Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Brain-to-brain synchronization across two persons predicts mutual prosociality

Abstract People tend to be more prosocial after synchronizing behaviors with others, yet the underlying neural mechanisms are rarely known. In this study, participant dyads performed either a coordination task or an independence task, with their brain activations recorded via the functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning technique. Participant dyads in the coordination group showed higher synchronized behaviors and greater subsequent inclination to help each other than those in the independence group, indicating the prosocial effect of interpersonal synchrony. Importantly, the coordination group demonstrated the significant task-related brain coherence, namely the interbrain synchronization, at the left middle frontal area. The detected interbrain synchronization was sensitive to shared intentionality between participants and was correlated with the mutual prosocial inclination. Further, the task-related brain coherence played a mediation role in the prosocial effect of interpersonal synchrony. This study reveals the relevance of brain-to-brain synchronization among individuals with subsequent mutual prosocial inclination and suggests the neural mechanism associating with shared cognition for the facilitation of interpersonal synchrony on prosociality.
A Generalized Design Framework of Notch Filter Based Frequency-Locked Loop for Three-Phase Grid Voltage

Despite many intensive researches regarding frequency-locked loops (FLLs) in recent years, the basic problems of principles, models, and structures of FLL algorithms remained open. Conventional FLL comprises a notch filter and a frequency adaptive loop. The notch filter can be categorized into two types: real coefficient filter (RCF) and complex coefficient filter (CCF). However, the principles, models, and structures of RCF and CCF are generally explained by various theories, and thus, a unified understanding and further developments of FLLs are restricted. This paper proposes a generalized design framework of FLLs based on the Popov adaptive theory. Grounded on the proposed framework, three main contributions can be achieved: 1) the mathematical equivalence of RCF-based FLLs and CCF-based FLLs are revealed; 2) not only the wellknown FLLs (e.g., the DSOGI-FLL and the AVF-FLL) can be derived, but also the other FLLs with novel features can be generated, and thus, the existing case designs of FLLs are developed into a family of designs; 3) the performance differences in terms of stability and convergence speed of the FLLs are quantitatively analyzed, and thereby an enhanced FLL (referred to as EFLL) is recommended. The designs and analyzes have been verified by both simulations and experiments.
Assisting document triage for human kinome curation via machine learning

Abstract In the era of data explosion, the increasing frequency of published articles presents unorthodox challenges to fulfill specific curation requirements for bio-literature databases. Recognizing these demands, we designed a document triage system with automatic methods that can improve efficiency to retrieve the most relevant articles in curation workflows and reduce workloads for biocurators. Since the BioCreative VI (2017), we have implemented texting mining processing in our system in hopes of providing higher effectiveness for curating articles related to human kinase proteins. We tested several machine learning methods together with state-of-the-art concept extraction tools. For features, we extracted rich co-occurrence and linguistic information to model the curation process of human kinome articles by the neXtProt database. As shown in the official evaluation on the human kinome curation task in BioCreative VI, our system can effectively retrieve 5.2 and 6.5 kinase articles with the relevant disease (DIS) and biological process (BP) information, respectively, among the top 100 returned results. Comparing to neXtA5, our system demonstrates significant improvements in prioritizing kinome-related articles as follows: our system achieves 0.458 and 0.109 for the DIS axis whereas the neXtA5’s best-reported mean average precision (MAP) and maximum precision observed are 0.41 and 0.04. Our system also outperforms the neXtA5 in retrieving BP axis with 0.195 for MAP and the neXtA5’s reported value was 0.11. These results suggest that our system may be able to assist neXtProt biocurators in practice.
Brain intrinsic network connectivity in individuals with frequent tanning behavior

ABSTRACT Background: Emergent studies suggest a bidirectional relationship between brain functioning and the skin. This neurocutaneous connection may be responsible for the reward response to tanning and, thus, may contribute to excessive tanning behavior. To date, however, this association has not yet been examined. Objectives: To explore whether intrinsic brain functional connectivity within the default mode network (DMN) is related to indoor tanning behavior. Methods: Resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) was obtained in twenty adults (16 females) with a history of indoor tanning. Using a seed-based [(posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)] approach, the relationship between tanning severity and FC strength was assessed. Tanning severity was measured with symptom count from the Structured Clinical Interview for Tanning Abuse and Dependence (SITAD) and tanning intensity (lifetime indoor tanning episodes/years tanning). Results: rsFC strength between the PCC and other DMN regions (left globus pallidus, left medial frontal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus) is positively correlated with tanning symptom count. rsFC strength between the PCC and salience network regions (right anterior cingulate cortex, left inferior parietal lobe, left inferior temporal gyrus) is correlated with tanning intensity. Conclusion: Greater connectivity between tanning severity and DMN and salience network connectivity suggests that heightened self-awareness of salient stimuli may be a mechanism that underlies frequent tanning behavior. These findings add to the growing evidence of brain-skin connection and reflect dysregulation in the reward processing networks in those with frequent tanning.
Hardware Implementation of A Non-RLL Soft-decoding Beacon-based Visible Light Communication Receiver

