Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Percutaneous Cholecystostomy for Acute Cholecystitis: A Three-Year Single-Centre Experience Including During COVID-19

Introduction Percutaneous cholecystostomy is a recognised treatment modality for acute cholecystitis. Traditionally, its use was reserved for patients deemed unfit for surgery. However, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a detrimental effect on both elective and emergency surgery. The utilisation of cholecystostomy thus increased. Unanswered questions remain over timing with respect to interval cholecystectomy. We evaluated our local practice over the preceding three years. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed of all patients who had a percutaneous cholecystostomy inserted over a three-year period (1 January 2018-1 January 2021). The primary outcome was time to cholecystectomy. Secondary outcomes were cholecystostomy-related complications, 30-day mortality, cholecystectomy-related complications and length of postoperative hospital stay. Results A total of 31 patients were identified during the period. Thirteen (42%) patients went on to have a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The median time interval from cholecystostomy to cholecystectomy was 97 days (interquartile range [IQR]: 81-140, minimum: 47 and maximum: 791). One case was complicated by small bowel perforation; this occurred after an interval of 106 days. The median length of postoperative stay was one day (IQR: 1-1, minimum: 0 and maximum: 4). Cholecystostomy-related complications were observed in four (13%) patients, whereby three became displaced and one developed blockage. Thirty-day mortality following cholecystostomy insertion was zero. Conclusions Percutaneous cholecystostomy is a safe and effective intervention for the management of acute cholecystitis. Interval cholecystectomy should be carefully considered; it may be safer to perform prior to 90 days.
An end-to-end lipreading network combined with ResNet50 and Bi-GRU

Automatic lip-reading (ALR), also known as visual speech recognition (VSR), refers to the movement of lips to acquire the content of a speaker. In recent years, the introduction of deep learning has brought great breakthroughs to lip-reading research. Compared with traditional methods, this method can extract depth features more conveniently from large-scale data sets. We proposed an end-to-end deep learning network model containing three construction modules, STCNN, ResNet50, and Bi-GRU. STCNN was used to extract deep features and Bi-GRU was used for feature recognition. Meanwhile, we verified the effectiveness of Bi-GRU through comparative experiments. The effects of different ResNet in the whole model were compared. Finally, the accuracy of characters in the corpus reached 95.7%.
Exposure to C. Albicans Makes Bladder Epithelial Cells Induce Apoptosis and Modification of Their Microenvironment

INTRODUCTION. Interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC) is characterized by chronic bladder pain and urinary storage symptoms. IC affects more than 3.3 million women in the U.S. alone. Ibis T-5000 assays and next generation sequencing have revealed that the C. albicans fungus is highly abundant in the urine of IC patients, particularly those who report greater pain, urinary urgency, and flares. However, currently, the clinical significance of C. albicans in the urine remains elusive. Here, we report the pathological effects and mechanisms triggered by C. albicans in a healthy normal bladder. METHODS. Immortalized bladder epithelial cells were infected with C. albicans. Perturbations in gene expression were identified using an Affymetrix gene microarray and subsequently followed with bioinformatic analyses, including gene set enrichment. Inflammatory and apoptotic genes were quantified using RT-PCR and Western blot analyses. Central signal pathways were examined using Western blot analysis. RESULTS. DNA microarray analysis showed alterations in the transcriptome of bladder epithelial cells infected with C. albicans over both the short and long terms. Key inflammatory and apoptosis networks were changed, which was consistent with several cellular events. Cellular levels of reactive oxygen species and nitrogen oxide increased after infection. Productions of cyclooxygenase-2 and prostaglandine E2 also increased after C. albicans infection, and their productions were suppressed by blockage of reactive oxygen species-epidermal growth factor receptor-Erk pathway. CONCLUSIONS. This study provides evidence that C. albicans infection triggers inflammation and cellular damage by dysregulating key regulatory genes, signaling pathways, and bioactive species in normal bladder cells.
Augmented robust control of a free-floating flexible space robot

The flexibility of the joints and links of space robots is considerable, arising from elasticity of the joints and links. Controlling such a robot is more complex than controlling rigid one due to the interactions of rigid and flexible motion. Only a single actuation signal could be applied at each joint, whilst it has to control the motion of the link joint, the flexure of both the joints itself, and the attached link for a flexible space robot. To investigate such an underactuated flexible-link flexible-joint space robot, a free-floating space manipulator with one flexible link and two flexible revolute joints was presented in this paper. The dynamical Lagrange equation was established, and a singularly perturbed model has been formulated. The model consisted of a rigid subsystem, a flexible-link fast subsystem, and a flexible-joint fast subsystem. Based on the two-time-scale separation of the manipulator dynamics, a reduced-order controller was designed. This controller consisted of a rigid control component and two fast control components. Based only on the possible bound of the uncertainty, an augmented robust control law was constructed for the rigid counterpart of the flexible-link flexible-joint robot. The flexible-joint fast subsystem controller would stabilize the elastic vibrations at the joints, and the flexible-link fast subsystem controller would damp out the vibration of the flexible link. Numerical simulations showed that the link and joint vibrations had been stabilized effectively with good tracking performance.
Development of an Improved Frequency Limited Model Order Reduction Technique and Error Bound for Discrete-Time Systems

