Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CCR2 deficiency does not provide sustained improvement of muscular dystrophy in mdx5cv mice

Genetic ablation or pharmacologic inhibition of CC chemokine receptor type 2 (CCR2) reduced macrophage (MP) infiltration and improvedmuscle pathology and function in mdx diaphragmmuscle at early stages. We addressed whether CCR2 deficiency resulted in sustained improvement of mdx5cv‐Ccr22/2 diaphragm. Compared to mdx5cv controls, CCR2 deficiency in mdx5cv‐Ccr22/2 mice markedly reduced intramuscular Ly6Chi MPs at all stages, but it reduced Ly6Clow MPs only at early stages (4 and 9 wk). CCR2 deficiency reduced quadriceps and diaphragm muscle damage and fibrosis at 14 wk but not at ± mo, and it improved diaphragm muscle regeneration and respiratory function at 14wk but not at 6 mo. IntramuscularMPs in mdx5cv‐Ccr2−/− diaphragm expressed a low level of IL‐1β, IL‐6, and IFN‐γ genes, a similar level of TNF‐α, TGF‐β1, and platelet‐derived growth factor a genes, and a high level of IGF‐1 and osteopontin genes compared to mdx5cv controls. Diaphragm fibroblasts at 14 wk showed a similar cell number with a similar level of collagen and profibrogenic growth factor gene expression in mdx5cv‐Ccr2−/− and mdx5cv mice. Diaphragm MPs from both mdx5cv‐Ccr2−/− and mdx5cv mice stimulated collagen gene expression by cocultured fibroblasts. The findings suggest that CCR2 deficiency does not provide a sustained benefit and that Ly6Clow MPs may contribute to the progressive fibrosis and dysfunction of mdx5cv diaphragm. —Zhao, W. , Wang, X. , Ransohoff, R. M. , Zhou, L. CCR2 deficiency does not provide sustained improvement of muscular dystrophy in mdx5cv mice. FASEB J. 31, 35–46 (2017) www.fasebj. org
Morphological Studies of Electrodeposited Cobalt Based Coatings: Effect of Alloying Elements

Electrodeposition is known as a simple and low-cost method to synthesize good-quality coating with excellent hardness. In this work, the morphology changes on Cobalt coating with the addition of iron and nickel elements were investigated. Co (Cobalt) and Co-based alloy coatings were prepared by electrodeposition technique using sulfate-based electrolytes. The process was conducted at 50°C temperature in an acidic environment (pH 3). The pure Co coating shows the tendency to form snowflake-like morphology structure. The dendritic morphology appeared in the Co-Fe coatings. However, the dendritic morphology was totally disappeared in the Co-Ni-Fe morphology and replaced by spherical morphology. The crystal structure of Co-Ni-Fe coating changed from bcc into mixed bcc+fcc structure with the addition of Ni element in Co-Fe composition. The Ni element which had been introduced in the Co-Fe composition improved the surface morphology and reduced the average particle size. The surface morphologies in the coatings affect the particles size and hardness property. This may due to the formation of full, compact coatings morphology and introduction of particles boundaries interphase. The Co-Ni-Fe coating with smaller particle size, less void formation and mixed crystal structure of bcc+fcc was roughly two times harder than pure Co.
Feasibility of Physical Activity Assessment with Wearable Devices in Children Aged 4–10 Years—A Pilot Study

Objective Physical activity (PA) is associated with multiple beneficial health outcomes. Unfortunately, current studies report an alarming decrease of PA throughout all age groups. This study aims to assess general feasibility and PA levels of kindergarten and primary school children with wearable technology specifically manufactured for young children. Patients and methods From April 2017 to August 2017, a total of 59 children (7.1 ± 1.7 years, 34 girls) recorded their PA for seven consecutive day wearing a wearable bracelet (Garmin vivofit jr). Afterward, they filled out a short, child-oriented questionnaire to rate the feasibility. Results The general feasibility of the devices was rated as rather well regarding size, materials, and wearing comfort. Moreover, children achieved a mean of 83 ± 18 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and 12.202 ± 2.675 steps per day on a weekly average. Therefore, 52 (88.1%) children, and almost all boys (96%), fulfilled the WHO criteria of 60 min of MVPA per day on a weekly average. Conclusion Wearables bracelets seem to be feasible devices for PA assessment even in young children. Nevertheless, their potential to increase PA for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, as well as the long-term compliance needs to be clarified in further studies.
EARNING-M ODULES FOR A TARI B ALL G AMES

