Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A multivariate approach to investigate the combined biological effects of multiple exposures

Epidemiological studies provide evidence that environmental exposures may affect health through complex mixtures. Formal investigation of the effect of exposure mixtures is usually achieved by modelling interactions, which relies on strong assumptions relating to the identity and the number of the exposures involved in such interactions, and on the order and parametric form of these interactions. These hypotheses become difficult to formulate and justify in an exposome context, where influential exposures are numerous and heterogeneous. To capture both the complexity of the exposome and its possibly pleiotropic effects, models handling multivariate predictors and responses, such as partial least squares (PLS) algorithms, can prove useful. As an illustrative example, we applied PLS models to data from a study investigating the inflammatory response (blood concentration of 13 immune markers) to the exposure to four disinfection by-products (one brominated and three chlorinated compounds), while swimming in a pool. To accommodate the multiple observations per participant (n=60; before and after the swim), we adopted a multilevel extension of PLS algorithms, including sparse PLS models shrinking loadings coefficients of unimportant predictors (exposures) and/or responses (protein levels). Despite the strong correlation among co-occurring exposures, our approach identified a subset of exposures (n=3/4) affecting the exhaled levels of 8 (out of 13) immune markers. PLS algorithms can easily scale to high-dimensional exposures and responses, and prove useful for exposome research to identify sparse sets of exposures jointly affecting a set of (selected) biological markers. Our descriptive work may guide these extensions for higher dimensional data.
Progress in the management of primary and recurrent ovarian carcinomatosis with peritonectomy procedure and HIPEC in a high volume centre

Abstract Introduction: The treatment of advanced primary or recurrent ephitelial ovarian cancer still remains an open and a critical question. The addition of HIPEC to cytoreductive surgery has shown improving overall survival rates. The aim of our study is to describe the progress in its management in our Unit and what we have learned after more than 350 HIPEC procedures. Methods: From 1997 to 2016 we conducted a retrospective analysis from a prospective database. We described and analyzed 4 cut-points, 1997–2004, 2009, 2012 and 2016. Results: From 1997 to September 2016, 358 patients have been operated in our Unit by CRS with peritonectomy procedures plus HIPEC for stage IIIc and IV ovarian cancer. The HIPEC procedures rate was 4,7 HIPEC per years in the first years up to 35 HIPEC/year in last era. Mean age was 56,7 years (28–78). Median PCI was 15,8. (range 3–36). R0-cytoreduction was 95%. Severe morbidity and mortality were observed in 15 % and 2%, respectively. The 3 y OS was 77% in primary and 79% in recurrent ovarian cancer. The stage IV was not a risk factor for survival. R1 cytoreduction and positive lymph nodes were risk factors in multivariate analysis. Conclusion: The addition of HIPEC to CRS improves overall survival rates for primary and recurrent ovarian cancer. This therapeutic strategy was incorporated twenty years ago for a few teams in the world and today there is an emerging and strong evidence that could consider it as an standard treatment for the ovarian carcinomatosis.
Quantitative Phytochemical Constituents and Antioxidant Activities of the Mistletoe, Phragmanthera capitata (Sprengel) Balle Extracted with Different Solvents