Frequency limited model order reduction al-gorithm presented by Wang & Zilouchian for discrete-time systems provide unstable reduced-order models and also do not provide a priori error bound formula. Many stability-preserving model order reduction algorithms were presented; however, these methods produce significant approximation errors in the desired frequency interval. An improved al-gorithm of model order reduction for the discrete-time systems is presented. The proposed technique gives the stable reduced-order model and also provides less approximation error as compared with other algorithms and also provides the formula for the frequency response a priori error bound. Numerical examples provided at the end of the section show the efficacy of the proposed technique.
Coping with fibromyalgia during the COVID-19 pandemic: adjustment and wellbeing

Abstract Objective Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic condition with symptoms known to be exacerbated by stress. Individuals with FMS may be experiencing particular distress under Covid-19 pandemic-related lifestyle restrictions. The present study examined wellbeing, perceived symptom change and coping in individuals with and without FMS during pandemic-related social lockdown in the UK. Design Participants with a diagnosis of FMS (N = 390) and a general public sample with no FMS (N = 151) completed questionnaires at three time points. Main Outcome Measures BBC Wellbeing Scale, Cognitive-Emotional Regulation Questionnaire measure of coping, perception of extent to which symptoms have worsened or improved over time. Results Contrary to expectations, FMS participants reported no worsening of symptoms and an increase in wellbeing over the study period. Non-FMS participants experienced worsening health symptoms and no change in wellbeing. Coping strategies involving positive reappraisal, refocussing and planning were positively associated with wellbeing in the FMS group. Conclusion The unpredictable symptom profile in FMS, and the regular readjustment this necessitates, may support a form of resilience which has been adaptive during the pandemic. The results have implications for supporting people with FMS, and potentially other chronic conditions, especially at times of stress.
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES IN A PARTICIPATORY DESIGN STUDIO BETWEEN CARLETON UNIVERSITY AND PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY

The research project investigates the use of a network-enabled platform (NEP) involving a combination of technologies that include: high bandwidth network infrastructure; highperformance visualization and compute cluster solutions; Storage Area Network devices and servers; standard and high definition tele-presence/communication infrastructure; co-located immersive environments; and a range of modeling and imaging applications. The NEP enabled student teams in multiple locations collaborate via on-demand, synchronous access to project data, visualization, modeling, simulation and multimodal interpersonal communication tools through a web service based dashboard interface that hid the logistic and technical complexities to the user. As a preliminary report on a proof-of-concept design studio conducted during the spring semester of 2007 between the Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS) at Carleton University in Ottawa and the Immersive Environment Laboratory (IEL) at Pennsylvania State University, the paper first describes the implementation of this network-centric collaborative design platform. The report articulates the “staging” of the conditions of possibility for a dynamic interplay between technological mediation and the reality of making, then compares the use of high bandwidth technology with customized symmetrical toolsets in the tele-collaborative educational environment, versus commercial toolsets deployed over moderate bandwidth connections. In each setting, the collaborative environment is assessed according to issues encountered by students and design outcomes. The effectiveness of the digitally mediated collaborative studio is also gauged in terms of student reaction to the learning process via feedback surveys and questionnaires.
Evaluation and Suppression of the Effect of Laser Frequency Noise on Resonant Fiber Optic Gyroscope

This article provides a novel method to analyze and calculate the effect of laser frequency noise on a resonant fiber optic gyroscope (RFOG). The output signal of the fiber ring resonator is expressed as the sum of various harmonic responses. It is found that the laser frequency noise at certain noise frequency would be demodulated together with the rotation-induced frequency signal, and thus deteriorating the gyro output stability. A theoretical model is then setup. The effect of laser frequency noise on the RFOG based on the separate modulation-demodulation technique is numerically evaluated and the effectiveness of the reciprocal modulation-demodulation technique is verified both theoretically and experimentally. The measured angular random walk of the reciprocal RFOG improves as the detected light power at the photodetector increases, which indicates that the measured angular random walk reaches the theoretical shot-noise limited sensitivity in the RFOG. The best value is 0.0021 °/√h when the light power arrived at the photodetector is 69 μW.
Fast active inrush current limiter for boost-based resistor emulators

