameters for heuristically solving that instance using the single-layer QAOA. We have validated our analytical formula by showing that it accurately reproduces the landscapes published in recent experimental reports. We then applied our methods to address the question: how well is the single-layer QAOA able to solve large benchmark problem instances? We used our analytical formula to calculate the optimal energy-expectation values for benchmark MAX-CUT problems containing up to 7000 vertices and 41 459 edges. We also calculated the optimal energy expectations for general Ising problems with up to 100 000 vertices and 150 000 edges. Our results provide an estimate for how well the single-layer QAOA may work when run on a quantum computer with thousands of qubits. In addition to providing performance estimates when optimal angles are used, we are able to use our analytical results to investigate the difficulties one may encounter when running the QAOA in practice for different classes of Ising instances. We find that depending on the parameters of the Ising Hamiltonian, the expectation-value landscapes can be rather complex, with sharp features that necessitate highly accurate rotation gates in order for the QAOA to be run optimally on quantum hardware. We also present analytical results that explain some of the qualitative landscape features that are observed numerically.
MOCA: A Modular Object-Centric Approach for Interactive Instruction Following

Performing simple household tasks based on language directives is very natural to humans, yet it remains an open challenge for an AI agent. Recently, an `interactive instruction following' task has been proposed to foster research in reasoning over long instruction sequences that requires object interactions in a simulated environment. It involves solving open problems in vision, language and navigation literature at each step. To address this multifaceted problem, we propose a modular architecture that decouples the task into visual perception and action policy, and name it as MOCA, a Modular Object-Centric Approach. We evaluate our method on the ALFRED benchmark and empirically validate that it outperforms prior arts by significant margins in all metrics with good generalization performance (high success rate in unseen environments). Our code is available at https://github.com/gistvision/moca.
Surface Modification of Carbon Nanofiber with High Degree of Graphitization

Mechanical and chemical treatments were found to improve the graphitization extent of graphitized platelet carbon nanofiber, which showed little change in graphitization parameters of X-ray diffraction even after heat treatment at 2800 °C. Such treatments also restored the surface area that was significantly decreased through the formation of loop-shaped ends on the surface of carbon nanofibers by the graphitization. Formation, distortion, and removal of loop-shaped ends corresponded to such morphological and structural changes of the platelet carbon nanofiber. Relaxation of high-energy edges of the hexagon at the graphitization and high reactivity of closed loop ends at the treatments were observed under TEM. This study also supports existence of the primary rodlike structural unit in carbon nanofibers.
Variability of carbonaceous aerosols, ozone and radon at Piton Textor, a mountain site on Réunion island (south-western Indian Ocean)

Black carbon (BC) was monitored during 1997–1999 in the lower troposphere of the southernIndian Ocean at La Reéunion island (21.5°S, 55.5°E). BC concentrations obtained at PitonTextor, an altitude site (2150 m) representative of free troposphere, exhibited diurnal patternsand concentrations different from urban locations on the island, with maximum concentrationsobserved at daytime (~50–150 ng/m3) and minimum levels (~10–70 ng/m3) at night-time. BCdiurnal variation is anti-correlated with diurnal ozone measured semi-continuously in parallelduring 1998–1999, suggesting possible interaction of ozone and precursors (NOx, VOC, etc.)on carbonaceous aerosols, especially at night-time. Daytime BC enhancement may be explainedby dynamical processes, due to updraught of air masses from lower levels to the troposphere,while at night-time, this process is reversed. Daytime ozone depletion is governed by photochemicalprocesses, due to low precursor levels, while night-time ozone recovery is mainly driven bydynamical processes from upper tropospheric layers. Night-time BC and ozone in the lowertroposphere show a marked seasonal pattern too, with minimum levels during austral summer(~15 ng/m3, 22 ppbv), secondary peaks in autumn and spring (~35 ng/m3, 36 ppbv) and maximumvalues during austral winter (~70 ng/m3, 41 ppbv) respectively. Night-time BC and ozoneseasonalities are concordant with night-time radon seasonal trend in the lower troposphere,indicating that sampled air masses have mainly a marine origin in summer, off the Africanbiomass burning season, and a continental origin in austral winter and spring. Winter andspring BC and ozone enhancement corroborate with fire-count maximum peaks observed overAfrica and Madagascar, suggesting that the main cause is combustion products long-rangetransported in stable layers evidenced by thermodynamic analysis using 1996–1999 PTU soundings.These assessments are confirmed by 5-day backtrajectories, which show important seasonalshift in origin of air masses arriving in the lower troposphere of the south-western Indian Ocean.
Budget-feasible Maximum Nash Social Welfare Allocation is Almost Envy-free