Objective: The investigation aimed to evaluate the in vitro quantitative phytochemical compositions and antioxidant capacity of the dried leaves of Phragmanthera capitata extracted with different solvents. Methodology: Different phytochemical assays were used to evaluate the phenols, flavonoids, and proanthocyanidin contents of the acetone, methanol, ethanol, and aqueous extracts of the sample. Antioxidant activity was measured using 2,2diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), nitric oxide, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) assays. Results: Methanol had the highest extraction yield (21.50%) followed by aqueous (10.87%). Acetone and ethanol yielded 6.87% and 4.3%, respectively. However, acetone and ethanol extracts had more phenolic content (218.6 ± 3.38 and 214.8 ± 3.56 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g, respectively) that were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the methanol and aqueous extracts (203.8 ± 1.95 and 175.5 ± 0.32 mg GAE/mg, respectively). Acetone extract also had more flavonoid and proanthocyanidin contents (679.8 ± 6.26 mg quercetin equivalent/g and 645.7 ± 6.35 mg catechin equivalent/g, respectively) that were significantly higher than the other solvent extracts (P < 0.05). All the solvent fractions showed great antioxidant activities with the acetone fraction having the highest capacity based on ABTS, DPPH, and TAC assays (half maximal inhibitory concentration [IC50] = <5 μg/mL, 24.5 μg/mL, and 85 μg/mL respectively). The methanol extract however had FRAP and nitric oxide antioxidant activities (IC50 = 302 μg/mL and < 25 μg/mL respectively). Conclusion: The findings of this study provide evidence that P. capitata has potential as a natural source of antioxidant with acetone showing to be the best extractant of the polyphenolics with corresponding higher antioxidant activities.
Time domain synchronous averaging based on accurate alignment reference signal

Time domain synchronous averaging can be a useful signal analysis and pre proceeding technique in condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of rotating and reciprocating machines. It reduces the signals not coherent to rotation frequency effectively, and extracts the repetitive signals directly related to machine operation condition. This paper proposes a method to improve the traditional time domain synchronous averaging, and discusses the time domain synchronous averaging method based on the accurate alignment reference signal. Searching the phase reference data for the linearly interpolated between the points on either side of the zero-crossing level, the vibration data are then digitally re-sampled with interpolation, using the cumulative phase angle results to provide the re-sampling positions. Analysis results show the effectiveness and feasibility of the improved time domain synchronous averaging in engineering practice.
The constrained modal and transient stress analysis of diesel engine crankshaft

Based on the three-dimensional model of the crankshaft of a four cylinder diesel engine, this paper analyzes the stress and strain state of the crankshaft in a working cycle by transient dynamic method. It is concluded that the maximum stress value occurs at the maximum cylinder pressure of the second cylinder neck and the crankshaft fillet when the third cylinder is ignited and check the crankshaft strength. Finally, the analysis of the first ten order modes of the crankshaft is carried out. Through the analysis of the modal and transient response of the crankshaft, it can provide some reference for the design and development of the crankshaft.
Comparison of Various Nuclear Localization Signal-Fused Cas9 Proteins and Cas9 mRNA for Genome Editing in Zebrafish

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system has been proven to be an efficient and precise genome editing technology in various organisms. However, the gene editing efficiencies of Cas9 proteins with a nuclear localization signal (NLS) fused to different termini and Cas9 mRNA have not been systematically compared. Here, we compared the ability of Cas9 proteins with NLS fused to the N-, C-, or both the N- and C-termini and N-NLS-Cas9-NLS-C mRNA to target two sites in the tyr gene and two sites in the gol gene related to pigmentation in zebrafish. Phenotypic analysis revealed that all types of Cas9 led to hypopigmentation in similar proportions of injected embryos. Genome analysis by T7 Endonuclease I (T7E1) assays demonstrated that all types of Cas9 similarly induced mutagenesis in four target sites. Sequencing results further confirmed that a high frequency of indels occurred in the target sites (tyr1 > 66%, tyr2 > 73%, gol1 > 50%, and gol2 > 35%), as well as various types (more than six) of indel mutations observed in all four types of Cas9-injected embryos. Furthermore, all types of Cas9 showed efficient targeted mutagenesis on multiplex genome editing, resulting in multiple phenotypes simultaneously. Collectively, we conclude that various NLS-fused Cas9 proteins and Cas9 mRNAs have similar genome editing efficiencies on targeting single or multiple genes, suggesting that the efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing is highly dependent on guide RNAs (gRNAs) and gene loci. These findings may help to simplify the selection of Cas9 for gene editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 system.
Cost- and Energy-Aware Multi-Flow Mobile Data Offloading Using Markov Decision Process