A simple active circuit limiting the input current of boost switching cells during the turn-on and also in the case of short input-voltage interruptions is described. The limiter is connected in series with the boost storage capacitor. Different aspects of this approach are discussed and the performance that can be realized is compared to the presently known solutions. <<ETX>>
The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on the Company’s Financial Performance

This article empirically evaluates the impact of CSR behaviour on the financial indicators of 286 companies from Brazil, Russia, India, and China over six years from 2013 to 2018. Company information and CSR ratings were retrieved from the Bloomberg and RobetaSAM databases, and hypotheses were proposed based on a literature review. We constructedvarious analytical models that differ in dependent variables to better evaluate of distinct CSR metrics through different regression methods. Analyzed factors include: (1) the presence of women on the board; (2) the presence of a company in CSR ratings, and (3) various cultural aspects of the society where companies operate. Our results support the conclusions of related research in this field of study. Among other consequences, our analysis indicates that CSR significantly influences financial performance, although this is also contingent on external factors. A company’s presence in the CSR rating scale has a more substantial impact on profitability and market capitalization indicatorsthan the actual score itself. CSR information disclosure has some effect on ROA and ROE, and the presence of women in the board of Directors showed a slight positive effect on market capitalization. Further, a high level of ‘power distance’ (i.e. the ostensible alienation of the general citizenry from political authority sources) in the society where company operatesharms the relationship between the rating score and financial performance.
Technological Simulation of Hallucination

Background: Psychiatrists frequently evaluate complaints of remote sound transmission. Aim: Evidence for technologies capable of remote sound or voice transmission isolated to individuals is surveyed along with target tracking capacity that can maintain apparent psychosis. Method: Examination of government reports, engineering databases, the patent database post 1976, PubMed, and the Internet for available pertinent authentic sources. Results: Ultrasound and radio frequency voice transmission are described as methods to remotely isolate voice to individuals. Accounts of ultrasound and radio frequency energy forms used on people also exist. Conclusion: Evidence indicates development of technologies capable of remotely isolating sound and voice to an individual. Covert misuse of such technologies would result in simulated hallucination, which has no diagnostic recognition.
Evaluation and Prediction on the Effect of Ionic Properties of Solvent Extraction Performance of Oily Sludge Using Machine Learning

Oily sludge produced in the process of petroleum exploitation and utilization is a kind of hazardous waste that needs to be urgently dealt with in the petrochemical industry. The oil content of oily sludge is generally between 15–50% and has a great potential for oil resource utilization. However, its composition is complex, in which asphaltene is of high viscosity and difficult to separate. In this study, The oily sludge was extracted with toluene as solvent, supplemented by three kinds of ionic liquids (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazole tetrafluoroborate ([EMIM] [BF4]), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazole trifluoro-acetate ([EMIM] [TA]), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazole Dicyandiamide ([EMIM] [N(CN)2])) and three kinds of deep eutectic solutions (choline chloride/urea (ChCl/U), choline chloride / ethylene glycol (ChCl/EG), and choline chloride/malonic acid (ChCl/MA)). This experiment investigates the effect of physicochemical properties of the solvents on oil recovery and three machine learning methods (ridge regression, multilayer perceptron, and support vector regression) are used to predict the association between them. Depending on the linear correlation of variables, it is found that the conductivity of ionic liquid is the key characteristic affecting the extraction treatment in this system.
The Current Carrying Capacity of Power Cables in Tunnels

The capital costs incurred in the provision of power circuits through underground tunnels is such as to make further efforts in the refinement of thermal rating computations worth while. In the present work steady state and transient temperature calculations are performed via thermal network models of the system. Heat transfer by radiation is separately accounted for and heat transfer by free or forced convection determined by means of new empirical formulae established experimentally on groups of cables.
Stem cell therapy for skin regeneration using mesenchymal stem cells derived from the progeroid Werner syndrome-specific iPS cells