The Nash social welfare (NSW) is a well-known social welfare measurement that balances individual utilities and the overall efficiency. In the context of fair allocation of indivisible goods, it has been shown by Caragiannis et al. (EC 2016 and TEAC 2019) that an allocation maximizing the NSW is envy-free up to one good (EF1). In this paper, we are interested in the fairness of the NSW in a budget-feasible allocation problem, in which each item has a cost that will be incurred to the agent it is allocated to, and each agent has a budget constraint on the total cost of items she receives. We show that a budget-feasible allocation that maximizes the NSW achieves a 1/4-approximation of EF1 and the approximation ratio is tight. The approximation ratio improves gracefully when the items have small costs compared with the agents' budgets; it converges to 1/2 when the budget-cost ratio approaches infinity.
Effects of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists and sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors on major adverse cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetes by race, ethnicity, and region

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Abstract Background: The effects of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in type 2 diabetic subgroups defined by race, ethnicity, and region are unestablished. Methods: We searched PubMed and Embase for related randomized controlled trials. We conducted random-effects meta-analysis, stratified by drug class, on MACE in various subgroups defined by 3 factors of interest (ie, race, ethnicity, and region) to estimate pooled hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval. Random-effects meta-regression was conducted to evaluate the differences between 2 drug classes. Results: We included 11 randomized controlled trials for pooled analysis. Compared with placebo, SGLT2is and GLP-1 RAs significantly reduced the risk of MACE (HR ranged from 0.76 to 0.93) in most diabetic subgroups defined by 3 factors of interest. The 2 drug classes did not significantly reduced this risk in the Black race group (HR 0.92, 95% confidence interval 0.70–1.20). The effect of the 2 drug classes on MACE was not significantly different in all diabetic subgroups of interest (P-value for subgroup differences ranged from .101 to .971). Conclusions: SGLT2is and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists can significantly reduce the risk of MACE in most type 2 diabetic subgroups defined by race, ethnicity, and region, whereas they fail to do it in Black individuals.
Electroacupuncture at Zusanli (ST36) Repairs Interstitial Cells of Cajal and Upregulates c-Kit Expression in Rats with SCI-Induced Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction

Background Electroacupuncture (EA) could improve colonic transit activity in rats with neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) caused by spinal cord injury (SCI). The function of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) and c-Kit expression may play essential roles in this process. Material and Methods. Thirty-six Sprague Dawley rats were randomized to the sham group, the SCI group, or the SCI + EA group (bilateral Zusanli, 30 min/day, 14 days). Changes in the ultrastructural morphology of ICCs were observed. The c-Kit expression on different levels was analyzed by immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and RT-qPCR, respectively. Results Abnormal morphology of ICCs and downregulation of the c-Kit expression occurred after SCI. While the number of ICCs was increased, the ultrastructural morphology was improved significantly in EA rats. They also showed better improvement in c-Kit expression at both protein and gene levels. Conclusion Abnormal ICCs in colon tissues and the downregulated expression of c-Kit could be observed after SCI. EA at Zusanli (ST36) could improve the colon function by repairing the morphology and increasing the number of ICCs and upregulating c-Kit expression.
Recent Advances in Oral Nano-Antibiotics for Bacterial Infection Therapy

Abstract Bacterial infections are the main infectious diseases and cause of death worldwide. Antibiotics are used to treat various infections ranging from minor to life-threatening ones. The dominant route to administer antibiotics is through oral delivery and subsequent gastrointestinal tract (GIT) absorption. However, the delivery efficiency is limited by many factors such as low drug solubility and/or permeability, gastrointestinal instability, and low antibacterial activity. Nanotechnology has emerged as a novel and efficient tool for targeting drug delivery, and a number of promising nanotherapeutic strategies have been widely explored to overcome these obstacles. In this review, we explore published studies to provide a comprehensive understanding of the recent progress in the area of orally deliverable nano-antibiotic formulations. The first part of this article discusses the functions and underlying mechanisms by which nanomedicines increase the oral absorption of antibiotics. The second part focuses on the classification of oral nano-antibiotics and summarizes the advantages, disadvantages and applications of nanoformulations including lipid, polymer, nanosuspension, carbon nanotubes and mesoporous silica nanoparticles in oral delivery of antibiotics. Lastly, the challenges and future perspective of oral nano-antibiotics for infection disease therapy are discussed. Overall, nanomedicines designed for oral drug delivery system have demonstrated the potential for the improvement and optimization of currently available antibiotic therapies.
A Hybrid Uniplanar Pedicle Screw System with a New Intermediate Screw for Minimally Invasive Spinal Fixation: A Finite Element Analysis

