Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Data-Driven Abstraction and Model Invalidation for Unknown Systems With Bounded Jacobians

In this letter, we consider data-driven abstraction and model invalidation problems for unknown nonlinear discrete-time dynamical systems with bounded Jacobians, where only prior noisy sampled data of the systems, instead of mathematical models, are available. First, we introduce a novel non-parametric learning approach to over-approximate the unknown model/dynamics with upper and lower functions, i.e., to find model abstractions, under the assumption of known bounded Jacobians. Notably, the resulting data-driven models can be mathematically proven to be equal to or more accurate than componentwise Lipschitz continuity-based methods. Further, we show that the resulting data-driven model can be used to determine its (in)compatibility with a newly observed length- $T$ output trajectory, i.e., to (in)validate models, using a tractable feasible check. Finally, we propose a method to estimate the Jacobian bounds if they are not known or given.
Comparative Analysis of Backbone Networks for Deep Knee MRI Classification Models

This paper focuses on different types of backbone networks for machine learning architectures which perform classification of knee Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images. This paper aims to compare different types of feature extraction networks for the same classification task, in terms of accuracy and performance. Multiple variations of machine learning models were trained based on the MRNet architecture, choosing AlexNet, ResNet, VGG-11, VGG-16, and Efficientnet as the backbone. The models were evaluated on the MRNet validation dataset, computing Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristics Curve (ROC-AUC), accuracy, f1 score, and Cohen’s Kappa as evaluation metrics. The MRNet-VGG16 model variant shows the best results for Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear detection. For general abnormality detection, MRNet-VGG16 is dominated by MRNet-Resnet in confidence between 0.5 and 0.75 and by MRNet-VGG11 for confidence more than 0.8. Due to the non-uniform nature of backbone network performance on different MRI planes, it is advisable to use an LR ensemble of: VGG16 on a coronal plane for all classification tasks; on an axial plane for abnormality and ACL tear detection; Alexnet on a sagittal plane for abnormality detection, and an axial plane for meniscal tear detection; and VGG11 on a sagittal plane for ACL tear detection. The results also indicate that the Cohen’s Kappa metric is valuable in model evaluation for the MRNet dataset, as it provides deeper insights on classification decisions.
Conceptualising evaluative judgement in the context of holistic competency development: results of a Delphi study

Abstract Learning to make informed evaluative judgement of holistic competencies prepares students for well-rounded development on a lifelong and self-directed basis. However, a review of the literature reveals that empirical studies framed under evaluative judgement have not yet explicitly acknowledged the judgement of these competencies. If we are to further promote evaluative judgement as a systematic line of research worthy of independent attention, there is a need to better theorise what evaluative judgement means when it comes to judging holistic competencies. In consideration of the above, this article presents an expanded framework of evaluative judgement in the context of holistic competency development. Based on three rounds of Delphi inquiries with 14 international experts, the framework conceptualises evaluative judgement as a multi-faceted construct comprising knowledge, attitude, capability, action and identity-related dimensions. The article concludes with both theoretical and practical implications for developing students’ evaluative judgement of holistic competencies.
Modal Share Change following Implementation of Travel Demand Management Strategies

The demand for urban mobility has seen a marked increase over the last few decades. The expansion of road networks, the increase in distance traveled and in the number of trips made has created car-dependent cities. One solution for achieving the switch from private car to public transport is the introduction of a new public transport line that improves the accessibility and frequency of service. However, an important behavioral process underpins travel choices and often a change in choice context is not sufficient to evoke behavior change. Voluntary travel behavior change (VTBC) programs were developed for heightening individuals’ awareness of the consequences of their travel choices and of the benefits to be reaped from using sustainable alternatives, through information provision and communication strategies. The objective of the present paper is to analyze the effect on travel mode choice of introducing a new light railway line into the choice set (hard measure) when implementing a VTBC program on a large scale, but with a high degree of personalization (soft measure). Although numerous studies have demonstrated the need to implement a (hard) measure that acts on the choice context, in combination with a (soft) measure that acts in a personalized way on demand, as far as the authors are aware, few have put this into practice. The first results have shown that a combination of hard and soft measures is more effective in evoking travel behavior change and personalized travel plans produce better results than generalized soft measures.
Microbial Safety of Beef Along Beef Value Chains in the Ashaiman Municipality of Ghana