Adult progeria, Werner syndrome (WS), is an autosomal recessive disorder that develops accelerated aging-associated symptoms after puberty. Refractory skin ulcer of limbs, which is one of the symptoms specific to WS, is seriously painful and sometimes results in amputation. In recent years, cell therapy using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has been attracting attention; however, the effect of WS-derived MSCs on skin ulcers is still unclear. In this study, we generated iPS cells from a patient with WS and a normal subject, differentiated them into MSCs (WS- and NM-iMSC, respectively), and performed cell therapy to a refractory skin ulcer mouse model. As a result, WS-iMSC recapitulated premature senescence phenotypes in vitro. Upon subcutaneous injection around the wounds of mice, WS-iMSC was significantly inferior in wound healing effect compared to NM-iMSC. Proteome and transcriptome analysis revealed altered expression of genes related to angiogenesis, inflammation, and proliferation in WS-iMSC with remarkable downregulation of VEGF, a potent angiogenic factor. In addition, simultaneous administration of recombinant human VEGF and WS-iMSC improved the wound healing effect in vivo. These results indicate that the expression of angiogenic factors is reduced in WS-iMSC, and its supplementation restores the wound healing ability. This finding may pave the way to develop the treatment of intractable skin ulcers of WS.
The Development of Environment & Occupation Likelihood Scale on Workers Mental Health Status

Daily work activities are among the sources of stress to humans. Typically, each individual will spend 1/3 of their day at work. It is no exaggeration to say that 1/3 affects the other 2/3. Appropriate assessments should be conducted to assess what employment factors and the work environment contribute to this. This study explains the development process and the use of the Environmental & Occupational Probability Scale screening form on mental health status or known as SKiPP. This assessment can be used to measure both of these factors on the mental health status of employees based on the DASS21 score. Keywords: DASS21; Person-Environment-Occupation model; Work-related stress eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6i18. 3068
A novel Auto-adaptive Fingerprint Capture System Based on Image Quality Evaluation Algorithm

A design of the fingerprint capture system based on chip FPS200 is introduced. The capture system uses the MCU interface with DSP. In this paper, a new method based on the intrinsic directional features of fingerprint is proposed to evaluate the quality of images acquired by FPS200 sensor. Using directional map, the available area of image and clearness is checked to calculate the overall image quality score that can be used to quantitatively determine the quality of the fingerprint image. If the quality of image is unsatisfied, prompt is presented: whether the finger is wet or dry, then DSP adjusts the parameters of FPS200 sensor automatically until image of good quality has been acquired. Experimental results show that the image capture system and the corresponding algorithm can be integrated into practical embedded Automatic Fingerprint Identification System.
Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition Mediates Resistance to Maintenance Therapy with Vinflunine in Advanced Urothelial Cell Carcinoma

Simple Summary Platinum-based chemotherapy is the first-line treatment for advanced urothelial cell carcinoma (aUCC). After first-line treatment, we previously showed that maintenance therapy with vinflunine improves progression-free survival. However, some patients are resistant to vinflunine and the specific mechanisms of resistance in aUCC are unclear. We analyzed the genomic landscape and the biological processes potentially related to vinflunine activity and found that epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a pivotal role as a resistance mechanism. In experiments with cell lines, curcumin reversed EMT and sensitized cells to vinflunine. We suggest that EMT mediates resistance to vinflunine and that the reversion of this process could enhance the effect of vinflunine in aUCC patients. Abstract In the phase II MAJA trial, maintenance therapy with vinflunine resulted in longer progression-free survival compared to best supportive care in advanced urothelial cell carcinoma (aUCC) patients who did not progress after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. However, despite an initial benefit observed in some patients, unequivocal resistance appears which underlying mechanisms are presently unknown. We have performed gene expression and functional enrichment analyses to shed light on the discovery of these underlying resistance mechanisms. Differential gene expression profile of eight patients with poor outcome and nine with good outcome to vinflunine administered in the MAJA trial were analyzed. RNA was isolated from tumor tissue and gene expression was assessed by microarray. Differential expression was determined with linear models for microarray data. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was used for the functional classification of the genes. In vitro functional studies were performed using UCC cell lines. Hierarchical clustering showed a differential gene expression pattern between patients with good and poor outcome to vinflunine treatment. GSEA identified epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) as the top negatively enriched hallmark in patients with good outcome. In vitro analyses showed that the polyphenol curcumin downregulated EMT markers and sensitized UCC cells to vinflunine. We conclude that EMT mediates resistance to vinflunine and suggest that the reversion of this process could enhance the effect of vinflunine in aUCC patients.
Trajectory tracking control for four‐mecanum‐wheel mobile vehicle: A variable gain active disturbance rejection control approach

In this article, a novel variable gain active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) approach is developed for the trajectory tracking control of four‐mecanum‐wheel mobile vehicle. The proposed variable gain ADRC approach includes three parts, variable gain tracking‐differentiator (VGTD), variable gain extended state observer (VGESO), and composite disturbance rejection controller. The error‐based variable gains are, respectively, incorporated in VGTD, VGESO, and controller to improve the transient performances. Moreover, stability analysis of the VGTD tracking error system, VGESO estimation error system, and the closed‐loop system are also provided. Finally, simulation and experiment results show the effectiveness of the proposed control approach.