Visible light communication (VLC)-based beacon systems, which usually transmit identification (ID) information in small-size data frames are applied widely in indoor localization systems. There is one fact that flicker of LED light should be avoided in any VLC systems. Current flicker mitigation solutions based on run-length limited (RLL) codes suffer from reduced code rates or are limited to hard-decoding forward error correction (FEC) decoders. Recently, soft-decoding techniques of RLL- codes are proposed to support soft-decoding FEC algorithms, but they include high-complexity and time-consuming computations. Fortunately, non-RLL direct-current (DC)-balance solutions can overcome the drawbacks of RLL-based algorithms. In this paper, we introduce a non-RLL flicker mitigation method for the VLC- based beacon systems that combines a simple pre-scrambler with a Polar encoder to keep the DC-balance of VLC system even in short data frames. Also, we have proposed a hardware architecture for the proposed non-RLL VLC receiver for the first time. Moreover, to enable the soft-decoding of the Polar decoder, we introduce a 3-bit soft-decision filter which helps improve the bit-error-rate performance of the system.
Cefditoren, a New Aminothiazolyl Cephalosporin

Cefditoren pivoxil, an oral third‐generation cephalosporin, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in September 2001. It has been used in Japan for several years. The greatest therapeutic potential of cefditoren appears to be its activity against gram‐positive and gram‐negative organisms causing respiratory tract infections and skin and skin‐structure infections, such as Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Moraxella catarrhalis. Cefditoren is also effective against methicillin‐susceptible strains of Staphylococcus aureus. Nevertheless, cefditoren has no activity against atypical pathogens, including Chlamydia pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Legionella sp. Moreover, cefditoren does not inhibit Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Bacteroides fragilis. In virtually all studies, cefditoren has compared favorably against other orally administered antibiotics used against the most commonly isolated respiratory tract pathogens. Its side effect profile includes diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headache, and dyspepsia. Cefditoren is indicated for treatment of mild‐to‐moderate acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis, pharyngitis‐tonsillitis, and uncomplicated skin and skin‐structure infections caused by susceptible strains of organisms in adults and adolescents (≥ 12 yrs of age). Based on its reported antimicrobial activity, cefditoren has potential for empiric management of most commonly encountered respiratory tract infections. Additional studies will further define its role in clinical practice.
AAV plasmid DNA simplifies liver‐directed in vivo gene therapy: comparison of expression levels after plasmid DNA‐, adeno‐associated virus‐ and adenovirus‐mediated liver transfection

Successful liver gene therapy depends on efficient gene transfer techniques and long‐lasting gene expression after successful transfer. Over the last decades, important progress has been made with the introduction of viral vectors using animal models, although their use is hampered by a complex and costly preparation compared to the simple and cost‐effective preparation of plasmid DNA. These problems become even more critical when considering the application of viral vectors in human gene therapy and gene therapy trials. In a previous study, we were able to show that the hydrodynamics‐based gene transfer of plasmid‐DNA, containing the adeno‐associated‐virus specific inverted terminal repeats (AAV‐ITR), prolongs gene expression in the liver, although it remained unclear whether plasmid gene transfer could achieve similar expression levels compared to viral‐vector gene transfer.
Effect of Commitment and Trust towards Micro-blogs on Consumer Behavioral Intention: A Relationship Marketing Perspective

The purpose of this study is to explore consumers’ views on enterprises conducting relationship marketing through micro-blogging. The basis of this study is the base on commitment-trust theory with the influences of consumers’ satisfaction with the micro-blog page of enterprises, corporate images, commitment, trust, and sense of community on consumers’ behavioral intention. The result of this study can be used as principles for enterprises to manage their relationship marketing through micro-blogging and construct their micro-blog page. The result of this study shows that consumers’ satisfaction has positive influences on commitment, trust, sense of community, and behavioral intentions. The influences of corporate images on commitment and trust are supported, but the influences on behavioral intentions must go through the mediators, commitment and trust. The influences of trust on commitment and sense of community exist, but the influences on behavioral intentions must go through the mediators, commitment and sense of community. Lastly, the influences of commitment and sense of community on behavioral intentions exist.
Objective Metric of Energy Absorbed in Tibial Plateau Fractures Corresponds Well to Clinician Assessment of Fracture Severity

