Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Passive Exposure Sparsifies Neural Activity in the Primary Visual Cortex

A notable feature of neural activity is sparseness – namely, that only a small fraction of neurons in a local circuit have high activity at any moment. Not only is sparse neural activity observed experimentally in most areas of the brain, but sparseness has been proposed as an optimization or design principle for neural circuits. Sparseness can increase the energy efficiency of the neural code as well as allow for beneficial computations to be carried out. But how does the brain achieve sparse-ness? Here, we found that when neurons in the primary visual cortex were passively exposed to a set of images over several days, neural responses became more sparse. Sparsification was driven by a decrease in the response of neurons with low or moderate activity, while highly active neurons retained similar responses. We also observed a net decorrelation of neural activity. These changes sculpt neural activity for greater coding efficiency.
Impaired Hand Function and Its Association With Self-Perceived Hand Functional Ability and Quality of Life in Parkinson Disease

Objective Comprehensive hand function in people with Parkinson disease (PD) has been underevaluated. The objectives were to compare self-perceived and objective hand functions of PD and controls, compare outcomes between more and less affected hand subgroups, and evaluate relationship between self-perceived and objective outcomes in subgroups. Design A total of 165 PD and 82 healthy participants completed the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test, Purdue Pegboard Test, grip strength test, and Manual Ability Measure-16 in a cross-sectional study. PD participants completed the Parkinson Disease Questionnaire-39. Associations between objective and self-perceived/quality of life outcomes in PD groups were analyzed, and nondominant and dominant more affected subgroups performance was compared. Results PD participants had significantly worse performance in most Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test and all Purdue Pegboard Test items, lower Manual Ability Measure-16 scores, and poorer handgrip strength. Weak associations were found between dexterity, but not grip strength, and self-perceived functional hand ability and Parkinson Disease Questionnaire-39 scores in PD subgroups. For nondominant more affected subgroup, poorer dexterity was associated with better Parkinson Disease Questionnaire-39 Activity of Daily Living domain scores. Conclusion People with mild to moderate PD were shown to have poorer manual dexterity, reduced grip strength, and lower self-perceived functional hand ability than controls. Associations between dexterity and self-perceived outcomes highlight the importance of unimanual and bimanual training.
Trajectory of rich club properties in structural brain networks

Many organizational principles of structural brain networks are established before birth and undergo considerable developmental changes afterwards. These include the topologically central hub regions and a densely connected rich club. While several studies have mapped developmental trajectories of brain connectivity and brain network organization across childhood and adolescence, comparatively little is known about subsequent development over the course of the lifespan. Here, we present a cross-sectional analysis of structural brain network development in N = 8,066 participants aged 5 to 80 years. Across all brain regions, structural connectivity strength followed an ‘inverted-U’-shaped trajectory with vertex in the early 30s. Connectivity strength of hub regions showed a similar trajectory and the identity of hub regions remained stable across all age groups. While connectivity strength declined with advancing age, the organization of hub regions into a rich club did not only remain intact but became more pronounced, presumingly through a selected sparing of relevant connections from age-related connectivity loss. The stability of rich club organization in the face of overall age-related decline is consistent with a “first come, last served” model of neurodevelopment, where the first principles to develop are the last to decline with age. Rich club organization has been shown to be highly beneficial for communicability and higher cognition. A resilient rich club might thus be protective of a functional loss in late adulthood and represent a neural reserve to sustain cognitive functioning in the aging brain.
Long-period fiber gratings as band-rejection filters

Optical fiber communication systems that use optical amplifiers are increasingly seeking high-performance devices that function as spectrally-selective band-rejection filters. For example, ASE filters that improve erbium amplifier performance and band-rejection filters in Raman lasers/amplifiers1 must have low insertion losses and low back-reflections. In addition, they must be relatively inexpensive to mass-produce and should be compact after packaging. While bulk-optic filters and short-period Bragg gratings2,3 can be used for some of the applications, all the aforementioned requirements are rarely met. In this paper, we present a novel class of photoinduced, long-period fiber gratings that function as highly-efficient band-rejection filters.
Upper-Limb Prosthetic Maintenance Data: A Retrospective Analysis Study