Food from animal sources continues to be a significant food safety hazard. This study determined the microbial quality and safety of beef along beef value chains with case studies in the Ashaiman Municipality of Ghana. Raw beef samples were collected from four slaughter slabs in the Ashaiman Municipality and analyzed using standard microbiological methods to determine the quality and prevalence of specific pathogens, including Salmonella species, Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes), and Brucella species, as well as Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), Cyclospora cayetanensis (C. cayetanensis), and Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum). Data regarding food safety knowledge and practices were collected and observed from stakeholders (cattle farmers, butchers, and beef retailers). Salmonella typhimurium was isolated from 7.5% (6/80) of the total raw beef samples. However, L. monocytogenes, Brucella spp. , T. gondii, C. cayetanensis, and C. parvum were not isolated in this study. The mean level of microbial contamination of beef from the slaughter slabs/abattoir [5.2 Log10 colony-forming unit (CFU)/g] was not significantly different (p > 0.05) from the mean level observed at retail points (5.4 Log10 CFU/g). However, the mean coliform count of 4.3 Log10 CFU/g recorded at retail shops exceeded the permissible limits of 104 CFU/g (4 Log10 CFU/g) required by the Ghana Standards Authority for safety of meat and carcasses. Knowledge on food safety was at average level for butchers and retailers. Unhygienic practices and poor sanitary conditions at the abattoirs and retail shops observed could be the main contributing factors to microbial contamination of raw beef. Continuous education for meat handlers on issues of food safety and monitoring of slaughter activities will reduce the rate and level of contamination of beef.
Aerobic Exercise Training With Optimal Intensity Increases Cardiac Thermal Tolerance in Juvenile Rainbow Trout

Domestication and selective breeding for rapid-growth have impaired the cardiorespiratory system of salmonids, which might compromise their capacity to tolerate environmental stressors, such as heat waves. Exercise training by swimming has been proposed as a potential tool to enhance growth, cardiac function and disease resilience in farmed fish and thereby improves aquaculture production. However, whether exercise training could also improve cardiac robustness against heat waves, which are becoming more common and cause severe challenges to aquaculture, remains unknown. Here, we trained juvenile rainbow trout at three different training velocities: 0.06 m*s-1 (or 0.9 body lengths per second [bl*s-1]; control group), 0.11 m*s-1 (or 1.7 bl*s-1; medium speed group) and 0.17 m*s-1 (or 2.7 bl*s-1; high speed group) for 5 weeks, 6h per day, 5 days per week. Measuring maximal heart rate (fHmax) during acute warming, we demonstrated that training at 1.7 bl*s-1 was optimal in order to increase the temperature at which fHmax reached its peak (Tpeak) as well as the upper thermal tolerance of the cardiovascular function (arrhythmia temperature, TARR), up to 3.6°C as compared to the control fish. However, more intensive training did not provide similar improvement on thermal tolerance. Both training regimes enhanced the ventricular citrate synthase activity which may provide higher aerobic energy production capacity for ventricles. Further mechanistic studies are needed to understand the complex interactions between training intensities and changes in thermal tolerance. Although not conclusive on that point, our findings present a valid training programme for hatchery salmonids to increase their cardiac thermal tolerance and consequently probably also their capacity to tolerate heat waves, which has a direct application for aquaculture.
The Future of Seed Amplification Assays and Clinical Trials

Prion-like seeded misfolding of host proteins is the leading hypothesised cause of neurodegenerative diseases. The exploitation of the mechanism in the protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) and real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assays have transformed prion disease research and diagnosis and have steadily become more widely used for research into other neurodegenerative disorders. Clinical trials in adult neurodegenerative diseases have been expensive, slow, and disappointing in terms of clinical benefits. There are various possible factors contributing to the failure to identify disease-modifying treatments for adult neurodegenerative diseases, some of which include: limited accuracy of antemortem clinical diagnosis resulting in the inclusion of patients with the “incorrect” pathology for the therapeutic; the role of co-pathologies in neurodegeneration rendering treatments targeting one pathology alone ineffective; treatment of the primary neurodegenerative process too late, after irreversible secondary processes of neurodegeneration have become established or neuronal loss is already extensive; and preclinical models used to develop treatments not accurately representing human disease. The use of seed amplification assays in clinical trials offers an opportunity to tackle these problems by sensitively detecting in vivo the proteopathic seeds thought to be central to the biology of neurodegenerative diseases, enabling improved diagnostic accuracy of the main pathology and co-pathologies, and very early intervention, particularly in patients at risk of monogenic forms of neurodegeneration. The possibility of quantifying proteopathic seed load, and its reduction by treatments, is an attractive pharmacodynamic biomarker in the preclinical and early clinical stages of drug development. Here we review some potential applications of seed amplification assays in clinical trials.
Profiling Differential Effects of 5 Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors on TLRs-Dependent and -Independent IL-6 Production in Immune Cells Identifies Fluoxetine as Preferred Anti-Inflammatory Drug Candidate