Purpose A hybrid pedicle screw system for minimally invasive spinal fixation was developed based on the uniplanar pedicle screw construct and a new intermediate screw. Its biomechanical performance was evaluated using finite element (FE) analysis. Methods A T12-L2 FE model was established to simulate the L1 vertebral compression fracture with Magerl classification A1.2. Six fixation models were developed to simulate the posterior pedicle screw fracture fixation, which were divided into two subgroups with different construct configurations: (1) six-monoaxial/uniplanar/polyaxial pedicle screw constructs and (2) four-monoaxial/uniplanar/polyaxial pedicle screw constructs with the new intermediate screw. After model validation, flexion, extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation with 7.5 Nm moments and preloading of 500 N vertical compression were applied to the FE models to compare the biomechanical performances of the six fixation models with maximum von Mises stress, range of motion, and maximum displacement of the vertebra. Results Under four loading scenarios, the maximum von Mises stresses were found to be at the roots of the upper or lower pedicle screws. In the cases of flexion, lateral bending, and axial rotation, the maximum von Mises stress of the uniplanar screw construct lay in between the monoaxial and polyaxial screw constructs in each subgroup. Considering lateral bending, the uniplanar screw construct enabled to lower the maximum von Mises stress than monoaxial and polyaxial pedicle screw constructs in each subgroup. Two subgroups showed comparable results of the maximum von Mises stress on the endplates, range of motion of T12-L1, and maximum displacement of T12 between the corresponding constructs with the new intermediate screw or not. Conclusions The observations shown in this study verified that the hybrid uniplanar pedicle screw system exhibited comparable biomechanical performance as compared with other posterior short-segment constructs. The potential advantage of this new fixation system may provide researchers and clinical practitioners an alternative for minimally invasive spinal fixation with vertebral augmentation.
Topological chiral spin liquids and competing states in triangular lattice 
SU(N)
 Mott insulators

SU($N$) Mott insulators have been proposed and/or realized in solid-state materials and with ultracold atoms on optical lattices. We study the two-dimensional {SU}($N$) antiferromagnets on the triangular lattice. Starting from an SU($N$) Heisenberg model with the fundamental representation on each site in the large-$N$ limit, we perform a self-consistent calculation and find a variety of ground states including the valence cluster states, stripe ordered states with a doubled unit-cell and topological chiral spin liquids. The system favors a cluster or ordered ground state when the number of flavors $N$ is less than 6. It is shown that, increasing the number of flavors enhances quantum fluctuations and eventually transfer the clusterized ground states into a topological chiral spin liquids. This chiral spin liquid ground state has an equivalent for the square lattice SU($N$) magnets. We further identify the corresponding lowest competing states that represent another distinct type of chiral spin liquid states. We conclude with a discussion about the relevant systems and the experimental probes.
Distributed Multi-Agent Meta Learning for Trajectory Design in Wireless Drone Networks

In this paper, the problem of the trajectory design for a group of energy-constrained drones operating in dynamic wireless network environments is studied. In the considered model, a team of drone base stations (DBSs) is dispatched to cooperatively serve clusters of ground users that have dynamic and unpredictable uplink access demands. In this scenario, the DBSs must cooperatively navigate in the considered area to maximize coverage of the dynamic requests of the ground users. This trajectory design problem is posed as an optimization framework whose goal is to find optimal trajectories that maximize the fraction of users served by all DBSs. To find an optimal solution for this non-convex optimization problem under unpredictable environments, a value decomposition based reinforcement learning (VD-RL) solution coupled with a meta-training mechanism is proposed. This algorithm allows the DBSs to dynamically learn their trajectories while generalizing their learning to unseen environments. Analytical results show that, the proposed VD-RL algorithm is guaranteed to converge to a locally optimal solution of the non-convex optimization problem. Simulation results show that, even without meta-training, the proposed VD-RL algorithm can achieve a 53.2% improvement of the service coverage and a 30.6% improvement in terms of the convergence speed, compared to baseline multi-agent algorithms. Meanwhile, the use of the meta-training mechanism improves the convergence speed of the VD-RL algorithm by up to 53.8% when the DBSs must deal with a previously unseen task.
Information geometric approach to mixed state quantum estimation.

Information geometry promotes an investigation of the geometric structure of statistical manifolds, providing a series of elucidations in various areas of scientific knowledge. In the physical sciences, especially in quantum theory, this geometric method has an incredible parallel with the distinguishability of states, an ability of great value for determining the effectiveness in implementing physical processes. This gives us the context for this work. Here we will approach a problem of uniparametric statistical inference from an information-geometric perspective. We will obtain the generalised Bhattacharyya higher-order corrections for the Cram\'{e}r-Rao bound, where the statistics is given by a mixed quantum state. Using an unbiased estimator $T$, canonically conjugated to the Hamiltonian $H$ that generates the dynamics, we find these corrections independent of the specific choice of estimator. This procedure is performed using information-geometric techniques, establishing connections with corrections to the pure states case.
Me-graphane: tailoring the structural and electronic properties of Me-graphene by hydrogenation