ABSTRACT Introduction Understanding repair patterns of upper-limb (UL) prosthetic devices have received little attention compared with their lower-limb counterparts. This study focuses on a retrospective analysis of anonymized UL prosthetic maintenance data to establish if there were any patterns of repairs at a regional prosthetic limb-fitting center in the United Kingdom. A secondary aim of this study is to describe the patient demographics of this center. Methods Data containing prosthetic repair log and demographic description (n = 212) were acquired through our clinical partners and subjected to statistical analyses. Results On average, each client visited the center 0.2 times/year for a new device and 0.9 times/year for maintenance-related activities. It is found that the repair rates are generally higher for body-powered devices (1.28 visits/device per year) compared with passive (0.94 visits/device per year) and externally powered devices (0.90 visits/device per year). In keeping with the typical UK UL-deficient population, there is a high male-to-female ratio, and higher instances of traumatic amputations were noticed for males at the center. There is a very high preponderance of congenital cases and an overall emphasis on prescribing passive devices to a majority of patients at the center. Conclusions The data from our study are similar to previously published data from other centers and show a consistent pattern in terms of relative rates of maintenance attendances for different types of UL prostheses. Clinical Relevance This study provides a longitudinal perspective and insights on ever-changing requirements (prostheses and related care) of the users at the level of a regional limb-fitting center. This study underscores current gaps in prosthetic device durability/reliability and opens up avenues for improvement of prosthetic services and devices.
Observers for induction motor state and parameter estimation

The Kalman filter in its basic form is a state estimator and can be applied to the problem of estimating induction motor rotor currents in a vector control scheme. This filter is shown to combine information from the plant model with output measurements to produce an optimal estimate of the unmeasured states. Also described is the application of the extended Kalman filter algorithm to the online estimation of rotor resistance in an induction motor drive. Significant savings in computing requirements are obtained with a reduced-order model of the motor, in which measured, rather than computed, values of stator currents are used. >
Bagging in Textiles

Abstract Bagging is a three-dimensional residual deformation, seen in used garments, which causes a deterioration in the appearance of the garment. The places it is seen during wear are elbows, knees, pockets, hips, and heels. The common factor in all of these parts of garments is the force exerted on that area of the fabric from the moving parts of the body. When the fabric covering that part of the body feels this force for a long time and feels it repeatedly, the fabric deforms and starts to take the form the force is trying to give to it. The force coming from the human body is in the transverse direction to the fabric's plane and the deformation which occurs is spatial. This prolonged and repeated deformation causes the fabric to change its shape, and it usually takes a dome shape, like a part of a sphere, so it is a three dimensional complex deformation that is very different from the other kinds of deformation seen in textile materials.
Burr minimization in face milling: an edge bevelling approach

Burr is usually formed and attached to the edges of surfaces during machining operations. It needs to be removed otherwise it can cause problems at the assembly stage ofprecision parts. If the minimization, or elimination, of burrs becomes possible, then time-consuming and costly deburring operations need not be performed. In this work, face milling experiments have been carried out on aluminium blocks to observe the influence of machining conditions and exit edge bevel on exit burr formation. Results obtained in vertical milling in dry conditions are presented and the obtained results are analysed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test to isolate the significance of the observed effects. It is found that exit edge bevel has the most significant effect in the present experiments. A 15° exit edge bevel angle is shown to lead to negligible levels of burr formation.
Prospective randomised trial of bolus vs. continuous regime of jejunostomy feed

Enteral alimentation can be administered continuously, cyclically, intermittently, or by a bolus technique. Current literature does not suggest superiority of any one regime. Most studies have used nasogastric feeds, little is known about the outcome of jejunal feeding. This study compares the efficiency and safety of bolus and continuous jejunostomy feeding. 46 adults undergoing a feeding jejunostomy for nutritional support or as an adjunct to a major upper GI surgery, were randomised to bolus feeding (BF group, n = 24) and continuous feeding (CF group, n = 22). Demographic, anthropometric, and laboratory parameters were measured preoperatively and on post-operative days (POD) 3, 7, 15, and 30. These parameters; as well as nutritional and functional outcomes, and complications at POD 30; were comparable in both groups. Both groups tolerated jejunal feeds well. Bolus feeding is simple, inexpensive, and permits daily physical activities. Hence it may be preferred over continuous jejunostomy feeding for enteral alimentation.
Involvement of MAP3K7 in FMD2 and CSCF, delineation of genotype/phenotype correlations.