We present a cognitive architecture capable of end-to-end learning across different but conceptually similar Atari games using the same learning algorithms, network architecture, and hyperparameters. The cognitive architecture uses object-based representations to generalize across different games and consists of a pipeline of functional modules. Each module is allocated for a specific functionality, but exact policies and input-output relationships are formed by reinforcement learning and supervised learning algorithms. The convergence rate of the cognitive architecture is considerably faster than deep reinforcement learning architectures that rely on pixel-based information and follow a purely end-to-end approach. Moreover, the modules of the cognitive architecture can be directly reused in different game environments without retraining. Our approach is inspired by the modular structure of biological brains, where functional modules evolved, but still can be shaped through learning from new experiences.
Body Movement Analysis of Human-Robot Interaction

This paper presents a method for analyzing human-robot interaetion by body movements. Future intelligent robots will communicate with humans and perform physical and communicative tasks to participate in daily life. A human-like body will provide an abundance of non-verbal information and enable us to smoothly communicate with the robot. To achieve this, we have developed a humanoid robot that autonomously interacts with humans by speaking and making gestures. It is used as a testbed for studying embodied communication. Our strategy is to analyze human-robot interaction in terms of body movements using a motion capturing system, which allows us to measure the body movements in detail. We have performed experiments to compare the body movements with subjective impressions of the robot. The results reveal the importance of well-coordinated behaviors and suggest a new analytical approach to human-robot interaction.
D2D-Enabled Small Cell Network Control Scheme Based on the Dynamic Stackelberg Game

For current and future cellular networks, small cell structure with licensed and unlicensed bandwidth, caching content provisioning, and device-to-device (D2D) communications is seen as a necessary architecture. Recently, a series of control methods have been developed to address a myriad of challenges in next-generation small cell networks. In this study, we focus on the design of novel D2D-enabled small cell network control scheme by allowing caching and unlicensed D2D communications. Motivated by game theory and learning algorithm, the proposed scheme adaptively selects caching contents and splits the available bandwidth for licensed and unlicensed communications. Under dynamically changing network environments, we capture the dynamics of the network system and design a new dynamic Stackelberg game model. Based on a hierarchical and feedback based control manner, small base stations and users can be leaders or followers dynamically while improving 5G network performance. Simulations and performance analysis verify the efficiency of the proposed scheme, showing that our approach can outperform existing schemes by about 5%15% in terms of bandwidth utilization, cache hit ratio, and system throughput.
Radical-level Ideograph Encoder for RNN-based Sentiment Analysis of Chinese and Japanese

The character vocabulary can be very large in non-alphabetic languages such as Chinese and Japanese, which makes neural network models huge to process such languages. We explored a model for sentiment classification that takes the embeddings of the radicals of the Chinese characters, i.e, hanzi of Chinese and kanji of Japanese. Our model is composed of a CNN word feature encoder and a bi-directional RNN document feature encoder. The results achieved are on par with the character embedding-based models, and close to the state-of-the-art word embedding-based models, with 90% smaller vocabulary, and at least 13% and 80% fewer parameters than the character embedding-based models and word embedding-based models respectively. The results suggest that the radical embedding-based approach is cost-effective for machine learning on Chinese and Japanese.
Using Semantic Technologies to Improve Information Exploitation in Military and Civilian Application Contexts

Military and civilian agencies confront a number of challenges in harnessing the power of modern large-scale information networks. These challenges include the need to identify relevant information and exploit that information in the context of specific knowledge processing tasks. Our work in the SEMIOTIKS component of the UK Data and Information Fusion Defence Technology Centre (DIFDTC) research programme aims to support military and civilian agencies in leveraging the latent potential of large-scale information networks to enhance situation awareness and improve knowledge processing efficiency. The SEMIOTIKS system, described in this paper, comprises a number of technology components that support the user in a variety of knowledge-based activities. These include the discovery and organization of information resources; the extraction of task-relevant information using information harvesting and knowledge editing techniques; the retrieval, integration and transformation of domain-relevant knowledge using semantic query capabilities; the monitoring of large-scale information repositories for specific events and contingencies; and the use of semantic reasoning techniques to support domain-relevant decision-making. In addition to a technical description of SEMIOTIKS system components, this paper describes a demonstration scenario that highlights the way in which SEMIOTIKS technologies might be used to support advanced modes of information exploitation in multi-agency collaborative situations.
Risk factors for progression in ADPKD

Purpose of reviewAutosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common hereditary kidney disease. This article will describe the factors associated with both functional and structural evidence of disease progression. It will also review the results of recent clinical trials that have shown an impact on markers of disease progression. Recent findingsA variety of prognostic factors have been described that relate to a decline in glomerular filtration rate or an increase in total cyst or kidney volumes. We now have clinical trials that show that glomerular filtration rate decline and kidney volume growth can be slowed in those with ADPKD. SummaryWith the emergence of potential disease-modifying therapies, factors that can accurately identify those who are most at risk for renal progression or ADPKD-related complications need to be identified and validated.
Escherichia coli cytochrome c peroxidase is a respiratory oxidase that enables the use of hydrogen peroxide as a terminal electron acceptor