Graphene-based materials (GBMs) constitute a large family of materials which has attracted great interest for potential applications. In this work, we apply first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) and fully atomistic reactive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the structural and electronic effects of hydrogenation in Me-graphene, a non-zero bandgap GBM composed of both $sp^2$ and $sp^3$-hybridized carbon. Our DFT results show a substantial tuning of the electronic properties of Me-graphene by hydrogenation, with the bandgap varying from $0.64$ eV to $2.81$ eV in the GGA-PBE approach, passing through metallic ground-states and a narrower bandgap state depending on the hydrogen coverage. The analyses of structural properties and binding energies have shown that hydrogenated Me-graphene presents strong and stable \ce{C-H} bonds, and all of the carbon atoms are in $sp^3$ hybridization resulting in a boat-like favorable conformation for fully-hydrogenated Me-graphene. Our MD simulations have indicated that the hydrogenation of Me-graphene is temperature-dependent, and the covalent adsorption tends to grow by islands. Those simulations also show that the most favorable site, predicted by our DFT calculations, acts as trigger adsorption for the extensive hydrogenation.
Adjuvant Vaginal Use of Sildenafil Citrate in a Hormone Replacement Cycle Improved Live Birth Rates Among 10,069 Women During First Frozen Embryo Transfers

Purpose To investigate the effects of sildenafil citrate (SC) on live birth rates (LBR) during women undergoing their first frozen embryo transfers (FET) with hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Patients and Methods This retrospective cohort study included a total of 10,069 infertile women with adequate endometrial thickness (≥7 mm when progesterone was initiated) in their first FET cycle with hormone replacement therapy. Women received either vaginal SC or no adjuvant during their first transfer cycle depending on patient or physician preference. In the sildenafil group, 1098 women underwent HRT FET with adjuvant vaginal use of SC, and 8971 women were included as controls. The primary outcome measure was LBR, defined as the likelihood of live birth per transfer cycle. Endometrial thickness (EMT), implantation, chemical pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, miscarriage, ongoing pregnancy, birth weight and preterm delivery (PTB) were also recorded. Results Baseline characteristics were comparable between the two groups. In the crude analysis, the unadjusted LBR was significantly higher in the vaginal SC group (scHRT-FET) than in the control group (HRT-FET) (40.3% vs 36.1%). After adjustment for 12 pregnancy-related confounding factors, logistic regression analysis showed that LBR remained signiﬁcantly higher in the scHRT-FET group than in the HRT-FET group (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14–1.49). Furthermore, after adjustment, the ongoing pregnancy rate was signiﬁcantly higher (aOR 1.29, 95% CI 1.13–1.47), and the miscarriage rate was signiﬁcantly lower (aOR 0.58, 95% CI 0.43–0.77), in the scHRT-FET group compared to the HRT-FET group. Adjuvant vaginal use of SC did not increase the endometrial thickness and had no significant effect on birth weight or PTB. Conclusion Adjuvant vaginal use of SC in HRT FET was associated with higher LBR and improved pregnancy outcomes in an infertile population with adequate endometrial thickness. The beneficial effect of SC may be due not to an increase in EMT but instead to improve endometrial blood flow and receptivity, which might merit clinicians’ attention for improving general IVF practices.
Dynamics of mineral elements under a fast-growing eucalyptus plantation in Brazil. Implications for soil sustainability.

Each year the area of fast-growing tree plantations in the world expands by around one million hectares. Concerns are rising regarding their influence on soil fertility and water resources. This thesis, as part of a project developed at the University of Sao Paulo, aims at studying the soil matrix and solution during the first two years of growth of an Eucalyptus Grandis stand to identify the drivers of the chemistry of the soil solution, quantify the water and nutrient fluxes leaving the ecosystem by deep drainage, and prepare reactive transport modeling using the MIN3P model. It is shown that (i) Eucalyptus trees took up large amounts of water starting from six months after planting, so that the water drainage at a depth of 3 m was largely reduced, (ii) almost no nutrient was leached below a depth of 3 m, (iii) part of the fertilizers was taken up by the Eucalyptus trees without appearing in soil solution, (iv) following clear cutting and fertilizing, large amounts of nutrients were released in the upper soil layers and leached down to a depth of 1 m (65-100 kg ha-1 of N-NO3) : acidification occurred in the upper soil layers but in such ferralsols, Al reserve and buffering capacity are still large, (v) S released by the fertilizers increased Ca, Mg and P mobilities, and decreased the H and Al release in soil solution, (vi) large quantities of S released by the fertilizers were adsorbed on the soil constituents, if this sulphate happens to be desorbed, greater soil acidification is to be expected. It is suggested that the amount of N brought by the fertilizers can be reduced without altering the stand productivity.