Excessive proinflammatory cytokine production induced by abnormal activation of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling, for example, by SARS-CoV-2 infection, can cause a fatal cytokine storm. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) fluoxetine and fluvoxamine, used to treat depression, were recently reported to reduce the risk of severe disease in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the mechanisms of the anti-inflammatory effects of SSRIs, and which SSRI would be most suitable as an anti-inflammatory drug, remain unclear. Here, we examined the inhibitory effects of 5 FDA-approved SSRIs, paroxetine, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, sertraline and escitalopram, on the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) induced by stimulation with multiple TLR agonists in murine macrophages and dendritic cells, and on the production of cytokines induced by concanavalin A in murine lymphocytes. In J774.1 murine macrophage cells, pretreatment with SSRIs significantly suppressed IL-6 release induced by TLR3 agonist poly(I:C), TLR4 agonist LPS or TLR9 agonist CpG ODN, but did not affect IL-6 release induced by TLR7 agonists imiquimod or resiquimod. In accordance with the results obtained in J774.1 cells, pretreatment with SSRIs also suppressed IL-6 release induced by a TLR3, TLR4 or TLR9 agonist in bone marrow-derived dendritic cells and peritoneal cells of C57BL/6 mice. On the other hand, interestingly, sertraline alone among the SSRIs amplified IL-6 production induced by TLR7 agonists in murine dendritic cells, though not in macrophages. Concanavalin A-induced production of IL-6 or IL-2 in murine lymphocytes was suppressed by SSRIs, suggesting that SSRIs also inhibit TLRs-independent IL-6 production. Since SSRIs suppressed both IL-6 production induced by multiple TLR agonists in macrophages or dendritic cells and TLR-independent IL-6 production in lymphocytes, they are promising candidates for treatment of patients with cytokine storm, which is mediated by overactivation of multiple TLRs in a complex manner, leading to the so-called IL-6 amplifier, an IL-6 overproduction loop. However, the 5 SSRIs examined here all showed different effects. Overall, our results suggest that fluoxetine may be the most promising candidate as an anti-inflammatory drug. An examination of the structural requirements indicated that the N-methyl group of fluoxetine has a critical role in the inhibition of IL-6 production.
Effect of Hydrothermal Cooking and Germination Treatment on Functional and Physicochemical Properties of Parkia timoriana Bean Flours: An Underexplored Legume Species of Parkia Genera

The present study was undertaken to analyze the impact of germination (NBG) and hydrothermal cooking (NBHTC) on the nutritional profile and physicochemical, functional and microstructural properties of Nitta bean (Parkia timoriana) (NBR) seeds. Results demonstrated that the highest crude protein and fat content could be found in NBG and NBHTC, whereas the ash content was significantly higher in NBG. Compared to NBHTC and NBR, NBG has higher emulsion capacity and stability, with values determined to be 58.33 ± 1.67 and 63.89 ± 2.67, respectively. In addition, the highest color intensity was also reported for NBG, followed by NBHTC and NBR. Likewise, NBG showed complete gel formation at a lower concentration (12 g/100 mL) than NBR flour (18 g/100 mL). Furthermore, structural changes in the lipid, protein, and carbohydrate molecules of NBG and NBHTC were evidenced by FTIR studies. Morphological changes were noticed in different samples during microscopic observations subjected to germination and hydrothermal treatment. In contrast to NBR and NBHTC, NBG showed the highest total polyphenol content, ORAC antioxidant, and DPPH radical scavenging activity, which demonstrated the potential utilization of Nitta bean flour as a natural plant-based protein source in food security product formulations.
Drivers of hospital safety culture quality in emerging economies: the case of Saudi Arabia

The objective of this study is to identify the elements that contribute most to the culture of quality in patient safety in Saudi Arabian hospitals. Additionally, this study seeks to establish and test a model to determine relations between the drivers of safety culture. In order to test the proposed hypotheses, a self-administered questionnaire was submitted to 110 hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Research findings indicated that Saudi Arabian hospitals need to adapt a clear communication policy and respond to feedback after errors are discovered so as to create a culture of quality, safety and constant enhancement. Also, they need to adopt a policy of non-punitive response to errors, so that employees are able to learn from their mistakes and prevent similar ones in the future, without fear of the consequences of reporting an error.
Sequential Disinfection of adenovirus type 2 with UV‐Chlorine‐Chloramine

Bench‐scale experiments determined the inactivation rates of adenovirus serotype 2 with low‐pressure, high‐output ultraviolet (UV) light, chlorine (Cl2), and preformed chloramines. Studies with sequential chloramines were also done to mimic water treatment practices. Sequential experiments with adenovirus serotype 2 suspended in laboratory‐grade water and natural waters containing ammonia were exposed to either UV light followed by Cl2/chloramines or the reverse sequence. Adenovirus log reductions were quantified through cell culture techniques. A free Cl2 C × T (concentration × time) of 1.22 mg‐min/L resulted in a 3.72‐log reduction, a preformed chloramine C × T of 264.5 mg‐min/L resulted in a 1.2‐log reduction, a sequential chloramine C × T of 40.5 mg‐min/L resulted in a 1‐log reduction, and a UV dose of 40 mJ/cm2 resulted in a 1‐log reduction. Up to 4‐log reductions were achieved with a UV dose of 40 mJ/cm2 followed by a sequential chloramine C × T of 27.2 mg‐min/L. This suggests that sequential disinfection may be the best option for dealing with UV‐resistant organisms such as adenoviruses.
Birdsong and the Neural Regulation of Positive Emotion