Mitogen-Activated Protein 3 Kinase 7 (MAP3K7, MIM 602614) encodes the ubiquitously expressed transforming growth factor β (TGF-β)–activated kinase 1 (TAK1), which plays a crucial role in many cellular processes. Variants in the MAP3K7 gene have been linked to 2 distinct disorders: frontometaphyseal dysplasia type 2 (FMD2, MIM #617137) and cardiospondylocarpofacial syndrome (CSCF, MIM #157800). The fact that different variants can induce 2 distinct phenotypes suggests a phenotype/genotype correlation, but no side-by-side comparison has been done thus far to confirm this. Here we significantly expand the cohort and the description of clinical phenotypes for individuals with CSCF and FMD2 who carry variants in MAP3K7. We show that in contrast to FMD2-causing variants, CSCF-causing variants in MAP3K7 have a loss-of-function effect. Additionally, patients with pathogenic variants in MAP3K7 are at risk for cardiac disease, have symptoms associated with connective tissue disease and we show overlap in clinical phenotypes of CSCF with Noonan syndrome. Together, we provide evidence for a molecular fingerprint of FMD2- versus CSCF-causing MAP3K7 variants and conclude that variants in MAP3K7 should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with syndromic congenital cardiac defects and/or cardiomyopathy, syndromic connective tissue disorders and in the differential diagnosis of Noonan syndrome.
Dynamic response time of a metal foam magneto-rheological damper

Magneto-rheological (MR) dampers are a promising type of semi-active control device for various dynamic systems. Recently, low-cost MR dampers without any sealing structure have been required. Motivated by the desire to overcome the need for the costly dynamic seals of conventional MR dampers, a new type of metal foam MR damper is proposed in this study and the dynamic response performance is also investigated. The metal foam is firmly adhered to a working cylinder to store the unexcited MR fluids. In the action of a magnetic field, MR fluids will be extracted from the metal foam and fill up the shear gap to produce the MR effect. Three time parameters related to response time are introduced to further describe the dynamic response process. The results show that, due to the period required for extracting the MR fluids out from the metal foam, the time to produce the damper force of the metal foam MR damper is longer than for conventional fluid-filled MR dampers. The response time of the metal foam MR damper will change with different currents and shear rates. Given a constant shear rate, in a small range of currents (0–1.5 A), the response time decreases rapidly as the operating current increases; however, there is a slower change rate in larger ranges. To evaluate the effect of shear rate on response time, shear rates ranging from 2 to 10 s−1 are tested, and the results demonstrate that with increasing shear rates the response time decreases.
Colorectal Cancer Detected by Machine Learning Models Using Conventional Laboratory Test Data

Background: Current diagnostic methods for colorectal cancer (CRC) are colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy, which are invasive and complex procedures with possible complications. This study aimed to determine models for CRC identification that involve minimally invasive, affordable, portable, and accurate screening variables. Methods: This was a retrospective study that used data from electronic medical records of patients with CRC and healthy individuals between July 2017 and June 2018. Laboratory data, including liver enzymes, lipid profiles, complete blood counts, and tumor biomarkers, were extracted from the electronic medical records. Five machine learning models (logistic regression, random forest, k-nearest neighbors, support vector machine [SVM], and naïve Bayes) were used to identify CRC. The performances were evaluated using the areas under the curve (AUCs), sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values (PPV), and negative predictive values (NPV). Results: A total of 1164 electronic medical records (CRC patients: 582; healthy controls: 582) were included. The logistic regression model achieved the highest performance in identifying CRC (AUC: 0.865, sensitivity: 89.5%, specificity: 83.5%, PPV: 84.4%, NPV: 88.9%). The first four weighted features in the model were carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), hemoglobin (HGB), lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). A diagnostic model for CRC was established based on the four indicators, with an AUC of 0.849 (0.840-0.860) for identifying all CRC patients, and it performed best in discriminating patients with late colon cancer from healthy individuals with an AUC of 0.905 (0.889-0.929). Conclusions: The logistic regression model based on CEA, HGB, Lp(a), and HDL might be a powerful, noninvasive, and cost-effective method to identify CRC.
A Novel Excavation and Construction Method for an Extra-Long Underwater Tunnel in Soft Soils