With the rapid increase in demand for mobile data, mobile network operators are trying to expand wireless network capacity by deploying wireless local area network (LAN) hotspots on which they can offload their mobile traffic. However, these network-centric methods usually do not fulfill the interests of mobile users (MUs). Taking into consideration many issues, MUs should be able to decide whether to offload their traffic to a complementary wireless LAN. Our previous work studied single-flow wireless LAN offloading from a MU's perspective by considering delay-tolerance of traffic, monetary cost and energy consumption. In this paper, we study the multi-flow mobile data offloading problem from a MU's perspective in which a MU has multiple applications to download data simultaneously from remote servers, and different applications' data have different deadlines. We formulate the wireless LAN offloading problem as a finite-horizon discrete-time Markov decision process (MDP) and establish an optimal policy by a dynamic programming based algorithm. Since the time complexity of the dynamic programming based offloading algorithm is still high, we propose a low time complexity heuristic offloading algorithm with performance sacrifice. Extensive simulations are conducted to validate our proposed offloading algorithms.
Phylogenetic Relationships and Species Delimitation in Pinus Section Trifoliae Inferrred from Plastid DNA

Recent diversification followed by secondary contact and hybridization may explain complex patterns of intra- and interspecific morphological and genetic variation in the North American hard pines (Pinus section Trifoliae), a group of approximately 49 tree species distributed in North and Central America and the Caribbean islands. We concatenated five plastid DNA markers for an average of 3.9 individuals per putative species and assessed the suitability of the five regions as DNA bar codes for species identification, species delimitation, and phylogenetic reconstruction. The ycf1 gene accounted for the greatest proportion of the alignment (46.9%), the greatest proportion of variable sites (74.9%), and the most unique sequences (75 haplotypes). Phylogenetic analysis recovered clades corresponding to subsections Australes, Contortae, and Ponderosae. Sequences for 23 of the 49 species were monophyletic and sequences for another 9 species were paraphyletic. Morphologically similar species within subsections usually grouped together, but there were exceptions consistent with incomplete lineage sorting or introgression. Bayesian relaxed molecular clock analyses indicated that all three subsections diversified relatively recently during the Miocene. The general mixed Yule-coalescent method gave a mixed model estimate of only 22 or 23 evolutionary entities for the plastid sequences, which corresponds to less than half the 49 species recognized based on morphological species assignments. Including more unique haplotypes per species may result in higher estimates, but low mutation rates, recent diversification, and large effective population sizes may limit the effectiveness of this method to detect evolutionary entities.
Distributed Conflict Resolution for Connected Autonomous Vehicles

This paper proposes a novel communication-enabled distributed conflict resolution mechanism in order for a group of connected autonomous vehicles to navigate safely and efficiently in intersections without any traffic manager. The conflict resolution strategy for individual vehicle is decoupled temporally. In a decision maker, the vehicle computes the desired time slots to pass the conflict zones by solving a conflict graph locally based on the broadcasted information from other vehicles. In a motion planner, the vehicle computes the desired speed profile by solving a temporal optimization problem constrained in the desired time slot. The estimated time to occupy the conflict zones given the new speed profile is then broadcasted again. It is proved that the aggregation of these local decisions solves the conflicts globally. Theoretically, this method provides an efficient parallel mechanism to obtain local optimal solutions of a large-scale optimization problem (e.g., multivehicle navigation). Application-wise, as demonstrated by extensive simulation, this mechanism increases the efficiency of autonomous vehicles in terms of smaller delay time, as well as the efficiency of the traffic in terms of larger throughput when there is no traffic manager to mediate the conflicts.
Effects of multiple air gaps on the thermal performance of firefighter protective clothing under low-level heat exposure