Birds are not commonly admired for emotional expression, and when they are, the focus is typically on negative states; yet vocal behavior is considered a direct reflection of an individual’s emotional state. Given that over 4000 species of songbird produce learned, complex, context-specific vocalizations, we make the case that songbirds are conspicuously broadcasting distinct positive emotional states and that hearing songs can also induce positive states in other birds. Studies are reviewed that demonstrate that that the production of sexually motivated song reflects an emotional state of anticipatory reward-seeking (i.e., mate-seeking), while outside the mating context song in gregarious flocks reflects a state of intrinsic reward. Studies are also reviewed that demonstrate that hearing song induces states of positive anticipation and reward. This review brings together numerous studies that highlight a potentially important role for the songbird nucleus accumbens, a region nearly synonymous with reward in mammals, in positive emotional states that underlie singing behavior and responses to song. It is proposed that the nucleus accumbens is part of an evolutionarily conserved circuitry that contributes context-dependently to positive emotional states that motivate and reward singing behavior and responses to song. Neural mechanisms that underlie basic emotions appear to be conserved and similar across vertebrates. Thus, these findings in songbirds have the potential to provide insights into interventions that can restore positive social interactions disrupted by mental health disorders in humans.
Healthy Organs Uptake on Baseline 18F-FDG PET/CT as an Alternative to Total Metabolic Tumor Volume to Predict Event-Free Survival in Classical Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Purpose Healthy organs uptake, including cerebellar and liver SUVs have been reported to be inversely correlated to total metabolic tumor volume (TMTV), a controversial predictor of event-free survival (EFS) in classical Hodgkin's Lymphoma (cHL). The objective of this study was to estimate TMTV by using healthy organs SUV measurements and assess the performance of this new index (UF, Uptake Formula) to predict EFS in cHL. Methods Patients with cHL were retrospectively included. SUV values and TMTV derived from baseline 18F-FDG PET/CT were harmonized using ComBat algorithm across PET/CT systems. UF was estimated using ANOVA analysis. Optimal thresholds of TMTV and UF were calculated and tested using Cox models. Results 163 patients were included. Optimal UF model of TMTV included age, lymphoma maximum SUVmax, hepatic SUVmean and cerebellar SUVmax (R2 14.0% - p < 0.001). UF > 236.8 was a significant predictor of EFS (HR: 2.458 [1.201–5.030], p = 0.01) and was not significantly different from TMTV > 271.0 (HR: 2.761 [1.183–5.140], p = 0.001). UF > 236.8 remained significant in a bivariate model including IPS score (p = 0.02) and determined two populations with different EFS (63.7 vs. 84.9%, p = 0.01). Conclusion The Uptake Formula, a new index including healthy organ SUV values, shows similar performance to TMTV in predicting EFS in Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Validation cohorts will be needed to confirm this new prognostic parameter.
Postoperative Mortality Rates following Total Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer: Experience of a Single Surgical Team

Objective: Total gastrectomy is a complex surgical procedure that is characterized by significant postoperative morbidity and mortality rates and the patients may continue to experience adverse events beyond the standard 30-day follow-up period after surgery. The aim of this study is to investigate postoperative complication and 30-day/90-day mortality rates following total gastrectomy in a cohort of patients and highlight the possible ways that can improve the short-term outcome of this surgical procedure. Material and Methods: 401 patients underwent total gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma by a single surgical team from January 2001 till December 2021. The patients stratified in 3 groups based on the time period when surgery was performed, hospital- and treatment-related objective factors: group I (61 patients); group II (163 patients) and group III (177 patients). Results: Esophagojejunal anastomotic leakage rate varied with periods and ranged from 1.1% to 3.3%, 1.7% in total. Differences were insignificant in complication and death rates between the patients aged ≤70 years and > 70 years (p>0.05). Postoperative death rate within 90 days was higher by 42% compared to that in standard 30-day follow-up period. Neaodjuvant chemotherapy was not found to be associated with an increased rate of 30-day postoperative mortality (p>0.05). Conclusion(s): Total gastrectomy for gastric cancer may be associated with minimal rates of esophagojejunal anastomotic leakage and mortality when performed by specialized and experienced high-volume surgeons. 90-day mortality rate after total gastrectomy is 42% higher compared to 30-day mortality that warrants more intense monitoring of the relevant patients within 3 months after surgery.