The cut-and-cover technique is widely used in the field of tunnel engineering owing to its simple construction technology, high working efficiency, and low cost. However, the safety of the foundation pit and the environmental impact during excavation are of great concern, especially for tunnels that pass through lakes and/or rivers. In this paper, a novel excavation and construction method is presented for the Taihu tunnel, which is the longest lake-crossing tunnel in China. In this method, a cofferdam of double-row steel sheet piles (DSSPs) was designed in order to divide the overlying excavation into several closed zones. During the construction, four zones were regarded as a unit, and different construction steps were carried out simultaneously in each zone. Therefore, an assembly line for the tunnel excavation was established to accelerate the construction speed. The most distinctive advantage of this method is that the excavation did not cut off the normal flow of the lake water and the shipping routes, with low environmental impact. To investigate the tunnel deformation during excavation, a finite element analysis combined with field monitoring data was adopted, indicating that the magnitude of the tunnel deformation was notably less than those reported from other excavation projects. Moreover, the effect of groundwater on the piles and the safety of the foundation pit was revealed using numerical modelling. This study provides a new idea for the design and construction of tunnel engineering, especially for extra-long underwater tunnels in soft deposits.
Permeability of Base Material for Maine Roads

Cutting the cost of road maintenance and reducing life-cycle costs are the main reasons the FHWA has increased its emphasis on drainage in the pavement structural section. Good drainage requires that the base and subbase drain freely and relatively quickly. Poor drainage is thought to cause the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) to spend millions of extra dollars each year maintaining its state highways. Improved specifications and design policies for subbase material were developed by investigating the gradation and permeability of the subbase currently used by MaineDOT. Eight field projects were selected to investigate the permeability and gradation of subbase material for Maine roads. Results indicate that typical MaineDOT subbase gradations have excess fines and sand-size fraction compared with FHWA recommendations. The standard subbase currently used by MaineDOT has an average coefficient of permeability of 5.9 × 10−4 cm/s (1.7 ft/day) whereas the FHWA recommends a minimum coefficient of permeability of 0.35 cm/s (1,000 ft/day) for permeable base material. With multivariable regression analysis, an equation was determined to estimate subbase permeability from percent fines and coefficient of uniformity. Life-cycle cost savings of up to $244,000/km ($406,000/mi) of road can be achieved in Maine with the use of permeable base.
Emotional Intelligence as a Healthy Trained Coping Mechanism for Recovery and Empowerment in SARS COVID-19 Stress

The objective of the current article is to explore the emotional intelligence (EI) as a coping mechanism and training competence in the management of SARS COVID-19 pandemic stress in Albanian students. Methods we administered online is the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso emotional intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and The Scale of Impact of Stressful (Albanian version) for SARS COVID-19, that was standardized by the authors. Data were analyzed by SPSS v.26 and interpreted by Pearson correlation coefficient and t-test. The sample of respondents were 300 students (N=300) from 5 state universities in Albania, of whom 198 female (66%) and 102 male (34%) in range of 19-25 years. The results showed an inverse correlation between pandemic stress symptoms and self-awareness (r=-.765, p<0.01), pandemic stress symptoms and empathy (r=-.875, p<0.01) and between pandemic stress symptoms and social skills (r=-.456, p<0.01). These correlations suggest that the less emotional intelligence the more pandemic stress symptoms. That is, emotional intelligence is a healthy coping mechanism to be used to reduce the pandemic crisis emotions. This study supports the finding that training or treatment that increases emotional intelligence and its related subcategories in individuals should provide a mitigating effect on the crisis emotions of the COVID -19 pandemic stress. We suggest that better preventive mental health public training strategies can be a significant factor not only in reducing subjective distress but also in keeping the immune system strong and healthy.
What is wrong in extended source adaptive optics?

A novel method for the simulation of atmospheric turbulence degraded wavefronts is shown. The computer generated wavefronts contain all the statistical and spatial properties predicted for Kolmogorov type turbulence. The technique enables the generation of wavefronts from two separated point sources while maintaining the correct correlation. rfhe techniques was used to check the effects of anisoplanitism on the performance of wavefront compensation by adaptive optics using the modal correction. The dependance on the order of correction was estimated as well. It is shown that for strong turbulence, for extended sources, there is no benefit of correction beyond the third order (tilt).
Findings from a post‐occupancy evaluation in the UK primary schools sector

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of an evidence base for what constitutes an optimal learning space, including a useful toolkit of good practice examples for use by local authority clients.Design/methodology/approach – The research method centred on a structured case study of each school, informed by: site observation, questionnaire distribution, headteacher's interview and workshop discussions. A total of five primary schools were involved.Findings – It was found that there is a gap between design expectations and the performance achieved, primarily because the occupants are usually simply coping with the given environment rather than actively managing it. Also, from the headteacher's perspective there are not enough driving forces to carry out post‐occupancy evaluations that would reveal this gap.Practical implications – Different attitudes and behaviours are needed, and, for this, education programmes for users should be implemented on occupation to ensure that the pot.