Significance Hydrogen peroxide has been regarded exclusively as a hazard for bacteria; its sources and concentrations in natural habitats are uncertain. The cytochrome c peroxidase of Escherichia coli exhibits an expression pattern and flux rate that provides surprising insights into these issues. This periplasmic enzyme is induced only when H2O2 is present and molecular oxygen is absent. Intriguingly, it was ineffective as a defensive enzyme, but through its linkage to the quinone pool it did enable E. coli to respire using H2O2 as an anaerobic electron acceptor. We suggest that both chemical and biotic processes generate micromolar H2O2 at oxic/anoxic interfaces and that this scenario is common enough that microbes have evolved strategies to productively exploit the H2O2. Microbial cytochrome c peroxidases (Ccp) have been studied for 75 years, but their physiological roles are unclear. Ccps are located in the periplasms of bacteria and the mitochondrial intermembrane spaces of fungi. In this study, Ccp is demonstrated to be a significant degrader of hydrogen peroxide in anoxic Escherichia coli. Intriguingly, ccp transcription requires both the presence of H2O2 and the absence of O2. Experiments show that Ccp lacks enough activity to shield the cytoplasm from exogenous H2O2. However, it receives electrons from the quinone pool, and its flux rate approximates flow to other anaerobic electron acceptors. Indeed, Ccp enabled E. coli to grow on a nonfermentable carbon source when H2O2 was supplied. Salmonella behaved similarly. This role rationalizes ccp repression in oxic environments. We speculate that micromolar H2O2 is created both biologically and abiotically at natural oxic/anoxic interfaces. The OxyR response appears to exploit this H2O2 as a terminal oxidant while simultaneously defending the cell against its toxicity.
Joint Sensing Duration Adaptation, User Matching, and Power Allocation for Cognitive OFDM-NOMA Systems

In this paper, the non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) technology is integrated into cognitive orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems, called cognitive OFDM-NOMA, to boost the system capacity. First, a capacity maximization problem is considered in half-duplex cognitive OFDM-NOMA systems with two accessible users on each subcarrier. Due to the intractability of the considered problem, we decompose it into three subproblems, i.e., the optimization of, respectively, sensing duration, user scheduling, and power allocation. By investigating and exploiting the characteristics of each subproblem, the optimal sensing duration adaptation, a matching-theory-based user scheduling, and the optimal power allocation are proposed correspondingly. An alternate iteration framework is further proposed to jointly optimize these three subproblems, with its convergence proved. Moreover, based on the non-cooperative game theory, a generalized power allocation algorithm is proposed and then used in the framework to accommodate half-duplex cognitive OFDM-NOMA systems with multiple users on each subcarrier. Finally, the proposed framework is extended to solve the capacity maximization problem in full-duplex cognitive OFDM-NOMA systems. Simulation results validate the superior performance of the proposed algorithms. For example, for the case of two accessible users, the proposed framework approaches the optimal solution with less than 1% capacity loss and 120 times lower complexity compared with exhaustive search.
SEAGLE: Sparsity-Driven Image Reconstruction Under Multiple Scattering

Multiple scattering of an electromagnetic wave as it passes through an object is a fundamental problem that limits the performance of current imaging systems. In this paper, we describe a new technique—called Series Expansion with Accelerated Gradient Descent on the Lippmann–Schwinger Equation—for robust imaging under multiple scattering based on a combination of an iterative forward model and a total variation regularizer. The proposed method can account for multiple scattering, which makes it advantageous in applications where single scattering approximations are inaccurate. Specifically, the method relies on a series expansion of the scattered wave with an accelerated-gradient method. This expansion guarantees the convergence of the forward model even for strongly scattering objects. One of our key insights is that it is possible to obtain an explicit formula for computing the gradient of an iterative forward model with respect to the unknown object, thus enabling fast image reconstruction with the state-of-the-art fast iterative shrinkage/thresholding algorithm. The proposed method is validated on diffraction tomography, where complex electric field is captured at different illumination angles.
Study and applications of hybrid organic/inorganic semiconductor quantum dots in thin films

Semiconductor quantum dots attract a lot of attention for their application in many fields such as optoelectronic and biology. In the study, we investigated optical properties of hybrid nanocomposited thin films made of PMMA polymer containing different concentrations of core-shell CdSe/ZnS quantum dots. Both absorption and luminescence spectra can be well explained by taking into account quantum mechanisms. From the luminescence spectra a clear evidence of coupling effect between quantum dots has been observed. With a pump laser emitting at 514 nm the luminescence spectrum centered at 560 nm strongly changes with time. Besides, for applications, it would be necessary to control the luminescent light spatial distribution. We proposed for this to structure the films with a bi-periodic grating by nanoimprint technique using an engraved silicon mold. The characterization of the imprinted structure show the good quality of the method used. We also show, by numerical calculation, that the local field is resonant in the periodic structure and that the emission diagram can be controlled in the far field.
Performance of Multi-Antenna Wireless-Powered Communications with Nonlinear Energy Harvester