The thermal performance of firefighters' protective clothing entrapping multiple air gaps and exposed to low heat fluxes has been studied using a newly designed bench-scale test apparatus. Different air gap sizes (0, 2 and 5 mm), and entrapped positions within the multiple fabric system between the outer shell, the moisture barrier, and the thermal liner, respectively, were investigated at three levels of thermal radiation (2, 5 and 10 kW/m2) over a prolonged period. The effect of air gap size and its position on the heat transfer in a multilayer fabric system are interpreted in terms of a theoretical flat multi-wall structure. The results show that the thermal protective performance of a multilayer fabric system is reduced under low-level heat flux with and without an air gap. It is indicated that the time for skin to burn in direct contact with the inner layer is increased with the size of the air gap, due to an increase in the total thermal resistance of the fabric combination and a decrease in heat radiation between two adjacent fabric layers separated by an air gap. The results also provide an insight into the contribution of the thermal resistance of each fabric layer and each air gap to the overall protective effect of the clothing system. The difference in the received heat flux with different air gap sizes in different positions shows that the effect of air gap size is related to its position.
Record subtyping in flexible relations by means of attribute dependencies

The model of flexible relations supports heterogeneous sets of tuples in a strongly typed way. The elegance of the standard relational model is presented by using a single, generic scheme constructor. In each model supporting structural variants the shape of some part of a heterogeneous scheme may be determined by the contents of some other part of the scheme. We formalize this relationship by a certain kind of integrity constraint we have called "attribute dependency" (AD). We motivate how ADs can be used, besides their application in type and integrity checking, to incorporate record subtyping into our extended relational model. Moreover, we show that ADs yield a stronger assertion than the traditional record subtyping rub as they consider interdependencies among refinements. We discuss how ADs are related to query processing and how they may help to identify redundant operations. <<ETX>>
Breast Density Classification Using Local Quinary Patterns with Various Neighbourhood Topologies

This paper presents an extension of work from our previous study by investigating the use of Local Quinary Patterns (LQP) for breast density classification in mammograms on various neighbourhood topologies. The LQP operators are used to capture the texture characteristics of the fibro-glandular disk region ( F G D r o i ) instead of the whole breast area as the majority of current studies have done. We take a multiresolution and multi-orientation approach, investigate the effects of various neighbourhood topologies and select dominant patterns to maximise texture information. Subsequently, the Support Vector Machine classifier is used to perform the classification, and a stratified ten-fold cross-validation scheme is employed to evaluate the performance of the method. The proposed method produced competitive results up to 86.13 % and 82.02 % accuracy based on 322 and 206 mammograms taken from the Mammographic Image Analysis Society (MIAS) and InBreast datasets, which is comparable with the state-of-the-art in the literature.
Prospective Trial Comparing Topical Steroid Application To Wet Versus Dry Skin In Children With Atopic Dermatitis Lucinda

PROSPECTIVE TRIAL COMPARING TOPICAL STEROID APPLICATION TO WET VERSUS DRY SKIN IN CHILDREN WITH ATOPIC DERMATITIS. Lucinda S. Liu, Yanna Kang, and Richard J. Antaya. Department of Dermatology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. The aim of this study was to determine whether “soak and smear,” a technique where hydration via a 10-minute soak in lukewarm plain water followed by topical corticosteroid application to wet skin, is efficacious for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in pediatric patients. A randomized, investigator-blinded study was conducted with 45 patients, 4 months to 16 years of age, with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. All patients received fourteen days of topical corticosteroid ointment and were randomly assigned to either apply the corticosteroid on wet skin via the soak and smear method (treatment arm) or on dry skin (control arm). The primary outcome measure was percentage improvement by Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) score. Atopic dermatitis severity of patients who applied corticosteroid ointment to wet skin via soak and smear improved 84.8% by EASI score, whereas atopic dermatitis severity of patients who applied corticosteroid ointment to dry skin improved 81.4% by EASI score. There was no statistical difference between the two groups (p-value = 0.85). The use of corticosteroid application to pre-hydrated, wet skin is not more efficacious than corticosteroid application to dry skin in pediatric patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.
Association of Depression With Mortality in Older Adults Undergoing Transcatheter or Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement

Importance Depression is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for adverse outcomes in cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about depression in older adults undergoing transcatheter (TAVR) or surgical (SAVR) aortic valve replacement. Objective To determine the prevalence of depression and its association with all-cause mortality in older adults undergoing TAVR or SAVR. Design, Setting, and Participants This preplanned analysis of the Frailty Aortic Valve Replacement (FRAILTY-AVR) prospective cohort study included 14 centers in 3 countries from November 15, 2011, through April 7, 2016. Individuals 70 years or older who underwent TAVR or SAVR were enrolled. Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form at baseline and follow-up. Main Outcomes and Measures All-cause mortality at 1 and 12 months after TAVR or SAVR. Logistic regression was used to determine the association of depression with mortality after adjusting for confounders such as frailty and cognitive impairment. Results Among 1035 older adults (427 men [41.3%] and 608 women [58.7%]) with a mean (SD) age of 81.4 (6.1) years, 326 (31.5%) had a positive result of screening for depression, whereas only 89 (8.6%) had depression documented in their clinical record. After adjusting for clinical and geriatric confounders, baseline depression was found to be associated with mortality at 1 month (odds ratio [OR], 2.20; 95% CI, 1.18-4.10) and at 12 months (OR, 1.532; 95% CI, 1.03-2.24). Persistent depression, defined as baseline depression that was still present 6 months after the procedure, was associated with a 3-fold increase in mortality at 12 months (OR, 2.98; 95% CI, 1.08-8.20). Conclusions and Relevance One in 3 older adults undergoing TAVR or SAVR had depressive symptoms at baseline and a higher risk of short-term and midterm mortality. Patients with persistent depressive symptoms at follow-up had the highest risk of mortality.
Ultra-High Vacuum Aberration-Corrected STEM for in-situ studies

Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopes (ACSTEMs) can resolve all the individual atoms, including impurities, in graphene and other 2D materials [1]. They can also record energy-dispersive X-ray spectra (EDXS) and fine-structure electron energy loss spectra (EELS) from individual atoms [2-4], and can operate at beam energies below the knock-on displacement threshold, thus minimizing or altogether avoiding radiation damage. These capabilities are allowing the structural, chemical, electronic and magnetic properties of matter to be examined in an unprecedented level of detail. They will become even more powerful if we can precisely control the sample environment and modify the sample structure in-situ.
Application of HPTLC in Standardisation of Homoeopathic Mother Tincture Rauwolfia serpentina and its Comparison with Products in Market

In this study, we have chosen HPTLC as a method of analysis to develop a standard procedure based on fingerprinting characteristics for the evaluation of homoeopathic formulations. A simple and accurate HPTLC method has been developed for the quantification of reserpine and fingerprinting of the in-house mother tincture considered here to be a standard with that of different marketed samples available from manufacturers of homoeopathic medicines in India. This HPTLC method was quantitatively evaluated in terms of stability, repeatability, accuracy and calibration providing the utility in the analysis of the mother tincture.
Comparison of electrical machines for use with a high-horsepower marine engine turbocharger

This paper compares in detail electrical machine technologies for an electrically-assisted turbocharger used with a high-horsepower marine engine. The machine is required to be used both as a motor to improve engine transient characteristics and as a generator for recovering energy (turbocompounding). The application translates to machine operation at high-power(150kW), and high-speeds with a constant power-speed range (CPSR) of 2 (25–50krpm). In this research Permanent Magnet Machines (PMSM), Induction Machines (IM) and Switched Reluctance Machines are compared in detail over a number of considerations, including the thermal performance, size, torque quality, kVA rating, and cost with the aim of identifying the most appropriate technology. In light of the technical and market requirements, an induction machine including novel materials is proposed and prototyped for the application.