Objectives: Determine the agreement between subjective assessments of fracture severity and an objective computed tomography (CT)-based metric of fracture energy in tibial plateau fractures. Methods: Six fellowship-trained orthopaedic trauma surgeons independently rank-ordered 20 tibial plateau fractures in terms of severity based on anteroposterior and lateral knee radiographs. A CT-based image analysis methodology was used to quantify the fracture energy, and agreement between the surgeons' severity rankings and the fracture energy metric was tested by computing their concordance, a statistical measure that estimates the probability that any 2 cases would be ranked with the same ordering by 2 different raters or methods. Results: Concordance between the 6 orthopaedic surgeons ranged from 82% to 93%, and concordance between surgeon severity rankings and the computed fracture energy ranged from 73% to 78%. Conclusions: There is a high level of agreement between experienced surgeons in their assessments of tibial plateau fracture severity, and a slightly lower agreement between the surgeon assessments and an objective CT-based metric of fracture energy. Taken together, these results suggest that experienced surgeons share a similar understanding of what makes a tibial plateau fracture more or less severe, and an objective CT-based metric of fracture energy captures much but not all of that information. Further research is ongoing to characterize the relationship between surgeon assessments of severity, fracture energy, and the eventual clinical outcomes for patients with fractures of the tibial plateau.
Rapid and simple PCR assay for quantitation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNA in plasma: application to acute retroviral infection

A method for quantitating human immunodeficiency virus type 1 plasma viremia may be useful in monitoring disease progression and the responsiveness of patients to a therapeutic regimen or vaccine. A quantitative assay for viral RNA in plasma or sera that differs in several aspects from those reported previously was developed. First, whereas conventional reverse transcriptase-PCR assays involve a two-step process and use two enzymes, the method described uses a single enzyme, rTth DNA polymerase, for both reverse transcription and PCR. The reactions are carried out in a single tube and with a single buffer solution with uninterrupted thermal cycling. Second, uracil-N-glycosylase and dUTP are incorporated into the reaction mixtures to ensure that any carryover of DNA from previous amplifications will not compromise quantitation. Third, a quantitation standard is incorporated into each reaction mixture so that differences in amplification efficiency caused by sample interferents, variability in reaction conditions, or thermal cycling can be normalized. To ensure comparable amplification efficiency, the quantitation standard has the same primer-binding regions as the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 target and generates an amplified product of the same size and base composition. The probe-binding region was replaced with a sequence that can be detected separately. Fourth, a colorimetric detection format was modified to provide at least a four-log-unit dynamic range. The quantitative assay requires only a single amplification of the sample and can be completed in less than 8 h. The procedure was used on archival samples to demonstrate the viremic spike in acute infection and the suppressed levels of circulating virus following seroconversion.
Tracking performances of eye-vergence visual servoing system under different light condition with evolutionary pose tracking

People have a strong ability to adapt to the changes of light. And light changes in the natural environment is inevitable. In the past we have proposed eye-vergence visual servoing system. However we did not know how it performs in dark or bright environment. If a visual servoing system has a higher light environmental robustness it will have a wider range of application. Therefore we design tracking experiments under different illumination and partial occlusion condition. Though the experiment it is verified that the system is not easily affected by ambient brightness and can continually track the object. Compared with the partial occlusion condition, the influence of changing of light condition is smaller.
Oxidative stress in Ca2+‐induced membrane permeability transition in brain mitochondria