In this paper, we investigate the average throughput of a multi-antenna wireless powered communication network where an energy-constrained user harvests energy from a hybrid access-point (AP) equipped with multiple antennas in the downlink, and then transmits information to the AP in the uplink using the harvested energy. Specifically, we consider a more practical scenario, i.e., nonlinear energy harvester, as compared with the traditional linear model. In order to evaluate the key parameters, such as the transmit power, antenna numbers, time-splitting, channel fading severity, on the performance of thecconsidered system, we derive closed-form expressions of thecaverage throughput for both delay tolerant and delay intolerant transmission modes in Nakagami-m fading channel. In addition,cto further exploit the insights on the application of the consideredcsystem, the asymptotic analysis for the achievable throughput are also provided in two special cases, i.e., high transmit power regime and high saturation threshold regime. Finally, our results demonstrate that the considered system exhibits the throughput saturation phenomenon, and the parameters of channel fading severity produce a different impact on the average throughput in the two transmission modes.
Nurse practitioner and physician assistant scope of practice in 118 acute care hospitals.

BACKGROUND Advanced practice providers (APPs), including nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) are cost-effective substitutes for physicians, with similar outcomes in primary care and surgery. However, little is understood about APP roles in inpatient medicine. OBJECTIVE Describe APPs role in inpatient medicine. DESIGN Observational cross-sectional cohort study. SETTING One hundred twenty-four Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals. PARTICIPANTS Chiefs of medicine (COMs) and nurse managers. MEASUREMENTS Surveys included inpatient medicine scope of practice for APPs and perceived healthcare quality. We conducted bivariate unadjusted and multivariable adjusted analyses. RESULTS One hundred eighteen COMs (95.2%) and 198 nurse managers (75.0%) completed surveys. Of 118 medicine services, 56 (47.5%) employed APPs; 27 (48.2%) used NPs only, 15 (26.8%) PAs only, and 14 (25.0%) used both. Full-time equivalents for NPs was 0.5 to 7 (mean = 2.22) and PAs was 1 to 9 (mean = 2.23). Daily caseload was similar at 4 to 10 patients (mean = 6.5 patients). There were few significant differences between tasks. The presence of APPs was not associated with patient or nurse manager satisfaction. Presence of NPs was associated with greater overall inpatient and discharge coordination ratings by COMs and nurse managers, respectively; the presence of PAs was associated with lower overall inpatient coordination ratings by nurse managers. CONCLUSIONS NPs and PAs work on half of VHA inpatient medicine services with broad, yet similar, scopes of practice. There were few differences between their roles and perceptions of care. Given their very different background, regulation, and reimbursement, this has implications for inpatient medicine services that plan to hire NPs or PAs.
PAQM: an adaptive and proactive queue management for end‐to‐end TCP congestion control

Two functions, the congestion indicator (i.e. how to detect congestion) and the congestion control function (i.e. how to avoid and control congestion), are used at a router to support end‐to‐end congestion control in the Internet. Random early detection (RED) (IEEE/ACM Trans. Networking 1993; 1(4):397–413) enhanced the two functions by introducing queue length averaging and probabilistic early packet dropping. In particular, RED uses an exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) queue length not only to detect incipient congestion but also to smooth the bursty incoming traffic and its resulting transient congestion. Following RED, many active queue management (AQM)‐based extensions have been proposed. However, many AQM proposals have shown severe problems with detection and control of the incipient congestion adaptively to the dynamically changing network situations. In this paper, we introduce and analyse a feedback control model of TCP/AQM dynamics. Then, we propose the Pro‐active Queue Management (PAQM) mechanism, which is able to provide proactive congestion avoidance and control using an adaptive congestion indicator and a control function under a wide range of traffic environments. The PAQM stabilizes the queue length around the desired level while giving smooth and low packet loss rates and high network resource utilization. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Electromagnetic modes in a parallel plane waveguide filled with nanoparticles

Propagation characteristics of an electromagnetic wave through parallel plane waveguide filled with nanoparticles is studied. The dispersion relation reveals two modes, a surface plasmon like mode for ω≥ωpe √3 pe ω≤ω , (ω is electromagnetic wave frequency and ωpe is electron plasma frequency of nanoparticles) and another normal electromagnetic mode for ω≥ωpe √3 . The plasmon like mode is sensitive to plate separation and the excitation frequency is higher for smaller plate separation. The cutoff frequency of electromagnetic mode can be varied by changing the concentration or size of the nanoparticles and also the plate separation.