Mitochondrial permeability transition (PT) is a non‐selective inner membrane permeabilization, typically promoted by the accumulation of excessive quantities of Ca2+ ions in the mitochondrial matrix. This phenomenon may contribute to neuronal cell death under some circumstances, such as following brain trauma and hypoglycemia. In this report, we show that Ca2+‐induced brain mitochondrial PT was stimulated by Na+ (10 mm) and totally prevented by the combination of ADP and cyclosporin A. Removal of Ca2+ from the mitochondrial suspension by EGTA or inhibition of Ca2+ uptake by ruthenium red partially reverted the dissipation of the membrane potential associated with PT. Ca2+‐induced brain mitochondrial PT was significantly inhibited by the antioxidant catalase, indicating the participation of reactive oxygen species in this process. An increased detection of reactive oxygen species, measured through dichlorodihydrofluorescein oxidation, was observed after mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake. Ca2+‐induced dichlorodihydrofluorescein oxidation was enhanced by Na+ and prevented by ADP and cyclosporin A, indicating that PT enhances mitochondrial oxidative stress. This could be at least in part a consequence of the extensive depletion in NAD(P)H that accompanied this Ca2+‐induced mitochondrial PT. NADPH is known to maintain the antioxidant function of the glutathione reductase/peroxidase and thioredoxin reductase/peroxidase systems. In addition, the occurrence of mitochondrial PT was associated with membrane lipid peroxidation. We conclude that PT further increases Ca2+‐induced oxidative stress in brain mitochondria leading to secondary damage such as lipid peroxidation.
Accountability for Students in K-12 Online Learning: Perspectives from Michigan Stakeholders and Beyond.

Policy surrounding K-12 online learning continues to evolve as the field grows exponentially. In Michigan, Section 21f of the State School Aid Act enacted in 2013 strengthened parents’ and students’ ability to request online courses: “A student enrolled in a district in any of grades 6 to 12 is eligible to enroll in an online course as provided for in this section. ” The passing of 21f raised concerns around accountability in a choice environment. Examples of such concerns included a pervasive belief about the lack of rigor or quality in online courses, an aversion to another district educating a student for one or two courses yet remaining responsible for that student’s growth, and uncertainty about how mentors and teachers would be evaluated on their online students. Consequently, a legislative directive was issued to the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute, the research arm of Michigan Virtual University that centered on accountability. In response to that directive, Michigan stakeholders, as well as experts from other course access states and national organizations, were interviewed to better understand the conversations surrounding accountability in K-12 online learning in Michigan and beyond and to make key recommendations for moving the field forward in an informed way. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Implications for research, policy, and practice are shared.
Preparation and characterization of microparticles of piroxicam by spray drying and spray chilling methods

Piroxicam, an anti-inflammatory drug, exhibits poor water solubility and flow properties, poor dissolution and poor wetting. Consequently, the aim of this study was to improve the dissolution of piroxicam. Microparticles containing piroxicam were produced by spray drying, using isopropyl alcohol and water in the ratio of 40:60 v/v as solvent system, and spray chilling technology by melting the drug and chilling it with a pneumatic nozzle to enhance dissolution rate. The prepared formulations were evaluated for in vitro dissolution and solubility. The prepared drug particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimeter, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Dissolution profile of the spray dried microparticles was compared with spray-chilled microparticles, pure and recrystallized samples. Spray dried microparticles and spray chilled microparticles exhibited decreased crystallinity and improved micromeritic properties. The dissolution of the spray dried microparticle and spray chilled particles were improved compared with recrystallized and pure sample of piroxicam. Consequently, it was believed that spray drying of piroxicam is a useful tool to improve dissolution but not in case of spray chilling. This may be due to the degradation of drug or variations in the resonance structure or could be due to minor distortion of bond angles. Hence, this spray drying technique can be used for formulation of tablets of piroxicam by direct compression with directly compressible tablet excipients.
The ICF categories identified in nursing interventions administered to neurological patients with post-acute rehabilitation needs

Purpose: The objectives of this study were (1) to determine whether the ICF covers the goals of nursing interventions and (2) to identify the areas of functioning, disability and health most relevant to nursing practice of neurological patients with early post-acute rehabilitation needs. Methods: This cross-sectional study on nursing interventions is part of a larger multicentric cross-sectional study describing functioning, disability and health. The nursing interventions were recorded by nurses in charge of the patient. According to established rules, the recorded nursing interventions were linked to the ICF. Results: One hundred and eighteen different nursing interventions were documented by the nursing staff. The intervention goals were linked to 67 different second-level ICF categories. Thirty belong to the component Body Functions, 19 to the component Body Structures, 13 to the component Activities and Participation, and five to the component Environmental Factors. Conclusions: The fact that all nursing interventions in early post-acute rehabilitation facilities could be linked to ICF categories supports the usefulness of the ICF in nursing. Initial problems in adapting profession-specific terminology to the ICF framework can be overcome, as shown by our linking exercise. Further analyses will be needed to show if these theoretical findings are supported by empirical evidence.